JESUS THE CHRIST

A Study of the Messiah and His Missionaccording to Holy Scriptures bothAncient and Modern

By

JAMES E. TALMAGE

One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH

SIXTH EDITION

TWENTY-EIGHTH TO THIRTIETH THOUSAND INCLUSIVE

Salt Lake City, Utah

Deseret Book Company

1922

Copyright

September 1915, December 1915, April 1916and November 1916

By

JOSEPH F. SMITH

Trustee-in-Trust for theChurch of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints

Copyright, October, 1922

By

HEBER J. GRANT

Trustee-in-Trust for theChurch of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints

Printed in the United States of America

PREFACE. 

The scope of the subject presented in this work is expressed on thetitle page. It will be readily seen that the author has departed fromthe course usually followed by writers on the Life of Jesus Christ, which course, as a rule, begins with the birth of Mary's Babe and endswith the ascension of the slain and risen Lord from Olivet. Thetreatment embodied in these pages, in addition to the narrative of theLord's life in the flesh comprizes the antemortal existence andactivities of the world's Redeemer, the revelations and personalmanifestations of the glorified and exalted Son of God during theapostolic period of old and in modern times, the assured nearness of theLord's second advent, and predicted events beyond--all so far as theHoly Scriptures make plain. 

It is particularly congruous and appropriate that the Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints--the only Church that affirms authoritybased on specific revelation and commission to use the Lord's Holy Nameas a distinctive designation--should set forth her doctrines concerningthe Messiah and His mission. 

The author of this volume entered upon his welcome service under requestand appointment from the presiding authorities of the Church; and thecompleted work has been read to and is approved by the First Presidencyand the Council of the Twelve. It presents, however, the writer'spersonal belief and profoundest conviction as to the truth of what hehas written. The book is published by the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints. 

A characteristic feature of the work is the guidance afforded by modernscriptures and the explication of the Holy Writ of olden times in thelight of present day revelation, which, as a powerful and well directedbeam, illumines many dark passages of ancient construction. 

The spirit of the sacredness inherent in the subject has been a constantcompanion of the writer throughout his pleasing labor, and he reverentlyinvokes the same as a minister to the readers of the volume. 

JAMES E. TALMAGE. 

Salt Lake City, Utah, September, 1915. 

PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION. 

The second edition of this work appeared in December, 1915, and thethird in March, 1916. The third edition presented several minoralterations in wording and contained additional notes and references. Succeeding issues, including the fifth which was printed on India paper, and the present edition are practically uniform with the third. 

JAMES E. TALMAGE. 

Salt Lake City, Utah, October, 1922. 

CONTENTS. 

Chapter 1. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Historicity of Jesus the Christ. --Scope and purpose of the presenttreatise

Chapter 2. 

PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST. 

Antemortal existence of spirits. --Primeval council in heaven. --Rebellionof Lucifer. --His defeat and expulsion. --Free agency of man insured. --TheBeloved Son chosen to be the Savior and Redeemer of mankind

Chapter 3. 

THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 

Spirits of diverse capacities. --Entrance of sin into the worldforeseen. --God's foreknowledge not a determining cause. --Creation of manin the flesh. --Fall of man. --Atonement necessary. --Jesus Christ the onlyBeing eligible as Redeemer and Savior. --Universal resurrection provided

Chapter 4. 

THE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST. 

The Godhead. --Jesus Christ the Word of power. --Jesus Christ theCreator. --Jehovah. --The Eternal I AM. --Proclamations of Jesus Christ bythe Father

Chapter 5. 

EARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED. 

Biblical prophecies. --Revelation to Enoch. --The Prophet predicted byMoses. --Sacrifices as prototypes. --Book of Mormon predictions

Chapter 6. 

THE MERIDIAN OF TIME. 

Significance of the designation. --Epitome of Israel's history. --Jews invassalage to Rome. --Scribes and rabbis. --Pharisees and Sadducees. --Othersects and parties

Chapter 7. 

GABRIEL'S ANNUNCIATION OF JOHN AND OF JESUS. 

Angelic visitation to Zacharias. --Birth of John theforerunner. --Annunciation to Mary the Virgin. --Mary and Joseph. --Theirgenealogies. --Jesus Christ heir to the throne of David

Chapter 8. 

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

Birth of Jesus Christ. --His presentation in the temple. --Visit of themagi. --Herod's evil designs. --The Child taken into Egypt. --Birth ofChrist made known to Nephites. --Time of the birth

Chapter 9. 

THE BOY OF NAZARETH. 

Jesus to be called a Nazarene. --At the temple when twelve years ofage. --Jesus and the doctors of the law. --Jesus of Nazareth

Chapter 10. 

IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. 

John the Baptist. --The voice in the wilderness. --Baptism of Jesus. --TheFather's proclamation. --Descent of the Holy Ghost. --Sign of thedove. --Temptations of Christ

Chapter 11. 

FROM JUDEA TO GALILEE. 

John Baptist's testimony of Christ. --First disciples. --The Son of Man, significance of title. --Miracle of transmuting water intowine. --Miracles in general

Chapter 12. 

EARLY INCIDENTS IN OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. 

First clearing of the temple. --Jesus and Nicodemus. --John Baptist'sdisciples in disputation. --John's tribute to and repeated testimony ofthe Christ

Chapter 13. 

HONORED BY STRANGERS, REJECTED BY HIS OWN. 

Jesus and the Samaritan woman. --Among the Samaritans. --While at CanaChrist heals a nobleman's son in Capernaum. --At Nazareth Christ preachesin synagog. --Nazarenes attempt to kill him. --Demons subdued inCapernaum. --Demoniacal possession

Chapter 14. 

CONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN GALILEE. 

A leper healed. --Leprosy. --Palsied man healed and forgiven. --Imputationof blasphemy. --Publicans and sinners. --Old cloth, old bottles, and thenew. --Preliminary call of disciples. --Fishers of men

Chapter 15. 

LORD OF THE SABBATH. 

Sabbath distinctively sacred to Israel. --Cripple healed on Sabbathday. --Accusations by the Jews and the Lord's reply thereto. --Disciplescharged with Sabbath-breaking. --Man with a withered hand healed onSabbath day

Chapter 16. 

THE CHOSEN TWELVE. 

Their call and ordination. --The Twelve considered individually. --Theircharacteristics in general. --Disciples and apostles

Chapter 17. 

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

The Beatitudes. --Dignity and responsibility in the ministry. --The Mosaiclaw superseded by the gospel of Christ. --Sincerity of purpose. TheLord's Prayer. --True wealth. --Promise and re-assurance. --Hearing anddoing

Chapter 18. 

AS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY. 

Healing of centurion's servant. --Young man of Nain raised from thedead. --John Baptist's message to Jesus. --The Lord's commentarythereon. --Death of John Baptist. --Jesus in house of Simon thePharisee. --Penitent woman forgiven. --Christ's authority ascribed toBeelzebub. --The sin against the Holy Ghost. --Sign-seekers

Chapter 19. 

"HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES. "

The Sower. --Wheat and Tares. --Seed growing secretly. --MustardSeed. --Leaven. --Hidden Treasure. --Pearl of Great Price. --GospelNet. --The Lord's purpose in parabolic teaching. --Parables in general

Chapter 20. 

"PEACE, BE STILL. "

Candidates for discipleship. --Stilling the storm. --Quieting the demonsin region of Gadara. --Raising of daughter of Jairus. --Restoration tolife and resurrection. --A woman healed amidst the throng. --Blind see anddumb speak

Chapter 21. 

THE APOSTOLIC MISSION, AND EVENTS RELATED THERETO. 

Jesus again in Nazareth. --The Twelve charged and sent out. --Theirreturn. --Five thousand people miraculously fed. --Miracle of walking uponthe water. --People seek Christ for more loaves and fishes. --Christ thebread of life. --Many disciples turn away

Chapter 22. 

A PERIOD OF DARKENING OPPOSITION. 

Ceremonial washings. --Pharisees rebuked. --Jesus in borders of Tyre andSidon. --Daughter of Syro-Phoenician woman healed. --Miracles wrought incoasts of Decapolis. --Four thousand people miraculously fed. --Moreseekers after signs. --Leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, andHerodians. --Peter's great confession, "Thou art the Christ"

Chapter 23. 

THE TRANSFIGURATION. 

Visitation of Moses and Elijah. --The Father again proclaims theSon. --The apostles temporarily restrained from testifying concerning thetransfiguration. --Elias and Elijah. --The Lesser and the HigherPriesthood

Chapter 24. 

FROM SUNSHINE TO SHADOW. 

Youthful demoniac healed. --Further prediction of Christ's death andresurrection. --The tribute money; supplied by a miracle. --Humilityillustrated by a little child. --Parable of the Lost Sheep. --In Christ'sname. --My brother and I. --Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Chapter 25. 

JESUS AGAIN IN JERUSALEM. 

Departure from Galilee. --At the Feast of Tabernacles. --Another charge ofSabbath desecration. --Living water for the spiritually thirsty. --Plansto arrest Jesus. --Nicodemus protests. --Woman taken in adultery. --Christthe light of the world. --The truth shall make men free. --Christ'sseniority over Abraham. --Sight restored on Sabbath day. --Physical andspiritual blindness. --Shepherd and sheep-herder. --Christ the GoodShepherd. --His inherent power over life and death. --Sheep of anotherfold

Chapter 26. 

OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN PEREA AND JUDEA. 

Jesus rejected in Samaria. --James and John reproved for revengefuldesire. --The Seventy charged and sent. --Their return. --A lawyer'squestion. --Parable of Good Samaritan. --Martha and Mary. --Ask andreceive. --Parable of Friend at Midnight. --Criticism on Pharisees andlawyers. --Parable of Foolish Rich Man. --The unrepentant toperish. --Parable of Barren Fig Tree. --A woman healed on theSabbath. --Many or few to be saved?--Jesus warned of Herod's design

Chapter 27. 

CONTINUATION OF THE PEREAN AND JUDEAN MINISTRY. 

In the house of one of the chief Pharisees. --Parable of the GreatSupper. --Counting the cost. --Salvation even for publicans andsinners. --Parable of the Lost Sheep repeated. --Of the Lost Coin. --Of theProdigal Son. --Of the Unrighteous Steward. --Of the Rich Man andLazarus. --Of the Unprofitable Servants. --Ten lepers healed. --Parable ofthe Pharisee and Publican. --On marriage and divorce. --Jesus and thelittle ones. --The rich young ruler. --First may be last and lastfirst. --Parable of the Laborers

Chapter 28. 

THE LAST WINTER. 

At the Feast of Dedication. --Sheep know the Shepherd's Voice. --TheLord's retirement in Perea. --Lazarus raised from the dead. --Jewishhierarchy agitated over the miracle. --Prophecy by Caiaphas, the highpriest. --Jesus in retirement at Ephraim

Chapter 29. 

ON TO JERUSALEM. 

Jesus again foretells His death and resurrection. --Aspiring request ofJames and John. --Sight restored near Jericho. --Zaccheus the chiefpublican. --Parable of the Pounds. --The supper in the house of Simon theleper. --Mary's tribute in anointing Jesus. --Iscariot's protest. --Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. --Certain Greeks seekinterview with Jesus. --The Voice from heaven

Chapter 30. 

JESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE DAILY. 

A leafy but fruitless fig tree cursed. --Second clearing of thetemple. --Children shout Hosanna. --Christ's authority challenged by therulers. --Parable of the two sons. Of the Wicked Husbandmen. --Therejected Stone to be head of the corner. --Parable of the Royal MarriageFeast. --The wedding garment lacking

Chapter 31. 

THE CLOSE OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. 

Pharisees and Herodians in conspiracy. --Cęsar to have his due. --Theimage on the coin. --Sadducees and the resurrection. --Leviratemarriages. --The great commandment. --Jesus turns questioner. --Scathingdenunciation of scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!--Lamentation overJerusalem. --The widow's mites. --Christ's final withdrawal fromtemple. --Destruction of temple predicted

Chapter 32. 

FURTHER INSTRUCTION TO THE APOSTLES. 

Prophecies relating to destruction of Jerusalem and the Lord's futureadvent. --Watch!--Parable of Ten Virgins. --Of the Entrusted Talents. --Theinevitable judgment. --Another and specific prediction of the Lord'simpending death

Chapter 33. 

THE LAST SUPPER AND THE BETRAYAL. 

Judas Iscariot in conspiracy with the Jews. --Preparations for the Lord'slast Passover. --The last supper of Jesus with the Twelve. --The traitordesignated. --Ordinance of washing of feet. --Sacrament of the Lord'sSupper. --The betrayer goes out into the night. --Discourse following thesupper. --The High-Priestly Prayer. --The Lord's agony in Gethsemane. --Thebetrayal and the arrest

Chapter 34. 

THE TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION. 

The Jewish trial. --Christ before Annas and Caiaphas. --The illegal nightcourt. --The morning session. --False witnesses and unrighteousconviction. --Peter's denial of his Lord. --Christ's first arraignmentbefore Pilate. --Before Herod. --Second appearance beforePilate. --Pilate's surrender to Jewish clamor. --The sentence ofcrucifixion. --Suicide of Judas Iscariot

Chapter 35. 

DEATH AND BURIAL. 

On the way to Calvary. --The Lord's address to the daughters ofJerusalem. --The crucifixion. --Occurrences between the Lord's death andburial. --The burial. --The sepulchre guarded

Chapter 36. 

IN THE REALM OF DISEMBODIED SPIRITS. 

Actuality of the Lord's death. --Condition of spirits between death andresurrection. --The Savior among the dead. --The gospel preached to thespirits in prison

Chapter 37. 

THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION. 

Christ is risen. --The women at the sepulchre. --Angeliccommunications. --The risen Lord seen by Mary Magdalene. --And by otherwomen. --A priestly conspiracy of falsehood. --The Lord and two discipleson the Emmaus road. --He appears to disciples in Jerusalem and eats intheir presence. --Doubting Thomas. --The Lord appears to the apostles atthe sea of Tiberias. --Other manifestations in Galilee. --Final commissionto the apostles. --The ascension

Chapter 38. 

THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY. 

Matthias ordained to the apostleship. --Bestowal of the Holy Ghost atPentecost. --The apostles' preaching. --Imprisoned and delivered. --Gamaliel's advice to the council. --Stephen the martyr. --Saul of Tarsus, his conversion. --Becomes Paul the apostle. --The record by John theRevelator. --Close of the apostolic ministry

Chapter 39. 

MINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

The Lord's death signalized by great calamities on westerncontinent. --The Voice of the Lord Jesus Christ heard. --His visitationsto the Nephites. --The Nephite Twelve. --Baptism among Nephites. --TheMosaic law fulfilled. --Address to Nephites compared with Sermon on theMount. --Sacrament of bread and wine instituted among Nephites. --Name ofChrist's Church. --The Three Nephites. --Growth of the Church. --Finalapostasy of Nephite nation

Chapter 40. 

THE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY. 

The great falling away as predicted. --Individual apostasy from theChurch. --Apostasy of the Church. --Constantine makes Christianity thereligion of state. --Papal claims to secular authority. --Churchlytyranny. --The Dark Ages. --The inevitable revolt. --The Reformation. --Riseof Church of England. --Catholicism and Protestantism. --The apostasyaffirmed. --Mission of Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers predicted inancient scripture. --Fulfilment of the prophecies. --Establishment ofAmerican nation provided for

Chapter 41. 

PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUSCHRIST IN MODERN TIMES. 

A new dispensation. --Joseph Smith's perplexity over sectarianstrife. --The Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ appear to andpersonally instruct Joseph Smith. --Visitation of Moroni. --The Book ofMormon. --Aaronic Priesthood restored by John the Baptist. --MelchizedekPriesthood restored by Peter, James, and John. --The Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints. --Divine manifestations in KirtlandTemple. --The Lord Jesus Christ appears. --Specific authority of oldendispensations conferred by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. --The HolyPriesthood now operative on earth

Chapter 42. 

JESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN. 

Ancient predictions of the Lord's second advent. --Modern revelationaffirms the same. --Today and tomorrow. --The great and dreadful day nearat hand. --Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven. --The Millennium. --Thecelestial consummation

Index

CHAPTER 1. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what hassince come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed theChrist, was born in Bethlehem of Judea. [1] The principal data as to Hisbirth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonablyindisputable; they are facts of record, and are accepted as essentiallyauthentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversitiesof deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the pastas to circumstantial details; but such differences are of strictly minorimportance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow ofrational doubt upon the historicity of the earthly existence of the Manknown in literature as Jesus of Nazareth. 

As to who and what He was there are dissensions of grave moment dividingthe opinions of men; and this divergence of conception and belief ismost pronounced upon those matters to which the greatest importanceattaches. The solemn testimonies of millions dead and of millions livingunite in proclaiming Him as divine, the Son of the Living God, theRedeemer and Savior of the human race, the Eternal Judge of the souls ofmen, the Chosen and Anointed of the Father--in short, the Christ. Othersthere are who deny His Godhood while extolling the transcendentqualities of His unparalleled and unapproachable Manhood. 

To the student of history this Man among men stands first, foremost, andalone, as a directing personality in the world's progression. Mankindhas never produced a leader to rank with Him. Regarded solely as ahistoric personage He is unique. Judged by the standard of humanestimation, Jesus of Nazareth is supreme among men by reason of theexcellence of His personal character, the simplicity, beauty, andgenuine worth of His precepts, and the influence of His example anddoctrines in the advancement of the race. To these distinguishingcharacteristics of surpassing greatness the devout Christian soul addsan attribute that far exceeds the sum of all the others--the divinity ofChrist's origin and the eternal reality of His status as Lord and God. 

Christian and unbeliever alike acknowledge His supremacy as a Man, andrespect the epoch-making significance of His birth. Christ was born inthe meridian of time;[2] and His life on earth marked at once theculmination of the past and the inauguration of an era distinctive inhuman hope, endeavor, and achievement. His advent determined a new orderin the reckoning of the years; and by common consent the centuriesantedating His birth have been counted backward from the pivotal eventand are designated accordingly. The rise and fall of dynasties, thebirth and dissolution of nations, all the cycles of history as to warand peace, as to prosperity and adversity, as to health and pestilence, seasons of plenty and of famine, the awful happenings of earthquake andstorm, the triumphs of invention and discovery, the epochs of man'sdevelopment in godliness and the long periods of his dwindling inunbelief--all the occurrences that make history--are chronicledthroughout Christendom by reference to the year before or after thebirth of Jesus Christ. 

His earthly life covered a period of thirty-three years; and of thesebut three were spent by Him as an acknowledged Teacher openly engaged inthe activities of public ministry. He was brought to a violent deathbefore He had attained what we now regard as the age of manhood's prime. As an individual He was personally known to but few; and His fame as aworld character became general only after His death. 

Brief account of some of His words and works has been preserved to us;and this record, fragmentary and incomplete though it be, is rightlyesteemed as the world's greatest treasure. The earliest and mostextended history of His mortal existence is embodied within thecompilation of scriptures known as the New Testament; indeed but littleis said of Him by secular historians of His time. Few and short as arethe allusions to Him made by non-scriptural writers in the periodimmediately following that of His ministry, enough is found tocorroborate the sacred record as to the actuality and period of Christ'searthly existence. 

No adequate biography of Jesus as Boy and Man has been or can bewritten, for the sufficing reason that a fulness of data is lacking. Nevertheless, man never lived of whom more has been said and sung, noneto whom is devoted a greater proportion of the world's literature. He isextolled by Christian, Mohammedan and Jew, by skeptic and infidel, bythe world's greatest poets, philosophers, statesmen, scientists, andhistorian. Even the profane sinner in the foul, sacrilege of his oathacclaims the divine supremacy of Him whose name he desecrates. 

The purpose of the present treatise is that of considering the life andmission of Jesus _as_ the Christ. In this undertaking we are to beguided by the light of both ancient and modern scriptures; and, thusled, we shall discover, even in the early stages of our course, that theword of God as revealed in latter days is effective in illuming andmaking plain the Holy Writ of ancient times, and this, in many mattersof the profoundest imports. [3]

Instead of beginning our study with the earthly birth of the Holy Babeof Bethlehem, we shall consider the part taken by the Firstborn Son ofGod in the primeval councils of heaven, at the time when He was chosenand ordained to be the Savior of the unborn race of mortals, theRedeemer of a world then in its formative stages of development. We areto study Him as the Creator of the world, as the Word of Power, throughwhom the purposes of the Eternal Father were realized in the preparationof the earth for the abode of His myriad spirit-children during theappointed period of their mortal probation. Jesus Christ was and isJehovah, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, andJacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of theages have spoken, the God of all nations, and He who shall yet reign onearth as King of kings and Lord of lords. 

His wondrous yet natural birth, His immaculate life in the flesh, andHis voluntary death as a consecrated sacrifice for the sins of mankind, shall claim our reverent attention; as shall also His redeeming servicein the world of disembodied spirits; His literal resurrection frombodily death to immortality; His several appearings to men and Hiscontinued ministry as the Resurrected Lord on both continents; thereestablishment of His Church through His personal presence and that ofthe Eternal Father in the latter days; and His coming to His temple inthe current dispensation. All these developments in the ministration ofthe Christ are already of the past. Our proposed course of investigationwill lead yet onward, into the future concerning which the word ofdivine revelation is of record. We shall consider the conditionsincident to the Lord's return in power and glory to inaugurate thedominion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and to usher in thepredicted Millennium of peace and righteousness. And yet beyond we shallfollow Him, through the post-Millennial conflict between the powers ofheaven and the forces of hell, to the completion of His victory overSatan, sin, and death, when He shall present the glorified earth and itssanctified hosts, spotless and celestialized, unto the Father. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms her possessionof divine authority for the use of the sacred name, Jesus Christ, as theessential part of her distinctive designation. In view of this exaltedclaim, it is pertinent to inquire as to what special or particularmessage the Church has to give to the world concerning the Redeemer andSavior of the race, and as to what she has to say in justification ofher solemn affirmation, or in vindication of her exclusive name andtitle. As we proceed with our study, we shall find that among thespecific teachings of the Church respecting the Christ are these:

(1) The unity and continuity of His mission in all ages--this ofnecessity involving the verity of His preexistence and foreordination. (2) The fact of His antemortal Godship. (3) The actuality of His birthin the flesh as the natural issue of divine and mortal parentage. (4)The reality of His death and physical resurrection, as a result of whichthe power of death shall be eventually overcome. (5) The literalness ofthe atonement wrought by Him, including the absolute requirement ofindividual compliance with the laws and ordinances of His gospel as themeans by which salvation may be attained. (6) The restoration of HisPriesthood and the reestablishment of His Church in the current age, which is verily the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. (7) Thecertainty of His return to earth in the near future, with power andgreat glory, to reign in Person and bodily presence as Lord and King. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1] As to the year of Christ's birth, see chapter 8. 

[2] See chapter 6. 

[3] The Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, andthe Pearl of Great Price constitute the standard works of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These will be cited alike asScriptures in the following pages, for such they are. 

CHAPTER 2. 

PREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST. 

We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who isknown among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all who acknowledge HisGodhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth inthe flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordainedto be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race. Foreordination implies and comprizes preexistence as an essentialcondition; therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to theother; and consequently in this presentation no segregation of evidenceas applying specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to Hisforeordination will be attempted. 

John the Revelator beheld in vision some of the scenes that had beenenacted in the spirit-world before the beginning of human history. Hewitnessed strife and contention between loyalty and rebellion, with thehosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and therebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also called the devil, theserpent, and the dragon. We read: "And there was war in heaven; Michaeland his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and hisangels. "[4]

In this struggle between unembodied hosts the forces were unequallydivided; Satan drew to his standard only a third part of the children ofGod, who are symbolized as the "stars of heaven";[5] the majority eitherfought with Michael, or at least refrained from active opposition, thusaccomplishing the purpose of their "first estate"; while the angels whoarrayed themselves on the side of Satan "kept not their firstestate", [6] and therefore rendered themselves ineligible for theglorious possibilities of an advanced condition or "second estate". [7]The victory was with Michael and his angels; and Satan or Lucifer, theretofore a "son of the morning", was cast out of heaven, yea "he wascast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him". [8] Theprophet Isaiah, to whom these momentous occurrences had been revealedabout eight centuries prior to the time of John's writings, laments withinspired pathos the fall of so great a one; and specifies selfishambition as the occasion: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didstweaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascentinto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sitalso upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: Iwill ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the mostHigh. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of thepit. "[9]

Justification for citing these scriptures in connection with our presentconsideration will be found in the cause of the great contention--theconditions that led to this war in heaven. It is plain from the words ofIsaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank, sought to aggrandizehimself without regard to the rights and agency of others. The matter isset forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in a revelation given toMoses and repeated through the first prophet of the presentdispensation: "And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: ThatSatan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, isthe same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying--Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeemall mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it;wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved son, which was myBeloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me--Father, thy will bedone, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satanrebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mineown power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he shouldbe cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father ofall lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at hiswill, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. "[10]

Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, howlong before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts ofthe spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals, [11]possessing power and opportunity to choose the course they would pursueand the leaders whom they would follow and obey. [12] In that greatconcourse of spirit-intelligences, the Father's plan, whereby Hischildren would be advanced to their second estate, was submitted anddoubtless discussed. The opportunity so placed within the reach of thespirits who were to be privileged to take bodies upon the earth was sotranscendently glorious that those heavenly multitudes burst forth intosong and shouted for joy. [13]

Satan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conductedthrough the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act and agency tochoose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled to do right--thatone soul would not be lost--was rejected; and the humble offer of Jesusthe First-born--to assume mortality and live among men as their Exemplarand Teacher, observing the sanctity of man's agency but teaching men touse aright that divine heritage--was accepted. The decision brought war, which resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his angels, who werecast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident to the mortalor second estate. 

In that august council of the angels and the Gods, the Being who laterwas born in flesh as Mary's Son, Jesus, took prominent part, and therewas He ordained of the Father to be the Savior of mankind. As to time, the term being used in the sense of all duration past, this is ourearliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God; to us who read, it marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus the Christ. [14]

Old Testament scriptures, while abounding in promises relating to theactuality of Christ's advent in the flesh, are less specific ininformation concerning His antemortal existence. By the children ofIsrael, while living under the law and still unprepared to receive thegospel, the Messiah was looked for as one to be born in the lineage ofAbraham and David, empowered to deliver them from personal and nationalburdens, and to vanquish their enemies. The actuality of the Messiah'sstatus as the chosen Son of God, who was with the Father from thebeginning, a Being of preexistent power and glory, was but dimlyperceived, if conceived at all, by the people in general; and althoughto prophets specially commissioned in the authorities and privileges ofthe Holy Priesthood, revelation of the great truth was given, [15] theytransmitted it to the people rather in the language of imagery andparable than in words of direct plainness. Nevertheless the testimony ofthe evangelists and the apostles, the attestation of the Christ Himselfwhile in the flesh, and the revelations given in the presentdispensation leave us without dearth of scriptural proof. 

In the opening lines of the Gospel book written by John the apostle, weread: "In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and theword was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things weremade by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. .. . Andthe Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace andtruth. "[16]

The passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably giveto the phrase "In the beginning" the same meaning as attaches thereto inthe first line of Genesis; and such signification must indicate a timeantecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth. That the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the Father in that beginningand who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, andthat He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitelyaffirmed. These statements are corroborated through a revelation givento Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God, and to hear the voice of the Father with respect to the things that hadbeen made: "And by the word of my power, have I created them, which ismine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. "[17]

John the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ andthe fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state. [18] To thesame effect is the testimony of Paul[19] and of Peter. Instructing thesaints concerning the basis of their faith, the last-named apostleimpressed upon them that their redemption was not to be secured throughcorruptible things nor by the outward observance of traditionalrequirements, "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lambwithout blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before thefoundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times foryou. "[20]

Even more impressive and yet more truly conclusive are the personaltestimonies of the Savior as to His own pre-existent life and themission among men to which He had been appointed. No one who acceptsJesus as the Messiah can consistently reject these evidences of Hiseternal nature. When, on a certain occasion, the Jews in the synagoguedisputed among themselves and murmured because of their failure tounderstand aright His doctrine concerning Himself, especially astouching His relationship with the Father, Jesus said unto them: "For Icame down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him thatsent me. " And then, continuing the lesson based upon the contrastbetween the manna with which their fathers had been fed in thewilderness and the bread of life which He had to offer, He added: "I amthe living bread which came down from heaven, " and again declared "theliving Father hath sent me. " Not a few of the disciples failed tocomprehend His teachings; and their complaints drew from Him thesewords: "Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of manascend up where he was before?"[21]

To certain wicked Jews, wrapped in the mantle of racial pride, boastfulof their descent through the lineage of Abraham, and seeking to excusetheir sins through an unwarranted use of the great patriarch's name, ourLord thus proclaimed His own preeminence: "Verily, verily, I say untoyou, Before Abraham was, I am. "[22] The fuller significance of thisremark will be treated later; suffice it in the present connection toconsider this scripture as a plain avowal of our Lord's seniority andsupremacy over Abraham. But as Abraham's birth had preceded that ofChrist by more than nineteen centuries, such seniority must havereference to a state of existence antedating that of mortality. 

When the hour of His betrayal was near, in the last interview with theapostles prior to His agonizing experience in Gethsemane, Jesuscomforted them saying: "For the Father himself loveth you, because yehave loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forthfrom the Father, and am come into the world again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. "[23] Furthermore, in the course of upwellingprayer for those who had been true to their testimony of HisMessiahship, He addressed the Father with this solemn invocation: "Andthis is the life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on theearth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, OFather glorify thou with thine own self with the glory which I had withthee before the world was. "[24]

Book of Mormon scriptures are likewise explicit in proof of thepreexistence of the Christ and of His foreappointed mission. One only ofthe many evidences therein found will be cited here. An ancient prophet, designated in the record as the brother of Jared, [25] once pleaded withthe Lord in special supplication: "And the Lord said unto him, Believestthou the words which I shall speak? And he answered, Yea, Lord, I knowthat thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst notlie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed himselfunto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things, ye are redeemedfrom the fall: therefore ye are brought back into my presence; thereforeI shew myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from thefoundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, andthat eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shallbecome my sons and my daughters. And never have I shewed myself unto manwhom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all menwere created in the beginning, after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I createdafter the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in thespirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh. "[26] The main factsattested by this scripture as having a direct bearing upon our presentsubject are those of the Christ manifesting Himself while yet in Hisantemortal state, and of His declaration that He had been chosen fromthe foundation of the world as the Redeemer. 

Revelation given through the prophets of God in the present dispensationis replete with evidence of Christ's appointment and ordination in theprimeval world; and the whole tenor of the scriptures contained in theDoctrine and Covenants may be called in witness. The following instancesare particularly in point. In a communication to Joseph Smith theprophet, in May, 1833, the Lord declared Himself as the One who hadpreviously come into the world from the Father, and of whom John hadborne testimony as the Word; and the solemn truth is reiterated that He, Jesus Christ, "was in the beginning, before the world was", and further, that He was the Redeemer who "came into the world, because the world wasmade by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. "Again, He is referred to as "the Only Begotten of the Father, full ofgrace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in theflesh. " In the course of the same revelation the Lord said: "And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father and am thefirstborn. "[27] On an earlier occasion, as the modern prophet testifies, he and an associate in the priesthood were enlightened by the Spirit sothat they were able to see and understand the things of God--"Even thosethings which were from the beginning before the world was, which wereordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in thebosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of JesusChrist, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in theheavenly vision. "[28]

The testimony of scriptures written on both hemispheres, that of recordsboth ancient and modern, the inspired utterances of prophets andapostles, and the words of the Lord Himself, are of one voice inproclaiming the preexistence of the Christ and His ordination as thechosen Savior and Redeemer of mankind--in the beginning, yea, evenbefore the foundation of the world. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 2. 

1. Graded Intelligences in the Antemortal State. --That the spirits ofmen existed as individual intelligences, of varying degrees of abilityand power, prior to the inauguration of the mortal state upon this earthand even prior to the creation of the world as a suitable abode forhuman beings, is shown in great plainness through a divine revelation toAbraham: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligencesthat were organized before the world was; and among all these there weremany of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they weregood, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will makemy rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw thatthey were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thouwast chosen before thou wast born. " (P. Of G. P. , Abraham 3:22, 23. )

That both Christ and Satan were among those exalted intelligences, andthat Christ was chosen while Satan was rejected as the future Savior ofmankind, are shown by the portions of the revelation immediatelyfollowing that above quoted: "And there stood one among them that waslike unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will godown, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, andwe will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove themherewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord theirGod shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall beadded upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not haveglory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; andthey who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon theirheads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And oneanswered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And anotheranswered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will sendthe first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him" (verses 24-28). 

2. The Primeval Council in the Heavens. --"It is definitely stated in theBook of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after ourlikeness;' and again, after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit theLord said, 'Behold, the man has become as one of us;' and the inferenceis direct that in all that related to the work of the creation of theworld there was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recordedin the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The scripturestell us there are 'Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but oneGod, the Father' (1 Cor. 8:5). And for this reason, though there wereothers engaged in the creation of the worlds, it is given to us in theBible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these truths is onlyrevealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to God; aswe are told in the scriptures: 'The secret of the Lord is with them thatfear him; and he will show them his covenant. '--Psalms 25:14. 

"It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens theplan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were thenspirits, and had not yet obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain tabernacles, and inthose tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exaltedamong the Gods, we are told that at that time, 'the morning stars sangtogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. ' The question thenarose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltationand eternal glory of God's sons be brought about? It is evident that atthat Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and thatafter a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of theFather's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Fatherwith a plan of his own, saying, 'Behold [here am] I; send me, I will bethy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor. ' But Jesus, onhearing this statement made by Lucifer, said, 'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. ' From these remarks made by the wellbeloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of thissubject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan anddesign pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Sonwanted to do was to carry out the will of His Father, as it would appearhad been before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to HisFather, who, as God the Father, and the originator and designer of theplan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted tointroduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted Hishonor, and said: 'I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thinehonor. ' He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, andpresumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making hima serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for himto obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's, throughobedience to the law which He had suggested; and again, Lucifer wantedthe honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out principleswhich were contrary to the Father's wish. "--John Taylor--_Mediation andAtonement_, pp. 93, 94. 

3. The Jaredites. --"Of the two nations whose histories constitute theBook of Mormon, the first in order of time consisted of the people ofJared, who followed their leader from the Tower of Babel at the time ofthe confusion of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-fourplates of gold by Ether, the last of their prophets, who, foreseeing thedestruction of his people because of their wickedness, hid away thehistorical plates. They were afterward found, B. C. 123, by an expeditionsent out by King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on theseplates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the condensed accountwas attached by him to the Book of Mormon record; it appears in themodern translation under the name of the Book of Ether. 

"The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not mentioned by namein the record as we have it; he is known only as the brother of Jared. Of the people, we learn that, amid the confusion of Babel, Jared and hisbrother importuned the Lord that He would spare them and theirassociates from the impending disruption. Their prayer was heard, andthe Lord led them with a considerable company, who, like themselves, were free from the taint of idolatry, away from their homes, promisingto conduct them to a land choice above all other lands. Their course oftravel is not given with exactness; we learn only that they reached theocean, and there constructed eight vessels, called barges, in which theyset out upon the waters. These vessels were small and dark within; butthe Lord made luminous certain stones, which gave light to theimprisoned voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-fourdays, the colony landed on the western shore of North America, probablyat a place south of the Gulf of California, and north of the Isthmus ofPanama. 

"Here they became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time tointernal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with oneanother until the people were totally destroyed. This destruction, whichoccurred near the hill Ramah, afterward known among the Nephites asCumorah, probably took place at about the time of Lehi's landing inSouth America--590 B. C. "--The author, _Articles of Faith_, xiv:10-12. 

FOOTNOTES:

[4] Rev. 12:7; see also verses 8 and 9. 

[5] Rev. 12:4; see also Doc. And Cov. 29:36-38; and 76:25-27. 

[6] Jude 6. 

[7] P. Of G. P. , Abraham 3:26. 

[8] Rev. 12:9. 

[9] Isa. 14:12-15; compare Doc. And Cov. 29:36-38; and 76:23-27. 

[10] P. Of G. P. , Moses 4:1-4; see also Abraham 3:27, 28. 

[11] For a further treatment of the preexistence of spirits see theauthor's "Articles of Faith" x:21-30. 

[12] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[13] Job 38:7. 

[14] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[15] Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7. 

[16] John 1:1-3, 14; see also 1 John 1:1; 5: 7; Rev. 19:13; compare Doc. And Cov. 93:1-17, 21. 

[17] P. Of C. P. , Moses 1:32, 33; see also 2:5. 

[18] 1 John 1:1-3; 2:13, 14; 4:9; Rev. 3:14. 

[19] 2 Tim. 1:9, 10; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:4; 3:9, 11; Titus 1:2. Seeespecially Rom. 3:25; and note the marginal rendering--"foreordained"--making the passage read: "Whom God hath foreordained to be apropitiation. "

[20] 1 Peter 1:19, 20. 

[21] John 6:38, 51, 57, 61, 62. 

[22] John 8:58; see also 17:5, 24; and compare Exo. 3:14. Page 37. 

[23] John 16:27, 28; see also 13:3. 

[24] John 17:3-5; see also verses 24, 25. 

[25] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[26] B. Of M. , Ether 3:11-16. See also 1 Nephi 17:30; 19:7; 2 Nephi 9:5;11:7; 25:12; 26:12; Mosiah 3:5; 4:2; 7:27; 13:34; 15:1; Alma 11:40;Hela. 14:12; 3 Nephi 9:15. 

[27] Doc. And Cov. 93:1-17, 21. 

[28] Doc. And Cov. 76:13, 14. 

CHAPTER 3. 

THE NEED OF A REDEEMER. 

We have heretofore shown that the entire human race existed asspirit-beings in the primeval world, and that for the purpose of makingpossible to them the experiences of mortality this earth was created. They were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet butspirits; and the divine plan provided that they be free-born in theflesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and toact for themselves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to theeternal progression of God's children that they be subjected to theinfluences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested andproved withal, "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lordtheir God shall command them. "[29] Free agency is an indispensableelement of such a test. 

The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and variedcapacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge madeplain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some ofHis children would succeed and others would fail; some would befaithful, others false; some would choose the good, others the evil;some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow theroad to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter theworld, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of butbrief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would bedisobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presenceand left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograderather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It was necessarythat a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might makeamends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation andeventual exaltation in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to beovercome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would liveanew, their spirits clothed with immortalized bodies over which deathcould not again prevail. 

Let not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assumingthat the Father's foreknowledge as to what _would be_, under givenconditions, determined that such _must be_. It was not His design thatthe souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work andglory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. "[30]Nevertheless He saw the evil into which His children would assuredlyfall; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of avertingthe dire effect, provided the transgressor would elect to avail himselfthereof. [31] The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His ownministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself, through labor, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was acceptedand made the foreordained plan of man's redemption from death, of hiseventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possibleexaltation through righteous achievement. 

In accordance with the plan adopted in the council of the Gods, man wascreated as an embodied spirit; his tabernacle of flesh was composed ofthe elements of earth. [32] He was given commandment and law, and wasfree to obey or disobey--with the just and inevitable condition that heshould enjoy or suffer the natural results of his choice. [33] Adam, thefirst man[34] placed upon the earth in pursuance of the establishedplan, and Eve who was given unto him as companion and associate, indispensable to him in the appointed mission of peopling the earth, disobeyed the express commandment of God and so brought about the "fallof man", whereby the mortal state, of which death is an essentialelement, was inaugurated. [35] It is not proposed to consider here atlength the doctrine of the fall; for the present argument it issufficient to establish the fact of the momentous occurrence and itsportentous consequences. [36] The woman was deceived, and in directviolation of counsel and commandment partook of the food that had beenforbidden, as a result of which act her body became degenerate andsubject to death. Adam realized the disparity that had been broughtbetween him and his companion, and with some measure of understandingfollowed her course, thus becoming her partner in bodily degeneracy. Note in this matter the words of Paul the apostle: "Adam was notdeceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. "[37]

The man and the woman had now become mortal; through indulgence in foodunsuited to their nature and condition and against which they had beenspecifically warned, and as the inevitable result of their disobeyingthe divine law and commandment, they became liable to the physicalailments and bodily frailties to which mankind has since been thenatural heir. [38] Those bodies, which before the fall had been perfectin form and function, were now subjects for eventual dissolution ordeath. The arch-tempter through whose sophistries, half-truths andinfamous falsehoods, Eve had been beguiled, was none other than Satan, or Lucifer, that rebellious and fallen "son of the morning", whoseproposal involving the destruction of man's liberty had been rejected inthe council of the heavens, and who had been "cast out into the earth", he and all his angels as unbodied spirits, never to be tabernacled inbodies of their own. [39] As an act of diabolic reprisal following hisrejection in the council, his defeat by Michael and the heavenly hosts, and his ignominious expulsion from heaven, Satan planned to destroy thebodies in which the faithful spirits--those who had kept their firstestate--would be born; and his beguilement of Eve was but an early stageof that infernal scheme. 

Death has come to be the universal heritage; it may claim its victim ininfancy or youth, in the period of life's prime, or its summons may bedeferred until the snows of age have gathered upon the hoary head; itmay befall as the result of accident or disease, by violence, or as wesay, through natural causes; but come it must, as Satan well knows; andin this knowledge is his present though but temporary triumph. But thepurposes of God, as they ever have been and ever shall be, areinfinitely superior to the deepest designs of men or devils; and theSatanic machinations to make death inevitable, perpetual and supremewere provided against even before the first man had been created in theflesh. The atonement to be wrought by Jesus the Christ was ordained toovercome death and to provide a means of ransom from the power of Satan. 

As the penalty incident to the fall came upon the race through anindividual act, it would be manifestly unjust, and therefore impossibleas part of the divine purpose, to make all men suffer the resultsthereof without provision for deliverance. [40] Moreover, since by thetransgression of one man sin came into the world and death was entailedupon all, it is consistent with reason that the atonement thus madenecessary should be wrought by one. [41] "Wherefore, as by one man sinentered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon allmen, for that all have sinned . .. Therefore as by the offence of onejudgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousnessof one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. "[42]So taught the apostle Paul; and, further: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. "[43]

The atonement was plainly to be a vicarious sacrifice, voluntary andlove-inspired on the Savior's part, universal in its application tomankind so far as men shall accept the means of deliverance thus placedwithin their reach. For such a mission only one who was without sincould be eligible. Even the altar victims of ancient Israel offered as aprovisional propitiation for the offenses of the people under the Mosaiclaw had to be clean and devoid of spot or blemish; otherwise they wereunacceptable and the attempt to offer them was sacrilege. [44] JesusChrist was the only Being suited to the requirements of the greatsacrifice:

1--As the one and only sinless Man;

2--As the Only Begotten of the Father and therefore the only Being bornto earth possessing in their fulness the attributes of both Godhood andmanhood;

3--As the One who had been chosen in the heavens and foreordained tothis service. 

What other man has been without sin, and therefore wholly exempt fromthe dominion of Satan, and to whom death, the wage of sin, is notnaturally due? Had Jesus Christ met death as other men have done--theresult of the power that Satan has gained over them through theirsins--His death would have been but an individual experience, expiatoryin no degree of any faults or offenses but His own. Christ's absolutesinlessness made Him eligible, His humility and willingness rendered Himacceptable to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiationcould be made for the sins of all men. 

What other man has lived with power to withstand death, over whom deathcould not prevail except through his own submission? Yet Jesus Christcould not be slain until His "hour had come", and that, the hour inwhich He voluntarily surrendered His life, and permitted His own deceasethrough an act of will. Born of a mortal mother He inherited thecapacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritagethe power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up Hislife; to this effect is His own affirmation: "Therefore doth my Fatherlove me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No mantaketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay itdown, and I have power to take it again. "[45] And further: "For as theFather hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life inhimself. "[46] Only such a One could conquer death; in none but Jesus theChrist was realized this requisite condition of a Redeemer of the world. 

What other man has come to earth with such appointment, clothed with theauthority of such foreordination? The atoning mission of Jesus Christwas no self-assumption. True, He had offered Himself when the call wasmade in the heavens; true, He had been accepted, and in due time came toearth to carry into effect the terms of that acceptance; but He waschosen by One greater than Himself. The burden of His confession ofauthority was ever to the effect that He operated under the direction ofthe Father, as witness these words: "I came down from heaven, not to domine own will, but the will of him that sent me. "[47] "My meat is to dothe will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. "[48] "I can ofmine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hathsent me. "[49]

Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ--a redeeming service, vicariously rendered in behalf of mankind, all of whom have becomeestranged from God by the effects of sin both inherited and individuallyincurred--the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may comeagain into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and foreverin the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirablyimplied in our English word, "atonement, " which, as its syllablesattest, is _at-one-ment_, "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing intoagreement of those who have been estranged. "[50] The effect of theatonement may be conveniently considered as twofold:

1--The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by thefall of our first parents; and, 2--Salvation, whereby means of relief from the results of individual sinare provided. 

The victory over death was made manifest in the resurrection of thecrucified Christ; He was the first to pass from death to immortality andso is justly known as "the first fruits of them that slept. "[51] Thatthe resurrection of the dead so inaugurated is to be extended to everyone who has or shall have lived is proved by an abundance of scripturalevidence. Following our Lord's resurrection, others who had slept in thetomb arose and were seen of many, not as spirit-apparitions but asresurrected beings possessing immortalized bodies: "And the graves wereopened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out ofthe graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, andappeared unto many. "[52]

Those who thus early came forth are spoken of as "the saints"; and otherscriptures confirm the fact that only the righteous shall be broughtforth in the earlier stages of the resurrection yet to be consummated;but that all the dead shall in turn resume bodies of flesh and bones isplaced beyond doubt by the revealed word. The Savior's directaffirmation ought to be conclusive: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Thehour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of theSon of God: and they that hear shall live. .. . Marvel not at this: forthe hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hearhis voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto theresurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto theresurrection of damnation. "[53] The doctrine of a universal resurrectionwas taught by the apostles of old, [54] as also by the Nephiteprophets;[55] and the same is confirmed by revelation incident to thepresent dispensation. [56] Even the heathen who have not known God shallbe brought forth from their graves; and, inasmuch as they have lived anddied in ignorance of the saving law, a means of making the plan ofsalvation known unto them is provided. "And then shall the heathennations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in thefirst resurrection. "[57]

Jacob, a Nephite prophet, taught the universality of the resurrection, and set forth the absolute need of a Redeemer, without whom the purposesof God in the creation of man would be rendered futile. His wordsconstitute a concise and forceful summary of revealed truth directlybearing upon our present subject:

"For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan ofthe great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and theresurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and thefall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord; wherefore it must needsbe an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, thiscorruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgmentwhich came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to itsmother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace!For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must becomesubject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternalGod, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must havebecome like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to beshut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father oflies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled ourfirst parents; who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, andstirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, andall manner of secret works of darkness. O how great the goodness of ourGod, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awfulmonster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death ofthe body, and also the death of the spirit. And because of the way ofdeliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which Ihave spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; whichdeath is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is thespiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death ishell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hellmust deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up itscaptive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restoredone to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the HolyOne of Israel. O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, andthe grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and thebody is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, andimmortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge likeunto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall beperfect. "[58]

The application of the atonement to individual transgression, wherebythe sinner may obtain absolution through compliance with the laws andordinances embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is conclusivelyattested by scripture. Since forgiveness of sins can be secured in noneother way, there being either in heaven or earth no name save that ofJesus Christ whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, [59]every soul stands in need of the Savior's mediation, since all aresinners. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", saidPaul of old, [60] and John the apostle added his testimony in thesewords: "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and thetruth is not in us. "[61]

Who shall question the justice of God, which denies salvation to all whowill not comply with the prescribed conditions on which alone it isdeclared obtainable? Christ is "the author of eternal salvation unto allthem that obey him", [62] and God "will render to every man according tohis deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek forglory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that arecontentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of manthat doeth evil. "[63]

Such then is the need of a Redeemer, for without Him mankind wouldforever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progressionwould be inevitably lost. [64] The mortal probation is provided as anopportunity for advancement; but so great are the difficulties and thedangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and so weak isman in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that ofhumanity no soul would find its way back to God from whom it came. Theneed of a Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself fromthe temporal to the spiritual plane, from the lower kingdom to thehigher. In this conception we are not without analogies in the naturalworld. We recognize a fundamental distinction between inanimate andliving matter, between the inorganic and the organic, between thelifeless mineral on the one hand and the living plant or animal on theother. Within the limitations of its order the dead mineral grows byaccretion of substance, and may attain a relatively perfect condition ofstructure and form as is seen in the crystal. But mineral matter, thoughacted upon favorably by the forces of nature--light, heat, electricenergy and others--can never become a living organism; nor can the deadelements, through any process of chemical combination dissociated fromlife, enter into the tissues of the plant as essential parts thereof. But the plant, which is of a higher order, sends its rootlets into theearth, spreads its leaves in the atmosphere, and through these organsabsorbs the solutions of the soil, inspires the gases of the air, andfrom such lifeless materials weaves the tissue of its wondrousstructure. No mineral particle, no dead chemical substance has ever beenmade a constituent of organic tissue except through the agency of life. We may, perhaps with profit, carry the analogy a step farther. The plantis unable to advance its own tissue to the animal plane. Though it bethe recognized order of nature that the "animal kingdom" is dependentupon the "vegetable kingdom" for its sustenance, the substance of theplant may become part of the animal organism only as the latter reachesdown from its higher plane and by its own vital action incorporates thevegetable compounds with itself. In turn, animal matter can neverbecome, even transitorily, part of a human body, except as the livingman assimilates it, and by the vital processes of his own existencelifts, for the time being, the substance of the animal that supplied himfood to the higher plane of his own existence. The comparison hereinemployed is admittedly defective if carried beyond reasonable limits ofapplication; for the raising of mineral matter to the plane of theplant, vegetable tissue to the level of the animal, and the elevation ofeither to the human plane, is but a temporary change; with thedissolution of the higher tissues the material thereof falls again tothe level of the inanimate and the dead. But, as a means of illustrationthe analogy may not be wholly without value. 

So, for the advancement of man from his present fallen and relativelydegenerate state to the higher condition of spiritual life, a powerabove his own must cooperate. Through the operation of the lawsobtaining in the higher kingdom man may be reached and lifted; himselfhe cannot save by his own unaided effort. [65] A Redeemer and Savior ofmankind is beyond all question essential to the realization of the planof the Eternal Father, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternallife of man";[66] and that Redeemer and Savior is Jesus the Christ, beside whom there is and can be none other. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 3. 

1. God's Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause. --"Respecting theforeknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is ofitself a determining cause whereby events are inevitably brought topass. A mortal father, who knows the weaknesses and frailties of hisson, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully predict the calamitiesand sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son'sfuture a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss ofposition, self-respect, reputation and honor; even the dark shadows of afelon's cell and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in thesaddening visions of that fond father's soul; yet, convinced byexperience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, heforesees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrowand anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father'sforeknowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? The son, perchance, has reached his maturity; he is the master of his own destiny; a freeagent unto himself. The father is powerless to control by force or todirect by arbitrary command; and, while he would gladly make any effortor sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for whatseems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful, loving parent does not, because of his knowledge, contribute to theson's waywardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectfulfather, who takes not the trouble to study the nature and character ofhis son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in carelessindifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessnessbe benefitting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operateas a contributory cause to dereliction. 

"Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and dispositionof each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation andexperience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledgecompared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortalexperience with their children is infinitesimally small. By reason ofthat surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations;He knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end fromthe beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. Heforesees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; notas one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shallbe. "--From the author's _Great Apostasy_, pp. 19, 20. 

2. Man Free to Choose for Himself. --"The Father of souls has endowed Hischildren with the divine birthright of free agency; He does not and willnot control them by arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; Hecompels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to actfor himself; and, associated with this independence, is the fact ofstrict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. Inthe judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions andcircumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendenciesdue to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good orevil, the wholesome teachings of youth, or the absence of goodinstruction--these and all other contributory elements must be takeninto account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the soul's guiltor innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will bethe result with given conditions operating on known natures anddispositions of men, while every individual is free to choose good orevil within the limits of the many conditions existing andoperative. "--_Great Apostasy_, p. 21; see also _Articles of Faith_, iii:1, 2. 

3. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy. --A modern revelation givento the Church in 1833 (Doc. And Cov. Sec. 89), prescribes rules forright living, particularly as regards the uses of stimulants, narcotics, and foods unsuited to the body. Concerning the physical causes by whichthe fall was brought about, and the close relation between those causesand current violations of the Word of Wisdom embodied in the revelationreferred to above, the following is in point. "This, [the Word ofWisdom] like other revelations that have come in the presentdispensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race. Theprinciple of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All theessentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in hisimmortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that madeof it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practise. He wasnot told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not toldto look upon it as the fakir of India has come to look upon his body, orprofesses to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly contemned; but hewas told that he must not take into that body certain things which werethere at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose thepower which it then held of living for ever, and that he would becomesubject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed outto you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, tobe enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these goodthings are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment outof eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and weshould avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told untoAdam, so is it told unto us: Touch not these things; for in the day thatthou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die. 

"Here let me say that therein consisted the fall--the eating of thingsunfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body athing of earth: and I take this occasion to raise my voice against thefalse interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certainpeople, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a hushedand half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offenseagainst the laws of chastity and of virtue. Such a doctrine is anabomination. What right have we to turn the scriptures from their propersense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not whatHe said? The fall was a natural process, resulting through theincorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things thatcame from food unfit, through the violation of the command of Godregarding what they should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fallconsisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of fornication. These bodiesthat are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Letit not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the godsbefore he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, wereguilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has ledmany to excuse departures from the path of chastity and the path ofvirtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, that it is as old asAdam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by Eve. It wasthe introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow theseeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the raceshould degenerate as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue andof chastity have been transgressed. 

"Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veilwe shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we knownow. But be it known that they were pure; they were noble. It is truethat they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told notto eat; but who amongst you can rise up and condemn?"--From an addressby the author at the Eighty-fourth Semiannual Conference of the Church, Oct. 6, 1913; published in the Proceedings of the Conference, pp. 118, 119. 

4. Christ Wrought Redemption from the Fall. --"The Savior thus becomesmaster of the situation--the debt is paid, the redemption made, thecovenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and allpower is now given into the hands of the Son of God--the power of theresurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of salvation, thepower to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of thisdesign. Hence life and immortality are brought to light, the gospel isintroduced, and He becomes the author of eternal life and exaltation. Heis the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the Savior of man and the world; andHe has appointed the law of the gospel as the medium which must becomplied with in this world or the next, as He complied with HisFather's law; hence 'he that believeth shall be saved, and he thatbelieveth not shall be damned. ' The plan, the arrangement, theagreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted before thefoundation of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and wascarried out and consummated on the cross. Hence being the mediatorbetween God and man, He becomes by right the dictator and director onearth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, thepresent and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earthor the heavens, in time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, theApostle and High-Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver oflife. "--John Taylor, _Mediation and Atonement_, p. 171. 

5. Redemption from the Effect of the Fall. --"'Mormonism' accepts thedoctrine of the fall, and the account of the transgression in Eden, asset forth in Genesis; but it affirms that none but Adam is or shall beanswerable for Adam's disobedience; that mankind in general areabsolutely absolved from responsibility for that 'original sin, ' andthat each shall account for his own transgressions alone; that the fallwas foreknown of God, that it was turned to good effect by which thenecessary condition of mortality should be inaugurated; and that aRedeemer was provided before the world was; that general salvation, inthe sense of redemption from the effects of the fall, comes to allwithout their seeking it; but that individual salvation or rescue fromthe effects of personal sins is to be acquired by each for himself byfaith and good works through the redemption wrought by JesusChrist. "--From the author's _Story and Philosophy of 'Mormonism, '_ p. 111. 

FOOTNOTES:

[29] P. Of G. P. , Abraham 3:25. For a fuller treatment of man's FreeAgency, see the author's "Articles of Faith, " iii:1-10, and the numerousreferences there given. 

[30] P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:39; compare 6:59. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[31] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[32] Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7; compare P. Of G. P. , Moses 2:26, 27; 3:7;Abraham 4:26-28; 5:7. 

[33] Gen. 1:28-31; 2:16, 17; compare P. Of G. P. , Moses 2:28-31; 3:16, 17; Abraham 4:28-31; 5:12, 13. 

[34] Gen. 2:8; compare statement in verse 5--that prior to that timethere was "not a man to till the ground"; see also P. Of G. P. , Moses3:7; Abraham 1:3; and B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 5:11. 

[35] Gen. Chap. 3; compare P. Of G. P. , Moses chap. 4. 

[36] See "Articles of Faith, " iii:21-32. 

[37] 1 Tim. 2:14; see also 2 Cor. 11:3. 

[38] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[39] See page 7. 

[40] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[41] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[42] Rom. 5:12, 18. 

[43] 1 Cor. 15:21, 22. 

[44] Lev. 22:20; Deut. 15:21; 17:1; Mal. 1:8, 14; compare Heb. 9:14; 1Peter 1:19. 

[45] John 10:17-18

[46] John 5:26

[47] John 6:38

[48] John 4:34

[49] John 5:30; see also verse 19; also Matt. 26:42; compare Doc. AndCov. 19:2; 20:24. 

[50] New Standard Dictionary under "propitiation. "

[51] 1 Cor. 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5. 

[52] Matt. 27:52, 53. 

[53] John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truthreads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; andthey who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust. "--Doc. AndCov. 76:17. 

[54] For instances see Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12, 13. 

[55] For instances see B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Helaman14:15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Mormon 9:13, 14. 

[56] For instances see Doc. And Cov. 18:11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98. 

[57] Doc. And Cov. 45:54. 

[58] B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 9:6-13; read the entire chapter. 

[59] P. Of G. P. , Moses 6:52; compare B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 25:20; Mosiah3:17; 5:8; Doc. And Cov. 76:1. 

[60] Rom. 3:23; see also verse 9; Gal. 3:22. 

[61] 1 John 1:8. 

[62] Heb. 5:9. 

[63] Rom. 2:6-9. 

[64] No special treatment relating to the Fall, the Atonement, or theResurrection has been either attempted or intended in this chapter. Forsuch the student is referred to doctrinal works dealing with thesesubjects. See the author's "Articles of Faith, " lectures iii, iv, andxxi. 

[65] A comparison related to that given in the text is treated at lengthby Henry Drummond in his essay, "Biogenesis, " which the reader may studywith profit. 

[66] P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:39. 

CHAPTER 4. 

THE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST. 

It now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status ofJesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemncouncil in heaven, in which He was chosen to be the future Savior andRedeemer of mankind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh. 

We claim scriptural authority for the assertion that Jesus Christ wasand is God the Creator, the God who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, andall the antediluvial patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the God ofAbraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Israel as a united people, and theGod of Ephraim and Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation; theGod who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; theGod of the Old Testament record; and the God of the Nephites. We affirmthat Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One. 

The scriptures specify three personages in the Godhead; (1) God theEternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. Theseconstitute the Holy Trinity, comprizing three physically separate anddistinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council ofthe heavens. [67] At least two of these appear as directing participantsin the work of creation; this fact is instanced by the pluralityexpressed in Genesis: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, afterour likeness"; and later, in the course of consultation concerningAdam's act of transgression, "the Lord God said, Behold, the man isbecome as one of us. "[68] From the words of Moses, as revealed anew inthe present dispensation, we learn more fully of the Gods who wereactively engaged in the creation of this earth: "And I, God, said untomine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us makeman in our image, after our likeness. " Then, further, with regard to thecondition of Adam after the fall: "I, the Lord God, said unto mine OnlyBegotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us. "[69] In the account ofthe creation recorded by Abraham, "the Gods" are repeatedlymentioned. [70]

As heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in thework of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive throughwhom the will, commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect. It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, JesusChrist, is designated by the apostle John as the Word; or as declared bythe Father "the word of my power". [71] The part taken by Jesus Christ inthe creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him theCreator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle tothe Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Sonas separate though associated Beings: "God, who at sundry times and indivers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hathin these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointedheir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. "[72] Paul is evenmore explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking ofJesus the Son, he says: "For by him were all things created, that are inheaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they bethrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things werecreated by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him allthings consist. "[73] And here let be repeated the testimony of John, that by the Word, "who was with God, and who was God even in thebeginning, all things were made; and without him was not anything madethat was made. "[74]

That the Christ who was to come was in reality God the Creator wasrevealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephitesjustified his testimony as follows: "And also that ye might know of thecoming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and ofearth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye mightknow of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe onhis name. "[75]

To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added thepersonal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrectedBeing. In His visitation to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself:"Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and theearth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from thebeginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath theFather glorified his name. "[76] To the Nephites, who failed tocomprehend the relation between the gospel declared unto them by theResurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to bein force, and who marveled at His saying that old things had passedaway, He explained in this wise: "Behold I say unto you, that the law isfulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law inme is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath anend. "[77]

Through revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice ofJesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew:"Hearken, O ye people of my church to whom the kingdom has beengiven--hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of theearth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom allthings were made which live, and move, and have a being. "[78] And again, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, who created theheavens and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness. "[79]

The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names andtitles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man's judgment theremay be but little importance attached to names; but in the nomenclatureof the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God isrighteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name[80] and of namesgiven by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names havebeen prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of theBaptist, John, who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names ofpersons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficientlydefinite as titles denoting the particular service to which the bearerswere called, or the special blessings conferred upon them. [81]

_Jesus_ is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is ofGreek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was _Yehoshua_ or _Yeshua_, or, as we render it in English, _Joshua_. In the original the name was wellunderstood as meaning "Help of Jehovah", or "Savior". Though as commonan appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name wasnevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, "And thou shalt callhis name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. "[82]

_Christ_ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or commonname; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with itsHebrew equivalent _Messiah_ or _Messias_, signifying the _AnointedOne_. [83] Other titles, each possessing a definitive meaning, such as_Emmanuel_, _Savior_, _Redeemer_, _Only Begotten Son_, _Lord_, _Son ofGod_, _Son of Man_, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; thefact of main present importance to us is that these several titles areexpressive of our Lord's divine origin and Godship. As seen, theessential names or titles of Jesus the Christ were made known before Hisbirth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in the mortalstate. [84]

_Jehovah_ is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, _Yahveh_ or_Jahveh_, signifying the _Self-existent One_, or _The Eternal_. Thisname is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testamentas LORD, printed in capitals. [85] The Hebrew, _Ehyeh_, signifying _IAm_, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term _Yahveh_or _Jehovah_; and herein lies the significance of this name by which theLord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commissionto go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage: "Mosessaid unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, andshall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; andthey shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? AndGod said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou sayunto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. "[86] In thesucceeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. " While Moses was in Egypt, theLord further revealed Himself, saying "I am the LORD: and I appearedunto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. "[87] The central factconnoted by this name, _I Am_, or _Jehovah_, the two having essentiallythe same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have noend, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could havehad no beginning; the name is related to such other titles as _Alpha andOmega_, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. [88]

Jesus, when once assailed with question and criticism from certain Jewswho regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an assurance of divinepreferment, met their abusive words with the declaration: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am". [89] The truesignificance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were thesentence punctuated and pointed as follows: "Verily, verily, I say untoyou, Before Abraham, was I AM;" which means the same as had Hesaid--Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offendedat hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of anearlier scripture, [90] they held was not to be uttered on pain of death, that they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. TheJews regarded _Jehovah_ as an ineffable name, not to be spoken; theysubstituted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name, _Adonai_, signifying _the Lord_. The original of the terms _Lord_ and_God_ as they appear in the Old Testament, was either _Yahveh_ or_Adonai_; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, asshown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John, evangelist andapostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord whospoke through the voice of Isaiah, [91] and with Jehovah who spokethrough Zechariah. [92]

The name _Elohim_ is of frequent occurrence in the Hebrew texts of theOld Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In formthe word is a Hebrew plural noun;[93] but it connotes the plurality ofexcellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number. It isexpressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. _Elohim_, asunderstood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is thename-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spiritis _Jehovah_--the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himselfthe _I Am_ or _Jehovah_, who was God before Abraham lived on earth, wasthe same Being who is repeatedly proclaimed as the God who made covenantwith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who led Israel from the bondageof Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, the one and only God knownby direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general. 

The identity of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was wellunderstood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings wasconfirmed by the risen Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortlyafter His ascension from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This isthe record: "And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying, Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into myside, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands andin my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God ofthe whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. "[94]

It would appear unnecessary to cite at greater length in substantiatingour affirmation that Jesus Christ was God even before He assumed a bodyof flesh. During that antemortal period there was essential differencebetween the Father and the Son, in that the former had already passedthrough the experiences of mortal life, including death andresurrection, and was therefore a Being possessed of a perfect, immortalized body of flesh and bones, while the Son was yet unembodied. Through His death and subsequent resurrection Jesus the Christ is todaya Being like unto the Father in all essential characteristics. 

A general consideration of scriptural evidence leads to the conclusionthat God the Eternal Father has manifested Himself to earthly prophetsor revelators on very few occasions, and then principally to attest thedivine authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. As before shown, the Son wasthe active executive in the work of creation; throughout the creativescenes the Father appears mostly in a directing or consulting capacity. Unto Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses the Father revealed Himself, attesting the Godship of the Christ, and the fact that the Son was thechosen Savior of mankind. [95] On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus, the Father's voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom Iam well pleased";[96] and at the transfiguration a similar testimony wasgiven by the Father. [97] On an occasion yet later, while Jesus prayed inanguish of soul, submitting Himself that the Father's purposes befulfilled and the Father's name glorified, "Then came there a voice fromheaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify itagain. "[98] The resurrected and glorified Christ was announced by theFather to the Nephites on the western hemisphere, in these words:"Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I haveglorified my name: hear ye him. "[99] From the time of the occurrencelast noted, the voice of the Father was not heard again among men, sofar as the scriptures aver, until the spring of 1820, when both theFather and the Son ministered unto the prophet Joseph Smith, the Fathersaying, "This is my beloved Son, hear him!"[100] These are the instancesof record in which the Eternal Father has been manifest in personalutterance or other revelation to man apart from the Son. God theCreator, the Jehovah of Israel, the Savior and Redeemer of all nations, kindreds and tongues, are the same, and He is Jesus the Christ. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 4. 

1. Names Given of God. --The significance of names when given of Godfinds illustration in many scriptural instances. The following areexamples: "Jesus" meaning _Savior_ (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31); "John, "signifying _Jehovah's gift_, specifically applied to the Baptist, whowas sent to earth to prepare the way for Jehovah's coming in the flesh(Luke 1:13); "Ishmael, " signifying _God shall hear him_ (Gen. 16:11);"Isaac, " meaning _laughter_ (Gen. 17:19, compare 18:10-15). As instancesof names changed by divine authority to express added blessings, orspecial callings, consider the following: "Abram, " which connoted_nobility_ or _exaltation_ and as usually rendered, _father ofelevation_, was changed to "Abraham, " _father of a multitude_ whichexpressed the reason for the change as given at the time thereof, "for afather of many nations have I made thee" (Gen. 17:5). "Sarai, " the nameof Abraham's wife, and of uncertain distinctive meaning, was substitutedby "Sarah" which signified _the princess_ (Gen 17:15). "Jacob, " a namegiven to the son of Isaac with reference to a circumstance attending hisbirth, and signifying _a supplanter_, was superseded by "Israel" meaning_a soldier of God, a prince of God_; as expressed in the words effectingthe change, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for asa prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. "(Gen. 32:28; compare 35:9, 10. ) "Simon, " meaning _a hearer_, the name ofthe man who became the chief apostle of Jesus Christ, was changed by theLord to "Cephas" (Aramaic) or "Peter" (Greek) meaning _a rock_ (John1:42; Matt 16:18; Luke 6:14). On James and John the sons of Zebedee, theLord conferred the name or title "Boanerges" meaning _sons of thunder_(Mark 3:17). 

The following is an instructive excerpt: "_Name_ in the scriptures notonly = that by which a person is designated, but frequently = all thatis known to belong to the person having this designation, and the personhimself. Thus 'the name of God' or 'of Jehovah, ' etc. , indicates Hisauthority (Deut. 18:20; Matt. 21:9, etc. ), His dignity and glory (Isa. 48:9, etc. ), His protection and favor (Prov. 18:10, etc. ), His character(Exo. 34:5, 14, compare 6, 7, etc. ), His divine attributes in general(Matt. 6:9, etc. ), etc. The Lord is said to set or put His name wherethe revelation or manifestation of His perfections is made (Deut. 12:5, 14:24, etc. ). To believe in or on the name of Christ is to receive andtreat Him in accordance with the revelation which the scriptures make ofHim (John 1:12; 2:23), etc. "--Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of theBible_, article "Name. "

2. Jesus Christ, the God of Israel. --"That Jesus Christ was the sameBeing who called Abraham from his native country, who led Israel out ofthe land of Egypt with mighty miracles and wonders, who made known tothem His law amid the thunderings of Sinai, who delivered them fromtheir enemies, who chastened them for their disobedience, who inspiredtheir prophets, and whose glory filled Solomon's temple, is evident fromall the inspired writings, and in none more so than in the Bible. 

"His lamentation over Jerusalem evidences that, in His humanity, He hadnot forgotten His former exalted position: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thouthat killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together . .. And ye wouldnot!' (Matt. 23:37). It was this Creator of the world, this mightyRuler, this Controller of the destinies of the human family, who, in Hislast moments, cried out in the agony of His soul, 'My God, my God, whyhast thou forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34. )--From _Compendium of theDoctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little. 

3. "Jehovah" a Name Not Uttered by the Jews. --Long prior to the time ofChrist, certain schools among the Jews, ever intent on the observance ofthe letter of the law, though not without disregard of its spirit, hadtaught that the mere utterance of the name of God was blasphemous, andthat the sin of so doing constituted a capital offense. This extremeconception arose from the accepted though uninspired interpretation ofLev. 24:16, "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shallsurely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stonehim: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when heblasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. " We take thefollowing from Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible_, article"Jehovah": "The true pronunciation of this name, [Yehovah] by which Godwas known to the Hebrews, has been entirely lost, the Jews themselvesscrupulously avoiding every mention of it, and substituting in its steadone or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happento be written [_Adonai_, Lord, or _Elohim_, God]. .. . According to Jewishtradition it was pronounced but once a year by the high priest on theday of atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this pointthere is some doubt. "

FOOTNOTES:

[67] See "God and the Godhead, " in the author's "Articles of Faith, "lecture ii. 

[68] Gen. 1:26; and 3:22. 

[69] P. Of G. P. , Moses 2:26; and 4:28. 

[70] P. Of G. P. , Abraham, chaps. 4 and 5. 

[71] See page 10; John 1:1; and P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:32. 

[72] Heb. 1:1, 2; see also 1 Cor. 8:6. 

[73] Colos. 1:16, 17. 

[74] John 1:1-3. 

[75] B. Of M. , Helaman 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2: Alma 11:39. 

[76] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 9:15. 

[77] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 15:4, 5. 

[78] Doc. And Cov. 45:1. 

[79] Doc. And Cov. 14:9; see also 29:1, 31; 76:24. 

[80] Exo. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 5:11. 

[81] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[82] Matt. 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31. 

[83] John 1:41; 4:25. 

[84] Luke 1:31; 2:21; Matt. 1:21, 25; see also verse 23 and compare Isa. 7:14; Luke 2:11. See further P. Of G. P. , Moses 6:51, 57; 7:20; 8:24. B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 10:4; 2 Nephi 10:3; Mosiah 3:8. 

[85] The name appears thus in Gen. 2:5; see also Exo. 6:2-4; and readfor comparison Gen. 17:1; 35:11. 

[86] Exo. 3:13, 14; compare with respect to the fact of eternal durationexpressed in this name, Isa. 44:6; John 8:58; Colos. 1:17; Heb. 13:8;Rev. 1:4; see also P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:3 and the references there given. 

[87] Exo. 6:2, 3. Note 2, end of chapter. 

[88] Rev. 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13; compare Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12. 

[89] John 8:58. 

[90] Lev. 24:16. Note 3, end of chapter. 

[91] Isa. 6:8-11; and compare John 12:40, 41. 

[92] Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37. 

[93] The singular, "Eloah, " appears only in poetic usage. 

[94] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 11:13, 14; also 1 Nephi 17:40 and observe fromverse 30 that the Redeemer is here spoken of as the God who deliveredIsrael. See further Mosiah 7:19. Chapter 39 herein. 

[95] P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:6, 31-33; 2:1; 4:2, 3; 6:57; compare 7:35, 39, 47, 53-59; 8:16, 19, 23, 24; Abraham 3:22-28. See chapter 5 herein. 

[96] Matt. 3:17; also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22. 

[97] Matt. 17:5; Luke 9:35. 

[98] John 12:28. 

[99] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 11:7. 

[100] P. Of G. P. Joseph Smith 2:17. 

CHAPTER 5. 

EARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED. 

The coming of Christ to earth to tabernacle in the flesh was nounexpected or unheralded event. For centuries prior to the greatoccurrence the Jews had professed to be looking for the advent of theirKing; and, in the appointed ceremonials of worship as in privatedevotions, the coming of the promised Messiah was prominent as a matterof the supplication of Israel to Jehovah. True, there was much diversityin lay opinion and in rabbinical exposition as to the time and manner ofHis appearing; but the certainty thereof was fundamentally establishedin the beliefs and hopes of the Hebrew nation. 

The records known to us as the books of the Old Testament, together withother inspired writings once regarded as authentic but excluded fromlater compilations as not strictly canonical, were current among theHebrews at and long before the time of Christ's birth. These scriptureshad their beginning in the proclamation of the law through Moses, [101]who wrote the same, and delivered the writing into the official custodyof the priests with an express command that it be read in the assembliesof the people at stated times. To these earlier writings were added theutterances of divinely commissioned prophets, the records of appointedhistorians, and the songs of inspired poets, as the centuries passed; sothat at the time of our Lord's ministry the Jews possessed a greataccumulation of writings accepted and revered by them asauthoritative. [102] These records are rich in prediction and promiserespecting the earthly advent of the Messiah, as are other scriptures towhich the Israel of old had not access. 

Adam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assurance of theSavior's appointed ministry, through the acceptance of which, he, thetransgressor, might gain redemption. Brief mention of the plan ofsalvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promisegiven of God following the fall--that though the devil, represented bythe serpent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam'sposterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruisethe adversary's head. [103] It is significant that this assurance ofeventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both ofwhich were introduced to earth through Satan the arch-enemy of mankind, was to be realized through the offspring of woman; the promise was notmade specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance ofoffspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth ofJesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begottenby an immortal Father. He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father inthe flesh, and was born of woman. 

Through scriptures other than those embodied in the Old Testament welearn with greater fulness of the revelations of God to Adam respectingthe coming of the Redeemer. As a natural and inevitable result of hisdisobedience, Adam had forfeited the high privilege he onceenjoyed--that of holding direct and personal association with his God;nevertheless in his fallen state he was visited by an angel of the Lord, who revealed unto him the plan of redemption: "And after many days anangel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offersacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save theLord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is asimilitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which isfull of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest inthe name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the nameof the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the OnlyBegotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, thatas thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even asmany as will. "[104]

The Lord's revelation to Adam making known the ordained plan whereby theSon of God was to take upon Himself flesh in the meridian of time, andbecome the Redeemer of the world, was attested by Enoch, son of Jaredand father of Methuselah. From the words of Enoch we learn that to himas to his great progenitor, Adam, the very name by which the Saviorwould be known among men was revealed--"which is Jesus Christ, the onlyname which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall comeunto the children of men. "[105] The recorded covenant of God withAbraham, and the reiteration and confirmation thereof with Isaac and inturn with Jacob--that through their posterity should all nations of theearth be blessed--presaged the birth of the Redeemer through that chosenlineage. [106] Its fulfilment is the blessed heritage of the ages. 

In pronouncing his patriarchal blessing upon the head of Judah, Jacobprophesied: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiverfrom between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall thegathering of the people be. "[107] That by Shiloh is meant the Christ isevidenced by the fulfilment of the conditions set forth in theprediction, in the state of the Jewish nation at the time of our Lord'sbirth. [108]

Moses proclaimed the coming of a great Prophet in Israel, whose ministrywas to be of such importance that all men who would not accept Him wouldbe under condemnation; and that this prediction had sole reference toJesus Christ is conclusively shown by later scriptures. Thus spake theLord unto Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among theirbrethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and heshall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come topass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speakin my name, I will require it of him. "[109] The system of sacrificeexpressly enjoined in the Mosaic code was essentially a prototype of thesacrificial death to be accomplished by the Savior on Calvary. The bloodof countless altar victims, slain by Israel's priests in the course ofprescribed ritual, ran throughout the centuries from Moses to Christ asa prophetic flood in similitude of the blood of the Son of God appointedto be shed as an expiatory sacrifice for the redemption of the race. But, as already shown, the institution of bloody sacrifice as a type ofthe future death of Jesus Christ dates from the beginning of humanhistory; since the offering of animal sacrifices through the shedding ofblood was required of Adam, to whom the significance of the ordinance, as "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father", was expressly defined. [110]

The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annuallyrecurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb ofGod who in due time would be slain for the sins of the world. Thecrucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and theconsummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal lambs hadbeen but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in latertimes: "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. "[111]

Job in the day of dire affliction rejoiced in his testimony of thecoming Messiah, and declared with prophetic conviction: "I know that myredeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon theearth. "[112] The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurringallusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of which aredescribed in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utterancesis found in New Testament scriptures. [113]

Isaiah, whose prophetic office was honored by the personal testimony ofChrist and the apostles, manifested in numerous passages the burden ofhis conviction relating to the great event of the Savior's advent andministry on earth. With the forcefulness of direct revelation he told ofthe Virgin's divine maternity, whereof Immanuel should be born, and hisprediction was reiterated by the angel of the Lord, over seven centurieslater. [114] Looking down through the ages the prophet saw theaccomplishment of the divine purposes as if already achieved, and sangin triumph: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: andthe government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be calledWonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Princeof Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be noend, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and toestablish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth evenforever. "[115]

Immediately prior to its fulfilment, the blessed promise was repeated byGabriel, sent from the presence of God to the chosen Virgin ofNazareth. [116] As made known to the prophet and by him proclaimed, thecoming Lord was the living Branch that should spring from the undyingroot typified in the family of Jesse;[117] the foundation Stone insuringthe stability of Zion;[118] the Shepherd of the house of Israel;[119]the Light of the world, [120] to Gentile as well as Jew; the Leader andCommander of His people. [121] The same inspired voice predicted theforerunner who should cry in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of theLord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. "[122]

Isaiah was permitted to read the scroll of futurity as to manydistinguishing conditions to attend the Messiah's lowly life and atoningdeath. In Him the prophet saw One who would be despized and rejected ofmen, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, One to be wounded andbruised for the transgressions of the race, on whom would be laid theiniquity of us all--a patient and willing Sacrifice, silent underaffliction, as a lamb brought to the slaughter. The Lord's dying withsinners, and His burial in the tomb of the wealthy were likewisedeclared with prophetic certainty. [123]

Unto Jeremiah came the word of the Lord in terms of plainness, declaringthe sure advent of the King by whom the safety of both Judah and Israelshould be assured;[124] the Prince of the House of David, through whomthe divine promise to the son of Jesse should be realized. [125] Underthe same spirit prophesied Ezekiel, [126] Hosea, [127] and Micah. [128]Zechariah broke off in the midst of fateful prediction to voice the gladsong of thanksgiving and praise as he beheld in vision the simplepageantry of the King's triumphal entry into the city of David. [129]Then the prophet bewailed the grief of the conscience-smitten nation, bywhom, as was foreseen, the Savior of humankind would be pierced, evenunto death;[130] and showed that, when subdued by contrition His ownpeople would ask, "What are these wounds in thy hands?", the Lord wouldanswer: "Those with which I was wounded in the house of myfriends. "[131] The very price to be paid for the betrayal of the Christto His death was foretold as in parable. [132]

The fact, that these predictions of the Old Testament prophets hadreference to Jesus Christ and to Him only, is put beyond question by theattestation of the resurrected Lord. To the assembled apostles He said:"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law ofMoses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Thenopened he their understanding, that they might understand thescriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behovedChrist to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. "[133]

John the Baptist, whose ministry immediately preceded that of theChrist, proclaimed the coming of One mightier than himself, One whoshould baptize with the Holy Ghost, and specifically identified Jesus ofNazareth as that One, the Son of God, the Lamb who should assume theburden of the world's sins. [134]

The predictions thus far cited as relating to the life, ministry, anddeath of the Lord Jesus, are the utterances of prophets who, exceptingAdam and Enoch, lived and died on the eastern hemisphere. All save Johnthe Baptist are of Old Testament record, and he, a contemporary of theChrist in mortality, figures in the early chapters of the Gospels. It isimportant to know that the scriptures of the western hemisphere arelikewise explicit in the declaration of the great truth that the Son ofGod would be born in the flesh. The Book of Mormon contains a history ofa colony of Israelites, of the tribe of Joseph, who left Jerusalem 600B. C. , during the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, on the eve of thesubjugation of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar and the inauguration of theBabylonian captivity. This colony was led by divine guidance to theAmerican continent, whereon they developed into a numerous and mightypeople; though, divided by dissension, they formed two opposing nationsknown respectively as Nephites and Lamanites. The former cultivated thearts of industry and refinement, and preserved a record embodying bothhistory and scripture, while the latter became degenerate and debased. The Nephites suffered extinction about 400 A. D. , but the Lamanites livedon in their degraded course, and are today extant upon the land as theAmerican Indians. [135]

The Nephite annals from the beginning thereof down to the time of ourLord's birth abound in prediction and promise of the Christ; and thischronicle is followed by a record of the actual visitation of theresurrected Savior to the Nephites, and the establishment of His Churchamong them. Unto Lehi, the leader of the colony, the Lord revealed thetime, place, and manner of Christ's then future advent, together withmany important facts of His ministry, and the preparatory work of Johnthe forerunner. This revelation was given while the company wasjourneying in the wilderness of Arabia, prior to their crossing thegreat waters. The prophecy is thus written by Nephi, a son of Lehi andhis successor in the prophetic calling: "Yea, even six hundred yearsfrom the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the LordGod raise up among the Jews; even a Messiah; or, in other words, aSavior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, howgreat a number had testified of these things concerning this Messiah, ofwhom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore all mankindwere in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be, save theyshould rely on this Redeemer. And he spake also concerning a prophet whoshould come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord; yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way ofthe Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among youwhom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I amnot worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and healso said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize theMessiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, heshould behold and bear record, that he had baptized the Lamb of God, whoshould take away the sins of the world. And it came to pass after myfather had spoken these words, he spake unto my brethren concerning thegospel which should be preached among the Jews; and also concerning thedwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain, he should rise from thedead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto theGentiles. "[136]

At a later time Nephi writes, not as his father's scribe, but as aprophet and revelator voicing the word of God as made known to himself. He was permitted to behold in vision and to declare to his people thecircumstances of the Messiah's birth, His baptism by John and theministration of the Holy Ghost with its accompanying sign of the dove;he beheld our Lord moving as a Teacher of righteousness among thepeople, healing the afflicted and rebuking spirits of evil; he saw andbore record of the dread scenes of Calvary; he beheld and predicted thecalling of the chosen Twelve, the apostles of the Lamb, for so thesewere designated by Him who vouchsafed the vision. Moreover he told ofthe iniquity of the Jews, who were seen in contention with the apostles;and thus concludes the portentous prophecy: "And the angel of the Lordspake unto me again, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of allnations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against thetwelve apostles of the Lamb. "[137] Soon after the defection whereby thedistinction between Nephites and Lamanites was established, Jacob, abrother of Nephi, continued in prophecy of the assured coming of theMessiah, specifically declaring that He would minister at Jerusalem andaffirming the necessity of His atoning death as the ordained means ofhuman redemption. [138] The prophet Abinadi, in his fearless denunciationof sin to the wicked king Noah, preached the Christ who was tocome;[139] and righteous Benjamin, who was at once prophet and king, proclaimed the same great truth to his people about 125 B. C. So taughtAlma[140] in his inspired admonition to his wayward son, Corianton; andso also Amulek[141] in his contention with Zeezrom. So proclaimed theLamanite prophet, Samuel, only five years prior to the actualoccurrence; furthermore he specified the signs by which the birth ofJesus in Judea would be made known to the people of the western world. Said he: "Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shallbelieve on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign atthe time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights inheaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be nodarkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day, therefore there shall be one day and a night, and a day, as if it wereone day, and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign;for ye shall know of the rising of the sun, and also of its setting;therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and anight; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be thenight before he is born. And behold there shall a new star arise, suchan one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders inheaven. "[142]

Thus the scriptures of both hemispheres and in all ages of ante-meridiantime bore solemn testimony to the certainty of Messiah's advent; thusthe holy prophets of old voiced the word of revelation predicting thecoming of the world's King and Lord, through whom alone is salvationprovided, and redemption from death made sure. It is a characteristic ofprophets sent of God that they possess and proclaim a personal assuranceof the Christ, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit ofprophecy. "[143] Not a word of inspired prophecy relating to the greatevent has been found void. The literal fulfilment of the predictions isample attestation of their origin in divine revelation, and proofconclusive of the divinity of Him whose coming was so abundantlyforetold. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 5. 

1. The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's AtoningDeath. --While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering ofsacrifices long prior to Israel's exodus from Egypt--e. G. By Abel and byCain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham(Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)--it is silent concerningthe divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguringthe atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining timeand circumstance, under which the offering of symbolical sacrificesoriginated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators savethose who admit the validity of modern revelation. The necessity ofassuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has beenasserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article"Sacrifice" in the Cassell _Bible Dictionary_ says: "The idea ofsacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the mostancient and widely recognized in the rites of religion throughout theworld. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments andapplications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has beenjudiciously inferred that sacrifice formed an element in the primevalworship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirectargument for the unity of the human race, but an illustration andconfirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. Thenotion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassistedhuman nature, and must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewedas a divine revelation to primitive man. "

Smith's _Dic. Of the Bible_ presents the following: "In tracing thehistory of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect developmentin the Mosaic ritual, we are at once met by the long-disputed questionas to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinctof man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of somedistinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice wassanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to theAtonement of Christ; its universal prevalence, independent of, and oftenopposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it tohave been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based onthat sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by Hishand on the heart of man--is an historical question, perhaps insoluble. "

The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the originof sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in thecurrent dispensation, whereby parts of the record of Moses--notcontained in the Bible--have been restored to human knowledge. Thescripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that theoffering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, andthat the significance of the divinely established requirement wasexplained in fulness to the patriarch of the race. The shedding of theblood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrificeof the Only Begotten of the Father, " dates from the time immediatelyfollowing the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation toAdam. See P. Of G. P. , Moses 5:5-8. 

2. Jacob's Prophecy Concerning "Shiloh. "--The prediction of thepatriarch Jacob--that the sceptre should not depart from Judah beforethe coming of Shiloh--has given rise to much disputation among Biblestudents. Some insist that "Shiloh" is the name of a place and not thatof a person. That there was a place known by that name is beyondquestion (see Josh. 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; 1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 7:12); butthe name occurring in Gen. 49:10 is plainly that of a person. It shouldbe known that the use of the word in the King James or authorizedversion of the Bible is held to be correct by many eminent authorities. Thus, in Dummelow's _Commentary on the Holy Bible_, we read: "This versehas always been regarded by both Jews and Christians as a remarkableprophecy of the coming of the Messiah. .. . On the rendering given above, the whole verse foretells that Judah would retain authority until theadvent of the rightful ruler, the Messiah, to whom all peoples wouldgather. And, broadly speaking, it may be said that the last traces ofJewish legislative power (as vested in the Sanhedrin) did not disappearuntil the coming of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, from whichtime His kingdom was set up among men. "

Adam Clarke, in his exhaustive Bible Commentary, briefly analyzes theobjections urged against the admissibility of this passage as applyingto the Messiah's advent, and dismisses them all as unfounded. Hisconclusion as to the meaning of the passage is thus worded: "Judah shallcontinue a distinct tribe until the Messiah shall come; and it did so;and after His coming it was confounded with the others, so that alldistinction has been ever since lost. "

Prof. Douglas, as cited in Smith's Dictionary, "claims that something ofJudah's sceptre still remained, a total eclipse being no proof that theday is at an end--that the proper fulfilment of the prophecy did notbegin till David's time, and is consummated in Christ according to Luke1:32, 33. "

The accepted meaning of the word by derivation is "Peaceable, " and thisis applicable to the attributes of the Christ, who in Isa. 9:6, isdesignated the Prince of Peace. 

Eusebius, who lived between 260 and 339 A. D. , and is known inecclesiastical history as Bishop of Cęsarea, wrote: "At the time thatHerod was king, who was the first foreigner that reigned over the Jewishpeople, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfilment, viz. 'That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until He should come for whom it is reserved, the expectation ofnations. '" (The quoted passage is founded on the Septuagint rendering ofGenesis 49:10). 

Some critics have held that in Jacob's use of the word "Shiloh" he didnot intend it as a name or proper noun at all. The writer of the article"Shiloh" in Cassell's _Bible Dictionary_ says: "The preponderance ofevidence is in favor of the Messianic interpretation, but opinions arevery divided respecting the retention of the word 'Shiloh' as a propername. .. . Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against itbeing so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly consideredto be a proper name, and that the English version represents the truesense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fullyinto a question which cannot well be discussed without Hebrew criticism, to the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on thePentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus rendered: 'Thesceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from betweenhis feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations beto him. '

"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation bysome writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we seethis explanation confirmed and not weakened in the events of history. The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without aroyal ruler of his own, but that the regal power should not finallycease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on theBabylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force, because it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out, and that only happened after the time of Christ. " See further _The Bookof Prophecy_, by G. Smith, LL. D. , p. 320. See also _Compendium of theDoctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, article "Christ's First Coming. "

3. Nephites and Lamanites. --The progenitors of the Nephite nation wereled from Jerusalem, 600 B. C. , by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe ofManasseh. His immediate family, at the time of their departure fromJerusalem, comprized his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the history, daughters arementioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exoduswe are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi includedZoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim. Ishmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and hisdescendants were numbered with the nation of whom we are speaking. Thecompany journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders ofthe Red Sea; then, changing their course to the eastward, crossed thepeninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, builtand provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divinecare upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across theIndian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast ofSouth America, whereon they landed (590 B. C. ). .. . The people establishedthemselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children wereborn, and in the course of a few generations a numerous posterity heldpossession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred, some of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who had been dulyappointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, theeldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided peoplewere known as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times theyobserved toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally theywere opposed, the Lamanites manifesting implacable hatred and hostilitytoward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts ofcivilization, built large cities and established prosperouscommonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lordchastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spreadnorthward, occupying the northern part of South America; then, crossingthe Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central andeastern portions of what is now the United States of America. TheLamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse ofdarkness; they became dark in skin and benighted in spirit, forgot theGod of their fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, and degenerated intothe fallen state in which the American Indians--their linealdescendants--were found by those who rediscovered the western continentin later times. See the author's _Articles of Faith_ xiv:7, 8. 

4. The First Gospel Dispensation. --The gospel of Jesus Christ wasrevealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son theSavior of Adam and all his posterity, repentance of sin, water baptismby immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowalwere proclaimed in the beginning of human history as the essentials tosalvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. "And thus theGospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holyangels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice and bythe gift of the Holy Ghost" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thustestified: "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men mustrepent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: Iam God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And healso said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto myvoice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and bebaptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who isfull of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name whichshall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto thechildren of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking allthings in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you"(Moses 6:50-52; read also 53-61). "And now, behold, I say unto you: Thisis the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine OnlyBegotten, who shall come in the meridian of time" (62). "And it came topass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam criedunto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and wascarried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and wasbrought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spiritof God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit and becamequickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying:Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the recordof the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever" (64-66). Compare Doc. And Cov 29:42. 

FOOTNOTES:

[101] Deut. 31:9, 24-26; compare 17:18-20. 

[102] "Articles of Faith, " xiii:7-10. 

[103] Gen. 3:15; compare Heb. 2:14; Rev, 12:9; 20:3. 

[104] P. Of G. P. , Moses 5:6-9. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[105] P. Of G. P. , Moses 6:52; study paragraphs 50-56; see also Gen. 5:18, 21-24; Jude 14. Note 4, end of chapter. 

[106] Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8. 

[107] Gen. 49:10. 

[108] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[109] Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also aspecific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Nephi 20:23. 

[110] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[111] 1 Cor. 5:7. For references to Christ as the Lamb of God, see John1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. Chaps. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22; also B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 10:10, and chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14; 2 Nephi31:4, 5, 6; 33:14; Alma 7:14; Mormon 9:2, 3; Doc. And Cov. 58:11;132:19. 

[112] Job 19:25; see also verses 26-27. 

[113] Instances: Psalm 2:7; compare Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Psa. 16:10; compare Acts 13:34-37. Psa. 22:18; compare Matt. 27:35; Mark15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24. Psa. 41:9; compare John 13:18. Psa. 69:9and 21; compare Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; John 19:29; and John 2:17. Psa. 110:1 and 4; compare Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; andHeb. 5:6. Psa. 118:22, 23; compare Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17;Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4, 7. The following are knownspecifically as Messianic Psalms: 2, 21, 22, 45, 67, 69, 89, 96, 110, 132; in them the psalmist extols in poetic measure the excellencies ofthe Messiah, and the certainty of His coming. 

[114] Isa. 7:14; compare Matt. 1:21-23. 

[115] Isa. 9:6, 7. 

[116] Luke 1:26-33. 

[117] Isa. 11:1 and 10; compare Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16; see alsoJer. 23:5, 6. 

[118] Isa. 28:16; compare Psa. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-8. 

[119] Isa. 40:9-11; compare John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25;5:4; see also Ezek. 34:23. 

[120] Isa. 42-1; see also 9:2; 49:6; 60:3; compare Matt. 4:14-16; Luke2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:18; Eph. 5:8, 14. 

[121] Isa. 55:4; compare John 18:37. 

[122] Isa. 40:3; compare Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23. 

[123] Isa. 53; study the entire chapter; compare Acts 8:32-35. 

[124] Jer. 23:5, 6; see also 33:14-16. 

[125] Jer. 30:9. 

[126] Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25. 

[127] Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15. 

[128] Mic. 5:2; compare Matt 2:6; John 7:42. 

[129] Zech. 9:9; compare Matt. 21:4-9. 

[130] Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37. 

[131] Zech. 13:6. 

[132] Zech. 11:12, 13; compare Matt. 26:15; 27:3-10. 

[133] Luke 24:44, 46; see also verses 25-27. 

[134] Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26, 27, 29-36; seealso Acts 1:5, 8; 11:16; 19:4. 

[135] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[136] B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 10:4-11. 

[137] B. Of M. , 1 Nephi chapters 11 and 12; see also 19:10. 

[138] B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 9:5, 6; 10:3. See also Nephi's prophecy25:12-14; and chap. 26. 

[139] B. Of M. , Mosiah 13:33-35; 15:1-13. 

[140] B. Of M. , Alma 39:15; 40:1-3. 

[141] B. Of M. , Alma 11:31-44. 

[142] B. Of M. , Helaman 14:1-6; compare 3 Nephi 1:4-21. 

[143] Rev. 19:10. 

CHAPTER 6. 

THE MERIDIAN OF TIME. 

Unto Moses, with whom the Lord spake "face to face, as a man speakethunto his friend, "[144] the course of the human race, both as then pastand future, was made known; and the coming of the Redeemer wasrecognized by him as the event of greatest import in all the happeningsto which the earth and its inhabitants would be witness. The curse ofGod had aforetime fallen upon the wicked, and upon the earth because ofthem, "For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on hisOnly Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridianof time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world. "[145]In this scripture appears the earliest mention of the expressive andprofoundly significant designation of the period in which the Christshould appear--the meridian of time. If the expression be regarded asfigurative, be it remembered the figure is the Lord's. 

The term "meridian", as commonly used, conveys the thought of aprincipal division of time or space[146] thus we speak of the hoursbefore the daily noon as ante-meridian (a. M. ) and those after noon aspost-meridian (p. M. ). So the years and the centuries of human historyare divided by the great event of the birth of Jesus Christ. The yearspreceding that epoch-making occurrence are now designated as time_Before Christ_ (B. C. ); while subsequent years are each specified as acertain _Year of our Lord_, or, as in the Latin tongue, _Anno Domini_(A. D. ). Thus the world's chronology has been adjusted and systematizedwith reference to the time of the Savior's birth; and this method ofreckoning is in use among all Christian nations. It is instructive tonote that a similar system was adopted by the isolated branch of thehouse of Israel that had been brought from the land of Palestine to thewestern continent; for from the appearance of the promised sign amongthe people betokening the birth of Him who had been so abundantlypredicted by their prophets, the Nephite reckoning of the years, starting with the departure of Lehi and his colony from Jerusalem, wassuperseded by the annals of the new era. [147]

The occasion of the Savior's advent was preappointed; and the timethereof was specifically revealed through authorized prophets on each ofthe hemispheres. The long history of the Israelitish nation had unfoldeda succession of events that found a relative culmination in the earthlymission of the Messiah. That we may the better comprehend the truesignificance of the Lord's life and ministry while in the flesh, someconsideration should be given to the political, social, and religiouscondition of the people amongst whom He appeared and with whom He livedand died. Such consideration involves at least a brief review of theantecedent history of the Hebrew nation. The posterity of Abrahamthrough Isaac and Jacob had early come to be known by the title in whichthey took undying pride and found inspiring promise, Israelites, or thechildren of Israel. [148] Collectively they were so designated throughoutthe dark days of their bondage in Egypt;[149] so during the four decadesof the exodus and the return to the land of promise, [150] and on throughthe period of their prosperity as a mighty people under theadministration of the judges, and as a united monarchy during thesuccessive reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. [151]

Immediately following the death of Solomon, about 975 B. C. According tothe most generally accepted chronology, the nation was disrupted byrevolt. The tribe of Judah, part of the tribe of Benjamin, and smallremnants of a few other tribes remained true to the royal succession, and accepted Rehoboam, son of Solomon, as their king; while the rest, usually spoken of as the Ten Tribes, broke their allegiance to the houseof David, and made Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, their king. The Ten Tribesretained the title Kingdom of Israel though also known as Ephraim. [152]Rehoboam and his adherents were distinctively called the Kingdom ofJudah. For about two hundred and fifty years the two kingdoms maintainedtheir separate autonomy; then, about 722 or 721 B. C. , the independentstatus of the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the captive peoplewere transported to Assyria by Shalmanezer and others. Subsequently theydisappeared so completely as to be called the Lost Tribes. The Kingdomof Judah was recognized as a nation for about one hundred and thirtyyears longer; then, about 588 B. C. , it was brought into subjection byNebuchadnezzar, through whom the Babylonian captivity was inaugurated. For three score years and ten Judah was kept in exile and virtualbondage, in consequence of their transgression as had been predictedthrough Jeremiah. [153] Then the Lord softened the hearts of theircaptors, and their restoration was begun under the decree of Cyrus thePersian, who had subdued the Babylonian kingdom. The Hebrew people werepermitted to return to Judea, and to enter upon the work of rebuildingthe temple at Jerusalem. [154]

A great company of the exiled Hebrews availed themselves of thisopportunity to return to the lands of their fathers, though many electedto remain in the country of their captivity, preferring Babylon toIsrael. The "whole congregation" of the Jews who returned from theBabylonian exile were but "forty and two thousand three hundred andthree score, beside their servants and their maids, of whom there wereseven thousand three hundred thirty and seven. " The relatively smallsize of the migrating nation is further shown by the register of theirbeasts of burden. [155] While those who did return strove valiantly toreestablish themselves as the house of David, and to regain some measureof their former prestige and glory, the Jews were never again a trulyindependent people. In turn they were preyed upon by Greece, Egypt, andSyria; but about 164-163 B. C. , the people threw off, in part at least, the alien yoke, as a result of the patriotic revolt led by theMaccabees, the most prominent of whom was Judas Maccabeus. The templeservice, which had been practically abolished through the proscriptionof victorious foes, was reestablished. [156] In the year 163 B. C. , thesacred structure was rededicated, and the joyful occasion was thereaftercelebrated in annual festival as the Feast of Dedication. [157] Duringthe reign of the Maccabees, however, the temple fell into an almostruinous condition, more as a result of the inability of the reduced andimpoverished people to maintain it than through any further decline ofreligious zeal. In the hope of insuring a greater measure of nationalprotection, the Jews entered into an unequal alliance with the Romansand eventually became tributary to them, in which condition the Jewishnation continued throughout the period of our Lord's ministry. In themeridian of time Rome was virtually mistress of the world. When Christwas born Augustus Cęsar[158] was emperor of Rome, and the Idumean, Herod, [159] surnamed the Great, was the vassal king of Judea. 

Some semblance of national autonomy was maintained by the Jews underRoman dominion, and their religious ceremonials were not seriouslyinterfered with. The established orders in the priesthood wererecognized, and the official acts of the national council, orSanhedrin, [160] were held to be binding by Roman law; though thejudicial powers of this body did not extend to the infliction of capitalpunishment without the sanction of the imperial executive. It was theestablished policy of Rome to allow to her tributary and vassal peoplesfreedom in worship so long as the mythological deities, dear to theRomans, were not maligned nor their altars desecrated. [161]

Needless to say, the Jews took not kindly to alien domination, thoughfor many generations they had been trained in that experience, theirreduced status having ranged from nominal vassalage to servile bondage. They were already largely a dispersed people. All the Jews in Palestineat the time of Christ's birth constituted but a small remnant of thegreat Davidic nation. The Ten Tribes, distinctively the aforetimekingdom of Israel, had then long been lost to history, and the people ofJudah had been widely scattered among the nations. 

In their relations with other peoples the Jews generally endeavored tomaintain a haughty exclusiveness, which brought upon them Gentileridicule. Under Mosaic law Israel had been required to keep apart fromother nations; they attached supreme importance to their Abrahamiclineage as children of the covenant, "an holy people unto the Lord, "whom He had chosen "to be a special people unto himself, above allpeople that are upon the face of the earth". [162] Judah had experiencedthe woful effects of dalliance with pagan nations, and, at the time weare now considering, a Jew who permitted himself unnecessary associationwith a Gentile became an unclean being requiring ceremonial cleansing tofree him from defilement. Only in strict isolation did the leaders findhope of insuring the perpetuity of the nation. 

It is no exaggeration to say that the Jews hated all other peoples andwere reciprocally despized and contemned by all others. They manifestedespecial dislike for the Samaritans, perhaps because this peoplepersisted in their efforts to establish some claim of racialrelationship. These Samaritans were a mixed people, and were looked uponby the Jews as a mongrel lot, unworthy of decent respect. When the TenTribes were led into captivity by the king of Assyria, foreigners weresent to populate Samaria. [163] These intermarried with such Israelitesas had escaped the captivity; and some modification of the religion ofIsrael, embodying at least the profession of Jehovah worship, survivedin Samaria. The Samaritan rituals were regarded by the Jews asunorthodox, and the people as reprobate. At the time of Christ theenmity between Jew and Samaritan was so intense that travelers betweenJudea and Galilee would make long detours rather than pass through theprovince of Samaria which lay between. The Jews would have no dealingswith the Samaritans. [164]

The proud feeling of self-sufficiency, the obsession for exclusivenessand separation--so distinctively a Jewish trait at that time--wasinculcated at the maternal knee and emphasized in synagog and school. The Talmud, [165] which in codified form post-dates the time of Christ'sministry, enjoined all Jews against reading the books of alien nations, declaring that none who so offended could consistently hope forJehovah's favor. [166] Josephus gives his endorsement to similarinjunction, and records that wisdom among the Jews meant onlyfamiliarity with the law and ability to discourse thereon. [167] Athorough acquaintanceship with the law was demanded as strongly as otherstudies were discountenanced. Thus the lines between learned andunlearned came to be rigidly drawn; and, as an inevitable consequencethose who were accounted learned, or so considered themselves, lookeddown upon their unscholarly fellows as a class distinct andinferior. [168]

Long before the birth of Christ, the Jews had ceased to be a unitedpeople even in matters of the law, though the law was their chiefreliance as a means of maintaining national solidarity. As early as fourscore years after the return from the Babylonian exile, and we know notwith accuracy how much earlier, there had come to be recognized, as menhaving authority, certain scholars afterward known as scribes, andhonored as rabbis[169] or teachers. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiahthese specialists in the law constituted a titled class, to whomdeference and honor were paid. Ezra is designated "the priest, thescribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, andof his statutes to Israel". [170] The scribes of those days did valuableservice under Ezra, and later under Nehemiah, in compiling the sacredwritings then extant; and in Jewish usage those appointed as guardiansand expounders of the law came to be known as members of the GreatSynagog, or Great Assembly, concerning which we have little informationthrough canonical channels. According to Talmudic record, theorganization consisted of one hundred and twenty eminent scholars. Thescope of their labors, according to the admonition traditionallyperpetuated by themselves, is thus expressed: _Be careful in judgment;set up many scholars, and make a hedge about the law_. They followedthis behest by much study and careful consideration of all traditionaldetails in administration; by multiplying scribes and rabbis untothemselves; and, as some of them interpreted the requirement of settingup many scholars, by writing many books and tractates; moreover, theymade a fence or hedge about the law by adding numerous rules, whichprescribed with great exactness the officially established proprietiesfor every occasion. 

Scribes and rabbis were exalted to the highest rank in the estimation ofthe people, higher than that of the Levitical or priestly orders; andrabbinical sayings were given precedence over the utterances of theprophets, since the latter were regarded as but messengers or spokesmen, whereas the living scholars were of themselves sources of wisdom andauthority. Such secular powers as Roman suzerainty permitted the Jews toretain were vested in the hierarchy, whose members were able thus togather unto themselves practically all official and professional honors. As a natural result of this condition, there was practically nodistinction between Jewish civil and ecclesiastical law, either as tothe code or its administration. Rabbinism comprized as an essentialelement the doctrine of the equal authority of oral rabbinical traditionwith the written word of the law. The aggrandizement implied in theapplication of the title "Rabbi" and the self-pride manifest inwelcoming such adulation were especially forbidden by the Lord, whoproclaimed Himself the one Master; and, as touching the interpretationof the title held by some as "father", Jesus proclaimed but one Fatherand He in heaven: "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father uponthe earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be yecalled masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. "[171]

The scribes, whether so named or designated by the more distinguishingappellation, rabbis, were repeatedly denounced by Jesus, because of thedead literalism of their teachings, and the absence of the spirit ofrighteousness and virile morality therefrom; and in such denunciationsthe Pharisees are often coupled with the scribes. The judgment of theChrist upon them is sufficiently expressed by His withering imprecation:"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"[172]

The origin of the Pharisees is not fixed by undisputed authority as toeither time or circumstance; though it is probable that the sect orparty had a beginning in connection with the return of the Jews from theBabylonian captivity. New ideas and added conceptions of the meaning ofthe law were promulgated by Jews who had imbibed of the spirit ofBabylon; and the resulting innovations were accepted by some andrejected by others. The name "Pharisee" does not occur in the OldTestament, nor in the Apocrypha, though it is probable that theAssideans mentioned in the books of the Maccabees[173] were the originalPharisees. By derivation the name expresses the thought of separatism;the Pharisee, in the estimation of his class, was distinctively setapart from the common people, to whom he considered himself as trulysuperior as the Jews regarded themselves in contrast with other nations. Pharisees and scribes were one in all essentials of profession, andrabbinism was specifically their doctrine. 

In the New Testament the Pharisees are often mentioned as in oppositionto the Sadducees; and such were the relations of the two parties that itbecomes a simpler matter to contrast one with the other than to considereach separately. The Sadducees came into existence as a reactionaryorganization during the second century B. C. , in connection with aninsurgent movement against the Maccabean party. Their platform was thatof opposition to the ever-increasing mass of traditional lore, withwhich the law was not merely being fenced or hedged about for safety, but under which it was being buried. The Sadducees stood for thesanctity of the law as written and preserved, while they rejected thewhole mass of rabbinical precept both as orally transmitted and ascollated and codified in the records of the scribes. The Phariseesformed the more popular party; the Sadducees figured as the aristocraticminority. At the time of Christ's birth the Pharisees existed as anorganized body numbering over six thousand men, with Jewish women verygenerally on their side in sympathy and effort;[174] while the Sadduceeswere so small a faction and of such limited power that, when they wereplaced in official positions, they generally followed the policy of thePharisees as a matter of incumbent expediency. The Pharisees were thePuritans of the time, unflinching in their demand for compliance withthe traditional rules as well as the original law of Moses. In thisconnection note Paul's confession of faith and practise when arraignedbefore Agrippa--"That after the most straitest sect of our religion Ilived a Pharisee. "[175] The Sadducees prided themselves on strictcompliance with the law, as they construed it, irrespective of allscribes or rabbis. The Sadducees stood for the temple and its prescribedordinances, the Pharisees for the synagog and its rabbinical teachings. It is difficult to decide which were the more technical if we judge eachparty by the standard of its own profession. By way of illustration: theSadducees held to the literal and full exaction of the Mosaicpenalty--an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth[176]--while thePharisees contended on the authority of rabbinical dictum, that thewording was figurative, and that therefore the penalty could be met by afine in money or goods. 

Pharisees and Sadducees differed on many important if not fundamentalmatters of belief and practise, including the preexistence of spirits, the reality of a future state involving reward and punishment, thenecessity for individual self-denial, the immortality of the soul, andthe resurrection from the dead; in each of which the Pharisees stood forthe affirmative while the Sadducees denied. [177] Josephus avers--thedoctrine of the Sadducees is that the soul and body perish together; thelaw is all that they are concerned to observe. [178] They were "askeptical school of aristocratic traditionalists; adhering only to theMosaic law. "[179]

Among the many other sects and parties established on the ground ofreligious or political differences, or both, are the Essenes, theNazarites, the Herodians and the Galileans. The Essenes werecharacterized by professions of ultra-piety; they considered even thestrictness of Pharisaic profession as weak and insufficient; theyguarded membership in their order by severe exactions extending througha first and a second novitiate; they were forbidden even to touch foodprepared by strangers; they practised strict temperance and rigidself-denial, indulged in hard labor--preferably that of agriculture, andwere forbidden to trade as merchants, to take part in war, or to own oremploy slaves. [180] Nazarites are not named in the New Testament, thoughof specific record in the earlier scriptures;[181] and from sourcesother than scriptural we learn of their existence at and after the timeof Christ. The Nazarite was one of either sex who was bound toabstinence and sacrifice by a voluntary vow for special service to God;the period of the vow might be limited or for life. While the Essenescultivated an ascetic brotherhood, the Nazarites were devoted tosolitary discipline. 

The Herodians constituted a politico-religious party who favored theplans of the Herods under the professed belief that through that dynastyalone could the status of the Jewish people be maintained and areestablishment of the nation be secured. We find mention of theHerodians laying aside their partisan antipathies and acting in concertwith the Pharisees in the effort to convict the Lord Jesus and bring Himto death. [182] The Galileans or people of Galilee were distinguishedfrom their fellow Israelites of Judea by greater simplicity and lessostentatious devotion in matters pertaining to the law. They wereopposed to innovations, yet were generally more liberal or less bigotedthan some of the professedly devout Judeans. They were prominent as abledefenders in the wars of the people, and won for themselves a reputationfor bravery and patriotism. They are mentioned in connection withcertain tragical occurrences during our Lord's lifetime. [183]

The authority of the priesthood was outwardly acknowledged by the Jewsat the time of Christ; and the appointed order of service for priest andLevite was duly observed. During the reign of David, the descendants ofAaron, who were the hereditary priests in Israel, had been divided intotwenty-four courses, [184] and to each course the labors of the sanctuarywere alloted in turn. Representatives of but four of these coursesreturned from the captivity, but from these the orders werereconstructed on the original plan. In the days of Herod the Great thetemple ceremonies were conducted with great display and outwardelaborateness, as an essential matter of consistency with the splendorof the structure, which surpassed in magnificence all earliersanctuaries. [185] Priests and Levites, therefore, were in demand forcontinuous service, though the individuals were changed at shortintervals according to the established system. In the regard of thepeople the priests were inferior to the rabbis, and the scholarlyattainments of a scribe transcended in honor that pertaining toordination in the priesthood. The religion of the time was a matter ofceremony and formality, of ritual and performance; it had lost the veryspirit of worship, and the true conception of the relationship betweenIsrael and Israel's God was but a dream of the past. 

Such in brief were the principal features of the world's condition, andparticularly as concerns the Jewish people, when Jesus the Christ wasborn in the meridian of time. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 6. 

1. The Sanhedrin. --This, the chief court or high council of the Jews, derives its name from the Greek _sunedrion_, signifying "a council. " InEnglish it is sometimes though inaccurately, written "Sanhedrim. " TheTalmud traces the origin of this body to the calling of the seventyelders whom Moses associated with himself, making seventy-one in all, toadminister as judges in Israel (Numb. 11:16, 17). The Sanhedrin in thetime of Christ, as also long before, comprized seventy-one members, including the high-priest who presided in the assembly. It appears tohave been known in its earlier period as the Senate, and wasoccasionally so designated even after Christ's death (Josephus, Antiquities xii, 3:3; compare Acts 5:21); the name "Sanhedrin" came intogeneral use during the reign of Herod the Great; but the term is not ofBiblical usage; its equivalent in the New Testament is "council" (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; 26:59) though it must be remembered that the same term isapplied to courts of lesser jurisdiction than that of the Sanhedrin, andto local tribunals. (Matt 5:22; 10:17; 26:59; Mark 13:9; see also Acts25:12. )

The following, from the _Standard Bible Dictionary_, is instructive:"Those qualified to be members were in general of the priestly house andespecially of the Sadducean nobility. But from the days of QueenAlexandra (69-68 B. C. ) onward, there were with these chief priests alsomany Pharisees in it under the name of scribes and elders. These threeclasses are found combined in Matt. 27:41; Mark 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1. How such members were appointed is not entirely clear. The aristocraticcharacter of the body and the history of its origin forbid the beliefthat it was by election. Its nucleus probably consisted of the membersof certain ancient families, to which, however, from time to time otherswere added by the secular rulers. The presiding officer was the highpriest, who at first exercized in it more than the authority of amember, claiming a voice equal to that of the rest of the body. Butafter the reduction of the high priesthood from a hereditary office toone bestowed by the political ruler according to his pleasure, and thefrequent changes in the office introduced by the new system, the highpriest naturally lost his prestige. Instead of holding in his hands the'government of the nation, ' he came to be but one of many to share thispower; those who had served as high priests being still in esteem amongtheir nation, and having lost their office not for any reason that couldbe considered valid by the religious sense of the community, exerted alarge influence over the decisions of the assembly. In the New Testamentthey are regarded as the rulers (Matt. 26:59; 27:41; Acts 4:5, 8; Luke23:13, 35; John 7:26), and Josephus' testimony supports this view. Thefunctions of the Sanhedrin were religious and moral, and also political. In the latter capacity they further exercized administrative as well asjudicial functions. As a religious tribunal, the Sanhedrin wielded apotent influence over the whole of the Jewish world (Acts 9:2); but as acourt of justice, after the division of the country upon the death ofHerod, its jurisdiction was limited to Judea. Here, however, its powerwas absolute even to the passing of sentence of death (Josephus, Ant. Xiv, 9:3, 4; Matt. 26:3; Acts 4:5; 6:12; 22:30), although it had noauthority to carry the sentence into execution except as approved andordered by the representative of the Roman government. The law by whichthe Sanhedrin governed was naturally the Jewish, and in the execution ofit this tribunal had a police of its own, and made arrests at itsdiscretion (Matt 26:47). .. . While the general authority of the Sanhedrinextended over the whole of Judea, the towns in the country had localcouncils of their own (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; Mark 13:9; Josephus, B. J. Ii, 14:1), for the administration of local affairs. These were constitutedof elders (Luke 7:3), at least seven in number, (Josephus, Ant. Iv, 8:14; B. J. Ii, 20:5), and in some of the largest towns as many astwenty-three. What the relation of these to the central council inJerusalem was does not appear clearly. .. . Some sort of mutualrecognition existed among them; for whenever the judges of the localcourt could not agree it seems that they were in the habit of referringtheir cases to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (Josephus, Ant. Iv, 8:14;Mishna, Sanh. 11:2). "

2. Talmud. --"The body of Jewish civil and religious law (and discussiondirectly or remotely relating thereto) not comprized in the Pentateuch, commonly including the _Mishna_ and the _Gemara_, but sometimes limitedto the latter; written in Aramaic. It exists in two great collections, the _Palestinian Talmud_, or _Talmud of the Land of Israel_, or _Talmudof the West_, or, more popularly, _Jerusalem Talmud_, embodying thediscussions on the Mishna of the Palestinian doctors from the 2d to themiddle of the 5th century; and the _Babylonian_, embodying those of theJewish doctors in Babylonia, from about 190 to the 7th century. "--_NewStandard Dict. _ The Mishna comprizes the earlier portions of the Talmud;the Gemara is made up of later writings and is largely an exposition ofthe Mishna. An edition of the Babylonian Talmud alone (issued at Viennain 1682) comprized twenty-four tomes. (Geikie. )

3. Rabbis. --The title Rabbi is equivalent to our distinctiveappellations Doctor, Master, or Teacher. By derivation it means Masteror my Master, thus connoting dignity and rank associated with politenessof address. A definite explanation of the term is given by John (1:38), and the same meaning attaches by implication to its use as recorded byMatthew (23:8). It was applied as a title of respect to Jesus on severaloccasions (Matt. 23:7, 8; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 1:38, 49; 3:2, 26; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). The title was of comparativelyrecent usage in the time of Christ, as it appears to have first comeinto general use during the reign of Herod the Great, though the earlierteachers, of the class without the name of Rabbis, were generallyreverenced, and the title was carried back to them by later usage. Rabwas an inferior title and Rabban a superior one to Rabbi. Rabboni wasexpressive of most profound respect, love and honor (see John 20:16). Atthe time of our Lord's ministry the Rabbis were held in high esteem, andrejoiced in the afflations of precedence and honor among men. They werealmost exclusively of the powerful Pharisaic party. 

The following is from Geikie's _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I, chap. 6: "If the most important figures in the society of Christ's day werethe Pharisees, it was because they were the Rabbis or teachers of theLaw. As such they received superstitious honor, which was, indeed, thegreat motive, with many, to court the title or join the party. TheRabbis were classed with Moses, the patriarchs, and the prophets, andclaimed equal reverence. Jacob and Joseph were both said to have beenRabbis. The Targum of Jonathan substitutes Rabbis, or Scribes, for theword 'prophets' where it occurs. Josephus speaks of the prophets ofSaul's day as Rabbis. In the Jerusalem Targum all the patriarchs arelearned Rabbis. .. . They were to be dearer to Israel than father ormother--because parents avail only in this world [as was then taught]but the Rabbi forever. They were set above kings, for is it not written'Through me kings reign'? Their entrance into a house brought ablessing; to live or to eat with them was the highest good fortune. .. . The Rabbis went even further than this in exalting their order. TheMishna declares that it is a greater crime to speak anything to theirdiscredit, than to speak against the words of the Law. .. . Yet in form, the Law received boundless honor. Every saying of the Rabbis had to bebased on some words of it, which were, however, explained in their ownway. The spirit of the times, the wild fanaticism of the people, andtheir own bias, tended alike to make them set value only on ceremoniesand worthless externalisms, to the utter neglect of the spirit of thesacred writings. Still it was held that the Law needed no confirmation, while the words of the Rabbis did. So far as the Roman authority underwhich they lived left them free, the Jews willingly put all power in thehands of the Rabbis. They or their nominees filled every office, fromthe highest in the priesthood to the lowest in the community. They werethe casuists, the teachers, the priests, the judges, the magistrates, and the physicians of the nation. .. . The central and dominantcharacteristic of the teaching of the Rabbis was the certain advent of agreat national Deliverer--the Messiah or Anointed of God or in the Greektranslation of the title, the Christ. In no other nation than the Jewshas such a conception ever taken such root or shown such vitality. .. . Itwas agreed among the Rabbis that His birthplace must be Bethlehem, andthat He must rise from the tribe of Judah. "

Individual rabbis gathered disciples about them, and, inevitably, rivalry became manifest. Rabbinical schools and academies wereestablished, each depending for its popularity on the greatness of somerabbi. The most famous of these institutions in the time of Herod I. Were the school of Hillel and that of his rival Shammai. Later, tradition invested these with the title "the fathers of old. " It appearsfrom the trifling matters over which the followers of these twodisagreed, that only by opposition could either maintain adistinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel, the rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterwardPaul the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3). So far aswe have historic record of the views, principles or beliefs advocated bythe rival schools of Hillel and Shammai, it appears that the formerstood for a greater degree of liberality and tolerance, while the lateremphasized a strict and possibly narrow interpretation of the law andits associated traditions. The dependence of the rabbinical schools onthe authority of tradition is illustrated by an incident of record tothe effect that even the prestige of the great Hillel did not insure himagainst uproar when once he spoke without citing precedent; only when headded that so had his masters Abtalion and Shemajah spoken did thetumult subside. 

4. Sadducean Denial of the Resurrection. --As set forth in the text, theSadducees formed an association numerically small as compared with themore popular and influential Pharisees. In the Gospels the Pharisees areof frequent mention, and very commonly in connection with the scribes, while the Sadducees are less frequently named. In the Acts of theApostles, the Sadducees appear frequently as opponents of the Church. This condition was doubtless due to the prominence given theresurrection from the dead among the themes of the apostolic preaching, the Twelve continually bearing testimony to the actual resurrection ofChrist. Sadducean doctrine denied the actuality and possibility of abodily resurrection, the contention resting mainly on the ground thatMoses, who was regarded as the supreme mortal lawgiver in Israel, andthe chief mouthpiece of Jehovah, had written nothing concerning lifeafter death. The following is taken from Smith's _Dictionary of theBible_, article "Sadducees, " as touching this matter: "The denial ofman's resurrection after death followed in the conception of theSadducees as a logical conclusion from their denial that Moses hadrevealed to the Israelites the Oral Law. For on a point so momentous asa second life beyond the grave, no religious party among the Jews wouldhave deemed themselves bound to accept any doctrine as an article offaith, unless it had been proclaimed by Moses, their great legislator;and it is certain that in the written Law of the Pentateuch there is atotal absence of any assertion by Moses of the resurrection of the dead. This fact is presented to Christians in a striking manner by thewell-known words of the Pentateuch which are quoted by Christ inargument with the Sadducees on this subject (Exo. 3:6, 16; Mark 12:26, 27; Matt. 22:31, 32; Luke 20:37). It cannot be doubted that in such acase Christ would quote to His powerful adversaries the most cogent textin the Law; and yet the text actually quoted does not do more thansuggest an inference on this great doctrine. It is true that passages inother parts of the Old Testament express a belief in the resurrection(Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:26; and in some of the Psalms); and itmay at first sight be a subject of surprize that the Sadducees were notconvinced by the authority of those passages. But although the Sadduceesregarded the books which contained these passages as sacred, it is morethan doubtful whether any of the Jews regarded them as sacred inprecisely the same sense as the written Law. To the Jews Moses was andis a colossal form, preeminent in authority above all subsequentprophets. "

5. The Temple of Herod. --"Herod's purpose in the great undertaking [thatof restoring the temple, and of enlarging it on a plan of unprecedentedmagnificence] was that of aggrandizing himself and the nation, ratherthan the rendering of homage to Jehovah. His proposition to rebuild orrestore the temple on a scale of increased magnificence was regardedwith suspicion and received with disfavor by the Jews, who feared thatwere the ancient edifice demolished, the arbitrary monarch might abandonhis plan and the people would be left without a temple. To allay thesefears the king proceeded to reconstruct and restore the old edifice, part by part, directing the work so that at no time was the templeservice seriously interrupted. So little of the ancient structure wasallowed to stand, however, that the temple of Herod must be regarded asa new creation. The work was begun about sixteen years before the birthof Christ; and while the Holy House itself was practically completedwithin a year and a half, this part of the labor having been performedby a body of one thousand priests specially trained for the purpose, thetemple area was a scene of uninterrupted building operations down to theyear 63 A. D. We read that in the time of Christ's ministry the templehad been forty-six years in building; and at that time it wasunfinished. 

"The Biblical record gives us little information regarding this the lastand the greatest of ancient temples; for what we know concerning it weare indebted, mainly to Josephus, with some corroborative testimonyfound in the Talmud. In all essentials the Holy House, or Temple proper, was similar to the two earlier houses of sanctuary, though externallyfar more elaborate and imposing than either; but in the matter ofsurrounding courts and associated buildings, the Temple of Herodpreeminently excelled. .. . Yet its beauty and grandeur lay inarchitectural excellence rather than in the sanctity of its worship orin the manifestation of the Divine Presence within its walls. Its ritualand service were largely man-prescribed; for while the letter of theMosaic Law was professedly observed, the law had been supplemented andin many features supplanted by rule and priestly prescription. The Jewsprofessed to consider it holy, and by them it was proclaimed as theHouse of the Lord. Devoid though it was of the divine accompaniments ofearlier shrines accepted of God, and defiled as it was by priestlyarrogance and usurpation, as also by the selfish interest of traffic andtrade, it was nevertheless recognized even by our Lord the Christ as HisFather's House. (Matt. 21:12; compare Mark 11:15; Luke 19:45. ). .. . Forthirty or more years after the death of Christ, the Jews continued thework of adding to and embellishing the temple buildings. The elaboratedesign conceived and projected by Herod had been practically completed;the temple was well-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, wasready for destruction. Its fate had been definitely foretold by theSavior Himself. "--From the author's _House of the Lord_, pp. 54-61. 

6. State of the World at the Time of the Savior's Birth. --At thebeginning of the Christian era, the Jews, in common with most othernations, were subjects of the Roman empire. They were allowed aconsiderable degree of liberty in maintaining their religiousobservances and national customs generally, but their status was farfrom that of a free and independent people. The period was one ofcomparative peace--a time marked by fewer wars and less dissension thanthe empire had known for many years. These conditions were favorable forthe mission of the Christ, and for the founding of His Church on earth. The religious systems extant at the time of Christ's earthly ministrymay be classified in a general way as Jewish and Pagan, with a minorsystem--the Samaritan--which was essentially a mixture of the other two. The children of Israel alone proclaimed the existence of the true andliving God; they alone looked forward to the advent of the Messiah, whommistakenly they awaited as a prospective conqueror coming to crush theenemies of their nation. All other nations, tongues, and peoples, bowedto pagan deities, and their worship comprized nought but the sensualrites of heathen idolatry. Paganism was a religion of form and ceremony, based on polytheism--a belief in the existence of a multitude of gods, which deities were subject to all the vices and passions of humanity, while distinguished by immunity from death. Morality and virtue wereunknown as elements of heathen service; and the dominant idea in paganworship was that of propitiating the gods, in the hope of averting theiranger and purchasing their favor. --See the author's _The GreatApostasy_, 1:2-4, and notes following the chapter cited. 

FOOTNOTES:

[144] Exo. 33:11; see also Numb. 12:8; Deut. 34:10; compare P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:2, 11, 31. 

[145] P. Of G. P. , Moses 5:57; for later mention of the "meridian oftime, " see 6:56-62; and 7:46; and compare Doc. And Cov. 20:26; 39:3. 

[146] "Meridian: . .. Figuratively, the highest point orculminating-point of anything; the zenith; as the meridian oflife. "--"New Stand. Dict. "

[147] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 2:8; compare 4 Nephi 1:1, 21; Mormon 8:6; Moroni10:1. 

[148] Gen. 32:28; 35:10. 

[149] Exo. 1:1, 7; 9:6, 7; 12:3, etc. 

[150] Exo. 12:35, 40; 13:19; 15:1; Numb. 20:1, 19, 24, etc. 

[151] See mention throughout the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and2 Kings, and references therein. 

[152] Isa. 11:13; 17:3; Ezek, 37:16-22; Hos. 4:17. 

[153] Jer. 25:11, 12; see also 29:10. 

[154] Ezra 1:1-4; the author, "House of the Lord, " pp. 47-53; also"Articles of Faith" xvii:1-22. 

[155] Ezra 2:64-67. 

[156] "House of the Lord, " pp. 51-53. 

[157] Josephus, Ant. Xii:6 and 7; 2 Maccabees 2:19; 10:1-8; also John10:22. 

[158] Luke 2:1. 

[159] Matt. 2:1. Page 106. 

[160] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[161] Deut. 7:6; see also 10:15; Exo. 19:5, 6; Psa. 135:4; Isa. 41:8;45:4; compare 1 Peter 2:9. 

[162] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[163] 2 Kings 17:24. 

[164] John 4:9; Luke 9:51-53. Pages 172, 183 herein. 

[165] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[166] Bab. Talmud, Sanhedrin, 90. 

[167] Josephus, Ant. Xx, 11:2. 

[168] Note the emphasis given to this distinction in John 7:45-49; seealso 9:34. 

[169] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[170] Ezra 7:11; see also verses 6, 10, 12. 

[171] Matt. 23:8-10; see also John 1:38; 3:2. 

[172] Matt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23. Etc. , read the entire chapter; compareMark 12:38-40; Luke 20:46; see also as instances of special denunciationof the Pharisees Luke 11:37-44. Note also that the lawyers, who wereprofessionally associated with the scribes, are included in the sweepingcriticism: verses 45-54. See pages 552-560 herein. 

[173] 1 Maccabees 2:42; 7:13-17; 2 Maccabees 14:6. 

[174] Josephus, Antiquities, xvii, 2:4. 

[175] Acts 26:5; see also 23:6; Philip. 3:5. 

[176] Exo. 21:23-35; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; contrast Matt 5:38-44. 

[177] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[178] Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:4. 

[179] "New Stand. Dict. , " under "Sadducees. "

[180] Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:5. 

[181] Numb. 6:2-21; Judges 13:5, 7; 16:17; Amos. 2:11, 12. Page 87. 

[182] Matt. 22:15, 16; Mark 12:13. 

[183] Luke 13:1, 2; see also John 4:45; Mark 14:70; Acts 2:7. 

[184] 1 Chron. 24:1-18. 

[185] Note 5, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 7. 

GABRIEL'S ANNUNCIATION OF JOHN AND OF JESUS. 

JOHN THE FORERUNNER. 

Associated with the prophecies of the birth of Christ are predictionsconcerning one who should precede Him, going before to prepare the way. It is not surprizing that the annunciation of the immediate advent ofthe forerunner was speedily followed by that of the Messiah; nor thatthe proclamations were made by the same heavenly embassador--Gabriel, sent from the presence of God. [186]

About fifteen months prior to the Savior's birth, Zacharias, a priest ofthe Aaronic order, was officiating in the functions of his office in thetemple at Jerusalem. His wife, Elisabeth, was also of a priestly family, being numbered among the descendants of Aaron. The couple had never beenblessed with children; and at the time of which we speak they were bothwell stricken in years and had sorrowfully given up hope of posterity. Zacharias belonged to the course of priests named after Abijah, andknown in later time as the course of Abia. This was the eighth in theorder of the twenty-four courses established by David the king, eachcourse being appointed to serve in turn a week at the sanctuary. [187] Itwill be remembered that on the return of the people from Babylon onlyfour of the courses were represented; but of these four each averagedover fourteen hundred men. [188]

During his week of service each priest was required to maintainscrupulously a state of ceremonial cleanliness of person; he had toabstain from wine, and from food except that specifically prescribed; hehad to bathe frequently; he lived within the temple precincts and thuswas cut off from family association; he was not allowed to come near thedead, nor to mourn in the formal manner if death should rob him of evenhis nearest and dearest of kin. We learn that the daily selection of thepriest who should enter the Holy Place, and there burn incense on thegolden altar, was determined by lot;[189] and furthermore we gather, from non-scriptural history, that because of the great number of prieststhe honor of so officiating seldom fell twice to the same person. 

On this day the lot had fallen to Zacharias. It was a very solemnoccasion in the life of the humble Judean priest--this one day in hislife on which the special and particularly sacred service was requiredof him. Within the Holy Place he was separated by the veil of the templeonly from the Oracle or Holy of Holies--the inner sanctuary into whichnone but the high priest might enter, and he only on the Day ofAtonement, after long ceremonial preparation. [190] The place and thetime were conducive to the highest and most reverential feelings. AsZacharias ministered within the Holy Place, the people without bowedthemselves in prayer, watching for the clouds of incense smoke to appearabove the great partition which formed the barrier between the place ofgeneral assembly and the Holy Place, and awaiting the reappearance ofthe priest and his pronouncement of the benediction. 

Before the astonished gaze of Zacharias, at this supreme moment of hispriestly service, there appeared, standing on the right of the goldenaltar of incense, an angel of the Lord. Many generations had passed inJewry since any visible presence other than mortal had been manifestwithin the temple, either in the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies; thepeople regarded personal visitations of heavenly beings as occurrencesof the past; they had come almost to believe that there were no longerprophets in Israel. Nevertheless, there was always a feeling of anxiety, akin to that of troubled expectancy, whenever a priest approached theinner sanctuary, which was regarded as the particular abode of Jehovahshould He ever again condescend to visit His people. In view of theseconditions we read without surprize that this angelic presence troubledZacharias and caused fear to fall upon him. The words of the heavenlyvisitant, however, were comforting though of startling import, embodyingas they did the unqualified assurance that the man's prayers had beenheard, and that his wife should bear him a son, who must be namedJohn. [191] The promise went even further, specifying that the child tobe born of Elisabeth would be a blessing to the people; many wouldrejoice at his birth; he would be great in the sight of the Lord, andmust be guarded against wine and strong drink;[192] he would be filledwith the Holy Ghost, would be the means of turning many souls to God, and would go before to make ready a people prepared to receive theMessiah. 

Doubtless Zacharias recognised in the predicted future of the yet unbornchild the great forerunner, of whom the prophets had told and thepsalmist had sung; but that such a one should be offspring of himselfand his aged wife seemed impossible despite the angel's promise. The mandoubted, and asked whereby he should know that what his visitant hadspoken was true: "And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, andto show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, andnot able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in theirseason. "[193] When the highly blessed though sorely smitten priest atlength came from within and appeared before the expectant congregation, already made anxious by his delayed return, he could but mutely dismissthe assembly and by signs indicate that he had seen a vision. Thepenalty for doubt was already operative; Zacharias was dumb. 

In due time the child was born, there in the hill country of Judea[194]where Zacharias and Elisabeth had their home; and, on the eighth dayfollowing the birth the family assembled in accordance with custom andMosaic requirement, to name the babe in connection with the rite ofcircumcision. [195] All suggestions that he be called after his fatherwere overruled by Zacharias, who wrote with decisive finality: "His nameis John. " Thereupon the dumb[196] priest's tongue was loosed, and beingfilled with the Holy Ghost he burst forth in prophecy, praise and song;his inspired utterances have been set to music and are sung in worshipby many Christian congregations as the Benedictus:

 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. "[197]

The last words Zacharias had uttered prior to the infliction of dumbnesswere words of doubt and unbelief, words in which he had called for asign as proof of authority of one who came from the presence of theAlmighty; the words with which he broke his long silence were words ofpraise unto God in whom he had all assurance, words that were as a signto all who heard, and the fame whereof spread throughout the region. 

The unusual circumstances attending the birth of John, notably themonths of dumbness passed by the father and his sudden recovery ofspeech on the bestowal of the fore-appointed name, caused many to marveland some to fear, as they asked: "What manner of child shall this be?"When, a man grown, John raised his voice in the wilderness, again infulfillment of prophecy, the people questioned as to whether he was notthe Messiah. [198] Of his life between infancy and the beginning of hispublic ministry, a period of approximately thirty years, we have ofrecord but a single sentence: "And the child grew, and waxed strong inspirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing untoIsrael. "[199]

THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE VIRGIN. 

Six months after the visitation of Gabriel to Zacharias, and threemonths prior to the birth of John, the same heavenly messenger was sentto a young woman named Mary, who lived at Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was of the lineage of David; and though unmarried was betrothed orespoused to a man named Joseph, who also was of royal descent throughthe Davidic line. The angel's salutation, while full of honor andblessing, caused Mary to wonder and to feel troubled. "Hail, thou thatart highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongwomen";[200] thus did Gabriel greet the virgin. 

In common with other daughters of Israel, specifically those of thetribe of Judah and of known descent from David, Mary had doubtlesscontemplated, with holy joy and ecstasy, the coming of the Messiahthrough the royal line; she knew that some Jewish maiden was yet tobecome the mother of the Christ. Was it possible that the angel's wordsto her had reference to this supreme expectation and hope of the nation?She had little time to turn these things in her mind, for the angelcontinued: "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, andshalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called theSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne ofhis father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;and of his kingdom there shall be no end. "[201]

Even yet she comprehended but in part the import of this momentousvisitation. Not in the spirit of doubt such as had prompted Zacharias toask for a sign, but through an earnest desire for information andexplanation, Mary, conscious of her unmarried status and sure of hervirgin condition, asked: "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?"The answer to her natural and simple inquiry was the announcement of amiracle such as the world had never known--not a miracle in the sense ofa happening contrary to nature's law, nevertheless a miracle through theoperation of higher law, such as the human mind ordinarily fails tocomprehend or regard as possible. Mary was informed that she wouldconceive and in time bring forth a Son, of whom no mortal man would bethe father:--"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghostshall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadowthee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shallbe called the Son of God. "[202]

Then the angel told her of the blessed condition of her cousinElisabeth, who had been barren; and by way of sufficient and finalexplanation added: "For with God nothing shall be impossible. " Withgentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virginreplied: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according tothy word. "

His message delivered, Gabriel departed, leaving the chosen Virgin ofNazareth to ponder over her wondrous experience. Mary's promised Son wasto be "The Only Begotten" of the Father in the flesh; so it had beenboth positively and abundantly predicted. True, the event wasunprecedented; true also it has never been paralleled; but that thevirgin birth would be unique was as truly essential to the fulfilment ofprophecy as that it should occur at all. That Child to be born of Marywas begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of naturallaw but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, theoffspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the "Son ofthe Highest. " In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood withthe capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through theordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beingsshall propagate--after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit thephysical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers thatcharacterized His parents--one immortal and glorified--God, the otherhuman--woman. 

Jesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly theoffspring of mortal man, except so far as His mother was the daughter ofboth man and woman. In our Lord alone has been fulfilled the word of Godspoken in relation to the fall of Adam, that the _seed of the woman_should have power to overcome Satan by bruising the serpent's head. [203]

In respect to place, condition, and general environment, Gabriel'sannunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of hismessage to Mary. The prospective forerunner of the Lord was announced tohis father within the magnificent temple, and in a place the mostexclusively sacred save one other in the Holy House, under the lightshed from the golden candlestick, and further illumined by the glow ofliving coals on the altar of gold; the Messiah was announced to Hismother in a small town far from the capital and the temple, mostprobably within the walls of a simple Galilean cottage. 

MARY'S VISIT TO HER COUSIN ELISABETH. 

It was natural that Mary, left now to herself with a secret in her soul, holier, greater, and more thrilling than any ever borne before or since, should seek companionship, and that of some one of her own sex, in whomshe could confide, from whom she might hope to derive comfort andsupport, and to whom it would be not wrong to tell what at that time wasprobably known to no mortal save herself. Her heavenly visitant hadindeed suggested all this in his mention of Elisabeth, Mary's cousin, herself a subject of unusual blessing, and a woman through whom anothermiracle of God had been wrought. Mary set out with haste from Nazarethfor the hill country of Judea, on a journey of about a hundred miles ifthe traditional account be true that the little town of Juttah was thehome of Zacharias. There was mutual joy in the meeting between Mary theyouthful virgin, and Elisabeth, already well advanced in life. From whatof Gabriel's words her husband had communicated, Elisabeth must haveknown that the approaching birth of her son would soon be followed bythat of the Messiah, and that therefore the day for which Israel hadwaited and prayed through the long dark centuries was about to dawn. When Mary's salutation fell upon her ears, the Holy Ghost bore witnessthat the chosen mother of the Lord stood before her in the person of hercousin; and as she experienced the physical thrill incident to thequickening spirit of her own blessed conception, she returned thegreeting of her visitor with reverence: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that themother of my Lord should come to me?"[204] Mary responded with thatglorious hymn of praise, since adopted in the musical ritual of churchesas the Magnificat:

 "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. "[205]

MARY AND JOSEPH. 

The visit lasted about three months, after which time Mary returned toNazareth. The real embarrassment of her position she had now to meet. Atthe home of her cousin she had been understood; her condition had servedto confirm the testimony of Zacharias and Elisabeth; but how would herword be received at her own home? And especially, how would she beregarded by her espoused husband?[206] Betrothal, or espousal, in thattime was in some respects as binding as the marriage vow, and could onlybe set aside by a ceremonial separation akin to divorce; yet an espousalwas but an engagement to marry, not a marriage. When Joseph greeted hispromised bride after her three months' absence, he was greatlydistressed over the indications of her prospective maternity. Now theJewish law provided for the annulment of a betrothal in either of twoways--by public trial and judgment, or by private agreement attested bya written document signed in the presence of witnesses. Joseph was ajust man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist; moreoverhe loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatevermight be his own sorrow and suffering. For Mary's sake he dreaded thethought of publicity; and therefore determined to have the espousalannulled with such privacy the law allowed. He was troubled and thoughtmuch of his duty in the matter, when, "behold, the angel of the Lordappeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fearnot to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in heris of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shaltcall his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. "[207]

Great was Joseph's relief of mind; and great his joy in the realizationthat the long predicted coming of the Messiah was at hand; the words ofthe prophets would be fulfilled; a virgin, and she the one in the worldmost dear to him, had conceived, and in due time would bring forth thatblessed Son, Emmanuel, which name by interpretation means "God withus. "[208] The angel's salutation was significant; "Joseph, thou son ofDavid, " was the form of address; and the use of that royal title musthave meant to Joseph that, though he was of kingly lineage, marriagewith Mary would cast no shadow upon his family status. Joseph waitednot; to insure Mary all possible protection and establish his full legalright as her lawful guardian he hastened the solemnization of themarriage, and "did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and tookunto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth herfirstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. "[209]

The national hope of a Messiah based on promise and prophecy had becomeconfused in the Jewish mind, through the influence of rabbinism with itsmany vagaries, and its "private interpretation"[210] made to appearauthoritative by the artificially sustained prestige of the expositors;yet certain conditions had been emphasized as essential, even by therabbis, and by these essentials would be judged the claim of any Jew whomight declare himself to be the long expected One. It was beyondquestion that the Messiah was to be born within the tribe of Judah andthrough the line of descent from David, and, being of David He must ofnecessity be of the lineage of Abraham, through whose posterity, according to the covenant, all nations of the earth were to beblessed. [211]

Two genealogical records, purporting to give the lineage of Jesus arefound in the New Testament, one in the first chapter of Matthew, theother in the third chapter of Luke. These records present severalapparent discrepancies, but such have been satisfactorily reconciled bythe research of specialists in Jewish genealogy. No detailed analysis ofthe matter will be attempted here; but it should be borne in mind thatthe consensus of judgment on the part of investigators is that Matthew'saccount is that of the royal lineage, establishing the order of sequenceamong the legal successors to the throne of David, while the accountgiven by Luke is a personal pedigree, demonstrating descent from Davidwithout adherence to the line of legal succession to the throne throughprimogeniture or nearness of kin. [212] Luke's record is regarded bymany, however, as the pedigree of Mary, while Matthew's is accepted asthat of Joseph. The all important fact to be remembered is that theChild promised by Gabriel to Mary, the virginal bride of Joseph, wouldbe born in the royal line. A personal genealogy of Joseph wasessentially that of Mary also, for they were cousins. Joseph is named asson of Jacob by Matthew, and as son of Heli by Luke; but Jacob and Heliwere brothers, and it appears that one of the two was the father ofJoseph and the other the father of Mary and therefore father-in-law toJoseph. That Mary was of Davidic descent is plainly set forth in manyscriptures; for since Jesus was to be born of Mary, yet was not begottenby Joseph, who was the reputed, and, according to the law of the Jews, the legal, father, the blood of David's posterity was given to the bodyof Jesus through Mary alone. Our Lord, though repeatedly addressed asSon of David, never repudiated the title but accepted it as rightlyapplied to Himself. [213] Apostolic testimony stands in positiveassertion of the royal heirship of Christ through earthly lineage, aswitness the affirmation of Paul, the scholarly Pharisee: "Concerning hisSon Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David accordingto the flesh;" and again: "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed ofDavid was raised from the dead. "[214]

In all the persecutions waged by His implacable haters, in all the falseaccusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilegeand blasphemy based on His acknowledgment of the Messiahship as His own, no mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be theChrist through any ineligibility based on lineage. Genealogy wasassiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time ofChrist; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record;and any possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descentwould have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee, learned scribe, haughty rabbi, and aristocratic Sadducee. 

At the time of the Savior's birth, Israel was ruled by alien monarchs. The rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the rulerof the Jews was an appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free andindependent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph thecarpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor tothe throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 

Gabriel's annunciation to Mary was that of the Son of David, on whosecoming the hope of Israel rested as on a sure foundation. The One, thusannounced, was Emmanuel, even God who was to dwell in flesh with Hispeople, [215] the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 7. 

1. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite. --The instruction of theangel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to "drinkneither wine nor strong drink, " and the adult life of John as a dwellerin the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have ledcommentators and Biblical specialists to assume that he was a "Nazaritefor life. " It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere in scriptureextant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite, thename signifying _consecrated_ or _separated_, was one, who by personalvow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to somespecial labor or course of life involving self denial. (See page 67). Smith's _Comp. Dict, of the Bible_ says: "There is no notice in thePentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regulations for the vow of aNazarite of days are given (Numb. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the termof his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and everyproduction of the vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. Hewas forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation. " The sole instance of a Nazarite forlife named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother wasrequired to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth, and the child was to be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judges 13:3-7, 14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be creditedwith all the personal discipline required of Nazarites whether he wasunder voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound. 

2. Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitishpractise, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of Godto Abraham, as the sign of the covenant between Jehovah and thepatriarch. (Gen. 17:9-14. ) This covenant was made to include theestablishment of Abraham's posterity as a great nation, and providedthat through his descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed(Gen. 22:18)--a promise which has been proved to mean that through thatlineage should the Messiah be born. Circumcision was a bindingcondition; and its practise therefore became a national characteristic. Every male was to be circumcized eight days after birth (Gen. 17:12;Lev. 12:3). This requirement as to age came to be so rigidly enforced, that even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath the rite had to beperformed on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to becircumcized (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with theHebrews and desired to partake of the Passover with them had to submitto the requirement (Exo. 12:48). From the _Standard Bible Dictionary_ wetake the following: "The ceremony indicated the casting off ofuncleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges ofmembership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer ofemphasis from the external and formal to the inner and spiritual side ofthings, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to thegospel to be circumcized (Acts 15:28), and afterward the rite was setaside even by Jewish Christians. " It became customary to name a child atthe time it was circumcized, as is instanced in the case of John, son ofZacharias (Luke 1:59). 

3. Zacharias' Affliction. --The sign for which Zacharias asked was thusgiven by the angel: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thoubelievest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. " (Luke1:20. ) From the account of the circumcision and naming of the boy, John, it is held by some that the afflicted father was also deaf, as thecompany "made signs" to him as to how he would have his son named (verse62). 

4. Jewish Betrothal. --The vow of espousal, or betrothal, has always beenregarded as sacred and binding in Jewish law. In a manner it was asbinding as a marriage ceremony, though it carried none of the particularrights of marriage. The following succinct statements are taken fromGeikie's _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I. P. 99: "Among the Jews ofMary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later cameto be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the house ofthe bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It wascalled the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to herhusband in the strictest sense. To make it legal, the bridegroom gavehis betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses, with the words, 'Lo, thou art betrothed unto me, ' or by a formal writingin which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in thesame way was handed to her before witnesses. "

5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary. --"It is now almost certain that thegenealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we mayrely on early traditions of their consanguinity involve genealogies ofMary also. The Davidic descent of Mary is implied in Acts 2:30; 13:23;Rom. 1:3; Luke 1:32, etc. St. Matthew gives the legal descent of Josephthrough the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David; St. Luke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel washeir of the house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) wasthe last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission ofsome obscure names and the symmetrical arrangement, into tesseradecadswere common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after thelabors of Mill (_On the Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels_, pp. 147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (_On the Genealogies of Our Lord_, 1853)scarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparentdivergencies. And thus in this as in so many other instances, the verydiscrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal tothe historic accuracy of the four evangelists, turn out, on closer andmore patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not onlyentirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy. "--Farrar, _Life ofChrist_, p. 27, note. 

The writer of the article "Genealogy of Jesus Christ" in Smith's _BibleDict_, says: "The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but oneperson, our Savior (Matt. 1; Luke 3). .. . The following propositions willexplain the true construction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C. Hervey): 1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i. E. Of JesusChrist, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. Thegenealogy of Matthew is, as Grotius asserted, Joseph's genealogy aslegal successor to the throne of David. That of Luke is Joseph's privategenealogy, exhibiting his real birth, as David's son, and thus showingwhy he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple principle that oneevangelist exhibits that genealogy which contained the successive heirsto David's and Solomon's throne, while the other exhibits the paternalstem of him who was the heir, explains all the anomalies of the twopedigrees, their agreements as well as their discrepancies, and thecircumstance of there being two at all. 3. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph herhusband. "

A valuable contribution to the literature of this subject appears in the_Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute, or PhilosophicalSociety of Great Britain_, 1912, vol. 44, pp. 9-36, as an article, "TheGenealogies of our Lord, " by Mrs. A. S. Lewis, and discussion thereof bymany scholars of acknowledged ability. The author, Mrs. Lewis, is anauthority on Syriac manuscripts, and is one of the two women who, in1892, discovered in the library of St. Catherine's monastery on MountSinai, the Syriac palimpsest MS. Of the four Gospels. The gifted authorholds that Matthew's account attests the royal pedigree of Joseph, andthat Luke's genealogical table proves the equally royal descent of Mary. Mrs. Lewis says: "The Sinai Palimpsest also tells us that Joseph andMary went to Bethlehem, to be enrolled there, because they were both ofthe house and lineage of David. "

Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasisof Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent fromDavid: "When the angel was foretelling to Mary the birth of the HolyChild, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His fatherDavid. ' Now if Joseph, her betrothed, had alone been descended fromDavid, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph, 'whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman, ' which plainlyimplies--if I were married, since I am descended from David, I couldinfuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while Iam a virgin?'"

After brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein itis provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a manteach his adopted son a handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in allthe rights of heirship, Canon Girdlestone adds: "If the crown of Davidhad been assigned to his successor in the days of Herod it would havebeen placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legalsuccessor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King ofthe Jews, and the title on the cross spoke the truth. God had raised Himup to the house of David. "

6. The Inner Sanctuary of the Temple. --The Holy of Holies in the Templeof Herod retained the form and dimensions of the Oracle in the Temple ofSolomon; it was therefore a cube, twenty cubits in each principalmeasurement. Between this and the Holy Place hung a double veil, offinest material, elaborately embroidered. The outer of the two veils wasopen at the north end, the inner at the south; so that the high priestwho entered at the appointed time once a year could pass between theveils without exposing the Holy of Holies. The sacred chamber was emptysave for a large stone upon which the high priest sprinkled thesacrificial blood on the Day of Atonement; this stone occupied the placeof the Ark and its Mercy Seat. Outside the veil, in the Holy Place, stood the altar of incense, the seven-branched candlestick, and thetable of shewbread. --_The House of the Lord_, p. 59. 

FOOTNOTES:

[186] Luke 1:19, 26; see also Dan. 8:16; 9:21-23. 

[187] Luke 1:5; compare 1 Chron. 24:10. 

[188] Ezra 2:36-39. 

[189] Luke 1:8, 9; read the entire chapter. 

[190] Lev. Chap. 16; Heb. 9:1-7; see also "House of the Lord, " p. 59, and compare pp. 24 and 39. Note 6, end of chapter. 

[191] Page 45. For other instances of children promised in spite ofbarrenness due to age or other causes, see Isaac (Gen. 17:16, 17 and21:1-3); Samson, (Judges, chap. 13); Samuel (1 Sam. Chap. 1); son of theShunammite (2 Kings 4:14-17). 

[192] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[193] Luke 1:19, 20. 

[194] Luke 1:57; compare verse 39. 

[195] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[196] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[197] Luke 1:68-79. 

[198] Luke 1:65, 66; see also 3:15. 

[199] Luke 1:80. 

[200] Luke 1:28. 

[201] Luke 1:30-33. 

[202] Luke 1:35; see also preceding verses, 31-33. 

[203] Page 43; and Gen. 3:15. 

[204] Luke 1:42; read verses 39-56. 

[205] Luke 1:46-55. 

[206] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[207] Matt. 1:20, 21; read 18-25. 

[208] Matt. 1:22-23; compare Isa. 7:14; see also 9:6. 

[209] Matt. 1:24, 25. 

[210] 2 Peter 1:20. 

[211] Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8. 

[212] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[213] For instances see Matt. 9:27; 15:22; 21:9; 20:30, 31, with whichcompare Luke 18:38, 39. 

[214] Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; see also Acts 2:30; 13:23; compare Psa. 132:11; see also Luke 1:32. 

[215] Matt. 1:23. 

CHAPTER 8. 

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

THE BIRTH OF JESUS. 

Equally definite with the prophecies declaring that the Messiah would beborn in the lineage of David are the predictions that fix the place ofHis birth at Bethlehem, a small town in Judea. There seems to have beenno difference of opinion among priests, scribes, or rabbis on thematter, either before or since the great event. Bethlehem, though smalland of little importance in trade or commerce, was doubly endeared tothe Jewish heart as the birthplace of David and as that of theprospective Messiah. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth of Galilee, farremoved from Bethlehem of Judea; and, at the time of which we speak, thematernity of the Virgin was fast approaching. 

At that time a decree went out from Rome ordering a taxing of the peoplein all kingdoms and provinces tributary to the empire; the call was ofgeneral scope, it provided "that all the world should be taxed. "[216]The taxing herein referred to may properly be understood as anenrolment, [217] or a registration, whereby a census of Roman subjectswould be secured, upon which as a basis the taxation of the differentpeoples would be determined. This particular census was the second ofthree such general registrations recorded by historians as occurring atintervals of about twenty years. Had the census been taken by the usualRoman method, each person would have been enrolled at the town of hisresidence; but the Jewish custom, for which the Roman law had respect, necessitated registration at the cities or towns claimed by therespective families as their ancestral homes. As to whether therequirement was strictly mandatory that every family should thusregister at the city of its ancestors, we need not be speciallyconcerned; certain it is that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, thecity of David, to be inscribed under the imperial decree. [218]

The little town was crowded at the time, most likely by the multitudethat had come in obedience to the same summons; and, in consequence, Joseph and Mary failed to find the most desirable accommodations and hadto be content with the conditions of an improvised camp, as travelersunnumbered had done before, and as uncounted others have done since, inthat region and elsewhere. We cannot reasonably regard this circumstanceas evidence of extreme destitution; doubtless it entailed inconvenience, but it gives us no assurance of great distress or suffering. [219] It waswhile she was in this situation that Mary the Virgin gave birth to herfirstborn, the Son of the Highest, the Only Begotten of the EternalFather, Jesus the Christ. 

But few details of attendant circumstances are furnished us. We are nottold how soon the birth occurred after the arrival of Mary and herhusband at Bethlehem. It may have been the purpose of the evangelist whomade the record to touch upon matters of purely human interest aslightly as was consistent with the narration of fact, in order that thecentral truth might neither be hidden nor overshadowed by unimportantincident. We read in Holy Writ this only of the actual birth: "And so itwas, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that sheshould be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, andwrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; became therewas no room for them at the inn. "[220]

In vivid contrast with the simplicity and brevity of the scripturalaccount and of its paucity of incidental details, is the mass ofcircumstance supplied by the imagination of men, much of which is whollyunsupported by authoritative record and in many respects is plainlyinconsistent and untrue. It is the part of prudence and wisdom tosegregate and keep distinctly separate the authenticated statements offact, in so momentous a matter, from the fanciful commentaries ofhistorians, theologians, and writers of fiction, as also from theemotional rhapsodies of poets and artistic extravaganzas wrought bychisel or brush. 

From the period of its beginning, Bethlehem had been the home of peopleengaged mostly in pastoral and agricultural pursuits. It is quite inline with what is known of the town and its environs to find at theseason of Messiah's birth, which was in the springtime of the year, thatflocks were in the field both night and day under the watchful care oftheir keepers. Unto certain of these humble shepherds came the firstproclamation that the Savior had been born. Thus runs the simple record:"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lordcame upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: andthey were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to allpeople. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shallfind the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Andsuddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hostpraising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earthpeace, good will toward men. "[221]

Tidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel orreceived by man--good tidings of great joy, given to but few and thoseamong the humblest of earth, but destined to spread to all people. Thereis sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is divine authorship in themessage, and the climax is such as the mind of man could never haveconceived--the sudden appearance of a multitude of the heavenly host, singing audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and mosttruly complete of all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal orspirit choir. What a consummation to be wished--Peace on earth! But howcan such come except through the maintenance of good will toward men?And through what means could glory to God in the highest be moreeffectively rendered?

The trustful and unsophisticated keepers of sheep had not asked for signor confirmation; their faith was in unison with the heavenlycommunication; nevertheless the angel had given them what he called asign, to guide them in their search. They waited not, but went in haste, for in their hearts they believed, yea, more than believed, they knew, and this was the tenor of their resolve: "Let us now go even untoBethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hathmade known unto us. "[222] They found the Babe in the manger, with themother and Joseph near by; and, having seen, they went out and testifiedto the truth concerning the Child. They returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. 

There is meaning as deep as the pathos that all must feel in theseemingly parenthetical remark by Luke. "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. "[223] It is apparent that the greattruth as to the personality and mission of her divine Son had not yetunfolded itself in its fulness to her mind. The whole course of events, from the salutation of Gabriel to the reverent testimony of theshepherds concerning the announcing angel and the heavenly hosts, waslargely a mystery to that stainless mother and wife. 

REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW STRICTLY OBSERVED. 

The Child was born a Jew; the mother was a Jewess, and the reputed andlegal father, Joseph, was a Jew. The true paternity of the Child wasknown to but few, perhaps at that time to none save Mary, Joseph, andpossibly Elisabeth and Zacharias; as He grew He was regarded by thepeople as Joseph's son. [224] The requirements of the law were carriedout with exactitude in all matters pertaining to the Child. When eightdays old He was circumcized, as was required of every male born inIsrael;[225] and at the same time He received as an earthly bestowal thename that had been prescribed at the annunciation. He was called JESUS, which, being interpreted is Savior; the name was rightfully His for Hecame to save the people from their sins. [226]

Part of the law given through Moses to the Israelites in the wildernessand continued in force down through the centuries, related to theprocedure prescribed for women after childbirth. [227] In compliancetherewith, Mary remained in retirement forty days following the birth ofher Son; then she and her husband brought the Boy for presentationbefore the Lord as prescribed for the male firstborn of every family. Itis manifestly impossible that all such presentations could have takenplace in the temple, for many Jews lived at great distances fromJerusalem; it was the rule, however, that parents should present theirchildren in the temple when possible. Jesus was born within five or sixmiles from Jerusalem; He was accordingly taken to the temple for theceremonial of redemption from the requirement applying to the firstbornof all Israelites except Levites. It will be remembered that thechildren of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt with theaccompaniment of signs and wonders. Because of Pharaoh's repeatedrefusals to let the people go, plagues had been brought upon theEgyptians, one of which was the death of the firstborn throughout theland, excepting only the people of Israel. In remembrance of thismanifestation of power, the Israelites were required to dedicate theirfirstborn sons to the service of the sanctuary. [228] Subsequently theLord directed that all males belonging to the tribe of Levi should bedevoted to this special labor instead of the firstborn in every tribe;nevertheless the eldest son was still claimed as particularly the Lord'sown, and had to be formally exempted from the earlier requirement ofservice by the paying of a ransom. [229]

In connection with the ceremony of purification, every mother wasrequired to furnish a yearling lamb for a burnt offering, and a youngpigeon or dove for a sin offering; but in the case of any woman who wasunable to provide a lamb, a pair of doves or pigeons might be offered. We learn of the humble circumstances of Joseph and Mary from the factthat they brought the less costly offering, two doves or pigeons, instead of one bird and a lamb. 

Among the righteous and devout Israelites were some who, in spite oftraditionalism, rabbinism, and priestly corruption, still lived inrighteous expectation of inspired confidence, awaiting patiently theconsolation of Israel. [230] One of these was Simeon, then living inJerusalem. Through the power of the Holy Ghost he had gained the promisethat he should not see death until he had looked upon the Lord's Christin the flesh. Prompted by the Spirit he repaired to the temple on theday of the presentation of Jesus, and recognized in the Babe thepromised Messiah. In the moment of realization that the hope of his lifehad found glorious consummation, Simeon raised the Child reverently inhis arms, and, with the simple but undying eloquence that comes of Goduttered this splendid supplication, in which thanksgiving, resignationand praise are so richly blended:

 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. "[231]

Then under the spirit of prophecy, Simeon told of the greatness of theChild's mission, and of the anguish that the mother would be called toendure because of Him, which would be even like unto that of a swordpiercing her soul. The Spirit's witness to the divinity of Jesus was notto be confined to a man. There was at that time in the temple a godlywoman of great age, Anna, a prophetess who devoted herself exclusivelyto temple service; and she, being inspired of God, recognized herRedeemer, and testified of Him to all about her. Both Joseph and Marymarveled at the things that were spoken of the Child; seemingly theywere not yet able to comprehend the majesty of Him who had come to themthrough so miraculous a conception and so marvelous a birth. 

WISE MEN SEARCH FOR THE KING. 

Some time after the presentation of Jesus in the temple, though how longwe are not told, possibly but a few days, possibly weeks or even months, Herod, king of Judea, was greatly troubled, as were the people ofJerusalem in general, over the report that a Child of Prophecy--onedestined to become King of the Jews--had been born. Herod wasprofessedly an adherent of the religion of Judah, though by birth anIdumean, by descent an Edomite or one of the posterity of Esau, all ofwhom the Jews hated; and of all Edomites not one was more bitterlydetested than was Herod the king. He was tyrannical and merciless, sparing neither foe nor friend who came under suspicion of being apossible hindrance to his ambitious designs. He had his wife and severalof his sons, as well as others of his blood kindred, cruelly murdered;and he put to death nearly all of the great national council, theSanhedrin. His reign was one of revolting cruelty and unbridledoppression. Only when in danger of inciting a national revolt or in fearof incurring the displeasure of his imperial master, the Roman emperor, did he stay his hand in any undertaking. [232]

Rumors of the birth of Jesus reached Herod's ears in this way. Therecame to Jerusalem certain men from afar, wise men they were called, andthey asked, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seenhis star in the east, and are come to worship him. "[233] Herod summoned"all the chief priests and scribes of the people, " and demanded of themwhere, according to the prophets, Christ should be born. They answeredhim: "In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, Andthou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princesof Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule mypeople Israel. "[234]

Herod sent secretly for the wise men, and inquired of them as to thesource of their information, and particularly as to the time at whichthe star, to which they attached such significance, had appeared. Thenhe directed them to Bethlehem, saying: "Go and search diligently for theyoung child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I maycome and worship him also. " As the men set out from Jerusalem on thelast stage of their journey of inquiry and search, they rejoicedexceedingly, for the new star they had seen in the east was againvisible. They found the house wherein Mary was living with her husbandand the Babe, and as they recognized the royal Child they "fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, theypresented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. "[235]Having thus gloriously accomplished the purpose of their pilgrimage, these devout and learned travelers prepared to return home, and wouldhave stopped at Jerusalem to report to the king as he had requested, but"being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. "[236]

Much has been written, beyond all possible warrant of scripturalauthority, concerning the visit of the magi, or wise men, who thussought and found the infant Christ. As a matter of fact, we are leftwithout information as to their country, nation, or tribal relationship;we are not even told how many they were, though unauthenticatedtradition has designated them as "the three wise men, " and has evengiven them names; whereas they are left unnamed in the scriptures, theonly true record of them extant, and may have numbered but two or many. Attempts have been made to identify the star whose appearance in theireastern sky had assured the magi that the King was born; but astronomyfurnishes no satisfactory confirmation. The recorded appearance of thestar has been associated by both ancient and modern interpreters withthe prophecy of Balaam, who, though not an Israelite had blessed Israel, and under divine inspiration had predicted: "there shall come a Star outof Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. "[237] Moreover, asalready shown, the appearance of a new star was a predicted signrecognized and acknowledged among the people of the western world aswitness of Messiah's birth. [238]

THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 

Herod's perfidy in directing the magi to return and report to him wherethe royal Infant was to be found, falsely professing that he wished toworship Him also, while in his heart he purposed taking the Child'slife, was thwarted by the divine warning given to the wise men asalready noted. Following their departure, the angel of the Lord appearedto Joseph, saying: "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, andflee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herodwill seek the young child to destroy him. "[239] In obedience to thiscommand, Joseph took Mary and her Child, and set out by night on thejourney to Egypt; and there the family remained until divinely directedto return. When it was apparent to the king that the wise men hadignored his instructions, he was exceedingly angry; and, estimating theearliest time at which the birth could have occurred according to themagis' statement of the star's appearing, he ruthlessly ordered theslaughter of "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all thecoasts thereof, from two years old and under. "[240] In this massacre ofthe innocents, the evangelist found a fulfilment of Jeremiah's fatefulvoicing of the word of the Lord, spoken six centuries earlier andexpressed in the forceful past tense as though then alreadyaccomplished: "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, andweeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and wouldnot be comforted, because they are not. "[241]

BIRTH OF JESUS MADE KNOWN TO THE NEPHITES. 

As heretofore shown, the prophets of the western hemisphere had foretoldin great plainness the earthly advent of the Lord, and had specificallyset forth the time, place, and circumstances of His birth. [242] As thetime drew near the people were divided by conflicting opinionsconcerning the reliability of these prophecies; and intolerantunbelievers cruelly persecuted those, who, like Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, and other righteous ones in Palestine, had maintained in faith and trusttheir unwavering expectation of the coming of the Lord. Samuel, arighteous Lamanite, who, because of his faithfulness and sacrificingdevotion had been blessed with the spirit and power of prophecy, fearlessly proclaimed the birth of Christ as near: "And behold, he saidunto them, Behold I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shallbelieve on his name. "[243] The prophet told of many signs and wonders, which were to mark the great event. As the five years ran their course, the believers grew more steadfast, the unbelievers more violent, untilthe last day of the specified period dawned; and this was the "day setapart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in thosetraditions should be put to death, except the sign should come to passwhich had been given by Samuel the prophet. "[244]

Nephi, a prophet of the time, cried unto the Lord in anguish of soulbecause of the persecution of which his people were the victims; "andbehold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, Lift up your headand be of good cheer, for behold, the time is at hand, and on this nightshall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, toshew unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused tobe spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men, from the foundation of the world, and do the will, both of the Father, and of the Son; of the Father, because of me, and of the Son, because ofmy flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the signbe given. "[245]

The words of the prophet were fulfilled that night; for though the sunset in its usual course there was no darkness; and on the morrow the sunrose on a land already illumined; a day and a night and another day hadbeen as one day; and this was but one of the signs. A new star appearedin the firmament of the west, even as was seen by the magi in the east;and there were many other marvelous manifestations as the prophets hadpredicted. All these things occurred on what is now known as theAmerican continent, six hundred years after Lehi and his little companyhad left Jerusalem to come hither. 

THE TIME OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS. 

The time of Messiah's birth is a subject upon which specialists intheology and history, and those who are designated in literature "thelearned, " fail to agree. Numerous lines of investigation have beenfollowed, only to reach divergent conclusions, both as to the year andas to the month and day within the year at which the "Christian era" inreality began. The establishment of the birth of Christ as an eventmarking a time from which chronological data should be calculated, wasfirst effected about 532 A. D. By Dionysius Exiguus; and as a basis forthe reckoning of time this method has come to be known as the Dionysiansystem, and takes for its fundamental datum A. U. C. 753, that is to say753 years after the founding of Rome, as the year of our Lord's birth. So far as there exists any consensus of opinion among later scholars whohave investigated the subject, it is to the effect that the Dionysiancalculation is wrong, in that it places the birth of Christ betweenthree and four years too late; and that therefore our Lord was born inthe third or fourth year before the beginning of what is designated bythe scholars of Oxford and Cambridge, "the Common Account called AnnoDomini. "[246]

Without attempting to analyze the mass of calculation data relating tothis subject, we accept the Dionysian basis as correct with respect tothe year, which is to say that we believe Christ to have been born inthe year known to us as B. C. 1, and, as shall be shown, in an earlymonth of that year. In support of this belief we cite the inspiredrecord known as the "Revelation on Church Government, given throughJoseph the Prophet, in April, 1830, " which opens with these words: "Therise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousandeight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and SaviourJesus Christ in the flesh. "[247]

Another evidence of the correctness of our commonly accepted chronologyis furnished by the Book of Mormon record. Therein we read that "in thecommencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, "the word of the Lord came to Lehi at Jerusalem, directing him to takehis family and depart into the wilderness. [248] In the early stages oftheir journey toward the sea, Lehi prophesied, as had been shown him ofthe Lord, concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and thecaptivity of the Jews. Furthermore, he predicted the eventual return ofthe people of Judah from their exile in Babylon, and the birth of theMessiah, which latter event he definitely declared would take place sixhundred years from the time he and his people had left Jerusalem. [249]This specification of time was repeated by later prophecy;[250] and thesigns of the actual fulfilment are recorded as having been realized "sixhundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem. "[251] Thesescriptures fix the time of the beginning of Zedekiah's reign as sixhundred years before the birth of Christ. According to the commonlyaccepted reckoning, Zedekiah was made king in the year 597 B. C. [252]This shows a discrepancy of about three years between the commonlyaccepted date of Zedekiah's inauguration as king and that given in theBook of Mormon statement; and, as already seen, there is a difference ofbetween three and four years between the Dionysian reckoning and thenearest approach to an agreement among scholars concerning the beginningof the current era. Book of Mormon chronology therefore sustains ingeneral the correctness of the common or Dionysian system. 

As to the season of the year in which Christ was born, there is amongthe learned as great a diversity of opinion as that relating to the yearitself. It is claimed by many Biblical scholars that December 25th, theday celebrated in Christendom as Christmas, cannot be the correct date. We believe April 6th to be the birthday of Jesus Christ as indicated ina revelation of the present dispensation already cited, [253] in whichthat day is made without qualification the completion of the onethousand eight hundred and thirtieth year since the coming of the Lordin the flesh. This acceptance is admittedly based on faith in modernrevelation, and in no wise is set forth as the result of chronologicalresearch or analysis. We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehemof Judea, April 6, B. C. 1. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 8. 

1. The "Taxing. "--Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary inBethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree bycompliance with which they were led there, the following notes areworthy of consideration. Farrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 24, note), says:"It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary with her husbandwas obligatory or voluntary. .. . Women were liable to a capitation tax, if this enrolment also involved taxation. But, apart from any legalnecessity, it may easily be imagined that at such a moment Mary woulddesire not to be left alone. The cruel suspicion of which she had beenthe subject, and which had almost led to the breaking off of herbetrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to theprotection of her husband. " The following excerpt is from Geikie's _Lifeand Words of Christ_, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: "The Jewish nation hadpaid tribute to Rome through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; andthe methodical Augustus, who now reigned, and had to restore order andsoundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion andexhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this obligation shouldneither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a censusto be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, thathe might know the number of soldiers he could levy in each, and theamount of taxes due to the treasury. .. . In an empire embracing the thenknown world, such a census could hardly have been made simultaneously, or in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years, in successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or later, however, even thedominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statisticsdemanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing ofa subject, and grew more entirely dependent on Augustus as years passed, asking his sanction at every turn for steps he proposed to take. Hewould, thus, be only too ready to meet his wish, by obtaining thestatistics he sought, as may be judged from the fact that in one of thelast years of his life, just before Christ's birth, he made the wholeJewish nation take a solemn oath of allegiance to the emperor as well asto himself. 

"It is quite probable that the mode of taking the required statisticswas left very much to Herod, at once to show respect to him before hispeople, and from the known opposition of the Jews to anything like ageneral numeration, even apart from the taxation to which it wasdesigned to lead. At the time to which the narrative refers, a simpleregistration seems to have been made, on the old Hebrew plan ofenrolling by families in their ancestral districts, of course for futureuse; and thus it passed over quietly. .. . The proclamation having beenmade through the land, Joseph had no choice but to go to Bethlehem, thecity of David, the place in which his family descent, from the house andlineage of David, required him to be inscribed. "

2. Jesus Born Amidst Poor Surroundings. --Undoubtedly the accommodationsfor physical comfort amidst which Jesus was born were few and poor. Butthe environment, considered in the light of the customs of the countryand time, was far from the state of abject deprivation which modern andwestern ways would make it appear. "Camping out" was no unusual exigencyamong travelers in Palestine at the time of our Lord's birth; nor is itconsidered such to-day. It is, however, beyond question that Jesus wasborn into a comparatively poor family, amidst humble surroundingsassociated with the inconveniences incident to travel. CunninghamGeikie, _Life and Words of Christ_, chap. 9, pp. 112, 113, says: "It wasto Bethlehem that Joseph and Mary were coming, the town of Ruth andBoaz, and the early home of their own great forefather David. As theyapproached it from Jerusalem they would pass, at the last mile, a spotsacred to Jewish memory, where the light of Jacob's life went out, whenhis first love, Rachel, died, and was buried, as her tomb still shows, 'in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. ' . .. Traveling in the Easthas always been very different from Western ideas. As in allthinly-settled countries, private hospitality, in early times, suppliedthe want of inns, but it was the peculiarity of the East that thisfriendly custom continued through a long series of ages. On the greatroads through barren or uninhabited parts, the need of shelter led, veryearly, to the erection of rude and simple buildings, of varying size, known as khans, which offered the wayfarer the protection of walls and aroof, and water, but little more. The smaller structures consisted ofsometimes only a single empty room, on the floor of which the travelermight spread his carpet for sleep; the larger ones, always built in ahollow square, enclosing a court for the beasts, with water in it forthem and their masters. From immemorial antiquity it has been a favoritemode of benevolence to raise such places of shelter, as we see so farback as the times of David, when Chimham built a great khan nearBethlehem, on the caravan road to Egypt. "

Canon Farrar (_Life of Christ_, chap, 1) accepts the traditional beliefthat the shelter within which Jesus was born was that of one of thenumerous limestone caves which abound in the region, and which are stillused by travelers as resting places. He says: "In Palestine it notinfrequently happens that the entire khan, or at any rate the portion ofit in which the animals are housed, is one of those innumerable caveswhich abound in the limestone rocks of its central hills. Such seems tohave been in the case at the little town of Bethlehem-Ephratah, in theland of Judah. Justin Martyr, the Apologist, who, from his birth atShechem, was familiar with Palestine, and who lived less than a centuryafter the time of our Lord, places the scene of the nativity in a cave. This is, indeed, the ancient and constant tradition both of the Easternand the Western Churches, and it is one of the few to which, thoughunrecorded in the Gospel history, we may attach a reasonableprobability. "

3. Herod the Great. --The history of Herod I, otherwise known as Herodthe Great, must be sought in special works, in which the subject istreated at length. Some of the principal facts should be considered inour present study, and for the assistance of the student a few extractsfrom works regarded as reliable are presented herewith. 

Condensed from part of article in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_, edited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos; published by Funk and WagnallsCo. , 1909:--Herod I, the son of Antipater, was early given office by hisfather, who had been made procurator of Judea. The first office whichHerod held was that of governor of Galilee. He was then a young man ofabout twenty-five, energetic and athletic. Immediately he set about theeradication of the robber bands that infested his district, and soon wasable to execute the robber chief Hezekiah and several of his followers. For this he was summoned to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin, tried andcondemned, but with the connivance of Hyrcanus II [the high priest andethnarch] he escaped by night. --He went to Rome where he was appointedKing of Judea by Antony and Octavius. --For the next two years he wasengaged in fighting the forces of Antigonus, whom he finally defeated, and in 37 B. C. Gained possession of Jerusalem. --As king, Herodconfronted serious difficulties. The Jews objected to him because of hisbirth and reputation. The Asmonean family regarded him as a usurper, notwithstanding the fact that he had married Mariamne. The Phariseeswere shocked at his Hellenistic sympathies, as well as at his severemethods of government. On the other hand the Romans held him responsiblefor the order of his kingdom, and the protection of the eastern frontierof the Republic. Herod met these various difficulties withcharacteristic energy and even cruelty, and generally with coldsagacity. Although he taxed the people severely, in times of famine heremitted their dues and even sold his plate to get means to buy themfood. While he never became actually friendly with the Pharisees, theyprofited by his hostility to the party of the Asmoneans, which led atthe beginning of his reign to the execution of a number of Sadducees whowere members of the Sanhedrin. 

From Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible_: The latter part"of the reign of Herod was undisturbed by external troubles, but hisdomestic life was embittered by an almost uninterrupted series ofinjuries and cruel acts of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshedwhich Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied by othersamong his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims tothem. According to the well-known story, he ordered the nobles whom hehad called to him in his last moments to be executed immediately afterhis decease, that so at least his death might be attended by universalmourning. It was at the time of his fatal illness that he must havecaused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem" (Matt. 2:16-18). 

The mortal end of the tyrant and multi-murderer is thus treated byFarrar in his _Life of Christ_, pp. 54, 55:--"It must have been veryshortly after the murder of the innocents that Herod died. Only fivedays before his death he had made a frantic attempt at suicide, and hadordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His death-bed, whichonce more reminds us of Henry VIII. , was accompanied by circumstances ofpeculiar horror; and it has been asserted that he died of a loathsomedisease, which is hardly mentioned in history, except in the case of menwho have been rendered infamous by an atrocity of persecuting zeal. Onhis bed of intolerable anguish, in that splendid and luxurious palacewhich he had built for himself, under the palms of Jericho, swollen withdisease and scorched by thirst, ulcerated externally and glowinginwardly with a 'soft slow fire, ' surrounded by plotting sons andplundering slaves, detesting all and detested by all, longing for deathas a release from his tortures yet dreading it as the beginning of worseterrors, stung by remorse yet still unslaked with murder, a horror toall around him yet in his guilty conscience a worse terror to himself, devoured by the premature corruption of an anticipated grave, eaten ofworms as though visibly smitten by the finger of God's wrath afterseventy years of successful villainy, the wretched old man, whom men hadcalled the Great, lay in savage frenzy awaiting his last hour. As heknew that none would shed one tear for him, he determined that theyshould shed many for themselves, and issued an order that, under pain ofdeath, the principal families of the kingdom and the chiefs of thetribes should come to Jericho. They came, and then, shutting them in thehippodrome, he secretly commanded his sister Salome that at the momentof his death they should all be massacred. And so, choking as it werewith blood, devising massacres in its very delirium, the soul of Herodpassed forth into the night. "

For mention of the Temple of Herod see Note 5, following Chapter 6. 

4. Gifts from the Wise Men to the Child Jesus. --The scriptural accountof the visit of the wise men to Jesus and His mother states that they"fell down and worshipped him, " and furthermore that "when they hadopened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, andfrankincense, and myrrh. " The offering of gifts to a superior in rank, either as to worldly status or recognized spiritual endowment, was acustom of early days and still prevails in many oriental lands. It isworthy of note that we have no record of these men from the eastoffering gifts to Herod in his palace; they did, however, impart oftheir treasure to the lowly Infant, in whom they recognized the Kingthey had come to seek. The tendency to ascribe occult significance toeven trifling details mentioned in scripture, and particularly asregards the life of Christ, has led to many fanciful suggestionsconcerning the gold and frankincense and myrrh specified in thisincident. Some have supposed a half-hidden symbolism therein--gold atribute to His royal estate, frankincense an offering in recognition ofHis priesthood, and myrrh for His burial. The sacred record offers nobasis for such conjecture. Myrrh and frankincense are aromatic resinsderived from plants indigenous to eastern lands, and they have been usedfrom very early times in medicine and in the preparation of perfumes andincense mixtures. They were presumably among the natural productions ofthe lands from which the magi came, though probably even there they werecostly and highly esteemed. Such, together with gold, which is of valueamong all nations, were most appropriate as gifts for a king. Anymystical significance one may choose to attach to the presents must beremembered as his own supposition or fancy, and not as based onscriptural warrant. 

5. Testimonies from Shepherds and Magi. --The following instructive noteon the testimonies relating to Messiah's birth, is taken from the _YoungMen's Mutual Improvement Association Manual_ for 1897-8: "It will beobserved that the testimonies concerning the birth of the Messiah arefrom two extremes, the lowly shepherds in the Judean field, and thelearned magi from the far east. We cannot think this is the result ofmere chance, but that in it may be discerned the purpose and wisdom ofGod. All Israel was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, and inthe birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, the hope of Israel--though unknown toIsrael--is fulfilled. Messiah, of whom the prophet spake, is born. Butthere must be those who can testify of that truth, and hence to theshepherds who watched their flocks by night an angel was sent to say:'Fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall beto all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, aSaviour, which is Christ, the Lord. ' And for a sign of the truth of themessage, they were to find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lyingin a manger in Bethlehem. And they went with haste and found Mary andJoseph, and the babe lying in a manger; and when they had seen it, theymade known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. God had raised up to Himself witnesses among the people to testify thatMessiah was born, that the hope of Israel was fulfilled. But there wereclasses of people among the Jews whom these lowly shepherd witnessescould not reach, and had they been able to reach them, the story of theangel's visit, and the concourse of angels singing the magnificent songof 'Peace on earth, good will to men, ' would doubtless have beenaccounted an idle tale of superstitious folk, deceived by their ownover-wrought imaginations or idle dreams. Hence God raised up anotherclass of witnesses--the 'wise men from the east'--witnesses that couldenter the royal palace of proud King Herod and boldly ask: 'Where is hethat is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him'; a testimony that startled Herod andtroubled all Jerusalem. So that indeed God raised up witnesses forHimself to meet all classes and conditions of men--the testimony ofangels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for thehaughty king and proud priests of Judea. So that of the thingsconcerning the birth of Messiah, no less than of the things of His deathand resurrection from the dead, His disciples could say, 'these thingswere not done in a corner. '"

6. The Year of Christ's Birth. --In treating this topic Dr. Charles F. Deems (_The Light of the Nations_, p. 28), after giving carefulconsideration of the estimates, calculations, and assumptions of men whohave employed many means in their investigation and reach onlydiscordant results says: "It is annoying to see learned men use the sameapparatus of calculation and reach the most diverse results. It isbewildering to attempt a reconciliation of these varying calculations. "In an appended note the same author states: "For example: the birth ofour Lord is placed in B. C. 1 by Pearson and Hug; B. C. 2 by Scalinger;B. C. 3 by Baronius and Paulus; B. C. 4 by Bengel, Wieseler, and Greswell;B. C. 5 by Usher and Petavius; B. C. 6 by Strong, Luvin, and Clark; B. C. 7by Ideler and Sanclemente. "

FOOTNOTES:

[216] Luke 2:1; see also verses 2-4. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[217] Note marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles. 

[218] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[219] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[220] Luke 2:6, 7. 

[221] Luke 2:8-14. 

[222] Luke 2:15. 

[223] Luke 2:19. 

[224] Luke 4:22; Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3. 

[225] Gen. 17:12, 13; Lev. 12:3; compare John 7:22. Page 88. 

[226] Luke 2:21; compare 1:31; Matt. 1:21, 25. 

[227] Lev. Chap. 12. 

[228] Exo. 12:29; 13:2, 12; 22:29, 30. 

[229] Numb. 8:15-18; 18:15, 16. 

[230] Luke 2:25; see also verse 38; Mark 15:43; compare Psa. 40:1. 

[231] Luke 2:29-32. These verses are known in Christian hymnology as theNunc Dimittis; the name has reference to the first two words of theLatin version. 

[232] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[233] Matt. 2:2; read 1-10. 

[234] Matt. 2:5, 6; compare Micah 5:2; John 7:42. 

[235] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[236] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[237] Numb. 24:17. 

[238] B. Of M. , Helaman 14:5; 3 Nephi 1:21. Pp. 52, 101 and 721 herein. 

[239] Matt. 2:13. 

[240] Matt. 2:16. 

[241] Matt. 2:17, 18; compare Jer. 31:15. 

[242] Page 49. 

[243] B. Of M. , Helaman 14:2; read 1-9. 

[244] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 1:9; read verses 4-21. 

[245] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 1:12-21. 

[246] Marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles, Matt. 2:1. 

[247] Doc. And Cov. 20:1; compare 21:3. Note 6, end of chapter. 

[248] B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 1:4; 2:2-4. 

[249] B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 10:4. 

[250] B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 19:8; 2 Nephi 25:19. 

[251] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 1:1. 

[252] "Standard Bible Dictionary, " edited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos, pub. By Funk & Wagnalls Co. , New York and London, 1909, p. 915, article"Zedekiah. "

[253] Doc. And Cov. 20:1; compare 21:2

CHAPTER 9. 

THE BOY OF NAZARETH. 

Joseph, Mary, and her Son remained in Egypt until after the death ofHerod the Great, which event was made known by another angelicvisitation. Their stay in the foreign land was probably brief, for Heroddid not long survive the babes he had slain in Bethlehem. In the returnof the family from Egypt the evangelist finds a fulfilment of Hosea'sprophetic vision of what should be: "Out of Egypt have I called myson. "[254]

It appears to have been Joseph's intention to make a home for the familyin Judea, possibly at Bethlehem--the city of his ancestors and a placenow even more endeared to him as the birthplace of Mary's Child--but, learning on the way that Herod's son Archelaus ruled in the place of hiswicked father, Joseph modified his purpose; and, "being warned of God ina dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came anddwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which wasspoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. "[255]

While Archelaus, who appears to have been a natural heir to his infamousfather's wickedness and cruelty, ruled in Judea, [256] for a short timeas king, then with the less exalted title of ethnarch, which had beendecreed to him by the emperor, his brother Antipas governed as tetrarchin Galilee. Herod Antipas was well nigh as vicious and reprobate asothers of his unprincipled family, but he was less aggressive invindictiveness, and in that period of his reign was comparativelytolerant. [257]

Concerning the home life of Joseph and his family in Nazareth, thescriptural record makes but brief mention. The silence with which theearly period of the life of Jesus is treated by the inspired historiansis impressive; while the fanciful accounts written in later years byunauthorized hands are full of fictitious detail, much of which ispositively revolting in its puerile inconsistency. None but Joseph, Mary, and the other members of the immediate family or close associatesof the household could have furnished the facts of daily life in thehumble home at Nazareth; and from these qualified informants Matthew andLuke probably derived the knowledge of which they wrote. The record madeby those who knew is marked by impressive brevity. In this absence ofdetail we may see evidence of the genuineness of the scriptural account. Inventive writers would have supplied, as, later, such did supply, whatwe seek in vain within the chapters of the Gospels. With hallowedsilence do the inspired scribes honor the boyhood of their Lord; he whoseeks to invent circumstances and to invest the life of Christ withfictitious additions, dishonors Him. Read thoughtfully the attestedtruth concerning the childhood of the Christ: "And the child grew, andwaxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God wasupon him. "[258]

In such simplicity is the normal, natural development of the Boy Jesusmade clear. He came among men to experience all the natural conditionsof mortality; He was born as truly a dependent, helpless babe as is anyother child; His infancy was in all common features as the infancy ofothers; His boyhood was actual boyhood, His development was as necessaryand as real as that of all children. Over His mind had fallen the veilof forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which theremembrance of primeval existence is shut off. The Child grew, and withgrowth there came to Him expansion of mind, development of faculties, and progression in power and understanding. His advancement was from onegrace to another, not from gracelessness to grace; from good to greatergood, not from evil to good; from favor with God to greater favor, notfrom estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentanceand propitiation. [259]

Our knowledge of Jewish life in that age justifies the inference thatthe Boy was well taught in the law and the scriptures, for such was therule. He garnered knowledge by study, and gained wisdom by prayer, thought, and effort. Beyond question He was trained to labor, foridleness was abhorred then as it is now; and every Jewish boy, whethercarpenter's son, peasant's child, or rabbi's heir, was required to learnand follow a practical and productive vocation. Jesus was all that a boyshould be, for His development was unretarded by the dragging weight ofsin; He loved and obeyed the truth and therefore was free. [260]

Joseph and Mary, devout and faithful in all observances of the law, wentup to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. This religiousfestival, it should be remembered, was one of the most solemn and sacredamong the many ceremonial commemorations of the Jews; it had beenestablished at the time of the peoples' exodus from Egypt, inremembrance of the outstretched arm of power by which God had deliveredIsrael after the angel of destruction had slain the firstborn in everyEgyptian home and had mercifully passed over the houses of the childrenof Jacob. [261] It was of such importance that its annual recurrence wasmade the beginning of the new year. The law required all males topresent themselves before the Lord at the feast. The rule was that womenshould likewise attend if not lawfully detained; and Mary appears tohave followed both the spirit of the law and the letter of the rule, forshe habitually accompanied her husband to the annual gathering atJerusalem. 

When Jesus had attained the age of twelve years He was taken by Hismother and Joseph to the feast as the law required; whether the Boy hadever before been present on such an occasion we are not told: At twelveyears of age a Jewish boy was recognized as a member of his homecommunity; he was required then to enter with definite purpose upon hischosen vocation; he attained an advanced status as an individual in thatthereafter he could not be arbitrarily disposed of as a bond-servant byhis parents; he was appointed to higher studies in school and home; and, when accepted by the priests, he became a "son of the law. " It was thecommon and very natural desire of parents to have their sons attend thefeast of the Passover and be present at the temple ceremonies asrecognized members of the congregation when of the prescribed age. Thuscame the Boy Jesus to the temple. 

The feast proper lasted seven days, and in the time of Christ wasannually attended by great concourses of Jews; Josephus speaks of such aPassover gathering as "an innumerable multitude. "[262] The people camefrom distant provinces in large companies and caravans, as a matter ofconvenience and as a means of common protection against the maraudingbands which are known to have infested the country. As members of such acompany Joseph and his family traveled. 

When, following the conclusion of the Passover, the Galilean company hadgone a day's journey toward home, Joseph and Mary discovered to theirsurprize and deep concern that Jesus was not with their company. After afruitless search among their friends and acquaintances, they turned backtoward Jerusalem seeking the Boy. Their inquiries brought little comfortor assistance until three days had passed; then "they, found him in thetemple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them andasking them questions. "[263] It was no unusual thing for a twelve yearold boy to be questioned by priests, scribes, or rabbis, nor to bepermitted to ask questions of these professional expounders of the law, for such procedure was part of the educational training of Jewishyouths; nor was there anything surprizing in such a meeting of studentsand teachers within the temple courts, for the rabbis of that time wereaccustomed to give instruction there; and people, young and old, gathered about them, sitting at their feet to learn; but there was muchthat was extraordinary in this interview as the demeanor of the learneddoctors showed, for never before had such a student been found, inasmuchas "all that heard him were astonished at his understanding andanswers. " The incident furnishes evidence of a wellspent boyhood andproof of unusual attainments. [264]

The amazement of Mary and her husband on finding the Boy in suchdistinguished company, and so plainly the object of deference andrespect, and the joy of seeing again the beloved One who to them hadbeen lost, did not entirely banish the memory of the anguish His absencehad caused them. In words of gentle yet unmistakable reproof the mothersaid: "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and Ihave sought thee sorrowing. " The Boy's reply astonished them, in that itrevealed, to an extent they had not before realized, His rapidlymaturing powers of judgment and understanding. Said He: "How is it thatye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"

Let us not say that there was unkind rebuke or unfilial reproof in theanswer of this most dutiful of sons to His mother. His reply was to Marya reminder of what she seems to have forgotten for the moment--the factsin the matter of her Son's paternity. She had used the words "thy fatherand I;" and her Son's response had brought anew to her mind the truththat Joseph was not the Boy's father. She appears to have beenastonished that One so young should so thoroughly understand Hisposition with respect to herself. He had made plain to her theinadvertent inaccuracy of her words; His Father had not been seekingHim; for was He not even at that moment in His Father's house, andparticularly engaged in His Father's business, the very work to whichHis Father had appointed Him?

He had in no wise intimated a doubt as to Mary's maternal relationshipto Himself; though He had indisputably shown that He recognized as HisFather, not Joseph of Nazareth, but the God of Heaven. Both Mary andJoseph failed to comprehend the full import of His words. Though Heunderstood the superior claim of duty based on His divine Sonship, andhad shown to Mary that her authority as earthly mother was subordinateto that of His immortal and divine Father, nevertheless He obeyed her. Interested as were the doctors in this remarkable Boy, much as He hadgiven them to ponder over through His searching questions and wiseanswers, they could not detain Him, for the very law they professed touphold enjoined strict obedience to parental authority. "And he wentdown with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but hismother kept all these sayings in her heart. "

What marvelous and sacred secrets were treasured in that mother's heart;and what new surprizes and grave problems were added day after day inthe manifestations of unfolding wisdom displayed by her more than mortalSon! Though she could never have wholly forgotten, at times sheseemingly lost sight of her Son's exalted personality. That suchconditions should exist was perhaps divinely appointed. There couldscarcely have been a full measure of truly human experience in therelationship between Jesus and His mother, or between Him and Joseph, had the fact of His divinity been always dominant or even prominentlyapparent. Mary appears never to have fully understood her Son; at everynew evidence of His uniqueness she marveled and pondered anew. He washers, and yet in a very real sense not wholly hers. There was abouttheir relation to each other a mystery, awful yet sublime, a holy secretwhich that chosen and blessed mother hesitated even to tell over toherself. Fear must have contended with joy within her soul because ofHim. The memory of Gabriel's glorious promises, the testimony of therejoicing shepherds, and the adoration of the magi must have struggledwith that of Simeon's portentous prophecy, directed to herself inperson: "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also. "[265]

As to the events of the eighteen years following the return of Jesusfrom Jerusalem to Nazareth, the scriptures are silent save for one richsentence of greatest import: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. "[266] Plainly this Son of the Highest wasnot endowed with a fulness of knowledge, nor with the completeinvestiture of wisdom, from the cradle. [267] Slowly the assurance of Hisappointed mission as the Messiah, of whose coming He read in the law, the prophets, and the psalms, developed within His soul; and in devotedpreparation for the ministry that should find culmination on the crossHe passed the years of youth and early manhood. From the chronicles oflater years we learn that He was reputed without question to be the sonof Joseph and Mary, and was regarded as the brother of other and youngerchildren of the family. He was spoken of both as a carpenter and acarpenter's son; and, until the beginning of His public ministry Heappears to have been of little prominence even in the small homecommunity. [268]

He lived the simple life, at peace with His fellows, in communion withHis Father, thus increasing in favor with God and men. As shown by Hispublic utterances after He had become a man, these years of seclusionwere spent in active effort, both physical and mental. Jesus was a closeobserver of nature and men. He was able to draw illustrations with whichto point His teachings from the varied occupations, trades andprofessions; the ways of the lawyer and the physician, the manners ofthe scribe, the Pharisee and the rabbi, the habits of the poor, thecustoms of the rich, the life of the shepherd, the farmer, thevinedresser and the fisherman--were all known to Him. He considered thelilies of the field, and the grass in meadow and upland, the birds whichsowed not nor gathered into barns but lived on the bounty of theirMaker, the foxes in their holes, the petted house dog and the vagrantcur, the hen sheltering her brood beneath protecting wings--all thesehad contributed to the wisdom in which He grew, as had also the moods ofthe weather, the recurrence of the seasons, and all the phenomena ofnatural change and order. 

Nazareth was the abode of Jesus until He was about thirty years of age;and, in accordance with the custom of designating individuals by thenames of their home towns as additions to their personal names, [269] ourLord came to be generally known as Jesus of Nazareth. [270] He is alsoreferred to as a Nazarene, or a native of Nazareth, and this fact iscited by Matthew as a fulfilment of earlier prediction, though ourcurrent compilation of scriptures constituting the Old Testamentcontains no record of such prophecy. It is practically certain that thisprediction was contained in some one of the many scriptures extant inearlier days but since lost. [271] That Nazareth was an obscure village, of little honor or renown, is evidenced by the almost contemptuousquestion of Nathanael, who, on being informed that the Messiah had beenfound in Jesus of Nazareth, asked: "Can there any good thing come out ofNazareth?"[272] The incredulous query has passed into a proverb currenteven today as expressive of any unpopular or unpromising source of good. Nathanael lived in Cana, but a few miles from Nazareth, and his surprizeat the tidings brought by Philip concerning the Messiah incidentallyaffords evidence of the seclusion in which Jesus had lived. 

So passed the boyhood, youth, and early manhood of the Savior ofmankind. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 9. 

1. Archelaus Reigned in Herod's Stead. --"At his death Herod [the Great]left a will according to which his kingdom was to be divided among histhree sons. Archelaus was to have Judea, Idumea, and Samaria, with thetitle of king (Matt 2:22). Herod Antipas was to receive Galilee andPerea, with the title of tetrarch; Philip was to come into possession ofthe trans-Jordan territory with the title of tetrarch (Luke 3:1). Thiswill was ratified by Augustus with the exception of the title given toArchelaus. Archelaus, after the ratification of Herod's will byAugustus, succeeded to the rule of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, havingthe title of ethnarch, with the understanding that, if he ruled well, hewas to become king. He was, however, highly unpopular with the people, and his reign was marked by disturbances and acts of oppression. Thesituation became finally so intolerable that the Jews appealed toAugustus, and Archelaus was removed and sent into exile. This accountsfor the statement in Matt. 2:22, and possibly also suggested the pointof the parable (Luke 19:12, etc. ). "--_Standard Bible Dictionary_, Funkand Wagnalls Co. , article "Herod. " Early in his reign he wreaked summaryvengeance on the people who ventured to protest against a continuationof his father's violence, by slaughtering three thousand or more; andthe awful deed of carnage was perpetrated in part within the precinctsof the temple. (Josephus, Antiquities xvii, 9:1-3. )

2. Herod Antipas. --Son of Herod I (the Great) by a Samaritan woman, andfull brother to Archelaus. By the will of his father he became tetrarchof Galilee and Perea (Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1; compareLuke 3:1). He repudiated his wife, a daughter of Aretas, king of ArabiaPetrea, and entered into an unlawful union with Herodias, the wife ofhis half-brother Herod Philip I (not the tetrarch Philip). John theBaptist was imprisoned and finally put to death, through the anger ofHerodias over his denunciation of her union with Herod Antipas. Herodiasurged Antipas to go to Rome and petition Cęsar for the title of king(compare Mark 6:14, etc. ). Antipas is the Herod most frequentlymentioned in the New Testament (Mark 6:17; 8:15; Luke 3:1; 9:7; 13:31;Acts 4:27; 13:1). He was the Herod to whom Pilate sent Jesus forexamination, taking advantage of Christ being known as a Galilean, andof the coincident fact of Herod's presence in Jerusalem at the time inattendance at the Passover (Luke 23:6, etc. ). For further details seeSmith's, Cassell's, or the Standard Bible Dictionary. 

3. Testimony of John the Apostle Concerning Christ's Development inKnowledge and Grace. --In a modern revelation, Jesus the Christ hasconfirmed the record of John the apostle, which record appears but inpart in our compilation of ancient scriptures. John thus attests theactuality of natural development in the growth of Jesus from childhoodto maturity: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fullness atthe first, but received grace for grace; and he received not of thefullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he receiveda fullness; and thus he was called the Son of God, because he receivednot of the fullness at the first. " (Doc. And Cov. 93:12-14). Notwithstanding this graded course of growth and development after Hisbirth in the flesh, Jesus Christ had been associated with the Fatherfrom the beginning, as is set forth in the revelation cited. We readtherein: "And he [John] bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he wasin the beginning before the world was; therefore in the beginning theWord was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, thelight and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came intothe world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life ofmen and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made byhim: all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the OnlyBegotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit oftruth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us" (verses7-11). 

4. Missing Scripture. --Matthew's commentary on the abode of Joseph, Maryand Jesus at Nazareth, "and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he shall becalled a Nazarene" (2:23), with the fact that no such saying of theprophets is found in any of the books contained in the Bible, suggeststhe certainty of lost scripture. Those who oppose the doctrine ofcontinual revelation between God and His Church, on the ground that theBible is complete as a collection of sacred scriptures, and that allegedrevelation not found therein must therefore be spurious, may profitablytake note of the many books not included in the Bible, yet mentionedtherein, generally in such a way as to leave no doubt that they wereonce regarded as authentic. Among these extra-Biblical scriptures, thefollowing may be named; some of them are in existence to-day, and areclassed with the Apocrypha; but the greater number are unknown. We readof the Book of the Covenant (Exo. 24:7); Book of the Wars of the Lord(Numb. 21:14); Book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13); Book of the Statutes (1Sam. 10:25); Book of Enoch (Jude 14); Book of the Acts of Solomon (1Kings 11:41); Book of Nathan the Prophet, and that of Gad the Seer (1Chron. 29:29); Book of Ahijah the Shilonite, and visions of Iddo theSeer (2 Chron. 9:29); Book of Shemaiah (2 Chron. 12:15); Story of theProphet Iddo (2 Chron. 13:22); Book of Jehu (2 Chron. 20:34); the Actsof Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz (2 Chron. 26:22); Sayings of theSeers (2 Chron. 33:19); a missing epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (1Cor. 5:9); a missing epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:3); missingepistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea (Col. 4:16); a missingepistle of Jude (Jude 3). 

5. Nazareth. --A town or "city" in Galilee, of which Biblical mention isfound in the New Testament only. Josephus says nothing concerning theplace. The name of the existing village, or the Nazareth of to-day, is_En-Nazirah_. This occupies an upland site on the southerly ridge ofLebanon, and "commands a splendid view of the Plain of Esdraelon andMount Carmel, and is very picturesque in general" (Zenos). The author ofthe article "Nazareth" in Smith's _Bible Dict. _ identifies the modernEn-Nazirah, with the Nazareth of old on the following grounds: "It is onthe lower declivities of a hill or mountain (Luke 4:29); it is withinthe limits of the province of Galilee (Mark 1:9); it is near Cana (John2:1, 2, 11); a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luke 4:29); and aseries of testimonials reaching back to Eusebius represent the place ashaving occupied the same position. " The same writer adds: "Itspopulation is 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin andGreek Christians. Most of the houses are well built of stone, and appearneat and comfortable. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, andafter rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost impassable. " Atthe time of Christ's life the town was not only regarded as unimportantby the Judeans who professed but little respect for Galilee or theGalileans, but as without honor by the Galileans themselves, as appearsfrom the fact that the seemingly contemptuous question, "Can there anygood thing come out of Nazareth?" was uttered by Nathanael (John 1:46), who was a Galilean and a native of Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth(John 21:2). Nazareth owes its celebrity to its association with eventsin the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke1:26; 2:4; 4:23, 34; John 1:45, 46; 19:19; Acts 2:22). 

FOOTNOTES:

[254] Matt. 2:15; compare Hos. 11:1. 

[255] Matt. 2:19-23. Note 5, end of chapter. 

[256] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[257] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[258] Luke 2:40. 

[259] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[260] Compare His teachings after He had reached manhood, e. G. John8:32. 

[261] Deut. 16:1-6; compare Exo. 12:2. 

[262] Josephus; Wars of the Jews, ii, 1:3. 

[263] Luke 2:46; read 41-52. 

[264] Compare Matt. 7:28, 29; 13:54; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:22. 

[265] Luke 2:35. 

[266] Luke 2:52. 

[267] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[268] Matt. 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 12:46, 47;Gal. 1:19. 

[269] For illustrative examples see Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43);Mary Magdalene, so known from her native town of Magdala (Matt. 27:56);Judas Iscariot, possibly named after his home in Kerioth (Matt. 10:4;see page 225 herein. )

[270] Matt. 21:11; John 18:5; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; see also Luke 4:16. 

[271] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[272] John 1:45, 46. 

CHAPTER 10. 

IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. 

THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. 

At a time definitely stated as the fifteenth year of the reign ofTiberius Cęsar, emperor of Rome, the people of Judea were greatlyaroused over the strange preaching of a man theretofore unknown. He wasof priestly descent, but untrained in the schools; and, withoutauthorization of the rabbis or license from the chief priests, heproclaimed himself as one sent of God with a message to Israel. Heappeared not in the synagogs nor within the temple courts, where scribesand doctors taught, but cried aloud in the wilderness. The people ofJerusalem and of adjacent rural parts went out in great multitudes tohear him. He disdained the soft garments and flowing robes of comfort, and preached in his rough desert garb, consisting of a garment ofcamel's hair held in place by a leathern girdle. The coarseness of hisattire was regarded as significant. Elijah the Tishbite, that fearlessprophet whose home had been the desert, was known in his day as "anhairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins;"[273] andrough garments had come to be thought of as a distinguishingcharacteristic of prophets. [274] Nor did this strange preacher eat thefood of luxury and ease, but fed on what the desert supplied, locustsand wild honey. [275]

The man was John, son of Zacharias, soon to be known as the Baptist. Hehad spent many years in the desert, apart from the abodes of men, yearsof preparation for his particular mission. He had been a student underthe tutelage of divine teachers; and there in the wilderness of Judeathe word of the Lord reached him;[276] as in similar environment it hadreached Moses[277] and Elijah[278] of old. Then was heard "The voice ofone crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make hispaths straight. "[279] It was the voice of the herald, the messenger who, as the prophets had said, should go before the Lord to prepare Hisway. [280] The burden of his message was "Repent ye, for the kingdom ofheaven is at hand. " And to such as had faith in his words and professedrepentance, confessing their sins, he administered baptism by immersionin water--proclaiming the while, "I indeed baptize you with water untorepentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoesI am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, andwith fire. "[281]

Neither the man nor his message could be ignored; his preaching wasspecific in promise to the repentant soul, and scathingly denunciatoryto the hypocrite and the hardened sinner. When Pharisees and Sadduceescame to his baptism, prating of the law, the spirit of which they ceasednot to transgress, and of the prophets, whom they dishonored, hedenounced them as a generation of vipers, and demanded of them: "Whohath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" He brushed aside theiroft-repeated boasts that they were the children of Abraham, saying, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to saywithin yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children untoAbraham. "[282] The ignoring of their claims to preferment as thechildren of Abraham was a strong rebuke, and a cause of sore affrontalike to aristocratic Sadducee and rule-bound Pharisee. Judaism heldthat the posterity of Abraham had an assured place in the kingdom of theexpected Messiah, and that no proselyte from among the Gentiles couldpossibly attain the rank and distinction of which the "children" weresure. John's forceful assertion that God could raise up, from the stoneson the river bank, children to Abraham, meant to those who heard thateven the lowest of the human family might be preferred before themselvesunless they repented and reformed. [283] Their time of wordy professionhad passed; fruits were demanded, not barren though leafy profusion; theax was ready, aye, at the very root of the tree; and every tree thatproduced not good fruit was to be hewn down and cast into the fire. 

The people were astonished; and many, seeing themselves in their actualcondition of dereliction and sin, as John, with burning words laid baretheir faults, cried out: "What shall we do then?"[284] His reply wasdirected against ceremonialism, which had caused spirituality to witheralmost to death in the hearts of the people. Unselfish charity wasdemanded--"He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. " The publicans ortax-farmers and collectors, under whose unjust and unlawful exactionsthe people had suffered so long, came asking: "Master, what shall we do?And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. "To the soldiers who asked what to do he replied: "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. "[285]

The spirit of his demands was that of a practical religion, the onlyreligion of any possible worth--the religion of right living. With allhis vigor, in spite of his brusqueness, notwithstanding his forcefulassaults on the degenerate customs of the times, this John was noagitator against established institutions, no inciter of riot, noadvocate of revolt, no promoter of rebellion. He did not assail the taxsystem but the extortions of the corrupt and avaricious publicans; hedid not denounce the army, but the iniquities of the soldiers, many ofwhom had taken advantage of their position to bear false witness for thesake of gain and to enrich themselves by forcible seizure. He preached, what in the now current dispensation we call the first or fundamentalprinciples of the gospel--"the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, "[286] comprizing faith, which is vitalized belief, inGod; genuine repentance, which comprizes contrition for past offensesand a resolute determination to turn from sin; baptism by immersion inwater at his hands as the hands of one having authority; and the higherbaptism by fire or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost by an authoritygreater than that possessed by himself. His preaching was positive, andin many respects opposed to the conventions of the times; he made noappeal to the people through the medium of miraculousmanifestations;[287] and though many of his hearers attached themselvesto him as disciples, [288] he established no formal organization, nor didhe attempt to form a cult. His demand for repentance was an individualcall, as unto each acceptable applicant the rite of baptism wasindividually administered. 

To the Jews, who were living in a state of expectancy, waiting for thelong-predicted Messiah, the words of this strange prophet in thewilderness were fraught with deep portent. Could it be that he was theChrist? He spoke of One yet to come, mightier than himself, whoseshoe-latchet he was not worthy to loosen, [289] One who would separatethe people as the thresher, fan in hand, blew the chaff from the wheat;and, he added, that mightier One "will gather the wheat into his garner;but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. "[290]

In such wise did the predicted herald of the Lord deliver his message. Himself he would not exalt; his office, however, was sacred to him, andwith its functions he brooked no interference from priest, Levite, orrabbi. He was no respecter of persons; sin he denounced, sinners heexcoriated, whether in priestly vestments, peasant garb, or royal robes. All the claims the Baptist had made for himself and his mission werelater confirmed and vindicated by the specific testimony of Christ. [291]John was the harbinger not alone of the kingdom but of the King; and tohim the King in person came. 

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS--TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

When Jesus "began to be about thirty years of age, " He journeyed fromHis home in Galilee "to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. ButJohn forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comestthou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now;for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he sufferedhim. "[292]

John and Jesus were second cousins; as to whether there had existed anyclose companionship between the two as boys or men we are not told. Itis certain, however, that when Jesus presented Himself for baptism, Johnrecognized in Him a sinless Man who stood in no need of repentance; and, as the Baptist had been commissioned to baptize for the remission ofsins, he saw no necessity of administering the ordinance to Jesus. Hewho had received the confessions of multitudes now reverently confessedto One whom he knew was more righteous than himself. In the light oflater events it appears that at this time John did not know that Jesuswas the Christ, the Mightier One for whom he waited and whose forerunnerhe knew himself to be. When John expressed his conviction that Jesusneeded no baptismal cleansing, our Lord, conscious of His ownsinlessness, did not deny the Baptist's imputation, but neverthelesspressed His application for baptism with the significant explanation:"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. " If John was able tocomprehend the deeper meaning of this utterance, he must have foundtherein the truth that water baptism is not alone the means provided forgaining remission of sins, but is also an indispensable ordinanceestablished in righteousness and required of all mankind as an essentialcondition for membership in the kingdom of God. [293]

Jesus Christ thus humbly complied with the will of the Father, and wasbaptized of John by immersion in water. That His baptism was accepted asa pleasing and necessary act of submission was attested by whatimmediately ensued: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went upstraightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting uponhim: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whomI am well pleased. "[294] Then John knew his Redeemer. 

The four Gospel-writers record the descent of the Holy Ghost upon thebaptized Jesus as accompanied by a visible manifestation "like a dove;"and this sign had been indicated to John as the foreappointed means bywhich the Messiah should be made known to him; and to that sign, beforespecified, was now added the supreme testimony of the Father as to theliteral Sonship of Jesus. Matthew records the Father's acknowledgment asgiven in the third person, "This is my beloved Son;" while both Mark andLuke give the more direct address, "Thou art my beloved Son. " Thevariation, slight and essentially unimportant as it is though bearing onso momentous a subject, affords evidence of independent authorship anddiscredits any insinuation of collusion among the writers. 

The incidents attending the emergence of Jesus from the baptismal gravedemonstrate the distinct individuality of the three Personages of theGodhead. On that solemn occasion Jesus the Son was present in the flesh;the presence of the Holy Ghost was manifest through the accompanyingsign of the dove, and the voice of the Eternal Father was heard fromheaven. Had we no other evidence of the separate personality of eachmember of the Holy Trinity, this instance should be conclusive; butother scriptures confirm the great truth. [295]

THE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST. 

Soon after His baptism, immediately thereafter as Mark asserts, Jesuswas constrained by the promptings of the Spirit to withdraw from men andthe distractions of community life, by retiring into the wildernesswhere He would be free to commune with His God. So strong was theinfluence of the impelling force that He was led thereby, or, as statedby the evangelist, driven, into solitary seclusion, in which He remainedduring forty days, "with the wild beasts" of the desert. This remarkableepisode in our Lord's life is described, though not with equal fulness, in three of the Gospels;[296] John is silent thereon. 

The circumstances attending this time of exile and test must have beenrelated by Jesus Himself, for of other human witnesses there were none. The recorded narratives deal principally with events marking the closeof the forty-day period, but considered in their entirety they placebeyond doubt the fact that the season was one of fasting and prayer. Christ's realization that He was the chosen and foreordained Messiahcame to Him gradually. As shown by His words to His mother on theoccasion of the memorable interview with the doctors in the templecourts, He knew, when but a Boy of twelve years, that in a particularand personal sense He was the Son of God; yet it is evident that acomprehension of the full purport of His earthly mission developedwithin Him only as He progressed step by step in wisdom. Hisacknowledgment by the Father, and the continued companionship of theHoly Ghost, opened His soul to the glorious fact of His divinity. He hadmuch to think about, much that demanded prayer and the communion withGod that prayer alone could insure. Throughout the period of retirement, he ate not, but chose to fast, that His mortal body might the morecompletely be subjected to His divine spirit. 

Then, when He was hungry and physically weak, the tempter came with theinsidious suggestion that He use His extraordinary powers to providefood. Satan had chosen the most propitious time for his evil purpose. What will mortals not do, to what lengths have men not gone, to assuagethe pangs of hunger? Esau bartered his birthright for a meal. Men havefought like brutes for food. Women have slain and eaten their own babesrather than endure the gnawing pangs of starvation. All this Satan knewwhen he came to the Christ in the hour of extreme physical need, andsaid unto Him: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones bemade bread. " During the long weeks of seclusion, our Lord had beensustained by the exaltation of spirit that would naturally attend suchall-absorbing concentration of mind as His protracted meditation andcommunion with the heavens undoubtedly produced; in such profounddevotion of spirit, bodily appetites were subdued and superseded; butthe reaction of the flesh was inevitable. 

Hungry as Jesus was, there was a temptation in Satan's words evengreater than that embodied in the suggestion that He provide food forHis famishing body--the temptation to put to proof the possible doubtimplied in the tempter's "If. " The Eternal Father had proclaimed Jesusas His Son; the devil tried to make the Son doubt that divinerelationship. Why not prove the Father's interest in His Son at thismoment of dire necessity? Was it proper that the Son of God should gohungry? Had the Father so soon forgotten as to leave His Beloved Sonthus to suffer? Was it not reasonable that Jesus, faint from longabstinence, should provide for Himself, and particularly so since Hecould provide, and that by a word of command, _if_ the voice heard atHis baptism was that of the Eternal Father. _If_ thou be in reality theSon of God, demonstrate thy power, and at the same time satisfy thyhunger--such was the purport of the diabolical suggestion. To haveyielded would have been to manifest positive doubt of the Father'sacknowledgment. 

Moreover, the superior power that Jesus possessed had not been given toHim for personal gratification, but for service to others. He was toexperience all the trials of mortality; another man, as hungry as He, could not provide for himself by a miracle; and though by miracle such aone might be fed, the miraculous supply would have to be given, notprovided by himself. It was a necessary result of our Lord's dualnature, comprizing the attributes of both God and man, that He shouldendure and suffer as a mortal while possessing at all times the abilityto invoke the power of His own Godhood by which all bodily needs couldbe supplied or overcome. His reply to the tempter was sublime andpositively final: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, butby every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. "[297] The wordthat had proceeded from the mouth of God, upon which Satan would havecast mistrust, was that Jesus was the Beloved Son with whom the Fatherwas well pleased. The devil was foiled; Christ was triumphant. 

Realizing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to induce Jesus touse His inherent power for personal service, and to trust in Himselfrather than rely upon the Father's providence, Satan went to the otherextreme and tempted Jesus to wantonly throw Himself upon the Father'sprotection. [298] Jesus was standing upon one of the high parts of thetemple, a pinnacle or battlement, overlooking the spacious courts, whenthe devil said unto Him: "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: andin their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thyfoot against a stone. " Again appears the implication of doubt. [299] _If_Jesus was in fact the Son of God, could He not trust His Father to saveHim, and particularly so as it was written[300] that angels would guardHim and bear Him up? Christ's reply to the tempter in the wilderness hadembodied a scriptural citation, and this He had introduced with theimpressive formula common to expounders of sacred writ--"It is written. "In the second attempt, the devil tried to support his suggestion byscripture, and employed a similar expression--"for it is written. " OurLord met and answered the devil's quotation with another, saying: "It iswritten again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. "[301]

Beside the provocation to sin by wantonly placing Himself in danger, sothat the Father's love might be manifested in a miraculous rescue, or byrefusing so to challenge the Father's interposition demonstrate that Hedoubted His status as the Beloved Son, there lurked an appeal to thehuman side of Christ's nature, in thought of the fame which anastounding exploit, such as that of leaping from the dizzy height of thetemple turrets and alighting unhurt, would surely bring. We cannotresist the thought, though we be not justified in saying that any suchhad even momentary place in the Savior's mind, that to act upon Satan'ssuggestion, provided of course the outcome proved to be such as he hadindicated, would have been to insure public recognition of Jesus as aBeing superior to mortals. It would have been a sign and a wonderindeed, the fame of which would have spread as fire in the dry grass;and all Jewry would have been aflame with excitement and interest in theChrist. 

The glaring sophistry of Satan's citation of scripture was unworthy acategorical reply; his doctrine deserved neither logic nor argument; hismisapplication of the written word was nullified by scripture that wasgermane; the lines of the psalmist were met by the binding fiat of theprophet of the exodus, in which he had commanded Israel that they shouldnot provoke nor tempt the Lord to work miracles among them. Satantempted Jesus to tempt the Father. It is as truly a blasphemousinterference with the prerogatives of Deity to set limitations or makefixations of time or place at which the divine power shall be mademanifest as it is to attempt to usurp that power. God alone must decidewhen and how His wonders shall be wrought. Once more the purposes ofSatan were thwarted and Christ again was victor. 

In the third temptation the devil refrained from further appeal to Jesusto put either His own power or that of the Father to the test. Twicecompletely foiled, the tempter abandoned that plan of assault; and, discarding all disguise of purpose, submitted a definite proposition. From the top of a high mountain Jesus looked over the land with itswealth of city and field, of vineyard and orchard, of flocks and ofherds; and in vision He saw the kingdoms of the world and contemplatedthe wealth, the splendor, the earthly glory of them all. Then saithSatan unto Him: "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt falldown and worship me. " So wrote Matthew; the more extended version byLuke follows: "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I givethee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and towhomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, allshall be thine. " We need not concern ourselves with conjecture as towhether Satan could have made good his promise in the event of Christ'sdoing him homage; certain it is Christ could have reached out, and havegathered to Himself the wealth and glory of the world had He willed soto do, and thereby have failed in His Messianic mission. This fact Satanknew full well. Many men have sold themselves to the devil for a kingdomand for less, aye, even for a few paltry pence. 

The effrontery of his offer was of itself diabolical. Christ, theCreator of heaven and earth, tabernacled as He then was in mortal flesh, may not have remembered His preexistent state, nor the part He had takenin the great council of the Gods, [302] while Satan, an unembodiedspirit--he the disinherited, the rebellious and rejected son--seeking totempt the Being through whom the world was created by promising Him partof what was wholly His, still may have had, as indeed he may yet have, aremembrance of those primeval scenes. In that distant past, antedatingthe creation of the earth, Satan, then Lucifer, a son of the morning, had been rejected; and the Firstborn Son had been chosen. Now that theChosen One was subject to the trials incident to mortality, Satanthought to thwart the divine purpose by making the Son of God subject tohimself. He who had been vanquished by Michael and his hosts and castdown as a defeated rebel, asked the embodied Jehovah to worship him. "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Thenthe devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered untohim. "[303]

It is not to be supposed that Christ's victorious emergence from thedark clouds of the three specified temptations exempted Him from furtherassaults by Satan, or insured Him against later trials of faith, trust, and endurance. Luke closes his account of the temptations following theforty-day fast as follows: "And when the devil had ended all thetemptation, he departed from him for a season. "[304] This victory overthe devil and his wiles, this triumph over the cravings of the flesh, the harassing doubts of the mind, the suggested reaching out for fameand material wealth, were great but not final successes in the strugglebetween Jesus, the embodied God, and Satan, the fallen angel of light. That Christ was subject to temptation during the period of Hisassociation with the apostles He expressly affirmed. [305] That Histemptations extended even to the agony in Gethsemane will appear as weproceed with this study. It is not given to the rest of us, nor was itgiven to Jesus, to meet the foe, to fight and overcome in a singleencounter, once for all time. The strife between the immortal spirit andthe flesh, between the offspring of God on the one hand, the world andthe devil on the other, is persistent through life. 

Few events in the evangelical history of Jesus of Nazareth have givenrise to more discussion, fanciful theory, and barren speculation, thanhave the temptations. All such surmizes we may with propriety ignore. Toany believer in the holy scriptures, the account of the temptationstherein given is sufficiently explicit to put beyond doubt or questionthe essential facts; to the unbeliever neither the Christ nor Histriumph appeals. What shall it profit us to speculate as to whetherSatan appeared to Jesus in visible form, or was present only as anunseen spirit; whether he spoke in audible voice, or aroused in the mindof his intended victim the thoughts later expressed by the writtenlines; whether the three temptations occurred in immediate sequence orwere experienced at longer intervals? With safety we may reject alltheories of myth or parable in the scriptural account, and accept therecord as it stands; and with equal assurance may we affirm that thetemptations were real, and that the trials to which our Lord was putconstituted an actual and crucial test. To believe otherwise, one mustregard the scriptures as but fiction. 

A question deserving some attention in this connection is that of thepeccability or impeccability of Christ--the question as to whether Hewas capable of sinning. Had there been no possibility of His yielding tothe lures of Satan, there would have been no real test in thetemptations, no genuine victory in the result. Our Lord was sinless yetpeccable; He had the capacity, the ability to sin had He willed so todo. Had He been bereft of the faculty to sin, He would have been shornof His free agency; and it was to safeguard and insure the agency of manthat He had offered Himself, before the world was, as a redeemingsacrifice. To say that He could not sin because He was the embodiment ofrighteousness is no denial of His agency of choice between evil andgood. A thoroughly truthful man cannot culpably lie; nevertheless hisinsurance against falsehood is not that of external compulsion, but ofinternal restraint due to his cultivated companionship of the spirit oftruth. A really honest man will neither take nor covet his neighbor'sgoods, indeed it may be said that he cannot steal; yet he is capable ofstealing should he so elect. His honesty is an armor against temptation;but the coat of mail, the helmet, the breastplate, and the greaves, arebut an outward covering; the man within may be vulnerable if he can bereached. 

But why proceed with labored reasoning, which can lead to but oneconclusion, when our Lord's own words and other scriptures confirm thefact? Shortly before His betrayal, when admonishing the Twelve tohumility, He said: "Ye are they which have continued with me in mytemptations. "[306] While here we find no exclusive reference to thetemptations immediately following His baptism, the exposition is plainthat He had endured temptations, and by implication, these had continuedthroughout the period of His ministry. The writer of the epistle to theHebrews expressly taught that Christ was peccable, in that He wastempted "in all points" as are the rest of mankind. Consider theunambiguous declaration: "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fastour profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touchedwith the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted likeas we are, yet without sin. "[307] And further: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. "[308]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 10. 

1. Raiment of Camel's Hair. --Through the prophet Zechariah (13:4) a timewas foretold in which professing prophets would no longer "wear a roughgarment to deceive. " Of the raiment of camel's hair worn by John theBaptist, the Oxford and other marginal readings render the expression "agarment of hair" as more literal than the Bible text. Deems (_Light ofthe Nations_, p. 74, note) says: "The garment of camel's hair was notthe camel's skin with the hair on, which would be too heavy to wear, butraiment woven of camel's hair, such as Josephus speaks of (B. J. I, 24:3). "

2. Locusts and Wild Honey. --Insects of the locust or grasshopper kindwere specifically declared clean and suitable for food in the law givento Israel in the wilderness. "Yet these may ye eat of every flyingcreeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above theirfeet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; thelocust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and thebeetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. " (Lev. 11:21, 22. ) At the present time locusts are used as food by many orientalpeoples, though usually by the poorer classes only. Of the passagereferring to locusts as part of the Baptist's food while he lived as arecluse in the desert, Farrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 97, note, ) says:"The fancy that it means the pods of the so-called locust tree (carob)is a mistake. Locusts are sold as articles of food in regular shops forthe purpose at Medina; they are plunged into salt boiling water, driedin the sun, and eaten with butter, but only by the poorest beggars. "Geikie (_Life and Words of Christ_, vol. 1, pp. 354, 355) gives place tothe following as applied to the Baptist's life: "His only food was thelocusts which leaped or flew on the bare hills, and the honey of wildbees which he found, here and there, in the clifts of the rocks, and hisonly drink a draught of water from some rocky hollow. Locusts are stillthe food of the poor in many parts of the East. 'All the Bedouins ofArabia, and the inhabitants of towns in Nedj and Hedjaz, are accustomedto eat them, ' says Burckhardt. 'I have seen at Medina and Tayi, locustshops, where they are sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are eatenonly by the poorest beggars. The Arabs, in preparing them for eating, throw them alive into boiling water, with which a good deal of salt hasbeen mixed, taking them out after a few minutes, and drying them in thesun. The head, feet, and wings, are then torn off, the bodies cleansedfrom the salt, and perfectly dried. They are sometimes eaten boiled inbutter, or spread on unleavened bread mixed with butter. ' In Palestine, they are eaten only by the Arabs on the extreme frontiers; elsewherethey are looked on with disgust and loathing, and only the very poorestuse them. Tristram, however, speaks of them as 'very palatable. ' 'Ifound them very good, ' says he, 'when eaten after the Arab fashion, stewed with butter. They tasted somewhat like shrimps, but with lessflavour. ' In the wilderness of Judea, various kinds abound at allseasons, and spring up with a drumming sound, at every step, suddenlyspreading their bright hind wings, of scarlet, crimson, blue, yellow, white, green, or brown, according to the species. They were 'clean, 'under the Mosaic Law, and hence could be eaten by John without offence. "

Concerning the mention of wild honey as food used by John, the authorlast quoted says in a continuation of the same paragraph: "The wild beesin Palestine are far more numerous than those kept in hives, and thegreater part of the honey sold in the southern districts is obtainedfrom wild swarms. Few countries, indeed, are better adapted for bees. The dry climate, and the stunted but varied flora, consisting largely ofaromatic thymes, mints, and other similar plants, with crocuses in thespring, are very favourable to them, while the dry recesses of thelimestone rocks everywhere afford them shelter and protection for theircombs. In the wilderness of Judea, bees are far more numerous than inany other part of Palestine, and it is, to this day, part of the homelydiet of the Bedouins, who squeeze it from the combs and store it inskins. "

3. John's Inferiority to the Mightier One He Proclaimed. --"One mightierthan I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose"(Luke 3:16), or "whose shoes I am not worthy to bear" (Matt. 3:11); thiswas the way by which the Baptist declared his inferiority to theMightier One, who was to succeed and supersede him; and a more effectiveillustration would be difficult to frame. To loosen the shoe latchet orsandal thong, or to carry the shoes of another, "was a menial officebetokening great inferiority on the part of the person performing it. "(Smith's _Dict. Of the Bible_. ) A passage in the Talmud (_Tract. Kidduschin xxii:2_) requires a disciple to do for his teacher whatever aservant might be required to do for his master, except the loosing ofhis sandal thong. Some teachers urged that a disciple should carry hishumility even to the extreme of carrying his master's shoes. Thehumility of the Baptist, in view of the widespread interest his callaroused, is impressive. 

4. The Order in which the Temptations Were Presented. --But two of theGospel-writers specify the temptations to which Christ was subjectedimmediately after His baptism; Mark merely mentions the fact that Jesuswas tempted. Matthew and Luke place first the temptation that Jesusprovide for Himself by miraculously creating bread; the sequence of thelater trials is not the same in the two records. The order followed inthe text is that of Matthew. 

5. The Devil's "If. "--Note the later taunting use of that diabolical_if_ as the Christ hung upon the cross. The rulers of the Jews, mockingthe crucified Jesus in His agony said, "Let him save himself _if_ he bethe Christ. " And the soldier, reading the inscription at the head of thecross derided the dying God, saying: "_If_ thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. " And yet again, the unrepentant malefactor by His sidecried but, "_If_ thou be Christ, save thyself and us. " (Luke 23:35-39. )How literally did those railers and mockers quote the very words oftheir father the devil (see John 8:44). See further, page 658 herein. 

6. Baptism Required of All. --Baptism is required of all persons who liveto the age of accountability in the flesh. None are exempt. JesusChrist, who lived as a Man without sin in the midst of a sinful world, was baptized "to fulfil all righteousness. " Six centuries before thisevent, Nephi, prophesying to the people on the western continent, foretold the baptism of the Savior, and thus drew therefrom thenecessity of baptism as a universal requirement: "And now, if the Lambof God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, tofulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, beingunholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water. .. . Know ye not that he washoly? But notwithstanding he being holy, he sheweth unto the children ofmen, that according to the flesh, he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him inkeeping his commandments" (B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 31:5, 7). See _The Articlesof Faith_, vi:18-29. 

FOOTNOTES:

[273] 2 Kings 1:8. 

[274] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[275] Matt. 3:1-5; compare Lev. 11:22; see also Mark 1:1-8. Note 2, endof chapter. 

[276] Luke 3:2. 

[277] Exo. 3:1, 2. 

[278] 1 Kings 17:2-7. 

[279] Mark 1:3. 

[280] Mark 1:2; compare Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:27. 

[281] Matt. 3:11. 

[282] Matt. 3:7-10; see also Luke 3:3-9. 

[283] Compare a later instance, in which Christ similarly taught (John8:33-59). 

[284] Luke 3:10; compare Acts 2:37. 

[285] Luke 3:10-15. 

[286] Mark 1:1. 

[287] John 10:41. 

[288] John 1:35, 37; Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:18. 

[289] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[290] Luke 3:17; see also Matt. 3:12; compare Mal. 3:2. 

[291] Matt. 11:11-14; 17:12; Luke 7:24-30. 

[292] Luke 3:23. 

[293] For treatment of Baptism as a universal requirement, see theauthor's "Articles of Faith" vi:18-29. Note 6, end of chapter. 

[294] Matt. 3:16, 17; compare Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22. 

[295] Shortly before His death, the Savior promised the apostles thatthe Father would send unto them the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost(John 14:26, and 15:26). See the author's "Articles of Faith" ii:20-24. 

[296] Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13. 

[297] Matt. 4:4; compare Deut. 8:3. 

[298] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[299] Note 5, end of chapter. Page 658 herein. 

[300] Matt. 4:6; Psalm 91:11, 12. 

[301] Matt. 4:5-7; compare Deut. 6:16. 

[302] Pages 6-9. 

[303] Matt. 4:10, 11; compare Exo. 20:3; Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Josh. 24:14;1 Sam. 7:3. 

[304] Luke 4:13. 

[305] Luke 22:28. 

[306] Luke 22:28. 

[307] Heb. 4:14, 15. 

[308] Heb. 5:8. 

CHAPTER 11. 

FROM JUDEA TO GALILEE. 

THE BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY OF JESUS. 

During the period of our Lord's retirement in the wilderness the Baptistcontinued his ministry, crying repentance to all who would pause tohear, and administering baptism to such as came duly prepared and askingwith right intent. The people generally were greatly concerned over theidentity of John; and as the real import of the voice[309] dawned uponthem, their concern deepened into fear. The ever recurring question was, Who is this new prophet? Then the Jews, by which expression we mayunderstand the rulers of the people, sent a delegation of priests andLevites of the Pharisaic party to personally question him. He answeredwithout evasion, "I am not the Christ, " and with equal decisivenessdenied that he was Elias, or more accurately, Elijah, the prophet who, the rabbis said through a misinterpretation of Malachi's prediction, wasto return to earth as the immediate precursor of the Messiah. [310]Furthermore, he declared that he was not "that prophet, " by which wasmeant the Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold, [311] and who was notuniversally identified in the Jewish mind with the expected Messiah. "Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer tothem that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voiceof one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, assaid the prophet Esaias. "[312] The Pharisaic envoys then demanded of himhis authority for baptizing; in reply he affirmed that the validity ofhis baptisms would be attested by One who even then was amongst them, though they knew Him not, and averred: "He it is, who coming after me ispreferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy tounloose. "[313]

John's testimony, that Jesus was the Redeemer of the world, was declaredas boldly as had been his message of the imminent coming of the Lord. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, " heproclaimed; and, that none might fail to comprehend his identificationof the Christ, he added: "This is he of whom I said, After me cometh aman which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew himnot: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I comebaptizing with water. "[314] That the attestation of the ministeringpresence of the Holy Ghost through the material appearance "like a dove"was convincing to John is shown by his further testimony: "And John barerecord saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, andit abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptizewith water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the spiritdescending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth withthe Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son ofGod. "[315] On the day following that of the utterance last quoted, Johnrepeated his testimony to two of his disciples, or followers, as, Jesuspassed, saying again: "Behold the Lamb of God. "[316]

THE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. [317]

Two of the Baptist's followers, specifically called disciples, were withhim when for the second time he expressly designated Jesus as the Lambof God. These were Andrew and John; the latter came to be known in afteryears as the author of the fourth Gospel. The first is mentioned byname, while the narrator suppresses his own name as that of the seconddisciple. Andrew and John were so impressed by the Baptist's testimonythat they immediately followed Jesus; and He, turning toward them asked:"What seek ye?" Possibly somewhat embarrassed by the question, or with areal desire to learn where He might be found later, they replied byanother inquiry: "Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" Their use of the titleRabbi was a mark of honor and respect, to which Jesus did not demur. Hiscourteous reply to their question assured them that their presence wasno unwelcome intrusion. "Come and see, " said He. [318] The two young menaccompanied Him, and remained with Him to learn more. Andrew, filledwith wonder and joy over the interview so graciously accorded, andthrilled with the spirit of testimony that had been enkindled within hissoul, hastened to seek his brother Simon, to whom he said: "We havefound the Messias. " He brought Simon to see and hear for himself; andJesus, looking upon Andrew's brother, called him by name and added anappellation of distinction by which he was destined to be knownthroughout all later history: "Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thoushalt be called Cephas. " The new name thus bestowed is the Aramaic orSyro-Chaldaic equivalent of the Greek "Petros, " and of the presentEnglish "Peter, " meaning "a stone. "[319]

On the following day Jesus set out for Galilee, possibly accompanied bysome or all of his newly-made disciples; and on the way He found a mannamed Philip, in whom He recognized another choice son of Israel. UntoPhilip He said: "Follow me. " It was customary with rabbis and otherteachers of that time to strive for popularity, that many might be drawnto them to sit at their feet and be known as their disciples. Jesus, however, selected His own immediate associates; and, as He found themand discerned in them the spirits who, in their preexistent state hadbeen chosen for the earthly mission of the apostleship, He summonedthem. They were the servants; He was the Master. [320]

Philip soon found his friend Nathanael, to whom he testified that He ofwhom Moses and the prophets had written had at last been found; and thatHe was none other than Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael, as his laterhistory demonstrates, was a righteous man, earnest in his hope andexpectation of the Messiah, yet seemingly imbued with the belief commonthroughout Jewry--that the Christ was to come in royal state as seemedbefitting the Son of David. The mention of such a One coming fromNazareth, the reputed son of a humble carpenter, provoked wonder if notincredulity in the guileless mind of Nathanael, and he exclaimed: "Canthere any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip's answer was arepetition of Christ's words to Andrew and John--"Come and see. "Nathanael left his seat under the fig tree, [321] where Philip had foundhim, and went to see for himself. As he approached, Jesus said: "Beholdan Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. " Nathanael saw that Jesuscould read his mind, and asked in surprize: "Whence knowest thou me?" Inreply Jesus showed even greater powers of penetration and perceptionunder conditions that made ordinary observation unlikely if notimpossible: "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under thefig tree, I saw thee. " Nathanael replied with conviction: "Rabbi, thouart the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. " Earnest as the man'stestimony was, it rested mainly on his recognition of what he took to bea supernatural power in Jesus; our Lord assured him that he should seeyet greater things: "And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say untoyou, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascendingand descending upon the Son of man. "

"THE SON OF MAN. "

In the promise and prediction made by Christ to Nathanael, we find thesignificant title--The Son of Man--appearing for the first time, chronologically speaking, in the New Testament. It recurs, however, about forty times, excluding repetitions in parallel accounts in theseveral Gospels. In each of these passages it is used by the Saviordistinctively to designate Himself. In three other instances the titleappears in the New Testament, outside the Gospels; and in each case itis applied to the Christ with specific reference to His exaltedattributes as Lord and God. [322]

In the Old Testament, the phrase "son of man" occurs in ordinary usage, denoting any human son[323] and it appears over ninety times as anappellation by which Jehovah addressed Ezekiel, though it is neverapplied by the prophet to himself. [324] The context of the passages inwhich Ezekiel is addressed as "son of man" indicates the divineintention of emphasizing the human status of the prophet as contrastedwith the divinity of Jehovah. 

The title is used in connection with the record of Daniel's vision, [325]in which was revealed the consummation, yet future, when Adam--theAncient of Days--shall sit to judge his posterity;[326] on which greatoccasion, the Son of Man is to appear and receive a dominion that shallbe everlasting, transcendently superior to that of the Ancient of Days, and embracing every people and nation, all of whom shall serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. [327]

In applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses thedefinite article. "_The_ Son of Man" was and is, specifically andexclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a matter of solemn certainty He wasthe only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortalman, He used the title in a way to conclusively demonstrate that it waspeculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expressionis fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in commonusage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many toindicate our Lord's humble station as a mortal, and to connote that Hestood as the type of humanity, holding a particular and uniquerelationship to the entire human family. There is, however, a moreprofound significance attaching to the Lord's use of the title "The Sonof Man"; and this lies in the fact that He knew His Father to be the oneand only supremely exalted Man, [328] whose Son Jesus was both in spiritand in body--the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh--and therefore in sense applicable toHimself alone, He was and is the Son of the "Man of Holiness, "Elohim, [329] the Eternal Father. In His distinctive titles of Sonship, Jesus expressed His spiritual and bodily descent from, and His filialsubmission to, that exalted Father. 

As revealed to Enoch the Seer, "Man of Holiness" is one of the names bywhich God the Eternal Father is known; "and the name of his OnlyBegotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ. " We learn further thatthe Father of Jesus Christ thus proclaimed Himself to Enoch: "Behold, Iam God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; andEndless and Eternal is my name, also. "[330] "The Son of Man" is in greatmeasure synonymous with "The Son of God, " as a title denoting divinity, glory, and exaltation; for the "Man of Holiness, " whose Son Jesus Christreverently acknowledges Himself to be, is God the Eternal Father. 

THE MIRACLE AT CANA IN GALILEE. 

Soon after the arrival of Jesus in Galilee we find Him and His littlecompany of disciples at a marriage party in Cana, a neighboring town toNazareth. The mother of Jesus was at the feast; and for some reason notexplained in John's narrative, [331] she manifested concern and personalresponsibility in the matter of providing for the guests. Evidently herposition was different from that of one present by ordinary invitation. Whether this circumstance indicates the marriage to have been that ofone of her own immediate family, or some more distant relative, we arenot informed. 

It was customary to provide at wedding feasts a sufficiency of wine, thepure though weak product of the local vineyards, which was the ordinarytable beverage of the time. On this occasion the supply of wine wasexhausted, and Mary told Jesus of the deficiency. Said He: "Woman, whathave I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. " The noun of address, "Woman, " as applied by a son to his mother may sound to our earssomewhat harsh, if not disrespectful; but its use was really anexpression of opposite import. [332] To every son, the mother ought to bepreeminently the woman of women; she is the one woman in the world towhom the son owes his earthly existence; and though the title "Mother"belongs to every woman who has earned the honors of maternity, yet to nochild is there more than one woman whom by natural right he can addressby that title of respectful acknowledgment. When, in the last dreadscenes of His mortal experience, Christ hung in dying agony upon thecross, He looked, down upon the weeping Mary, His mother, and commendedher to the care of the beloved apostle John, with the words: "Woman, behold thy son!"[333] Can it be thought that in this supreme moment, ourLord's concern for the mother from whom He was about to be separated bydeath was associated with any emotion other than that of honor, tenderness and love?[334]

Nevertheless, His words to Mary at the marriage feast may have conveyeda gentle reminder of her position as the mother of a Being superior toherself; even as on that earlier occasion when she had found her Boy, Jesus, in the temple, He had brought home to her the fact that herjurisdiction over Him was not supreme. The manner in which she told Himof the insufficiency of wine probably suggested an intimation that Heuse His more than human power, and by such means supply the need. It wasnot her function to direct or even to suggest the exercize of the powerinherent in Him as the Son of God; such had not been inherited from her. "What have I to do with thee?" He asked; and added: "Mine hour is notyet come. " Here we find no disclaimer of the ability to do what sheapparently wanted Him to do, but the plain implication that He would actonly when the time was right for the purpose, and that He, not she, mustdecide when that time had come. She understood His meaning, in part atleast, and contented herself by instructing the servants to dowhatsoever He directed. Here again is evidence of her position ofresponsibility and domestic authority at the social gathering. 

The time for His intervention soon arrived. There stood within the placesix water pots;[335] these He directed the servants to fill with water. Then, without audible command or formula of invocation, as best we know, He caused to be effected a transmutation within the pots, and when theservants drew therefrom, it was wine, not water that issued. At a Jewishsocial gathering, such as was this wedding festival, some one, usually arelative of the host or hostess, or some other one worthy of the honor, was made governor of the feast, or, as we say in this day, chairman, ormaster of ceremonies. To this functionary the new wine was first served;and he, calling the bridegroom, who was the real host, asked him why hehad reserved his choice wine till the last, when the usual custom was toserve the best at the beginning, and the more ordinary later. Theimmediate result of this, the first recorded of our Lord's miracles, isthus tersely stated by the inspired evangelist: "This beginning ofmiracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory;and his disciples believed on him. "[336]

The circumstances incident to the miraculous act are instructive tocontemplate. The presence of Jesus at the marriage, and His contributionto the successful conduct of the feast, set the seal of His approvalupon the matrimonial relationship and upon the propriety of socialentertainment. He was neither a recluse nor an ascetic; He moved amongmen, eating and drinking, as a natural, normal Being. [337] On theoccasion of the feast He recognized and heeded the demands of theliberal hospitality of the times, and provided accordingly. He, who buta few days before had revolted at the tempter's suggestion that Heprovide bread for His impoverished body, now used His power to supply aluxury for others. One effect of the miracle was to confirm the trust ofthose whose belief in Him as the Messiah was yet young and untried. "Hisdisciples believed on him"; surely they had believed in some measurebefore, otherwise they would not have followed Him; but their belief wasnow strengthened and made to approach, if indeed it did not attain, thecondition of abiding faith in their Lord. The comparative privacyattending the manifestation is impressive; the moral and spiritualeffect was for the few, the inauguration of the Lord's ministry was notto be marked by public display. 

MIRACLES IN GENERAL

The act of transmutation whereby water became wine was plainly amiracle, a phenomenon not susceptible of explanation, far less ofdemonstration, by what we consider the ordinary operation of naturallaw. This was the beginning of His miracles, or as expressed in therevized version of the New Testament, "his signs. " In many scripturesmiracles are called signs, as also wonders, powers, works, wonderfulworks, mighty works, [338] etc. The spiritual effect of miracles would beunattained were the witnesses not caused to inwardly wonder, marvel, ponder and inquire; mere surprize or amazement may be produced bydeception and artful trickery. Any miraculous manifestation of divinepower would be futile as a means of spiritual effect were itunimpressive. Moreover, every miracle is a sign of God's power; andsigns in this sense have been demanded of prophets who professed tospeak by divine authority, though such signs have not been given in allcases. The Baptist was credited with no miracle, though he waspronounced by the Christ as more than a prophet;[339] and the chroniclesof some earlier prophets[340] are devoid of all mention of miracles. Onthe other hand, Moses, when commissioned to deliver Israel from Egypt, was made, to understand that the Egyptians would look for the testimonyof miracles, and he was abundantly empowered therefore. [341]

Miracles cannot be in contravention of natural law, but are wroughtthrough the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized. Gravitation is everywhere operative, but the local and specialapplication of other agencies may appear to nullify it--as by musculareffort or mechanical impulse a stone is lifted from the ground, poisedaloft, or sent hurtling through space. At every stage of the process, however, gravity is in full play, though its effect is modified by thatof other and locally superior energy. The human sense of the miraculouswanes as comprehension of the operative process increases. Achievementsmade possible by modern invention of telegraph and telephone with orwithout wires, the transmutation of mechanical power into electricitywith its manifold present applications and yet future possibilities, thedevelopment of the gasoline motor, the present accomplishments in aerialnavigation--these are no longer miracles in man's estimation, becausethey are all in some degree understood, are controlled by human agency, and, moreover, are continuous in their operation and not phenomenal. Wearbitrarily classify as miracles only such phenomena as are unusual, special, transitory, and wrought by an agency beyond the power of man'scontrol. 

In a broader sense, all nature is miracle. Man has learned that byplanting the seed of the grape in suitable soil, and by due cultivation, he may conduce to the growth of what shall be a mature and fruitfulvine; but is there no miracle, even in the sense of inscrutableprocesses, in that development? Is there less of real miracle in theso-called natural course of plant development--the growth of root, stem, leaves, and fruit, with the final elaboration of the rich nectar of thevine--than there was in what appears supernatural in the transmutationof water into wine at Cana?

In the contemplation of the miracles wrought by Christ, we must ofnecessity recognize the operation of a power transcending our presenthuman understanding. In this field, science has not yet advanced farenough to analyze and explain. To deny the actuality of miracles on theground that, because we cannot comprehend the means, the reportedresults are fictitious, is to arrogate to the human mind the attributeof omniscience, by implying that what man cannot comprehend cannot be, and that therefore he is able to comprehend all that is. The miracles ofrecord in the Gospels are as fully supported by evidence as are many ofthe historical events which call forth neither protest nor demand forfurther proof. To the believer in the divinity of Christ, the miraclesare sufficiently attested; to the unbeliever they appear but as mythsand fables. [342]

To comprehend the works of Christ, one must know Him as the Son of God;to the man who has not yet learned to know, to the honest soul who wouldinquire after the Lord, the invitation is ready; let him "Come and see. "

NOTES TO CHAPTER 11. 

1. Misunderstanding of Malachi's Prediction. --In the closing chapter ofthe compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, theprophet Malachi thus describes a condition incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of Christ: "For, behold, the daycometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all thatdo wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn themup, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root norbranch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousnessarise with healing in his wings. " The fateful prophecy concludes withthe following blessed and far-reaching promise: "Behold, I will send youElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day ofthe Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smitethe earth with a curse. " (Malachi 4:1, 2, 5, 6. ) It has been held bytheologians and Bible commentators that this prediction had reference tothe birth and ministry of John the Baptist, (compare Matt. 11:14; 17:11;Mark 9:11; Luke 1:17), upon whom rested the spirit and power of Elias(Luke 1:17). However, we have no record of Elijah having ministered untothe Baptist, and furthermore, the latter's ministry, glorious though itwas, justifies no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its fullrealization. In addition, it should be remembered, that the Lord'sdeclaration through Malachi, relative to the day of burning in which thewicked would be destroyed as stubble, yet awaits fulfilment. It isevident, therefore, that the commonly accepted interpretation is atfault, and that we must look to a later date than the time of John forthe fulfilment of Malachi's prediction. The later occasion has come; itbelongs to the present dispensation, and marks the inauguration of awork specially reserved for the Church in these latter days. In thecourse of a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, April 3d, 1836, there appeared untothem Elijah, the prophet of old, who had been taken from earth whilestill in the body. He declared unto them: "Behold, the time has fullycome, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he(Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lordcome, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and thechildren to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord isnear, even at the doors. " (Doc. And Cov. 110:13-16. ) See also _The Houseof the Lord_, pp. 82-83. 

2. The Sign of the Dove. --"John the Baptist . .. Had the privilege ofbeholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the_sign_ of the dove, in witness of that administration. The sign of thedove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for theHoly Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The HolyGhost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does notconfine itself to the _form_ of the dove, but in _sign_ of the dove. TheHoly Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove wasgiven to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblemor token of truth and innocence. "--From Sermon by Joseph Smith, _Historyof the Church_, vol. 5, pp. 260-261. 

3. The Testimony of John the Baptist. --Observe that the Baptist'stestimony to the divinity of Christ's mission is recorded as having beengiven after the period of our Lord's forty-day fast and temptations, andtherefore approximately six weeks subsequent to the baptism of Jesus. Tothe deputation of priests and Levites of the Pharisaic party, whovisited him by direction of the rulers, probably by appointment from theSanhedrin, John, after disavowing that he was the Christ or any one ofthe prophets specified in the inquiry, said: "There standeth one amongyou whom ye know not; he it is who coming after me is preferred beforeme. " On the next day, and again on the day following that, he borepublic testimony to Jesus as the Lamb of God; and on the third day afterthe visit of the priests and Levites to John, Jesus started on thejourney to Galilee (John 1:19-43). 

John's use of the designation "Lamb of God" implied his conception ofthe Messiah as One appointed for sacrifice, and his use of the term isthe earliest mention found in the Bible. For later Biblicalapplications, direct or implied, see Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 17; etc. 

4. "Come and See. "--The spirit of our Lord's invitation to the youngtruth seekers, Andrew and John, is manifest in a similar privilegeextended to all. The man who would know Christ must come to Him, to seeand hear, to feel and know. Missionaries may carry the good tidings, themessage of the gospel, but the response must be an individual one. Areyou in doubt as to what that message means to-day? Then come and see foryourself. Would you know where Christ is to be found? Come and see. 

5. The Eternal Father a Resurrected, Exalted Being. --"As the Father hathpower in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his lifeand take it again, so he has a body of his own. The Son doeth what hehath seen the Father do: then the Father hath some day laid down hislife and taken it again; so he has a body of his own; each one will bein his own body. "--Joseph Smith; see _Hist, of the Church_, vol. 5, p. 426. 

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sitsenthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil wasrent to-day, and the Great God who holds this world in its orbit, andwho upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himselfvisible, --I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like aman in form--like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form asa man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and likeness ofGod, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversedwith him, as one man talks and communes with another. "--Joseph Smith;see _Compendium_, p. 190. 

6. Waterpots for Ceremonial Cleansing. --In the house at Cana there stoodin a place specially reserved, six waterpots of stone "after the mannerof the purifying of the Jews. " Vessels of water were provided as amatter of prescribed order in Jewish homes, to facilitate the ceremonialwashings enjoined by the law. From these pots or jars the water wasdrawn off as required; they were reservoirs holding the supply, notvessels used in the actual ablution. 

7. "The Attitude of Science Towards Miracles" is the subject of avaluable article by Prof. H. L. Orchard, published in _Journal of theTransactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society ofGreat Britain_, 1910, Vol. 42, pp. 81-122. This article was the GunningPrize Essay for 1909. After a lengthy analytical treatment of hissubject, the author presents the following summation, which wasconcurred in by those who took part in the ensuing discussions: "We herecomplete our scientific investigation of Bible Miracles. It has embraced(1) the _nature_ of the phenomenon; (2) the _conditions_ under which itis alleged to have occurred; (3) the character of the _testimony_ to itsoccurrence. To the inquiry--Were the Bible miracles probable? scienceanswers in the affirmative. To the further inquiry--Did they actuallyoccur? the answer of science is again, and very emphatically, in theaffirmative. If we liken them to gold, she has made her assay and saysthe gold is pure. Or the Bible miracles may be compared to a string ofpearls. If science seeks to know whether the pearls are genuine, she mayapply chemical and other tests to the examination of their _character_;she may search into the _conditions and circumstances_ in which thealleged pearls were found. Were they first found in an oyster, or insome manufacturing laboratory? And she may investigate the _testimony_of experts. Should the result of any one of these examinations affirmthe genuineness of the pearls, science will be slow to believe that theyare 'paste'; if all the results declare their genuineness, science willnot hesitate to say that they are true pearls. This, as we have seen, isthe case of the Bible miracles. Science, therefore, affirms _theiractual occurrence_. "

8. The Testimony of Miracles. --The Savior's promise in a former day(Mark 16:17-18), as in the present dispensation (Doc. And Cov. 84:65-73), is definite, to the effect that specified gifts of the Spiritare to follow the believer as signs of divine favor. The possession andexercize of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features ofthe Church of Christ. Nevertheless we are not justified in regarding theevidence of miracles as infallible testimony of authority from heaven;on the other hand, the scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritualpowers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so todo, to the deceiving of many who lack discernment. If miracles beaccepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to theordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to ourrespect as has Moses (Exo. 7:11). John the Revelator saw in vision awicked power working miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing greatwonders, even bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:11-18). Again, he sawthree unclean spirits, whom he knew to be "the spirits of devils workingmiracles" (Rev. 16:13-14). Consider, in connection with this, theprediction made by the Savior:--There shall arise false Christs, andfalse prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matt. 24:24). The invalidity of miracles as a proof of righteousness is indicated inan utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the greatjudgment:--"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we notprophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thyname done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, Inever knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt. 7:22-23). The Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonderscould be wrought by evil powers; for they charged Christ with workingmiracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils (Matt. 12:22-30; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15). --From the author's _The Articles ofFaith_, xii:25, 26. 

FOOTNOTES:

[309] Luke 3:4. 

[310] John 1:21; compare Mal. 4:5. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[311] Deut. 18:15, 18; see page 45 herein. 

[312] John 1:22, 23; compare Isa. 40:3. 

[313] John 1:25-27. 

[314] John 1:29-31. 

[315] John 1:32, 34; also verses 35, 36. Note 2, end of chapter. 

[316] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[317] John 1:35-51. 

[318] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[319] The name thus given was afterward confirmed, with accompanimentsof promise; Matt. 16:18. 

[320] To the apostles the Lord said on a subsequent occasion: "Ye havenot chosen me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16; see also 6:70). 

[321] A favorite situation for rest, meditation, and study; 1 Kings4:25; Micah 4:4. 

[322] Acts 7:56; Rev. 1:13; 14:14. 

[323] Job 25:6; Psalms 144:3; 146:3; see also 8:4 and compare Heb. 2:6-9. 

[324] Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4; 4:1; etc. 

[325] Dan. 7:13. 

[326] Doc. And Cov. 27:11; 78:15, 16; 107:54-57; 116. 

[327] Doc. And Cov. 49:6; 58:65; 65:5; 122:8. Observe that in modernrevelation the title is used only as applying to the Christ in Hisresurrected and glorified state. 

[328] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[329] Page 38. 

[330] P. Of G. P. , Moses 6:57; 7:35; see also 7:24, 47, 54, 56, 59, 65. Observe that Satan addressed Moses as "son of man" in a blasphemousattempt to coerce Moses into worshiping him by emphasizing the mortalweakness and inferiority of the man in contrast with his own falsepretension of godship. (Moses 1:12. )

[331] John 2:1-11. 

[332] "The address 'Woman' was so respectful that it might be and was, addressed to the queenliest. "--(Farrar, "The Life of Christ, " p. 134. )

[333] John 19:26. 

[334] On a few occasions Jesus used the address "Woman" in a generalway: Matt. 15:28; Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; etc. 

[335] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[336] John 2:11. 

[337] The absence of all false austerity and outward show of abnormalabstinence in His life furnished an imagined excuse for unfoundedcharges of excess, through which He was said to be a glutton and awinebibber. (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34. )

[338] Matt. 7:22; 11:20; 12:38; 16:1; 24:24; Mark 6:14; Luke 10:13; John2:18; 7:21; 10:25; 14:11; Acts 6:8; 8:6; 14:3; 19:11; Rom. 15:19; Rev. 13:13; etc. 

[339] John 10:41; Matt. 11:9. 

[340] For example Zechariah and Malachi. 

[341] Exo. 3:20; 4:1-9. Note 8, end of chapter. 

[342] Note 7, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 12. 

EARLY INCIDENTS IN OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. 

FIRST CLEARING OF THE TEMPLE. 

Soon after the marriage festivities in Cana, Jesus, accompanied by Hisdisciples, as also by His mother and other members of the family, wentto Capernaum, a town pleasantly situated near the northerly end of theSea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret[343] and the scene of many of ourLord's miraculous works; indeed it came to be known as His owncity. [344] Because of the unbelief of its people it became a subject oflamentation to Jesus when in sorrow He prefigured the judgment thatwould befall the place. [345] The exact site of the city is at presentunknown. On this occasion Jesus tarried but a few days at Capernaum; forthe time of the annual Passover was near, and in compliance with Jewishlaw and custom He went up to Jerusalem. 

The synoptic Gospels, [346] which are primarily devoted to the labors ofChrist in Galilee, contain no mention of His attendance at the paschalfestival between His twelfth year and the time of His death; to Johnalone are we indebted for the record of this visit at the beginning ofChrist's public ministry. It is not improbable that Jesus had beenpresent at other Passovers during the eighteen years over which theevangelists pass in complete and reverent silence; but at any or allsuch earlier visits, He, not being thirty years old, could not haveassumed the right or privilege of a teacher without contraveningestablished customs. [347] It is worth our attention to note that onthis, the first recorded appearance of Jesus in the temple subsequent toHis visit as a Boy, He should resume His "Father's business" where Hehad before been engaged. It was in His Father's service that He had beenfound in discussion with the doctors of the law, [348] and in HisFather's cause He was impelled to action on this later occasion. 

The multitudinous and mixed attendance at the Passover celebration hasalready received passing mention;[349] some of the unseemly customs thatprevailed are to be held in mind. The law of Moses had been supplementedby a cumulative array of rules, and the rigidly enforced requirements asto sacrifices and tribute had given rise to a system of sale and barterwithin the sacred precincts of the House of the Lord. In the outercourts were stalls of oxen, pens of sheep, cages of doves and pigeons;and the ceremonial fitness of these sacrificial victims was cried aloudby the sellers, and charged for in full measure. It was the custom alsoto pay the yearly poll tribute of the sanctuary at this season--theransom offering required of every male in Israel, and amounting to halfa shekel[350] for each, irrespective of his relative poverty or wealth. This was to be paid "after the shekel of the sanctuary, " whichlimitation, as rabbis had ruled, meant payment in temple coin. Ordinarymoney, varieties of which bore effigies and inscriptions of heathenimport, was not acceptable, and as a result, money-changers plied athriving trade on the temple grounds. 

Righteously indignant at what He beheld, zealous for the sanctity of HisFather's House, Jesus essayed to clear the place;[351] and, pausing notfor argument in words, He promptly applied physical force almostapproaching violence--the one form of figurative language that thosecorrupt barterers for pelf could best understand. Hastily improvizing awhip of small cords, He laid about Him on every side, liberating anddriving out sheep, oxen, and human traffickers, upsetting the tables ofthe exchangers and pouring out their heterogeneous accumulations ofcoin. With tender regard for the imprisoned and helpless birds Herefrained from assaulting their cages; but to their owners He said:"Take these things hence;" and to all the greedy traders He thunderedforth a command that made them quail: "Make not my Father's house anhouse of merchandise. " His disciples saw in the incident a realizationof the psalmist's line: "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. "[352]

The Jews, by which term we mean the priestly officials and rulers of thepeople, dared not protest this vigorous action on the ground ofunrighteousness; they, learned in the law, stood self-convicted ofcorruption, avarice, and of personal responsibility for the temple'sdefilement. That the sacred premises were in sore need of a cleansingthey all knew; the one point upon which they dared to question theCleanser was as to why He should thus take to Himself the doing of whatwas their duty. They practically submitted to His sweeping intervention, as that of one whose possible investiture of authority they might be yetcompelled to acknowledge. Their tentative submission was based on fear, and that in turn upon their sin-convicted consciences. Christ prevailedover those haggling Jews by virtue of the eternal principle that rightis mightier than wrong, and of the psychological fact that consciousnessof guilt robs the culprit of valor when the imminence of justretribution is apparent to his soul. [353] Yet, fearful lest He shouldprove to be a prophet with power, such as no living priest or rabbi evenprofessed to be, they timidly asked for credentials of Hisauthority--"What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest thesethings?" Curtly, and with scant respect for this demand, so common towicked and adulterous men, [354] Jesus replied: "Destroy this temple andin three days I will raise it up. "[355]

Blinded by their own craft, unwilling to acknowledge the Lord'sauthority, yet fearful of the possibility that they were opposing onewho had the right to act, the perturbed officials found in the words ofJesus reference to the imposing temple of masonry within whose wallsthey stood. They took courage; this strange Galilean, who openly floutedtheir authority, spoke irreverently of their temple, the visibleexpression of the profession they so proudly flaunted in words--thatthey were children of the covenant, worshipers of the true and livingGod, and hence superior to all heathen and pagan peoples. With seemingindignation they rejoined: "Forty and six years was this temple inbuilding, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?"[356] Thoughfrustrated in their desire to arouse popular indignation against Jesusat this time, the Jews refused to forget or forgive His words. Whenafterward He stood an undefended prisoner, undergoing an illegalpretense of trial before a sin-impeached court, the blackest perjuryuttered against Him was that of the false witnesses who testified: "Weheard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, andwithin three days I will build another made without hands. "[357] Andwhile He hung in mortal suffering, the scoffers who passed by the crosswagged their heads and taunted the dying Christ with "Ah, thou thatdestroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, andcome down from the cross. "[358] Yet His words to the Jews who haddemanded the credentials of a sign had no reference to the colossalTemple of Herod, but to the sanctuary of His own body, in which, moreliterally than in the man-built Holy of Holies, dwelt the ever livingSpirit of the Eternal God. "The Father is in me" was His doctrine. [359]

"He spake of the temple of His body, " the real tabernacle of the MostHigh. [360] This reference to the destruction of the temple of His body, and the renewal thereof after three days, is His first recordedprediction relating to His appointed death and resurrection. Even thedisciples did not comprehend the profound meaning of His words untilafter His resurrection from the dead; then they remembered andunderstood. The priestly Jews were not as dense as they appeared to be, for we find them coming to Pilate while the body of the crucified Christlay in the tomb, saying: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. "[361] Thoughwe have many records of Christ having said that He would die and on thethird day would rise again, the plainest of such declarations were madeto the apostles rather than openly to the public. The Jews who waitedupon Pilate almost certainly had in mind the utterance of Jesus whenthey had stood, nonplussed before Him, at the clearing of the templecourts. [362]

Such an accomplishment as that of defying priestly usage and clearingthe temple purlieus by force could not fail to impress, with variedeffect, the people in attendance at the feast; and they, returning totheir homes in distant and widely separated provinces, would spread thefame of the courageous Galilean Prophet. Many in Jerusalem believed onHim at the time, mainly because they were attracted by the miracles Hewrought; but He refused to "commit himself unto them, " realizing theinsecure foundation of their professions. Popular adulation was foreignto His purpose; He wanted no motley following, but would gather aroundHim such as received the testimony of His Messiahship from the Father. "He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for heknew what was in man. "[363]

The incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is acontradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentleand unassertive in demeanor as to appear unmanly. Gentle He was, andpatient under affliction, merciful and long-suffering in dealing withcontrite sinners, yet stern and inflexible in the presence of hypocrisy, and unsparing in His denunciation of persistent evil-doers. His mood wasadapted to the conditions to which He addressed Himself; tender words ofencouragement or burning expletives of righteous indignation issued withequal fluency from His lips. His nature was no poetic conception ofcherubic sweetness ever present, but that of a Man, with the emotionsand passions essential to manhood and manliness. He, who often wept withcompassion, at other times evinced in word and action the righteousanger of a God. But of all His passions, however gently they rippled orstrongly surged, He was ever master. Contrast the gentle Jesus moved tohospitable service by the needs of a festal party in Cana, with theindignant Christ plying His whip, and amidst commotion and turmoil ofHis own making, driving cattle and men before Him as an unclean herd. 

JESUS AND NICODEMUS. [364]

That the wonderful deeds wrought by Christ at and about the time of thismemorable Passover had led some of the learned, in addition to many ofthe common people, to believe in Him, is evidenced by the fact thatNicodemus, who was a Pharisee in profession and who occupied a highplace as one of the rulers of the Jews, came to Him on an errand ofinquiry. There is significance in the circumstance that this visit wasmade at night. Apparently the man was impelled by a genuine desire tolearn more of the Galilean, whose works could not be ignored; thoughpride of office and fear of possible suspicion that he had becomeattached to the new Prophet led him to veil his undertaking withprivacy. [365] Addressing Jesus by the title he himself bore, and whichhe regarded as one of honor and respect, he said: "Rabbi, we know thatthou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles thatthou doest, except God be with him. "[366] Whether his use of the pluralpronoun "we" indicates that he was sent by the Sanhedrin, or by thesociety of Pharisees--the members of which were accustomed to so speak, as representatives of the order--or was employed in the rhetorical senseas indicating himself alone, is of little importance. He acknowledgedJesus as a "teacher come from God, " and gave reasons for so regardingHim. Whatever of feeble faith might have been stirring in the heart ofthe man, such was founded on the evidence of miracles, supported mainlyby the psychological effect of signs and wonders. We must accord himcredit for sincerity and honesty of purpose. 

Without waiting for specific questions, "Jesus answered and said untohim, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, hecannot see the kingdom of God. " Nicodemus appears to have been puzzled;he asked how such a rejuvenation was possible. "How can a man be bornwhen he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, andbe born?" We do Nicodemus no injustice in assuming that he as a rabbi, aman learned in the scriptures, ought to have known that there was othermeaning in the words of Jesus than that of a mortal, literal birth. Moreover, were it possible that a man could be born a second timeliterally and in the flesh, how could such a birth profit him inspiritual growth? It would be but a reentrance on the stage of physicalexistence, not an advancement. The man knew that the figure of a newbirth was common in the teachings of his day. Every proselyte to Judaismwas spoken of at the time of his conversion as one new-born. 

The surprize manifested by Nicodemus was probably due, in part at least, to the universality of the requirement as announced by Christ. Were thechildren of Abraham included? The traditionalism of centuries wasopposed to any such view. Pagans had to be born again through a formalacceptance of Judaism, if they would become even small sharers of theblessings that belonged as a heritage to the house of Israel; but Jesusseemed to treat all alike, Jews and Gentiles, heathen idolaters and thepeople who with their lips at least called Jehovah, God. 

Jesus repeated the declaration, and with precision, emphasizing by theimpressive "Verily, verily, " the greatest lesson that had ever salutedthe ears of this ruler in Israel: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter intothe kingdom of God. " That the new birth thus declared to be absolutelyessential as a condition of entrance into the kingdom of God, applicableto every man, without limitation or qualification, was a spiritualregeneration, was next explained to the wondering rabbi: "That which isborn of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit isspirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. " Stillthe learned Jew pondered yet failed to comprehend. Possibly the sound ofthe night breeze was heard at that moment; if so, Jesus was bututilizing the incident as a skilful teacher would do to impress a lessonwhen He continued: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearestthe sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither itgoeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. " Plainly stated, Nicodemus was given to understand that his worldly learning and officialstatus availed him nothing in any effort to understand the things ofGod; through the physical sense of hearing he knew that the wind blew;by sight he could be informed of its passage: yet what did he know ofthe ultimate cause of even this simple phenomenon? If Nicodemus wouldreally be instructed in spiritual matters, he had to divest himself ofthe bias due to his professed knowledge of lesser things. 

Rabbi and eminent Sanhedrist though he was, there at the humble lodgingof the Teacher from Galilee, he was in the presence of a Master. In thebewilderment of ignorance he asked, "How can these things be?" The replymust have been humbling if not humiliating to the man: "Art thou amaster of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Plainly a knowledge ofsome of the fundamental principles of the gospel had been beforeaccessible; Nicodemus was held in reproach for his lack of knowledge, particularly as he was a teacher of the people. Then our Lord graciouslyexpounded at greater length, testifying that He spoke from sureknowledge, based upon what He had seen, while Nicodemus and his fellowswere unwilling to accept the witness of His words. Furthermore, Jesusaverred His mission to be that of the Messiah, and specifically foretoldHis death and the manner thereof--that He, the Son of Man, must belifted up, even as Moses had lifted the serpent in the wilderness as aprototype, whereby Israel might escape the fatal plague. [367]

The purpose of the foreappointed death of the Son of Man was: "Thatwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life";for to this end, and out of His boundless love to man had the Fatherdevoted His Only Begotten Son. And further, while it was true that inHis mortal advent the Son had not come to sit as a judge, but to teach, persuade and save, nevertheless condemnation would surely followrejection of that Savior, for light had come, and wicked men avoided thelight, hating it in their preference for the darkness in which theyhoped to hide their evil deeds. Here again, perhaps, Nicodemusexperienced a twinge of conscience, for had not he been afraid to comein the light, and had he not chosen the dark hours for his visit? OurLord's concluding words combined both instruction and reproof: "But hethat doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be mademanifest, that they are wrought in God. "

The narrative of this interview between Nicodemus and the Christconstitutes one of our most instructive and precious scriptures relatingto the absolute necessity of unreserved compliance with the laws andordinances of the gospel, as the means indispensable to salvation. Faithin Jesus Christ as the Son of God, through whom alone men may gaineternal life; the forsaking of sin by resolute turning away from thegross darkness of evil to the saving light of righteousness; theunqualified requirement of a new birth through baptism in water, andthis of necessity by the mode of immersion, since otherwise the figureof a birth would be meaningless; and the completion of the new birththrough baptism by the Spirit--all these principles are taught herein insuch simplicity and plainness as to make plausible no man's excuse forignorance. 

If Jesus and Nicodemus were the only persons present at the interview, John, the writer, must have been informed thereof by one of the two. AsJohn was one of the early disciples, afterward one of the apostles, andas he was distinguished in the apostolic company by his close personalcompanionship with the Lord, it is highly probable that he heard theaccount from the lips of Jesus. It was evidently John's purpose torecord the great lesson of the occasion rather than to tell thecircumstantial story. The record begins and ends with equal abruptness;unimportant incidents are omitted; every line is of significance; thewriter fully realized the deep import of his subject and treated itaccordingly. Later mention of Nicodemus tends to confirm the estimate ofthe man as he appears in this meeting with Jesus--that of one who wasconscious of a belief in the Christ, but whose belief was neverdeveloped into such genuine and virile faith as would impel toacceptance and compliance irrespective of cost or consequence. [368]

FROM CITY TO COUNTRY. 

Leaving Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went into the rural parts ofJudea, and there tarried, doubtless preaching as opportunity was foundor made; and those who believed on Him were baptized. [369] The prominentnote of His early public utterances was that of His forerunner in thewilderness: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. "[370] TheBaptist continued his labors; though doubtless, since his recognition ofthe Greater One for whose coming he had been sent to prepare, heconsidered the baptism he administered as of somewhat differentsignificance. He had at first baptized in preparation for One who was tocome; now he baptized repentant believers unto Him who had come. 

Disputation had arisen between some of John's zealous adherents and oneor more Jews[371] concerning the doctrine of purifying. The context[372]leaves little room for doubt that a question was involved as to therelative merits of John's baptism and that administered by the disciplesof Jesus. With excusable ardor and well-intended zeal for their master, the disciples of John, who had been embroiled in the dispute, came tohim saying: "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thoubearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. "John's supporters were concerned at the success of One whom theyregarded in some measure as a rival to their beloved teacher. Had notJohn given to Jesus His first attestation? "He to whom thou bearestwitness" said they, not deigning even to designate Jesus by name. Following the example of Andrew, and of John the future apostle, thepeople were leaving the Baptist and gathering about the Christ. John'sreply to his ardent followers constitutes a sublime instance ofself-abnegation. His answer was to this effect: A man receives only asGod gives unto him. It is not given to me to do the work of Christ. Yeyourselves are witnesses that I disclaimed being the Christ, and that Isaid I was one sent before Him. He is as the Bridegroom; I am only asthe friend of the bridegroom, [373] His servant; and I rejoice greatly inbeing thus near Him; His voice gives me happiness; and thus my joy isfulfilled. He of whom you speak stands at the beginning of His ministry;I near the end of mine. He must increase but I must decrease. He camefrom heaven and therefore is superior to all things of earth;nevertheless men refuse to receive His testimony. To such a One, theSpirit of God is not apportioned; it is His in full measure. The Fatherloveth Him, the Son, and hath given all things into His hand, and: "Hethat believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believethnot the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth onhim. "[374]

In such a reply, under the existent conditions, is to be found thespirit of true greatness, and of a humility that could rest only on aconviction of divine assurance to the Baptist as to himself and theChrist. In more than one sense was John great among all who are born ofwomen. [375] He had entered upon his work when sent of God so to do;[376]he realized that his work had been in a measure superseded, and hepatiently awaited his release, in the meantime continuing in theministry, directing souls to his Master. The beginning of the end wasnear. He was soon seized and thrown into a dungeon; where, as shall beshown, he was beheaded to sate the vengeance of a corrupt woman whosesins he had boldly denounced. [377]

The Pharisees observed with increasing apprehension the growingpopularity of Jesus, evidenced by the fact that even more followed afterHim and accepted baptism at the hands of His disciples than hadresponded to the Baptist's call. Open opposition was threatened; and asJesus desired to avert the hindrance to His work which such persecutionat that time would entail, He withdrew from Judea and retired toGalilee, journeying by way of Samaria. This return to the northernprovince was effected after the Baptist had been cast into prison. [378]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 12. 

1. Sea of Galilee. --This, the largest body of fresh water in Palestine, is somewhat pear-shape in outline and measures approximately thirteenmiles in extreme length on a northerly-southerly line and between sixand seven miles in greatest width. The river Jordan enters it at thenortheast extremity and flows out at the south-west; the lake may beregarded, therefore, as a great expansion of the river, though thewater-filled depression is about two hundred feet in depth. Theoutflowing Jordan connects the sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea, thelatter a body of intensely saline water, which in its abundance ofdissolved salts and in the consequent density of its brine is comparableto the Great Salt Lake in Utah, though the chemical composition of thewaters is materially different. The sea of Galilee is referred to byLuke, in accordance with its more appropriate classification as a lake(Luke 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23, 33). Adjoining the lake on the north-west is aplain, which in earlier times was highly cultivated: this was known asthe land of Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:53); and the water body cameto be known as the sea or lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). From theprominence of one of the cities on its western shore, it was known alsoas the sea of Tiberias (John 6:1, 23; 21:1). In the Old Testament it iscalled the sea of Chinnereth (Numb. 34:11) or Chinneroth (Josh. 12:3)after the name of a contiguous city (Josh. 19:35). The surface of thelake or sea is several hundred feet below normal sea-level, 681 feetlower than the Mediterranean according to Zenos, or 700 feet as statedby some others. This low-lying position gives to the region asemi-tropical climate. Zenos, in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_, says:"The waters of the lake are noted for abundant fish. The industry offishing was accordingly one of the most stable resources of the countryround about. .. . Another feature of the sea of Galilee is itssusceptibility to sudden storms. These are occasioned partly by itslying so much lower than the surrounding tableland (a fact that createsa difference of temperature and consequent disturbances in theatmosphere), and partly by the rushing of gusts of wind down the Jordanvalley from the heights of Hermon. The event recorded in Matt. 8:24 isno extraordinary case. Those who ply boats on the lake are obliged toexercize great care to avoid peril from such storms. The shores of thesea of Galilee as well as the lake itself were the scenes of many of themost remarkable events recorded in the Gospels. "

2. The Four Gospels. --All careful students of the New Testament musthave observed that the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, treat theevents of the Savior's sayings and doings in Galilee with greaterfulness than they accord to His work in Judea; the book or Gospel ofJohn, on the other hand, treats particularly the incidents of our Lord'sJudean ministry, without excluding, however, important events thatoccurred in Galilee. In style of writing and method of treatment, theauthors of the first three Gospels (evangelists as they and John arecollectively styled in theologic literature) differ more markedly fromthe author of the fourth Gospel than among themselves. The eventsrecorded by the first three can be more readily classified, collated, orarranged, and in consequence the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, andLuke are now commonly known as the Synoptics, or Synoptic Gospels. 

3. Thirty Years of Age. --According to Luke (3:23) Jesus was about thirtyyears of age at the time of His baptism, and we find that soonthereafter, He entered publicly upon the work of His ministry. The lawprovided that at the age of thirty years the Levites were required toenter upon their special service (Numb. 4:3). Clarke, _BibleCommentary_, treating the passage in Luke 3:23, says: "This was the agerequired by the law to which the priests must arrive before they couldbe installed in their office. " Jesus may possibly have had regard forwhat had become a custom of the time, in waiting until He had attainedthat age before entering publicly on the labors of a Teacher among thepeople. Not being of Levitical descent He was not eligible to priestlyordination in the Aaronic order, and therefore, certainly did not waitfor such before beginning His ministry. To have taught in public at anearlier age would have been to arouse criticism, and objection, whichmight have resulted in serious handicap or hindrance at the outset. 

4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival. --While it isadmittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of theJewish people could be present at the annual Passover gatherings atJerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance ofthe feast, the usual attendance at the temple celebration in the days ofJesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs "aninnumerable multitude" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars, vi, 9:3) states that the attendance reached the enormous aggregate of threemillions of souls; such is the record, though many modern writers treatthe statement as an exaggeration. Josephus says that for the purpose ofgiving the emperor Nero information as to the numerical strength of theJewish people, particularly in Palestine, the chief priests were askedby Cestius to count the number of lambs slain at the feast, and thenumber reported was 256, 500, which on the basis of between ten andeleven persons to each paschal table would indicate the presence, hesays, of at least 2, 700, 200, not including visitors other than Jews, andsuch of the people of Israel as were debarred from participation in thepaschal meal because of ceremonial unfitness. 

The scenes of confusion, inevitable under the conditions thenprevailing, are admirably summarized by Geikie (_Life and Words ofChrist_, chap. 30), who cites many earlier authorities for hisstatements: "The streets were blocked by the crowds from all parts, whohad to make their way to the Temple, past flocks of sheep, and droves ofcattle, pressing on in the sunken middle part of each street reservedfor them, to prevent contact and defilement. Sellers of all possiblewares beset the pilgrims, for the great feasts were, as has been said, the harvest time of all trades at Jerusalem, just as, at Mecca, even atthis day, the time of the great concourse of worshippers at the tomb ofthe Prophet, is that of the busiest trade among the merchant pilgrims, who form the caravans from all parts of the Mohammedan world. 

"Inside the Temple space, the noise and pressure were, if possible, worse. Directions were posted up to keep to the right or the left, as inthe densest thoroughfares of London. The outer court, which others thanJews might enter, and which was, therefore, known as the Court of theHeathen, was in part, covered with pens for sheep, goats, and cattle, for the feast and the thank-offerings. Sellers shouted the merits oftheir beasts, sheep bleated, and oxen lowed. It was, in fact, the greatyearly fair of Jerusalem, and the crowds added to the din and tumult, till the services in the neighboring courts were sadly disturbed. Sellers of doves, for poor women coming for purification from all partsof the country, and for others, had a space set apart for them. Indeed, the sale of doves was, in great measure, secretly, in the hands of thepriests themselves: Hannas, the high priest, especially, gaining greatprofits from his dove cotes on Mount Olivet. The rents of the sheep andcattle pens, and the profits on the doves, had led the priests tosanction the incongruity of thus turning the Temple itself into a noisymarket. Nor was this all. Potters pressed on the pilgrims their claydishes and ovens for the Passover lamb; hundreds of traders recommendedtheir wares aloud; shops for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed forsacrifices, invited customers; and, in addition, persons going acrossthe city, with all kinds of burdens, shortened their journey by crossingthe Temple grounds. The provision for paying the tribute, levied on all, for the support of the Temple, added to the distraction. On both sidesof the east Temple gate, stalls had for generations been permitted forchanging foreign money. From the fifteenth of the preceding monthmoney-changers had been allowed to set up their tables in the city, andfrom the twenty-first, --or twenty days before the Passover, --to plytheir trade in the Temple itself. Purchasers of materials for offeringspaid the amount at special stalls, to an officer of the Temple, andreceived a leaden cheque for which they got what they had bought, fromthe seller. Large sums, moreover, were changed, to be cast, as freeofferings, into one of the thirteen chests which formed the Templetreasury. Every Jew, no matter how poor, was, in addition, required topay yearly a half-shekel--about eighteen pence--as atonement money forhis soul, and for the support of the Temple. As this would not bereceived except in a native coin, called the Temple shekel, which wasnot generally current, strangers had to change their Roman, Greek, orEastern money, at the stalls of the money-changers, to get the coinrequired. The trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only toocommon. Five per cent. Exchange was charged, but this was indefinitelyincreased by tricks and chicanery, for which the class had everywhereearned so bad a name, that like the publicans, their witness would notbe taken before a court. "

Touching the matter of the defilement to which the temple courts hadbeen subjected by traffickers acting under priestly license, Farrar, (_Life of Christ_, p. 152), gives us the following: "And this was theentrance-court to the Temple of the Most High! The court which was awitness that that house should be a House of Prayer for all nations hadbeen degraded into a place which, for foulness, was more like shambles, and for bustling commerce more like a densely-crowded bazaar; while thelowing of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the Babel of many languages, thehuckstering and wrangling, and the clinking of money and of balances(perhaps not always just), might be heard in the adjoining courts, disturbing the chant of the Levites and the prayers of priests!"

5. The Servility of the Jews in the Presence of Jesus. --The record ofthe achievement of Jesus, in ridding the temple courts of those who hadmade the House of the Lord a market place, contains nothing to suggestthe inference that He exercized superhuman strength or more than manlyvigor. He employed a whip of His own making, and drove all before Him. They fled helter-skelter. None are said to have voiced an objectionuntil the expulsion had been made complete. Why did not some among themultitude object? The submission appears to have been abject and servilein the extreme. Farrar, (_Life of Christ_, pp. 151, 152) raises thequestion and answers it with excellent reasoning and in eloquent lines:"Why did not this multitude of ignorant pilgrims resist? Why did thesegreedy chafferers content themselves with dark scowls and mutteredmaledictions, while they suffered their oxen and sheep to be chased intothe streets and themselves ejected, and their money flung rolling on thefloor, by one who was then young and unknown, and in the garb ofdespised Galilee? Why, in the same way we might ask, did Saul sufferSamuel to beard him in the very presence of his army? Why did Davidabjectly obey the orders of Joab? Why did Ahab not dare to arrest Elijahat the door of Naboth's vineyard? Because sin is weakness; because thereis in the world nothing so abject as a guilty conscience, nothing soinvincible as the sweeping tide of a Godlike indignation against allthat is base and wrong. How could these paltry sacrilegious buyers andsellers, conscious of wrongdoing, oppose that scathing rebuke, or facethe lightnings of those eyes that were enkindled by an outragedholiness? When Phinehas the priest was zealous for the Lord of Hosts, and drove through the bodies of the prince of Simeon and the Midianitishwoman with one glorious thrust of his indignant spear, why did notguilty Israel avenge that splendid murder? Why did not every man of thetribe of Simeon become a Goel to the dauntless assassin? Because Vicecannot stand for one moment before Virtue's uplifted arm. Base andgrovelling as they were, these money-mongering Jews felt, in all thatremnant of their souls which was not yet eaten away by infidelity andavarice, that the Son of Man was right. 

"Nay, even the Priests and Pharisees, and Scribes and Levites, devouredas they were by pride and formalism, could not condemn an act whichmight have been performed by a Nehemiah or a Judas Maccabaeus, and whichagreed with all that was purest and best in their traditions. But whenthey had heard of this deed, or witnessed it, and had time to recoverfrom the breathless mixture of admiration, disgust, and astonishmentwhich it inspired, they came to Jesus, and though they did not dare tocondemn what He had done, yet half indignantly asked Him for some signthat He had a right to act thus. "

6. Jewish Regard for the Temple. --The Jews professed high regard for thetemple. "An utterance of the Savior, construed by the dark-minded as anaspersion upon the temple, was used against Him as one of the chiefaccusations on which His death was demanded. When the Jews clamored fora sign of His authority He predicted His own death and subsequentresurrection, saying, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I willraise it up, ' (John 2:19-22; see also Matt. 26:61; 27:40; Mark 14:58;15:29). They blindly regarded this remark as a disrespectful allusion totheir temple, a structure built by human hands, and they refused toforget or forgive. That this veneration continued after the crucifixionof our Lord is evident from accusations brought against Stephen, andstill later against Paul. In their murderous rage the people accusedStephen of disrespect for the temple, and brought false witnesses whouttered perjured testimony saying, 'This man ceaseth not to speakblasphemous words against this holy place. ' (Acts 6:13. ) And Stephen wasnumbered with the martyrs. When it was claimed that Paul had broughtwith him into the temple precincts, a Gentile, the whole city wasaroused, and the infuriated mob dragged Paul from the place and soughtto kill him. (Acts 21:26-31. )"--The author; _House of the Lord_, pp. 60, 61. 

7. Some of the "Chief Rulers" Believed. --Nicodemus was not the only oneamong the ruling classes who believed in Jesus; but of most of these welearn nothing to indicate that they had sufficient courage to come evenby night to make independent and personal inquiry. They feared theresult in loss of popularity and standing. We read in John 12:42, 43:"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; butbecause of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should beput out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than thepraise of God. " Note also the instance of the scribe who proffered tobecome a professed disciple, but, probably because of some degree ofinsincerity or unfitness, was rather discouraged than approved by Jesus. (Matt. 8:19, 20. )

8. Nicodemus. --The course followed by this man evidences at once that hereally believed in Jesus as one sent of God, and that his belief failedof development into a condition of true faith, which, had it but beenrealized, might have led to a life of devoted service in the Master'scause. When at a later stage than that of his interview with Christ thechief priests and Pharisees upbraided the officers whom they had sent totake Jesus into custody and who returned to report their failure, Nicodemus, one of the council, ventured to mildly expostulate againstthe murderous determination of the rulers, by stating a generalproposition in interrogative form: "Doth our law judge any man before ithear him and know what he doeth?" He was answered by his colleagues withcontempt, and appears to have abandoned his well-intended effort (John7:50-53; read preceding verses 30-49). We next hear of him bringing acostly contribution of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-weight, to beused in the burial of Christ's then crucified body; but even in thisdeed of liberality and devotion, in which his sincerity of purposecannot well be questioned, he had been preceded by Joseph of Arimathea, a man of rank, who had boldly asked for and secured the body forreverent burial (John 19:38-42). Nevertheless Nicodemus did more thandid most of his believing associates among the noble and great ones; andto him let all due credit be given; he will not fail of his reward. 

9. "The Jews" or "A Jew. "--We read that "there arose a question betweensome of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying" (John 3:25). Bearing in mind that the expression "the Jews" is very commonly used bythe author of the fourth Gospel to designate the officials or rulersamong the people, the passage quoted may be understood to mean that theBaptist's disciples were engaged in disputation with the priestlyrulers. It is held, however, by Biblical scholars generally, that "theJews" in this passage is a mistranslation, and that the true renderingis "a Jew. " The disputation concerning purifying appears to have arisenbetween some of the Baptist's followers and a single opponent; and thepassage as it appears in the King James version of the Bible is aninstance of scripture not translated correctly. 

10. Friend of the Bridegroom. --Judean marriage customs in the days ofChrist required the appointing of a chief grooms-man, who attended toall the preliminaries and made arrangements for the marriage feast, inbehalf of the bridegroom. He was distinctively known as the friend ofthe bridegroom. When the ceremonial requirements had been complied with, and the bride had been legally and formally given unto her spouse, thejoy of the bridegroom's friend was fulfilled inasmuch as his appointedduties had been successfully discharged. (John 3:29. ) According toEdersheim, (_Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_, vol. 1, p. 148), bythe simpler customs prevalent in Galilee a "friend of the bridegroom"was not often chosen; and (pp. 663-4) the expression "children of thebridechamber" (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34, in all of whichcitations the expression is used by Jesus), was applied collectively toall the invited guests at a wedding festival. He says: "As theinstitution of 'friends of the bridegroom' prevailed in Judea, but notin Galilee, this marked distinction of the 'friend of the bridegroom' inthe mouth of the Judean John, and 'sons (children) of the bridechamber'in that of the Galilean Jesus, is itself evidential of historicaccuracy. "

11. The Atonement Money. --In the course of the exodus, the Lord requiredof every male in Israel who was twenty years old or older at the time ofa census the payment of a ransom, amounting to half a shekel (Exo. 30:12-16). See pages 383 and 396 herein. As to the use to which thismoney was to be put, the Lord thus directed Moses: "And thou shalt takethe atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it forthe service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be amemorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make anatonement for your souls" (Exo. 30:16; see also 38:25-31). In time, thetax of half a shekel, equivalent to a bekah (Exo. 38:26), was collectedannually, though for this exaction no scriptural authority is of record. This tax must not be confused with the redemption money, amounting tofive shekels for every firstborn male, the payment of which exempted theindividual from service in the labors of the sanctuary. In place of thefirstborn sons in all the tribes, the Lord designated the Levites forthis special ministry; nevertheless He continued to hold the firstbornmales as peculiarly His own, and required the payment of a ransom as amark of their redemption from the duties of exclusive service. See Exo. 13:12, 13-15; Numb. 3:13, 40-51; 8:15-18; 18:15, 16; also pages 95, 96herein. 

FOOTNOTES:

[343] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[344] John 2:12; compare Matt. 4:13; 9:1. 

[345] Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15. 

[346] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[347] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[348] Page 114; Luke 2:46-49. 

[349] Page 113. Note 4, end of chapter. 

[350] Exo. 30:11-16. Note 11, end of chapter. 

[351] John 2:14-17. 

[352] Compare Psalm 69:9. 

[353] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[354] Matt. 12:38, 39; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; John 6:30; 1 Cor. 1:22. 

[355] John 2:19; read verses 18-22. 

[356] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[357] Mark 14:58. Page 624 herein. 

[358] Mark 15:29, 30. 

[359] John 10:38; 17:21. 

[360] John 2:19-22; compare 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; seefurther Col. 2:9; Heb. 8:2. 

[361] Matt. 27:63. Page 665. 

[362] As Canon Farrar has tersely written, "Unless the 'we remember' wasa distinct falsehood, they could have been referring to no otheroccasion than this. " ("Life of Christ, " p. 155. )

[363] John 2:23-25. 

[364] John 3:1-21. 

[365] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[366] John 3:2; read verses 1-21. 

[367] Numb. 21:7-9. 

[368] Note 8, end of chapter. See "Articles of Faith, " v:1-5. 

[369] John 3:22; compare 4:2. 

[370] Matt. 4:17; compare Mark 1:15. 

[371] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[372] John 3:25-36. 

[373] Note 10, end of chapter. 

[374] John 3:27-36. 

[375] Matt. 11:11. 

[376] Luke 3:2, 3. 

[377] Matt. 14:3-12. 

[378] Matt. 4:12. 

CHAPTER 13. 

HONORED BY STRANGERS, REJECTED BY HIS OWN. 

JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN. 

The direct route from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria; but manyJews, particularly Galileans, chose to follow an indirect though longerway rather than traverse the country of a people so despized by them aswere the Samaritans. The ill-feeling between Jews and Samaritans hadbeen growing for centuries, and at the time of our Lord's earthlyministry had developed into most intense hatred. [379] The inhabitants ofSamaria were a mixed people, in whom the blood of Israel was mingledwith that of the Assyrians and other nations; and one cause of theanimosity existing between them and their neighbors both on the northand the south was the Samaritans' claim for recognition as Israelites;it was their boast that Jacob was their father; but this the Jewsdenied. The Samaritans had a version of the Pentateuch, which theyrevered as the law, but they rejected all the prophetical writings ofwhat is now the Old Testament, because they considered themselvestreated with insufficient respect therein. 

To the orthodox Jew of the time a Samaritan was more unclean than aGentile of any other nationality. It is interesting to note the extremeand even absurd restrictions then in force in the matter of regulatingunavoidable relations between the two peoples. The testimony of aSamaritan could not be heard before a Jewish tribunal. For a Jew to eatfood prepared by a Samaritan was at one time regarded by rabbinicalauthority as an offense as great as that of eating the flesh of swine. While it was admitted that produce from a field in Samaria was notunclean, inasmuch as it sprang directly from the soil, such producebecame unclean if subjected to any treatment at Samaritan hands. Thus, grapes and grain might be purchased from Samaritans, but neither winenor flour manufactured therefrom by Samaritan labor. On one occasion theepithet "Samaritan" was hurled at Christ as an intended insult. "Say wenot well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?"[380] TheSamaritan conception of the mission of the expected Messiah was somewhatbetter founded than was that of the Jews, for the Samaritans gavegreater prominence to the spiritual kingdom the Messiah would establish, and were less exclusive in their views as to whom the Messianicblessings would be extended. 

In His journey to Galilee Jesus took the shorter course, throughSamaria; and doubtless His choice was guided by purpose, for we readthat "He must needs go" that way. [381] The road led through or by thetown called Sychar, [382] "near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gaveto his son Joseph. "[383] There was Jacob's well, which was held in highesteem, not only for its intrinsic worth as an unfailing source ofwater, but also because of its association with the great patriarch'slife. Jesus, travel-warn and weary, rested at the well, while Hisdisciples went to the town to buy food. A woman came to fill herwater-jar, and Jesus said to her: "Give me to drink. " By the rules oforiental hospitality then prevailing, a request for water was one thatshould never be denied if possible to grant; yet the woman hesitated, for she was amazed that a Jew should ask a favor of a Samaritan, however, great the need. She expressed her surprize in the question "Howis it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman ofSamaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. " Jesus, seemingly forgetful of thirst in His desire to teach, answered her bysaving: "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith tothee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he wouldhave given thee living water. " The woman reminded Him that He had nobucket or cord with which to draw from the deep well, and inquiredfurther as to His meaning, adding: "Art thou greater than our fatherJacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and hischildren, and his cattle?"

Jesus found in the woman's words a spirit similar to that with which thescholarly Nicodemus had received His teachings; each failed alike toperceive the spiritual lesson He would impart. He explained to her thatwater from the well would be of but temporary benefit; to one who drankof it thirst would return. "But, " he added, "whosoever drinketh of thewater that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that Ishall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up intoeverlasting life. " The woman's interest was keenly aroused, either fromcuriosity or as an emotion of deeper concern, for she now became thepetitioner, and, addressing Him by a title of respect, said: "Sir, giveme this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. " Shecould see nothing beyond the material advantage attaching to water thatwould once and for all quench thirst. The result of the draught she hadin mind would be to give her immunity from one bodily need, and save herthe labor of coming to draw from the well. 

The subject of the conversation was abruptly changed by Jesus biddingher to go, call her husband, and return. To her reply that she had nohusband Jesus revealed to her His superhuman powers of discernment, bytelling her she had spoken truthfully, inasmuch as she had had fivehusbands, while the man with whom she was then living was not herhusband. Surely no ordinary being could have so read the unpleasingstory of her life; she impulsively confessed her conviction, saying:"Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. " She desired to turn theconversation, and, pointing to Mount Gerizim, upon which thesacrilegious priest Manasseh had erected a Samaritan temple, sheremarked with little pertinence to what had been said before: "Ourfathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem isthe place where men ought to worship. " Jesus replied in yet deeper vein, telling her that the time was near when neither that mountain norJerusalem would be preeminently a place of worship; and He clearlyrebuked her presumption that the traditional belief of the Samaritanswas equally good with that of the Jews; for, said He: "Ye worship yeknow not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. "Changed and corrupted as the Jewish religion had become, it was betterthan that of her people; for the Jews did accept the prophets, andthrough Judah the Messiah had come. But, as Jesus expounded the matterto her, the place of worship was of lesser importance than the spirit ofthe worshiper. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worshiphim in spirit and in truth. "

Unable or unwilling to understand Christ's meaning, the woman sought toterminate the lesson by a remark that probably was to her but casual: "Iknow that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, hewill tell us all things. " Then, to her profound amazement, Jesusrejoined with the awe-inspiring declaration: "I that speak unto thee amhe. " The language was unequivocal, the assertion one that required noelucidation. The woman must regard Him thereafter as either an imposteror the Messiah. She left her pitcher at the well, and hastening to thetown told of her experience, saying: "Come, see a man, which told me allthings that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

Near the conclusion of the interview between Jesus and the woman, thereturning disciples arrived with the provisions they had gone toprocure. They marveled at finding the Master in conversation with awoman, and a Samaritan woman at that, yet none of them asked of Him anexplanation. His manner must have impressed them with the seriousnessand solemnity of the occasion. When they urged Him to eat He said: "Ihave meat to eat that ye know not of. " To them His words had nosignificance beyond the literal sense, and they queried among themselvesas to whether some one had brought Him food during their absence; but Heenlightened them in this way: "My meat is to do the will of him thatsent me, and to finish his work. "

A crowd of Samaritans appeared, coming from the city. Looking upon themand upon the grain fields nearby, Jesus continued: "Say not ye, Thereare yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already toharvest. " The import of the saying seems to be that while months wouldelapse before the wheat and the barley were ready for the sickle, theharvest of souls, exemplified by the approaching crowd, was even thenready; and that from what He had sown the disciples might reap, to theirinestimable advantage, since they would have wages for their hire andwould gather the fruits of other labor than their own. 

Many of the Samaritans believed on Christ, at first on the strength ofthe woman's testimony, then because of their own conviction; and theysaid to the woman at whose behest they had at first gone to meet Him:"Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard himourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of theworld. " Graciously He acceded to their request to remain, and tarriedwith them two days. It is beyond question that Jesus did not share inthe national prejudice of the Jews against the people of Samaria; anhonest soul was acceptable to Him come whence he may. Probably the seedsown during this brief stay of our Lord among the despized people ofSamaria was that from which so rich a harvest was reaped by the apostlesin after years. [384]

JESUS AGAIN IN GALILEE: AT CANA AND NAZARETH. 

Following the two days' sojourn among the Samaritans, Jesus, accompaniedby the disciples who had traveled with Him from Judea, resumed thejourney northward into Galilee, from which province He had been absentseveral months. Realizing that the people of Nazareth, the town in whichHe had been brought up, would be probably loath to acknowledge Him asother than the carpenter, or, as He stated, knowing that "a prophet hathno honour in his own country, "[385] He went first to Cana. The people ofthat section, and indeed the Galileans generally, received Him gladly;for many of them had attended the last Passover and probably had beenpersonal witnesses of the wonders He had wrought in Judea. While at CanaHe was visited by a nobleman, most likely a high official of theprovince, who entreated Him to proceed to Capernaum and heal his son, who was then lying at the point of death. With the probable design ofshowing the man the true condition of his mind, for we cannot doubt thatJesus could read his thoughts, our Lord said to him: "Except ye seesigns and wonders, ye will not believe. "[386] As observed in earlierinstances, notably in the refusal of Jesus to commit Himself to theprofessing believers at Jerusalem, whose belief rested solely on theirwonder at the things He did, [387] our Lord would not regard miracles, though wrought by Himself, as a sufficient and secure foundation forfaith. The entreating nobleman, in anguish over the precarious state ofhis son, in no way resented the rebuke such as a captious mind may havefound in the Lord's reply; but with sincere humility, which showed hisbelief that Jesus could heal the boy, he renewed and emphasized hisplea: "Sir, come down ere my child die. "

Probably the man had never paused to reason as to the direct means orprocess by which death might be averted and healing be insured throughthe words of any being; but in his heart he believed in Christ's power, and with pathetic earnestness besought our Lord to intervene in behalfof his dying son. He seemed to consider it necessary that the Healer bepresent, and his great fear was that the boy would not live until Jesuscould arrive. "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And theman believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went hisway. " The genuineness of the man's trust is shown by his gratefulacceptance of the Lord's assurance, and by the contentment that heforthwith manifested. Capernaum, where his son lay, was about twentymiles away; had he been still solicitous and doubtful he would probablyhave tried to return home that day, for it was one o'clock in theafternoon when Jesus spoke the words that had given to him such relief;but he journeyed leisurely, for on the following day he was still on theroad, and was met by some of his servants who had been sent to cheer himwith the glad word of his son's recovery. He inquired when the boy hadbegun to amend, and was told that at the seventh hour on the yesterdaythe fever had left him. That was the time at which Christ had said, "Thyson liveth. " The man's belief ripened fast, and both he and hishousehold accepted the gospel. [388] This was the second miracle wroughtby Jesus when in Cana, though in this instance the subject of theblessing was in Capernaum. 

Our Lord's fame spread through all the region round about. During aperiod not definitely stated, He taught in the synagogs of the towns andwas received with favor, being glorified of all. [389] He then returnedto Nazareth, His former home, and as was his custom, attended thesynagog on the Sabbath day. Many times as boy and man He had sat in thathouse of worship, listening to the reading of the law and the prophetsand to the commentaries or Targums[390] relating thereto, as deliveredby appointed readers; but now, as a recognized teacher of legal age Hewas eligible to take the reader's place. On this occasion He stood up toread, when the service had reached the stage at which extracts from theprophetical books were to be read to the congregation. The minister incharge handed Him the roll, or book, of Isaiah; He turned to the partknown to us as the beginning of the sixty-first chapter, and read: "TheSpirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach thegospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, topreach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to theblind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptableyear of the Lord. "[391] Handing the book to the minister, He sat down. It was allowable for the reader in the service of the Jewish synagog tomake comments in explanation of what had been read; but to do so he mustsit. When Jesus took His seat the people knew that He was about toexpound the text, and "the eyes of all them that were in the synagoguewere fastened on him. " The scripture He had quoted was one recognized byall classes as specifically referring to the Messiah, for whose comingthe nation waited. The first sentence of our Lord's commentary wasstartling; it involved no labored analysis, no scholasticinterpretation, but a direct and unambiguous application: "This day isthis scripture fulfilled in your ears. " There was such graciousness inHis words that all wondered, and they said, "Is not this Joseph'sson?"[392]

Jesus knew their thoughts even if He heard not their words, and, forestalling their criticism, He said: "Ye will surely say unto me thisproverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done inCapernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say untoyou, No prophet is accepted in his own country. " In their hearts thepeople were eager for a sign, a wonder, a miracle. They knew that Jesushad wrought such in Cana, and a boy in Capernaum had been healed by Hisword; at Jerusalem too He had astonished the people with mighty works. Were they, His townsmen, to be slighted? Why would He not treat them tosome entertaining exhibition of His powers? He continued His address, reminding them that in the days of Elijah, when for three years and ahalf no rain had fallen, and famine had reigned, the prophet had beensent to but one of the many widows, and she a woman of Sarepta in Sidon, a Gentile, not a daughter of Israel. And again, though there had beenmany lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha, but one leper, and he aSyrian, not an Israelite, had been cleansed through the prophet'sministration, for Naaman alone had manifested the requisite faith. 

Then great was their wrath. Did He dare to class them with Gentiles andlepers? Were they to be likened unto despized unbelievers, and that tooby the son of the village carpenter, who had grown from childhood intheir community? Victims of diabolical rage, they seized the Lord andtook Him to the brow of the hill on the slopes of which the town wasbuilt, determined to avenge their wounded feelings by hurling Him fromthe rocky cliffs. Thus early in His ministry did the forces ofopposition attain murderous intensity. But our Lord's time to die hadnot yet come. The infuriated mob was powerless to go one step fartherthan their supposed victim would permit. "But he passing through themidst of them went his way. " Whether they were overawed by the grace ofHis presence, silenced by the power of His words, or stayed by some moreappalling intervention, we are not informed. He departed from theunbelieving Nazarenes, and thenceforth Nazareth was no longer His home. 

IN CAPERNAUM. 

Jesus wended His way to Capernaum, [393] which became to Him as nearly aplace of abode as any He had in Galilee. There He taught, particularlyon Sabbath days; and the people were astonished at His doctrine, for Hespoke with authority and power. [394] In the synagog, on one of theseoccasions, was a man who was a victim of possession, and subject to theravages of an evil spirit, or, as the text so forcefully states, one who"had a spirit of an unclean devil. " It is significant that this wickedspirit, which had gained such power over the man as to control hisactions and utterances, was terrified before our Lord and cried out witha loud voice, though pleadingly: "Let us alone; what have we to do withthee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know theewho thou art; the Holy One of God. " Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, commanding him to be silent, and to leave the man; the demon obeyed theMaster, and after throwing the victim into violent though harmlessparoxysm, left him. Such a miracle caused the beholders to wonder themore, and they exclaimed: "What a word is this! for with authority andpower he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fameof him went out into every place of the country round about. "[395]

In the evening of the same day, when the sun had set, and thereforeafter the Sabbath had passed[396], the people flocked about Him, bringing their afflicted friends and kindred; and these Jesus healed oftheir divers maladies whether of body or of mind. Among those sorelieved were many who had been possessed of devils, and these criedout, testifying perforce of the Master's divine authority: "Thou artChrist the Son of God. "[397]

On these as on other occasions, we find evil spirits voicing through themouths of their victims their knowledge that Jesus was the Christ; andin all such instances the Lord silenced them with a word; for He wantedno such testimony as theirs to attest the fact of His Godship. Thosespirits were of the devil's following, members of the rebellious anddefeated hosts that had been cast down through the power of the veryBeing whose authority and power they now acknowledged in their demoniacfrenzy. Together with Satan himself, their vanquished chief, theyremained unembodied, for to all of them the privileges of the second ormortal estate had been denied;[398] their remembrance of the scenes thathad culminated in their expulsion from heaven was quickened by thepresence of the Christ, though He stood in a body of flesh. 

Many modern writers have attempted to explain the phenomenon ofdemoniacal possession; and beside these there are not a few who deny thepossibility of actual domination of the victim by spirit personages. Yetthe scriptures are explicit in showing the contrary. Our Lorddistinguished between this form of affliction and that of simple bodilydisease in His instructions to the Twelve: "Heal the sick, cleanse thelepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. "[399] In the account of theincidents under consideration, the evangelist Mark observes the samedistinction, thus: "They brought unto him all that were diseased, andthem that were possessed with devils. " In several instances, Christ, inrebuking demons, addressed them as individuals distinct from the humanbeing afflicted, [400] and in one such instance commanded the demon to"come out of him, and enter no more into him. "[401]

In this matter as in others the simplest explanation is the pertinenttruth; theory raised on other than scriptural foundation is unstable. Christ unequivocally associated demons with Satan, specifically in Hiscomment on the report of the Seventy whom He authorized and sent forth, and who testified with joy on their return that even the devils had beensubject unto them through His name; and to those faithful servants Hesaid: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. "[402] The demonsthat take possession of men, overruling their agency and compelling themto obey Satanic bidding, are the unembodied angels of the devil, whosetriumph it is to afflict mortals, and if possible to impel them to sin. To gain for themselves the transitory gratification of tenanting a bodyof flesh, these demons are eager to enter even into the bodies ofbeasts. [403]

Possibly it was during the interval between the rebuking of the evilspirit in the synagog and the miracles of healing and casting out devilsin the evening of that Sabbath, that Jesus went to the house of Simon, whom He had before named Peter, and there found the mother-in-law of Hisdisciple lying ill of fever. Acceding to the request of faith He rebukedthe disease; the woman was healed forthwith, rose from her bed, andministered the hospitality of her home unto Jesus and those who werewith Him. [404]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 13. 

1. Animosity Between Jews and Samaritans. --In any consideration of theSamaritans, it must be kept in mind that a certain city and the districtor province in which it was situated were both known as Samaria. Theprincipal facts pertaining to the origin of the Samaritans and theexplanation of the mutual animosity existing between that people and theJews in the time of Christ, have been admirably summarized by Geikie(_Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I, pp. 495-6). Omitting his citationof authorities, we quote: "After the deportation of the Ten Tribes toAssyria, Samaria had been repeopled by heathen colonists from variousprovinces of the Assyrian empire, by fugitives from the authorities ofJudea, and by stragglers of one or other of the Ten Tribes, who foundtheir way home again. The first heathen settlers, terrified at theincrease of wild animals, especially lions, and attributing it to theirnot knowing the proper worship of the God of the country, sent for oneof the exiled priests, and, under his instructions, added the worship ofJehovah to that of their idols--an incident in their history from whichlater Jewish hatred and derision taunted them as 'proselytes of thelions, ' as it branded them, from their Assyrian origin, with the name ofCuthites. Ultimately, however, they became even more rigidly attached tothe Law of Moses than the Jews themselves. Anxious to be recognized asIsraelites, they set their hearts on joining the Two Tribes, on theirreturn from captivity, but the stern Puritanism of Ezra and Nehemiahadmitted no alliance between the pure blood of Jerusalem and the taintedrace of the north. Resentment at this affront was natural, and excitedresentment in return, till, in Christ's day, centuries of strife andmutual injury, intensified by theological hatred on both sides, had madethem implacable enemies. The Samaritans had built a temple on MountGerizim, to rival that of Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed by JohnHyrcanus, who had also levelled Samaria to the ground. They claimed fortheir mountain a greater holiness than that of Moriah; accused the Jewsof adding to the word of God, by receiving the writings of the prophets, and prided themselves on owning only the Pentateuch as inspired;favoured Herod because the Jews hated him, and were loyal to him and theequally hated Romans; had kindled false lights on the hills, to vitiatethe Jewish reckoning by the new moons, and thus throw their feasts intoconfusion, and, in the early youth of Jesus, had even defiled the veryTemple itself, by strewing human bones in it, at the Passover. 

"Nor had hatred slumbered on the side of the Jews. They knew theSamaritans only as Cuthites, or heathens from Cuth. 'The race that Ihate is no race, ' says the son of Sirach. It was held that a people whoonce had worshipped five gods could have no part in Jehovah. The claimof the Samaritans that Moses had buried the Tabernacle and its vesselson the top of Gerizim, was laughed to scorn. It was said that they haddedicated their temple, under Antiochus Epiphanes, to the Greek Jupiter. Their keeping the commands of Moses even more strictly than the Jews, that it might seem they were really of Israel, was not denied; but theirheathenism, it was said, had been proved by the discovery of a brazendove, which they worshipped, on the top of Gerizim. It would have beenenough that they boasted of Herod as their good king, who had married adaughter of their people; that he had been free to follow, in theircountry, his Roman tastes, so hated in Judea; that they had remainedquiet, after his death, when Judea and Galilee were in uproar, and thatfor their peacefulness a fourth of their taxes had been remitted andadded to the burdens of Judea. Their friendliness to the Romans was anadditional provocation. While the Jews were kept quiet only by thesternest severity, and strove to the utmost against the introduction ofanything foreign, the Samaritans rejoiced in the new importance whichtheir loyalty to the empire had given them. Shechem flourished: closeby, in Cęsarea, the procurator held his court: a division of cavalry, inbarracks at Sebaste--the old Samaria--had been raised in the territory. The Roman strangers were more than welcome to while away the summer intheir umbrageous valleys. 

"The illimitable hatred, rising from so many sources, found vent in thetradition that a special curse had been uttered against the Samaritans, by Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Joshua. It was said that these great onesassembled the whole congregation of Israel in the Temple, and that threehundred priests, with three hundred trumpets, and three hundred books ofthe Law, and three hundred scholars of the Law, had been employed torepeat, amidst the most solemn ceremonial, all the curses of the Lawagainst the Samaritans. They had been subjected to every form ofexcommunication; by the incommunicable name of Jehovah; by the Tables ofthe Law, and by the heavenly and earthly synagogues. The very namebecame a reproach. 'We know that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast adevil, ' said the Jews, to Jesus, in Jerusalem. .. . A Samaritan egg, asthe hen laid it, could not be unclean, but what of a boiled egg? Yetinterest and convenience strove, by subtle casuistry, to invent excusesfor what intercourse was unavoidable. The country of the Cuthites wasclean, so that a Jew might, without scruple, gather and eat its produce. The waters of Samaria were clean, so that a Jew might drink them or washin them. Their dwellings were clean, so that he might enter them, andeat or lodge in them. Their roads were clean, so that the dust of themdid not defile a Jew's feet. The Rabbis even went so far in theircontradictory utterances, as to say that the victuals of the Cuthiteswere allowed, if none of their wine or vinegar were mixed with them, andeven their unleavened bread was to be reckoned fit for use at thePassover. Opinions thus wavered, but, as a rule, harsher feelingprevailed. "

That the hostile sentiment has continued unto this day, at least on thepart of the Jews, is affirmed by Frankl and others. Thus, as quoted byFarrar (p. 166 note): "'Are you a Jew?' asked Salameh Cohen, theSamaritan high priest, of Dr. Frankl; 'and do you come to us, theSamaritans, who are despised by the Jews?' (_Jews in the East_, ii, 329). He added that they would willingly live in friendship with theJews, but that the Jews avoided all intercourse with them. Soon after, visiting Sepharedish Jews of Nablous, Dr. Frankl asked one of that sect, 'if he had any intercourse with the Samaritans?' The women retreatedwith a cry of horror, and one of them said, 'Have you been among theworshipers of the pigeons?' I said that I had. The women again fell backwith the same expression of repugnance and one of them said, 'Take apurifying bath!'" (idem, p. 334). Canon Farrar adds, "I had the pleasureof spending a day among the Samaritans encamped on Mount Gerizim, fortheir annual passover, and neither in their habits nor apparentcharacter could I see any cause for all this horror and hatred. "

2. Sychar. --The town where dwelt the Samaritan woman with whom Jesusconversed at Jacob's well, is named Sychar in John 4:5; the name occursnowhere else in the Bible. Attempts have been made to identify the placewith Shechem, a city dear to the Jewish heart because of its prominencein connection with the lives of the early patriarchs. It is nowgenerally admitted, however, that Sychar was a small village on the siteof the present Askar, which is, says Zenos, "a village with a spring andsome ancient rock-hewn tombs, about five eighths of a mile north ofJacob's well. "

3. The Nobleman of Capernaum. --The name of the nobleman whose son washealed by the word of Jesus is not given. Attempts to identify him withChuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, are based on unreliable tradition. The family of the nobleman accepted the teachings of Christ. "Joanna thewife of Chuza Herod's steward" (Luke 8:3) was among the grateful andhonorable women who had been recipients of our Lord's healing ministry, and who contributed of their substance for the furtherance of His work. Unconfirmed tradition should not be confounded with authentic history. 

4. The Targums are ancient Jewish paraphrases on the scriptures, whichwere delivered in the synagogs in the languages of the common people. Inthe time of Christ the language spoken by the Jews was not Hebrew, butan Aramaic dialect. Edersheim states that pure Hebrew was the languageof scholars and of the synagog, and that the public readings from thescriptures had to be rendered by an interpreter. "In earliest timesindeed, " says he, "it was forbidden to the Methurgeman [interpreter] toread his translation, or to write down a Targum, lest the paraphraseshould be regarded as of equal authority with the original. " The use ofwritten targums was "authoritatively sanctioned before the end of thesecond century after Christ. This is the origin of our two oldest extantTargumim--that of Onkelos (as it is called) on the Pentateuch; and thaton the Prophets, attributed to Jonathan the son of Uzziel. These namesdo not indeed, accurately represent the authorship of the oldestTargumim, which may more correctly be regarded as later andauthoritative recensions of what, in some form, had existed before. Butalthough these works had their origin in Palestine, it is noteworthythat in the form in which at present we possess them, they are theoutcome of the schools of Babylon. " (_Life and Times of Jesus theMessiah_, vol. I, pp. 10, 11. )

5. Capernaum. --"The name Capernaum signifies, according to someauthorities, 'the Village of Nahum, ' according to others, 'the Villageof Consolation. ' As we follow the history of Jesus we shall discoverthat many of His mighty works were wrought, and many of His mostimpressive words were spoken in Capernaum. The infidelity of theinhabitants, after all the discourses and wonderful works which He haddone among them, brought out the saying of Jesus, 'And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be cast down to hell. ' (Matt. 11:23. ) So thoroughly has this prediction been fulfilled that no traceof the city remains, and the very site which it occupied is now a matterof conjecture, there being even no ecclesiastical tradition of thelocality. At the present day two spots have claims which are urged, eachwith such arguments of probability as to make the whole question themost difficult in sacred topography. .. . We shall probably never be ableto know the exact fact. Jesus damned it to oblivion, and there it lies. We shall content ourselves with the New Testament notices as bearing onthe work of Jesus. 

"We learn that it was somewhere on the borders of Zabulun and Nephtali, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, (compare Matt 4:13, withJohn 6:24). It was near or in 'the land of Gennesaret' (compare Matt14:34, with John 6:17, 21, 24), a plain about three miles long and onemile wide, which we learn from Josephus was one of the most prosperousand crowded districts of Palestine. It was probably on the great roadleading from Damascus to the south, 'by the way of the sea, ' (Matt. 4:15. ) There was great wisdom in selecting this as a place to open agreat public ministry. It was full of a busy population. The exceedingrichness of the wonderful plain of Gennesaret supported the mass ofinhabitants it attracted. Josephus (B. J. , iii, 10:8) gives a glowingdescription of this land. "--Deems _Light of the Nations_, pp. 167, 168. 

6. Knowledge Does Not Insure Salvation. --James of old chided hisbrethren for certain empty professions (James 2:19). Said he in effect:You take pride and satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; youboast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen becauseyou accept one God; you do well to so profess, and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and, we may add, so firmly that they tremble at thought of the fate which that beliefmakes sure. Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son ofGod, were founded on knowledge; yet their knowledge of the great truthdid not change their evil natures. How different was theiracknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master'squestion "Whom say ye that I am?" replied in practically the words usedby the unclean spirits before cited, "Thou art the Christ, the Son ofthe living God" (Matt. 16:15-16; see also Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Peter'sfaith had already shown its vital power; it had caused him to forsakemuch that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution andsuffering, and to put away worldliness with all its fascinations, forthe sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. Hisknowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, wasperhaps no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to themthat knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation, to him it was ameans of salvation. --Abridged from _The Articles of Faith_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[379] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[380] John 8:48. 

[381] John 4:4; for incidents following see verses 5-43. 

[382] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[383] Gen. 33:19; and Josh. 24:32. 

[384] Acts 8:5; 9:31; 15:3. 

[385] John 4:44; compare Matt. 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24. 

[386] John 4:48; read verses 46-54. 

[387] John 2:23, 24. 

[388] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[389] Luke 4:14, 15; read verses 16-32. 

[390] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[391] Luke 4:18, 19; compare Isa. 61:1, 2. 

[392] Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 13:55-57; Mark 6:3; John 6:42. 

[393] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[394] Luke 4:32; compare Matt. 7:28, 29; 13:54; Mark 1:22. 

[395] Luke 4:33-37; and Mark 1:23-28. Note 6, end of chapter. 

[396] The Jews' Sabbath began at sunset Friday and ended with thesetting of the sun on Saturday. 

[397] Luke 4:41; compare Mark 1:34; 3:11, 12; 5:1-18; Matt. 8:28-34. 

[398] Pages 6, 7. 

[399] Matt. 10:8; see verse 1; compare 4:24; Mark 1:32; 16:17, 18; Luke9:1

[400] Matt. 8:32; Mark 1:25; Luke 4:35. 

[401] Mark 9:25. 

[402] Luke 10:17, 18; compare Rev. 12:7-9. 

[403] Matt. 8:29-33; Mark 5:11-14; Luke 8:32-34. 

[404] Matt. 8:14, 15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38, 39. 

CHAPTER 14. 

CONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN GALILEE. 

A LEPER MADE CLEAN. 

Early in the morning following that eventful Sabbath in Capernaum, ourLord arose "a great while before day" and went in quest of seclusionbeyond the town. In a solitary place He gave Himself to prayer, thusdemonstrating the fact that, Messiah though He was, He was profoundlyconscious of His dependence upon the Father, whose work He had come todo. Simon Peter and other disciples found the place of His retirement, and told Him of the eager crowds who sought Him. Soon the peoplegathered about Him, and urged that He remain with them; but "he saidunto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: fortherefore am I sent. "[405] And to the disciples He said: "Let us go intothe next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came Iforth. "[406] Thence He departed, accompanied by the few whom He hadalready closely associated with Himself, and ministered in many towns ofGalilee, preaching in the synagogs, healing the sick, and casting outdevils. 

Among the afflicted seeking the aid that He alone could give came aleper, [407] who knelt before Him, or bowed with his face to the ground, and humbly professed his faith, saying: "If thou wilt, thou canst makeme clean. " The petition implied in the words of this poor creature waspathetic; the confidence he expressed is inspiring. The question in hismind was not--Can Jesus heal me? but--Will He heal me? In compassionatemercy Jesus laid His hand upon the sufferer, unclean though he was, bothceremonially and physically, for leprosy is a loathsome affliction, andwe know that this man was far advanced in the disease since we are toldthat he was "full of leprosy. " Then the Lord said: "I will: be thouclean. " The leper was immediately healed. Jesus instructed him to showhimself to the priest, and make the offerings prescribed in the law ofMoses for such cases as his. [408]

In this instruction we see that Christ had not come to destroy the law, but, as He affirmed at another time, to fulfil it;[409] and at thisstage of His work the fulfilment was incomplete. Moreover, had the legalrequirements been disregarded in as serious a matter as that ofrestoring an outcast leper to the society of the community from which hehad been debarred, priestly opposition, already waxing strong andthreatening against Jesus, would have been augmented, and furtherhindrance to the Lord's work might have resulted. There was to be nodelay in the man's compliance with the Master's instruction; Jesus"straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away. " Furthermore Heexplicitly directed the man to tell nobody of the manner of his healing. There was perhaps good reason for this injunction of silence, aside fromthe very general course of our Lord in discountenancing undesirablenotoriety; for, had word of the miracle preceded the man's appearingbefore the priest, obstacles might have been thrown in the way of hisLevitical recognition as one who was clean. The man, however, could notkeep the good word to himself, but went about "and began to publish itmuch, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no moreopenly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and theycame to him from every quarter. "[410]

A PALSIED MAN HEALED AND FORGIVEN. 

It must be borne in mind that no one of the evangelists attempts to givea detailed history of all the doings of Jesus, nor do all follow thesame order in relating the incidents with which they associate the greatlessons of the Master's teachings. There is much uncertainty as to theactual sequence of events. 

"Some days" after the healing of the leper, Jesus was again inCapernaum. The details of His employment during the interval are notspecified; but, we may be sure that His work continued, for Hischaracteristic occupation was that of going about doing good. [411] Hisplace of abode in Capernaum was well known, and word was soon noisedabout that He was in the house. [412] A great throng gathered, so thatthere was no room to receive them; even the doorway was crowded, andlater comers could not get near the Master. To all who were withinhearing Jesus preached the gospel. A little party of four approached thehouse bearing a litter or pallet on which lay a man afflicted withpalsy, a species of paralysis which deprived the subject of the power ofvoluntary motion and usually of speech; the man was helpless. Hisfriends, disappointed at finding themselves unable to reach Jesusbecause of the press, resorted to an unusual expedient, which exhibitedin an unmistakable way their faith in the Lord as One who could rebukeand stay disease, and their determination to seek the desired blessingat His hands. 

By some means they carried the afflicted man to the flat roof of thehouse, probably by an outside stairway or by the use of a ladder, possibly by entering an adjoining house, ascending the stairs to itsroof and crossing therefrom to the house within which Jesus wasteaching. They broke away part of the roof, making an opening, orenlarging that of the trapdoor such as the houses of that place and timewere usually provided with; and, to the surprize of the assembled crowd, they then let down through the tiling the portable couch upon which thepalsied sufferer lay. Jesus was deeply impressed by the faith andworks[413] of those who had thus labored to place a helpless paralyticbefore Him; doubtless, too, He knew of the trusting faith in the heartof the sufferer; and, looking compassionately upon the man, He said:"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. "

Among the people there assembled were scribes, Pharisees, and doctors ofthe law, not only representatives of the local synagog but some who hadcome from distant towns in Galilee, and some from Judea, and even fromJerusalem. The official class had opposed our Lord and His works onearlier occasions, and their presence in the house at this time bodedfurther unfriendly criticism and possible obstruction. They heard thewords spoken to the paralytic, and were angered thereat. In their heartsthey accused Jesus of the awful offense of blasphemy, which consistsessentially in claiming for human or demon power the prerogatives ofGod, or in dishonoring God by ascribing to Him attributes short ofperfection. [414] These unbelieving scholars, who incessantly wrote andtalked of the coming of the Messiah, yet rejected Him when He was therepresent, murmured in silence, saying to themselves: "Who can forgivesins but God only?" Jesus knew their inmost thoughts, [415] and madereply thereto, saying: "Why reason ye these things in your hearts?Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins beforgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" Andthen to emphasize, and to put beyond question His possession of divineauthority, He added: "But that ye may know that the Son of man hathpower on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy, ) Isay unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thinehouse. " The man arose, fully restored; and, taking up the mattress uponwhich he had been brought, walked out before them. The amazement of thepeople was mingled with reverence, and many glorified God, of whosepower they were witnesses. 

The incident demands our further study. According to one of theaccounts, the Lord's first words to the afflicted one were: "Son, be ofgood cheer;" followed directly by the comforting and authoritativeassurance: "Thy sins be given thee. "[416] The man was probably in astate of fear; he may have known that his ailment was the result ofwicked indulgences; nevertheless, though he may have considered thepossibility of hearing only condemnation for his transgression, he hadfaith to be brought. In this man's condition there was plainly a closeconnection between his past sins and his present affliction; and in thisparticular his case is not unique, for we read that Christ admonishedanother, whom He healed, to sin no more lest a worse thing befallhim. [417] We are not warranted, however, in assuming that all bodilyills are the result of culpable sin; and against such a conceptionstands the Lord's combined instruction and rebuke to those who, in thecase of a man born blind, asked who had sinned, the man or his parentsto bring so grievous an affliction upon him, to which inquiry our Lordreplied that the man's blindness was due neither to his own sin nor tothat of his parents. [418]

In many instances, however, disease is the direct result of individualsin. Whatever may have been the measure of past offense on the part ofthe man suffering from palsy, Christ recognized his repentance togetherwith the faith that accompanied it, and it was the Lord's rightfulprerogative to decide upon the man's fitness to receive remission of hissins and relief from his bodily affliction. The interrogative responseof Jesus to the muttered criticism of the scribes, Pharisees, anddoctors, has been interpreted in many ways. He inquired which waseasier, to say, "Thy sins be forgiven thee, " or to say, "Arise, and takeup thy bed, and walk. " Is it not a rational explanation that, whenspoken authoritatively by Him, the two expressions were of alliedmeaning? The circumstance should have been a sufficient demonstration toall who heard, that He, the Son of Man, claimed and possessed the rightand the power to remit both physical and spiritual penalties, to healthe body of visible disease, and to purge the spirit of the no less realmalady of sin. In the presence of people of all classes Jesus thusopenly asserted His divinity, and affirmed the same by a miraculousmanifestation of power. 

The charge of blasphemy, which the rabbinical critics formulated intheir minds against the Christ, was not to end as a mental conception oftheirs, nor to be nullified by our Lord's later remarks. It was throughperjured testimony that He finally received unrighteous condemnation andwas sent to His death. [419] Already, in that house at Capernaum, theshadow of the cross had fallen athwart the course of His life. 

PUBLICANS AND SINNERS. 

From the house Jesus repaired to the seaside, whither the peoplefollowed Him; there He taught them again. At the close of His discourseHe walked farther and saw a man named Levi, one of the publicans[420] orofficial collectors of taxes, sitting at the custom-house where thetariff levied under Roman law had to be paid. This man was known also asMatthew, a name less distinctively Jewish than is Levi. [421] Heafterward became one of the Twelve and the author of the first of theevangelical Gospels. To him Jesus said, "Follow me. " Matthew left hisplace and followed the Lord. Some time later the new disciple provided agreat feast at his house, in honor of the Master; and other discipleswere present. So obnoxious to the Jews was the power of Rome to whichthey were subject, that they regarded with aversion all officials inRoman employ. Particularly humiliating to them was the system ofcompulsory taxation, by which they, the people of Israel, had to paytribute to an alien nation, which in their estimation was wholly paganand heathen. 

Naturally, the collectors of these taxes were abhorred; and they, knownas publicans, probably resented the discourteous treatment byinconsiderate enforcement of the tax requirements, and, as affirmed byhistorians, often inflicted unlawful extortion upon the people. Ifpublicans in general were detested, we can readily understand how bitterwould be the contempt in which the Jews would hold one of their ownnation who had accepted appointment as such an official. In thisunenviable status was Matthew when Jesus called him. The publicansformed a distinct social class, for from the community in general theywere practically ostracized. All who associated with them were made toshare in the popular odium, and "publicans and sinners" became a commondesignation for the degraded caste. To Matthew's feast many of hisfriends and some of his fellow officials were invited, so that thegathering was largely made up of these despized "publicans and sinners. "And to such an assemblage went Jesus with His disciples. 

The scribes and Pharisees could not let pass such an opportunity forfaultfinding and caustic criticism. They hesitated to address themselvesdirectly to Jesus, but of the disciples they asked in disdain: "Whyeateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" The Master heard, andreplied with edifying incisiveness mingled with splendid irony. Citingone of the common aphorisms of the day, He said: "They that be wholeneed not a physician, but they that are sick. " To this He added: "I amnot come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. " Thehypercritical Pharisees were left to make their own application of therejoinder, which some may have understood to mean that theirself-righteousness was arraigned and their claims to superiorityderided. Aside from the veiled sarcasm in the Master's words, they oughtto have perceived the wisdom enshrined in His answer and to haveprofited thereby. Is not the physician's place among the afflicted ones?Would he be justified in keeping aloof from the sick and the suffering?His profession is that of combating disease, preventing when possible, curing when necessary, to the full extent of his ability. If the festiveassembly at Matthew's house really did comprize a number of sinners, wasnot the occasion one of rare opportunity for the ministrations of thePhysician of Souls? The righteous need no call to repentance; but arethe sinners to be left in sin, because those who profess to be spiritualteachers will not condescend to extend a helping hand?

THE OLD AND THE NEW. 

Shortly after the entertainment provided by Matthew, the Pharisees wereready with another criticism, and in this they were associated with someof the Baptist's adherents. John was in prison; but many of those whohad been drawn to his baptism, and had professed discipleship to him, still clung to his teachings, and failed to see that the Greater One ofwhom he had testified was then ministering amongst them. The Baptist hadbeen a scrupulous observer of the law; his strict asceticism vied withthe rigor of Pharisaic profession. His non-progressive disciples, nowleft without a leader, naturally fell in with the Pharisees. Some ofJohn's disciples came to Jesus, and questioned Him concerning Hisseeming indifference in the matter of fasting. They propounded a plainquestion: "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, butthy disciples fast not?"[422] To the friends of the now imprisonedBaptist our Lord's reply must have brought memories of their belovedleader's words, when he had compared himself to the Bridegroom's friend, and had plainly told them who was the real Bridegroom. [423] "Jesus saidunto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while thebridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall betaken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. "[424]

If the questioners were able to comprehend the true import of thisreply, they could not fail to find therein an implied abrogation ofpurely ceremonial observances comprized in the code of rabbinical rulesand the numerous traditions associated with the law. But to make thesubject clearer to their biased minds, Jesus gave them illustrations, which may be classed as parabolic. "No man also, " said He, "seweth apiece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled itup taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no manputteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst thebottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: butnew wine must be put into new bottles. "[425]

In such wise did our Lord proclaim the newness and completeness of Hisgospel. It was in no sense a patching up of Judaism. He had not come tomend old and torn garments; the cloth He provided was new, and to sew iton the old would be but to tear afresh the threadbare fabric and leave amore unsightly rent than at first. Or to change the figure, new winecould not safely be entrusted to old bottles. The bottles here referredto were really bags, made of the skins of animals, and of course theydeteriorated with age. Just as old leather splits or tears under evenslight strain, so the old bottle-skins would burst from the pressure offermenting juice, and the good wine would be lost. The gospel taught byChrist was a new revelation, superseding the past, and marking thefulfilment of the law; it was no mere addendum, nor was it a reenactmentof past requirements; it embodied a new and an everlasting covenant. Attempts to patch the Judaistic robe of traditionalism with the newfabric of the covenant could result in nothing more sightly than arending of the fabric. The new wine of the gospel could not be held inthe old time-worn containers of Mosaic libations. Judaism would bebelittled and Christianity perverted by any such incongruousassociation. [426]

FISHERS OF MEN. 

It is improbable that the disciples who followed Jesus in the earlymonths of His ministry had remained with Him continuously down to thetime now under consideration. We find that some of those who were latercalled to the apostleship were following their vocation as fishermeneven while Jesus was actively engaged as a Teacher in their ownneighborhood. One day, as the Lord stood by the lake or sea of Galilee, the people pressed about Him in great numbers, eager to hear more of thewondrous words He was wont to speak. [427] Near the place were twofishing boats drawn in upon the beach; the owners were close by, washingand mending their nets. One of the boats belonged to Simon Peter, whohad already become identified with the Master's work; this boat Jesusentered, and then asked Simon to thrust out a little from the land. Seating Himself, as teachers of that time usually did in deliveringdiscourses, the Lord preached from this floating pulpit to the multitudeon shore. The subject of the address is not given us. 

When the sermon was ended, Jesus directed Simon to launch out into deepwater and then let down the nets for a draught. Presumably Andrew waswith his brother and possibly other assistants were in the boat. Simonreplied to Jesus: "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have takennothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. " It was soonfilled with fishes; so great was the haul that the net began to break, and the busy fishermen signalled to those in the other boat to come totheir assistance. The catch filled both boats so that they appeared tobe in danger of sinking. Simon Peter was overcome with this new evidenceof the Master's power, and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he exclaimed:"Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. " Jesus answeredgraciously and with promise: "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catchmen. "[428] The occupants of the second boat were Zebedee and his twosons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had leftthe Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan. [429] Zebedee and his sonswere partners with Simon in the fishing business. When the two boatswere brought to land, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's twosons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus. 

The foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record; the briefer and lesscircumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident ofthe miraculous draught of fishes, and emphasize the calling of thefishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: "Come ye after me, and I willmake you to become fishers of men. " The contrast thus presented betweentheir former vocation and their new calling is strikingly forceful. Theretofore they had caught fish, and the fate of the fish was death;thereafter they were to draw men--to a life eternal. To James and Johnthe call was no less definite; and they too left their all to follow theMaster. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 14. 

1. Leprosy. --In Biblical usage this name is applied to several diseases, all, however having some symptoms in common, at least in the earlierstages of the malady. The real leprosy is a scourge and a plague in manyoriental lands to-day. Zenos, in _Standard Bible Dict. _, says: "Trueleprosy, as known in modern times, is an affection characterized by theappearance of nodules in the eye-brows, the cheeks, the nose, and thelobes of the ears, also in the hands and feet, where the disease eatsinto the joints, causing the falling off of fingers and toes. If nodulesdo not appear, their place is taken by spots of blanched or discoloredskin (Mascular leprosy). Both forms are based upon a functionaldegeneration of the nerves of the skin. Its cause was discovered byHansen in 1871 to be a specific bacillus. Defective diet, however, seemsto serve as a favorable condition for the culture of the bacillus. Leprosy was one of the few abnormal conditions of the body which theLevitical law declared unclean. Elaborate provision was therefore madefor testing its existence and for the purification of those who werecured of it. "

Deems, _Light of the Nations_, p. 185, summing up the conditionsincident to the advanced stages of the dread disease, writes: "Thesymptoms and the effects of this disease are very loathsome. There comesa white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair on thepart from its natural hue to yellow; then the appearance of a taintgoing deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. Thenit spreads and attacks the cartilaginous portions of the body. The nailsloosen and drop off, the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fallout; the breath is a stench, the nose decays; fingers, hands, feet, maybe lost, or the eyes eaten out. The human beauty has gone intocorruption, and the patient feels that he is being eaten as by a fiend, who consumes him slowly in a long remorseless meal that will not enduntil he be destroyed. He is shut out from his fellows. As they approachhe must cry, 'Unclean! unclean!' that all humanity may be warned fromhis precincts. He must abandon wife and child. He must go to live withother lepers, in disheartening view of miseries similar to his own. Hemust dwell in dismantled houses or in the tombs. He is, as Trench says, a dreadful parable of death. By the laws of Moses (Lev. 13:45; Numb. 6:9; Ezek. 24:17) he was compelled, as if he were mourning for his owndecease, to bear about him the emblems of death, the rent garments; hewas to keep his head bare and his lip covered, as was the custom withthose who were in communion with the dead. When the Crusaders broughtthe leprosy from the East, it was usual to clothe the leper in a shroud, and to say for him the masses for the dead. .. . In all ages thisindescribably horrible malady has been considered incurable. The Jewsbelieved that it was inflicted by Jehovah directly, as a punishment forsome extraordinary perversity or some transcendent act of sinfulness, and that only God could heal it. When Naaman was cured, and his fleshcame back like that of a little child, he said, 'Now I know that thereis no God in all the earth but in Israel, ' (2 Kings 5:14, 15. )"

The fact that leprosy is not ordinarily communicable by mere outwardcontact is accentuated by Trench, _Notes on the Miracles_, pp. 165-168, and the isolation of lepers required by the Mosaic law is regarded byhim as an intended object lesson and figure to illustrate spiritualuncleanness. He says: "I refer to the mistaken assumption that leprosywas catching from one person to another; and that the lepers were socarefully secluded from their fellowmen lest they might communicate thedisease to others, as in like manner that the torn garment, the coveredlip, the cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev. 13:45) were warnings to all thatthey should keep aloof, lest unawares touching a leper, or drawing untotoo great a nearness, they should become partakers of this disease. Sofar from any danger of the kind existing, nearly all who have lookedclosest into the matter agree that the sickness was incommunicable byordinary contact from one person to another. A leper might transmit itto his children, or the mother of a leper's children might take it fromhim; but it was by no ordinary contact communicable from one person toanother. All the notices in the Old Testament, as well as in otherJewish books, confirm the statement that we have here something verymuch higher than a mere sanitary regulation. Thus, when the law of Moseswas not observed, no such exclusion necessarily found place; Naaman theleper commanded the armies of Syria (2 Kings 5:1); Gehazi, with hisleprosy that never should be cleansed, (2 Kings 5:27) talked familiarlywith the king of apostate Israel (2 Kings 8:5). .. . How, moreover, shouldthe Levitical priests, had the disease been this creeping infection, have ever themselves escaped it, obliged as they were by their veryoffice to submit the leper to actual handling and closestexamination?. .. Leprosy was nothing short of a living death, acorrupting of all the humors, a poisoning of the very springs, of life;a dissolution, little by little, of the whole body, so that one limbafter another actually decayed and fell away. Aaron exactly describesthe appearance which the leper presented to the eyes of the beholders, when, pleading for Miriam, he says, 'Let her not be as one dead, of whomthe flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. '(Numb. 12:12. ) The disease, moreover, was incurable by the art and skillof man; not that the leper might not return to health; for, howeverrare, such cases are contemplated in the Levitical law. .. . The leper, thus fearfully bearing about the body the outward and visible tokens ofsin in the soul, was treated throughout as a sinner, as one in whom sinhad reached its climax, as one dead in trespasses and sins. He washimself a dreadful parable of death. He bore about him the emblems ofdeath (Lev. 13:45); the rent garments, mourning for himself as one dead;the head bare as they were wont to have it who were defiled by communionwith the dead (Numb. 6:9; Ezek. 24:27); and the lip covered (Ezek. 24:17). .. . But the leper was as one dead, and as such was shut out ofthe camp (Lev. 13:46; Numb. 5:2-4). And the city (2 Kings 7:3), this lawbeing so strictly enforced that even the sister of Moses might not beexempted from it (Numb. 12:14, 15); and kings themselves, as Uzziah (2Chron. 26:21; 2 Kings 15:5) must submit to it; men being by thisexclusion taught that what here took place in a figure, should takeplace in the reality with every one who was found in the death of sin. "

For the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recoveredleper see Lev. Chap. 14. 

2. Blasphemy. --The essence of the deep sin of blasphemy lies not, asmany suppose, in profanity alone, but as Dr. Kelso, _Stand. BibleDict. _, summarizes: "Every improper use of the divine name (Lev. 24:11), speech derogatory to the Majesty of God (Matt. 26:65), and sins with ahigh hand--i. E. Premeditated transgressions of the basal principles ofthe theocracy (Numb. 9:13; 15:30; Exo. 31:14)--were regarded asblasphemy; the penalty was death by stoning (Lev. 24:16). " _Smith'sBible Dict. _ states: "Blasphemy, in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, and in this sense it is found inPsalm 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24, etc. .. . On this charge both our Lordand Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. When a person heardblasphemy he laid his hand on the head of the offender, to symbolize hissole responsibility for the guilt, and rising on his feet, tore hisrobe, which might never again be mended. " (See Matt. 26:65. )

3. Publican. --"A word originally meaning a contractor for public worksor supplies, or a farmer of public lands, but later applied to Romanswho bought from the government the right to collect taxes in a giventerritory. These buyers, always knights (senators were excluded by theirrank), became capitalists and formed powerful stock companies, whosemembers received a percentage on the capital invested. Provincialcapitalists could not buy taxes, which were sold in Rome to the highestbidders, who to recoup themselves sublet their territory (at a greatadvance on the price paid the government) to the native (local)publicans, who in their turn had to make a profit on their purchasemoney, and being assessors of property as well as collectors of taxes, had abundant opportunities for oppressing the people, who hated themboth for that reason and also because the tax itself was the mark oftheir subjection to foreigners. "--J. R. Sterrett in _Stand. Bible Dict. _

4. Fishers of Men. --"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, "said Jesus to fishermen who afterward became His apostles (Matt. 4:19). Mark's version is nearly the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10)reads: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men. " The correct translationis, as commentators practically agree, "From henceforth thou shalt takemen alive. " This reading emphasizes the contrast given in the text--thatbetween capturing fish to kill them and winning men to save them. Consider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah(16:16), that in reaching scattered Israel, "Behold, I will send formany fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them;" etc. 

5. "Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee. "--The following commentary by Edersheim(_Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_, vol. I, pp. 505, 506) on theincident under consideration is instructive: "In this forgiveness ofsins He presented His person and authority as divine, and He proved itsuch by the miracle of healing which immediately followed. Had the twobeen inverted, [i. E. Had Christ first healed the man and afterward toldhim that his sins were forgiven] there would have been evidence, indeed, of His power, but not of His divine personality, nor of His havingauthority to forgive sins; and this, not the doing of miracles, was theobject of His teaching and mission, of which the miracles were onlysecondary evidence. Thus the inward reasoning of the scribes, which wasopen and known to Him who readeth all thoughts, issued in quite theopposite of what they could have expected. Most unwarranted, indeed, wasthe feeling of contempt which we trace in their unspoken words, whetherwe read them: 'Why does this one thus speak blasphemies?' or, accordingto a more correct transcript of them: 'Why does this one speak thus? Heblasphemeth!' Yet from their point of view they were right, for Godalone can forgive sins; nor has that power ever been given or delegatedto man. But was He a mere man, like even the most honored of God'sservants? Man, indeed; but 'the Son of Man. ' . .. It seemed easy to say:'Thy sins have been forgiven. ' But to Him, who had authority to do so onearth, it was neither more easy nor more difficult than to say: 'Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. ' Yet this latter, assuredly, proved theformer, and gave it in the sight of all men unquestioned reality. And soit was the thoughts of these scribes, which, as applied to Christ, were'evil'--since they imputed to Him blasphemy--that gave occasion foroffering real evidence of what they would have impugned and denied. Inno other manner could the object alike of miracles and of this specialmiracle have been so attained as by the 'evil thoughts' of thesescribes, when, miraculously brought to light, they spoke out the inmostpossible doubt, and pointed to the highest of all questions concerningthe Christ. And so it was once more the wrath of man which praised Him. "

FOOTNOTES:

[405] Luke 4:42-44. 

[406] Mark 1:38. 

[407] Mark 1:40-45; Matt. 8:2-4; Luke 5:12-15. 

[408] Lev. 14:2-10. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[409] Matt. 5:17. 

[410] Mark 1:45. 

[411] Acts 10:38. 

[412] Mark 2:1-12; compare Matt. 9:2-8; Luke 5:17-24. 

[413] Compare James 2:14-18. 

[414] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[415] See another instance of our Lord reading unuttered thoughts. Luke7:39-50. 

[416] Matt. 9:2. Note 5, end of chapter. 

[417] John 5:14. Page 208. 

[418] John 9:1-3. 

[419] Compare John 10:33, and 5:18; Matt. 26:65, 66. 

[420] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[421] Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32. 

[422] Mark 2:18-22; Matt. 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39. 

[423] Page 164. 

[424] Mark 2:19, 20. 

[425] Mark 2:21, 22. 

[426] See "The Great Apostasy" 7:5. 

[427] Luke 5:1-11; compare Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20. 

[428] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[429] Page 140. 

CHAPTER 15. 

LORD OF THE SABBATH. 

THE SABBATH DISTINCTIVELY SACRED TO ISRAEL. 

The observance of the Sabbath as a holy day was prominent among theLord's requirements of His people, Israel, from a very early period intheir history as a nation. Indeed, the keeping of the Sabbath as a dayof surcease from ordinary toil was a national characteristic, by whichthe Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples, and rightly so, for the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant betweenthe chosen people and their God. The sanctity of the Sabbath had beenprefigured in the account of the creation, antedating the placing of manupon the earth, as shown by the fact that God rested after the sixperiods or days of creative work, and blessed the seventh day andhallowed it. [430] In the course of Israel's exodus, the seventh day wasset apart as one of rest, upon which it was not allowed to bake, seethe, or otherwise cook food. A double supply of manna had to be gathered onthe sixth day, while on other days the laying-by of a surplus of thisdaily bread sent from heaven was expressly forbidden. The Lord observedthe sacredness of the holy day by giving no manna thereon. [431]

The commandment to celebrate the Sabbath in strictness was made definiteand explicit in the decalog, written by the hand of God amidst the awfulglory of Sinai; and the injunction was kept before the people throughfrequent proclamation. [432] It was unlawful to kindle a fire on thatday; and record is made of a man who was put to death for gatheringsticks on the seventh day. [433] Under the administration of laterprophets, the holiness of the Sabbath, the blessings promised to thosewho sanctified the day unto themselves, and the sin of Sabbathdesecration were reiterated in words of inspired forcefulness. [434]Nehemiah admonished and reproved in the matter, and attributed theaffliction of the nation to the forfeiture of Jehovah's favor throughSabbath violation. [435] By the mouth of Ezekiel the Lord affirmed thatthe institution of the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant betweenHimself and the people of Israel; and with stern severity He upbraidedthose who heeded not the day. [436] To the separate branch of theIsraelitish nation that had been colonized on the western hemisphere, regard for the sanctity of the Sabbath was no less an imperativerequirement. [437]

The observance demanded, however, was the very opposite of afflictionand burden; the Sabbath was consecrated to rest and righteous enjoyment, and was to be a day of spiritual feasting before the Lord. It was notestablished as a day of abstinence; all might eat, but both mistress andmaid were to be relieved from the work of preparing food; neither masternor man was to plow, dig or otherwise toil; and the Weekly day of restwas as much the boon of the cattle as of their owners. 

In addition to the weekly Sabbath, the Lord in mercy prescribed also asabbatic year; in every seventh year the land was to rest, and therebyits fertility was enhanced. [438] After seven times seven years hadpassed, the fiftieth was to be celebrated throughout as a year ofjubilee, during which the people should live on the accumulated increaseof the preceding seasons of plenty, and rejoice in liberality bygranting to one another redemption from mortgage and bond, forgivenessof debt, and general relief from burdens--all of which had to be done inmercy and justice. [439] The Sabbaths established by the Lord, whether ofdays, of years, or of weeks of years, were to be times of refreshing, relief, blessing, bounty, and worship. 

To the many who profess to regard the necessity of toil as a part of thecurse evoked through Adam's fall, the Sabbath should appeal as a day oftemporary reprieve, a time of exemption from labor, and as affordingblessed opportunity of closer approach to the Presence from whichmankind has been shut out through sin. And to those who take the higherview of life, and find in work both happiness and material blessing, theperiodical relief brings refreshment and gives renewed zest for the daysthat follow. 

But long before the advent of Christ, the original purpose of theSabbath had come to be largely ignored in Israel; and the spirit of itsobservance had been smothered under the weight of rabbinical injunctionand the formalism of restraint. In the time of the Lord's ministry, thetechnicalities prescribed as rules appended to the law were almostinnumerable; and the burden thus forced upon the people had become wellnigh unbearable. Among the many wholesome requirements of the Mosaiclaw, which the teachers and spiritual rulers of the Jews had made thusburdensome, that of Sabbath observance was especially prominent. The"hedge, " which by unwarranted assumption they professedly set about thelaw, [440] was particularly thorny in the sections devoted to the JewishSabbath. Even trifling infractions of traditional rules were severelypunished, and the capital penalty was held before the eyes of the peopleas a supreme threat for extreme desecration. [441]

THE HEALING OF A CRIPPLE ON THE SABBATH. 

In view of these conditions, we are not surprized to find our Lordconfronted with charges of Sabbath violation relatively early in thecourse of His public work. An instance attended with many greatdevelopments is recorded by John, [442] whose narrative covers theincident of a very impressive miracle. Jesus was again in Jerusalem atthe time of one of the Jewish festivals. [443] There was a pool of water, called Bethesda, near the sheep market in the city. From the recordeddescription, we may understand this to have been a natural spring;possibly the water was rich in dissolved solids or gases, or both, making it such as we would call today a mineral spring; for we find thatthe water was reputed to possess curative virtues, and many afflictedfolk came to bathe therein. The spring was of the pulsating variety; atintervals its waters rose with bubbling disturbance, and then receded tothe normal level. Mineral springs of this kind are known today in manyparts of the world. Some believed that the periodical upwelling of theBethesda waters was the result of supernatural agency; and it was saidthat "whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped inwas made whole of whatsoever disease he had. " The Bethesda pool waswholly or partly enclosed; and five porches had been built for theshelter of those who waited at the spring for the intermittent bubblingup of the water. 

On a certain Sabbath day, Jesus visited the pool and saw many afflictedfolk thus waiting. Among them lay a man who for thirty-eight years hadbeen grievously afflicted. From the man's statement of his helplessnesswe may infer that his malady was paralysis, or possibly an extreme formof rheumatism; whatever his affliction, it was so disabling as to givehim little chance of getting into the pool at the critical time, forothers less crippled crowded him away; and, according to the legendsregarding the curative properties of the spring, only the first to enterthe pool after the agitation of the water might expect to be healed. 

Jesus recognized in the man a fit subject for blessing, and said to him:"Wilt thou be made whole?" The question was so simple as almost toappear superfluous. Of course the man wanted to be made well, and on thesmall chance of being able to reach the water at the right moment waspatiently yet eagerly waiting. There was purpose, however, in these asin all other words of the Master. The man's attention was drawn to Him, fixed upon Him; the question aroused in the sufferer's heart renewedyearning for the health and strength of which he had been bereft sincethe days of his youth. His answer was pitiful, and revealed his almosthopeless state of mind; he thought only of the rumored virtues ofBethesda pool as he said: "Sir, I have no man, when the water istroubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, anothersteppeth down before me. " Then spake Jesus: "Rise, take up thy bed, andwalk. " Immediately strength returned to the man, who for nearly fourdecades had been a helpless invalid; he obeyed the Master, and, takingup the little mattress or pallet on which he had rested, walked away. 

He had not gone far, before the Jews, that is to say, some of theofficial class, for so the evangelist John employs the term, saw himcarrying his bed; and it was the Sabbath day. To their peremptoryreprimand he replied out of the gratitude and honest simplicity of hisheart, that He who had healed him had told him to take up his bed andwalk. The interest of the inquisitors was instantly turned from the mantoward Him who had wrought the miracle; but the erstwhile cripple couldnot name his Benefactor, as he had lost sight of Jesus in the crowdbefore he had found opportunity for question or thanks. The man who hadbeen healed went to the temple, possibly impelled by a desire to expressin prayer his gratitude and joy. There Jesus found him, and said untohim: "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing comeunto thee. "[444] The man had probably brought about his afflictionthrough his own sinful habits. The Lord decided that he had sufferedenough in body, and terminated his physical suffering with thesubsequent admonition to sin no more. 

The man went and told the rulers who it was that had healed him. This hemay have done with a desire to honor and glorify the Giver of his boon;we are not justified in ascribing to him any unworthy purpose, though byhis act he was instrumental in augmenting the persecution of his Lord. So intense was the hatred of the priestly faction that the rulers soughta means of putting Jesus to death, under the specious pretense of Hisbeing a Sabbath-breaker. We may well ask of what act they could possiblyhave hoped to convict Him, even under the strictest application of theirrules. There was no proscription against speaking on the Sabbath; andJesus had but spoken to heal. He had not carried the man's bed, nor hadHe attempted even the lightest physical labor. By their owninterpretation of the law they had no case against Him. 

OUR LORD'S REPLY TO THE ACCUSING JEWS. 

Nevertheless, the Jewish officials confronted Jesus with accusations. Whether the interview took place within the temple walls, on the openstreet, at the market place, or in the judgment hall, matters not. Hisreply to their charges is not confined to the question of Sabbathobservance; it stands as the most comprehensive sermon in scripture onthe vital subject of the relationship between the Eternal Father and HisSon, Jesus Christ. 

His first sentence added to the already intense anger of the Jews. Referring to the work He had done on the holy day, He said: "My Fatherworketh hitherto, and I work. " This remark they construed to be ablasphemy. [445] "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, becausehe not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was hisFather, making himself equal with God. " To their spoken or unutteredprotest, Jesus replied, that He, the Son, was not acting independently, and in fact could do nothing except what was in accordance with theFather's will, and what He had seen the Father do; that the Father soloved the Son as to show unto Him the Father's works. 

Be it observed that Jesus in no way attempted to explain away theirconstruction of His words; on the contrary He confirmed their deductionsas correct. He did associate Himself with the Father, even in a closerand more exalted relationship than they had conceived. The authoritygiven to Him by the Father was not limited to the healing of bodilyinfirmities; He had power even to raise the dead--"For as the Fatherraiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickenethwhom he will. " Moreover, the judgment of men had been committed untoHim; and no one could honor the Father except by honoring the Son. Thenfollowed this incisive declaration: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hethat heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hatheverlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passedfrom death unto life. "

Christ's realm was not bounded by the grave; even the dead were whollydependent upon Him for their salvation; and to the terrified ears of Hisdumbfounded accusers He proclaimed the solemn truth, that even then thehour was near in which the dead should hear the voice of the Son of God. Ponder His profound affirmation: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Thehour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of theSon of God: and they that hear shall live. " The murderous rage of theJews was rebuffed by the declaration that without His submission theycould not take His life: "For as the Father hath life in himself; sohath he given to the Son to have life in himself. " Another utterance wasequally portentous: "And hath given him authority to execute judgmentalso, because he is the Son of man. " He, the Son of the exalted andglorified Man of Holiness and now Himself a mortal Man, [446] was to bethe judge of men. 

No wonder they marveled; such doctrine they had never before heard norread; it was not of the scribes nor of the rabbis, of neither thePharisaic nor Sadducean schools. But He reproved their amazement, saying: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which allthat are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; theythat have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that havedone evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. "[447]

This enunciation of the resurrection, so plainly made that the mostunlettered could understand, must have offended any Sadducees present, for they emphatically denied the actuality of the resurrection. Theuniversality of a resurrection is here unquestionably affirmed; not onlythe righteous but even those who merit condemnation are to come forthfrom their graves in their bodies of flesh and bones. [448]

Then, renewing His solemn asseveration of the unity of His Father's willand His own, Christ discussed the matter of witnesses to His work. Headmitted what was a recognized tenet of the time, that no man'sunsupported witness of himself was sufficient; but, He added: "There isanother that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which hewitnesseth of me is true. " He cites John the Baptist, and reminds themthat they had sent a delegation to him, and that John had answered themby bearing testimony of the Messiah; and John had been a burning and ashining light, in whose illuminating ministry many had temporarilyrejoiced. The hostile Jews were left to see that the witness of John wasvalid under their strictest construction of the rules of evidence;"But, " He continued, "I receive not testimony from man . .. But I havegreater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hathgiven me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, thatthe Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. "

Then in terms of unqualified condemnation, He told them they were devoidof the Father's word, for they refused to accept Himself whom the Fatherhad sent. With humiliating directness He admonished these learned men ofthe law, these interpreters of the prophets, these professionalexpounders of sacred writ, to betake themselves to reading and study. "Search the scriptures, " said He, "for in them ye think ye have eternallife: and they are they which testify of me. " Convictingly Hecontinued--that they who admitted and taught that in the scriptures laythe way to eternal life, refused to come to Him, of whom those samescriptures testified, though by coming they might obtain eternal life. "I receive not honour from men, " He added, "But I know you, that ye havenot the love of God in you. " They knew that they sought for honor amongmen, received honors from one another, were made rabbis and doctors, scribes and teachers, by the bestowal of titles and degrees--all of men;but they rejected Him who came in the name of One infinitely greaterthan all their schools or societies--He had come in the supreme name ofthe Father. The cause of their spiritual ignorance was pointed out--theyrelied upon the honors of men, and sought not the honor of real servicein the cause of God. 

He had spoken of the authority of judgment that had been committed toHimself; now He explained that they should not think He would accusethem before the Father; a lesser one than He would accuse, even Moses, another of His witnesses in whom they professed such trust--Moses whomthey all were said to believe--and, driving home the full effect of Hispowerful arraignment, the Lord continued: "For had ye believed Moses, yewould have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not hiswritings, how shall ye believe my words?" Such was the illuminatinginstruction combined with burning denunciation that these men had calledforth by their futile attempt to convict Jesus on the charge of Sabbathdesecration. This was but one of many evil machinations by which they sodeterminedly plotted, and strove to attach the stigma and invoke thepenalty of Sabbath-breaking upon the very One who had ordained theSabbath and was in truth and verity the one and only Lord thereof. 

THE DISCIPLES CHARGED WITH SABBATH-BREAKING. 

We may profitably consider in this connection other instances of goodwork done by our Lord on Sabbath days; and this we may do without undueregard to the order of the events in time. We again find Jesus inGalilee, whether prior to or after His visit to Jerusalem at the time ofthe unidentified feast, on which occasion He wrought the miracle ofhealing at the Bethesda pool, matters not. On a certain Sabbath, He andthe disciples walked through a field of grain, [449] and, being hungry, the disciples began to pluck some of the ripening ears; rubbing out thekernels between their hands, they ate. There was no element of theft inwhat they did, for the Mosaic law provided that in passing throughanother's vineyard or corn field one might pluck grapes or corn torelieve hunger; but it was forbidden to use a sickle in the field, or tocarry away any of the grapes in a vessel. [450] The permission extendedonly to the relief of present need. When the disciples of Jesus availedthemselves of this lawful privilege, there were Pharisees on the watch, and these came at once to the Master, saying: "Behold, thy disciples dothat which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. " The accusersdoubtless had in mind the rabbinical dictum that rubbing out an ear ofgrain in the hands was a species of threshing; that blowing away thechaff was winnowing; and that it was unlawful to thresh or winnow on theSabbath. Indeed, some learned rabbis had held it to be a sin to walk ongrass during the Sabbath, inasmuch as the grass might be in seed, andthe treading out of the seed would be as the threshing of grain. 

Jesus defended the disciples by citing a precedent applicable to thecase, and of much greater import. The instance was that of David, whowith a small company of men had asked bread of the priest Ahimelech; forthey were hungry and in haste. The priest had none but consecratedbread, the loaves of shewbread which were placed in the sanctuary atintervals, and which none but the priests were allowed to eat. In viewof the condition of urgent need the priest had given the shewbread tothe hungry men. [451] Jesus also reminded the critical Pharisees that thepriests in the temple regularly did much work on the Sabbath in theslaughtering of sacrificial victims and in altar service generally, yetwere held blameless because of the higher requirements of worship whichrendered such labor necessary; and added with solemn emphasis: "But Isay unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. " Hecited the word of God spoken through Hosea, "I will have mercy, and notsacrifice, "[452] and reproved at once their ignorance and theirunrighteous zeal by telling them that had they known what that scripturemeant they would not have condemned the guiltless. Be it remembered, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. "[453]

His reproof was followed by the affirmation of His personal supremacy:"_For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day!_" What can wegather from that declaration but that He, Jesus, there present in theflesh, was the Being through whom the Sabbath had been ordained, that itwas He who had given and written in stone the decalog, including"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, " and, "the seventh day isthe sabbath of the Lord thy God"?

A PHARISAICAL PLOT. 

Again on a Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagog, and saw in thecongregation a man whose right hand was withered. [454] There werePharisees present, and they watched to see whether Jesus would heal theman, their purpose being to accuse Him if He did so. The Phariseesasked: "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?" Our Lord counteredtheir poorly veiled purpose by asking: "Is it lawful to do good on thesabbath days?" and extended the question, "or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" They held their peace, for the question was double-edged. To reply in the affirmative would have been to justify the work ofhealing; a negative answer would have stultified them. He put anotherquestion: "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold onit, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?"

As the Pharisees could not or would not reply, He summed up the wholematter thus: "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. " Hecalled upon the man with the withered hand to stand forth before thecongregation. Grief and anger were mingled in His penetrating andsweeping glance; but, turning with compassion toward the afflicted one, He commanded him to stretch forth his hand; the man obeyed, and lo! thehand "was restored whole, like as the other. "

The discomfited Pharisees were furious, "filled with madness" Luke says;and they went out to plot anew against the Lord. So bitter was theirhatred that they allied themselves with the Herodians, a political partygenerally unpopular among the Jews. [455] The rulers of the people wereready to enter into any intrigue or alliance to accomplish their avowedpurpose of bringing about the death of the Lord Jesus. Aware of thewicked determination against Him, Jesus withdrew Himself from thelocality. Other accusations of Sabbath-breaking, brought against Christby Jewish casuists, will be considered later. [456]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 15. 

1. Rabbinical Requirements Concerning Sabbath Observance. --"No featureof the Jewish system was so marked as their extraordinary strictness inthe outward observance of the Sabbath, as a day of entire rest. TheScribes had elaborated from the command of Moses, a vast array ofprohibitions and injunctions, covering the whole of social, individual, and public life, and carried it to the extreme of ridiculous caricature. Lengthened rules were prescribed as to the kinds of knots which mightlegally be tied on the Sabbath. The camel-driver's knot and the sailor'swere unlawful, and it was equally illegal to tie or to loose them. Aknot which could be untied with one hand might be undone. A shoe orsandal, a woman's cup, a wine or oil-skin, or a flesh-pot might be tied. A pitcher at a spring might be tied to the body-sash, but not with acord. .. . To kindle or extinguish a fire on the Sabbath was a greatdesecration of the day, nor was even sickness allowed to violateRabbinical rules. It was forbidden to give an emetic on the Sabbath--toset a broken bone, or put back a dislocated joint, though some Rabbis, more liberal, held that whatever endangered life made the Sabbath lawvoid, 'for the commands were given to Israel only that they might liveby them. ' One who was buried under ruins on the Sabbath, might be dugfor and taken out, if alive, but, if dead, he was to be left where hewas, till the Sabbath was over. "--Geikie, _Life and Words of Christ_, chap. 38. 

2. The Unnamed Feast. --There has been no little discussion as to theparticular festival referred to in John 5:1, at the time of which Jesushealed the cripple at the pool of Bethesda. Many writers hold that itwas the Passover, others that it was the feast of Purim, or some otherJewish celebration. The only semblance of importance attaching to thequestion is the possibility of learning from the fact, if it could beproved, something of the chronological order of events at this period ofour Lord's life. We are not told which feast this was, neither the yearnor the time of the year when it occurred. The miracle wrought on theoccasion, and the doctrinal discourse delivered as a result thereof, depend for their value in no degree on the determination of date. 

3. Shewbread. --The name means "bread of the presence, " signifying thatit was placed in the presence of Jehovah. The bread so sanctifiedconsisted of twelve loaves, made without leaven. They were to bedeposited in the Holy Place in two columns of six loaves each. Zenos, in_Stand. Bible Dict. _ writes: "They were allowed to remain there for awhole week, at the end of which period they were removed, and eaten bythe priest upon holy ground, i. E. Within the precincts of the sanctuary. For other persons than priests to eat of the loaves of the shewbread wasregarded as sacrilegious, for they were 'holy. '" See Exo. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9; 1 Sam. 21:1-6. 

4. The Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the Sabbath. --Edersheim(vol. I, pp. 57, 58) says: "When on his flight from Saul, David had, 'when an hungered, ' eaten of the shewbread and given it to hisfollowers, although, by the letter of the Levitical law, it was only tobe eaten by the priests. Jewish tradition vindicated his conduct on theplea that 'danger to life superseded the Sabbath law, ' and hence, alllaws connected with it. .. . In truth, the reason why David was blamelessin eating the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbathlabor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath law was not one merely of rest, but of rest for worship. The service of the Lord was the object in view. The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the objectof the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of the shewbread, not[solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but becausehe pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and needed thisprovision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly on theservice of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in thetemple, for He was greater than the temple. If the Pharisees hadbelieved this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in sodoing have themselves infringed that higher law which enjoined mercy, not sacrifice. "

FOOTNOTES:

[430] Gen. 2:3. 

[431] Exo. 16:16-31. 

[432] Exo. 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-15; 34:21; Lev. 19:3; 23:3; Deut. 5:12-14. 

[433] Exo. 35:3; Numb. 15:32-36. 

[434] Isa. 56:2; 58:13; Jer. 17:21-24. 

[435] Neh. 8:9-12; 13:15-22. 

[436] Ezek. 20:12-24. 

[437] B. Of M. , Jarom 1:5; Mosiah 13:16-19; 18:23. 

[438] Lev. 25:1-8; compare 26:34, 35. 

[439] Lev. 25:10-55. 

[440] Page 64. 

[441] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[442] John, chapter 5. 

[443] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[444] See another instance, pages 190-192. 

[445] Pages 191 and 201. For further justification of this act ofhealing on the Sabbath, see John 7:21-24. 

[446] Page 142. 

[447] Compare Doc. And Cov. 76:16, 17. See page 24 herein. 

[448] Page 25. 

[449] Matt. 12:1-8; compare Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5. 

[450] Deut. 23:24, 25. 

[451] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[452] Hos. 6:6; compare Micah 6:6-9. 

[453] Mark 2:27. Note 4, end of chapter. 

[454] Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-8. 

[455] Page 68. 

[456] For instances, see Luke 13:14-16; 14:3-6; John 9:14-16. 

CHAPTER 16. 

THE CHOSEN TWELVE. 

THEIR CALL AND ORDINATION. [457]

The night preceding the morn on which the Twelve Apostles were calledand ordained was spent by the Lord in solitary seclusion; He had"continued all night in prayer to God. "[458] Then, when day had come, and while many people were gathering to hear more of the new andwonderful gospel of the kingdom, He called to come closer some who hadtheretofore been devotedly associated together as His disciples orfollowers, and from among them He chose twelve, whom he ordained andnamed apostles. [459] Prior to that time none of these had beendistinguished by any special delegation of authority or appointment;they had been numbered with the disciples in general, though, as we haveseen, seven had received a preliminary call, and had promptly respondedthereto by abandoning wholly or in part their business affairs, and hadfollowed the Master. These were Andrew, John, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael, James, and Levi Matthew. Prior to this eventful day, however, none of the Twelve had been ordained or set apart to their sacredoffice. 

The three Gospel-writers who make record of the organization of theTwelve place Simon Peter first and Judas Iscariot last in the category;they agree also in the relative position of some but not of all theothers. Following the order given by Mark, and this may be the mostconvenient since he names as the first three those who later became mostprominent, we have the following list: Simon Peter, James (son ofZebedee), John (brother of the last-named), Andrew (brother of SimonPeter), Philip, Bartholomew (or Nathanael), Matthew, Thomas, James (sonof Alpheus), Judas (also known as Lebbeus or Thaddeus), Simon(distinguished by his surname Zelotes, also known as the Canaanite), andJudas Iscariot. 

TWELVE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY. 

_Simon_, named as the first apostle, is more commonly known as_Peter_--the appellation given him by the Lord on the occasion of theirfirst meeting, and afterward confirmed. [460] He was the son of Jona, orJonas, and by vocation was a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew werepartners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently thefishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned theirboats and gave employment to other men. [461] Peter's early home had beenat the little fishery town of Bethsaida, [462] on the west shore of theSea of Galilee; but about the time of his first association with Jesus, or soon thereafter, he, with others of his family, removed to Capernaum, where he appears to have become an independent householder. [463] SimonPeter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well todo in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all tofollow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporalpossessions was as great as had been implied. We are not justified inregarding him as unlettered or ignorant. True, both he and John weredesignated by the council of rulers as "unlearned and ignorantmen, "[464] but this was spoken of them as indicating their lack oftraining in the schools of the rabbis; and it is worthy of note, thatthe members of that same council were amazed at the wisdom and powermanifested by the two apostles, whom they professed to despize. 

In temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained bysevere experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many humanweaknesses, yet in spite of them all he eventually overcame thetemptations of Satan and the frailties of the flesh, and served his Lordas the appointed and acknowledged leader of the Twelve. Of the time andplace of his death the scriptures do not speak; but the manner thereofwas prefigured by the resurrected Lord, [465] and in part was foreseen byPeter himself. [466] Tradition, originating in the writings of the earlyChristian historians other than the apostles, states that Peter metdeath by crucifixion as a martyr during the persecution incident to thereign of Nero, probably between A. D. 64 and 68. Origen states that theapostle was crucified with his head downward. Peter, with James andJohn, his associates in the presidency of the Twelve, has ministered asa resurrected being in the present dispensation, in restoring to earththe Melchizedek Priesthood, including the Holy Apostleship, which hadbeen taken away because of the apostasy and unbelief of men. [467]

_James_ and _John_, brothers by birth, partners in business asfishermen, brethren in the ministry, were associated together and withPeter in the apostolic calling. The Lord bestowed upon the pair a titlein common--Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder[468]--possibly with referenceto the zeal they developed in His service, which, indeed, at times hadto be restrained, as when they would have had fire called from heaven todestroy the Samaritan villagers who had refused hospitality to theMaster. [469] They and their mother aspired to the highest honors of thekingdom, and asked that the two be given places, one on the right theother on the left of Christ in His glory. This ambition was gentlyreproved by the Lord, and the request gave offense to the otherapostles. [470] With Peter these two brothers were witnesses of many ofthe most important incidents in the life of Jesus; thus, the three werethe only apostles admitted to witness the raising of the daughter ofJairus from death to life;[471] they were the only members of the Twelvepresent at the transfiguration of Christ;[472] they were nearest theLord during the period of His mortal agony in Gethsemane;[473] and, asheretofore told, they have ministered in these modern days in therestoration of the Holy Apostleship with all its ancient authority andpower of blessing. [474] James is commonly designated in theologicalliterature as James I, to distinguish him from the other apostle bearingthe same name. James, the son of Zebedee, was the first of the apostlesto meet a martyr's violent death; he was beheaded by order of the king, Herod Agrippa. [475] John had been a disciple of the Baptist, and haddemonstrated his confidence in the latter's testimony of Jesus bypromptly turning from the forerunner and following the Lord. [476] Hebecame a devoted servant, and repeatedly refers to himself as thedisciple "whom Jesus loved. "[477] At the last supper John sat next toJesus leaning his head upon the Master's breast;[478] and next day as hestood beneath the cross he received from the dying Christ the specialcharge to care for the Lord's mother;[479] and to this he promptlyresponded by conducting the weeping Mary to his own house. He was thefirst to recognize the risen Lord on the shores of Galilee, and receivedfrom His immortal lips encouragement of his hope that his life would becontinued in the body, in order that he might minister among men untilthe Christ shall come in His glory. [480] The realization of that hopehas been attested by revelation in modern days. [481]

_Andrew_, son of Jona and brother of Simon Peter, is mentioned lessfrequently than the three already considered. He had been one of theBaptist's followers, and with John, the son of Zebedee, left the Baptistto learn from Jesus; and having learned he went in search of Peter, solemnly averred to him that the Messiah had been found, and brought hisbrother to the Savior's feet. [482] He shared with Peter in the honor ofthe call of the Lord on the sea shore, and in the promise "I will makeyou fishers of men. "[483] In one instance we read of Andrew as presentwith Peter, James and John, in a private interview with the Lord;[484]and he is mentioned in connection with the miraculous feeding of thefive thousand, [485] and as associated with Philip in arranging aninterview between certain inquiring Greeks and Jesus. [486] He is namedwith others in connection with our Lord's ascension. [487] Tradition isrife with stories about this man, but of the extent of his ministry, theduration of his life, and the circumstances of his death, we have noauthentic record. 

_Philip_ may have been the first to receive the authoritative call"Follow me" from the lips of Jesus, and we find him immediatelytestifying that Jesus was the long expected Messiah. His home was inBethsaida, the town of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. It is said thatJesus found him, [488] whereas the others concerned in that earlyaffiliation seem to have come of themselves severally to Christ. We find brief mention of him at the time the five thousand werefed, on which occasion Jesus asked him "Whence shall we buy bread, thatthese may eat?" This was done to test and prove him, for Jesus knew whatwould be done. Philip's reply was based on a statement of the smallamount of money at hand, and showed no expectation of miraculousintervention. [489] It was to him the Greeks applied when they sought ameeting with Jesus as noted in connection with Andrew. He was mildlyreproved for his misunderstanding when he asked Jesus to show to him andthe others the Father--"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hastthou not known me, Philip?"[490] Aside from incidental mention of hispresence as one of the Eleven after the ascension, the scriptures tellus nothing more concerning him. 

_Bartholomew_ is mentioned in scripture by this name only in connectionwith his ordination to the apostleship, and as one of the Eleven afterthe ascension. The name means son of Tolmai. It is practically certain, however, that he is the man called Nathanael in John's Gospel--the onewhom Christ designated as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is noguile. "[491] He is named again as among those who went fishing withPeter after the resurrection of Christ. [492] His home was in Cana ofGalilee. The reasons for assuming that Bartholomew and Nathanael are thesame persons are these: Bartholomew is named in each of the threesynoptic Gospels as an apostle, but Nathanael is not mentioned. Nathanael is named twice in John's Gospel, and Bartholomew not at all;Bartholomew and Philip, or Nathanael and Philip, are mentioned together. 

_Matthew_, or _Levi_, son of Alpheus, was one of the seven who receiveda call to follow Christ before the ordination of the Twelve. He it waswho gave a feast, for attending which Jesus and the disciples wereseverely criticized by the Pharisees, [493] on the charge that it wasunseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners. Matthew was apublican; he so designates himself in the Gospel he wrote;[494] but theother evangelists omit the mention when including him with the Twelve. His Hebrew name, Levi, is understood by many as an indication ofpriestly lineage. Of his ministry we have no detailed account; though heis the author of the first Gospel, he refrains from special mention ofhimself except in connection with his call and ordination. He is spokenof by other than scriptural writers as one of the most active of theapostles after Christ's death, and as operating in lands far fromPalestine. 

_Thomas_, also known as Didymus, the Greek equivalent of his Hebrewname, meaning "a twin, " is mentioned as a witness of the raising ofLazarus. His devotion to Jesus is shown by his desire to accompany theLord to Bethany, though persecution in that region was almost certain. To his fellow apostles Thomas said: "Let us also go, that we may diewith him. "[495] Even as late in his experience as the night before thecrucifixion, Thomas had failed to comprehend the impending necessity ofthe Savior's sacrifice; and when Jesus referred to going away andleaving the others to follow, Thomas asked how they could know the way. For his lack of understanding he stood reproved. [496] He was absent whenthe resurrected Christ appeared to the assembled disciples in theevening of the day of His rising; and on being informed by the othersthat they had seen the Lord, he forcefully expressed his doubt, anddeclared he would not believe unless he could see and feel for himselfthe wounds in the crucified body. Eight days later the Lord visited theapostles again, when, as on the earlier occasion, they were withinclosed doors; and to Thomas the Lord said: "Reach hither thy finger, andbehold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side. "Then Thomas, no longer doubting but with love and reverence filling hissoul, exclaimed "My Lord and my God. " The Lord said unto him: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they thathave not seen, and yet have believed. "[497] Of Thomas no further recordappears in the New Testament aside from that of his presence with hisfellows after the ascension. 

_James_, son of Alpheus, is mentioned in the Gospels only in the matterof his ordination to the apostleship; and but once elsewhere in the NewTestament by the appellation "son of Alpheus. "[498] In writings otherthan scriptural he is sometimes designated as James II to avoidconfusing him with James the son of Zebedee. There is acknowledgeduncertainty concerning the identity of James the son of Alpheus as theJames or one of the James's referred to in the Acts and theEpistles;[499] and a plenitude of controversial literature on thesubject is extant. [500]

_Judas_ is called _Lebbeus Thaddeus_ by Matthew, _Thaddeus_ by Mark, and_Judas the brother of James_ by Luke. [501] The only other specificreference to this apostle is made by John, and is incident to the lastlong interview between Jesus and the apostles, when this Judas, "notIscariot, " asked how or why Jesus would manifest Himself to His chosenservants and not to the world at large. The man's question shows thatthe really distinguishing character of the apostleship was not fullycomprehended by him at that time. 

_Simon Zelotes_, so designated in Acts, [502] and as _Simon calledZelotes_ in Luke's Gospel, is distinguished by both Matthew and Mark asthe _Canaanite_. The last designation has no reference to the town ofCana, nor to the land of Canaan, neither is it in any sense ofgeographical signification; it is the Syro-Chaldaic equivalent of theGreek word which is rendered in the English translation "Zelotes. " Thetwo names, therefore, have the same fundamental meaning, and each refersto the Zealots, a Jewish sect or faction, known for its zeal inmaintaining the Mosaic ritual. Doubtless Simon had learned moderationand toleration from the teachings of Christ; otherwise he would scarcelyhave been suited to the apostolic ministry. His zealous earnestness, properly directed, may have developed into a most serviceable trait ofcharacter. This apostle is nowhere in the scriptures named apart fromhis colleagues. 

_Judas Iscariot_ is the only Judean named among the Twelve; all theothers were Galileans. He is generally understood to have been aresident of Kerioth, a small town in the southerly part of Judea, but afew miles west from the Dead Sea, though for this tradition, as also forthe signification of his surname, we lack direct authority. So too weare uninformed as to his lineage, except that his father's name wasSimon. [503] He served as treasurer or agent of the apostolic company, receiving and disbursing such offerings as were made by disciples andfriends, and purchasing supplies as required. [504] That he wasunprincipled and dishonest in the discharge of this trust is attested byJohn. His avaricious and complaining nature revealed itself in hismurmuring against what he called a waste of costly spikenard, in theanointing of the Lord by Mary but a few days before the crucifixion; hehypocritically suggested that the precious ointment could have been soldand the proceeds given to the poor. [505] The crowning deed of perfidy inthe career of Iscariot was his deliberate betrayal of his Master todeath; and this the infamous creature did for a price, and accomplishedthe foul deed with a kiss. He brought his guilty life to a close by arevolting suicide and his spirit went to the awful fate reserved for thesons of perdition. [506]

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWELVE. 

A survey of the general characteristics and qualifications of this bodyof twelve men reveals some interesting facts. Before their selection asapostles they had all become close disciples of the Lord; they believedin Him; several of them, possibly all, had openly confessed that He wasthe Son of God; and yet it is doubtful that any one of them fullyunderstood the real significance of the Savior's work. It is evident bythe later remarks of many of them, and by the instructions and rebukethey called forth from the Master, that the common Jewish expectation ofa Messiah who would reign in splendor as an earthly sovereign after Hehad subdued all other nations, had a place even in the hearts of thesechosen ones. After long experience, Peter's concern was: "Behold, wehave forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we havetherefore?"[507] They were as children to be trained and taught; butthey were mostly willing pupils, receptive of soul, and imbued with asincere eagerness to serve. To Jesus they were His little ones, Hischildren, His servants, and His friends, as they merited. [508] They wereall of the common people, not rabbis, scholars, nor priestly officials. Their inner natures, not their outward accomplishments, were taken intoprime account in the Lord's choosing. The Master chose them; they didnot choose themselves; by Him they were ordained, [509] and they could inconsequence rely the more implicitly upon His guidance and support. Tothem much was given; much of them was required. With the one blackexception they all became shining lights in the kingdom of God, andvindicated the Master's selection. He recognized in each thecharacteristics of fitness developed in the primeval world ofspirits. [510]

DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES. 

Discipleship is general; any follower of a man or devotee to a principlemay be called a disciple. The Holy Apostleship is an office and callingbelonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, at once exalted andspecific, comprizing as a distinguishing function that of personal andspecial witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the one and onlyRedeemer and Savior of mankind. [511] The apostleship is an individualbestowal, and as such is conferred only through ordination. That theTwelve did constitute a council or "quorum" having authority in theChurch established by Jesus Christ, is shown by their ministrationsafter the Lord's resurrection and ascension. Their first official actwas that of filling the vacancy in their organization occasioned by theapostasy and death of Judas Iscariot; and in connection with thisprocedure, the presiding apostle, Peter, set forth the essentialqualifications of the one who would be chosen and ordained, whichcomprized such knowledge of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection, aswould make the new apostle one with the Eleven as special witnesses ofthe Lord's work. [512]

The ordination of the Twelve Apostles marked the inauguration of anadvanced epoch in the earthly ministry of Jesus, an epoch characterizedby the organization of a body of men invested with the authority of theHoly Priesthood, upon whom would rest, more particularly after theLord's departure, the duty and responsibility of continuing the work Hehad begun, and of building up the Church established by Him. 

The word "apostle" is an Anglicized form derived from the Greek_apostolos_, meaning literally "one who is sent, " and connoting an envoyor official messenger, who speaks and acts by the authority of onesuperior to himself. In this sense Paul afterward applied the title toChrist as one specially sent and commissioned of the Father. [513]

The Lord's purpose in choosing and ordaining the Twelve is thusenunciated by Mark: "And he ordained twelve, that they should be withhim, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power toheal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. "[514] For a season followingtheir ordination the apostles remained with Jesus, being speciallytrained and instructed by Him for the work then before them; afterwardthey were specifically charged and sent forth to preach and toadminister in the authority of their priesthood, as shall be hereafterconsidered. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 16. 

1. Judas Lebbeus Thaddeus. --This Judas (not Iscariot) is designated inthe authorized version of Luke 6:16, and Acts 1:13, as "_the brother_ ofJames. " That the words "the brother" are an addition to the originaltext is indicated by italics. The revised version of these passagesreads in each instance "_the son_ of James, " with italics ofcorresponding significance. The original reads "Judas of James. " We areuninformed as to which James is referred to, and as to whether the Judashere mentioned was the son, the brother, or some other relative of theunidentified James. 

2. The Meaning of "Apostle. "--"The title 'Apostle' is likewise one ofspecial significance and sanctity; it has been given of God, and belongsonly to those who have been called and ordained as 'special witnesses ofthe name of Christ in all the world, thus differing from other officersin the Church in the duties of their calling' (Doc. And Cov. 107:23). Byderivation the word 'apostle' is the English equivalent of the Greek_apostolos_, indicating a messenger, an ambassador, or literally 'onewho is sent'. It signifies that he who is rightly so called, speaks andacts not of himself, but as the representative of a higher power whencehis commission issued; and in this sense the title is that of a servant, rather than that of a superior. Even the Christ, however, is called anApostle with reference to His ministry in the flesh (Hebrews 3:1), andthis appellation is justified by His repeated declaration that He cameto earth to do not His own will but that of the Father by whom _He wassent_. 

"Though an apostle is thus seen to be essentially an envoy, orambassador, his authority is great, as is also the responsibilityassociated therewith, for he speaks in the name of a power greater thanhis own--the name of Him whose special witness he is. When one of theTwelve is sent to minister in any stake, mission or other division ofthe Church, or to labor in regions where no Church organization has beeneffected, he acts as the representative of the First Presidency, and hasthe right to use his authority in doing whatever is requisite for thefurtherance of the work of God. His duty is to preach the Gospel, administer the ordinances thereof, and set in order the affairs of theChurch, wherever he is sent. So great is the sanctity of this specialcalling, that the title 'Apostle' should not be used lightly as thecommon or ordinary form of address applied to living men called to thisoffice. The quorum or council of the Twelve Apostles as existent in theChurch to-day may better be spoken of as the 'Quorum of the Twelve, ' the'Council of the Twelve, ' or simply as the 'Twelve, ' than as the 'TwelveApostles, ' except as particular occasion may warrant the use of the moresacred term. It is advized that the title 'Apostle' be not applied as aprefix to the name of any member of the Council of the Twelve; but thatsuch a one be addressed or spoken of as 'Brother ----, ' or 'Elder ----, 'and when necessary or desirable, as in announcing his presence in apublic assembly, an explanatory clause may be added, thus, 'Elder ----, one of the Council of the Twelve, '"--From "The Honor and Dignity ofPriesthood, " by the author, _Improvement Era_, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 409-410. 

3. "Of Alpheus;" or "Son of Alpheus. "--In all Bible passages specifying"James son of Alpheus" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) theword _son_ has been supplied by the translators, and therefore properlyappears in _Italics_. The phrase in the Greek reads "James of Alpheus. "This fact must not be given undue weight in support of the thought thatthe James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word _son_ hasbeen similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all ofwhich _Italics_ are used to indicate the words supplied, e. G. "James_the son_ of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2; see also Mark 3:17). Read in thisconnection Note 1 on the opposite page. 

FOOTNOTES:

[457] Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16. 

[458] Luke 6:12. 

[459] Luke 3:13; compare John 15:16; see also Acts 1:22. 

[460] John 1:42; compare Matt. 16:18. 

[461] Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:10. 

[462] John 1:44; 12:21. 

[463] Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38. 

[464] Acts 4:13. 

[465] John 21:18, 19. 

[466] 2 Peter 1:14. 

[467] Doc. And Cov. 27:12. Page 768 herein. 

[468] Mark 3:17. 

[469] Luke 9:54. See also Mark 9:38, for instance of John's impulsivezeal. 

[470] Mark 10:35-41; compare Matt. 20:20-24. 

[471] Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51. 

[472] Matt. 17:1-2; Luke 9:28-29. 

[473] Matt. 26:36, 37. 

[474] Doc. And Cov. 27:12. Page 768 herein. 

[475] Acts 12:1, 2. 

[476] John 1:35-40; see page 140. 

[477] John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2. 

[478] John 13:23, 25. 

[479] John 19:25-27. 

[480] John 21:7, 21-23. 

[481] Doc. And Cov. Sec. 7; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 28:1-12. 

[482] John 1:35-40. 

[483] Matt. 4:18, 19. 

[484] Mark 13:3. 

[485] John 6:8. 

[486] John 12:20-22. 

[487] Acts 1:13. 

[488] John 1:43-45. 

[489] John 6:5-7. 

[490] John 14:8, 9. 

[491] John 1:45-51; see page 141. 

[492] John 21:2, 3. 

[493] Page 194. 

[494] Matt. 10:3. 

[495] John 11:16. 

[496] John 14:1-7. 

[497] John 20:24-29. Page 689 herein. 

[498] Acts 1:13. Note 3, end of chapter. 

[499] Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; andthe Epistle of James. 

[500] Concerning the James's mentioned in the New Testament, the opinionof Bible scholars is divided, the question being as to whether two orthree individuals are indicated. Those who hold that there were threemen of this name distinguish them as follows: (1) James the son ofZebedee and brother of John the apostle; all scriptural references tohim are explicit; (2) James the son of Alpheus; and (3) James thebrother of the Lord (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19). If we acceptthis classification, the references given in the previous footnote onthis page apply to James the Lord's brother. Both the Oxford and BagsterBible "Helps" treat James the son of Alpheus and James the Lord'sbrother as one person, the expression "son of" being understood in itsgeneral sense only (see page 280). The Bagster designation is: "JamesII, apostle, son of Alpheus, brother or cousin to Jesus. " (See Note 3, end of chapter. ) The Nave "Student's Bible" states (page 1327) that thequestion as to whether James the Lord's brother "is identical with Jamesthe son of Alpheus is one of the most difficult questions in thebiographical history of the Gospels. " Faussett (in his "CyclopediaCritical and Expository") supports the contention that but one James ismeant; and other acknowledged authorities treat the two as one. Fordetailed consideration of the subject the reader is referred to specialworks. 

[501] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[502] Acts 1:13; compare Luke 6:15. 

[503] John 6:71; 12:4; 13:26. 

[504] John 12:6; 13:29. 

[505] John 12:1-7; compare Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9. 

[506] Matt. 27:5; compare Acts 1:18; see also John 17:12; Doc. And Cov. 76; 31-48; 132:27. 

[507] Matt. 19:27. 

[508] Matt. 10:42; John 21:5; 13:16. Compare verse 13; 15:14, 15. 

[509] John 15:16. 

[510] Pages 8 and 17. 

[511] Doc. And Cov. 18:27-33; 20:38-44; 107:1-9, 23, 24, 39. 

[512] Acts 1:15-26. 

[513] Heb. 3:1; see Note 2, end of chapter. 

[514] Mark 3:14, 15. 

CHAPTER 17. 

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

At some time very near that of the ordination of the Twelve, Jesusdelivered a remarkable discourse, which, in reference to the place whereit was given, has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthewpresents an extended account occupying three chapters of the firstGospel; Luke gives a briefer synopsis. [515] Circumstantial variationsappearing in the two records are of minor importance;[516] it is thesermon itself to which we may profitably devote attention. Lukeintroduces in different parts of his writings many of the preciousprecepts given as parts of the sermon recorded as a continuous discoursein the Gospel written by Matthew. In our present study we shall beguided principally by Matthew's account. Some portions of thiscomprehensive address were expressly directed to the disciples, who hadbeen or would be called to the apostleship and in consequence berequired to renounce all their worldly interests for the labors of theministry; other parts were and are of general application. Jesus hadascended the mountain side, probably to escape the crowds that throngedHim in or near the towns. [517] The disciples gathered about Him, andthere He sat and taught them. [518]

THE BEATITUDES. [519]

The opening sentences are rich in blessing, and the first section of thediscourse is devoted to an explanation of what constitutes genuineblessedness; the lesson, moreover, was made simple and unambiguous byspecific application, each of the blessed being assured of recompenseand reward in the enjoyment of conditions directly opposite to thoseunder which he had suffered. The blessings particularized by the Lord onthis occasion have been designated in literature of later time as theBeatitudes. The poor in spirit are to be made rich as rightful heirs tothe kingdom of heaven; the mourner shall be comforted for he shall seethe divine purpose in his grief, and shall again associate with thebeloved ones of whom he has been bereft; the meek, who suffer spoliationrather than jeopardize their souls in contention, shall inherit theearth; those that hunger and thirst for the truth shall be fed in richabundance; they that show mercy shall be judged mercifully; the pure inheart shall be admitted to the very presence of God; the peacemakers, who try to save themselves and their fellows from strife, shall benumbered among the children of God; they that suffer persecution for thesake of righteousness shall inherit the riches of the eternal kingdom. To the disciples the Lord spake directly, saying: "Blessed are ye, whenmen shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner ofevil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophetswhich were before you. "[520]

It is evident that the specified blessings and the happiness comprizedtherein are to be realized in their fulness only beyond the grave;though the joy that comes from the consciousness of right living brings, even in this world, a rich return. An important element in this splendidelucidation of the truly blessed state is the implied distinctionbetween pleasure and happiness. [521] Mere pleasure is at best butfleeting; happiness is abiding, for in the recollection thereof is joyrenewed. Supreme happiness is not an earthly attainment; the promised"fulness of joy" lies beyond death and the resurrection. [522] While manexists in this mortal state he needs some of the things of the world; hemust have food and clothing and provision for shelter; and beside thesebare necessities he may righteously desire the facilities of education, the incidentals of advancing civilization, and the things that areconducive to refinement and culture; yet all of these are but aids toachievement, not the end to attain which man was made mortal. 

The Beatitudes are directed to the duties of mortal life as apreparation for a greater existence yet future. In the kingdom ofheaven, twice named in this part of the Lord's discourse, are trueriches and unfailing happiness to be found. The kingdom of heaven wasthe all-comprizing text of this wonderful sermon; the means of reachingthe kingdom and the glories of eternal citizenship therein are the maindivisions of the treatise. 

DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MINISTRY. [523]

The Master next proceeded to instruct with particular directness thoseupon whom would devolve the responsibility of the ministry as Hiscommissioned representatives. "Ye are the salt of the earth, " said He. Salt is the great preservative; as such it has had practical use sincevery ancient times. Salt was prescribed as an essential addition toevery meat offering under the Mosaic law. [524] Long before the time ofChrist, the use of salt had been accorded a symbolism of fidelity, hospitality, and covenant. [525] To be of use salt must be pure; to be ofany saving virtue as salt, it must be salt indeed, and not the productof chemical alteration or of earthy admixture, whereby its saltiness or"savor" would be lost;[526] and, as worthless stuff, it would be fitonly to be thrown away. Against such change of faith, against suchadmixture with the sophistries, so-called philosophies, and heresies ofthe times, the disciples were especially warned. Then, changing thefigure, Jesus likened them to the light of the world, and enjoined uponthem the duty of keeping their light before the people, as prominentlyas stands a city built upon a hill, to be seen from all directions, acity that cannot be hid. Of what service would a lighted candle be ifhidden under a tub or a box? "Let your light so shine before men, " saidHe, "that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which isin heaven. "

That they should make no error as to the relationship of the ancient lawand the gospel of the kingdom which He was elucidating, Jesus assuredthem that He had not come to destroy the law nor to nullify theteachings and predictions of the prophets, but to fulfil such and toestablish that for which the developments of the centuries gone had beenbut preparatory. The gospel may be said to have destroyed the Mosaic lawonly as the seed is destroyed in the growth of the new plant, only asthe bud is destroyed by the bursting forth of the rich, full, andfragrant flowers, only as infancy and youth pass forever as the maturityof years develops. Not a jot or a tittle of the law was to be void. Amore effective analogy than the last could scarcely have been conceived;the jot or yod, and the tittle, were small literary marks in the Hebrewscript; for present purposes we may regard them as equivalent to the dotof an "i" or the cross of a "t"; with the first, the jot, our Englishword "iota, " signifying a trifle, is related. Not even the leastcommandment could be violated without penalty; but the disciples wereadmonished to take heed that their keeping of the commandments was notafter the manner of the scribes and Pharisees, whose observance was thatof ceremonial externalism, lacking the essentials of genuine devotion;for they were assured that by such an insincere course they could "in nocase enter into the kingdom of heaven. "

THE LAW SUPERSEDED BY THE GOSPEL. [527]

The next section of the sermon deals with the superiority of the gospelof Christ over the law of Moses, and contrasts the requirements of thetwo in particular instances. Whereas the law forbade murder, andprovided a just penalty for the crime, Christ taught that one's givingway to anger, which might possibly lead to violence or even murder, wasof itself a sin. To maliciously use an offensive epithet such as "Raca"laid one liable to punishment under the decree of the council, and tocall another a fool placed one "in danger of hell fire. " Theseobjectionable designations were regarded at that time as especiallyopprobrious and were therefore expressive of hateful intent. Themurderer's hand is impelled by the hatred in his heart. The law providedpenalty for the deed; the gospel rebuked the evil passion in itsincipiency. To emphasize this principle, the Master showed that hatredwas not to be atoned by a material sacrifice; and that if one came tomake an offering at the altar, and remembered that he was at enmity withhis brother, he should first go to that brother and be reconciled, eventhough such a course involved the interruption of the ceremonial, whichwas a particularly grievous incident according to the judgment of thepriests. Differences and contentions were to be adjusted without delay. 

The law forbade the awful sin of adultery; Christ said that the sinbegan in the lustful glance, the sensual thought; and He added that itwas better to become blind than to look with evil eye; better to lose ahand than to work iniquity therewith. Touching the matter ofdivorcement, in which great laxity prevailed in that day, Jesus declaredthat except for the most serious offense of infidelity to marriage vows, no man could divorce his wife without becoming himself an offender, inthat she, marrying again while still a wife not righteously divorced, would be guilty of sin, and so would be the man to whom she was somarried. 

Of old it had been forbidden to swear or take oaths except in solemncovenant before the Lord; but in the gospel dispensation the Lordforbade that men swear at all; and the heinousness of wanton oaths wasexpounded. Grievously sinful indeed it was and is to swear by heaven, which is the abode of God; or by earth, which is His creation and by Himcalled His footstool; or by Jerusalem, which was regarded by those whoswore as the city of the great King; or by one's own head, which is partof the body God has created. Moderation in speech, decision andsimplicity were enjoined, to the exclusion of expletives, profanity andoaths. 

Of old the principle of retaliation had been tolerated, by which one whohad suffered injury could exact or inflict a penalty of the same natureas the offense. Thus an eye was demanded for the loss of an eye, a toothfor a tooth, a life for a life. [528] In contrast, Christ taught that menshould rather suffer than do evil, even to the extent of submissionwithout resistance under certain implied conditions. His forcefulillustrations--that if one were smitten on one cheek he should turn theother to the smiter; that if a man took another's coat by process oflaw, the loser should allow his cloak to be taken also; that if one waspressed into service to carry another's burden a mile, he shouldwillingly go two miles; that one should readily give or lend asasked--are not to be construed as commanding abject subserviency tounjust demands, nor as an abrogation of the principle ofself-protection. These instructions were directed primarily to theapostles, who would be professedly devoted to the work of the kingdom tothe exclusion of all other interests. In their ministry it would bebetter to suffer material loss or personal indignity and imposition atthe hands of wicked oppressors, than to bring about an impairment ofefficiency and a hindrance in work through resistance and contention. Tosuch as these the Beatitudes were particularly applicable--Blessed arethe meek, the peace-makers, and they that are persecuted forrighteousness' sake. 

Of old it had been said: "Love thy neighbour, and hate thineenemy";[529] but the Lord now taught: "Love your enemies, bless themthat curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them whichdespitefully use you, and persecute you. " This was a new doctrine. Neverbefore had Israel been required to love their foes. Friendship forenemies had found no place in the Mosaic code: indeed the people hadgrown to look upon Israel's enemies as God's enemies; and now Jesusrequired that tolerance, mercy, and even love be meted out to such! Hesupplemented the requirement by an explanation--through the courseindicated by Him men may become children of God, like unto theirHeavenly Father to the extent of their obedience; for the Father iskind, long-suffering and tolerant, causing His sun to shine on the eviland on the good, and sending rain for the sustenance of both just andunjust. [530] And further, what excellence has the man who gives only ashe receives, acknowledges only those who salute him with respect, lovesonly as he is loved? Even the publicans[531] did that much. Of thedisciples of Christ much more was expected. The admonition closing thisdivision of the discourse is an effective and comprehensive summary ofall that had preceded: "_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Fatherwhich is in heaven is perfect. _"[532]

SINCERITY OF PURPOSE. [533]

In the matter of alms-giving the Master warned against, andinferentially denounced, ostentation and hypocritical display. To giveto the needy is praiseworthy; but to give for the purpose of winning thepraise of men is rank hypocrisy. The tossing of alms to a beggar, thepouring of offerings into the temple treasure chests, to be seen ofmen, [534] and similar displays of affected liberality, were fashionableamong certain classes in the time of Christ; and the same spirit ismanifest today. Some there be now who cause a trumpet to be sounded, through the columns of the press perchance, or by other means ofpublicity, to call attention to their giving, that they may have gloryof men--to win political favor, to increase their trade or influence, toget what in their estimation is worth more than that from which theypart. With logical incisiveness the Master demonstrated that such givershave their reward. They have received what they bid for; what more cansuch men demand or consistently expect? _"But" said the Lord, "when thoudoest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: Thatthine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secrethimself shall reward thee openly!"_

In the same spirit did the Preacher denounce hypocritical prayers--thesaying of prayers in place of praying. There were many who sought placesof public resort, in the synagogs, and even on the street-corners, thatthey might be seen and heard of men when saying their prayers. Theysecured the publicity they sought; what more could they ask? "Verily Isay unto you, They have their reward, " He who would really pray--pray asnearly as possible as Christ prayed, pray in actual communion with Godto whom the prayer is addressed--will seek privacy, seclusion, isolation; if opportunity permits he will retire to his chamber, andwill shut the door, that none may intrude; there he may pray indeed, ifthe spirit of prayer be in his heart; and this course was commended bythe Lord. Wordy supplications, made up largely of iterations andrepetitions such as the heathen use, thinking that their idol deitieswill be pleased with their much speaking, were forbidden. 

It is well to know that prayer is not compounded of words, words thatmay fail to express what one desires to say, words that so often cloakinconsistencies, words that may have no deeper source than the physicalorgans of speech, words that may be spoken to impress mortal ears. Thedumb may pray, and that too with the eloquence that prevails in heaven. Prayer is made up of heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of thesoul, of supplication based on the realization of need, of contritionand pure desire. If there lives a man who has never really prayed, thatman is a being apart from the order of the divine in human nature, astranger in the family of God's children. Prayer is for the uplifting ofthe suppliant. God without our prayers would be God; but we withoutprayer cannot be admitted to the kingdom of God. So did Christ instruct:"your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. "

Then gave He unto those who sought wisdom at His feet, a model prayer, saying: "After this manner therefore pray ye:

_"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. "_ In this weacknowledge the relation we bear to our Heavenly Father, and whilereverencing His great and holy Name, we avail ourselves of theinestimable privilege of approaching Him, less with the thought of Hisinfinite glory as the Creator of all that is, the Supreme Being aboveall creation, than with the loving realization that He is Father, andthat we are His children. This is the earliest Biblical scripture givinginstruction, permission, or warrant, for addressing God directly as "OurFather". Therein is expressed the reconciliation which the human family, estranged through sin, may attain by the means provided through the wellbeloved Son. This instruction is equally definite in demonstrating thebrotherhood between Christ and humanity. As He prayed so pray we to thesame Father, we as brethren and Christ as our Elder Brother. 

_"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. "_ Thekingdom of God is to be a kingdom of order, in which toleration and therecognition of individual rights shall prevail. One who really praysthat this kingdom come will strive to hasten its coming by livingaccording to the law of God. His effort will be to keep himself inharmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to thespirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things thatGod loves. To make the will of God supreme on earth as it is in heavenis to be allied with God in the affairs of life. There are many whoprofess belief that as God is omnipotent, all that is is according toHis will. Such a supposition is unscriptural, unreasonable, anduntrue. [535] Wickedness is not in harmony with His will; falsehood, hypocrisy, vice and crime are not God's gifts to man. By His will thesemonstrosities that have developed as hideous deformities in human natureand life shall be abolished, and this blessed consummation shall bereached when by choice, without surrender or abrogation of their freeagency, men shall do the will of God. 

_"Give us this day our daily bread. "_ Food is indispensable to life. Aswe need it we should ask for it. True, the Father knows our need beforewe ask, but by asking we acknowledge Him as the Giver, and are madehumble, grateful, contrite, and reliant by the request. Though the sunshines and the rain falls alike upon the just and the unjust, therighteous man is grateful for these blessings; the ungodly man receivesthe benefits as a matter of course with a soul incapable of gratitude. The capacity to be grateful is a blessing, for the possession of whichwe should be further grateful. We are taught to pray day by day for thefood we need, not for a great store to be laid by for the distantfuture. Israel in the desert received manna as a daily supply[536] andwere kept in mind of their reliance upon Him who gave. The man with muchfinds it easier to forget his dependence than he who must ask with eachsucceeding day of need. 

_"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. "_ He who can thuspray with full intent and unmixed purpose merits forgiveness. In thisspecification of personal supplication we are taught to expect only aswe deserve. The selfish and sinful would rejoice in exemption from theirlawful debts, but being selfish and sinful would exact the last farthingfrom those who owe them. [537] Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to becast at the feet of the unforgiving;[538] and, without the sinceritythat springs from a contrite heart, no man may justly claim mercy. Ifothers owe us, either in actual money or goods as suggested by debts anddebtors, or through some infringement upon our rights included under thebroader designation as a trespass, our mode of dealing with them will betaken into righteous account in the judgment of our own offenses. 

_"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:"_ The firstpart of this petition has occasioned comment and question. We are not tounderstand that God would ever lead a man into temptation except, perhaps, by way of wise permission, to test and prove him, therebyaffording him opportunity of overcoming and so of gaining spiritualstrength, which is the only true advancement in man's eternal course ofprogress. The one purpose of providing bodies for the preexistentspirits of the race, and of advancing them to the mortal state, was to"prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever theLord their God shall command them. "[539] The plan of mortality involvedthe certainty of temptation. The intent of the supplication appears tobe that we be preserved from temptation beyond our weak powers towithstand; that we be not abandoned to temptation without the divinesupport that shall be as full a measure of protection as our exercize ofchoice will allow. 

How inconsistent then to go, as many do, into the places where thetemptations to which we are most susceptible are strongest; for the manbeset with a passion for strong drink to so pray and then resort to thedramshop; for the man whose desires are lustful to voice such a prayerand then go where lust is kindled; for the dishonest man, though he saythe prayer, to then place himself where he knows the opportunity tosteal will be found! Can such souls as these be other than hypocrites inasking God to deliver them from the evils they have sought? Temptationwill fall in our way without our seeking, and evil will present itselfeven when we desire most to do right; for deliverance from such we maypray with righteous expectation and assurance. 

_"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. "_ Herein we acknowledge the supremacy of the Being whom weaddressed at the beginning as Father. He is the Almighty in whom andthrough whose provision we live and move and have our existence. [540] Toassert independence of God is both sacrilege and blasphemy; toacknowledge Him is a filial duty and a just confession of His majestyand dominion. The Lord's Prayer is closed with a solemn "Amen, " set as aseal to the document of the supplication, attesting its genuineness asthe true expression of the suppliant's soul; gathering within thecompass of a word the meaning of all that has been uttered or thought. _So let it be_ is the literal signification of _Amen_. 

From the subject of prayer the Master turned to that of fasting, andemphasized the important truth that to be of avail fasting must be amatter between the man and his God, not between man and his kind. It wasa common thing in the Master's day to see men parading the fact of theirabstinence as an advertisement of their assumed piety. [541] That theymight appear haggard and faint, this class of hypocrites disfiguredtheir faces, went with unkempt hair, gazed about with sad countenances. Of these also the Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, They have theirreward. " Believers were admonished to fast secretly, with no outwarddisplay, and to fast unto God, who could see in secret and would heedtheir sacrifice and prayer. 

TREASURES OF EARTH AND OF HEAVEN. [542]

The transitory character of worldly wealth was next contrasted with theenduring riches of eternity. Many there were and many there are whoseprincipal effort in life has been that of amassing treasures of earth, the mere possession of which entails responsibility, care, anddisturbing anxiety. Some kinds of wealth are endangered by the ravagesof moths, such as silks and velvets, satins and furs; some are destroyedby corrosion and rust--silver and copper and steel; while these andothers are not infrequently made the booty of thieves. Infinitely moreprecious are the treasures of a life well spent, the wealth of gooddeeds, the account of which is kept in heaven, where the riches ofrighteous achievement are safe from moth, rust, and robbers. Thenfollowed the trenchant lesson: _"For where your treasure is, there willyour heart be also. "_

Spiritual light is shown to be greater than any product of physicalilluminants. What does the brightest light avail the man who is blind?It is the bodily eye that discerns the light of the candle, the lamp, orthe sun; and the spiritual eye sees by spiritual light; if then man'sspiritual eye be single, that is, pure and undimmed by sin, he is filledwith the light that shall show him the way to God; whereas if his soul'seye be evil, he will be as one full of darkness. Solemn caution isexpressed in the summary, "If therefore the light that is in thee bedarkness, how great is that darkness!" Those whom the Master wasaddressing had received of the light of God; the degree of belief theyhad already professed was proof of that. Should they turn from the greatemprise on which they had embarked, the light would be lost, and thesucceeding darkness would be denser than that from which they had beenrelieved. [543] There was to be no indecision among the disciples. No oneof them could serve two masters; if he professed so to do he would be anuntrue servant to the one or the other. Then followed another profoundgeneralization: _"Ye cannot serve God and mammon. "_[544]

They were told to trust the Father for what they needed, taking nothought of food, drink, clothing, or even of life itself, for all thesewere to be supplied by means above their power to control. With thewisdom of a Teacher of teachers, the Master appealed to their hearts andtheir understanding by citing the lessons of nature, in language of suchsimple yet forceful eloquence that to amplify or condense it is but tomar:

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do theyreap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Areye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add onecubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do theyspin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was notarrayed like one of these. "

The weakness of faith was reproved in the reminder that the Father whocared even for the grass of the field, which one day flourishes and onthe next is gathered up to be burned, would not fail to remember Hisown. Therefore the Master added: _"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, andhis righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. "_

HYPOCRISY FURTHER CONDEMNED. [545]

Men are prone to judge their fellows and to praise or censure withoutdue consideration of fact or circumstance. On prejudiced or unsupportedjudgment the Master set His disapproval. "Judge not, that ye be notjudged, " He admonished, for, according to one's own standard of judgingothers, shall he himself be judged. The man who is always ready tocorrect his brother's faults, to remove the mote from his neighbor's eyeso that that neighbor may see things as the interested and interferingfriend would have him see, was denounced as a hypocrite. What was thespeck in his neighbor's vision to the obscuring beam in his own eye?Have the centuries between the days of Christ and our own time made usless eager to cure the defective vision of those who cannot or will notassume our point of view, and see things as we see them?

These disciples, some of whom were soon to minister in the authority ofthe Holy Apostleship, were cautioned against the indiscreet andindiscriminate scattering of the sacred truths and precepts committed tothem. Their duty would be to discern the spirits of those whom theyessayed to teach, and to impart unto them in wisdom. The words of theMaster were strong: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neithercast ye your pearls before, swine, lest they trample them under theirfeet, and turn again and rend you. "[546]

PROMISE AND REASSURANCE[547]

That their supplications would be heard and answered followed as a richpromise. They were to ask and they would receive; they were to knock andthe door would be opened. Surely the Heavenly Father would not be lessconsiderate than a human parent; and what father would answer his son'splea for bread by giving him a stone, or who would give a serpent when afish was desired? With greater certainty would God bestow good giftsupon those who asked according to their need, in faith. "_Therefore allthings whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so tothem: for this is the law and the prophets. "_

The straight and narrow way by which man may walk in Godliness wascompared with the broad highway leading to destruction. False prophetswere to be shunned, such as were then among the people, comparable intheir pretense to sheep, and in their reality to ravening wolves. Thesewere to be recognized by their works and the results thereof, even as atree to be judged as good or bad according to its fruit. A thorn bushdoes not produce grapes, nor can thistles bear figs. Conversely, it isas truly impossible for a good tree to produce evil fruit as for auseless and corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit. 

Religion is more than the confession and profession of the lips. Jesusaverred that in the day of judgment many would pretend allegiance toHim, saying: "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thyname have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, yethat work iniquity. " Only by doing the will of the Father is the savinggrace of the Son obtainable. To assume to speak and act in the name ofthe Lord without the bestowal of authority, such as the Lord alone cangive, is to add sacrilege to hypocrisy. Even miracles wrought will be novindication of the claims of those who pretend to minister in theordinances of the gospel while devoid of the authority of the HolyPriesthood. [548]

HEARING AND DOING. [549]

The Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since itsdelivery without another to be compared with it. No mortal man has eversince preached a discourse of its kind. The spirit of the address isthroughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty professionand neglect. In the closing sentences the Lord showed the uselessness ofhearing alone, as contrasted with the efficacy of doing. The man whohears and acts is likened unto the wise builder who set the foundationof his house upon a rock; and in spite of rain and hurricane and flood, the house stood. He that hears and obeys not is likened unto the foolishman who built his house upon the sand; and when rain fell, or windsblew, or floods came, behold it fell, and great was the fall thereof. 

Such doctrines as these astonished the people. For His distinctiveteachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own. His addresswas free from any array of rabbinical precedents; the law was supersededby the gospel: _"For he taught them as one having authority, and not asthe scribes!"_

NOTES TO CHAPTER 17. 

1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount. --Matthew gives the addressearly mention, placing it even before the record of his own call fromthe seat of custom--which call certainly preceded the ordination of theTwelve as a body--and before his account of many sayings and doings ofthe Lord already considered in these pages. Luke's partial summary ofthe sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthewtells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that He sat whilespeaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and theTwelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where theywere met by the multitude, and that Jesus preached unto them, standing. Critics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightiermatters, have tried to make much of these seeming variations. Is it notprobable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to thedisciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and thatafter finishing His discourse to them He descended with them to theplain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeatedparts of what He had before spoken? The relative fulness of Matthew'sreport may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was presentat the first and more extended delivery. 

2. Pleasure Versus Happiness. --"The present is an age ofpleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush forsensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day ofcounterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busierthan he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufactureof pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in mostattractive fashion, falsely labeled, _Happiness_. In thissoul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has had centuries ofexperience and practise, and by his skill he controls the market. He haslearned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye andarouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff inbright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowdsflock to his bargain counters, hustling and crushing one another intheir frenzy to buy. 

"Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudypacket, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gildedwrapping? He has expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only aninferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating. 

"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth inpleasure, and much beside. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure butgilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted intopoisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, roughor polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as thepaste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happinessis as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty. 

"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds upthe body and generates energy for action, physical, mental andspiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spirituousdrink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes himfancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady. 

"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressingreaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails noremorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, andsuffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation anddestruction. 

"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with arenewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave abarbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-presentsource of anguish. 

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-mindedmirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is notinfrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that youhave had to weep? I have. " From an article by the author, _ImprovementEra_, vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 172, 173. 

3. Salt of the Earth. --Dummelow's _Commentary_, on Matt. 5:13, states:"Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoeschemical changes by which its flavor is destroyed while its appearanceremains. " Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, "if thesalt have lost his savor, " may be suggested by the fact that salt mixedwith insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving theinsoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord'sillustration is that spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. Thecorresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephitesafter His resurrection reads: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I giveunto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose itssavor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall bethenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be troddenunder foot of men. " (3 Nephi 12:13. )

4. Reference to Publicans. --Observe that Matthew, who had been apublican, frankly records this reference (5:46, 47) to his despizedclass. Luke writes "sinners" instead of "publicans" (6:32-34). Ofcourse, if the accounts of the two writers refer to separate addresses(see Note 1, above), both may be accurate. But we find Matthew'sdesignation of himself as a publican in his list of the apostles (10:3)and the considerate omission of the unenviable title by the otherevangelists (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). 

5. Relative Perfection. --Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally beconstrued otherwise than as implying the possibility of suchachievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality inthe sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being. It ispossible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a senseanalogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in theirseveral spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitelyinferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman orsophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore; his record maypossibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency andachievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, andthe attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assuredpossibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end. 

FOOTNOTES:

[515] Matt. Chaps. 5, 6, 7; Luke 6:20-49. See also the version of theSermon as delivered by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to theNephites on the western continent; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi, chaps. 12, 13, 14. See also chapter 39 herein. 

[516] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[517] Matt. 4:23-25; read these verses in connection with 5:1; see alsoLuke 6:17-19. 

[518] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[519] Matt. 5:3-12; compare Luke 6:20-26; and B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 12:1-12. 

[520] Matt. 5:11, 12; compare Luke 6:26; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 12:11, 12. 

[521] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[522] Doc. And Cov. 93:33. 

[523] Matt. 5:13-20; compare Luke 14:34-35; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 12:13-20. 

[524] Lev. 2:13; compare Ezra 6:9; Ezek. 43:24. 

[525] Note the expression "covenant of salt, " indicating the covenantbetween Jehovah and Israel, Lev. 2:13; Numb. 18:19; compare 2 Chron. 13:5. 

[526] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[527] Matt. 5:21-48; Luke 6:27-36; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 12:21-48. 

[528] Exo. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:17-22; Deut. 19:21. 

[529] Compare Lev. 19:18; Deut. 23:6; and Psa. 41:10. 

[530] Compare the lesson taught in the Parable of the Tares, Matt. 13:24-30. 

[531] Note 4, end of chapter; see also pages 193 and 201. 

[532] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[533] Matt. 6:1-18; compare Luke 11:2-4; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 13:1-18. 

[534] Consider the incident of the gifts of the rich and the widow'smite, Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4. 

[535] Page 18. 

[536] Exo. 16:16-21. 

[537] Note the lesson of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Matt. 18:33-25. 

[538] Compare Matt. 7:6. 

[539] P. Of G. P. , Abraham 3:25; see pages 14, 15, herein. 

[540] Acts 17:28. 

[541] Compare the instance connected with the parable of the Phariseeand the Publican, Luke 18:10-14. 

[542] Matt. 6:19-34; compare Luke 12:24-34; 16:13; 18:22; B. Of M. , 3Nephi 13:19-34. 

[543] Luke 11:34-36. 

[544] Compare Gal. 1:10; 1 Tim. 6:17; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15. 

[545] Matt. 7:1-5; Luke 6:37, 38, 41, 42; compare B, of M. , 3 Nephi14:1-5. 

[546] Matt. 7:6; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 14:6. 

[547] Matt. 7:7-23; Luke 6:43-44, 46; 11:9-13; 13:24-30; compare B. OfM. , 3 Nephi 14:7-23. 

[548] "Articles of Faith, " x:1-20; and xii:1-30. 

[549] Matt. 7:24-29; Luke 6:46-49; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 14:24-27. 

CHAPTER 18. 

AS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY. 

Matthew's account of the invaluable address, known to us as the Sermonon the Mount, is closed with a forceful sentence of his own, referringto the effect of the Master's words upon the people: "For he taught themas one having authority, and not as the scribes. "[550] A strikingcharacteristic of Christ's ministry was the entire absence of any claimof human authority for His words or deeds; the commission He professedto have was that of the Father who sent Him. His addresses, whetherdelivered to multitudes or spoken in relative privacy to few, were freefrom the labored citations in which the teachers of the day delighted. His authoritative "I say unto you" took the place of invocation ofauthority and exceeded any possible array of precedent commandment ordeduction. In this His words differed essentially from the eruditeutterances of scribes, Pharisees and rabbis. Throughout His ministry, inherent power and authority were manifest over matter and the forces ofnature, over men and demons, over life and death. It now becomes ourpurpose to consider a number of instances in which the Lord's power wasdemonstrated in divers mighty works. 

THE CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED. [551]

From the Mount of Beatitudes Jesus returned to Capernaum, whetherdirectly or by a longer way marked by other works of power and mercy isof little importance. There was at that time a Roman garrison in thecity. A military officer, a centurion or captain of a hundred men, wasstationed there. Attached to the household of this officer was anesteemed servant, who was ill, "and ready to die. " The centurion hadfaith that Christ could heal his servant, and invoked the intercessionof the Jewish elders to beg of the Master the boon desired. These eldersimplored Jesus most earnestly, and urged the worthiness of the man, who, though a Gentile, loved the people of Israel and out of his munificencehad built for them a synagog in the town. Jesus went with the elders, but the centurion, probably learning of the approach of the littlecompany, hastily sent other envoys to say that he did not considerhimself worthy to have Jesus enter his home, from which sense ofunworthiness he had not ventured to make his request in person. [552]"But, " ran the message of supplication, "say in a word, and my servantshall be healed. " We may well contrast this man's conception of Christ'spower with that of the nobleman of the same town, who had requestedJesus to hasten in person to the side of his dying son. [553]

The centurion seems to have reasoned in this way: He himself was a manof authority, though under the direction of superior officers. To hissubordinates he gave orders which were obeyed. He did not find itnecessary to personally attend to the carrying out of his instructions. Surely One who had such power as Jesus possessed could command and beobeyed. Moreover, the man may have heard of the marvelous restoration ofthe nobleman's dying son, in accomplishing which the Lord spoke theeffective word when miles away from the sufferer's bed. That thecenturion's trust and confidence, his belief and faith, were genuine, isnot to be doubted, since Jesus expressly commended the same. Theafflicted one was healed. Jesus is said to have marveled[554] at thecenturion's manifestation of faith, and, turning to the people whofollowed, He thus spake: "I say unto you, I have not found so greatfaith, no, not in Israel. " This remark may have caused some of thelisteners to wonder; the Jews were unaccustomed to hear the faith of aGentile so extolled, for, according to the traditionalism of the day, aGentile, even though an earnest proselyte to Judaism, was accountedessentially inferior to even the least worthy of the chosen people. OurLord's comment plainly indicated that Gentiles would be preferred in thekingdom of God if they excelled in worthiness. Turning to Matthew'srecord we find this additional teaching, introduced as usual with "I sayunto you"--"That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sitdown with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Butthe children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: thereshall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "[555] This lesson, that thesupremacy of Israel can be attained only through excellence inrighteousness, is reiterated and enlarged upon in the Lord's teachings, as we shall see. 

A YOUNG MAN OF NAIN RAISED FROM THE DEAD. [556]

On the day after that of the miracle last considered, Jesus went to thelittle town of Nain, and, as usual, many people accompanied Him. Thisday witnessed what in human estimation was a wonder greater than anybefore wrought by Him. He had already healed many, sometimes by a wordspoken to afflicted ones present, and again when He was far from thesubject of His beneficent power; bodily diseases had been overcome, anddemons had been rebuked at His command; but, though the sick who werenigh unto death had been saved from the grave, we have no earlier recordof our Lord having commanded dread death itself to give back one it hadclaimed. [557] As Jesus and His followers approached the town, they met afuneral cortege of many people; the only son of a widow was being borneto the tomb; the body was carried according to the custom of the day onan open bier. Our Lord looked with compassion upon the sorrowing mother, now bereft of both husband and son; and, feeling in Himself[558] thepain of her grief, He said in gentle tone, "Weep not. " He touched thestretcher upon which the dead man lay, and the bearers stood still. Thenaddressing the corpse He said: "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. " Andthe dead heard the voice of Him who is Lord of all, [559] and immediatelysat up and spoke. Graciously Jesus delivered the young man to hismother. We read without wonder that there came a fear on all who werepresent, and that they glorified God, testifying that a great prophetwas amongst them and that God has visited His people. Reports of thismiracle were carried throughout the land, and even reached the ears ofJohn the Baptist, who was confined in the prison of Herod. The effect ofthe information conveyed to John concerning this and other mighty worksof Christ, now claims our attention. 

JOHN BAPTIST'S MESSAGE TO JESUS. 

Even before Jesus had returned to Galilee after His baptism and theforty days of solitude in the wilderness, John the Baptist had beenimprisoned by order of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee andPerea. [560] During the subsequent months of our Lord's activities, inpreaching the gospel, teaching the true significance of the kingdom, reproving sin, healing the afflicted, rebuking evil spirits and evenraising the dead to life, His forerunner, the God-fearing, valiant John, had lain a prisoner in the dungeons of Machęrus, one of the strongest ofHerod's citadels. [561]

The tetrarch had some regard for John, having found him to be a holyman; and many things had Herod done on the direct advice of the Baptistor because of the influence of the latter's general teaching. Indeed, Herod had listened to John gladly, and had imprisoned him through areluctant yielding to the importunities of Herodias, whom Herod claimedas a wife under cover of an illegal marriage. Herodias had been andlegally was still the wife of Herod's brother Philip, from whom she hadnever been lawfully divorced; and her pretended marriage to HerodAntipas was both adulterous and incestuous under Jewish law. The Baptisthad fearlessly denounced this sinful association; to Herod he had said:"It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. " Though Herodmight possibly have ignored this stern rebuke, or at least might haveallowed it to pass without punishment, Herodias would not condone. Itwas she, not the tetrarch, who most hated John; she "had a quarrelagainst him, " and succeeded in inducing Herod to have the Baptist seizedand incarcerated as a step toward the consummation of her vengeful planof having him put to death. [562] Moreover, Herod feared an uprising ofthe people in the event of John being slain by his order. [563]

In the course of his long imprisonment John had heard much of themarvelous preaching and works of Christ; these things must have beenreported to him by some of his disciples and friends who were allowed tovisit him. [564] Particularly was he informed of the miraculous raisingof the young man at Nain;[565] and forthwith he commissioned two of hisdisciples to bear a message of inquiry to Jesus. [566] These came toChrist and reported the purpose of their visit thus: "John Baptist hathsent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we foranother?" The messengers found Jesus engaged in beneficentministrations; and, instead of giving an immediate reply in words, Hecontinued His labor, relieving in that same hour many who were afflictedby blindness or infirmities, or who were troubled by evil spirits. Then, turning to the two who had communicated the Baptist's question, Jesussaid: "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard;how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deafhear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. Andblessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. "

The words of John's inquiring disciples were answered by wondrous deedsof beneficence and mercy. When the reply was reported to John, theimprisoned prophet could scarcely have failed to remember thepredictions of Isaiah, that by those very tokens of miracle and blessingshould the Messiah be known;[567] and the reproof must have beenconvincing and convicting as he called to mind his own citations ofIsaiah's prophecies, when he had proclaimed in fiery, witheringeloquence the fulfilment of those earlier predictions in his own missionand in that of the Mightier One to whom he had borne personaltestimony. [568]

The concluding sentence of our Lord's answer to John was the climax ofwhat had preceded, and a further though yet gentle rebuke of theBaptist's defective comprehension of the Messiah's mission. "Blessed ishe, whosoever shall not be offended in me, " said the Lord. Misunderstanding is the prelude to offense. Gaged by the standard of thethen current conception of what the Messiah would be, the work of Christmust have appeared to many as failure; and those who were looking forsome sudden manifestation of His power in the conquest of Israel'soppressors and the rehabilitation of the house of David in worldlysplendor, grew impatient, then doubtful; afterward they took offense andwere in danger of turning in open rebellion against their Lord. Christhas been an offender to many because they, being out of harmony with Hiswords and works, have of themselves taken offense. [569]

John's situation must be righteously considered by all who assume torender judgment as to his purpose in sending to inquire of Christ, "Artthou he that should come?" John thoroughly understood that his own workwas that of preparation; he had so testified and had openly bornewitness that Jesus was the One for whom he had been sent to prepare. With the inauguration of Christ's ministry, John's influence had waned, and for many months he had been shut up in a cell, chafing under hisenforced inactivity, doubtless yearning for the freedom of the open, andfor the locusts and wild honey of the desert. Jesus was increasing whilehe decreased in popularity, influence, and opportunity; and he hadaffirmed that such condition was inevitable. [570]

But, left in prison, he may have become despondent, and may havepermitted himself to wonder whether that Mightier One had forgotten him. He knew that were Jesus to speak the word of command the prison ofMachęrus could no longer hold him; nevertheless Jesus seemed to haveabandoned him to his fate, which comprized not only confinement butother indignities, and physical torture. [571] It may have been a part ofJohn's purpose to call Christ's attention to his pitiable plight; and inthis respect his message was rather a reminder than a plain inquirybased on actual doubt. Indeed, we have good grounds for inference thatJohn's purpose in sending disciples to inquire of Christ was partly, andperhaps largely, designed to confirm in these disciples an abiding faithin the Christ. The commission with which they were charged brought theminto direct communication with the Lord, whose supremacy they could notwell fail to comprehend. They were personal witnesses of His power andauthority. 

Our Lord's commentary on John's message indicated that the Baptist hadno full understanding of what the spiritual kingdom of God comprized. After the envoys had departed, Jesus addressed Himself to the people whohad witnessed the interview. He would not have them underrate theimportance of the Baptist's service. [572] He reminded them of the timeof John's popularity, when some of those then present, and multitudes ofothers, had gone into the wilderness to hear the prophet's sternadmonition; and they had found him to be no reed, shaken by the wind, but a firm and unbending oak. They had not gone to see a man infashionable attire; those who wore soft raiment were to be looked for inthe court of the king, not in the wilderness, nor in the dungeon whereJohn now lay. They had found in John a prophet indeed, yea, more than aprophet; "For, " affirmed the Lord, "I say unto you, Among those that areborn of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: buthe that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. "[573] Whatstronger testimony of the Baptist's integrity is needed? Other prophetshad told of the Messiah's coming, but John had seen Him, had baptizedHim, and had been to Jesus as a body servant to his master. Neverthelessfrom the day of John's preaching to the time at which Christ then spoke, the kingdom of heaven had been rejected with violence, and this eventhough all the prophets and even the fundamental law had told of itscoming, and though both John and Christ had been abundantly predicted. 

Concerning John, the Lord continued: "And if ye will receive it, this isElias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let himhear. "[574] It is important to know that the designation, Elias, hereapplied by Jesus to the Baptist, is a title rather than a personal name, and that it has no reference to Elijah, the ancient prophet called theTishbite. [575] Many of those who heard the Lord's eulogy on the Baptistrejoiced, for they had accepted John, and had turned from him to Jesusas from the lesser to the Greater; as from the priest to the great HighPriest, as from the herald to the King. But Pharisees and lawyers werepresent, those of the class that John had so vehemently denounced as ofa generation of vipers, and those who had rejected the counsel of God inrefusing to heed the Baptist's call to repentance. [576]

At this point the Master resorted to analogy to make His meaningclearer. He compared the unbelieving and dissatisfied generation tofickle children at play, disagreeing among themselves. Some wanted toenact the pageantry of a mock wedding, and though they piped the restwould not dance; then they changed to a funeral procession and essayedthe part of mourners, but the others would not weep as the rules of thegame required. Ever critical, ever skeptical, by nature fault-findersand defamers, hard of hearing and of heart, they grumbled. John theBaptist had come amongst them like the eremitic prophets of old, asstrict as any Nazarite, refusing to eat with the merry-makers or drinkwith the convivial, and they had said "He hath a devil. " Now came theSon of Man, [577] without austerity or hermit ways, eating and drinkingas a normal man would do, a guest at the houses of the people, aparticipant in the festivities of a marriage party, mingling alike withthe publicans and the Pharisees--and they complained again, saying:"Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans andsinners!" The Master explained that such inconsistency, such wickedtrifling with matters most sacred, such determined opposition to truth, would surely be revealed in their true light, and the worthlessness ofboasted learning would appear. "But, " said He, "wisdom is justified ofall her children. "

From reproof for unbelieving individuals He turned to unappreciativecommunities, and upbraided the cities in which He had wrought so manymighty works, and wherein the people repented not: "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which weredone in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repentedlong ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be moretolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. Andthou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down tohell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had beendone in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say untoyou, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day ofjudgment, than for thee. "[578]

Seemingly faint at heart over the unbelief of the people, Jesus soughtstrength in prayer. [579] With the eloquence of soul for which one looksin vain save in the anguish-laden communion of Christ with His Father, He voiced His reverent gratitude that God had imparted a testimony ofthe truth to the humble and simple rather than to the learned and great;though misunderstood by men He was known for what He really was by theFather. Turning again to the people, He urged anew their acceptance ofHim and His gospel, and His invitation is one of the grandestoutpourings of spiritual emotion known to man: "Come unto me, all yethat labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yokeupon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and yeshall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden islight. "[580] He invited them from drudgery to pleasant service; from thewell-nigh unbearable burdens of ecclesiastical exactions and traditionalformalism, to the liberty of truly spiritual worship; from slavery tofreedom; but they would not. The gospel He offered them was theembodiment of liberty, but not of license; it entailed obedience andsubmission; but even if such could be likened unto a yoke, what was itsburden in comparison with the incubus under which they groaned?

DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

Reverting to John Baptist in his dungeon solitude, we are left withoutinformation as to how he received and understood the reply to hisinquiry, as brought by his messengers. His captivity was destined soonto end, though not by restoration to liberty on earth. The hatred ofHerodias increased against him. An opportunity for carrying into effecther fiendish plots against his life soon appeared. [581] The kingcelebrated his birthday by a great feast, to which his lords, highcaptains, and the principal officials of Galilee were bidden. To gracethe occasion, Salome, daughter of Herodias though not of Herod, came inand danced before the company. So enchanted were Herod and his gueststhat the king bade the damsel ask whatever she would, and he swore hewould give it unto her, even though the gift were half of his kingdom. 

She retired to consult her mother as to what she should ask, and, beinginstructed, returned with the appalling demand: "I will that thou giveme by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. " The king wasastounded; his amazement was followed by sorrow and regret;nevertheless, he dreaded the humiliation that would follow a violationof the oath he had sworn in the presence of his court; so, summoning anexecutioner, he immediately gave the fatal order; and John was forthwithbeheaded in the dungeon. The headsman returned, carrying a dish in whichlay the ghastly trophy of the corrupt queen's vengeance. The bloody giftwas delivered to Salome, who carried it with inhuman triumph to hermother. Some of John's disciples came, secured the corpse, laid it in atomb; and bore the tidings of his death to Jesus. Herod was sorelytroubled over the murder he had ordered; and when, later, the marvelswrought by Jesus were reported to him, he was afraid, and said: "ThatJohn the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works doshew forth themselves in him. " To those who dissented, the terrifiedking replied: "It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from thedead. "[582]

So ended the life of the prophet-priest, the direct precursor of theChrist; thus was stilled the mortal voice of him who had cried somightily in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord. " After manycenturies his voice has been heard again, as the voice of one redeemedand resurrected; and the touch of his hand has again been felt, in thisthe dispensation of restoration and fulness. In May, 1829, a resurrectedpersonage appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, announced himselfas John, known of old as the Baptist, laid his hands upon the two youngmen, and conferred upon them the priesthood of Aaron, which comprizesauthority to preach and minister the gospel of repentance and of baptismby immersion for the remission of sins. [583]

IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE. 

"And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And hewent into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. "[584]

From the place of this incident in Luke's narration of events, itappears that it may have occurred on the day of the visit of John'smessengers. Jesus accepted the Pharisee's invitation, as He had acceptedthe invitations of others, including even publicans, and those called bythe rabbis, sinners. His reception at Simon's house appears to have beensomewhat lacking in warmth, hospitality and honorable attendance. Thenarrative suggests an attitude of condescension on the part of the host. It was the custom of the times to treat a distinguished guest withmarked attention; to receive him with a kiss of welcome, to providewater for washing the dust from his feet, and oil for anointing the hairof the head and the beard. All these courteous attentions were omittedby Simon. Jesus took His place, probably on one of the divans or coucheson which it was usual to partly sit, partly recline, while eating. [585]Such an attitude would place the feet of the person outward from thetable. In addition to these facts relating to the usages of the time itshould be further remembered that dwellings were not protected againstintrusion by such amenities of privacy as now prevail. It was notunusual at that time in Palestine for visitors and even strangers, usually men however, to enter a house at meal time, observe theprocedure and even speak to the guests, all without bidding orinvitation. 

Among those who entered Simon's house while the meal was in progress, was a woman; and the presence of a woman, though somewhat unusual, wasnot strictly a social impropriety and could not well be forbidden onsuch an occasion. But this woman was one of the fallen class, a womanwho had been unvirtuous, and who had to bear, as part of the penalty forher sins, outward scorn and practical ostracism from those who professedto be morally superior. She approached Jesus from behind, and bent lowto kiss His feet as a mark of humility on her part and of respectfulhomage to Him. She may have been one of those who had heard His graciouswords, spoken possibly that day: "Come unto me, all ye that labour andare heavy laden, and I will give you rest. " Whatever her motive incoming, she had certainly come in a repentant and deeply contrite state. As she leaned over the feet of Jesus her tears rained upon them. Seemingly oblivious of her surroundings and of disapproving eyeswatching her movements, she shook out her tresses and wiped the Lord'sfeet with her hair. Then, opening an alabaster box of ointment, sheanointed them, as a slave might do to his master. Jesus graciouslypermitted the woman to proceed unrebuked and uninterrupted in her humbleservice inspired by contrition and reverent love. 

Simon had observed the whole proceeding; by some means he had knowledgeas to the class to which this woman belonged; and though not aloud, within himself he said: "This man, if he were a prophet, would haveknown who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she isa sinner. " Jesus read the man's thoughts, and thus spake: "Simon, I havesomewhat to say unto thee, " to which the Pharisee replied, "Master, sayon. " Jesus continued, "There was a certain creditor which had twodebtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whenthey had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell metherefore, which of them will love him most?" But one answer could begiven with reason, and that Simon gave, though apparently with somehesitation or reserve. He possibly feared that he might involve himself. "I suppose" he ventured, "that he, to whom he forgave most. " Jesus said, "Thou hast rightly judged, " and proceeded: "Seest thou this woman? Ientered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but shehath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of herhead. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came inhath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint:but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. "

The Pharisee could not fail to note so direct a reminder of his havingomitted the ordinary rites of respect to a specially invited guest. Thelesson of the story had found its application in him, even as Nathan'sparable had drawn from David the king a self-convicting answer. [586]"Wherefore, " Jesus continued, "I say unto thee, her sins, which aremany, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. " Then to the woman He spake the words of blessedrelief: "Thy sins are forgiven. " Simon and the others at table murmuredwithin themselves, "Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" Understandingtheir unspoken protest, Christ addressed the woman again, saying, "Thyfaith hath saved thee; go in peace. "

The latter part of the narrative brings to mind another occasion onwhich Christ granted remission of sins, and because of opposition in theminds of some hearers, opposition none the less real because unvoiced, had supplemented His authoritative utterance by anotherpronouncement. [587]

The name of the woman who thus came to Christ, and whose repentance wasso sincere as to bring to her grateful and contrite soul the assuranceof remission, is not recorded. There is no evidence that she figures inany other incident recorded in scripture. By certain writers she hasbeen represented as the Mary of Bethany who, shortly before Christ'sbetrayal, anointed the head of Jesus with spikenard;[588] but theassumption of identity is wholly unfounded, [589] and constitutes anunjustifiable reflection upon the earlier life of Mary, the devoted andloving sister of Martha and Lazarus. Equally wrong is the attempt madeby others to identify this repentant and forgiven sinner with MaryMagdalene, no period of whose life was marked by the sin of unchastityso far as the scriptures aver. The importance of guarding againstmistakes in the identity of these women renders advisable the followingaddition to the foregoing treatment. 

In the chapter following that in which are recorded the incidents lastconsidered, Luke[590] states that Jesus went throughout the region, visiting every city and village, preaching the gospel of the kingdom andshowing the glad tidings thereof. With Him on this tour were the Twelve, and also "certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits andinfirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, andJoanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. " Further reference is madeto some or all of these honorable women in connection with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, and of Mary Magdalene particularmention appears. [591] Mary Magdalene, whose second name is probablyderived from her home town, Magdala, had been healed through theministrations of Jesus from both physical and mental maladies, thelatter having been associated with possession by evil spirits. Out ofher we are told Christ had cast seven devils, [592] but even suchgrievous affliction affords no warrant for the assertion that the womanwas unvirtuous or unchaste. 

Mary Magdalene became one of the closest friends Christ had among women;her devotion to Him as her Healer and as the One whom she adored as theChrist, was unswerving; she stood close by the cross while other womentarried afar off in the time of His mortal agony; she was among thefirst at the sepulchre on the resurrection morning, and was the firstmortal to look upon and recognize a resurrected Being--the Lord whom shehad loved with all the fervor of spiritual adoration. To say that thiswoman, chosen from among women as deserving of such distinctive honors, was once a fallen creature, her soul seared by the heat of unhallowedlust, is to contribute to the perpetuating of an error for which thereis no excuse. Nevertheless the false tradition, arising from early andunjustifiable assumption, that this noble woman, distinctively a friendof the Lord, is the same who, admittedly a sinner, washed and anointedthe Savior's feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee and gained the boonof forgiveness through contrition, has so tenaciously held its place inthe popular mind through the centuries, that the name, Magdalene, hascome to be a generic designation for women who fall from virtue andafterward repent. We are not considering whether the mercy of Christcould have been extended to such a sinner as Mary of Magdala is wronglyreputed to have been; man cannot measure the bounds nor fathom thedepths of divine forgiveness; and if it were so that this Mary and therepentant sinner who ministered to Jesus as He sat at the Pharisee'stable were one and the same, the question would stand affirmativelyanswered, for that woman who had been a sinner was forgiven. We aredealing with the scriptural record as a history, and nothing saidtherein warrants the really repellent though common imputation ofunchastity to the devoted soul of Mary Magdalene. 

CHRIST'S AUTHORITY ASCRIBED TO BEELZEBUB. [593]

At the time of our Lord's earthly ministry, the curing of the blind, deaf, or dumb was regarded as among the greatest possible achievementsof medical science or spiritual treatment; and the subjection or castingout of demons was ranked among the attainments impossible to rabbinicalexorcism. Demonstrations of the Lord's power to heal and restore, evenin cases universally considered as incurable, had the effect ofintensifying the hostility of the sacerdotal classes; and they, represented by the Pharisaic party, evolved the wholly inconsistent andridiculous suggestion that miracles were wrought by Jesus through thepower of the prince of devils, with whom He was in league. [594]

While the Lord was making His second missionary tour through Galilee, going about through "all the cities and villages, teaching in theirsynagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing everysickness and every disease among the people, "[595] the absurd theorythat Christ was Himself a victim of demoniacal possession, and that Heoperated by the power of the devil, was urged and enlarged upon until itbecame the generally accepted explanation among the Pharisees and theirkind. Jesus had withdrawn Himself for a time from the more populouscenters, where He was constantly watched by emissaries, whom the rulingclasses had sent from Jerusalem into Galilee; for the Pharisees were inconspiracy against Him, seeking excuse and opportunity to take His life;but even in the smaller towns and rural districts He was followed andbeset by great multitudes, to whom He ministered for both physical andspiritual ailments. [596]

He urged the people to refrain from spreading His fame; and this He mayhave done for the reason that at that stage of His work an open rupturewith the Jewish hierarchy would have been a serious hindrance; orpossibly He desired to leave the rulers, who were plotting against Him, time and opportunity to brew their bitter enmity and fill to the brimthe flagons of their determined iniquity. Matthew sees in the Lord'sinjunctions against publicity a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy that thechosen Messiah would not strive nor cry out on the street to attractattention, nor would He use His mighty power to crush even a bruisedreed, or to quench even the smoking flax; He would not fail nor bediscouraged, but would victoriously establish just judgment upon theearth for the Gentiles, as well as, by implication, for Israel. [597] Thefigure of the bruised reed and the smoking flax is strikingly expressiveof the tender care with which Christ treated even the weakestmanifestation of faith and genuine desire to learn the truth, whetherexhibited by Jew or Gentile. 

Soon after His return from the missionary tour referred to, an excusefor the Pharisees to assail Him was found in His healing of a man whowas under the influence of a demon, and was both blind and dumb. Thiscombination of sore afflictions, affecting body, mind, and spirit, wasrebuked, and the sightless, speechless demoniac was relieved of histhree-fold burden. [598] At this triumph over the powers of evil thepeople were the more amazed and said: "Is not this the son of David?" inother words, Can this be any other than the Christ we have been so longexpecting? The popular judgment so voiced maddened the Pharisees, andthey told the almost adoring people: "This fellow doth not cast outdevils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils. " Jesus took up themalicious charge and replied thereto, not in anger but in terms of calmreason and sound logic. He laid the foundation of His defense by statingthe evident truth that a kingdom divided against itself cannot endurebut must surely suffer disruption. If their assumption were in the leastdegree founded on truth, Satan through Jesus would be opposing Satan. Then, referring to the superstitious practises and exorcisms of thetime, by which some such effects as we class today under mind cures wereobtained, He asked: "If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do yourchildren cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. " And tomake the demonstration plainer by contrast, He continued: "But if I castout devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come uponyou. " By the acceptance of either proposition, and surely one was true, for the fact that Jesus did cast out devils was known throughout theland and was conceded in the very terms of the charge now broughtagainst Him, the accusing Pharisees stood defeated and condemned. 

But the illustration went further. Jesus continued: "Or else how can oneenter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he firstbind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. " Christ hadattacked the stronghold of Satan, had driven his evil spirits from thehuman tabernacles of which they had unwarrantably taken possession; howcould Christ have done this had He not first subdued the "strong man, "the master of devils, Satan himself? And yet those ignorant scholarsdared to say in the face of such self-evident refutation of their ownpremises, that the powers of Satan were subdued by Satanic agency. Therecould be no agreement, no truce nor armistice between the contendingpowers of Christ and Satan. Offering a suggestion of self-judgment toHis accusers, that they might severally decide on which side they werealigned, Jesus added: "He that is not with me is against me; and he thatgathereth not with me scattereth abroad. "

Then, the demonstration being complete, and the absurdity of Hisopponents' assumption proved, Christ directed their thoughts to theheinous sin of condemning the power and authority by which Satan wasovercome. He had proved to them on the basis of their own propositionthat He, having subdued Satan, was the embodiment of the Spirit of God, and that through Him the kingdom of God was brought to them. Theyrejected the Spirit of God, and sought to destroy the Christ throughwhom that Spirit was made manifest. What blasphemy could be greater?Speaking as one having authority, with the solemn affirmation "I sayunto you, " He continued: "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall beforgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not beforgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosover speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in theworld to come. "

Who among men can word a more solemn and awful warning against thedanger of committing the dread unpardonable sin?[599] Jesus was mercifulin His assurance that words spoken against Himself as a Man, might beforgiven; but to speak against the authority He possessed, andparticularly to ascribe that power and authority to Satan, was very nearto blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, for which sin there could be noforgiveness. Then, in stronger terms, which developed into cuttinginvective, He told them to be consistent--if they admitted that theresult of His labors was good, as the casting out of devils surely was, to be likened unto good fruit--why did they not acknowledge that thepower by which such results were attained, in other words that the treeitself, was good? "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; orelse make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is knownby his fruit. " With burning words of certain conviction He continued: "Ogeneration of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for outof the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. " By the truths He hadmade so plain it was evident that their accusing words were drawn fromhearts stored with evil treasure. Moreover their words were shown to benot only malicious but foolish, idle and vain, and therefore doublysaturated with sin. Another authoritative declaration followed: "But Isay unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall giveaccount thereof in the day of judgment. "

SEEKERS AFTER SIGNS?[600]

The Master's lesson, enforced though it was by illustration and analogy, by direct application, and by authoritative avowal, fell on ears thatwere practically deaf to spiritual truth, and found no place in heartsalready stuffed with great stores of evil. To the profound wisdom andsaving instruction of the word of God to which they had listened, theyresponded with a flippant request: "Master, we would see a sign fromthee. " Had they not already seen signs in profusion? Had not the blindand the deaf, the dumb and the infirm, the palsied and the dropsical, and people afflicted with all manner of diseases, been healed in theirhouses, on their streets, and in their synagogs; had not devils beencast out and their foul utterances been silenced by His word; and hadnot the dead been raised, and all by Him whom they now importuned for asign? They would have some surpassing wonder wrought, to satisfycuriosity, or perhaps to afford them further excuse for action againstHim--they wanted signs to waste on their lust. [601] Small wonder, that"he sighed deeply in his spirit" when such demands were made. [602] Tothe scribes and Pharisees who had shown such inattention to His words, He replied: "An evil and adulterous generation[603] seeketh after asign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of theprophet Jonas. "

The sign of Jonas (or Jonah) was that for three days he had been in thebelly of the fish and then had been restored to liberty; so would theSon of Man be immured in the tomb, after which He would rise again. Thatwas the only sign He would give them, and by that would they standcondemned. Against them and their generation would the men of Ninevehrise in judgment, for they, wicked as they were, had repented at thepreaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas was among them. [604]The queen of Sheba would rise in judgment against them, for she hadjourneyed far to avail herself of Solomon's wisdom; and behold a greaterthan Solomon stood before them. [605]

Then, reverting to the matter of unclean and evil spirits, in connectionwith which they had spread the accusation that He was one of the devil'sown, He told them, that when a demon is cast out, he tries after aseason of loneliness to return to the house or body from which he hadbeen expelled; and, finding that house in order, sweet and clean sincehis filthy self had been forced to vacate it, he calls other spiritsmore wicked than himself, and they take possession of the man, and makehis state worse than it was at first. [606] In this weird example istypified the condition of those who have received the truth, and therebyhave been freed from the unclean influences of error and sin, so that inmind and spirit and body they are as a house swept and garnished and setin cleanly order, but who afterward renounce the good, open their soulsto the demons of falsehood and deceit, and become more corrupt thanbefore. "Even so, " declared the Lord, "shall it be also unto this wickedgeneration. "

Though the scribes and Pharisees were mostly unconvinced, if at allreally impressed by His teachings, our Lord was not entirely withoutappreciative listeners. A woman in the company raised her voice in aninvocation of blessing on the mother who had given birth to such a Son, and on the breasts that had suckled Him. While not rejecting thistribute of reverence, which applied to both mother and Son, Jesusanswered: "Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, andkeep it. "[607]

CHRIST'S MOTHER AND BRETHREN COME TO SEE HIM. [608]

While Jesus was engaged with the scribes and Pharisees, and a greatnumber of others, possibly at or near the conclusion of the teachingslast considered, word was passed to Him that His mother and His brethrenwere present and desired to speak with Him. On account of the press ofpeople they had been unable to reach His side. Making use of thecircumstance to impress upon all the fact that His work took precedenceover the claims of family and kinship, and thereby explaining that Hecould not meet His relatives at that moment, He asked, "Who is mymother? and who are my brethren?" Answering His own question andexpressing in the answer the deeper thought in His mind, He said, pointing toward His disciples: "Behold my mother and my brethren! Forwhosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same ismy brother, and sister, and mother. "

The incident reminds one of the answer He made to His mother, when sheand Joseph had found Him in the temple after their long and anxioussearch: "How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be aboutmy Father's business?"[609] In that business He was engaged when Hismother and brethren desired to speak with Him as He sat amidst thecrowd. The superior claims of His Father's work caused Him to let allminor matters wait. We are not justified in construing these remarks asevidence of disrespect, far less of filial and family disloyalty. Devotion, similar in kind at least, was expected by Him of the apostles, who were called to devote without reserve their time and talents to theministry. [610] The purpose on which the relatives of Jesus had come tosee Him is not made known; we may infer, therefore, that it was of nogreat importance beyond the family circle. [611]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 18. 

1. The Two Accounts of the Miracle. --In the commentary on the miraculoushealing of the centurion's servant, as given in the text, we havefollowed in the main Luke's more circumstantial account. Matthew'sbriefer statement of the officer's petition, and the Lord's graciouscompliance therewith, represents the man as coming in person to Jesus;while Luke refers to the elders of the local synagog as presenting therequest. There is here no real discrepancy. It was then allowable, as inour time it is, to speak of one who causes something to be done as doingthat thing himself. One may properly be said to notify another, when hesends the notification by a third party. A man may say he has built ahouse, when in reality others did the work of building though at hisinstance. An architect may with propriety be said to have constructed abuilding, when as a matter of fact he made the design, and directedothers who actually reared the structure. 

2. Jesus Marveled. --Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus marveled atthe faith shown by the centurion, who begged that his beloved servant behealed (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9). Some have queried how Christ, whom theyconsider to have been omniscient during His life in the flesh, couldhave marveled at anything. The meaning of the passage is evident in thesense that when the fact of the centurion's faith was brought to Hisattention, He pondered over it, and contemplated it, probably as arefreshing contrast to the absence of faith He so generally encountered. In similar way, though with sorrow in place of joy, He is said to havemarveled at the peoples' unbelief (Mark 6:6). 

3. Sequence of the Miracles of Raising the Dead. --As stated andreiterated in the text the chronology of the events in our Lord'sministry, as recorded by the Gospel-writers, is uncertain. Literature onthe subject embodies much disputation and demonstrates absence of anynear approach to agreement among Biblical scholars. We have record ofthree instances of miraculous restoration of the dead to life at theword of Jesus--the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, the raisingof the daughter of Jairus, and the raising of Lazarus; and on thesequence of two of these there is difference of opinion. Of course theplacing of the raising of Lazarus as the latest of the three is based oncertainty. Dr. Richard C. Trench, in his scholarly and very valuable_Notes on the Miracles of our Lord_ definitely asserts that the raisingof the daughter of Jairus is the first of the three works of restorationto life. Dr. John Laidlaw, in _The Miracles of our Lord_, treats thisfirst among the miracles of its class though without affirming itschronological precedence; many other writers make it the second of thethree. The incentive to arrange the three miracles of this group in thesequence indicated may, perhaps, be found in the desire to present themin the increasing order of apparent greatness--the raising of the damselbeing an instance of recalling to life one who had but just died, ("hardly dead" as some wrongly describe her condition), the raising ofthe young man of Nain being the restoration of one on the way to thetomb, and the raising of Lazarus an instance of recalling to life onewho had lain four days in the sepulchre. We cannot consistently conceiveof these cases as offering grades of greater or lesser difficulty to thepower of Christ; in each case His word of authority was sufficient toreunite the spirit and body of the dead person. Luke, the sole recorderof the miracle at Nain, places the event before that of the raising ofthe daughter of Jairus, with many incidents between. The greatpreponderance of evidence is in favor of considering the three miraclesin the order followed herein, (1) the raising of the young man of Nain, (2) that of the daughter of Jairus, and (3) that of Lazarus. 

4. Tetrarch. --This title by derivation of the term and as originallyused was applied to the ruler of a fourth part, or one of four divisionsof a region that had formerly been one country. Later it came to be thedesignation of any ruler or governor over a part of a divided country, irrespective of the number or extent of the fractions. Herod Antipas isdistinctively called the tetrarch in Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:1, 19; 9:7; andActs 13:1; and is referred to as king in Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:14, 22, 25, 26. 

5. Machęrus. --According to the historian Josephus (Antiquities xviii;5:2), the prison to which John the Baptist was consigned by HerodAntipas was the strong fortress Machęrus. 

6. Christ an Offender to Many. --The concluding part of our Lord'smessage to the imprisoned Baptist, in answer to the latter's inquiry, was, "Blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me. " In passing it maybe well to observe that whatever of reproof or rebuke these words mayconnote, the lesson was given in the gentlest way and in the form mosteasy to understand. As Deems has written, "Instead of saying 'Woe to himwho is offended in me, ' He puts it in the softer way 'Blessed is he whois not offended. '" In our English version of the Holy Bible the word"offend" and its cognates, are used in place of several differentexpressions which occur in the original Greek. Thus, actual infractionsof the law, sin, and wickedness in general are all called offenses, andthe perpetrators of such are guilty offenders who deserve punishment. Inother instances even the works of righteousness are construed as causesof offense to the wicked; but this is so, not because the good workswere in any way offenses against law or right, but because thelaw-breaker takes offense thereat. The convicted felon, if unrepentantand still of evil mind, is offended and angry at the law by which he hasbeen brought to justice; to him the law is a cause of offense. In a verysignificant sense Jesus Christ stands as the greatest offender inhistory; for all who reject His gospel, take offense thereat. On thenight of His betrayal Jesus told the apostles that they would beoffended because of Him (Matt. 26:31; see also verse 33). The Lord'spersonal ministry gave offense not alone to Pharisees and priestlyopponents, but to many who had professed belief in Him (John 6:61;compare 16:1). The gospel of Jesus Christ is designated by Peter as "astone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble atthe word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:8; compare Paul's words, Romans9:33). Indeed blessed is he to whom the gospel is welcome, and who findstherein no cause for offense. 

7. The Greatness of the Baptist's Mission. --The exalted nature of themission of John the Baptist was thus testified to by Jesus: "Verily Isay unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen agreater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in thekingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. 11:11; compare Luke 7:28). In elucidation of the first part of this testimony, the prophet JosephSmith said, in the course of a sermon delivered May 24, 1843, (_Hist. Ofthe Church_, under date named): "It could not have been on account ofthe miracles John performed, for he did no miracles; but it was--First, because he was trusted with a divine mission of preparing the way beforethe face of the Lord. Who was trusted with such a mission before orsince? No man. Second, he was trusted and it was required at his hands, to baptise the Son of Man. Who ever did that? Who ever had so great aprivilege or glory? Who ever led the Son of God into the waters ofbaptism, beholding the Holy Ghost descend upon Him in the sign of adove? No man. Third, John at that time was the only legal administratorholding the keys of power there was on earth. The keys, the kingdom, thepower, the glory had departed from the Jews; and John, the son ofZacharias, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, held the keys ofpower at that time. "

The latter part of our Lord's statement--"notwithstanding he that isleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (John), has givenrise to diverse interpretations and comment. The true meaning may be, that surpassingly great as was John's distinction among the prophets, hehad not learned, at the time of the incident under consideration, thefull purpose of the Messiah's mission, and such he would surely have tolearn before he became eligible for admission into the kingdom ofheaven; therefore, the least of those who through knowledge gained andobedience rendered, would be prepared for a place in the kingdom ofwhich Jesus taught, was greater than was John the Baptist at that time. Through latter-day inspiration we learn that "it is impossible for a manto be saved in ignorance" (Doc. And Cov. 131:6), and that "The glory ofGod in intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth" (Doc. And Cov. 93:36). The Baptist's inquiry showed that he was then lacking inknowledge, imperfectly enlightened and unable to comprehend the wholetruth of the Savior's appointed death and subsequent resurrection as theRedeemer of the world. But we must not lose sight of the fact, thatJesus in no wise intimated that John would remain less than the least inthe kingdom of heaven. As he increased in knowledge of the vital truthsof the kingdom, and rendered obedience thereto, he would surely advance, and become great in the kingdom of heaven as he was great among theprophets of earth. 

8. John the Baptist the Elias that was to Come. --In the days of Christthe people clung to the traditional belief that the ancient prophetElijah was to return in person. Concerning this tradition the Dummelow_Commentary_ says, on Matt. 11:14: "It was supposed that his [Elijah's]peculiar activity would consist in settling ceremonial and ritualquestions, doubts and difficulties and that he would restore to Israel(1) the golden pot of manna, (2) the vessel containing the anointingoil, (3) the vessel containing the waters of purification, (4) Aaron'srod that budded and bore fruit. " For this belief there was no scripturalaffirmation. That John was to go before the Messiah in the spirit andpower of Elias was declared by the angel Gabriel in his announcement toZacharias (Luke 1:17); and our Lord made plain the fact that John wasthat predicted Elias. "Elias" is both a name and a title of office. Through revelation in the present dispensation we learn of the separateindividuality of Elias and Elijah, each of whom appeared in person andcommitted to modern prophets the particular powers pertaining to hisrespective office (Doc. And Cov. 110:12, 13). We learn that the officeof Elias is that of restoration (Doc. And Cov. 27:6, 7; 76:100; 77:9, 14). Under date of March 10, 1844, the following is recorded (_Hist. OfChurch_) as the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith:--

"The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation ofGod, which is the Priesthood of Elias, or the Priesthood that Aaron wasordained unto. And when God sends a man into the world to prepare for agreater work, holding the keys of the power of Elias, it was called thedoctrine of Elias, even from the early ages of the world. 

"John's mission was limited to preaching and baptizing; but what he didwas legal; and when Jesus Christ came to any of John's disciples, Hebaptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost. 

"We find the apostles endowed with greater power than John: their officewas more under the spirit and power of Elijah than Elias. 

"In the case of Philip, when he went down to Samaria, when he was underthe spirit of Elias, he baptized both men and women. When Peter and Johnheard of it, they went down and laid hands upon them, and they receivedthe Holy Ghost. This shows the distinction between the two powers. 

"When Paul came to certain disciples, he asked if they had received theHoly Ghost? They said, No. Who baptized you, then? We were baptized untoJohn's baptism. No, you were not baptized unto John's baptism, or youwould have been baptized by John. And so Paul went and baptized them, for he knew what the true doctrine was, and he knew that John had notbaptized them. And these principles are strange to me, that men who haveread the Scriptures of the New Testament are so far from it. 

"What I want to impress upon your minds is the difference of power inthe different parts of the Priesthood, so that when any man comes amongyou, saying, 'I have the spirit of Elias, ' you can know whether he betrue or false; for any man that comes having the spirit and power ofElias, he will not transcend his bounds. 

"John did not transcend his bounds, but faithfully performed that partbelonging to his office; and every portion of the great building shouldbe prepared right and assigned to its proper place; and it is necessaryto know who holds the keys of power, and who does not, or we may belikely to be deceived. 

"That person who holds the keys of Elias hath a preparatory work. 

 * * * * *

"This is the Elias spoken of in the last days, and here is the rock uponwhich many split, thinking the time was past in the days of John andChrist, and no more to be. But the spirit of Elias was revealed to me, and I know it is true; therefore I speak with boldness, for I knowverily my doctrine is true. "

9. At the Pharisee's Table. --The expression "sat at meat, " as in Luke7:37 and in other instances, is stated by good authority to be amistranslation; it should be rendered "lay" or "reclined" (see Smith's_Comp. Dict. Of the Bible_, article "Meals"). That sitting was the earlyHebrew posture at meals is not questioned (Gen. 27:19; Judges 19:6; 1Sam. 16:11; 20:5, 18, 24; 1 Kings 13:20); but the custom of reclining oncouches set around the table seems to date back long before the days ofJesus (Amos 3:12; 6:4). The Roman usage of arranging the tables andadjoining couches along three sides of a square, leaving the fourth sideopen for the passage of the attendants who served the diners was commonin Palestine. Tables and couches so placed constituted the _triclinium_. In reference to the ceremonial of the Pharisees in the matter ofprescribed washing of articles used in eating, Mark (7:4) specifies"tables"; this mention is conceded to be a mistranslation, as couches orliterally beds, are meant by the Greek expression. (See marginalreading, "beds" in Oxford Bible, and others. ) A person reclining attable would have the feet directed outward. Thus it was a simple matterfor the contrite woman to approach Jesus from behind and anoint His feetwithout causing disturbance to others at the table. 

10. The Woman's Identity not Specified. --The attempt to identify thecontrite sinner who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon thePharisee with Mary of Bethany is thus strongly condemned by Farrar (p. 228, note): "Those who identify this feast at the house of Simon thePharisee, in Galilee, with the long-subsequent feast at the house ofSimon the leper, at Bethany, and the anointing of the feet by 'a womanthat was a sinner' in the city, with the anointing of the head by Marythe sister of Martha, adopt principles of criticism so reckless andarbitrary that their general acceptance would rob the Gospels of allcredibility, and make them hardly worth study as truthful narratives. Asfor the names Simon and Judas, which have led to so many identificationsof different persons and different incidents, they were at least ascommon among the Jews of that day as Smith and Jones among ourselves. There are five or six Judes and nine Simons mentioned in the NewTestament, and two Judes and two Simons among the Apostles alone;Josephus speaks of some ten Judes and twenty Simons in his writings, andthere must, therefore, have been thousands of others who at this periodhad one of these two names. The incident (of anointing with ointment) isone quite in accordance with the customs of the time and country, andthere is not the least improbability in its repetition under differentcircumstances. (Eccles. 9:8; Cant. 4:10; Amos 6:6. ) The custom stillcontinues. "

The learned canon is fully justified in his vigorous criticism;nevertheless he endorses the commonly-accepted identification of thewoman mentioned in connection with the meal in the house of Simon thePharisee with Mary Magdalene, although he admits that the foundation ofthe assumed identification is "an ancient tradition, --especiallyprevalent in the Western Church, and followed by the translation of ourEnglish version" (p. 233). As stated in our text, there is an entireabsence of trustworthy evidence that Mary Magdalene was ever taintedwith the sin for which the repentant woman in the Pharisee's house wasso graciously pardoned by our Lord. 

11. The Unpardonable Sin. --The nature of the awful sin against the HolyGhost, against which the Lord warned the Pharisaic accusers who soughtto ascribe His divine power to Satan, is more fully explained, and itsdread results are more explicitly set forth in modern revelation. Concerning them and their dreadful fate, the Almighty has said:--"I saythat it had been better for them never to have been born, for they arevessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil andhis angels in eternity; concerning whom I have said there is noforgiveness in this world nor in the world to come. .. . They shall goaway into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which iseternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is theirtorment; and the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor theirtorment, no man knows, neither was it revealed, neither is, neither willbe revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof:nevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightwayshut it up again; wherefore the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except themwho are ordained unto this condemnation. " (Doc. And Cov. 76:31-48; seealso Heb. 6:4-6; B. Of M. , Alma 39:6. )

12. An Adulterous Generation Seeking after Signs. --Our Lord's reply tothose who clamored for a sign, that "An evil and adulterous generationseeketh after a sign" (Matt. 12:39; see also 16:4; Mark 8:38) could onlybe interpreted by the Jews as a supreme reproof. That the descriptivedesignation "adulterous" was literally applicable to the widespreadimmorality of the time, they all knew. Adam Clarke in his commentary onMatt. 12:39, says of this phase of our topic: "There is the utmost prooffrom their [the Jews'] own writings, that in the time of our Lord, theywere most literally an adulterous race of people; for at this very timeRabbi Jachanan ben Zacchi abrogated the trial by the bitter waters ofjealousy, because so many were found to be thus criminal. " For theinformation concerning the trial of the accused by the bitter waters, see Numb. 5:11-31. Although Jesus designated the generation in which Helived as adulterous, we find no record that the Jewish rulers, who bytheir demand for a sign had given occasion for the accusation, venturedto deny or attempt to repel the charge. The sin of adultery was includedamong capital offenses (Deut. 22:22-25). The severity of the accusationas applied by Jesus, however, was intensified by the fact that the olderscriptures represented the covenant between Jehovah and Israel as amarriage bond (Isa. 54:5-7; Jer. 3:14; 31:32; Hos. 2:19, 20); even asthe later scriptures typify the Church as a bride, and Christ as thehusband (2 Cor. 11:2; compare Rev. 21:2). To be spiritually adulterous, as the rabbis construed the utterances of the prophets, was to be falseto the covenant by which the Jewish nations claimed distinction, as theworshipers of Jehovah, and to be wholly recreant and reprobate. Convicted on such a charge those sign-seeking Pharisees and scribesunderstood that Jesus classed them as worse than the idolatrous heathen. The words "adultery" and "idolatry" are of related origin, eachconnoting the act of unfaithfulness and the turning away after falseobjects of affection or worship. 

13. The Mother and the Brethren of Jesus. --The attempt of Mary and somemembers of her family to speak with Jesus on the occasion referred to inthe text has been construed by many writers to mean that the mother andsons had come to protest against the energy and zeal with which Jesuswas pursuing His work. Some indeed have gone so far as to say that thevisiting members of the family had come to put Him under restraint, andto stem, if they could, the tide of popular interest, criticism, andoffense, which surged about Him. The scriptural record furnishes nofoundation for even a tentative conception of the kind. The purpose ofthe desired visit is not intimated. It is a fact as will be shown inpages to follow, that some members of Mary's household had failed tounderstand the great import of the work in which Jesus was soassiduously engaged; and we are told that some of His friends (marginalrendering, "kinsmen, ") on one occasion set out with the purpose oflaying hold on Him and stopping His public activities by physical force, for they said "He is beside himself. " (Mark 3:21); furthermore we learnthat His brethren did not believe on Him (John 7:5). These facts, however, scarcely warrant the assumption that the desire of Mary and hersons to speak with Him on the occasion referred to was other thanpeaceful. And to assume that Mary, His mother, had so far forgotten thewondrous scenes of the angelic annunciation, the miraculous conception, the heavenly accompaniments of the birth, the more than human wisdom andpower exhibited in youth and manhood, as to believe her divine Son anunbalanced enthusiast, whom she ought to restrain, is to assumeresponsibility for injustice to the character of one whom the angelGabriel declared was blessed among women, and highly favored of theLord. 

The statement that the brethren of Jesus did not believe on Him at thetime referred to by the recorder (John 7:5) is no proof that some oreven all of those same brethren did not later believe on their divineBrother. Immediately after the Lord's ascension, Mary, the mother ofJesus, and His brethren were engaged in worship and supplication withthe Eleven and other disciples (Acts 1:14). The attested fact ofChrist's resurrection converted many who had before declined to acceptHim as the Son of God. Paul records a special manifestation of theresurrected Christ to James (1 Cor. 15:7) and the James here referred tomay be the same person elsewhere designated as "the Lord's brother"(Gal. 1:19); compare Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3. It appears that "brethren ofthe Lord" were engaged in the work of the ministry in the days of Paul'sactive service (1 Cor. 9:5). The specific family relationship of ourLord to James, Joses, Simon, Judas and the sisters referred to byMatthew (13:55, 56), and Mark (6:3), has been questioned; and severaltheories have been invented in support of divergent views. Thus, theEastern or Epiphanian hypothesis holds, on no firmer basis thanassumption, that the brethren of Jesus were children of Joseph ofNazareth by a former wife, and not the children of Mary the Lord'smother. The Levirate theory assumes that Joseph of Nazareth and Clopas(the latter name, it is interesting to note, is regarded as theequivalent of Alpheus, see footnote page 224) were brothers; and that, after the death of Clopas or Alpheus, Joseph married his brother's widowaccording to the levirate law (page 548). The Hieronymian hypothesis isbased on the belief that the persons referred to as brethren and sistersof Jesus were children of Clopas (Alpheus) and Mary the sister of theLord's mother, and therefore cousins to Jesus. (See Matt. 27:56; Mark15:40; John 19:25. ) It is beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus wasregarded by those, who were acquainted with the family of Joseph andMary as a close blood relative of other sons and daughters belonging tothe household. If these others were children of Joseph and Mary, theywere all juniors to Jesus, for He was undoubtedly His mother's firstbornchild. The acceptance of this relationship between Jesus and His"brethren" and "sisters" mentioned by the synoptists constitutes what isknown in theological literature as the Helvidian view. 

FOOTNOTES:

[550] Matt. 7:29; compare Luke 4:32; John 7:46. 

[551] Luke 7:1-10; compare Matt. 8:5-13. 

[552] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[553] John 4:46-53; see page 177. 

[554] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[555] Matt. 8:11, 12; see also Luke 13:28, 29; compare Acts 10:45. 

[556] Luke 7:11-17. 

[557] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[558] Matt. 8:17; compare Isa. 53:4. 

[559] Luke 20:36, 38; compare Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; Rom. 14:9. 

[560] Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19, 20; see Note 2, chap. 9, page119, and Note 4, end of this chapter. 

[561] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[562] Mark 6:17-20. 

[563] Matt. 14:5. 

[564] Matt. 11:2. Note a similar liberty allowed to Paul when indurance, Acts 24:23. 

[565] Luke 7:18; Matt. 11:2. 

[566] Matt. 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23. 

[567] Isa. 35:5, 6. 

[568] Matt. 3:3; compare Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:7; compare Isa. 59:5; Luke3:6; compare Isa. 52:10. 

[569] Matt. 13:57; 24:10; 26:31; Mark 6:3; 14:27; John 6:61. Note 6, endof chapter. 

[570] John 3:30. 

[571] Note that Jesus compared the sufferings of John while in prison asin part comparable to those He would Himself have to endure, in thatthey did unto John "whatsoever they listed" (Matt. 17:12; Mark 9:13). 

[572] Luke 7:24-30; see also Matt. 11:7-14; compare Christ's testimonyof John Baptist delivered at Jerusalem, John 5:33-35. 

[573] Luke 7:28; see Note 7, end of chapter. 

[574] Matt. 11:12-15; compare 17:12; Luke 1:17. 

[575] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[576] Matt. 3:7; Luke 7:30. 

[577] Page 142. 

[578] Matt. 11:20-24; compare Luke 10:13-15. 

[579] Matt. 11:25-27; compare Luke 10:21, 22. 

[580] Matt. 11:28-30. 

[581] Mark 6:21-29. 

[582] Mark 6:14-16. 

[583] "Articles of Faith, " x:18; also chapter 41, herein. 

[584] Luke 7:36; see further, verses 37-50. 

[585] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[586] 2 Sam. 12:1-7. 

[587] Matt. 9:2-6; Mark 2:5-7; page 191 herein. 

[588] Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3; John 11:2. 

[589] Note 10, end of chapter. 

[590] Luke 8:1-3. 

[591] Matt. 27:55, 56, 61; 28:1, 5; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Luke 23:49, 55; 24:10, 22; John 19:25; 20:1, 13, 18. 

[592] Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2. 

[593] Matt. 12:24-45; compare 9:33, 34: see also Mark 3:22-30; Luke11:14-26. 

[594] Matt. 9:34. 

[595] Matt. 9:35. 

[596] Matt. 12:14-15. 

[597] Matt. 12:17-20; compare Isa. 42:1. 

[598] Matt. 12:22, 23. 

[599] Note 11, end of chapter. 

[600] Matt. 12:38-45; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16, 29; John2:18; 1 Cor. 1:22. 

[601] Doc. And Cov. 46:9; compare 63:7-12. 

[602] Mark 8:12. 

[603] Note 12, end of chapter. 

[604] Jonah chaps. 1-4. 

[605] Kings 10:1; 2 Chron. 9:1; compare Luke 11:31. 

[606] Matt. 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26. 

[607] Luke 11:27, 28. 

[608] Matt. 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21. 

[609] Luke 2:49. Page 114 herein. 

[610] Matt. 10:37; compare Luke 14:26. 

[611] Note 13, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 19. 

"HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES. "

Throughout the period of Christ's ministry with which we have thus fardealt, His fame had continuously increased, because of the authoritywith which He spoke and of the many mighty works He did; His popularityhad become such that whenever He moved abroad great multitudes followedHim. At times the people so thronged as to impede His movements, somewith a desire to hear more of the new doctrine, others to plead at Hisfeet for relief from physical or other ills; and many there were who hadfaith that could they but reach Him, or even touch the border of Hisrobe, they would be healed. [612] One effect of the people's eagerness, which led them to press and crowd around Him, was to render difficult ifnot impossible at times the effective delivery of any discourse. Hisusual place for open-air teaching while He tarried in the vicinity ofthe sea, or lake, of Galilee was the shore; and thither flocked thecrowds to hear Him. At His request, the disciples had provided a "smallship, " which was kept in readiness on the beach;[613] and it was usualwith Him to sit in the boat a short distance off shore, and preach tothe people, as He had done when in the earlier days He called the chosenfishermen to leave their nets and follow Him. [614]

On one such occasion He employed a means of instruction, which, prior tothat time, had not been characteristic of His teaching; this consistedin the use of parables, [615] simple stories to illustrate His doctrines. Some of these we shall here consider briefly, in the order mostadvantageous for treatment, and as best we know, in what may have beenthe sequence in which they were given. 

"A SOWER WENT FORTH TO SOW. "

First in the order of delivery is the Parable of the Sower. It is asplendid type of our Lord's parables in general, and is particularlyvaluable for its great intrinsic worth and because we possess acomprehensive interpretation of it by the divine Author. This is thestory:

 "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. "[616]

This new way of teaching, this departure from the Master's earliermethod of doctrinal exposition, caused even the most devoted of thedisciples to marvel. The Twelve and a few others came to Jesus when Hewas apart from the multitude, and asked why He had spoken to the peoplein this manner, and what was the meaning of this particular parable. OurLord's reply to the first part of the inquiry we shall considerpresently; concerning the second, He asked "Know ye not the parable? andhow then will ye know all parables?"[617] Thus did He indicate thesimplicity of this the first of His parables, together with its typicaland fundamental character, and at the same time intimate that otherparables would follow in the course of His teaching. Then He gave theinterpretation:

 "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. "[618]

Further exposition may appear superfluous; some suggestion as to theindividual application of the contained lessons may be in place, however. Observe that the prominent feature of the story is that of theprepared or unprepared condition of the soil. The seed was the samewhether it fell on good ground or bad, on mellow mold or among stonesand thistles. The primitive method of sowing still followed in manycountries, consists in the sower throwing the grain by handfuls againstthe wind, thus securing a widespread scattering. Running through theGalilean fields, were pathways, hard trodden by feet of men and beasts. Though seed should fall on such tracts, it could not grow; birds wouldpick up the living kernels lying unrooted and uncovered and some of thegrains would be crushed and trodden down. So with the seed of truthfalling upon the hardened heart; ordinarily it cannot take root, andSatan, as a marauding crow, steals it away, lest a grain of it perchancefind a crack in the trampled ground, send down its rootlet, and possiblydevelop. 

Seed falling in shallow soil, underlain by a floor of unbroken stone orhard-pan, may strike root and flourish for a brief season; but as thedescending rootlets reach the impenetrable stratum they shrivel, and theplant withers and dies, for the nutritive juices are insufficient wherethere is no depth of earth. [619] So with the man whose earnestness isbut superficial, whose energy ceases when obstacles are encountered oropposition met; though he manifest enthusiasm for a time persecutiondeters him; he is offended, [620] and endures not. Grain sown wherethorns and thistles abound is soon killed out by their smotheringgrowth; even so with a human heart set on riches and the allurements ofpleasure--though it receive the living seed of the gospel it willproduce no harvest of good grain, but instead, a rank tangle of noxiousweeds. The abundant yield of thorny thistles demonstrates the fitness ofthe soil for a better crop, were it only free from the cumbering weeds. The seed that falls in good deep soil, free from weeds and prepared forthe sowing, strikes root and grows; the sun's heat scorches it not, butgives it thrift; it matures and yields to the harvester according to therichness of the soil, some fields producing thirty, others sixty, and afew even a hundred times as much grain as was sown. 

Even according to literary canons, and as judged by the recognizedstandards of rhetorical construction and logical arrangement of itsparts, this parable holds first place among productions of its class. Though commonly known to us as the Parable of the Sower, the story couldbe expressively designated as the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil. Itis the ground upon which the seed is cast, to which the story moststrongly directs our attention, and which so aptly is made to symbolizethe softened or the hardened heart, the clean or the thorn-infestedsoil. Observe the grades of soil, given in the increasing order of theirfertility: (A) the compacted highway, the wayside path, on which, saveby a combination of fortuitous circumstances practically amounting to amiracle, no seed can possibly strike root or grow; (B) the thin layer ofsoil covering an impenetrable bed-rock, wherein seed may sprout yet cannever mature; (C) the weed-encumbered field, capable of producing a richcrop but for the jungle of thistles and thorns; and (D) the clean richmold receptive and fertile. Yet even soils classed as good are ofvarying degrees of productiveness, yielding an increase of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred fold, with many inter-gradations. 

Some Bible expositors have professed to find in this splendid parableevidence of decisive fatalism in the lives of individuals, so that thosewhose spiritual state is comparable to the hardened pathway or waysideground, to the shallow soil on stony floor, or to the neglected, thorn-ridden tract, are hopelessly and irredeemably bad; while the soulswho may be likened unto good soil are safe against deterioration andwill be inevitably productive of good fruit. Let it not be forgottenthat a parable is but a sketch, not a picture finished in detail; andthat the expressed or implied similitude in parabolic teaching cannotlogically and consistently be carried beyond the limits of theillustrative story. In the parable we are considering, the Teacherdepicted the varied grades of spiritual receptivity existing among men, and characterized with incisive brevity each of the specified grades. Heneither said nor intimated that the hard-baked soil of the wayside mightbe plowed, harrowed, fertilized, and so be rendered productive; nor thatthe stony impediment to growth might not be broken up and removed, or anincrease of good soil be made by actual addition; nor that the thornscould never be uprooted and their former habitat be rendered fit tosupport good plants. The parable is to be studied in the spirit of itspurpose; and strained inferences or extensions are unwarranted. A strongmetaphor, a striking simile, or any other expressive figure of speech, is of service only when rationally applied; if carried beyond the boundsof reasonable intent, the best of such may become meaningless or evenabsurd. 

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES. 

Another parable, somewhat closely related to the foregoing as to theactual story, dealing again with seed and sowing, and, like the first, accompanied by an interpretation, was delivered by the Master asfollows:

 "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. "[621]

When Jesus had retired to the house in which He lodged, the disciplescame, saying: "Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. "

"He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Sonof man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of thekingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemythat sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; andthe reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered andburned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son ofman shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of hiskingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shallcast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing ofteeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom oftheir Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. "[622]

By the Author's explication, the sower was Himself, the Son of Man; and, as the condition of wheat and tares growing together was one that shallcontinue until "the end of the world, " those who were ordained to carryon the ministry after Him are by direct implication also sowers. Theseed as here represented is not, as in the last parable, the gospelitself, but the children of men, the good seed typifying the honest inheart, righteous-minded children of the kingdom; while the tares arethose souls who have given themselves up to evil and are counted aschildren of the wicked one. Inspired by zeal for their Master's profit, the servants would have forcibly rooted up the tares, but wererestrained, for their unwise though well-intended course would haveendangered the wheat while yet tender, since in the early stages ofgrowth it would have been difficult to distinguish the one from theother, and the intertwining of the roots would have caused muchdestruction of the precious grain. 

One cardinal lesson of the parable, apart from the representation ofactual conditions present and future, is that of patience, long-suffering, and toleration--each an attribute of Deity and a traitof character that all men should cultivate. The tares mentioned in thestory may be considered as any kind of noxious weed, particularly suchas in early growth resembles the wholesome grain. [623] Over-sowing withthe seed of weeds in a field already sown with grain is a species ofmalignant outrage not unknown even in the present day. [624] Thecertainty of a time of separation, when the wheat shall be garnered inthe store-house of the Lord, and the tares be burned, that theirpoisonous seed may reproduce no more, is placed beyond question by theLord's own exposition. 

So important is the lesson embodied in this parable, and so assured isthe literal fulfilment of its contained predictions, that the Lord hasgiven a further explication through revelation in the currentdispensation, a period in which the application is direct and immediate. Speaking through Joseph Smith the Prophet in 1832, Jesus Christ said:

 "But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender. Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields; but the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender, (for verily your faith is weak, ) lest you destroy the wheat also. Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe, then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo! the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned. "[625]

THE SEED GROWING SECRETLY. 

Matthew records the Parable of the Tares as immediately following thatof the Sower; Mark places in the same position of sequence a parablefound in his writings alone. It is presented in outline form, and bycritical expositors would be classed rather as a simple analogy than atypical parable. Read it:

 "And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. "[626]

We have no record of the disciples asking nor of the Master giving anyinterpretation of this, or of any later parable. [627] In this story wefind effectively illustrated the fact of the vitality of the seed oftruth, though the secret processes of its growth be a mystery to allsave God alone. A man having planted seed must needs leave it alone. Hemay tend the field, removing weeds, protecting the plants as best hemay, but the growth itself is dependent upon conditions and forcesbeyond his power to ultimately control. Though it were Paul who plantedand Apollos who watered, none but God could insure the increase. [628]The one who sowed may go about his other affairs, for the field does notdemand continuous or exclusive attention; nevertheless, under theinfluences of sunshine and shower, of breeze and dew, the bladedevelops, then the ear, and in due time the full corn in the ear. Whenthe grain is ripe the man gladly harvests his crop. 

The sower in this story is the authorized preacher of the word of God;he implants the seed of the gospel in the hearts of men, knowing notwhat the issue shall be. Passing on to similar or other ministryelsewhere, attending to his appointed duties in other fields, he, withfaith and hope, leaves with God the result of his planting. In theharvest of souls converted through his labor, he is enriched and made torejoice. [629] This parable was probably directed more particularly tothe apostles and the most devoted of the other disciples, rather than tothe multitude at large; the lesson is one for teachers, for workers inthe Lord's fields, for the chosen sowers and reapers. It is of perennialvalue, as truly applicable today as when first spoken. Let the seed besown, even though the sower be straightway called to other fields orother duties; in the gladsome harvest he shall find his recompense. 

THE MUSTARD SEED. 

 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. "[630]

This little story, addressed to the assembled multitude, must have setmany thinking, because of the simplicity of the incident related and thethoroughly un-Jewish application made of it. To the mind taught byteachers of the time the kingdom was to be great and glorious from itsbeginning; it was to be ushered in by blare of trumpets and tramp ofarmies, with King Messiah at the head; yet this new Teacher spoke of itas having so small a beginning as to be comparable to a mustard seed. Tomake the illustration more effective He specified that the seed spokenof was "the least of all seeds. " This superlative expression was made ina relative sense; for there were and are smaller seeds than the mustard, even among garden plants, among which rue and poppy have been named; buteach of these plants is very small in maturity, while thewell-cultivated mustard plant is one of the greatest among common herbs, and presents a strong contrast of growth from tiny seed to spreadingshrub. 

Moreover, the comparison "as small as a mustard seed" was in every-dayuse among Jews of the time. The comparison employed by Jesus on anotheroccasion evidences the common usage, as when He said: "If ye have faithas a grain of mustard seed . .. Nothing shall be impossible untoyou. "[631] It should be known that the mustard plant attains inPalestine a larger growth than in more northerly climes. [632] The lessonof the parable is easy to read. The seed is a living entity. Whenrightly planted it absorbs and assimilates the nutritive matters of soiland atmosphere, grows, and in time is capable of affording lodgment andfood to the birds. So the seed of truth is vital, living, and capable ofsuch development as to furnish spiritual food and shelter to all whocome seeking. In both conceptions, the plant at maturity produces seedin abundance, and so from a single grain a whole field may be covered. 

THE LEAVEN. 

 "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. "[633]

Points of both similarity and contrast between this parable and the lastare easily discerned. In each the inherent vitality and capacity fordevelopment, so essentially characteristic of the kingdom of God, areillustrated. The mustard seed however, typifies the effect of vitalgrowth in gathering the substance of value from without; while theleaven or yeast disseminates and diffuses outward its influencethroughout the mass of otherwise dense and sodden dough. Each of theseprocesses represents a means whereby the Spirit of Truth is madeeffective. Yeast is no less truly a living organism than a mustard seed. As the microscopic yeast plant develops and multiplies within the dough, its myriad living cells permeate the lump, and every bit of the leavenedmass is capable of affecting likewise another batch of properly preparedmeal. The process of leavening, or causing dough "to rise, " by thefermentation of the yeast placed in the mass, is a slow one, andmoreover as quiet and seemingly secret as that of the planted seedgrowing without the sower's further attention or concern. [634]

THE HIDDEN TREASURE. 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. "[635]

This and the two parables following are recorded by Matthew only; andthe place assigned them in his narrative indicates that they were spokento the disciples alone, in the house, after the multitude had departed. The quest for treasure-trove is always fascinating. Instances of findingburied valuables were not uncommon in the time of which we speak, sincethe practise of so concealing treasure was usual with people exposed tobandit incursions and hostile invasion. Observe that the fortunate andhappy man is represented as finding the treasure seemingly by accidentrather than as a result of diligent search. He gladly sold all that hepossessed to make possible his purchase of the field. The hiddentreasure is the kingdom of heaven; when a man finds that, he ought to beready to sacrifice all that he has, if by so doing he may gainpossession. His joy in the new acquisition will be unbounded; and, if hebut remain a worthy holder, the riches thereof shall be his beyond thegrave. [636]

Casuists have raised the question of propriety as to the man's course ofaction in the story, inasmuch as he concealed the fact of his discoveryfrom the owner of the field, to whom the treasure, they say, rightlybelonged. Whatever opinion one may hold as to the ethics of the man'sprocedure, his act was not illegal, since there was an express provisionin Jewish law that the purchaser of land became the legal owner ofeverything the ground contained. [637] Assuredly Jesus commended nodishonest course; and had not the story been in every detail probable, its effect as a parable would have been lost. The Master taught by thisillustration that when once the treasure of the kingdom is found, thefinder should lose no time nor shrink from any sacrifice needful toinsure his title thereto. 

THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE. 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. "[638]

Pearls have always held high place among gems, and long before, asindeed ever since, the time of Christ, pearl-merchants have been activeand diligent in seeking the largest and richest to be had. Unlike theman in the last parable, who found a hidden treasure with little or nosearch, the merchant in this story devoted his whole energy to the questfor goodly pearls, to find and secure which was his business. When atlast he beheld the pearl that excelled all others, though it was, as ofright it ought to have been, held at high cost, he gladly sold all hisother gems; indeed he sacrificed "all that he had"--gems and otherpossessions--and purchased the pearl of great price. Seekers after truthmay acquire much that is good and desirable, and not find the greatesttruth of all, the truth that shall save them. Yet, if they seekpersistently and with right intent, if they are really in quest ofpearls and not of imitations, they shall find. Men who by search andresearch discover the truths of the kingdom of heaven may have toabandon many of their cherished traditions, and even their theories ofimperfect philosophy and "science falsely so called, "[639] if they wouldpossess themselves of the pearl of great price. Observe that in thisparable as in that of the hidden treasure, the price of possession isone's all. No man can become a citizen of the kingdom by partialsurrender of his earlier allegiances; he must renounce everythingforeign to the kingdom or he can never be numbered therein. If hewillingly sacrifices all that he has, he shall find that he has enough. The cost of the hidden treasure, and of the pearl, is not a fixedamount, alike for all; it is all one has. Even the poorest may come intoenduring possession; his all is a sufficient purchase price. 

THE GOSPEL NET. 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. "[640]

Men of many minds, men good and bad, all nationalities and races, areaffected by the gospel of the kingdom. The "fishers of men"[641] areskilful, active, and comprehensive in their haul. The sorting takesplace after the net is brought to shore; and, as the fisherman discardsevery bad fish while he saves the good, so shall the angels who do thebidding of the Son of Man separate the just and the wicked, preservingthe one kind to life eternal; consigning the other to destruction. Unwise efforts to carry the application of the parable beyond theAuthor's intent have suggested the criticism that whether the fish begood or bad they die. The good, however, die to usefulness, the bad toutter waste. Though all men die, they die not alike; some pass to rest, and shall come forth in the resurrection of the just; others go to astate of sorrow and disquiet there to anxiously and with dread await theresurrection of the wicked. [642] Similarity of application in thepresent parable as in that of the tares, is apparent in the emphasisgiven to the decreed separation of the just from the unjust, and in theawful fate of those who are fit subjects for condemnation. A furtherparallelism is noticed in the postponement of the judgment until the"end of the world, " by which expression we may understand theconsummation of the Redeemer's work, subsequent to the Millennium andthe final resurrection of all who have had existence on earth. [643]

Following His delivery of this, the last of the group of parablesrecorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus asked thedisciples, "Have ye understood all these things?" They answered, "Yea, Lord. " He impressed upon them that they should be ready, likewell-taught teachers, to bring, from the store-house of their souls, treasures of truth both old and new, for the edification of theworld. [644]

CHRIST'S PURPOSE IN USING PARABLES. 

As before stated, the Twelve and other disciples were surprized at theLord's innovation of parabolic instruction. Prior to that time Hisdoctrines had been set forth in unveiled plainness, as witness theexplicit teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. It is noticeable that theintroduction of parables occurred when opposition to Jesus was strong, and when scribes, Pharisees, and rabbis were alert in maintaining aclose watch upon His movements and His works, ever ready to make Him anoffender for a word. The use of parables was common among Jewishteachers; and in adopting this mode of instruction Jesus was reallyfollowing a custom of the time; though between the parables He spake andthose of the scholars there is possible no comparison except that ofmost pronounced contrast. [645]

To the chosen and devoted followers who came asking the Master why Hehad changed from direct exposition to parables, He explained[646] thatwhile it was their privilege to receive and understand the deeper truthsof the gospel, "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" as He expressedit, with people in general, who were unreceptive and unprepared, suchfulness of understanding was impossible. To the disciples who hadalready gladly accepted the first principles of the gospel of Christ, more should be given; while from those who had rejected the profferedboon, even what they had theretofore possessed should be takenaway. [647] "Therefore, " said He, "speak I to them in parables: becausethey seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do theyunderstand. " That the state of spiritual darkness then existing amongthe Jews had been foreseen was instanced by a citation of Isaiah'swords, in which the ancient prophet had told of the people becomingblind, deaf, and hard of heart respecting the things of God, wherebythough they would both hear and see in a physical sense yet should theynot understand. [648]

There is plainly shown an element of mercy in the parabolic mode ofinstruction adopted by our Lord under the conditions prevailing at thetime. Had He always taught in explicit declaration, such as required nointerpretation, many among His hearers would have come undercondemnation, inasmuch as they were too weak in faith and unprepared inheart to break the bonds of traditionalism and the prejudice engenderedby sin, so as to accept and obey the saving word. Their inability tocomprehend the requirements of the gospel would in righteous measuregive Mercy some claim upon them, while had they rejected the truth withfull understanding, stern Justice would surely demand theircondemnation. [649]

That the lesson of the parables was comprehensible through study, prayerand search was intimated in the Teacher's admonishment: "Who hath earsto hear, let him hear. "[650] To the more studious inquirers, the Masteradded: "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall bemeasured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he thathath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall betaken even that which he hath. "[651] Two men may hear the same words;one of them listens in indolence and indifference, the other with activemind intent on learning all that the words can possibly convey; and, having heard, the diligent man goes straightway to do the thingscommended to him, while the careless one neglects and forgets. The oneis wise, the other foolish; the one has heard to his eternal profit, theother to his everlasting condemnation. [652]

Another example of the merciful adaptation of the word of truth to thevaried capacities of the people who heard the parables is found in thepsychological fact, that the incidents of an impressive though simplestory will live, even in minds which for the time being are incapable ofcomprehending any meaning beyond that of the common-place story itself. Many a peasant who had heard the little incident of the sower and thefour kinds of soil, of the tares sown by an enemy at night, of the seedthat grew though the planter had temporarily forgotten it, would bereminded by the recurring circumstances of his daily work; the gardenerwould recollect the story of the mustard seed whenever he plantedafresh, or when he looked upon the umbrageous plant with birds nestingin its branches; the housewife would be impressed anew by the story ofthe leaven as she mixed and kneaded and baked; the fisherman at his netswould think again of the good fish and the bad and compare the sortingof his catch with the judgment to come. And then, when time andexperience, including suffering perhaps, had prepared them for deeperthought, they would find the living kernel of gospel truth within thehusk of the simple tale. 

PARABLES IN GENERAL. 

The essential feature of a parable is that of comparison or similitude, by which some ordinary, well-understood incident is used to illustrate afact or principle not directly expressed in the story. The popularthought that a parable necessarily rests on a fictitious incident isincorrect; for, inasmuch as the story or circumstance of the parablemust be simple and indeed common-place, it may be real. There is nofiction in the parables we have thus far studied; the fundamentalstories are true to life and the given circumstances are facts ofexperience. The narrative or incident upon which a parable isconstructed may be an actual occurrence or fiction; but, if fictitious, the story must be consistent and probable, with no admixture of theunusual or miraculous. In this respect the parable differs from thefable, the latter being imaginative, exaggerated and improbable as tofact; moreover, the intent is unlike in the two, since the parable isdesigned to convey some great spiritual truth, while the so-called moralof the fable is at best suggestive only of worldly achievement andpersonal advantage. Stories of trees, animals and inanimate thingstalking together or with men are wholly fanciful; they are fables orapologues whether the outcome be depicted as good or bad; to the parablethese show contrast, not similarity. The avowed purpose of the fable israther to amuse than to teach. The parable may embody a narrative as inthe instances of the sower and the tares, or merely an isolatedincident, as in those of the mustard seed and the leaven. 

Allegories are distinguished from parables by greater length and detailof the story, and by the intimate admixture of the narrative with thelesson it is designed to teach; these are kept distinctly separate inthe parable. Myths are fictitious stories, sometimes with historic basisof fact, but without symbolism of spiritual worth. A proverb is a short, sententious saying, in the nature of a maxim, connoting a definite truthor suggestion by comparison. Proverbs and parables are closely related, and in the Bible the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. [653] TheOld Testament contains two parables, a few fables and allegories, andnumerous proverbs; of the last-named we possess an entire book. [654]Nathan the prophet reproved King David by the parable of the poor man'sewe lamb, and so effective was the story that the king decreedpunishment for the wealthy offender, and was overcome by sorrow andcontrition when the prophet made application of his parable by thefateful words, "Thou art the man. "[655] The story of the vineyard, whichthough fenced and well-tended yet brought forth only wild, uselessfruit, was used by Isaiah to portray the sinful state of Israel in hisattempt to awaken the people to lives of righteousness. [656]

The parables of the New Testament, spoken by the Teacher of teachers, are of such beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness, as to standunparalleled in literature. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 19. 

1. The First Group of Parables. --Many Bible scholars hold that the sevenparables recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew were spoken atdifferent times and to different people, and that the writer of thefirst Gospel grouped them for convenience in recording and with primeconsideration of their subjective interest. Some color is found for thisclaim in Luke's mention of some of these parables in different relationsof both time and place; thus, the parables of the Mustard Seed and theLeaven are given (Luke 13:18, 21) as directly following the healing ofthe infirm woman in the synagog, and the rebuke to the hypocriticalruler. While we must admit that Matthew may have grouped with theparables spoken on that particular day some of other dates, it isprobable that Jesus repeated some of His parables, as He certainly didother teachings, and thus presented the same lesson on more occasionsthan one. As a matter of fact each parable is a lesson in itself, andholds its high intrinsic value whether considered as an isolated storyor in connection with related teachings. Let us give heed to the lessonof each whatever opinions men may promulgate as to the circumstances ofits first delivery. 

2. Local Setting for the Parable of the Sower. --Dr. R. C. Trench, in hisexcellent work _Notes on the Parables of our Lord_ (p. 57, note), quotesDean Stanley's description of existing conditions in the place where theParable of the Sower was given by Jesus; and as there is reason tobelieve that the environment has changed but little since the days ofChrist, the account is here reproduced: "A slight recess in the hillsideclose upon the plain disclosed at once in detail, and with a conjunctionwhich I remember nowhere else in Palestine, every feature of the greatparable. There was the undulating corn-field descending to the water'sedge. There was the trodden pathway running through the midst of it, with no fence or hedge to prevent the seed falling here or there oneither side of it, or upon it--itself hard with the constant tramp ofhorse and mule and human feet. There was the 'good' rich soil, whichdistinguishes the whole of that plain and its neighborhood from the barehills elsewhere, descending into the lake, and which, where there is nointerruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the rocky groundof the hillside protruding here and there through the corn-fields, aselsewhere, through the grassy slopes. There were the large bushes ofthorn, the 'nabk' . .. Springing up, like the fruit-trees of the moreinland parts, in the very midst of the waving wheat. "

3. Tares. --This term occurs nowhere within the Bible except in thisinstance of the parable. Plainly any kind of weed, particularly apoisonous sort, such as would seriously depreciate the garnered crop, would serve the Master's purpose in the illustration. The traditionalbelief commonly held is that the plant referred to in the parable is thedarnel weed, known to botanists as _Lolium temulenium_, a species ofbearded rye-grass. This plant closely resembles wheat in the earlyperiod of growth, and exists as a pest to the farmers in Palestineto-day; it is called by the Arabians "Zowan" or "Zawan" which name, saysArnot, citing Thompson, "bears some resemblance to the original word inthe Greek text. " The writer of the article "Tares" in Smith's Dictionarysays: "Critics and expositors are agreed that the Greek plural_zizania_, A. V. 'tares, ' of the parable (Matt 13:25) denotes the weedcalled 'bearded darnel' (_Lolium temulentum_), a widely-distributedgrass, and the only species of the order that has deleteriousproperties. The bearded darnel before it comes into ear is very similarin appearance to wheat, and the roots of the two are often intertwined;hence the command that the 'tares' should be left till the harvest, lestwhile men plucked up the tares 'they should root up also the wheat withthem. ' This darnel is easily distinguishable from the wheat and barleywhen headed out, but when both are less developed, 'the closest scrutinywill often fail to detect it. Even the farmers, who in this countrygenerally weed their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from theother . .. The taste is bitter, and, when eaten separately, or even whendiffused in ordinary bread, it causes dizziness, and often acts as aviolent emetic. '" The secondary quotation is from Thompson's _The Landand the Book_, ii, 111, 112. It has been asserted that the darnel is adegenerated kind of wheat; and attempts have been made to giveadditional significance to our Lord's instructive parable by injectingthis thought; there is no scientific warrant for the strainedconception, however, and earnest students will not be misled thereby. 

4. The Wickedness of the Sower of Tares. --Attempts have been made todisparage the Parable of the Tares on the ground that it rests on anunusual if not unknown practise. Trench thus meets the criticism (_Noteson the Parables_, pp. 72, 73): "Our Lord did not imagine here a form ofmalice without example, but adduced one which may have been familiarenough to His hearers, one so easy of execution, involving so littlerisk, and yet effecting so great and lasting a mischief, that it is notstrange, where cowardice and malice meet, that this should have beenoften the shape in which they displayed themselves. We meet traces of itin many quarters. In Roman law the possibility of this form of injury iscontemplated; and a modern writer, illustrating Scripture from themanners and habits of the East, with which he had become familiarthrough a sojourn there, affirms the same to be now practised in India. "In a subjoined note the author adds: "We are not without this form ofmalice nearer home. Thus in Ireland I have known an outgoing tenant, inspite at his eviction, to sow wild oats in the fields which he wasleaving. These, like the tares in the parable, ripening and seedingthemselves before the crops in which they were mingled, it became nextto impossible to extirpate. ";

5. The Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly. --This parable has givenrise to much discussion among expositors, the question being as to whois meant by the man who cast seed into the ground. If, as in theparables of the Sower and the Tares, the Lord Jesus be the planter, then, some ask, how can it be said "that the seed should spring and growup, he knoweth not how, " when all things are known unto Him? If on theother hand the planter represents the authorized teacher or preacher ofthe gospel, how can it be said that at the harvest time "he putteth inthe sickle, " since the final harvesting of souls is the prerogative ofGod? The perplexities of the critics arise from their attempt to find inthe parable a literalism never intended by the Author. Whether the seedbe planted by the Lord Himself, as when He taught in Person, or by anyone of His authorized servants, the seed is alive and will grow. Time isrequired; the blade appears first and is followed by the ear, and theear ripens in season, without the constant attention which a shaping ofthe several parts by hand would require. The man who figures in theparable is presented as an ordinary farmer, who plants, and waits, andin due time reaps. The lesson imparted is the vitality of the seed as aliving thing, endowed by its Creator with the capacity to both grow anddevelop. 

6. The Mustard Plant. --The wild mustard, which in the temperate zoneseldom attains a height of more than three or four feet, reaches insemitropical lands the height of a horse and its rider (Thompson, _TheLand and the Book_ ii, 100). Those who heard the parable evidentlyunderstood the contrast between size of seed and that of the fullydeveloped plant. Arnot, (_The Parables_, p. 102), aptly says: "Thisplant obviously was chosen by the Lord, not on account of its absolutemagnitude, but because it was, and was recognized to be, a strikinginstance of increase from very small to very great. It seems to havebeen in Palestine, at that time, the smallest seed from which so large aplant was known to grow. There were, perhaps, smaller seeds, but theplants which sprung from them were not so great; and there were greaterplants, but the seeds from which they sprung were not so small. "Edersheim (i, p. 593) states that the diminutive size of the mustardseed was commonly used in comparison by the rabbis, "to indicate thesmallest amount such as the least drop of blood, the least defilement, etc. " The same author continues, in speaking of the grown plant:"Indeed, it looks no longer like a large garden-herb or shrub, but'becomes' or rather appears like 'a tree'--as St. Luke puts it, 'a greattree, ' of course, not in comparison with other trees, but withgarden-shrubs. Such growth of mustard seed was also a fact well known atthe time, and, indeed, still observed in the East. .. . And the generalmeaning would the more easily be apprehended, that a tree, whosewide-spreading branches afforded lodgment to the birds of heaven, was afamiliar Old Testament figure for a mighty kingdom that gave shelter tothe nations (Ezek. 31:6, 12; Dan. 4:12, 14, 21, 22). Indeed, it isspecifically used as an illustration of the Messianic Kingdom (Ezek. 17:23). "

7. The Symbolism of Leaven. --In the parable, the kingdom of heaven islikened unto leaven. In other scriptures, leaven is figurativelymentioned as representing evil, thus, "the leaven of the Pharisees andof the Sadducees" (Matt. 16:6, see also Luke 12:1), "the leaven ofHerod" (Mark 8:15). These instances, and others (1 Cor. 5:7, 8) areillustrative of the contagion of evil. In the incident of the womanusing leaven in the ordinary process of bread-making, the spreading, penetrating vital effect of truth is symbolized by the leaven. The samething in different aspects may very properly be used to represent goodin one instance and evil in another. 

8. Treasure Belonging to the Finder. --As to the justification of the manwho found a treasure hidden in another's field and then, concealing thefact of his discovery, bought the field that he might possess thetreasure, Edersheim (i, p. 595-6) says: "Some difficulty has beenexpressed in regard to the morality of such a transaction. In reply itmay be observed, that it was, at least, in entire accordance with Jewishlaw. If a man had found a treasure in loose coins among the corn itwould certainly be his if he bought the corn. If he had found it on theground, or in the soil, it would equally certainly belong to him if hecould claim ownership of the soil, and even if the field were not hisown, unless others could prove their right to it. The law went so far asto adjudge to the purchaser of fruits anything found among these fruits. This will suffice to vindicate a question of detail, which, in any case, should not be too closely pressed in a parabolic history. "

9. Superiority of our Lord's Parables. --"Perhaps no other mode ofteaching was so common among the Jews as that by parables. Only in theircase, they were almost entirely illustrations of what had been said ortaught; while in the case of Christ, they served as the foundation forHis teaching. .. . In the one case it was intended to make spiritualteaching appear Jewish and national, in the other to convey spiritualteaching in a form adapted to the stand-point of the hearers. Thisdistinction will be found to hold true, even in instances where thereseems the closest parallelism between a Rabbinic and an Evangelicparable. .. . It need scarcely be said that comparison between suchparables, as regards their spirit, is scarcely possible, except by wayof contrast" (Edersheim, i, pp. 580-1). Geikie tersely says: "Othershave uttered parables, but Jesus so far transcends them, that He mayjustly be called the creator of this mode of instruction" (ii, p. 145). 

10. Parables and Other Forms of Analogy. --"The parable is also clearlydistinguishable from the proverb, though it is true that, in a certaindegree, the words are used interchangeably in the New Testament, and asequivalent the one to the other. Thus 'Physician, heal thyself' (Luke4:23) is termed a parable, being more strictly a proverb; so again, whenthe Lord had used that proverb, probably already familiar to His hearers'If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch'; Petersaid 'Declare unto us this parable' (Matt. 15:14, 15); and Luke 5:36 isa proverb or proverbial expression, rather than a parable, which name itbears. .. . So, upon the other hand, those are called 'proverbs' in St. John, which if not strictly parables, yet claim much closer affinity tothe parable than to the proverb, being in fact allegories; thus Christ'ssetting forth of His relations to His people under those of a shepherdto his sheep is termed a 'proverb, ' though our translators, holding fastto the sense rather than to the letter, have rendered it a 'parable'(John 10:6; compare 16:25, 29). It is easy to account for thisinterchange of words. Partly it arose from one word in Hebrew signifyingboth parable and proverb. "--Trench, _Notes on the Parables_, pp. 9, 10. 

For the convenience of readers who may not have a dictionary at hand asthey read, the following definitions are given:

_Allegory. _--The setting forth of a subject under the guise of someother subject or aptly suggestive likeness. 

_Apologue. _--A fable or moral tale, especially one in which animals orinanimate things speak or act, and by which a useful lesson is suggestedor taught. 

_Fable. _--A brief story or tale feigned or invented to embody a moral, and introducing animals and sometimes even inanimate things as rationalspeakers and actors; a legend or myth. 

_Myth. _--A fictitious or conjectural narrative presented as historical, but without any basis of fact. 

_Parable. _--A brief narrative or descriptive allegory founded on realscenes or events such as occur in nature and human life, and usuallywith a moral or religious application. 

_Proverb. _--A brief, pithy saying, condensing in witty or striking formthe wisdom of experience; a familiar and widely known popular saying inepigrammatic form. 

11. Old Testament Parables, Etc. --"Of parables in the strictest sensethe Old Testament contains only two" (2 Sam. 12:1-; and Isa. 5:1-). "Other stories, such as that of the trees assembled to elect a king(Judges 9:8), and of the thistle and cedar (2 Kings 14:9), are morestrictly fables. Still others, such as Ezekiel's account of the twoeagles and the vine (17:2-), and of the caldron (24:3-) are allegories. The small number of parabolic narratives to be found in the OldTestament must not, however, be taken as an indication of indifferencetoward this literary form as suitable for moral instruction. The numberis only apparently small. In reality, similitudes, which, though notexplicitly couched in the terms of fictitious narrative, suggest andfurnish the materials for such narrative, are abundant. "--Zenos, _Stand. Bible Dict. _, article "Parables. "

By applying the term "parable" in its broadest sense, to include allordinary forms of analogy, we may list the following as the mostimpressive parables of the Old Testament. Trees electing a king (Judges9:7-); the poor man's ewe lamb (2 Sam. 12:1-); the contending brothersand the avengers (2 Sam. 14:1-); story of the escaped captive (1 Kings20:35-); the thistle and the cedar (2 Kings 14:9); the vineyard and itswild grapes (Isa. 5:1-); the eagles and the vine (Ezek. 17:3-); thelion's whelps (Ezek. 19:2-); the seething pot (Ezek. 24:3-). 

FOOTNOTES:

[612] Mark 3:10; compare Matt. 9:20, 21; 14:36; Mark 6:56; Luke 6:19

[613] Mark 3:9. 

[614] Luke 5:10; page 197 herein. 

[615] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[616] Matt. 13:3-9; compare Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8. 

[617] Mark 4:13. 

[618] Matt. 13:18-23; compare Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15. 

[619] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[620] Pages 254 and 274. 

[621] Matt. 13:24-30. 

[622] Verses 36-43. 

[623] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[624] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[625] Doc. And Cov. 86:4-7; read the entire section. 

[626] Mark 4:26-29. 

[627] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[628] 1 Cor. 3:6. 

[629] Read the Lord's early promise of souls as the hire of theappointed harvesters: John 4:35-38; see also Matt. 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2. 

[630] Matt. 13:31, 32; compare Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19. 

[631] Matt. 17:20; compare Luke 17:6. 

[632] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[633] Matt. 13:33; compare Luke 13:20, 21. 

[634] Page 288. Note 7, end of chapter. 

[635] Matt. 13:44. 

[636] Compare Matt. 6:19, 20. 

[637] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[638] Matt. 13:45, 48. 

[639] 1 Tim. 6:20. 

[640] Matt. 13:47-50. 

[641] Matt. 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10. 

[642] John 5:29; see also B. Of M. , Alma 40:11-14; and the author, "Articles of Faith, " xxi:24-39. 

[643] See chapter 42. 

[644] Matt. 13:51, 52. 

[645] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[646] Matt. 13:10-17; compare Mark 4:10-13; Luke 8:9, 10. 

[647] Matt. 13:12; compare 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26. 

[648] Isa. 6:9; see also 42:20; 43:8; Ezek. 12:2; John 12:40; Acts28:26, 27. 

[649] See the author's "Articles of Faith, " iii:12, 13; B. Of M. , 2Nephi 9:25-27; Rom. 2:12; Doc. And Cov. 45:54; 76:72. 

[650] Matt. 13:9, 43; see also 11:15; Mark 4:9. 

[651] Mark 4:24, 25. 

[652] Read again Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49. 

[653] Note 10, end of chapter. 

[654] Note 11, end of chapter. 

[655] 2 Sam. 12:1-7, 13. 

[656] Isa. 5:1-7. 

CHAPTER 20. 

"PEACE, BE STILL. "

INCIDENTS PRELIMINARY TO THE VOYAGE. 

Near the close of the day on which Jesus had taught the multitudes forthe first time by parables, He said to the disciples, "Let us pass overunto the other side. "[657] The destination so indicated is the east sideof the sea of Galilee. While the boat was being made ready, a certainscribe came to Jesus and said: "Master, I will follow thee whithersoeverthou goest. " Prior to that time, few men belonging to the titled orruling class had offered to openly ally themselves with Jesus. Had theMaster been mindful of policy and desirous of securing officialrecognition, this opportunity to attach to Himself as influential aperson as a scribe would have received careful consideration if notimmediate acceptance; but He, who could read the minds and know thehearts of men, chose rather than accepted. He had called men who were tobe thenceforth His own, from their fishing boats and nets, and hadnumbered one of the ostracized publicans among the Twelve; but He knewthem, every one, and chose accordingly. The gospel was offered freely toall; but authority to officiate as a minister thereof was not to be hadfor the asking; for that sacred labor, one must be called of God. [658]

In this instance, Christ knew the character of the man, and, withoutwounding his feelings by curt rejection, pointed out the sacrificerequired of one who would follow whithersoever the Lord went, saying:"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Sonof man hath not where to lay his head. " As Jesus had no fixed place ofabode, but went wherever His duty called Him, so was it necessary thatthey who represented Him, men ordained or set apart to His service, beready to deny themselves the enjoyment of their homes and the comfort offamily associations, if the duties of their calling so demanded. We donot read that the aspiring scribe pressed his offer. 

Another man indicated his willingness to follow the Lord, but askedfirst for time to go and bury his father; to him Jesus said: "Follow me;and let the dead bury their dead. " Some readers have felt that thisinjunction was harsh, though such an inference is scarcely justified. While it would be manifestly unfilial for a son to absent himself fromhis father's funeral under ordinary conditions, nevertheless, if thatson had been set apart to service of importance transcending allpersonal or family obligations, his ministerial duty would of right takeprecedence. Moreover, the requirement expressed by Jesus was no greaterthan that made of every priest during his term of active service, norwas it more afflicting than the obligation of the Nazarite vow, [659]under which many voluntarily placed themselves. The duties of ministryin the kingdom pertained to spiritual life; one dedicated thereto mightwell allow those who were negligent of spiritual things, andfiguratively speaking, spiritually dead, to bury their dead. 

A third instance is presented; a man who wanted to be a disciple of theLord asked that, before entering upon his duties, he be permitted to gohome and bid farewell to his family and friends. The reply of Jesus hasbecome an aphorism in life and literature: "No man, having put his handto the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. "[660]

From Matthew's record we draw the inference that the first two of thesecandidates for discipleship offered themselves to our Lord as He stoodon the shore or in the boat ready to begin the evening voyage across thelake. Luke places the instances in a different connection, and adds tothe offers of the scribe and the man who would first bury his father, that of the one who wished to go home and then return to Christ. Thethree incidents may be profitably considered together, whether alloccurred in the evening of that same eventful day or at different times. 

STILLING THE STORM. [661]

The instruction to launch forth and cross to the opposite side of thelake was given by Jesus, who probably desired a respite after thearduous labors of the day. No time had been lost in unnecessarypreparation; "they took him, even as he was, into the ship, " and set outwithout delay. Even on the water some of the eager people tried tofollow; for a number of small boats, "little ships" as Mark styles them, accompanied the vessel on which Jesus was embarked; but these lessercraft may have turned back, possibly on account of the approachingstorm; anyway, we do not hear of them further. 

Jesus found a resting place near the stern of the ship and soon fellasleep. A great storm arose, [662] and still He slept. The circumstanceis instructive as it evidences at once the reality of the physicalattributes of Christ, and the healthy, normal condition of His body. Hewas subject to fatigue and bodily exhaustion from other causes, as areall men; without food He grew hungry; without drink He thirsted; bylabor He became weary. The fact that after a day of strenuous effort Hecould calmly sleep, even amidst the turmoil of a tempest, indicates anunimpaired nervous system and a good state of health. Nowhere do we findrecord of Jesus having been ill. He lived according to the laws ofhealth, yet never allowed the body to rule the spirit; and His dailyactivities, which were of a kind to make heavy demands on both physicaland mental energy, were met with no symptoms of nervous collapse nor offunctional disturbance. Sleep after toil is natural and necessary. Theday's work done, Jesus slept. 

Meanwhile the storm increased in fury; the wind rendered the boatunmanageable; waves beat over the side; so much water was shipped thatthe vessel seemed about to founder. The disciples were terror-stricken;yet through it all Jesus rested peacefully. In their extremity of fear, the disciples awakened Him, crying out, according to the severalindependent accounts, "Master, Master, we perish"; "Lord, save us: weperish"; and, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" They wereabjectly frightened, and at least partly forgetful that there was withthem One whose voice even death had to obey. Their terrified appeal wasnot wholly devoid of hope nor barren of faith: "Lord, save us" theycried. Calmly He replied to their piteous call, "Why are ye fearful, Oye of little faith?"

Then He arose; and out through the darkness of that fearsome night, intothe roaring wind, over the storm-lashed sea, went the voice of the Lordas He "rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And thewind ceased, and there was a great calm. " Turning to the disciples, Heasked in tones of gentle yet unmistakable reproof: "Where is yourfaith?" and "How is it that ye have no faith?" Gratitude for rescue fromwhat but a moment before had seemed impending death was superseded byamazement and fear. "What manner of man is this, " they asked one ofanother, "that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Among the recorded miracles of Christ, none has elicited greaterdiversity in comment and in attempt at elucidation than has thismarvelous instance of control over the forces of nature. Scienceventures no explanation. The Lord of earth, air, and sea spoke and wasobeyed. He it was who, amidst the black chaos of creation's earlieststages, had commanded with immediate effect--Let there be light; Letthere be a firmament in the midst of the waters; Let the dry landappear--and, as He had decreed, so it was. The dominion of the Creatorover the created is real and absolute. A small part of that dominion hasbeen committed to man[663] as the offspring of God, tabernacled in thevery image of his divine Father. But man exercizes that delegatedcontrol through secondary agencies, and by means of complicatedmechanism. Man's power over the objects of his own devizing is limited. It is according to the curse evoked by Adam's fall, which came throughtransgression, that by the strain of his muscles, by the sweat of hisbrow, and by stress of his mind, shall he achieve. His word of commandis but a sound-wave in air, except as it is followed by labor. Throughthe Spirit that emanates from the very Person of Deity, and whichpervades all space, the command of God is immediately operative. 

Not man alone, but also the earth and all the elemental forcespertaining thereto came under the Adamic curse[664] and as the soil nolonger brought forth only good and useful fruits, but gave of itssubstance to nurture thorns and thistles, so the several forces ofnature ceased to be obedient to man as agents subject to his directcontrol. What we call natural forces--heat, light, electricity, chemicalaffinity--are but a few of the manifestations of eternal energy throughwhich the Creator's purposes are subserved; and these few, man is ableto direct and utilize only through mechanical contrivance and physicaladjustment. But the earth shall yet be "renewed and receive itsparadisaical glory"; then soil, water, air, and the forces acting uponthem, shall directly respond to the command of glorified man, as nowthey obey the word of the Creator. [665]

QUIETING THE DEMONS. [666]

Jesus and the disciples with Him landed on the eastern or Perean side ofthe lake, in a region known as the country of the Gadarenes orGergesenes. The precise spot has not been identified, but it wasevidently a country district apart from the towns. [667] As the partyleft the boat, two maniacs, who were sorely tormented by evil spirits, approached. Matthew states there were two; the other writers speak ofbut one; it is possible that one of the afflicted pair was in acondition so much worse than that of his companion that to him isaccorded greater prominence in the narrative; or, one may have run awaywhile the other remained. The demoniac was in a pitiful plight. Hisfrenzy had become so violent and the physical strength incident to hismania so great that all attempts to hold him in captivity had failed. Hehad been bound in chains and fetters, but these he had broken asunder bythe aid of demon power; and he had fled to the mountains, to the cavernsthat served as tombs, and there he had lived more like a wild beast thana man. Night and day his weird, terrifying shrieks had been heard, andthrough dread of meeting him people traveled by other ways rather thanpass near his haunts. He wandered about naked, and in his madness oftengashed his flesh with sharp stones. 

Seeing Jesus, the poor creature ran toward Him, and, impelled by thepower of his demon control, prostrated himself before Christ, the whilecrying out with a loud voice: "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thouSon of the most high God?" As Jesus commanded the evil spirits toleave, one or more of them, through the voice of the man, pleaded to beleft alone, and with blasphemous presumption exclaimed: "I adjure theeby God, that thou torment me not. " Matthew records the further questionaddressed to Jesus: "Art thou come hither to torment us before thetime?" The demons, by whom the man was possessed and controlled, recognized the Master, whom they knew they had to obey; but they pleadedto be left alone until the decreed time of their final punishment wouldcome. [668]

Jesus asked, "What is thy name?" and the demons within the man answered, "My name is Legion, for we are many. " The fact of the man's dualconsciousness or multi-personality is here apparent. So complete was hispossession by wicked spirits that he could no longer distinguish betweenhis individual personality and theirs. The devils implored that Jesuswould not banish them from that country; or as Luke records in words ofawful import, "that he would not command them to go out into thedeep. "[669] In their wretched plight, and out of diabolical eagerness tofind abode in bodies of flesh even though of beasts, they begged that, being compelled to leave the man they be allowed to enter a herd of hogsfeeding nearby. Jesus gave permission; the unclean demons entered theswine; and the whole herd, numbering about two thousand, went wild, stampeded in terror, ran violently down a steep place into the sea, andwere drowned. The swineherds were frightened, and, hastening to thetown, told what had happened to the hogs. People came out in crowds tosee for themselves; and all were astounded to behold the once wild manof whom they had all been afraid, now clothed, and restored to a normalstate of mind, sitting quietly and reverently at the feet of Jesus. Theywere afraid of One who could work such wonders, and, conscious of theirsinful unworthiness, begged Him to leave their country. [670]

The man who had been rid of the demons feared not; in his heart love andgratitude superseded all other feelings; and as Jesus returned to theboat he prayed that he might go also. But Jesus forbade, saying: "Gohome to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath donefor thee, and hath had compassion on thee. " The man became a missionary, not alone in his home town but throughout Decapolis, the region of theten cities; wherever he went he told of the marvelous change Jesus hadwrought on him. 

The testimony of wicked and unclean spirits to the divinity of Christ asthe Son of God is not confined to this instance. We have alreadyconsidered the case of the demoniac in the synagog at Capernaum;[671]and another instance appeared, when Jesus, withdrawing from the towns inGalilee, betook Himself to the sea shore, and was followed by a greatmultitude comprizing Galileans and Judeans, and people from Jerusalemand Idumea, and from beyond Jordan (i. E. From Perea), and inhabitants ofTyre and Sidon, amongst whom He had healed many of divers diseases; andthose who were in bondage to unclean spirits had fallen down andworshiped Him; while the demons cried out: "Thou art the Son ofGod. "[672]

In the course of the short journey considered in this chapter, the powerof Jesus as Master of earth, men and devils, was manifest in miraculousworks of the most impressive kind. We cannot classify the Lord'smiracles as small and great, nor as easy and difficult ofaccomplishment; what one may consider the least is to another ofprofound import. The Lord's word was sufficient in every instance. Tothe wind and the waves, and to the demon-ridden mind of the manpossessed, He had but to speak and be obeyed. "Peace, be still. "

THE RAISING OF THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. [673]

Jesus and His attendants recrossed the lake from the land of Gadara tothe vicinity of Capernaum, where He was received with acclamation by amultitude of people, "for they were all waiting for him. " Immediatelyafter landing, Jesus was approached by Jairus, one of the rulers of thelocal synagog, who "besought him greatly, saying, My little daughterlieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. "

The fact of this man's coming to Jesus, with the spirit of faith andsupplication, is an evidence of the deep impression the ministry ofChrist had made even in priestly and ecclesiastical circles. Many of theJews, rulers and officials as well as the people in common, believed inJesus;[674] though few belonging to the upper classes were willing tosacrifice prestige and popularity by acknowledging their discipleship. That Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagog, came only when impelledby grief over the impending death of his only daughter, a girl of twelveyears, is no evidence that he had not before become a believer;certainly at this time his faith was genuine and his trust sincere, asthe circumstances of the narrative prove. He approached Jesus with thereverence due One whom he considered able to grant what he asked, andfell at the Lord's feet, or as Matthew says, worshiped Him. When the manhad started from his home to seek aid of Jesus, the maiden was at thepoint of death; he feared lest she had died in the interval. In the verybrief account given in the first Gospel, he is reported as saying toJesus: "My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon herand she shall live. "[675] Jesus went with the imploring father, and manyfollowed. 

On the way to the house an incident occurred to hinder progress. Asorely afflicted woman was healed, under circumstances of peculiarinterest; this occurrence we shall consider presently. No intimation isgiven that Jairus showed impatience or displeasure over the delay; hehad placed trust in the Master and awaited His time and pleasure; andwhile Christ was engaged in the matter of the suffering woman, messengers came from the ruler's house with the saddening word that thegirl was dead. We may infer that even these dread tidings of certaintyfailed to destroy the man's faith; he seems to have still looked to theLord for help, and those who had brought the message asked, "Whytroublest thou the Master any further?" Jesus heard what was said, andsustained the man's sorely-taxed faith by the encouraging behest: "Benot afraid, only believe. " Jesus permitted none of His followers savethree of the apostles to enter the house with Himself and the bereavedbut trusting father. Peter and the two brothers James and John wereadmitted. 

The house was no place of such respectful silence or subdued quiet as wenow consider appropriate to the time and place of death; on the contraryit was a scene of tumult, but that condition was customary in theorthodox observances of mourning at the time. [676] Professionalmourners, including singers of weird dirges, and minstrels who madegreat noise with flutes and other instruments, had already been summonedto the house. To all such Jesus said, on entering: "Why make ye thisado, and weep? the damsel is not dead but sleepeth. " It was in effect arepetition of His command uttered on a then recent occasion--Peace, bestill. His words drew scorn and ridicule from those who were paid forthe noise they made, and who, if what He said proved true, would losethis opportunity of professional service. Moreover, they knew the maidwas dead; preparations for the funeral, which custom required shouldfollow death as speedily as possible, were already in progress. Jesusordered these people out, and restored peace to the house. [677] He thenentered the death chamber, accompanied only by the three apostles andthe parents of the girl. Taking the dead maiden by the hand He "saidunto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say untothee, arise. " To the astonishment of all but the Lord, the girl arose, left her bed, and walked. Jesus directed that food be given her, asbodily needs, suspended by death, had returned with the girl's renewalof life. 

The Lord imposed an obligation of secrecy, charging all present torefrain from telling what they had seen. The reasons for this injunctionare not stated. In some other instances a similar instruction was givento those who had been blessed by Christ's ministrations; while on manyoccasions of healing no such instructions are recorded, and in one caseat least the man who had been relieved of demons was told to go and tellhow great a thing had been done for him. [678] In His own wisdom Christknew when to prudently forbid and when to permit publication of Hisdoings. Though the grateful parents, the girl herself, and the threeapostles who had been witnesses of the restoration, may all have beenloyal to the Lord's injunction of silence, the fact that the maiden hadbeen raised to life could not be kept secret, and the means by which sogreat a wonder had been wrought would certainly be inquired into. Theminstrels and the wailers who had been expelled from the place while itwas yet a house of mourning, and who had scornfully laughed at theMaster's assertion that the maiden was asleep and not dead as theythought, would undoubtedly, spread reports. It is not surprizing, therefore, to read in Matthew's short version of the history, that thefame of the miracle "went abroad into all that land. "

RESTORATION TO LIFE AND RESURRECTION. 

The vital distinction between a restoration of the dead to a resumptionof mortal life, and the resurrection of the body from death to a stateof immortality, must be thoughtfully heeded. In each of the instancesthus far considered--that of the raising of the dead man of Nain, [679]and that of the daughter of Jairus, as also the raising of Lazarus to bestudied later--the miracle consisted in reuniting the spirit and thebody in a continuation of the interrupted course of mortal existence. That the subject of each of these miracles had to subsequently die iscertain. Jesus Christ was the first of all men who have lived on earthto come forth from the tomb an immortalized Being; He is thereforeproperly designated as "the first fruits of them that slept. "[680]

Though both Elijah and Elisha, many centuries prior to the time ofChrist, were instrumental in restoring life to the dead, the former tothe widow's son in Zareptha, the latter to the child of the Shunammitewoman, [681] in these earlier miracles the restoration was to mortalexistence, not to immortality. It is instructive to observe thedifference in the procedure of each of the Old Testament prophetsmentioned as compared with that of Christ in analogous miracles. By bothElijah and Elisha the wonderful change was brought about only after longand labored ministrations, and earnest invocation of the power andintervention of Jehovah; but Jehovah, embodied in flesh as Jesus Christ, did nothing outwardly but command, and the bonds of death wereimmediately broken. He spoke in His own name and by inherent authority, for by the power with which He was invested He held control of both lifeand death. 

A REMARKABLE HEALING BY THE WAY. [682]

While Jesus was walking to the house of Jairus with a great crowd ofpeople thronging about Him, the progress of the company was arrested byanother case of suffering. In the throng was a woman who for twelveyears had been afflicted with a serious ailment involving frequenthemorrhage. She had spent in medical treatment all she had owned, and"had suffered many things of many physicians, " but had steadily grownworse. She worked her way through the crowd, and, approaching Jesus frombehind, touched His robe; "For she said, If I may touch but his clothesI shall be whole. " The effect was more than magical; immediately shefelt the thrill of health throughout her body, and knew that she hadbeen healed of her affliction. Her object attained, the blessing shesought being now secured, she tried to escape notice, by hastilydropping back into the crowd. But her touch was not unheeded by theLord. He turned to look over the throng and asked, "Who touched myclothes?" or as Luke puts it, "Who touched me?" As the people denied, the impetuous Peter speaking for himself and the others said: "Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touchedme?" But Jesus answered: "Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive thatvirtue is gone out of me. "

The woman, finding that she could not escape identification, cametremblingly forward, and, kneeling before the Lord, confessed what shehad done, her reason for so doing, and the beneficent result. If she hadexpected censure her fears were promptly set at rest, for Jesus, addressing her by a term of respect and kindness, said: "Daughter, be ofgood comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, " and as Markadds, "be whole of thy plague. "

This woman's faith was sincere and free from guile, nevertheless it wasin a sense defective. She believed that the influence of Christ'sperson, and even that attaching to His raiment, was a remedial agency, ample to cure her malady; but she did not realize that the power to healwas an inherent attribute to be exercized at His will, and as theinfluence of faith might call it forth. True, her faith had already beenin part rewarded, but of greater worth to her than the physical cure ofher illness would be the assurance that the divine Healer had grantedthe desire of her heart, and that the faith she had manifested wasaccepted by Him. To correct her misapprehension and to confirm herfaith, Jesus gently subjected her to the necessary ordeal of confession, which must have been made easier through her consciousness of the greatrelief already experienced. He confirmed the healing and let her departwith the comforting assurance that her recovery was permanent. 

In contrast with the many cases of healing in connection with which theLord charged the beneficiaries that they should tell none how or by whomthey had been relieved, we see here that publicity was made sure by Hisown action, and that too, when secrecy was desired by the recipient ofthe blessing. The purposes and motives of Jesus may be but poorlyunderstood by man; but in this woman's case we see the possibility ofstories strange and untrue getting afloat, and it appears to have beenthe wiser course to make plain the truth then and there. Moreover thespiritual worth of the miracle was greatly enhanced by the woman'sconfession and by the Lord's gracious assurance. 

Observe the significant assertion, "Thy faith hath made thee whole. "Faith is of itself a principle of power;[683] and by its presence orabsence, by its fulness or paucity, even the Lord was and is influenced, and in great measure controlled, in the bestowal or withholding ofblessings; for He ministers according to law, and not with caprice oruncertainty. We read that at a certain time and place Jesus "could theredo no mighty work" because of the people's unbelief. [684] Modernrevelation specifies that faith to be healed is one of the gifts of theSpirit, analogous to the manifestations of faith in the work of healingothers through the exercize of the power of the Holy Priesthood. [685]

Our Lord's inquiry as to who had touched Him in the throng affords usanother example of His asking questions in pursuance of a purpose, whenHe could readily have determined the facts directly and without aid fromothers. There was a special purpose in the question, as every teacherfinds a means of instruction in questioning his pupils. [686] But thereis in Christ's question, "Who touched me?" a deeper significance thancould inhere in a simple inquiry as to the identity of an individual;and this is implied in the Lord's further words: "Somebody hath touchedme: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. " The usual externalact by which His miracles were wrought was a word or a command, sometimes accompanied by the laying on of hands, or by some otherphysical ministration as in anointing the eyes of a blind man. [687] Thatthere was an actual giving of His own strength to the afflicted whom Hehealed is evident from the present instance. Passive belief on the partof a would-be recipient of blessing is insufficient; only when it isvitalized into active faith is it a power; so also of one who ministersin the authority given of God, mental and spiritual energy must beoperative if the service is to be effective. 

THE BLIND SEE AND THE DUMB SPEAK. [688]

Two other instances of miraculous healing are chronicled by Matthew asclosely following the raising of the daughter of Jairus. As Jesus passeddown the streets of Capernaum, presumably on His departure from thehouse of the ruler of the synagog, two blind men followed Him, cryingout: "Thou son of David, have mercy on us. " This title of address wasvoiced by others at sundry times, and in no case do we find record ofour Lord disclaiming it or objecting to its use. [689] Jesus paused notto heed this call of the blind, and the two sightless men followed Him, even entering the house after Him. Then He spoke to them, asking:"Believe ye that I am able to do this?" And they replied, "Yea, Lord. "Their persistency in following the Lord was evidence of their beliefthat in some way, though to them unknown and mysterious, He could helpthem; and they promptly and openly confessed that belief. Our Lordtouched their eyes, saying: "According to your faith be it unto you. "The effect was immediate; their eyes were opened. They were explicitlyinstructed to say nothing of the matter to others; but, rejoicing in theinestimable blessing of sight, they "spread abroad his fame in all thatcountry. " So far as we can unravel the uncertain threads of sequence inthe works of Christ, this is the earliest instance, recorded withattendant details, of His giving sight to the blind. Many remarkablecases follow. [690]

It is worthy of note that in blessing the sightless by the exercize ofHis healing power, Jesus usually ministered by some physical contact inaddition to uttering the authoritative words of command or assurance. Inthis instance, as also in that of two blind men who sat by the wayside, He touched the sightless eyes; in the giving of sight to the blindindigent in Jerusalem He anointed the man's eyes with clay; to the eyesof another He applied saliva. [691] An analogous circumstance is found inthe healing of one who was deaf and defective of speech, in whichinstance the Lord put His fingers into the man's ears and touched histongue. [692] In no case can such treatment be regarded as medicinal ortherapeutic. Christ was not a physician who relied upon curativesubstances, nor a surgeon to perform physical operations; His healingswere the natural results of the application of a power of His own. It isconceivable that confidence, which is a stepping-stone to belief, asthat in turn is to faith, may have been encouraged by these physicalministrations, strengthened, and advanced to a higher and more abidingtrust in Christ, on the part of the afflicted who had not sight to lookupon the Master's face and derive inspiration therefrom, nor hearing tohear His uplifting words. There is apparent not alone an entire absenceof formula and formalism in His ministration, but a lack of uniformityof procedure quite as impressive. 

As the two men, once sightless but now seeing, departed, others came, bringing a dumb friend whose affliction seems to have been primarily dueto the malignant influence of an evil spirit rather than to any organicdefect. Jesus rebuked the wicked spirit--cast out the demon that hadobsessed the afflicted one and held him in the tyranny ofspeechlessness. The man's tongue was loosened, he was freed from theevil incubus, and was no longer dumb. [693]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 20. 

1. Storms on the Lake of Galilee. --It is a matter of record that suddenand violent storms are common on the lake or sea of Galilee; and thetempest that was quieted by the Lord's word of command was of itself nounusual phenomenon, except perhaps in its intensity. Another incidentconnected with a storm on this small body of water is of scripturalrecord, and will be considered later in the text (Matt. 14:22-26; Mark6:45-56; John 6:15-21). Dr. Thompson (_The Land and the Book_ ii:32)gives a description founded on his personal experience on the shores ofthe lake: "I spent a night in that Wady Shukaiyif, some three miles upit, to the left of us. The sun had scarcely set when the wind began torush down toward the lake, and it continued all night long withconstantly increasing violence, so that when we reached the shore nextmorning the face of the lake was a huge boiling caldron. The wind howleddown every wady from the north-east and east with such fury that noefforts of rowers could have brought a boat to shore at any point alongthat coast. .. . To understand the causes of these sudden and violenttempests, we must remember that the lake lies low--six hundred feetlower than the ocean; that the vast and naked plateaus of the Jaulanrise to a great height, spreading backward to the wilds of the Hauran, and upward to snowy Hermon; and the water-courses have cut out profoundravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of this lake, and thatthese act like gigantic funnels to draw down the cold winds from themountains. "

2. The Earth Before and After Its Regeneration. --That the earth itselffell under the curse incident to the fall of the first parents of therace, and that even as man shall be redeemed so shall the earth beregenerated, is implied in Paul's words: "Because the creature itselfalso shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the gloriousliberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole Creationgroaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even weourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, theredemption of our body" (Rom. 8:21-23). The present author has writtenelsewhere: "According to the scriptures, the earth has to undergo achange analogous to death, and to be regenerated in a manner comparableto a resurrection. References to the elements melting with heat, and tothe earth being consumed and passing away, such as occur in manyscriptures already cited, are suggestive of death; and the new earth, really the renewed or regenerated planet, which is to result, may becompared with a resurrected organism. The change has been likened unto atransfiguration (Doc. And Cov. 63:20, 21). Every created thing has beenmade for a purpose; and everything that fills the measure of itscreation is to be advanced in the scale of progression, be it an atom ora world, an animalcule, or man--the direct and literal offspring ofDeity. In speaking of the degrees of glory provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and sanctification, the Lord, in arevelation dated 1832, speaks plainly of the approaching death andsubsequent quickening of the earth. These are his words:--'And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not thelaw. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shalldie, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which itis quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it. ' (Doc. And Cov. 88:25-26. )"

The vital Spirit that emanates from God and is coextensive with space, may operate directly and with as positive effect upon inanimate things, and upon energy in its diverse manifestations known to us as the forcesof nature, as upon organized intelligences, whether yet unembodied, inthe flesh, or disembodied. Thus, the Lord may speak directly to theearth, the air, the sea, and be heard and obeyed, for the divineaffluence, which is the sum of all energy and power may and does operatethroughout the universe. In the course of a revelation from God toEnoch, the earth is personified, and her groans and lamentations overthe wickedness of men were heard by the prophet: "And it came to passthat Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowelsthereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I amweary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, andbe cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When willmy Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a seasonabide upon my face?" Enoch pleaded: "O Lord, wilt thou not havecompassion upon the earth?" Following further revelation as to the thenfuture course of mankind in sin and in the rejection of the Messiah whowas to be sent, the prophet wept with anguish, and asked of God "Whenshall the earth rest?" It was then shown unto him that the crucifiedChrist shall return to earth and establish a millennial reign of peace:"And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in thelast days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oathwhich I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah; and the dayshall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavensshall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and theheavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall beamong the children of men. " And the glorious assurance followed "thatfor the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest. " (P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:48, 49, 58, 60, 61, 64. )

A partial description of the earth in its regenerated state has beengiven through the prophet Joseph Smith in the present dispensation:"This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made likeunto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwellthereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or allkingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it;and this earth will be Christ's. " (Doc. And Cov. 130:9). 

That Jesus Christ, in the exercize of His powers of Godship, shouldspeak directly to the wind or the sea and be obeyed, is no less truly inaccord with the natural law of heaven, than that He should effectivelycommand a man or an unembodied spirit. That through faith even mortalman may set in operation the forces that act upon matter and withassurance of stupendous results has been explicitly declared by JesusChrist: "For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain ofmustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonderplace; and it shill remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you"(Matt. 17:20; compare Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6). 

3. The Land of the Gergesenes. --Attempts have been made to discredit theaccount of Christ's healing the demoniac in "the country of theGadarenes" (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) on the claim that the ancient town ofGadara the capital of the district (see Josephus, Wars, iii, 7:1), wastoo far inland to make possible the precipitous dash of the swine intothe sea from that place. Others lay stress on the fact that Matthewdiffers from the two other Gospel-historians, in specifying "the countryof the Gergesenes" (8:28). As stated in the text, a whole region orsection is referred to, not a town. The keepers of the swine ran off tothe towns to report the disaster that had befallen their herd. In thatdistrict of Perea there were at the time towns named respectivelyGadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa; the region in general, therefore, couldproperly be called the land of the Gadarenes or of the Gergesenes. Farrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 254 note) says: "After the researches ofDr. Thompson (_The Land and the Book_, ii:25), there can be no doubtthat Gergesa . .. Was the name of a little town nearly oppositeCapernaum, the ruined site of which is still called Kerza or Gersa bythe Bedawin. The existence of this little town was apparently known bothto Origen, who first introduced the reading, and to Eusebius and Jerome;and in their day a steep declivity near it, where the hills approach towithin a little distance from the lake, was pointed out as the scene ofthe miracle. "

4. Jesus Entreated to Leave the Country. --The people were frightenedover the power possessed by Jesus, as demonstrated in the cure of thedemoniac, and in the destruction of the swine, which latter occurrence, however, was not in pursuance of His command. It was the fear thatsinful men feel in the presence of the Righteous. They were not preparedfor other manifestations of divine power, and they dreaded to think whoamong them might be directly affected thereby should it be exerted. Wemust judge the people mercifully, however, if at all. They were in partheathen, and had but superstitious conceptions of Deity. Their prayerthat Jesus leave them brings to mind the ejaculation of Simon Peter inhis witnessing one of Christ's miracles: "Depart from me: for I am asinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). 

5. "Dead, " or "At the Point of Death. "--According to Luke (8:42) thedaughter of Jairus "lay a dying" when the grief-stricken father soughthelp of the Lord; Mark (5:23) reports the man as stating that the girllay "at the point of death. " These two accounts agree; but Matthew(9:18) represents the father as saying: "My daughter is even now dead. "Unbelieving critics have dwelt at length on what they designate aninconsistency if not a contradiction in these versions; and yet bothaccounts embodied in the three records are plainly true. The maid wasseemingly breathing her last, she was in the very throes of death, whenthe father hurried away. Before he met Jesus he felt that the end hadprobably come; nevertheless his faith endured. His words attest histrust, that even had his daughter actually died since he left her side, the Master could recall her to life. He was in a state of frenziedgrief, and still his faith held true. 

6. Mourning Customs Among Orientals. --Observances that to us seemstrange, weird, and out of place, prevailed from very early times amongoriental peoples, some of which customs were common to the Jews in thedays of Christ. Noise and tumult, including screeching lamentations bymembers of the bereaved family and by professional mourners, as also thedin of instruments, were usual accompaniments of mourning. Geikie, citing Buxtorf's quotation from the Talmud, gives place to thefollowing: "Even a poor Israelite was required to have not fewer thantwo flute players and one mourning woman at the death of his wife; butif he be rich all things are to be done according to his quality. " InSmith's _Dictionary of the Bible_, we read: "The number of words (abouteleven Hebrew and as many Greek) employed in scripture to express thevarious actions characteristic of mourning, shows in a great degree thenature of Jewish customs in this respect. They appear to have consistedchiefly in the following particulars: (1) Beating upon the breast orother parts of the body. (2) Weeping and screaming in an excessivedegree. (3) Wearing sad-colored garments. (4) Songs of lamentation. (5)Funeral feasts. (6) Employment of persons, especially women, to lament. One marked feature of oriental mourning is what may be called itsstudied publicity, and the careful observance of prescribed ceremonies(Gen. 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:8; Isa. 15:3; etc. ). "

7. "Not Dead, but Sleepeth. "--That the daughter of Jairus was dead isplaced beyond reasonable doubt by the scriptural record. Our Lord'sstatement to the noisy mourners that "the damsel is not dead butsleepeth" told that her sleep was to be of short duration. It was arabbinical and common custom of the time to speak of death as a sleep, and those who laughed Jesus to scorn for His statement chose to construeHis words in a sense of such literalism as the context scarcelywarrants. It is noticeable that the Lord used a strictly equivalentexpression with respect to the death of Lazarus. "Our friend Lazarussleepeth, " said He, "but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. " Theliteral construction placed upon these words by the apostles evoked theplain declaration "Lazarus is dead" (John 11:11, 14). In the Talmuddeath is repeatedly designated as sleep--hundreds of times saysLightfoot, a recognized authority on Hebrew literature. 

8. Why Did Jesus Make Inquiries?--We have already considered manyinstances of Christ's possession of what man would call superhumanknowledge, extending even to the reading of unuttered thoughts. Somepeople find difficulty in reconciling this superior quality with thefact that Jesus often asked questions even on matters of minorcircumstance. We should realize that even complete knowledge may notpreclude the propriety of making inquiries, and, moreover, that evenomniscience does not imply ever-present consciousness of all that is. Undoubtedly through his paternal heritage of divine attributes, Jesushad the power of ascertaining for Himself, by means not possessed byothers, any facts He might have desired to know; nevertheless we findHim repeatedly asking questions on circumstantial detail (Mark 9:21;8:27; Matt. 16:13; Luke 8:45); and this He did even after Hisresurrection (Luke 24:41; John 21:5; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 17:7). 

That catechization is one of the most effective means of minddevelopment is exampled in the methods followed by the best of humanteachers. Trench (_Notes on the Miracles_, pp. 148-9), thusinstructively points the lesson as illustrated by our Lord's questionconcerning the woman who was healed of her issue of blood: With littleforce "can it be urged that it would have been inconsistent withabsolute truth for the Lord to profess ignorance, and to ask thequestion which He did ask, if all the while He perfectly knew what Hethus seemed implicitly to say that He did not know. A father among hischildren, and demanding Who committed this fault? himself conscious, even while he asks, but at the same time willing to bring the culprit toa full confession, and so to put him in a pardonable state, can he besaid, in any way to violate the law of the highest truth? The sameoffense might be found in Elisha's 'Whence comest thou, Gehazi?' (2Kings 5:25) when his heart went with his servant all the way that he hadgone; and even in the question of God Himself to Adam, 'Where art thou?'(Gen. 3:9), and to Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?' (Gen. 4:9). Inevery case there is a moral purpose in the question, an opportunitygiven even at the latest moment for making good at least a part of theerror by its unreserved confession. "

9. The Blind See. --In his treatment of the miraculous healing of the twoblind men who had followed Jesus into the house, Trench (_Notes on theMiracles of our Lord_, p. 152) says: "We have here the first of thosemany healings of the blind recorded (Matt. 12:22; 20:30; 21:14; John 9)or alluded to (Matt. 11:5) in the Gospels; each of them a literalfulfilment of that prophetic word of Isaiah concerning the days ofMessiah: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened' (35:5). Frequentas these miracles are, they yet will none of them be found withoutdistinguishing features of their own. That they should be so numerous isnothing wonderful, whether we regard the fact from a natural orspiritual point of view. Regarded naturally they need not surprize us ifwe keep in mind how far commoner a calamity is blindness in the Eastthan with us. Regarded from a spiritual point of view we have only toremember how commonly sin is contemplated in Scripture as a moralblindness (Deut. 28:29; Isa. 59:10; Job 12:25; Zeph. 1:17), anddeliverance from sin as a removal of this blindness (Isa. 6:9, 10; 43:8;Eph. 1:18; Matt. 15:14); and we shall at once perceive how fit it wasthat He who was the 'light of the world' should often accomplish workswhich symbolized so well that higher work which He came into the worldto accomplish. "

10. Imputation of Satanic Agency. --Observe that in the matter of healingthe dumb demoniac referred to in the text, Christ was charged with beingin league with the devil. Although the people, impressed by themanifestation of divine power in the healing, exclaimed in reverence, "It was never so seen in Israel, " the Pharisees, intent on counteractingthe good effect of the Lord's miraculous ministration, said "He castethout devils through the prince of the devils. " (Matt. 9:32-34. ) Forfurther treatment of this inconsistent and, strictly speakingblasphemous charge, see pages 265-269. 

FOOTNOTES:

[657] Mark 4:35. 

[658] "Articles of Faith, " x:1-20--"Men called of God. "

[659] Page 87. 

[660] Luke 9:57-62; see also Matt. 8:19-22. 

[661] Matt 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25. 

[662] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[663] Gen. 1:28; P. Of G. P. , Moses 2:26; 5:1. 

[664] Gen. 3:17-19. 

[665] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[666] Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-19; Luke 8:26-39. 

[667] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[668] Compare Rev. 20:3. 

[669] Revised version, "abyss" instead of "deep. "

[670] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[671] Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34, also verse 41; see page 181 herein. 

[672] Mark 3:7-11; compare Luke 6:17-19. See page 187. 

[673] Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56; Matt. 9:18, 19, 23-26. 

[674] John 11:45; compare 8:30; 10:42. 

[675] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[676] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[677] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[678] Mark 5:19-20; Luke 8:39. Page 312. 

[679] Page 251. 

[680] 1 Cor. 15:20, 23; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5; and"Articles of Faith, " xxi:24-27. 

[681] 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:31-37. 

[682] Mark 5:25-34; Matt. 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48. 

[683] "Articles of Faith, " v:11-13. 

[684] Mark 6:5, 6; compare Matt. 13:58. 

[685] Doc. And Cov. 46:19; compare Matt. 8:10; 9:28, 29. Acts 14:9. 

[686] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[687] Matt. 8:3; Luke 4:40; 13:13; John 9:6; compare Mark 6:5; 7:33;8:23. 

[688] Matt. 9:27-35. 

[689] Matt. 15:22; 20:30, 31; Mark 10:47, 48; Luke 18:38, 39. 

[690] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[691] Matt. 20:30-34; John 9:6; Mark 8:23. 

[692] Mark 7:32-37. 

[693] Matt. 9:32, 33. Note 10, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 21. 

THE APOSTOLIC MISSION, AND EVENTS RELATED THERETO. 

JESUS AGAIN IN NAZARETH. [694]

It will be remembered that, in the early days of His public ministry, Jesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth, who thrust Him outfrom their synagog and tried to kill Him. [695] It appears thatsubsequent to the events noted in our last chapter, He returned to thetown of His youth, and again raised His voice in the synagog, thusmercifully affording the people another opportunity to learn and acceptthe truth. The Nazarenes, as they had done before, now again openlyexpressed their astonishment at the words He spoke, and at the manymiraculous works He had wrought; nevertheless they rejected Him anew, for He came not as they expected the Messiah to come; and they refusedto know Him save as "the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother ofJames, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon;" all of whom were common folkas were also His sisters. "And they were offended at him. "[696] Jesusreminded them of the proverb then current among the people, "A prophetis not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. " Their unbelief was so dense as to cause Him tomarvel;[697] and because of their lack of faith He was unable toaccomplish any great work except to heal a few exceptional believersupon whom He laid His hands. Leaving Nazareth, He entered upon His thirdtour of the Galilean towns and villages, preaching and teaching as Hewent. [698]

THE TWELVE CHARGED AND SENT. [699]

About this time, also, Jesus inaugurated a notable expansion of theministry of the kingdom, by sending forth the Twelve on assignedmissions. Since their ordination the apostles had been with their Lord, learning from Him by public discourse and private exposition, andacquiring invaluable experience and training through that privileged andblessed companionship. The purpose of their ordination wasspecified--"that they should be with him, and that he might send themforth to preach. "[700] They had been pupils under the Master's watchfulguidance for many months; and now they were called to enter upon theduties of their calling as preachers of the gospel and individualwitnesses of the Christ. By way of final preparation they werespecifically and solemnly charged. [701] Some of the instructions giventhem on this occasion had particular reference to their first mission, from which they would in due time return and report; other directionsand admonitions were to be of effect throughout their ministry, evenafter the Lord's ascension. 

They were directed to confine their ministrations for the time being "tothe lost sheep of the house of Israel, " and not to open a propagandaamong the Gentiles, [702] nor even in Samaritan cities. This was atemporary restriction, imposed in wisdom and prudence; later, as weshall see, they were directed to preach among all nations, with theworld for their field. [703] The subject of their discourses was to bethat upon which they had heard the Master preach--"the kingdom of heavenis at hand. " They were to exercize the authority of the Holy Priesthoodas conferred upon them by ordination; it was a specified part of theirmission to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast outdevils, " as occasion presented itself; and they were commanded to givefreely, even as they had freely received. Personal comfort and bodilyneeds they were not to provide for; the people were to be proved as totheir willingness to receive and assist those who came in the name ofthe Lord; and the apostles themselves were to learn to rely upon aProvider more to be trusted than man; therefore money, extra clothing, and things of mere convenience were to be left behind. In the severaltowns they entered they were to seek entertainment and leave theirblessing upon every worthy family into which they were received. If theyfound themselves rejected by a household or by a town as a whole, theywere to shake the dust from their feet on leaving, as a testimonyagainst the people;[704] and it was decreed that, in the day ofjudgment, the place so denounced would fare worse than wicked Sodom andGomorrha upon which fire from heaven had descended. 

The apostles were told to be prudent, to give no needless offense, butto be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves; for they were sent forthas sheep into the midst of wolves. They were not to recklessly entrustthemselves to the power of men; for wicked men would persecute them, seek to arraign them before councils and courts, and to afflict them inthe synagogs. Moreover they might expect to be brought before governorsand kings, under which extreme conditions, they were to rely upon divineinspiration as to what they should say, and not depend upon their ownwisdom in preparation and premeditation; "For, " said the Master, "it isnot ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh inyou. "[705]

They were not to trust even the claims of kinship for protection, forfamilies would be divided over the truth, brother against brother, children against parents, and the resulting strife would be deadly. These servants of Christ were told that they would be hated of all men, but were assured that their sufferings were to be for His name's sake. They were to withdraw from the cities that persecuted them, and go toothers; and the Lord would follow them, even before they would be ableto complete the circuit of the cities of Israel. They were admonished tohumility, and were always to remember that they were servants, who oughtnot to expect to escape when even their Master was assailed. Nevertheless they were to be fearless, hesitating not to preach thegospel in plainness; for the most their persecutors could do was to killthe body, which fate was as nothing compared to that of sufferingdestruction of the soul in hell. 

Assurance of the Father's watchful care was impressed upon them by thesimple reminder that though sparrows were sold two for a farthing, andyet not a sparrow could be sacrificed without the Father's concern, they, who were of more value than many sparrows, would not be forgotten. They were solemnly warned that whosoever would freely confess the Christbefore men would be acknowledged by Him in the Father's presence, whilethey who denied Him before men would be denied in heaven. And again theywere told that the gospel would bring strife, whereby households wouldbe disrupted; for the doctrine the Lord had taught would be as a swordto cut and divide. The duties of their special ministry were tosupersede the love for kindred; they must be willing to leave father, mother, son, or daughter, whatever the sacrifice; for, said Jesus "Hethat taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. "

The significance of this figure must have been solemnly impressive, andactually terrifying; for the cross was a symbol of ignominy, extremesuffering, and death. However, should they lose their lives for Hissake, they would find life eternal; while he who was not willing to diein the Lord's service should lose his life in a sense at once literaland awful. They were never to forget in whose name they were sent; andwere comforted with the assurance that whoever received them would berewarded as one who had received the Christ and His Father; and thatthough the gift were only that of a cup of cold water, the giver shouldin no wise lose his reward. 

Thus charged and instructed, the twelve special witnesses of the Christset out upon their mission, traveling in pairs, [706] while Jesuscontinued His personal ministry. 

THE TWELVE RETURN. 

We are without definite information as to the duration of the apostles'first mission, and as to the extent of the field they traversed. Theperiod of their absence was marked by many important developments in theindividual labors of Jesus. It is probable that during this time ourLord visited Jerusalem, on the occasion mentioned by John as coincidentwith the unnamed feast of the Jews. [707] While the apostles were absent, Jesus was visited by the Baptist's disciples, as we have alreadyseen[708] and the return of the Twelve occurred near the time of theinfamous execution of John the Baptist in prison. [709]

The missionary labors of the apostles greatly augmented the spread ofthe new doctrine of the kingdom, and the name and works of Jesus wereproclaimed throughout the land. The people of Galilee were at that timein a state of discontent threatening open insurrection against thegovernment; their unrest had been aggravated by the murder of theBaptist. Herod Antipas, who had given the fatal order, trembled in hispalace. He heard, with fear due to inward conviction of guilt, of themarvelous works wrought by Jesus, and in terror averred that Christcould be none other than John Baptist returned from the tomb. Hisfawning courtiers essayed to allay his fears by saying that Jesus wasElijah, or some other of the prophets whose advent had been predicted;but the conscience-stricken Herod said: "It is John whom I beheaded: heis risen from the dead. " Herod desired to see Jesus; perhaps through thefascination of fear, or with the faint hope that sight of the renownedProphet of Nazareth might dispel his superstitious dread that themurdered John had returned to life. 

Upon the completion of their missionary tour, the apostles rejoined theMaster and reported to Him both what they had taught and what they haddone by way of authoritative ministration. They had preached the gospelof repentance in all the cities, towns, and villages to which they hadgone; they had anointed with oil many afflicted ones, and the power oftheir priesthood had been attested by consequent healings; even uncleanspirits and devils had been subject unto them. [710] They found Jesusattended by great multitudes; and they had little opportunity of privateconference with Him; "for there were many coming and going, and they hadno leisure so much as to eat. " The apostles must have heard in gladnessthe Lord's invitation: "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile. " In quest of seclusion, Jesus and the Twelve withdrewfrom the throng, and privately entered a boat in which they crossed to arural spot adjacent to the city of Bethsaida. [711] Their departure hadnot been unobserved, however, and eager crowds hastened along the shore, and partly around the northerly end of the lake, to join the party atthe landing place. From John's account we are led to infer that, beforethe arrival of great numbers, Jesus and His companions had ascended thehillside near the shore, where, for a short time they had rested. As themultitude gathered on the lower slopes, our Lord looked upon them asupon sheep without a shepherd; and, yielding to their desire and to Hisown emotions of divine pity, He taught them many things, healed theirafflicted ones, and comforted their hearts with compassionatetenderness. 

FIVE THOUSAND FED IN THE DESERT. [712]

So intent were the people on hearing the Lord's words, and so concernedin the miraculous relief resulting from His healing ministrations, thatthey remained in the wilderness, oblivious to the passing of the hours, until the evening approached. It was the springtime, near the recurrenceof the annual Passover festival, the season of grass and flowers. [713]Jesus, realizing that the people were hungry, asked Philip, one of theTwelve, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" The purpose ofthe question was to test the apostle's faith; for the Lord had alreadydetermined as to what was to be done. Philip's reply showed surprize atthe question, and conveyed his thought that the suggested undertakingwas impossible. "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient forthem, that every one of them may take a little, " said he. Andrew addedthat there was a lad present who had five barley loaves, and two smallfishes, "But, " said he, "what are they among so many?"

Such is John's account; the other writers state that the apostlesreminded Jesus of the lateness of the hour, and urged that He send thepeople away to seek for themselves food and lodging in the nearesttowns. It appears most probable that the conversation between Jesus andPhilip occurred earlier in the afternoon;[714] and that as the hourssped, the Twelve became concerned and advized that the multitude bedismissed. The Master's reply to the apostles was: "They need notdepart; give ye them to eat. " In amazed wonder they replied: "We havehere but five loaves and two fishes;" and Andrew's despairing comment isimplied again--What are they among so many?

Jesus gave command, and the people seated themselves on the grass inorderly array; they were grouped in fifties and hundreds; and it wasfound that the multitude numbered about five thousand men, beside womenand children. Taking the loaves and the fishes, Jesus looked towardheaven and pronounced a blessing upon the food; then, dividing theprovisions, He gave to the apostles severally, and they in turndistributed to the multitude. The substance of both fish and breadincreased under the Master's touch; and the multitude feasted there inthe desert, until all were satisfied. To the disciples Jesus said:"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost;" and twelvebaskets were filled with the surplus. 

As to the miracle itself, human knowledge is powerless to explain. Though wrought on so great a scale, it is no more nor less inexplicablethan any other of the Lord's miraculous works. It was a manifestation ofcreative power, by which material elements were organized and compoundedto serve a present and pressing need. The broken but unused portionexceeded in bulk and weight the whole of the original little store. OurLord's direction to gather up the fragments was an impressiveobject-lesson against waste; and it may have been to afford such lessonthat an excess was supplied. The fare was simple, yet nourishing, wholesome and satisfying. Barley bread and fish constituted the usualfood of the poorer classes of the region. The conversion of water intowine at Cana was a qualitative transmutation; the feeding of themultitude involved a quantitative increase; who can say that one, orwhich, of these miracles of provision was the more wonderful?

The multitude, now fed and filled, gave some consideration to themiracle. In Jesus, by whom so great a work had been wrought, theyrecognized One having superhuman powers. "This is of a truth the prophetthat should come into the world, " said they--the Prophet whose cominghad been foretold by Moses and who should be like unto himself. Even asIsrael had been miraculously fed during the time of Moses, so now wasbread provided in the desert by this new Prophet. In their enthusiasmthe people proposed to proclaim Him king, and forcibly compel Him tobecome their leader. Such was their gross conception of Messianicsupremacy. Jesus directed His disciples to depart by boat, while Heremained to dismiss the now excited multitude. The disciples hesitatedto leave their Master; but He constrained them and they obeyed. Hisinsistence, that the Twelve depart from both Himself and the multitude, may have been due to a desire to protect the chosen disciples againstpossible infection by the materialistic and unrighteous designs of thethrong to make Him king. By means that are not detailed, He caused thepeople to disperse; and, as night came on, He found that for which Hehad come in quest, solitude and quiet. Ascending the hill, He chose asecluded place, and there remained in prayer during the greater part ofthe night. 

"IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID. "[715]

The return by boat proved to be a memorable journey for the disciples. They encountered a boisterous head-wind, which of course renderedimpossible the use of sails; and though they toiled heavily at the oarsthe vessel became practically unmanageable and wallowed in the midst ofthe sea. [716] Though they had labored through the night they hadprogressed less than four miles on their course; to turn and run beforethe wind would have been to invite disastrous wreck; their sole hope layin their holding the vessel to the wind by sheer power of muscle. Jesus, in His place of solitary retirement, was aware of their sad plight, andalong in the fourth watch, [717] that is, between three and six o'clockin the morning, He came to their assistance, walking upon thestorm-tossed water as though treading solid ground. When the voyagerscaught sight of Him as He approached the ship in the faint light of thenear-spent night, they were overcome by superstitious fears, and criedout in terror, thinking that they saw a ghostly apparition. "Butstraightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; benot afraid. "

Relieved by these assuring words, Peter, impetuous and impulsive asusual, cried out: "Lord, if[718] it be thou, bid me come unto thee onthe water. " Jesus assenting, Peter descended from the ship and walkedtoward his Master; but as the wind smote him and the waves rose abouthim, his confidence wavered and he began to sink. Strong swimmer thoughhe was, [719] he gave way to fright, and cried, "Lord, save me. " Jesuscaught him by the hand, saying: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didstthou doubt?"

From Peter's remarkable experience, we learn that the power by whichChrist was able to walk the waves could be made operative in others, provided only their faith was enduring. It was on Peter's own requestthat he was permitted to attempt the feat. Had Jesus forbidden him, theman's faith might have suffered a check; his attempt, though attended bypartial failure, was a demonstration of the efficacy of faith in theLord, such as no verbal teaching could ever have conveyed. Jesus andPeter entered the vessel; immediately the wind ceased, and the boat soonreached the shore. The amazement of the apostles, at this latestmanifestation of the Lord's control over the forces of nature, wouldhave been more akin to worship and less like terrified consternation hadthey remembered the earlier wonders they had witnessed; but they hadforgotten even the miracle of the loaves, and their hearts hadhardened. [720] Marveling at the power of One to whom the wind-lashed seawas a sustaining floor, the apostles bowed before the Lord in reverentworship, saying: "Of a truth thou art the Son of God. "[721]

Aside from the marvelous circumstances of its literal occurrence, themiracle is rich in symbolism and suggestion. By what law or principlethe effect of gravitation was superseded, so that a human body could besupported upon the watery surface, man is unable to affirm. Thephenomenon is a concrete demonstration of the great truth that faith isa principle of power, whereby natural forces may be conditioned andcontrolled. [722] Into every adult human life come experiences like untothe battling of the storm-tossed voyagers with contrary winds andthreatening seas; ofttimes the night of struggle and danger is faradvanced before succor appears; and then, too frequently the saving aidis mistaken for a greater terror. As came unto Peter and his terrifiedcompanions in the midst of the turbulent waters, so comes to all whotoil in faith, the voice of the Deliverer--"It is I; be not afraid. "

IN THE LAND OF GENNESARET. 

The night voyage, in the course of which Jesus had reached the boat withits frightened occupants while "in the midst of the sea, " ended at somepoint within the district known as the land of Gennesaret, which, asgenerally believed, embraced the rich and fertile region in the vicinityof Tiberias and Magdala. Of the natural beauties, for which the regionwas famed much has been written. [723] Word of our Lord's presence therespread rapidly, and, from "all that country round about" the peopleflocked to Him, bringing their afflicted to receive of His beneficenceby word or touch. In the towns through which He walked, the sick werelaid in the streets that the blessing of His passing might fall uponthem; and many "besought him that they might touch if it were but theborder of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole. "[724]Bounteously did He impart of His healing virtue to all who came askingwith faith and confidence. Thus, accompanied by the Twelve, He wendedHis way northward to Capernaum, making the pathway bright by theplentitude of His mercies. 

IN SEARCH OF LOAVES AND FISHES. [725]

The multitude who, on the yesterday, had partaken of His bounty on theother side of the lake, and who dispersed for the night after theirineffectual attempt to force upon Him the dignity of earthly kingship, were greatly surprized in the morning to discover that He had departed. They had seen the disciples leave in the only boat there present, whileJesus had remained on shore; and they knew that the night tempest hadprecluded the possibility of other boats reaching the place. Nevertheless their morning search for Him was futile; and they concludedthat He must have returned by land round the end of the lake. As the dayadvanced some boats were sighted, bound for the western coast; thesethey hailed, and, securing passage, crossed to Capernaum. 

Their difficulty in locating Jesus was at an end, for His presence wasknown throughout the town. Coming to Him, probably as He sat in thesynagog, for on this day He taught there, some of the most intrusive ofthe crowd asked, brusquely and almost rudely, "Rabbi, when camest thouhither?" To this impertinent inquiry Jesus deigned no direct reply; inthe miracle of the preceding night the people had no part, and noaccount of our Lord's movements was given them. In tone of impressiverebuke Jesus said unto them: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seekme, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of theloaves, and were filled. " Their concern was for the bread and fishes. One who could supply them with victuals as He had done must not be lostsight of. 

The Master's rebuke was followed by admonition and instruction: "Labournot for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth untoeverlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hathGod the Father sealed. " This contrast between material and spiritualfood they could not entirely fail to understand, and some of them askedwhat they should do to serve God as Jesus required. The answer was:"This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. "That Jesus was referring to Himself, none could doubt; and straightwaythey demanded of Him further evidence of His divine commission; theywould see greater signs. The miracle of the loaves and fishes was nearlya day old; and its impressiveness as evidence of Messianic attributeswas waning. Moses had fed their fathers with manna in the desert, theysaid; and plainly they regarded a continued daily supply as a greatergift than a single meal of bread and fish, however much the latter mayhave been appreciated in the exigency of hunger. Moreover, the manna washeavenly food;[726] whereas the bread He had given them was of earth, and only common barley bread at that. He must show them greater signs, and give them richer provender, before they would accept Him as the Onewhom they at first had taken Him to be and whom He now declared Himselfto be. 

CHRIST, THE BREAD OF LIFE. [727]

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gaveyou not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true breadfrom heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. " They were mistaken in assuming thatMoses had given them manna; and after all, the manna had been butordinary food in that those who ate of it hungered again; but now theFather offered them bread from heaven such as would insure them life. 

As the Samaritan woman at the well, on hearing the Lord speak of waterthat would satisfy once for all, had begged impulsively and with thoughtonly of physical convenience, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirstnot, neither come hither to draw, "[728] so these people, eager to secureso satisfying a food as that of which Jesus spake, implored: "Lord, evermore give us this bread. " Perhaps this request was not wholly gross;there may have been in the hearts of some of them at least a genuinedesire for spiritual nourishment. Jesus met their appeal with anexplanation: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall neverhunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. " He remindedthem that though they had seen Him they believed not His words; andassured them that those who really accepted Him would do as the Fatherdirected. Then, without metaphor or symbolism, He affirmed: "I came downfrom heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. "And the Father's will was that all who would accept the Son should haveeverlasting life. 

There were present in the synagog some of the rulers--Pharisees, scribes, rabbis--and these, designated collectively as the Jews, criticized Jesus, and murmured against Him because He had said, "I amthe bread which came down from heaven. " They averred that He could donothing more than any man could do; He was known to them as the son ofJoseph, and as far as they knew was of ordinary earthly parentage, andyet He had the temerity to declare that He had come down from heaven. Chiefly to this class rather than to the promiscuous crowd who hadhastened after Him, Jesus appears to have addressed the remainder of Hisdiscourse. He advized them to cease their murmurings; for it was acertainty that they could not apprehend His meaning, and therefore wouldnot believe Him, unless they had been "taught of God" as the prophetshad written;[729] and none could come to Him in the sense of acceptingHis saving gospel unless the Father drew them to the Son; and none savethose who were receptive, willing, and prepared, could be so drawn. [730]Yet belief in the Son of God is an indispensable condition to salvation, as Jesus indicated in His affirmation: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. "

Then, reverting to the symbolism of the bread, He reiterated: "I am thebread of life. " In further elucidation He explained that while theirfathers did truly eat manna in the wilderness, yet they were dead;whereas the bread of life of which He spake would insure eternal lifeunto all who partook thereof. That bread, He averred, was His flesh. Against this solemn avowal the Jews complained anew, and disputed amongthemselves, some asking derisively: "How can this man give us his fleshto eat. " Emphasizing the doctrine, Jesus continued: "Verily, verily, Isay unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink hisblood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh myblood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Formy flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth myflesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As theliving Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eatethme, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down fromheaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eatethof this bread shall live forever. "

There was little excuse for the Jews pretending to understand that ourLord meant an actual eating and drinking of His material flesh andblood. The utterances to which they objected were far more readilyunderstood by them than they are by us on first reading; for therepresentation of the law and of truth in general as bread, and theacceptance thereof as a process of eating and drinking, were figures inevery-day use by the rabbis of that time. [731] Their failure tocomprehend the symbolism of Christ's doctrine was an act of will, notthe natural consequence of innocent ignorance. To eat the flesh anddrink the blood of Christ was and is to believe in and accept Him as theliteral Son of God and Savior of the world, and to obey Hiscommandments. By these means only may the Spirit of God become anabiding part of man's individual being, even as the substance of thefood he eats is assimilated with the tissues of his body. 

It is not sufficing to accept the precepts of Christ as we may adopt thedoctrines of scientists, philosophers, and savants, however great thewisdom of these sages may be; for such acceptance is by mental assent ordeliberate exercize of will, and has relation to the doctrine only asindependent of the author. The teachings of Jesus Christ endure becauseof their intrinsic worth; and many men respect His aphorisms, proverbs, parables, and His profoundly philosophical precepts, who yet reject Himas the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh, the God-Man in whomwere united the attributes of Deity with those of humanity, the chosenand foreordained Redeemer of mankind, through whom alone may salvationbe attained. But the figure used by Jesus--that of eating His flesh anddrinking His blood as typical of unqualified and absolute acceptance ofHimself as the Savior of men, is of superlative import; for thereby areaffirmed the divinity of His Person, and the fact of His pre-existentand eternal Godship. The sacrament of the Lord's supper, established bythe Savior on the night of His betrayal, perpetuates the symbolism ofeating His flesh and drinking His blood, by the partaking of bread andwine in remembrance of Him. [732] Acceptance of Jesus as the Christimplies obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel; for toprofess the One and refuse the other is but to convict ourselves ofinconsistency, insincerity, and hypocrisy. 

A CRUCIAL TEST--MANY TURN AWAY. [733]

The truth respecting Himself, as taught by the Lord in this, His last, discourse in the synagog at Capernaum, proved to be a test of faiththrough which many fell away. Not alone critical Jews of the officialclass, whose hostility was openly avowed, but those who had professedsome measure of belief in Him were affected. "Many therefore of hisdisciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; whocan hear it?" Jesus, cognizant of their disaffection, asked: "Doth thisoffend you?" and added: "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascendup where he was before?" His ascension, which was to follow His deathand resurrection, is here definitely implied. The spiritual significanceof His teachings was put beyond question by the explanation that onlythrough the Spirit could they comprehend; "Therefore, " He added, "said Iunto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him ofmy Father. "

Many deserted Him, and from that time sought Him no more. The occasionwas crucial; the effect was that of sifting and separation. Theportentous prediction of the Baptist-prophet had entered upon the stageof fulfilment: "One mightier than I cometh . .. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into thegarner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. "[734] Thefan was in operation, and much chaff was blown aside. 

It appears that even the Twelve were unable to comprehend the deepermeaning of these latest teachings; they were puzzled, though noneactually deserted. Nevertheless, the state of mind of some was such asto evoke from Jesus the question: "Will ye also go away?" Peter, speaking for himself and his brethren, answered with pathos andconviction: "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternallife. "[735] The spirit of the Holy Apostleship was manifest in thisconfession. Though they were unable to comprehend in fulness thedoctrine, they knew Jesus to be the Christ, and were faithful to Himwhile others turned away into the dark depths of apostasy. 

While Peter spoke for the apostolic body as a whole, there was amongthem one who silently revolted; the treacherous Iscariot, who was inworse plight than an openly avowed apostate, was there. The Lord knewthis man's heart, and said: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one ofyou is a devil?" The historian adds: "He spake of Judas Iscariot the sonof Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of thetwelve. "

NOTES TO CHAPTER 21. 

1. Jesus at Nazareth. --As no one of the Gospel-writers records twooccasions of our Lord's ministry in Nazareth, and as the separateaccounts appearing in the synoptic Gospels closely resemble one anotherin a few particulars, some commentators hold that our Lord preached toHis townsmen in Nazareth and was rejected by them but once. Luke'saccount (4:14-30) refers to an occasion immediately following the firstreturn of Jesus to Galilee after His baptism and temptations, anddirectly preceding the preliminary call of the fishermen-disciples, whoafterward were numbered among the apostles. Matthew (13:53-58) and Mark(6:1-6) chronicle a visit of Jesus to Nazareth later than the occasionof the first teaching in parables, and the events immediately followingthe same. We have good reason for accepting Luke's record as that of anearly incident, and the accounts given by Matthew and Mark as those of alater visit. 

2. Gentiles. --In a general way the Jews designated all other peoples asGentiles; though the same Hebrew word is rendered in the Old Testamentvariously, as "Gentiles" (Gen. 10:5; Judg. 4:2, 13, 16; Isa. 11:10;etc. ), "nations" (Gen. 10:5, 20, 31, 32; 14:1, 9; etc. ), and "heathen"(Neh. 5:8; Psa. 2:1, 8, etc. ), the essential element of designationbeing that of foreigners. In Smith's _Dict. Of the Bible_, we read "It[the name 'Gentiles'] acquired an ethnographic and also an invidiousmeaning, as other nations were idolatrous, rude, hostile, etc. , yet theJews were able to use it in a purely technical, geographical sense, whenit was usually translated 'nations. '" Dr. Edward E. Nourse, writing forthe _Standard Bible Dictionary_, says: "In New Testament times, the Jewdivided mankind into three classes, (1) Jews, (2) Greeks (Hellenes, madeto include Romans, thus meaning the civilized peoples of the RomanEmpire, often rendered 'Gentiles' in Authorized Version), and (3)barbarians (the uncivilized, Acts 28:4; Rom. 1:14; 1 Cor. 14:11). " Theinjunction laid by Jesus upon the Twelve--"Go not into the way of theGentiles"--was to restrain them for the time being from attempting tomake converts among the Romans and Greeks, and to confine their ministryto the people of Israel. 

3. Shaking the Dust from the Feet. --To ceremonially shake the dust fromone's feet as a testimony against another was understood by the Jews tosymbolize a cessation of fellowship and a renunciation of allresponsibility for consequences that might follow. It became anordinance of accusation and testimony by the Lord's instructions to Hisapostles as cited in the text. In the current dispensation, the Lord hassimilarly directed His authorized servants to so testify against thosewho wilfully and maliciously oppose the truth when authoritativelypresented (see Doc. And Cov. 24:15; 60:15; 75:20; 84:92; 99:4). Theresponsibility of testifying before the Lord by this accusing symbol isso great that the means may be employed only under unusual and extremeconditions, as the Spirit of the Lord may direct. 

4. The Two Bethsaidas. --It is held by many Bible students thatBethsaida, in the desert region adjoining which Jesus and the Twelvesought rest and seclusion, was the town of that name in Perea, on theeastern side of the Jordan, and known more specifically as BethsaidaJulias to distinguish it from Bethsaida in Galilee, which latter wasclose to Capernaum. The Perean village of Bethsaida had been enlargedand raised to the rank of a town by the tetrarch, Philip, and by him hadbeen named Julias in honor of Julia, daughter of the reigning emperor. The Gospel narratives of the voyage by which Jesus and His companionsreached the place, and of the return therefrom, are conformable to theassumption that Bethsaida Julias in Perea and not Bethsaida in Galilee, was the town to which the "desert place" referred to was an outlyingdistrict. 

5. The Earlier and the Later Evening. --Matthew specifies two evenings ofthe day on which the five thousand were fed; thus "when it was evening"the disciples asked Jesus to send away the multitude; and later, afterthe miraculous feeding and after the disciples had left by boat, andafter the crowds had departed, "when the evening was come" Jesus wasalone on the mountain (Matt. 14:15, 23; compare Mark 6:35, 47). Trench_Notes on the Miracles_, (p. 217) says: "St. Matthew and St. Mark withhim, makes two evenings to this day--one which had already commencedbefore the preparations for the feeding of the multitude had begun(verse 15), the other now, when the disciples had entered into the shipand set forth on their voyage (verse 23). And this was an ordinary wayof speaking among the Jews, the first evening being very much ourafternoon . .. The second evening being the twilight, or from six o'clockto twilight, on which absolute darkness followed. " See Smith's _Dict. _, article "Chronology, " from which the following excerpt is taken:"'Between the two evenings' (margin of Exo. 12:6; Numb. 9:3; 28:4) is anatural division between the late afternoon when the sun is low, and theevening when his light has not wholly disappeared, the two evenings intowhich the natural evening would be cut by the commencement of the civilday if it began at sunset. "

6. Watches of the Night. --During the greater part of Old Testament time, the people of Israel divided the night into three watches, each of fourhours, such a period being that of individual sentinel duty. Before thebeginning of the Christian era, however, the Jews had adopted the Romanorder of four night-watches, each lasting three hours. These weredesignated numerically, e. G. The fourth watch mentioned in the text (seeMatt. 14:25), or as even, midnight, cock-crowing, and morning (see Mark13:35). The fourth watch was the last of the three-hour periods betweensunset and sunrise, or between 6 p. M. And 6 a. M. And therefore extendedfrom 3 to 6 o'clock in the morning. 

7. The Hem of the Garment. --The faith of those who believed that if theycould but touch the border of the Lord's garment they would be healed, is in line with that of the woman who was healed of her long-standingmalady by so touching His robe (see Matt. 9:21; Mark 5:27, 28; Luke8:44). The Jews regarded the border or hem of their outer robes as ofparticular importance, because of the requirement made of Israel inearlier days (Numb. 15:38, 39) that the border be fringed and suppliedwith a band of blue, as a reminder to them of their obligations as thecovenant people. The desire to touch the hem of Christ's robe may havebeen associated with this thought of sanctity attaching to the hem orborder. 

8. Traditions Concerning Manna. --The supplying of manna to theIsraelites incident to the exodus and the long travel in the wilderness, was rightly regarded as a work of surpassing wonder (Exo. 16:14-36;Numb. 11:7-9; Deut. 8:3, 16; Josh. 5:12; Psa. 78:24, 25). Manytraditions, some of them perniciously erroneous, gathered about theincident, and were transmitted with invented additions from generationto generation. In the time of Christ the rabbinical teaching was thatthe manna on which the fathers had fed was literally the food of theangels, sent down from heaven; and that it was of diverse taste andflavor to suit all ages, conditions, or desires; to one it tasted likehoney, to another as bread, etc. ; but in all Gentile mouths it wasbitter. Moreover it was said that the Messiah would give an unfailingsupply of manna to Israel when He came amongst them. These erroneousconceptions in part explain the demand of those who had been fed onbarley loaves and fishes, for a sign that would surpass the giving ofmanna in the olden days, as evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus. 

9. Faith a Gift of God. --"Though within the reach of all who diligentlystrive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a divine gift, and can beobtained only from God (Matt. 16:17; John 6:44, 65; Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 12:9; Rom. 12:3; Moroni 10:11). As is fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they areworthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates. Althoughfaith is called the first principle of the Gospel of Christ, though itbe in fact the foundation of all religion, yet even faith is preceded bysincerity of disposition and humility of soul, whereby the word of Godmay make an impression upon the heart (Rom. 10:17). No compulsion isused in bringing men to a knowledge of God; yet, as fast as we open ourhearts to the influences of righteousness, the faith that leads to lifeeternal will be given us of our Father. "--_Articles of Faith_, v:16. 

10. Spiritual Symbolism of Eating. --"The idea of eating, as a metaphorfor receiving spiritual benefit, was familiar to Christ's hearers, andwas as readily understood as our expressions--'devouring a book, ' or'drinking in' instruction. In Isaiah 3:1, the words 'the whole stay ofbread, ' were explained by the rabbis as referring to their own teaching, and they laid it down as a rule, that wherever, in Ecclesiastes, allusion was made to food or drink, it meant study of the law, and thepractise of good works. It was a saying among them--'In the time of theMessiah the Israelites will be fed by Him. ' Nothing was more common inthe schools and synagogs than the phrases of eating and drinking, in ametaphorical sense. 'Messiah is not likely to come to Israel, ' saidHillel, 'for they have already eaten Him'--that is, greedily receivedHis words--'in the days of Hezekiah. ' A current conventionalism in thesynagogs was that the just would 'eat the Shekinah. ' It was peculiar tothe Jews to be taught in such metaphorical language. Their rabbis neverspoke in plain words, and it is expressly said that Jesus submitted tothe popular taste, for 'without a parable spake he not unto them' (Mark4:34). "--Geikie, _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I, p. 184. 

11. The Crucial Nature of the Discourse. --Commenting on the effect ofour Lord's discourse (John 6:26-71), Edersheim (vol. Ii, p. 36) says:"Here then we are at the parting of the two ways; and just because itwas the hour of decision, did Christ so clearly set forth the highesttruths concerning Himself, in opposition to the views which themultitude entertained about the Messiah. The result was yet another anda sorer defection. Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walkedno more with Him. Nay, the searching trial reached even unto the heartsof the Twelve. Would they also go away? It was an anticipation ofGethsemane--its first experience. But one thing kept them true. It wasthe experience of the past. This was the basis of their present faithand allegiance. They could not go back to their old past; they mustcleave to Him. So Peter spake it in name of them all: Lord, to whomshall we go? Words of eternal life hast thou! Nay, and more than this, as the result of what they had learned: And we have believed and knowthat thou art the Holy One of God. It is thus, also, that many of us, whose thoughts may have been sorely tossed, and whose foundationsterribly assailed, may have found our first resting-place in theassured, unassailable spiritual experience of the past. Whither can wego for words of eternal life, if not to Christ? If He fails us, then allhope of the eternal is gone. But He has the words of eternal life--andwe believed when they first came to us; nay, we know that He is the HolyOne of God. And this conveys all that faith needs for further learning. The rest will He show when He is transfigured in our sight. But of theseTwelve Christ knew one to be a devil--like that angel, fallen fromhighest height to lowest depth. The apostasy of Judas had alreadycommenced in his heart. And the greater the popular expectancy anddisappointment had been, the greater the reaction and the enmity thatfollowed. The hour of decision was past, and the hand on the dialpointed to the hour of His death. "

FOOTNOTES:

[694] Matt. 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6. 

[695] Luke 4:28-30. See pages 179-181. 

[696] Pages 254, 274. 

[697] Note 2, page 273. 

[698] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[699] Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-5. 

[700] Mark 3:14. 

[701] Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6. 

[702] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[703] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15. Page 695 herein. 

[704] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[705] Matt. 10:18-20; compare Mark 13:9; Luke 12:10-12. 

[706] Mark 6:7. 

[707] John 5; pages 206, 216. 

[708] Matt. 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-34; see page 252. 

[709] Page 259. 

[710] Mark 6:12, 13; Luke 9:10. Note similar testimony of the Seventy, who were sent out at a later time, and who returned rejoicing in thepower that had been manifest in their ministry; Luke 10:17. 

[711] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[712] John 6:5-14; compare Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17. 

[713] John 6:4; Matt. 14:19; Mark 6:39. 

[714] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[715] Matt. 14:22-33; compare Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21. 

[716] Page 321. 

[717] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[718] That is to say, "since" or "inasmuch". 

[719] Compare Peter's impetuous leap into the sea to reach theresurrected Lord on the shore, John 21:7. 

[720] Mark 6:52. 

[721] Note that this is the first occurrence of this title in theSynoptic Gospels, as applied to Jesus by mortals; compare an earlierinstance of its application by Nathanael, John 1:49. 

[722] "Articles of Faith, " v:11-13--"Faith a Principle of Power. "

[723] Josephus, Wars. Iii, 10:7, 8. 

[724] Mark 6:53-56; compare Matt. 14:34-36. Note 7, end of chapter. 

[725] John 6:22-27. 

[726] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[727] John 6:32-59. 

[728] John 4:13-15; page 174 herein. 

[729] Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:34; Micah 4:2; compare Heb. 8:10; 10:16. 

[730] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[731] Note 10, end of chapter. 

[732] Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19, 20. Page 596. 

[733] John 6:59-71. 

[734] Luke 3:16, 17; Matt. 3:11, 12. 

[735] Compare this confession (John 6:68, 69) with Peter's latertestimony (Matt. 16:16). Note 11, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 22. 

A PERIOD OF DARKENING OPPOSITION. 

Our Lord's last recorded discourse in the synagog at Capernaum, whichfollowed close upon the miracle of feeding the five thousand and that ofwalking upon the water, marked the beginning of another epoch in thedevelopment of His life's work. It was the season of an approachingPassover festival;[736] and at the next succeeding Passover, one yearlater, as shall be shown, Jesus would be betrayed to His death. At thetime of which we now speak, therefore, He was entering upon the lastyear of His ministry in the flesh. But the significance of the event isother and greater than that of a chronological datum-plane. Thecircumstance marked the first stage of a turn in the tide of popularregard toward Jesus, which theretofore had been increasing, and whichnow began to ebb. True, He had been repeatedly criticized and openlyassailed by complaining Jews on many earlier occasions; but these craftyand even venomous critics were mostly of the ruling classes; the commonpeople had heard Him gladly, and indeed many of them continued so todo;[737] nevertheless His popularity, in Galilee at least, had begun towane. The last year of His earthly ministration was inaugurated by asifting of the people who professed to believe His word, and thisprocess of test, trial, and separation, was to continue to the end. 

We are without information as to Jesus having attended this Passoverfeast; and it is reasonable to infer that in view of the increasinghostility on the part of the rulers, He refrained from going toJerusalem on the occasion. Conjecture as to whether any of the Twelvewent up to the festival is profitless; we are not told. Certain it isthat immediately after this time, the detectives and spies, who had beensent from Jerusalem into Galilee to watch Jesus, became more active thanever in their critical espionage. They dogged His footsteps, noted everyact, and every instance of omission of traditional or customaryobservance, and were constantly on the alert to make Him out anoffender. 

CEREMONIAL WASHINGS, "AND MANY SUCH LIKE THINGS, "[738]

Shortly after the Passover to which allusion has been made, and probablyin accordance with a plan decided upon by the Jewish rulers, Jesus wasvisited by a delegation of Pharisees and scribes who had come fromJerusalem, and who made protest against the disregard of traditionalrequirements by His followers. It appears that the disciples, and almostcertainly the Master Himself, had so far transgressed "the tradition ofthe elders" as to omit the ceremonial washing of hands before eating;the Pharisaic critics found fault, and came demanding explanation, andjustification if such were possible. Mark tells us that the discipleswere charged with having eaten with "defiled", or, as the marginalreading gives it, with "common" hands; and he interpolates the followingconcise and lucid note concerning the custom which the disciples weresaid to have ignored: "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except theywash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. Andwhen they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And manyother things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washingof cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. "[739] It should beborne in mind that the offense charged against the disciples was that ofceremonial uncleanness, not physical uncleanliness or disregard ofsanitary propriety; they were said to have eaten with common or defiledhands, not specifically with dirty fingers. In all the externals oftheir man-made religionism, the Jews were insistent on scrupulousexactitude; every possibility of ceremonial defilement was to becarefully guarded against, and the effects thereof had to becounteracted by prescribed washings. [740]

To the question: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of theelders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread", Jesus gaveno direct reply; but asked as a rejoinder: "Why do ye also transgressthe commandment of God by your tradition?" To the Pharisaic mind thismust have been a very sharp rebuke; for rabbinism held that rigorouscompliance with the traditions of the elders was more important thanobservance of the law itself; and Jesus in His counter question puttheir cherished traditions as in direct conflict with the commandment ofGod. Adding to their discomfiture, He cited the prophecy of Isaiah, andapplied to them whom He designated hypocrites, the prophet's words:"Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, Thispeople honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines thecommandments of men. "[741] With deserved severity Jesus carried thelesson home to their consciences, declaring that they had laid aside thecommandments of God in order that they might follow the traditions ofmen. 

This accusing affirmation was followed by the citing of an undeniableinstance: Moses had voiced the direct commandment of God in saying:"Honour thy father and thy mother, " and had proclaimed the ordainedpenalty in extreme cases of unfilial conduct thus: "Whoso curseth fatheror mother, let him die";[742] but this law, though given of God directto Israel, had been so completely superseded that any ungrateful andwicked son could find ready means, which their traditions had madelawful, of escaping all filial obligations, even though his parents weredestitute. If a needy father or mother craved help of a son, he had butto say--What you ask of me is Corban--or in other words, an intendedgift to God; and he was held to be legally exempt from all requirementsto contribute of that substance to the support of his parents. [743]Other obligations could be similarly evaded. To declare that any articleof property real or personal, or any part or proportion of one'spossessions was "corban, " was generally understood as an averment thatthe property so characterized was dedicated to the temple, or at leastwas intended to be devoted to ecclesiastical purposes, and wouldeventually be turned over to the officials, though the donor mightcontinue to hold possession during a specified period, extending even tothe end of his life. Property was often declared to be "corban" forother purposes than dedication to ecclesiastical use. The result of suchestablished though utterly unlawful and pernicious traditions was, asJesus emphatically stated to the Pharisees and scribes, to make the wordof God of none effect, and, He added, "Many such like things do ye. "

Turning from His titled visitors, He called the people together andproclaimed unto them the truth, as follows: "Hearken unto me every oneof you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, thatentering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, lethim hear. " This was directly in conflict with rabbinical precept andpractise; the Pharisees were offended, for they had said that to eatwith hands that had not been ritualistically cleansed was to defile thefood touched, and in turn to become yet more defiled from the food thusrendered unclean. 

The apostles were not sure that they understood the Master's lesson;though couched in plain, non-figurative language, it was to some of themvery like a parable, and Peter asked an exposition. The Lord explainedthat the food one eats is but temporarily part of his body; havingserved its purpose of nourishing the tissues and supplying energy to theorganism, it is eliminated; therefore the food that enters the bodythrough the mouth is of small and transient importance compared with theutterances that issue from the mouth, for these, if evil, are trulydefiling. As Jesus set forth: "Those things which proceed out of themouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of theheart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man; butto eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. "[744]

Some of the disciples asked Jesus whether He knew that the Pharisees hadtaken offense at His saying; His answer was a further denunciation ofPharisaism: "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. " Therecould be no compromize between His doctrine of the kingdom and thecorrupt Judaism of the time. The rulers were plotting against His life;if their emissaries chose to take offense at His words, let them beoffended and stand the consequences; but blessed would they be if theywere not offended because of Him. [745] He had no conciliatory measuresto offer those whose inability to understand His meaning was the resultof wilful obstinacy, or darkness of mind produced by persistence in sin. 

WITHIN THE BORDERS OF TYRE AND SIDON. [746]

Unable to find in Galilee rest, seclusion, or adequate opportunity ofinstructing the Twelve as He desired to do, Jesus departed with themnorthward, and journeyed into the coasts or borders of Phenicia, adistrict commonly known by the names of its prominent cities, Tyre andSidon. In one of the little towns near the border, the party tooklodgings; but the attempt to secure privacy was futile, for the Master'spresence "could not be hid. " His fame had preceded Him beyond theboundaries of the land of Israel. On earlier occasions, people from theregion of Tyre and Sidon had been among His listeners, and some of themhad been blessed by His healing mercies. [747]

A woman, hearing of His presence within her own land, came asking aboon. Mark tells us she was a Greek, or more literally a Gentile[748]who spoke Greek, and by nationality a Syro-Phenician; Matthew says shewas "a woman of Canaan"; these statements are in harmony, since thePhenicians were of Canaanite descent. The Gospel-historians make clearthe fact that this woman was of pagan or heathen birth; and we know thatamong the peoples so classed the Canaanites were held in particulardisrepute by the Jews. The woman cried aloud to Jesus, saying: "Havemercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexedwith a devil. " Her words expressed at once faith in the Lord's power, and a fulness of mother-love, for she implored as though she were theafflicted sufferer. The fact that she addressed Jesus as Son of Daviddemonstrates her belief that He was the Messiah of Israel. At firstJesus refrained from answering her. Undeterred, she pleaded the more, until the disciples besought the Lord saying: "Send her away; for shecrieth after us. " Their intervention was probably an intercession in herbehalf; she could be quieted by the granting of her request; as it was, she was making an undesirable scene, probably on the street, and theTwelve knew well that their Master sought quietude. To them Jesus said:"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, " and theremark must have reminded them of the restriction under which they hadbeen sent out. [749]

The woman, with importunate desire came near, possibly entering thehouse; she fell at the Lord's feet and worshiped Him, pleadingpitifully, "Lord, help me. " To her Jesus said, "It is not meet to takethe children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. " The words, harsh as theymay sound to us, were understood by her in the spirit of the Lord'sintent. The original term here translated "dogs" connoted, as thenarrative shows, not the vagrant and despized curs elsewhere spoken ofin the Bible as typical of a degraded state, or of positivebadness, [750] but literally the "little dogs" or domestic pets, such aswere allowed in the house and under the table. Certainly the woman tookno offense at the comparison, and found therein no objectionableepithet. Instantly she adopted the analogy, and applied it in combinedargument and supplication, [751] "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of thecrumbs which fall from their masters' table;" or, in the words of Mark'sversion: "Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children'scrumbs. " Her prayer was immediately granted; for Jesus said unto her, "Owoman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And herdaughter was made whole from that very hour. " Mark emphasizes thespecial recognition of her final plea, and adds: "And when she was cometo her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid uponthe bed. " The woman's commendable persistency was based on the faiththat overcomes apparent obstacles and endures even under discouragement. Her case reminds one of the lesson taught by the Lord on anotheroccasion through the story of the importunate widow. [752]

Many have queried as to why Jesus delayed the blessing. We may not beable to fathom His purposes; but we see that, by the course He adopted, the woman's faith was demonstrated and the disciples were instructed. Jesus impressed upon her that she was not of the chosen people, to whomHe had been sent; but His words prefigured the giving of the gospel toall, both Jew and Gentile: "Let the children _first_ be filled" He hadsaid. The resurrected Christ was to be made known to every nation;[753]but His personal ministry as a mortal, as also that of the apostleswhile He was with them in the flesh, was directed to the house ofIsrael. [754]

IN THE COASTS OF DECAPOLIS. [755]

We are not told how long Jesus and the Twelve tarried in the land ofTyre and Sidon, nor which portions of the district they traversed. Theywent thence into the region adjoining the sea of Galilee on the east, "through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. "[756] Though still amongsemi-pagan peoples, our Lord was greeted by great crowds, amongst whomwere many lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and otherwise afflicted; and themHe healed. Great was the astonishment of these aliens, "when they sawthe dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and theblind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. "

Among the many who were healed was one of whom special mention is made. He was deaf and defective in speech. The people asked the Lord to layHis hands upon the man; but Jesus led him away from the multitude, putHis fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue; thenlooking upward in prayer, and sighing the while, He uttered a word ofcommand in Aramaic, "Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway hisears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spakeplain. " The manner of effecting this cure was different again from theusual mode of our Lord's healing ministrations. It may be that by thefinger-touch to the closed ears and to the bound tongue, the man's faithwas strengthened and his confidence in the Master's power increased. Thepeople were forbidden to tell abroad what they had witnessed; but themore they were charged the more they published the news. Theirconclusion as to Jesus and His works was: "He hath done all things well:he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. "

ANOTHER MEAL IN THE DESERT; OVER FOUR THOUSAND FED. [757]

For three days the glad crowds remained with Jesus and the apostles. Camping out at that season and in that region entailed no great hardshipincident to exposure. Their supply of food, however, had becomeexhausted; and many of them were far from home. Jesus had compassionupon the people, and was loath to send them away fasting, lest theywould faint by the way. When He spoke to the disciples on the matterthey intimated the impossibility of feeding so great a number, for theentire stock of food at hand comprized but seven loaves and a few littlefishes. Had they forgotten the former occasion on which a greatermultitude had been fed and filled with but five loaves and two smallfishes? Rather let us believe that the disciples remembered well, yetdeemed it beyond their duty or privilege to suggest a repetition of themiracle. But the Master commanded; and the people seated themselves onthe ground. Blessing and dividing the small provision as before, He gaveto the disciples and they distributed to the multitude. Four thousandmen, beside women and children, were abundantly fed; and of the brokenbut uneaten food there remained enough to fill seven baskets. With nosemblance of the turbulent enthusiasm that had followed the feeding ofthe five thousand, this multitude dispersed quietly and returned totheir homes, grateful and doubly blessed. 

AGAIN BESET BY SIGN-SEEKERS. [758]

Jesus and the apostles returned by boat to the western shore of thelake, and landed near Magdala and Dalmanutha. These towns are understoodto have been so close together as to virtually make the latter a suburbof the other. Here the party was met by the ever-vigilant Pharisees, whoon this occasion were accompanied by their usually unfriendly rivals, the Sadducees. That the two parties had temporarily laid aside theirmutual differences, and had combined their forces in the common cause ofopposition to Christ, is a demonstration of the determined purpose ofthe ecclesiastical authorities to find occasion against Him, and, ifpossible, destroy Him. Their immediate object was to further alienatethe common people, and to counteract the influence of His formerteachings with the masses. They set anew the old-time snare of demandingfrom Him a supernatural sign of His Messiahship, though thrice alreadyhad they or others of their kind so attempted to entrap Him, and thricehad they been foiled. [759] Before them, Satan in person had similarlytried and failed. [760] To their present impertinent and impious demandHe gave a brief and definite refusal coupled with an exposure of theirhypocrisy. This was His reply: "When it is evening, ye say, It will befair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foulweather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye candiscern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of thetimes? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; andthere shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. "[761]

THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES AND OF THE SADDUCEES. [762]

Again with the Twelve upon the water, since on the Galilean coastneither peace nor opportunity for effective teaching was found, Jesusdirected the vessel's course toward the north-easterly shore. When wellout from land, He said to His companions: "Take heed and beware of theleaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, " and, as Mark adds, "andof the leaven of Herod. " In their hasty departure the disciples hadforgotten to take a supply of food; they had with them but a singleloaf. They construed His words respecting leaven as a reference tobread, and possibly as a reproof for their neglect. Jesus chided them asof little faith for thinking then of material bread, and refreshed theirrecollection of the miracles by which the multitudes had been fed, sothat their lack of loaves would not further trouble them. Finally theywere made to understand that the Master's warning was directed againstthe false doctrines of the Pharisees and those of the Sadducees, andagainst the political aspirations of the scheming Herodians. [763]

The party left the boat near the site of the first miraculous feeding ofthe multitude, and made their way to Bethsaida Julias. A blind man wasbrought, and Jesus was asked to touch him. He took the sightless one bythe hand, led him outside the town, applied saliva to his eyes, laidhands upon him in a ministration, and asked him if he could see. The mananswered that he saw dimly, but was unable to distinguish men fromtrees. Applying His hands to the man's eyes, Jesus told him to look up;the man did so and saw clearly. Bidding him not to enter the town, norto tell of his deliverance from blindness to any in the place, the Lordsent him away rejoicing. This miracle presents the unique feature ofJesus healing a person by stages; the result of the first ministrationwas but a partial recovery. No explanation of the exceptionalcircumstance is given. 

"THOU ART THE CHRIST. "[764]

Accompanied by the Twelve, Jesus continued His way northward to theneighborhood or "coasts" of Cęsarea Philippi, an inland city situatednear the eastern and principal source of the Jordan, and near the footof Mount Hermon. [765] The journey afforded opportunity for special andconfidential instruction to the apostles. Of them Jesus asked: "Whom domen say that I the Son of man am?" In reply they reported the rumors andpopular fancies that had come to their notice. Some people, sharing thesuperstitious fears of the conscience-stricken Herod Antipas, said thatJesus was John the Baptist returned to life, though such a belief couldnot have been entertained seriously by many, as John and Jesus wereknown to have been contemporaries; others said He was Elias, or moreexactly, Elijah; still others suggested He was Jeremiah or some otherone of the ancient prophets of Israel. It is significant that among allthe conceptions of the people as to the identity of Jesus there was nointimation of belief that He was the Messiah. Neither by word nor deedhad He measured up to the popular and traditional standard of theexpected Deliverer and King of Israel. Fleeting manifestations ofevanescent hope that He might prove to be the looked-for Prophet, likeunto Moses, had not been lacking; but all such incipient conceptions hadbeen neutralized by the hostile activity of the Pharisees and theirkind. To them it was a matter of supreme though evil determination tomaintain in the minds of the people the thought of a yet future, not apresent, Messiah. 

With deep solemnity, and as a soul-searching test for which the Twelvehad been in unconscious preparation through many months of close andprivileged companionship with their Lord, Jesus asked of them: "But whomsay ye that I am?" Answering for all, but more particularly testifyingas to his own conviction, Peter, with all the fervor of his soul, voicedthe great confession: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. "This was no avowal of mere belief, no expression of a result at which hehad arrived by mental process, no solution of a problem laboriouslyworked out, no verdict based on the weighing of evidence; he spoke inthe sure knowledge that knows no question and from which doubt andreservation are as far removed as is the sky from the ground. 

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father whichis in heaven. " Peter's knowledge, which was also that of his brethren, was of a kind apart from all that man may find out for himself; it was adivine bestowal, in comparison with which human wisdom is foolishnessand the treasure of earth but dross, Addressing Himself further to thefirst of the apostles, Jesus continued: "And I say also unto thee, Thatthou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gatesof hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keysof the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shallbe bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall beloosed in heaven. "

Through direct revelation from God Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ;and upon revelation, as a rock of secure foundation, the Church ofChrist was to be built. [766] Though torrents should fall, floods roll, winds rage, and all beat together upon that structure, it would not, could not, fall, for it was founded upon a rock;[767] and even thepowers of hell would be impotent to prevail against it. By revelationalone could or can the Church of Jesus Christ be builded and maintained;and revelation of necessity implies revelators, through whom the will ofGod may be made known respecting His Church. As a gift from God comesthe testimony of Jesus into the heart of man. This principle wascomprized in the Master's teachings at Capernaum, that none could cometo Him save such as the Father would bring. [768] The Lord's promise, that unto Peter He would give "the keys of the kingdom of heaven, "embodies the principle of divine authority in the Holy Priesthood, andof the commission of presidency. Allusion to keys as symbolical of powerand authority is not uncommon in Jewish literature, as was wellunderstood in that period and is generally current today. [769] So alsothe analogies of binding and loosing as indicative of official acts werethen usual, as they are now, particularly in connection with judicialfunctions. Peter's presidency among the apostles was abundantly manifestand generally recognized after the close of our Lord's mortal life. Thus, it was he who spoke in behalf of the Eleven, in the councilmeeting at which a successor to the traitor Iscariot was chosen; he wasthe spokesman of his brethren on the occasion of the Pentecostalconversion; it was he who opened the doors of the Church to theGentiles;[770] and his office of leadership is apparent throughout theapostolic period. 

The confession by which the apostles avowed their acceptance of Jesus asthe Christ, the Son of the living God, was evidence of their actualpossession of the spirit of the Holy Apostleship, by which they weremade particular witnesses of their Lord. The time for a generalproclamation of their testimony had not arrived, however; nor did itcome until after Christ had emerged from the tomb a resurrected, immortalized Personage. For the time being they were charged "that theyshould tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. " Proclamation of Jesusas the Messiah, particularly if made by the apostles who were publiclyknown as His most intimate disciples and associates, or open assumptionof the Messianic title by Himself, would have aggravated the hostilityof the rulers, which had already become a grave interference if not anactual menace to the Savior's ministry; and seditious uprisings againstthe political government of Rome might easily have resulted. A yetdeeper reason for the secrecy enjoined upon the Twelve appears in thefact that the Jewish nation was not prepared to accept their Lord; andto ignore Him through lack of certain knowledge involved a lesser degreeof culpability than would have attached to an unpalliated rejection. Theparticular mission of the apostles at a time then future was to proclaimto all nations Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Christ. 

From the time of Peter's confession however, Jesus instructed the Twelvemore plainly and with greater intimacy concerning the futuredevelopments of His mission, and particularly as touching His appointeddeath. On earlier occasions He had referred in their hearing to thecross, and to His approaching death, burial and ascension; but themention in each case was in a measure figurative, and they hadapprehended but imperfectly if at all. Now, however, He began to show, and often afterward made plain unto them, "how that he must go untoJerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests andscribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. "

Peter was shocked at this unqualified declaration, and, yielding toimpulse, remonstrated with Jesus, or, as two of the evangelists state, "began to rebuke him, " even going so far as to say: "This shall not beunto thee. "[771] The Lord turned upon him with this sharp reproof: "Getthee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourestnot the things that be of God, but those that be of men. " Peter's wordsconstituted an appeal to the human element in Christ's nature; and thesensitive feelings of Jesus were wounded by this suggestion ofunfaithfulness to His trust, coming from the man whom He had so signallyhonored but a few moments before. Peter saw mainly as men see, understanding but imperfectly the deeper purposes of God. Thoughdeserved, the rebuke he received was severe. The adjuration, "Get theebehind me, Satan, " was identical with that used against the arch-tempterhimself, who had sought to beguile Jesus from the path upon which He hadentered, [772] and the provocation in the two instances was in somerespects similar--the temptation to evade sacrifice and suffering, though such was the world's ransom, and to follow a more comfortableway. [773] The forceful words of Jesus show the deep emotion that Peter'sill-considered attempt to counsel if not to tempt his Lord had evoked. 

Beside the Twelve, who were immediately about the Lord's person, otherswere nearby; it appears that even in those remote parts, far removedfrom the borders of Galilee--the habitat of a heathen population, withwhom, however, many Jews were intermixed--the people gathered around theMaster. These He now called together, and to them and the disciplessaid: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take uphis cross, and follow me. " Here the frightful figure of the cross wasagain made prominent. There was left no shadow of excuse for the thoughtthat devotion to Christ would not mean denial and privation. He whowould save his life at the cost of duty, as Peter had just suggestedthat Christ should do, would surely lose it in a sense worse than thatof physical death; whereas he who stood willing to lose all, even lifeitself, should find the life that is eternal. 

As evincing the soundness of His teachings, Jesus uttered what has sincebecome an inspiring aphorism of life: "For what is a man profited, if heshall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a mangive in exchange for his soul?" Whosoever is ashamed of Christ becauseof His lowly estate, or through offense at His teachings, shall yet findthat the Son of Man, when He comes in the glory of the Father, withattending cohorts of angels, will be ashamed of that man. The record ofthis memorable day in the Savior's life closes with His blessed promise:"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall nottaste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in hiskingdom. "[774]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 22. 

1. Passover Celebrations Comprized within the Period of Our Lord'sPublic Ministry. --The dates on which specific acts occurred in theministry of Jesus are difficult if not impossible to fix, except in fewinstances; and as heretofore stated and reiterated, even the order ofevents is often found to be uncertain. It will be remembered that Jesuswas in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover soon after His baptism, andthat on the visit referred to He forcibly cleared the temple courts oftraffickers and their property. This is known as the _first_ Passoverduring the public life of Jesus. If the unnamed "feast of the Jews"referred to by John (5:1) was a Passover, as many Bible students hold, it marked the close of the year following the cleansing the temple; itis commonly spoken of and written about as the _second_ Passover in thecourse of our Lord's ministry. Then the Passover near which Jesus fedthe five thousand (John 6:4) would be the _third_, and would mark theexpiration of two years and a fraction since the baptism of Jesus; itcertainly marks the beginning of the last year of the Savior's life onearth. 

2. Ceremonial Ablutions. --The numerous washings required by Jewishcustom in the time of Christ were admittedly incident to rabbinism and"the tradition of the elders" and not in compliance with the Mosaic law. Under certain conditions, successive washings were prescribed, inconnection with which we find mention of "first, " "second" and "other"waters, the "second water" being necessary to wash away the "firstwater, " which had become defiled by contact with the "common" hands; andso further with the later waters. Sometimes the hands had to be dippedor immersed; at other times they were to be cleansed by pouring, itbeing necessary that the water be allowed to run to the wrist or theelbow according to the degree of supposed defilement; then again, as thedisciples of Rabbi Shammai held, only the finger tips, or the fingers upto the knuckles, needed to be wetted under particular circumstances. Rules for the cleansing of vessels and furniture were detailed andexacting; distinct methods applied respectively to vessels of clay, wood, and metal. Fear of unwittingly defiling the hands led to manyextreme precautions. It being known that the Roll of the Law, the Rollof the Prophets, and other scriptures, when laid away were sometimestouched, scratched, or even gnawed by mice, there was issued arabbinical decree, that the Holy Scriptures, or any part thereofcomprizing as many as eighty-five letters (the shortest section in thelaw having just that number), defiled the hands by mere contact. Thusthe hands had to be ceremonially cleansed after touching a copy of thescriptures, or even a written passage therefrom. 

Emancipation from these and "many such like things" must have beenrelief indeed. Escape from this thraldom Jesus freely offered, saying:"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will giveyou rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek andlowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke iseasy, and my burden is light. " (Matt. 11:28-30. )

3. "Corban, " a Gift. --The law of Moses prescribed rules relating to vows(Lev. 27; Numb. 30). "Upon these rules, " says the writer in Smith's_Bible Dict. _, "the traditionalists enlarged, and laid down that a manmight interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, butfrom giving to another or receiving from him, some particular objectwhether of food or any other kind whatsoever. The thing thus interdictedwas considered as corban. A person might thus exempt himself from anyinconvenient obligation under plea of corban. Our Lord denouncedpractises of this sort (Matt. 15:5; Mark 7:11), as annulling the spiritof the law. "

The revised version, Matt. 15:5 is made to read "But ye say, Whosoevershall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest havebeen profited by me is given to God; he shall not honor his father (or, his mother). " The following account of this pernicious custom appears inthe _Commentary on The Holy Bible_ edited by Dummelow, "'Corban, 'meaning originally a sacrifice or a gift to God, was used in NewTestament times as a mere word of vowing, without implying that thething vowed would actually be offered or given to God. Thus a man wouldsay 'Corban to me is wine for such a time, ' meaning that he took a vowto abstain from wine. Or a man would say to a friend 'Corban to me forsuch a time is whatsoever I might be profited by thee, ' meaning that forsuch a time he vowed that he would receive neither hospitality nor anyother benefit from his friend. Similarly, if a son said to his father ormother, 'Corban is whatsoever thou mightest have profited by me' he tooka vow not to assist his father or mother in any way, however much theymight require it. A vow of this kind was held by the scribes to excuse aman from the duty of supporting his parents, and thus by their traditionthey made void the word of God. "

4. The "Dogs" that Eat of the Crumbs. --The woman's fervid rejoinder, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from theirmasters' table, " (Matt. 15:27), is thus commented upon and paraphrasedby Trench (_Notes on the Miracles_, p. 271): "The rendering of heranswer in our translation is not, however, altogether satisfactory. For, indeed, she accepts the Lord's declaration, not immediately to makeexception against the conclusion which He draws from it, but to show howin that very declaration is involved the granting of her petition. 'Saidest thou dogs? It is well; I accept the title and the place; forthe dogs have a portion of the meal, --not the first, not the children'sportion, but a portion still, --the crumbs which fall from the master'stable. In this very putting of the case, Thou bringest us heathen, Thoubringest me, within the circle of the blessings which God, the GreatHouseholder, is ever dispensing to His family. We also belong to Hishousehold, though we occupy but the lowest place therein. '"

The Dummelow _Commentary_, on Matt. 15:26, reads in part as follows:"The rabbis often spoke of the Gentiles as dogs, e. G. 'He who eats withan idolater is like one who eats with a dog. ' . .. 'The nations of theworld are compared to dogs. ' 'The holy convocation belongs to you, notto the dogs. ' Yet Jesus in adopting the contemptuous expression slightlysoftens it. He says not 'dogs, ' but 'little dogs, ' i. E. Household, favorite, dogs; and the woman cleverly catches at the expression, arguing that if the Gentiles are household dogs, then it is only rightthat they should be fed with the crumbs that fall from their masters'table. " Edersheim, referring to the original text, says: "The term means'little dogs, ' or 'house dogs. '"

5. Decapolis. --The name means "the ten cities, " and was applied to aregion of indefinite boundaries lying mostly on the east of Jordan andsoutherly from the sea of Galilee. Scythopolis, which Josephus (Wars ofthe Jews, iii, 9:7) refers to as the largest of the ten cities, was onthe west side of the river. There is lack of agreement among historiansas to the cities comprized under the name. Biblical mention (Matt. 4:25;Mark 5:20; 7:31) implies a general region rather than a definite area. 

6. The Coasts of Cęsarea Philippi. --The term "coast" as it appears inthe Bible (authorized, or King James version), is used to connoteboundary, limit, or border, and not distinctively a seashore. (Forexamples see Exo. 10:4, 14, 19; Josh. 15:1, 4; Judg. 11:20; Matt. 2:16, etc. ) It is applied therefore to inland areas, and frequently occurs asindicating a vicinity or neighborhood. 

Cęsarea Philippi, a town located, as stated in the text, near MountHermon at the source of the Jordan, had been enlarged and beautified byPhilip the tetrarch, and by him was named Cęsarea in honor of the Romanemperor. It was called Cęsarea Philippi to distinguish it from thealready existing Cęsarea, which was situated on the Mediterranean shoreof Samaria, and which in later literature came to be known as CęsareaPalestina. Cęsarea Philippi is believed to be identical with the ancientBaal Gad (Josh. 11:17) and Baal Hermon (Judg. 3:3). It was known as aplace of idolatrous worship, and while under Greek sovereignty wascalled Paneas in recognition of the mythological deity Pan. SeeJosephus, Ant. Xviii, 2:1; this designation persists in the presentArabic name of the place, Banias. 

7. Simon Peter and the "Rock" of Revelation. --Simon the son of Jonas, onthe occasion of his first recorded interview with Jesus had receivedfrom the Lord's lips the distinguishing name-title "Peter, " or in theAramaic tongue "Cephas, " the English equivalent of which is "a rock" or"a stone" (John 1:42; see also page 140 herein). The name was confirmedupon the apostle on the occasion now under consideration (Matt. 16:18). Jesus said to him "thou art Peter, " adding, "and upon this rock I willbuild my church. " In the course of the general apostasy subsequent tothe ancient apostolic ministry, the Bishop of Rome laid claim to supremeauthority as the alleged lineal successor to Peter; and an erroneousdoctrine gained currency to the effect that Peter was the "rock" uponwhich the Church of Christ was founded. Detailed consideration of thisinconsistent and infamous claim cannot be undertaken here; it issufficient to say that a church founded or dependent upon Peter or anyother man would be Peter's or the other man's church, and not the Churchof Jesus Christ. (See _The Great Apostasy_, chap 9; also B. Of M. , 3Nephi 27:1-8; also chapter 40 herein). That upon Peter rested theresponsibility of presidency in the ministry, after the ascension of theresurrected Christ, is not questioned; but that he was, even typically, the foundation upon which the Church was built, is at once unscripturaland untrue. The Church of Jesus Christ must authoritatively bear Hisname, and be guided by revelation, direct and continuous, as theconditions of its building require. Revelation from God to His servantsinvested with the Holy Priesthood through authorized ordination as wasPeter, is the impregnable "rock" upon which the Church is built. (See_Articles of Faith_, xvi, --"Revelation. ")

8. Christ's Rebuke to Peter. --In addressing Peter as "Satan, " Jesus wasobviously using a forceful figure of speech, and not a literaldesignation; for Satan is a distinct personage, Lucifer, that fallen, unembodied son of the morning (see page 7); and certainly Peter was nothe. In his remonstrance or "rebuke" addressed to Jesus, Peter was reallycounseling what Satan had before attempted to induce Christ to do, ortempting, as Satan himself had tempted. The command, "Get thee behindme, Satan, " as directed to Peter, is rendered in English by someauthorities "Get thee behind me, tempter. " The essential meaningattached to both Hebrew and Greek originals for our word "Satan" is thatof an adversary, or "one who places himself in another's way and thusopposes him. " (Zenos. ) The expression "Thou art an offense unto me" isadmittedly a less literal translation than "Thou art a stumbling-blockunto me. " The man whom Jesus had addressed as Peter--"the rock, " was nowlikened to a stone in the path, over which the unwary might stumble. 

9. Some to Live Until Christ Returns. --The Savior's declaration to theapostles and others in the neighborhood of Cęsarea Philippi, "Verily Isay unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste ofdeath, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom, " (Matt. 16:28; compare Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27), has occasioned great and diversecomment. The event referred to, that of the Son of Man coming in theglory of His Father attended by the angels, is yet future. At least apartial fulfilment of the prediction is presented in the prolongation ofthe life of John the apostle, who was there present, and who yet livesin the flesh according to his desire (John 21:20-24; see further B. OfM. , 3 Nephi 28:1-6; Doc. And Cov. Sec. 7). 

10. "Thou Art the Christ. "--Peter's solemn and soulful confession ofJesus as the Christ is worded differently by each of the threesynoptists. To many the most expressive version is that of Luke: "TheChrist of God. " On earlier occasions, some or all of the Twelve hadacknowledged Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, e. G. Following themiracle of walking upon the sea (Matt. 14:33), and again, after thecrucial sermon at Capernaum (John 6:69); but it is evident that Peter'supwelling and reverential confession in answer to the Lord's question"But whom say ye that I am?" had a significance, greater in assuranceand more exalted in kind, than had any prior expression of hisconception concerning his Lord. Yet even the conviction given throughdirect revelation (Matt. 16:17) did not at the time comprize acomprehensive knowledge of the Savior's mission. Indeed, a fulness ofunderstanding and assurance came to the apostles after the Lord'sresurrection (compare Romans 1:4). Nevertheless, Peter's testimony inthe land of Cęsarea Philippi evidences a very exalted attainment. Atthat stage of the Savior's ministry, the public proclamation of Hisdivine status would have been as the casting of pearls before swine(Matt. 7:6); therefore the Lord instructed the apostles that at thattime "they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. "

FOOTNOTES:

[736] John 6:4. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[737] Mark 12:37. 

[738] Matt. 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13. 

[739] As the Oxford marginal note shows "beds" is a more literalrendering than "tables", the couches upon which the eaters reclined attable being meant. See page 261. 

[740] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[741] Mark 7:6, 7; see also Matt. 15:7-9; Isa. 29:13; compare the wordsof the resurrected Christ to the prophet Joseph Smith, in the presentdispensation, P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith, 2:19. 

[742] Exo. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; Exo. 21:17; Lev. 20:9. 

[743] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[744] Matt. 15:10-20; compare Mark 7:14-23. 

[745] Matt. 11:6; Luke 7:23; pages 255 and 274 herein. 

[746] Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:21-30. 

[747] Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17. 

[748] See marginal reading in Oxford and Bagster Bibles; see also Note2, page 345. 

[749] Matt. 10:5, 6; see also page 328 herein. 

[750] Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8; 16:9; Job 30:1;Matt. 7:6; Philip 3:2; Rev. 22:15. 

[751] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[752] Luke 18:1-8. Page 436. 

[753] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15. 

[754] Acts 3:25, 26; 13:46-48; Rom. 15:8. 

[755] Mark 7:31-37; compare Matt. 15:29-31. 

[756] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[757] Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9. 

[758] Matt. 15:29; 16:1-5; Mark 8:10-13. 

[759] John 2:18; 6:30; Matt. 12:38. 

[760] Matt. 4:6, 7; Luke 4:9-12. 

[761] Matt. 16:2-4; compare 12:38-41; pages 155-157 herein. 

[762] Matt. 16:6-12; Mark 8:14-21; compare Luke 12:1. 

[763] Page 68. 

[764] Matt. 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21. Note 10, end ofchapter. 

[765] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[766] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[767] Compare Matt. 7:24, 25. 

[768] John 6:46; compare verses 37, 39, 40. 

[769] See Isa. 22:22; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; compare Doc. And Cov. 6:28; 7:7; 27:5, 6, 9; 28:7; 42:69; 84:26; etc. 

[770] Acts 1:15-26; 2:14-40; chap. 10, compare with 15:7. 

[771] Matt. 16:22, 23; Mark 8:32, 33. 

[772] Luke 4:8. 

[773] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[774] Note 9, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 23. 

THE TRANSFIGURATION. 

Of the week following the events last considered, no record is found inthe Gospels. We may safely assume that the time was devoted, in part atleast, to the further instruction of the Twelve respecting the rapidlyapproaching consummation of the Savior's mission on earth, the awfulcircumstances of which the apostles were loath to believe possible. Whenthe week had passed[775] Jesus took Peter, James, and John[776] and withthem ascended a high mountain, where they would be reasonably safe fromhuman intrusion. [777] There the three apostles witnessed a heavenlymanifestation, which stands without parallel in history; in our Biblecaptions it is known as the Transfiguration of Christ. [778]

One purpose of the Lord's retirement was that of prayer, and atranscendent investiture of glory came upon Him as He prayed. Theapostles had fallen asleep, but were awakened by the surpassing splendorof the scene, and gazed with reverent awe upon their glorified Lord. "The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was whiteand glistering. " His garments, though made of earth-woven fabric, "became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth canwhite them;" "and his face did shine as the sun. " Thus was Jesustransfigured before the three privileged witnesses. 

With Him were two other personages, who also were in a state ofglorified radiance, and who conversed with the Lord. These, as theapostles learned by means not stated though probably as gathered fromthe conversation in progress, were Moses and Elias, or more literally tous, Elijah; and the subject of their conference with Christ was "hisdecease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. " As the prophetvisitants were about to depart, "Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it isgood for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. "Undoubtedly Peter and his fellow apostles were bewildered, "sore afraid"indeed; and this condition may explain the suggestion respecting thethree tabernacles. "He wist not what to say;" yet, though his remarkappears confused and obscure, it becomes somewhat plainer when weremember that, at the annual feast of Tabernacles, it was customary toerect a little bower, or booth of wattled boughs, for each individualworshiper, into which he might retire for devotion. So far as there wasa purpose in Peter's proposition, it seems to have been that of delayingthe departure of the visitants. 

The sublime and awful solemnity of the occasion had not yet reached itsclimax. Even as Peter spake, "behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them:and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. " It was Elohim, [779] the EternalFather, who spake; and at the sound of that voice of supreme Majesty, the apostles fell prostrate. Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Arise, and be not afraid. " When they looked they saw that again theywere alone with Him. 

The impression made upon the three apostles by this manifestation wasone never to be forgotten; but they were expressly charged to speak ofit to no man until after the Savior had risen from the dead. They werepuzzled as to the significance of the Lord's reference to Hisprospective rising from the dead. They had heard with great sorrow, andreluctantly they were being brought to understand it to be an awfulcertainty, that their beloved Master was to "suffer many things, and berejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and bekilled. "[780] Such had been declared to them before, in language devoidof ambiguity and admitting of no figurative construction; and with equalplainness they had been told that Jesus would rise again; but of thislatter eventuality they had but dim comprehension. The presentreiteration of these teachings seems to have left the three with noclearer understanding of their Lord's resurrection from the dead thanthey had before. They seem to have had no definite conception as to whatwas meant by a resurrection; "And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead shouldmean. "[781]

The comprehensiveness of the Lord's injunction, that until after Hisrising from the dead they tell no man of their experiences on the mount, prohibited them from informing even their fellows of the Twelve. Later, after the Lord had ascended to His glory, Peter testified to the Churchof the wondrous experience, in this forceful way: "For we have notfollowed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the powerand coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of hismajesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, whenthere came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is mybeloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came fromheaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. "[782] AndJohn, reverently confessing before the world the divinity of the Word, the Son of God who had been made flesh to dwell among men, solemnlyaffirmed: "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten ofthe Father, full of grace and truth. "[783]

The divine purpose as shown forth in the Transfiguration may be asincomprehensible to the human mind as is a full conception of theattendant splendor from verbal description; some features of the resultsachieved are apparent, however. Unto Christ the manifestation wasstrengthening and encouraging. The prospect of the experiencesimmediately ahead must naturally have been depressing and dishearteningin the extreme. In faithfully treading the path of His life's work, Hehad reached the verge of the valley of the shadow of death; and thehuman part of His nature called for refreshing. As angels had been sentto minister unto Him after the trying scenes of the forty days' fast andthe direct temptation of Satan, [784] and as, in the agonizing hour ofHis bloody sweat, He was to be sustained anew by angelic ministry, [785]so at this critical and crucial period, the beginning of the end, visitants from the unseen world came to comfort and support Him. What ofactual communication passed in the conference of Jesus with Moses andElijah is not of full record in the New Testament Gospels. 

The voice of His Father, to whom He was the Firstborn in thespirit-world, and the Only Begotten in the flesh, was of supremeassurance; yet that voice had been addressed to the three apostlesrather than to Jesus, who had already received the Father'sacknowledgment and attestation on the occasion of His baptism. Thefullest version of the Father's words to Peter, James, and John is thatrecorded by Matthew: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;hear ye him. " Aside from the proclamation of the Son's divine nature, the Father's words were otherwise decisive and portentous. Moses, thepromulgator of the law, and Elijah the representative of the prophetsand especially distinguished among them as the one who had notdied, [786] had been seen ministering unto Jesus and subservient to Him. The fulfillment of the law and the superseding of the prophets by theMessiah was attested in the command--Hear ye _Him_. A new dispensationhad been established, that of the gospel, for which the law and theprophets had been but preparatory. The apostles were to be guidedneither by Moses nor Elijah, but by _Him_, their Lord, Jesus the Christ. 

The three selected apostles, "the Man of Rock and the Sons of Thunder"had seen the Lord in glory; and they marveled that such a thing could beat that time, since as they had interpreted the scriptures, it had beenpredicted that Elijah should precede the Messiah's triumphal advent. Asthey wended their way down the mountain-side, they asked theMaster:[787] "Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?"Jesus confirmed the prophecy that Elias should first come, that is, before the Lord's advent in glory, which event they had in mind; "But, "He added, "I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew himnot, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall alsothe Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that hespake unto them of John the Baptist. " That John the Baptist wouldofficiate "in the spirit and power of Elias, " as the forerunner of theChrist, had been announced by the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, [788]before the Baptist's birth; and that John was _that_ particular Eliashad been shown by Jesus in His memorable tribute to the Baptist'sfidelity and greatness. That His words would not be generally acceptedwith understanding is evidenced by the context; Jesus, on that occasion, had said: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for tocome. "[789]

It is not possible that Jesus could have meant that John was the sameindividual as Elijah; nor could the people have so understood His words, since the false doctrine of transmigration or reincarnation of spiritswas repudiated by the Jews. [790] The seeming difficulty is removed whenwe consider that, as the name appears in the New Testament, "Elias" isused for "Elijah, "[791] with no attempt at distinction between Elijahthe Tishbite, and any other person known as Elias. Gabriel's declarationthat the then unborn John should manifest "the spirit and power ofElias" indicates that "Elias" is a title of office; every restorer, forerunner, or one sent of God to prepare the way for greaterdevelopments in the gospel plan, is an Elias. The appellative "Elias" isin fact both a personal name and a title. 

In the present dispensation both the ancient Elias, who belonged to theAbrahamic dispensation and in the spirit of whose office many haveofficiated in different periods, and also the prophet Elijah, haveappeared in person and have conferred their particular and separateauthority upon latter-day bearers of the Holy Priesthood, and the keysof the powers exercized by them while on earth are today inherent in therestored Church of Jesus Christ. The authority of Elias is inferior tothat of Elijah, the first being a function of the Lesser or Aaronicorder of Priesthood, while the latter belongs to the Higher orMelchizedek Priesthood. Malachi's prediction, that before "the great anddreadful day of the Lord" Elijah the prophet would be sent to earth to"turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of thechildren to their fathers, "[792] did not reach fulfilment in the missionof John the Baptist, nor in that of any other "Elias";[793] its completerealization was inaugurated on the third day of April, 1836, when Elijahappeared in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, and committed to Joseph Smithand Oliver Cowdery the keys of the authority theretofore vested inhimself. "The great and dreadful day of the Lord" was not the meridianof time; that awful though blessed period of consummation is yet future, but "near, even at the doors. "[794]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 23. 

1. Interval Between Time of Peter's Confession and that of theTransfiguration. --Both Matthew (17:1) and Mark (9:2) state that theTransfiguration occurred "after six days" following the time of Peter'sgreat confession that Jesus was the Christ; while Luke (9:28) notes aninterval of "about an eight days. " It is probable that the six-dayperiod was meant to be exclusive of the day on which the earlier eventshad occurred and of that on which Jesus and the three apostles retiredto the mountain; and that Luke's "about an eight days" was made toinclude these two days. There is here no ground for a claim ofdiscrepancy. 

2. Peter, James, and John who were selected from among the Twelve as theonly earthly witnesses of the transfiguration of Christ, had beensimilarly chosen as witnesses of a special manifestation, that of theraising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51); and, later, the same three were the sole witnesses of our Lord's night agony inGethsemane (Matt. 26:37; Mark 14:33). 

3. Place of the Transfiguration. --The mountain on which theTransfiguration occurred is neither named nor otherwise indicated by theGospel-writers in such a way as to admit of its positive identification. Mount Tabor, in Galilee, has long been held by tradition as the site, and in the sixth century three churches were erected on its plateau-likesummit, possibly in commemoration of Peter's desire to make threetabernacles or booths, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Later amonastery was built there. Nevertheless, Mt. Tabor is now rejected byinvestigators, and Mt. Hermon is generally regarded as the place. Hermonstands near the northerly limits of Palestine, just beyond CęsareaPhilippi, where Jesus is known to have been a week before theTransfiguration. Mark (9:30) distinctly tells us that after His descentfrom the mount, Jesus and the apostles departed and went throughGalilee. Weight of evidence is in favor of Hermon as the Mount ofTransfiguration, though nothing that may be called decisive is known inthe matter. 

4. The Names "Elias" and "Elijah. "--The following statement whichappears in Smith's _Bible Dictionary_ is supported by authorities ingeneral: "'Elias'" is "the Greek and Latin form of 'Elijah' given in theAuthorized Version of the Apocrypha and New Testament. "

5. "The Spirit and Power of Elias. "--That John the Baptist, in hiscapacity as a restorer, a forerunner, or as one sent to prepare the wayfor a work greater than his own, did officiate as an "Elias" is attestedby both ancient and latter-day scripture. Through him water baptism forthe remission of sins was preached and administered, and the higherbaptism, that of the Spirit, was made possible. True to his mission, hehas come in the last dispensation, and has restored by ordination thePriesthood of Aaron, which has authority to baptize. He thus preparedthe way for the vicarious labor of baptism for the dead, the authorityfor which was restored by Elijah, (see page 149 herein), and which ispreeminently the work by which the children and the fathers shall beunited in an eternal bond. 

On the 10th of March, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith gave the followingexposition of the power of Elias as compared with higher authority: "Thespirit of Elias is first, Elijah second, and Messiah last. Elias is aforerunner to prepare the way, and the spirit and power of Elijah is tocome after, holding the keys of power, building the temple to thecap-stone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon thehouse of Israel, and making all things ready; then Messiah comes to Histemple, which is last of all. "

"Messiah is above the spirit and power of Elijah, for He made the world, and was that spiritual rock unto Moses in the wilderness. Elijah was tocome and prepare the way and build up the kingdom before the coming ofthe great day of the Lord, although the spirit of Elias might beginit. "--_Hist. Of the Church_, under date named. 

6. Mention of the Lord's Approaching "Decease. "--Of the threesynoptists, Luke alone makes even brief mention of the matter upon whichMoses and Elijah conversed with the Lord at the Transfiguration. Therecord states that the visitants, who appeared in glory, "spake of hisdecease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). It issignificant that the _decease_, which the Lord should _accomplish_, notthe _death_ that He should _suffer_ or _die_, was the subject of thatexalted communion. The Greek word of which "decease" appears as theEnglish equivalent in many of the MSS. Of the Gospels, is one connoting"exodus, " or "departure, " and the word occurring in other early versionssignifies glory. So also the Greek original of "accomplish, " in theaccount of the Transfiguration, connotes the successful filling out orcompletion of a specific undertaking, and not distinctively the act ofdying. Both the letter of the record and the spirit in which therecorder wrote indicate that Moses and Elijah conversed with their Lordon the glorious consummation of His mission in mortality--a consummationrecognized in the law (personified in Moses) and the prophets(represented by Elijah)--and an event of supreme import, determining thefulfilment of both the law and the prophets, and the gloriousinauguration of a new and higher order as part of the divine plan. The_decease_ that the Savior was then so soon to _accomplish_ was thevoluntary surrender of His life in fulfilment of a purpose at onceexalted and foreordained, not a _death_ by which He would passively_die_ through conditions beyond His control. (See pp. 418, and 662). 

FOOTNOTES:

[775] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[776] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[777] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[778] Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36. 

[779] Page 38. 

[780] Mark 8:31. Note 6, end of chapter. 

[781] Mark 9:10. 

[782] 2 Peter 1:16-18. 

[783] John 1:14. 

[784] Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13. 

[785] Luke 22:43; compare John 12:27-28. 

[786] 2 Kings 2:11. 

[787] Matt. 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13. 

[788] Luke 1:17; pages 77 and 257 herein. 

[789] Matt. 11:14. 

[790] Edersheim, "Life and Times of Jesus, " vol. Ii, p. 79. 

[791] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[792] Mal. 4:5, 6; see page 149 herein. 

[793] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[794] Doc. And Cov. 110:13-16. See chapter 41, herein. 

CHAPTER 24. 

FROM SUNSHINE TO SHADOW. 

Our Lord's descent from the holy heights[795] of the Mount ofTransfiguration was more than a physical return from greater to lesseraltitudes; it was a passing from sunshine into shadow, from theeffulgent glory of heaven to the mists of worldly passions and humanunbelief; it was the beginning of His rapid descent into the valley ofhumiliation. From lofty converse with divinely-appointed ministers, fromsupreme communion with His Father and God, Jesus came down to a scene ofdisheartening confusion and a spectacle of demonized dominion beforewhich even His apostles stood in impotent despair. To His sensitive andsinless soul the contrast must have brought superhuman anguish; even tous who read the brief account thereof it is appalling. 

HEALING OF YOUTHFUL DEMONIAC. 

Jesus and the three apostles returned from the mount on the morrowfollowing the Transfiguration;[796] this fact suggests the assumptionthat the glorious manifestation had occurred during the night. At ornear the base of the mountain the party found the other apostles, andwith them a multitude of people, including some scribes or rabbis. [797]There was evidence of disputation and disturbance amongst the crowd; andplainly the apostles were on the defensive. At the unexpected approachof Jesus many of the people ran to meet Him with respectful salutations. Of the contentious scribes He asked: "What question ye with them?" thusassuming the burden of the dispute, whatever it might be, and sorelieving the distressed disciples from further active participation. The scribes remained silent; their courage had vanished when the Masterappeared. A man, "one of the multitude, " gave, though indirectly, theanswer. "Master, " said he, kneeling at the feet of Christ, "I havebrought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever hetaketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast himout; and they could not. "

The disciples' failure to heal the stricken youth had evidently broughtupon them hostile criticism, taunts and ridicule from the unbelievingscribes; and their discomfiture must have been intensified by thethought that through them doubt had been cast upon the authority andpower of their Lord. Pained in spirit at this--another instance ofdearth of faith and consequent lack of power among His chosen andordained servants--Jesus uttered an exclamation of intense sorrow: "Ofaithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall Isuffer you?" These words, in which there is evident reproof, howevermild and pitying it may be, were addressed primarily to the apostles;whether exclusively so or to them and others is of minor importance. AsJesus directed, the afflicted lad was brought nearer; and the tormentingdemon, finding himself in the Master's presence, threw his youthfulvictim into a terrible paroxysm, so that the boy fell to the ground andwallowed in convulsions, the while frothing and foaming at the mouth. With calm deliberation, which contrasted strongly with the eagerimpatience of the distracted parent, Jesus inquired as to when themalady had first befallen the lad. "Of a child, " answered the father, adding, "And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into thewaters, to destroy him. " With pathetic eagerness he implored, "If thoucanst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. " The man spoke ofhis son's affliction as though shared by himself. "Help us, " was hisprayer. 

To this qualifying expression "If thou canst do anything, " which implieda measure of uncertainty as to the ability of the Master to grant whathe asked, and this perhaps as in part a result of the failure of theapostles, Jesus replied: "If thou canst believe"; and added, "all thingsare possible to him that believeth. " The man's understanding wasenlightened; up to that moment he had thought that all depended uponJesus; he now saw that the issue rested largely with himself. It isnoteworthy that the Lord specified belief rather than faith as thecondition essential to the case. The man was evidently trustful, andassuredly fervent in his hope that Jesus could help; but it is doubtfulthat he knew what faith really meant. He was receptive and eagerlyteachable, however, and the Lord strengthened his feeble and uncertainbelief. The encouraging explanation of the real need stimulated him to amore abounding trust. Weeping in an agony of hope he cried out: "Lord, Ibelieve;" and then, realizing the darkness of error from which he wasjust beginning to emerge, he added penitently "help thou mine unbelief"[798]

Looking compassionately upon the writhing sufferer at His feet, Jesusrebuked the demon, thus: "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, comeout of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and renthim sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch thatmany said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted himup; and he arose;" and as Luke adds, "and delivered him again to hisfather. " The permanency of the cure was assured by the express commandthat the evil spirit enter no more into the lad;[799] it was no relieffrom that present attack alone; the healing was permanent. 

The people were amazed at the power of God manifested in the miracle;and the apostles who had tried and failed to subdue the evil spirit weredisturbed. While on their mission, though away from their Master'shelpful presence, they had successfully rebuked and cast out evilspirits as they had received special power and commission to do, [800]but now, during His absence of a day they had found themselves unable. When they had retired to the house, they asked of Jesus, "Why could notwe cast him out?" The reply was: "Because of your unbelief;" and infurther explanation the Lord said, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out butby prayer and fasting. "[801]

Hereby we learn that the achievements possible to faith are limited orconditioned by the genuineness, the purity, the unmixed quality of thatfaith. "O ye of little faith;" "Where is your faith?" and "Whereforedidst thou doubt?"[802] are forms of admonitory reproof that had beenrepeatedly addressed to the apostles by the Lord. The possibilities offaith were now thus further affirmed: "Verily I say unto you, If ye havefaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall beimpossible unto you. "[803] The comparison between effective faith and agrain of mustard seed is one of quality rather than of quantity; itconnotes living, virile faith, like unto the seed, however small, fromwhich a great plant may spring, [804] in contrast with a lifeless, artificial imitation, however prominent or demonstrative. 

THE LORD'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION AGAIN PREDICTED. [805]

From the locality whereat the last miracle was wrought, Jesus departedwith the Twelve, and passed through Galilee toward Capernaum. It isprobable that they traveled by the less frequented roads, as He desiredthat His return should not be publicly known. He had gone intocomparative retirement for a season, primarily it seems in quest ofopportunity to more thoroughly instruct the apostles in theirpreparation for the work, which within a few months they would be leftto carry on without His bodily companionship. They had solemnlytestified that they knew Him to be the Christ; to them therefore Hecould impart much that the people in general were wholly unprepared toreceive. The particular theme of His special and advanced instruction tothe Twelve was that of His approaching death and resurrection; and thiswas dwelt upon again and again, for they were slow or unwilling tocomprehend. 

"Let these sayings sink down into your ears" was His forceful prelude onthis occasion, in Galilee. Then followed the reiterated prediction, spoken in part in the present tense as though already begun infulfilment: "The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and theyshall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the thirdday. " We read with some surprize that the apostles still failed tounderstand. Luke's comment is: "But they understood not this saying, andit was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to askhim of that saying. " The thought of what the Lord's words might mean, even in its faintest outline, was terrifying to those devoted men; andtheir failure to comprehend was in part due to the fact that the humanmind is loath to search deeply into anything it desires not to believe. 

THE TRIBUTE MONEY--SUPPLIED BY A MIRACLE. [806]

Jesus and His followers were again in Capernaum. There Peter wasapproached by a collector of the temple tax, who asked: "Doth not yourMaster pay tribute?"[807] Peter answered "Yes. " It is interesting tofind that the inquiry was made of Peter and not directly of Jesus; thiscircumstance may be indicative of the respect in which the Lord was heldby the people at large, and may suggest the possibility of doubt in thecollector's mind as to whether Jesus was amenable to the tax, sincepriests and rabbis generally claimed exemption. 

The annual capitation tax here referred to amounted to half a shekel ora didrachm, corresponding to about thirty-three cents in our money; andthis had been required of every male adult in Israel since the days ofthe exodus; though, during the period of captivity the requirement hadbeen modified. [808] This tribute, as prescribed through Moses, wasoriginally known as "atonement money, " and its payment was in the natureof a sacrifice to accompany supplication for ransom from the effects ofindividual sin. At the time of Christ the annual contribution wasusually collected between early March and the Passover. If Jesus wassubject to this tax, He was at this time several weeks in arrears. 

The conversation between Peter and the tax-collector had occurredoutside the house. When Peter entered, and was about to inform theMaster concerning the interview, Jesus forestalled him, saying: "Whatthinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom ortribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. "

Peter must have seen the inconsistency of expecting Jesus, theacknowledged Messiah, to pay atonement money, or a tax for templemaintenance, inasmuch as the temple was the House of God, and Jesus wasthe Son of God, and particularly since even earthly princes wereexempted from capitation dues. Peter's embarrassment over hisinconsiderate boldness, in pledging payment for his Master without firstconsulting Him, was relieved however by Jesus, who said:"Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, andcast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thouhast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, andgive unto them for me and thee. "

The money was to be paid, not because it could be rightfully demanded ofJesus, but lest non-payment give offense and furnish to His opponentsfurther excuse for complaint. The "piece of money, " which Jesus saidPeter would find in the mouth of the first fish that took his bait, ismore correctly designated by the literal translation "stater, "[809]indicating a silver coin equivalent to a shekel, or two didrachms, andtherefore the exact amount of the tax for two persons. "That take, andgive unto them for me and thee" said Jesus. It is notable that He didnot say "for us. " In His associations with men, even with the Twelve, who of all were nearest and dearest to Him, our Lord always maintainedHis separate and unique status, in every instance making the factapparent that He was essentially different from other men. This isillustrated by His expressions "My Father and your Father, " "My God andyour God, "[810] instead of our Father and our God. He reverentlyacknowledged that He was the Son of God in a literal sense that did notapply to any other being. 

While the circumstances of the finding of the stater in the fish are notdetailed, and the actual accomplishment of the miracle is not positivelyrecorded, we cannot doubt that what Jesus had promised was realized, asotherwise there would appear no reason for introducing the incident intothe Gospel narrative. The miracle is without a parallel or even aremotely analogous instance. We need not assume that the stater wasother than an ordinary coin that had fallen into the water, nor that ithad been taken by the fish in any unusual way. Nevertheless, theknowledge that there was in the lake a fish having a coin in its gullet, that the coin was of the denomination specified, and that thatparticular fish would rise, and be the first to rise to Peter's hook, isas incomprehensible to man's finite understanding as are the means bywhich any of Christ's miracles were wrought. The Lord Jesus held andholds dominion over the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, for byHis word and power were they made. 

The Lord's purpose in so miraculously supplying the money should bestudiously considered. The assumption that superhuman power had to beinvoked because of a supposed condition of extreme poverty on the partof Jesus and Peter is unwarranted. Even if Jesus and His companions hadbeen actually penniless, Peter and his fellow fishermen could easilyhave cast their net, and, with ordinary success have obtained fishenough to sell for the needed amount. Moreover, we find no instance of amiracle wrought by the Lord for personal gain or relief of His own need, however pressing. It appears probable, that by the means employed forobtaining the money, Jesus intentionally emphasized His exceptionalreasons for redeeming Peter's pledge that the tax would be paid. TheJews, who did not know Jesus as the Messiah, but only as a Teacher ofsuperior ability and a Man of unusual power, might have taken offensehad He refused to pay the tribute required of every Jew. On the otherhand, to the apostles and particularly to Peter who had been themouth-piece of all in the great confession, the payment of the tax inordinary course and without explanation by Jesus might have appeared asan admission that He was subject to the temple, and therefore less thanHe had claimed and less than they had confessed Him to be. Hiscatechization of Peter had clearly demonstrated that He maintained Hisright as the King's Son, and yet would condescend to voluntarily givewhat could not be righteously demanded. Then, in conclusivedemonstration of His exalted status, He provided the money by theutilization of knowledge such as no other man possessed. 

AS A LITTLE CHILD. [811]

On the way to Capernaum the apostles had questioned among themselves, asthey supposed beyond the Master's hearing; questioning had led toargument, and argument to disputation. The matter about which they wereso greatly concerned was as to who among them should be the greatest inthe kingdom of heaven. The testimony they had received convinced thembeyond all doubt, that Jesus was the long-awaited Christ, and this hadbeen supplemented and confirmed by His unqualified acknowledgment of HisMessianic dignity. With minds still tinctured by the traditionalexpectation of the Messiah as both spiritual Lord and temporal King, andremembering some of the Master's frequent references to His kingdom andthe blessed state of those who belonged thereto, and furthermorerealizing that His recent utterances indicated a near crisis or climaxin His ministry, they surrendered themselves to the selfishcontemplation of their prospective stations in the new kingdom, and theparticular offices of trust, honor, and emolument each most desired. Whoof them was to be prime minister; who would be chancellor, who thecommander of the troops? Personal ambition had already engenderedjealousy in their hearts. 

When they were together with Jesus in the house at Capernaum, thesubject was brought up again. Mark tells us that Jesus asked: "What wasit that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" and that they answerednot, because, as may be inferred, they were ashamed. From Matthew'srecord it may be understood that the apostles submitted the question forthe Master's decision. The apparent difference of circumstance isunimportant; both accounts are correct; Christ's question to them mayhave eventually brought out their questions to Him. Jesus, comprehendingtheir thoughts and knowing their unenlightened state of mind on thematter that troubled them, gave them an illustrated lesson. Calling alittle child, whom He lovingly took into His arm, He said: "Verily I sayunto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, yeshall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shallhumble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdomof heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my namereceiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones whichbelieve in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged abouthis neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. " With thislesson we may profitably associate a later teaching, that littlechildren are typical of the kingdom of heaven. [812]

Even the apostles were in need of conversion;[813] respecting the matterat issue their hearts were turned, partly at least, from God and Hiskingdom. They had to learn that genuine humility is an attributeessential to citizenship in the community of the blessed; and that thedegree of humility conditions whatsoever there is akin to rank in thekingdom; for therein the humblest shall be greatest. 

Christ would not have had His chosen representatives become childish;far from it, they had to be men of courage, fortitude, and force; but Hewould have them become childlike. The distinction is important. Thosewho belong to Christ must become like children in obedience, truthfulness, trustfulness, purity, humility and faith. The child is anartless, natural, trusting believer; the childish one is careless, foolish, and neglectful. In contrasting these characteristics, note thecounsel of Paul: "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit inmalice be ye children, but in understanding be men. "[814] Children assuch, and children as types of adults who are true believers, areclosely associated in this lesson. Whosoever shall offend, that is causeto stumble or go astray, one such child of Christ, incurs guilt so greatthat it would have been better for him had he met death even by violencebefore he had so sinned. 

Dwelling upon offenses, or causes of stumbling, the Lord continued: "Woeunto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offencescome; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" Then, repeatingsome of the precious truths embodied in His memorable Sermon on theMount, [815] He urged the overcoming of evil propensities whatever thesacrifice. As it is better that a man undergo surgical treatment thoughhe lose thereby a hand, a foot, or an eye, than that his whole body beinvolved and his life forfeited, so is it commended that he cut off, tear away, or root out from his soul the passions of evil, which, ifsuffered to remain shall surely bring him under condemnation. In thatstate his conscience shall gnaw as an undying worm, and his remorseshall be as a fire that cannot be quenched. Every human soul shall betested as by fire; and as the flesh of the altar sacrifices had to beseasoned with salt, as a type of preservation from corruption, [816] soalso the soul must receive the saving salt of the gospel; and that saltmust be pure and potent, not a dirty mixture of inherited prejudice andunauthorized tradition that has lost whatever saltness it may once havehad. "Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another, " was theLord's admonition to the disputing Twelve. [817]

As applicable to children of tender years, and to child-like believersyoung and old, the Savior gave to the apostles this solemn warning andprofound statement of fact: "Take heed that ye despise not one of theselittle ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do alwaysbehold the face of my Father which is in heaven. " The mission of theChrist was presented as that of saving those who are temporarily lost, and who, but for His aid would be lost forever. In elucidation of Hismeaning, the Teacher presented a parable which has found place among theliterary treasures of the world. 

THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP. [818]

"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be goneastray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into themountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that hefind it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than ofthe ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will ofyour Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones shouldperish. "

In this effective analogy the saving purpose of Christ's mission is madeprominent. He is verily the Savior. The shepherd is portrayed as leavingthe ninety and nine, pastured or folded in safety we cannot doubt, whilehe goes alone into the mountains to seek the one that has strayed. Infinding and bringing back the wayward sheep, he has more joy than thatof knowing the others are yet safe. In a later version of this splendidparable, as addressed to the murmuring Pharisees and scribes atJerusalem, the Master said of the shepherd on his finding the lostsheep:

"And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which waslost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over onesinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. "[819]

Many have marveled that there should be greater rejoicing over therecovery of one stray sheep, or the saving of a soul that had been asone lost, than over the many who have not been in such jeopardy. In thesafe-folded ninety and nine the shepherd had continued joy; but to himcame a new accession of happiness, brighter and stronger because of hisrecent grief, when the lost was brought back to the fold. To thisparable in connection with others of analogous import we shall recur ina later chapter. 

"IN MY NAME. "[820]

In continuation of the lesson illustrated by the little child, Jesussaid: "Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: andwhosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that isleast among you all, the same shall be great. " It may have been Christ'sreference to deeds done in His name that prompted John to interject aremark at this point: "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thyname, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followethnot us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shalldo a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he thatis not against us is on our part. " The young apostle had allowed hiszeal for the Master's name to lead to intolerance. That the man who hadattempted to do good in the name of Jesus was evidently sincere, andthat his efforts were acceptable to the Lord we cannot doubt; his actwas essentially different from the unrighteous assumptions for whichsome others were afterward rebuked;[821] he was certainly a believer inChrist, and may have been one of the class from which the Lord was soonto select and commission special ministers and the Seventy. [822] In thestate of divided opinion then existing among the people concerningJesus, it was fair to say that all who were not opposed to Him were atleast tentatively on His side. On other occasions He asserted that thosewho were not with Him were against Him. [823]

MY BROTHER AND I. [824]

The proper method of adjusting differences between brethren and thefundamental principles of Church discipline were made subjects ofinstruction to the Twelve. The first step is thus prescribed: "Moreoverif thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his faultbetween thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thybrother. " The rule of the rabbis was that the offender must make thefirst advance; but Jesus taught that the injured one should not wait forhis brother to come to him, but go himself, and seek to adjust thedifficulty; by so doing he might be the means of saving his brother'ssoul. If the offender proved to be obdurate, the brother who hadsuffered the trespass was to take two or three others with him, andagain try to bring the transgressor to repentant acknowledgment of hisoffense; such a course provided for witnesses, by whose presence latermisrepresentation would be guarded against. 

Extreme measures were to be adopted only after all gentler means hadfailed. Should the man persist in his obstinacy, the case was to bebrought before the Church, and in the event of his neglect or refusal toheed the decision of the Church, he was to be deprived of fellowship, thereby becoming in his relationship to his former associates "as anheathen man and a publican. " In such state of non-membership he would bea fit subject for missionary effort; but, until he became repentant andmanifested willingness to make amends, he could claim no rights orprivileges of communion in the Church. Continued association with theunrepentant sinner may involve the spread of his disaffection, and thecontamination of others through his sin. Justice is not to be dethronedby Mercy. The revealed order of discipline in the restored Church issimilar to that given to the apostles of old. [825]

The authority of the Twelve to administer the affairs of Churchgovernment was attested by the Lord's confirming to them as a body thepromise before addressed to Peter: "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever yeshall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shallloose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. "[826] Through unity of purposeand unreserved sincerity they would have power with God, as witness theMaster's further assurance: "Again I say unto you, That if two of youshall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shallbe done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or threeare gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. "Peter here broke in with a question: "Lord, how oft shall my brother sinagainst me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" He would fain havesome definite limit set, and he probably considered the tentativesuggestion of seven times as a very liberal measure, inasmuch as therabbis prescribed a triple forgiveness only. [827] He may have chosenseven as the next number above three having a special Pharisaicalsignificance. The Savior's answer was enlightening: "Jesus saith untohim, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy timesseven. " This reply must have meant to Peter as it means to us, that toforgiveness man may set no bounds; the forgiveness, however, must bemerited by the recipient. [828] The instruction was made memorable by thefollowing story. 

PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT. 

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, whichwould take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, onewas brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuchas he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servanttherefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patiencewith me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant wasmoved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But thesame servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owedhim an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by thethroat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell downat his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I willpay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, tillhe should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that wasdone. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thouwicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, evenas I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to thetormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewiseshall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your heartsforgive not every one his brother their trespasses. "[829]

Ten thousand talents are specified as expressive of a sum so great as toput the debtor beyond all reasonable possibility of paying. We mayregard the man as a trusted official, one of the king's ministers, whohad been charged with the custody of the royal revenues, or one of thechief treasurers of taxes; that he is called a servant introduces noinconsistency, as in an absolute monarchy all but the sovereign aresubjects and servants. The selling of the debtor's wife and children andall that he had would not have been in violation of the law in thesupposed case, which implies the legal recognition of slavery. [830] Theman was in arrears for debt. He did not come before his lord voluntarilybut had to be brought. So in the affairs of our individual livesperiodical reckonings are inevitable; and while some debtors report oftheir own accord, others have to be cited to appear. The messengers whoserve the summons may be adversity, illness, the approach of death; but, whatever, whoever they are, they enforce a rendering of our accounts. 

The contrast between ten thousand talents and a hundred pence isenormous. [831] In his fellowservant's plea for time in which to pay thehundred pence, the greater debtor should have been reminded of the direstraits from which he had just been relieved; the words, "Have patiencewith me, and I will pay thee all, " were identical with those of his ownprayer to the king. The base ingratitude of the unmerciful servantjustified the king in revoking the pardon once granted. The man cameunder condemnation, not primarily for defalcation and debt, but for lackof mercy after having received of mercy so abundantly. He, as an unjustplaintiff, had invoked the law; as a convicted transgressor he was to bedealt with according to the law. Mercy is for the merciful. As aheavenly jewel it is to be received with thankfulness and used withsanctity, not to be cast into the mire of undeservedness. Justice maydemand retribution and punishment: "With what measure ye mete, it shallbe measured to you again. "[832] The conditions under which we mayconfidently implore pardon are set forth in the form of prayerprescribed by the Lord: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive ourdebtors. "[833]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 24. 

1. Faith in Behalf of Others. --The supplication of the agonized fatherfor the benefit of his sorely afflicted son--"Have compassion on us, andhelp us" (Mark 9:22)--shows that he made the boy's case his own. In thiswe are reminded of the Canaanite woman who implored Jesus to have mercyon her, though her daughter was the afflicted one (Matt. 15:22; page 354herein). In these cases, faith was exercized in behalf of the sufferersby others; and the same is true of the centurion who pleaded for hisservant and whose faith was specially commended by Jesus (Matt 8:5-10;page 249 herein); of Jairus whose daughter lay dead (Luke 8:41, 42, 49, 50; page 313 herein), and of many who brought their helpless kindred orfriends to Christ and pleaded for them. As heretofore shown, faith to behealed is as truly a gift of God as is faith to heal (page 318); and, asthe instances cited prove, faith may be exercized with effect in behalfof others. In connection with the ordinance of administering to theafflicted, by anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, asauthoritatively established in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, theelders officiating should encourage the faith of all believers present, that such be exerted in behalf of the sufferer. In the case of infantsand of persons who are unconscious, it is plainly useless to look foractive manifestation of faith on their part, and the supporting faith ofkindred and friends is all the more requisite. 

2. Power Developed by Prayer and Fasting. --The Savior's statementconcerning the evil spirit that the apostles were unable tosubdue--"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer andfasting"--indicates gradation in the malignity and evil power of demons, and gradation also in the results of varying degrees of faith. Theapostles who failed on the occasion referred to had been able to castout demons at other times. Fasting, when practised in prudence, andgenuine prayer are conducive to the development of faith with itsaccompanying power for good. Individual application of this principlemay be made with profit. Have you some besetting weakness, some sinfulindulgence that you have vainly tried to overcome? Like the malignantdemon that Christ rebuked in the boy, your sin may be of a kind thatgoeth out only through prayer and fasting. 

3. Nothing Impossible to Faith. --Many people have questioned the literaltruth of the Lord's declaration that by faith mountains may be removedfrom their place. Plainly there would have to be a purpose in harmonywith the divine mind and plan, in order that faith could be exerted atall in such an undertaking. Neither such a miracle nor any other ispossible as a gratification of the yearning for curiosity, nor fordisplay, nor for personal gain or selfish satisfaction. Christ wroughtno miracle with any such motive; He persistently refused to show signsto mere sign-seekers. But to deny the possibility of a mountain beingremoved through faith, under conditions that would render such removalacceptable to God, is to deny the word of God, both as to this specificpossibility, and as to the general assurance that "nothing shall beimpossible" to him who hath faith adequate to the end desired. It isworthy of note, however, that the Jews in the days of Christ and sinceoften spoke of removing mountains as a figurative expression for theovercoming of difficulties. According to Lightfoot and other authoritiesa man able to solve intricate problems, or of particular power inargument or acumen in judgment, was referred to as a "rooter up ofmountains. "

4. The Temple Tribute. --That the tribute money referred to in the textwas a Jewish contribution to the temple and not a tax levied by theRoman government, is apparent from the specification of the "didrachma, "which in the authorized version is translated "tribute. " This coin wasequivalent to the half shekel, reckoned "after the shekel of thesanctuary, " which was the fixed amount to be paid annually by every male"from twenty years old and above, " with the provision that "the richshall not give more and the poor shall not give less" (Exo. 30:13-15). Atax levied by the political powers would not be designated as thedidrachma. Moreover, had the collector who approached Peter been one ofthe official publicans, he probably would have demanded the tax insteadof inquiring as to whether or not the Master was to be counted among thecontributors. 

Among the many humiliations to which the Jews were subjected in lateryears, after the destruction of the temple, was the compulsory paymentof what had been their temple tribute, to the Romans, who decreed it asa revenue to the pagan temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Of the emperorVespasian, Josephus (Wars of the Jews, vii, 6:6) says: That he also laida tribute wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bringtwo drachmę every year into the capitol, as they used to pay the same tothe temple at Jerusalem. 

5. Talents and Pence. --It is evident that by specifying ten thousandtalents as the debt due the king, and a hundred pence as that owed bythe fellow-servant, the Lord intended to present a case of greatdisparity and striking contrast. The actual amounts involved are ofminor significance in the story. We are not told which variety of talentwas meant; there were Attic talents, and both silver and gold talents ofHebrew reckoning; and each differed from the others in value. The Oxfordmarginal explanation is: "A talent is 750 ounces of silver, which afterfive shillings the ounce is 187 pounds, ten shillings. " This would be inAmerican money over nine and a quarter millions of dollars as the sum ofthe ten thousand talents. The same authority gives as the value of thepenny (Roman) sevenpence half-penny, or fifteen cents, making the seconddebt equivalent to about fifteen dollars. Comparison with talentsmentioned elsewhere may be allowable. Trench says: "How vast a sum itwas we can most vividly realize to ourselves by comparing it with othersums mentioned in Scripture. In the construction of the tabernacle, twenty-nine talents of gold were used (Exo. 38:24); David prepared forthe temple three thousand talents of gold, and the princes five thousand(1 Chron. 29:4-7); the queen of Sheba presented to Solomon one hundredand twenty talents (1 Kings 10:10); the king of Assyria laid uponHezekiah thirty talents of gold (2 Kings 18:14); and in the extremeimpoverishment to which the land was brought at the last, one talent ofgold was laid upon it, after the death of Josiah, by the king of Egypt(2 Chron. 36:3). " Farrar estimates the debt owed to the king as1, 250, 000 times that owed by the lesser to the greater debtor. 

6. An Assumed Approval of Slavery. --Some readers have assumed that theyfind in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant an implied approval of theinstitution of slavery. The greater debtor, who figures in the story, was to be sold, together with his wife and children and all that he had. A rational consideration of the story as a whole is likely to find atmost, in the particular incident of the king's command that the debtorand his family be sold, that the system of buying and sellingbondservants, serfs, or slaves, was legally recognized at the time. Thepurpose of the parable was not even remotely to endorse or condemnslavery or any other social institution. The Mosaic law is explicit inmatters relating to bondservants. The "angel of the Lord" who brought toHagar a message of encouragement and blessing respected the authority ofher mistress (Gen. 16:8, 9). In the apostolic epoch, instruction wasdirected toward right living under the secular law, not rebellionagainst the system (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; 1 Tim. 6:1-3; 1 Peter 2:18). Recognition of established customs, institutions, and laws, and properobedience thereto, do not necessarily imply individual approval. Thegospel of Jesus Christ, which shall yet regenerate the world, is toprevail--not by revolutionary assaults upon existing governments, northrough anarchy and violence--but by the teaching of individual duty andby the spread of the spirit of love. When the love of God shall be givena place in the hearts of mankind, when men shall unselfishly love theirneighbors, then social systems and governments shall be formed andoperated to the securing of the greatest good to the greatest number. Until men open their hearts to the reception of the gospel of JesusChrist, injustice and oppression, servitude and slavery, in some form orother, are sure to exist. Attempts to extirpate social conditions thatspring from individual selfishness cannot be otherwise than futile solong as selfishness is left to thrive and propagate. 

FOOTNOTES:

[795] Compare 2 Peter 1:18. 

[796] Luke 9:37. 

[797] Matt. 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42. 

[798] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[799] Compare Matt. 12:40-45. 

[800] Mark 6:12, 13; compare verse 7; also 3:15; Matt. 10:1. 

[801] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[802] Matt. 14:31; 16:8; Luke 8:25. 

[803] Matt. 17:20; compare 21:21; Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6; see also Note3, end of chapter. 

[804] Compare Parable of the Mustard Seed, page 290. 

[805] Matt. 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32; Luke 9:44, 45. 

[806] Matt. 17:24-27. 

[807] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[808] Exo. 30:13; 38:26. Page 171. 

[809] See reading in revised version, and in margin of Oxford andBagster Bibles. 

[810] John 20:17. 

[811] Matt. 18:1-11; Mark 9:33-37, 42; Luke 9:46-48. 

[812] Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17. 

[813] Compare Luke 22:32. 

[814] 1 Cor. 14:20; compare 13:11; Matt. 11:25; Psa. 131:2. 

[815] Page 234. 

[816] Mark 9:49, 50; compare Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24. 

[817] Mark 9:43-50; compare Matt. 18:8, 9. Page 232 herein. 

[818] Matt. 18:12-14; compare Luke 15:3-7 in which occurs a repetitionof this impressive parable, as given on a later occasion to Phariseesand scribes at Jerusalem with a somewhat different application. 

[819] Luke 15:1-7. See further page 451 herein. 

[820] Luke 9:48-50; Mark 9:37-41. 

[821] Contrast the instance of the sons of Sceva, Acts 19:13-17. 

[822] Compare Luke 9:52; 10:1. 

[823] Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23. 

[824] Matt. 18:15-20; compare Luke 17:3, 4. 

[825] Compare Doc. And Cov. 20:80; 42:88-93; 98:39-48. 

[826] Matt. 18:18; compare 16:19, and John 20:23. 

[827] They based this limitation on Amos 1:3 and Job 33:29. In thelatter passage, as it appears in the authorized version, the word"oftentimes" is an erroneous rendering of the original, which reallysignified "twice and thrice. "

[828] Compare Luke 17:3, 4. 

[829] Matt. 18:23-35. 

[830] Compare 2 Kings 4:1; Lev. 25:39. 

[831] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[832] Matt. 7:1; see also verse 6. 

[833] Matt. 6:12; compare Luke 11:4; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 13:11; page 240. 

CHAPTER 25. 

JESUS AGAIN IN JERUSALEM. 

DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. [834]

Of our Lord's labors during His brief sojourn in Galilee following Hisreturn from the region of Cęsarea Philippi we have no record aside fromthat of His instructions to the apostles. His Galilean ministry, so faras the people in general were concerned, had practically ended with thediscourse at Capernaum on His return thither after the miracles offeeding the five thousand and walking upon the sea. At Capernaum many ofthe disciples had turned away from the Master, [835] and now, afteranother short visit, He prepared to leave the land in which so great apart of His public work had been accomplished. 

It was autumn; about six months had passed since the return of theapostles from their missionary tour; and the Feast of Tabernacles wasnear at hand. Some of the kinsmen of Jesus came to Him, and proposedthat He go to Jerusalem and take advantage of the opportunity offered bythe great national festival, to declare Himself more openly than He hadtheretofore done. His brethren, as the visiting relatives are called, urged that He seek a broader and more prominent field than Galilee forthe display of His powers, arguing that it was inconsistent for any manto keep himself in comparative obscurity when he wanted to be widelyknown. "Shew thyself to the world, " said they. Whatever their motivesmay have been, these brethren of His did not advize more extendedpublicity through any zeal for His divine mission; indeed, we areexpressly told that they did not believe in Him. [836] Jesus replied totheir presumptuous advice: "My time is not yet come: but your time isalway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because Itestify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto thisfeast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet fullcome. " It was not their prerogative to direct His movements, not to saywhen He should do even what He intended to do eventually. [837] He madeit plain that between their status and His there was essentialdifference; they were of the world, which they loved as the world lovedthem; but the world hated Him because of His testimony. 

This colloquy between Jesus and His brethren took place in Galilee. Theysoon started for Jerusalem leaving Him behind. He had not said that Hewould not go to the feast; but only "I go not up yet unto this feast;for my time is not yet full come. " Some time after their departure Hefollowed, traveling "not openly, but as it were in secret. " Whether Hewent alone, or accompanied by any or all of the Twelve, we are not told. 

AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. [838]

The agitated state of the public mind respecting Jesus is shown by theinterest manifest in Jerusalem as to the probability of His presence atthe feast. His brethren, who probably were questioned, could give nodefinite information as to His coming. He was sought for in the crowds;there was much discussion and some disputation concerning Him. Manypeople expressed their conviction that He was a good man, while otherscontradicted on the claim that He was a deceiver. There was little opendiscussion, however, for the people were afraid of incurring thedispleasure of the rulers. 

As originally established, the Feast of Tabernacles was a seven dayfestival, followed by a holy convocation on the eighth day. Each day wasmarked by special and in some respects distinctive services, allcharacterized by ceremonies of thanksgiving and praise. [839] "Now aboutthe midst of the feast, " probably on the third or fourth day, "Jesuswent up into the temple, and taught. " The first part of His discourse isnot recorded, but its scriptural soundness is intimated in the surprizeof the Jewish teachers, who asked among themselves: "How knoweth thisman letters, having never learned?" He was no graduate of their schools;He had never sat at the feet of their rabbis; He had not been officiallyaccredited by them nor licensed to teach. Whence came His wisdom, beforewhich all their academic attainments were as nothing? Jesus answeredtheir troubled queries, saying: "My doctrine is not mine, but his thatsent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. " His Teacher, greater even than Himself, was the Eternal Father, whose will Heproclaimed. The test proposed to determine the truth of His doctrine wasin every way fair, and withal simple; anyone who would earnestly seek todo the will of the Father should know of himself whether Jesus spoketruth or error. [840] The Master proceeded to show that a man who speakson his own authority alone seeks to aggrandize himself. Jesus did notso; He honored His Teacher, His Father, His God, not Himself; andtherefore was He free from the taint of selfish pride orunrighteousness. Moses had given them the law, and yet, as Jesusaffirmed, none of them kept the law. 

Then, with startling abruptness, He challenged them with the question, "Why go ye about to kill me?" On many occasions had they held darkcounsel with one another as to how they could get Him into their powerand put Him to death; but they thought that the murderous secret washidden within their own circle. The people had heard the seducingassertions of the ruling classes, that Jesus was possessed by a demon, and that He wrought wonders through the power of Beelzebub; and in thespirit of this blasphemous slander, they cried out: "Thou hast a devil:who goeth about to kill thee?"

Jesus knew that the two specifications of alleged guilt on which therulers were striving most assiduously to convict Him in the popularmind, and so turn the people against Him, were those of Sabbath-breakingand blasphemy. On an earlier visit to Jerusalem He had healed anafflicted man on the Sabbath, and had utterly disconcerted thehypercritical accusers who even then had sought to compass Hisdeath. [841] To this act of mercy and power Jesus now referred, saying:"I have done one work, and ye all marvel. " Seemingly they were still ofunsettled mind, in doubt as to accepting Him because of the miracle ordenouncing Him because He had done it on the Sabbath. Then He showed theinconsistency of charging Him with Sabbath-desecration for such amerciful deed, when the law of Moses expressly allowed acts of mercy, and even required that the mandatory rite of circumcision should not bedeferred because of the Sabbath. "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" said He. 

The masses were still divided in their estimate of Jesus, and weremoreover puzzled over the indecision of the rulers. Some of theJerusalem Jews knew of the plan to arrest Him, and if possible to bringHim to death, and the people queried why nothing was done when He wasthere teaching publicly within reach of the officials. They wonderedwhether the rulers had not at last come to believe that Jesus was indeedthe Messiah. The thought, however, was brushed aside when theyremembered that all knew whence He came; He was a Galilean, and fromNazareth, whereas as they had been taught, however wrongly, the adventof the Christ was to be mysterious so that none would know whence Hecame. Strange it was, indeed, that men should reject Him because of alack of mystery and miracle in His advent; when, had they known thetruth, they would have seen in His birth a miracle without precedent orparallel in the annals of time. Jesus directly answered their weak andfaulty reasoning. Crying aloud within the temple courts, He assured themthat while they knew whence He came as one of their number, yet they didnot know that He had come from God, neither did they know God who hadsent Him: "But, " He added, "I know him: for I am from him, and he hathsent me. " At this reiterated testimony of His divine origin, the Jewswere the more enraged, and they determined anew to take Him by force;nevertheless none laid hands upon him "because his hour was not yetcome. "

Many of the people believed in their hearts that He was of God, andventured to ask among themselves whether Christ would do greater worksthan Jesus had done. The Pharisees and chief priests feared a possibledemonstration in favor of Jesus, and forthwith sent officers to arrestHim and bring him before the Sanhedrin. [842] The presence of the templepolice caused no interruption to the Master's discourse, though we mayreasonably infer that He knew the purpose of their errand. He spoke on, saying that He would be with the people but a little while; and thatafter He had returned to the Father, they would seek Him vainly, forwhere He would then be they could not come. This remark evoked morebitter discussion. Some of the Jews wondered whether He intended toleave the borders of the land and go among the Gentiles to teach themand the dispersed Israelites. 

As part of the temple service incident to the feast, the people went inprocession to the Pool of Siloam[843] where a priest filled a goldenewer, which he then carried to the altar and there poured out the waterto the accompaniment of trumpet blasts and the acclamations of theassembled hosts. [844] According to authorities on Jewish customs, thisfeature was omitted on the closing day of the feast. On this last or"great day, " which was marked by ceremonies of unusual solemnity andrejoicing, Jesus was again in the temple. It may have been withreference to the bringing of water from the pool, or to the omission ofthe ceremony from the ritualistic procedure of the great day, that Jesuscried aloud, His voice resounding through the courts and arcades of thetemple: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He thatbelieveth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shallflow rivers of living water. "[845]

John, the recorder, remarks parenthetically that this promise hadreference to the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, which at that time had notbeen granted, nor was it to be until after the ascension of the risenLord. [846]

Again many of the people were so impressed that they declared Jesuscould be none other than the Messiah; but others objected, saying thatthe Christ must come from Bethlehem of Judea and Jesus was known to havecome from Galilee. [847] So there was further dissension; and though somewanted Him apprehended, not a man was found who would venture to layhold on Him. 

The police officers returned without their intended prisoner. To theangry demand of the chief priests and Pharisees as to why they had notbrought Him, they acknowledged that they had been so affected by Histeachings as to be unable to make the arrest. "Never man spake like thisman, " they said. Their haughty masters were furious. "Are ye alsodeceived?" they demanded; and further, "Have any of the rulers or of thePharisees believed on him?" What was the opinion of the common peopleworth? They had never learned the law, and were therefore accursed andof no concern. Yet with all this show of proud disdain, the chiefpriests and Pharisees were afraid of the common people, and were againhalted in their wicked course. 

One voice of mild protest was heard in the assembly. Nicodemus, a memberof the Sanhedrin, and the same who had come to Jesus by night to inquireinto the new teaching, [848] mustered courage enough to ask: "Doth ourlaw judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" Theanswer was insulting. Maddened with bigotry and blood-thirstyfanaticism, some of his colleagues turned upon him with the savagedemand: "Art thou also of Galilee?" meaning, Art thou also a disciple ofthis Galilean whom we hate? Nicodemus was curtly told to study thescriptures, and he would fail to find any prediction of a prophetarising in Galilee. The anger of these learned bigots had blinded themeven to their own vaunted knowledge, for several of the ancient prophetswere regarded as Galileans;[849] if, however they had meant to referonly to that Prophet of whom Moses had spoken, the Messiah, they werecorrect, since all predictions pointed to Bethlehem in Judea as Hisbirthplace. It is evident that Jesus was thought of as a native ofNazareth, and that the circumstances of His birth were not of publicknowledge. 

"GO, AND SIN NO MORE. "[850]

After the festivities were over, Jesus went to the temple one morningearly; and as He sat, probably in the Court of the Women, which was theusual place of public resort, many gathered about Him and He proceededto teach them as was His custom. His discourse was interrupted by thearrival of a party of scribes and Pharisees with a woman in charge, who, they said, was guilty of adultery. To Jesus they presented thisstatement and question: "Now Moses in the law commanded us, that suchshould be stoned; but what sayest thou?" The submitting of the case toJesus was a prearranged snare, a deliberate attempt to find or make acause for accusing Him. Though it was not unusual for Jewish officialsto consult rabbis of recognized wisdom and experience when difficultcases were to be decided, the case in point involved no legalcomplications. The woman's guilt seems to have been unquestioned, thoughthe witnesses required by the statutes are not mentioned as appearingunless the accusing scribes and Pharisees are to be so considered; thelaw was explicit, and the custom of the times in dealing with suchoffenders was well known. While it is true that the law of Moses haddecreed death by stoning as the penalty for adultery, the infliction ofthe extreme punishment had lapsed long before the time of Christ. Onemay reasonably ask why the woman's partner in the crime was not broughtfor sentence, since the law so zealously cited by the officious accusersprovided for the punishment of both parties to the offense. [851]

The question of the scribes and Pharisees, "But what sayest thou?" mayhave intimated their expectation that Jesus would declare the lawobsolete; perhaps they had heard of the Sermon on the Mount, in whichmany requirements in advance of the Mosaic code had beenproclaimed. [852] Had Jesus decided that the wretched woman ought tosuffer death, her accusers might have said that he was defying theexisting authorities; and possibly the charge of opposition to the Romangovernment might have been formulated, since power to inflict the deathpenalty had been taken from all Jewish tribunals; and moreover, thecrime with which this woman was charged was not a capital offense underRoman law. Had He said that the woman should go unpunished or sufferonly minor infliction, the crafty Jews could have charged Him withdisrespect for the law of Moses. To these scribes and Pharisees Jesus atfirst gave little heed. Stooping down He traced with His finger on theground; but as He wrote they continued to question Him. Lifting Himselfup He answered them, in a terse sentence that has become proverbial: "Hethat is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. " Suchwas the law; the accusers on whose testimony the death penalty waspronounced were to be the first to begin the work of execution. [853]

Having spoken, Jesus again stooped and wrote upon the ground. Thewoman's accusers were "convicted by their own conscience"; shamed and indisgrace they slunk away, all of them from the eldest to the youngest. They knew themselves to be unfit to appear either as accusers orjudges. [854] What cowards doth conscience make! "When Jesus had liftedup himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, whereare those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin nomore. "[855]

The woman was repentant; she remained humbly awaiting the Master'sdecision, even after her accusers had gone. Jesus did not expresslycondone; He declined to condemn; but He sent the sinner away with asolemn adjuration to a better life. [856]

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. [857]

Sitting within the temple enclosure in the division known as theTreasury, which was connected with the Court of the Women, [858] our Lordcontinued His teaching, saying: "I am the light of the world: he thatfolloweth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light oflife. "[859] The great lamps set up in the court as a feature of thejoyful celebration just ended gave point to our Lord's avowal of Himselfas the Light of the World. It was another proclamation of His divinityas God and the Son of God. The Pharisees challenged His testimony, declaring it of no worth because He bore record of Himself. Jesusadmitted that He testified of Himself, but affirmed nevertheless thatwhat He said was true, for He knew whereof He spoke, whence He came andwhither He would go, while they spoke in ignorance. They thought, talked, and judged after the ways of men and the frailties of the flesh;He was not sitting in judgment, but should He choose to judge, then Hisjudgment would be just, for He was guided by the Father who sent Him. Their law required the testimony of two witnesses for the legaldetermination of any question of fact;[860] and Jesus cited Himself andHis Father as witnesses in support of His affirmation. His opponentsthen asked with contemptuous or sarcastic intent, "Where is thy Father?"The reply was in lofty tone; "Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if yehad known me, ye should have known my Father also. " Enraged at their owndiscomfiture, the Pharisees would have seized Him, but found themselvesimpotent. "No man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. "

THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE. [861]

Again addressing the mixed assemblage, which probably comprizedPharisees, scribes, rabbis, priests, Levites, and lay people, Jesusrepeated His former assertion that soon He would leave them, and thatwhither He went they could not follow; and added the fateful assurancethat they would seek Him in vain and would die in their sins. His solemnportent was treated with light concern if not contempt. Some of themasked querulously, "Will he kill himself?" the implication being that insuch case they surely would not follow Him; for according to theirdogma, Gehenna was the place of suicides, and they, being of the chosenpeople, were bound for heaven not hell. The Lord's dignified rejoinderwas: "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I amnot of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in yoursins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. "

This reiteration of His distinctive supremacy brought forth thechallenging question, "Who art thou?" Jesus replied, "Even the same thatI said unto you from the beginning. " The many matters on which He mighthave judged them He refrained from mentioning, but testified anew of theFather, saying: "He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world thosethings which I have heard of him. " Explicit as His earlier explanationshad been, the Jews in their gross prejudice "understood not that hespake to them of the Father. " To His Father Jesus ascribed all honor andglory, and repeatedly declared Himself as sent to do the Father's will. "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, thenshall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as myFather hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is withme: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things thatplease him. "

The evident earnestness and profound conviction with which Jesus spokecaused many of His hearers to believe on Him; and these He addressedwith the promise that if they continued in that belief, and shaped theirlives according to His word, they should be His disciples indeed. Afurther promise followed: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truthshall make you free. " At these words, so rich in blessing, so full ofcomfort for the believing soul, the people were stirred to angrydemonstrations; their Jewish temper was immediately ablaze. To promisethem freedom was to imply that they were not already free. "We beAbraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" In their unbridled fanaticism they had forgottenthe bondage of Egypt, the captivity of Babylon, and were oblivious oftheir existing state of vassalage to Rome. To say that Israel had neverbeen in bondage was not only to convict themselves of falsehood but tostultify themselves wretchedly. 

Jesus made it clear that He had not referred to freedom in its physicalor political sense alone, though to this conception their falsedisavowal had been directed; the liberty He proclaimed was spiritualliberty; the grievous bondage from which He would deliver them was theserfdom of sin. To their vaunted boast that they were free men, notslaves, He replied: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoevercommitteth sin is the servant of sin. " As a sinner, every one of themwas in slavery. A bond-servant, Jesus reminded them, was allowed in themaster's house by sufferance only; it was not his inherent right toremain there; his owner could send him away at any time, and might evensell him to another; but a son of the family had of his own right aplace in his father's home. Now, if the Son of God made them free theywould be free indeed. Though they were of Abrahamic lineage in theflesh, they were no heirs of Abraham in spirit or works. Our Lord'smention of His Father as distinct from their father drew forth the angryreiteration, "Abraham is our father", to which Jesus replied: "If yewere Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now yeseek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heardof God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. " In theirblind anger they apparently construed this to imply that though theywere children of Abraham's household some other man than Abraham wastheir actual progenitor, or that they were not of unmixed Israelitishblood. "We be not born of fornication" they cried, "we have one Father, even God. " Jesus said unto them, "If God were your Father, ye would loveme: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. "

They failed to understand because of their stubborn refusal to listendispassionately. With forceful accusation Jesus told them whose childrenthey actually were, as evinced by the hereditary traits manifest intheir lives: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of yourfather ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode notin the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. [862] Andbecause I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. " He challenged them tofind sin in Him; and then asked why, if He spake the truth, they sopersistently refused to believe Him. Answering His own question, He toldthem that they were not of God and therefore they understood not thewords of God. The Master was unimpeachable; His terse, cogent assertionswere unanswerable. In impotent rage the discomfited Jews resorted toinvective and calumny. "Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, andhast a devil?" they shrieked. They had before called Him a Galilean;that appellative was but mildly depreciatory, and moreover was atruthful designation according to their knowledge; but the epithet"Samaritan" was inspired by hate, [863] and by its application they meantto disown Him as a Jew. 

The charge that He was a demoniac was but a repetition of earlierslanders. "Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. " Reverting to the eternal riches offered by Hisgospel, the Master said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keepmy saying, he shall never see death. " This rendered them the moreinfuriate: "Now we know that thou hast a devil" they cried, and asevidence of what they professed to regard as His insanity, they citedthe fact that great as were Abraham and the prophets they were dead, yetJesus dared to say that all who kept His sayings should be exempt fromdeath. Did He pretend to exalt Himself above Abraham and the prophets?"Whom makest thou thyself?" they demanded. The Lord's reply was adisclaimer of all self-aggrandizement; His honor was not of His ownseeking, but was the gift of His Father, whom He knew; and were He todeny that He knew the Father He would be a liar like unto themselves. Touching the relationship between Himself and the great patriarch oftheir race, Jesus thus affirmed and emphasized His own supremacy: "Yourfather Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. " Notonly angered but puzzled, the Jews demanded further explanation. Construing the last declaration as applying to the mortal state only, they said: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seenAbraham?" Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, BeforeAbraham was, I am. "

This was an unequivocal and unambiguous declaration of our Lord'seternal Godship. By the awful title I AM He had made Himself known toMoses and thereafter was so known in Israel. [864] As already shown, itis the equivalent of "Yahveh, " or "Jahveh, " now rendered "Jehovah, " andsignifies "The Self-existent One, " "The Eternal, " "The First and theLast. "[865] Jewish traditionalism forbade the utterance of the sacredName; yet Jesus claimed it as His own. In an orgy of self-righteousindignation, the Jews seized upon the stones that lay in the unfinishedcourts, and would have crushed their Lord, but the hour of His death hadnot yet come, and unseen of them He passed through the crowd anddeparted from the temple. 

His seniority to Abraham plainly referred to the status of each in theantemortal or preexistent state; Jesus was as literally the Firstborn inthe spirit-world, as He was the Only Begotten in the flesh. Christ is astruly the Elder Brother of Abraham and Adam as of the last-born child ofearth. [866]

BODILY AND SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS--SIGHT GIVEN TO A MAN ON THESABBATH. [867]

At Jerusalem Jesus mercifully gave sight to a man who had been blindfrom his birth. [868] The miracle is an instance of Sabbath-day healing, of more than ordinary interest because of its attendant incidents. It isrecorded by John alone, and, as usual with that writer, his narrative isgiven with descriptive detail. Jesus and His disciples saw the sightlessone upon the street. The poor man lived by begging. The disciples, eagerto learn, asked: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that hewas born blind?" The Lord's reply was: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest inhim. " The disciples' question implied their belief in a state of moralagency and choice antedating mortality; else, how could they havethought of the man having sinned so as to bring upon himself congenitalblindness? We are expressly told that he was born blind. That he mighthave been a sufferer from the sins of his parents was conceivable. [869]The disciples evidently had been taught the great truth of an antemortalexistence. It is further to be seen that they looked upon bodilyaffliction as the result of personal sin. Their generalization was toobroad; for, while as shown by instances heretofore cited, [870]individual wickedness may and does bring physical ills in its train, manis liable to err in his judgment as to the ultimate cause of affliction. The Lord's reply was sufficing; the man's blindness would be turned toaccount in bringing about a manifestation of divine power. As Jesusexplained respecting His own ministry, it was necessary that He do theFather's work in the season appointed, for His time was short. Withimpressive pertinency as relating to the state of the man who had beenin darkness all his days, our Lord repeated the affirmation before madein the temple, "I am the light of the world. "

The outward ministration to the blind man was different from the usualcourse followed by Jesus. "He spat on the ground, and made clay of thespittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay"; andthen directed him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash in itswaters. [871] The man went, washed, and came seeing. He was evidently awell-known character; many had seen him in his accustomed place beggingalms, and the fact that he had been blind from birth was also of commonknowledge. When, therefore, it was noised about that he could see, therewas much excitement and comment. Some doubted that the man theyquestioned was the once sightless beggar; but he assured them of hisidentity, and told how he had been made to see. They brought the man tothe Pharisees, who questioned him rigorously; and, having heard hisaccount of the miracle, tried to undermine his faith by telling him thatJesus who had healed him could not be a man of God since He had done thedeed on the Sabbath. Some of those who heard demurred to the Pharisaicdeduction, and asked: "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?"The man was questioned as to his personal opinion of Jesus, and promptlyanswered: "He is a prophet. " The man knew his Benefactor to be more thanany ordinary being; as yet, however, he had no knowledge of Him as theChrist. 

The inquisitorial Jews were afraid of the result of such a wondroushealing, in that the people would support Jesus whom the rulers weredetermined to destroy. They assumed it to be possible that the man hadnot been really blind; so they summoned his parents, who answered theirinterrogatories by affirming that he was their son, and they knew him tohave been born blind; but as to how he had received sight, or throughwhose ministration, they refused to commit themselves, knowing therulers had decreed that any one who confessed Jesus to be the Christshould be cast out from the community of the synagog, or, as we wouldsay today, excommunicated from the Church. With pardonable astutenessthe parents said of their son: "He is of age; ask him: he shall speakfor himself. "

Compelled to acknowledge, to themselves at least, that the fact and themanner of the man's restoration to sight were supported by irrefutableevidence, the crafty Jews called the man again, and insinuatingly saidunto him: "Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. " Hereplied fearlessly, and with such pertinent logic as to completelyoffset their skill as cross-examiners: "Whether he be a sinner or no, Iknow not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. " Hevery properly declined to enter into a discussion with his learnedquestioners as to what constituted sin under their construction of thelaw; of what he was ignorant he declined to speak; but on one matter hewas happily and gratefully certain, that whereas he had been blind, nowhe could see. 

The Pharisaical inquisitors next tried to get the man to repeat hisstory of the means employed in the healing, probably with the subtlepurpose of leading him into inconsistent or contradictory statements;but he replied with emphasis, and possibly with some show of impatience, "I have told you already, and ye did not hear:[872] wherefore would yehear it again? will ye also be his disciples?" They retorted with anger, and reviled the man; the ironical insinuation that they perchance wishedto become disciples of Jesus was an insult they would not brook. "Thouart his disciple, " said they, "but we are Moses' disciples. We know thatGod spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence heis. " They were enraged that this unlettered mendicant should answer soboldly in their scholarly presence; but the man was more than a matchfor all of them. His rejoinder was maddening because it flouted theirvaunted wisdom, and withal was unanswerable. "Why herein is a marvellousthing, " said he, "that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hathopened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if anyman be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Sincethe world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of onethat was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. "

For such an affront from a layman there was no precedent in all the loreof rabbis or scribes. "Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thouteach us?" was their denunciatory though weak and inadequate rejoinder. Unable to cope with the sometime sightless beggar in argument ordemonstration, they could at least exercize their official authority, however unjustly, by excommunicating him; and this they promptly did. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, hesaid unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? he answered andsaid, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said untohim, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. Andhe said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. "

In commenting upon the matter Jesus was heard to say that one purpose ofHis coming into the world was "that they which see not might see; andthat they which see might be made blind. " Some of the Pharisees caughtthe remark, and asked in pride: "Are we blind also?" The Lord's replywas a condemnation: "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now yesay, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. "

SHEPHERD AND SHEEPHERDER. [873]

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door intothe sheep fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief anda robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of thesheep. " With these words Jesus prefaced one of His most impressivediscourses. The mention of shepherd and sheep must have brought to theminds of His hearers many of the oft-quoted passages from prophets andpsalms. [874] The figure is an effective one, and all the more so when weconsider the circumstances under which it was used by the Master. Pastoral conditions prevailed in Palestine, and the dignity of theshepherd's vocation was very generally recognized. By specific prophecya Shepherd had been promised to Israel. David, the king of whom allIsraelites were proud, had been taken directly from the sheepfold, andhad come with a shepherd's crook in his hand to the anointing that madehim royal. 

As the Teacher showed, a shepherd has free access to the sheep. Whenthey are folded within the enclosure of safety, he enters at the gate;he neither climbs over nor creeps in. [875] He, the owner of the sheeploves them; they know his voice and follow him as he leads from fold topasture, for he goes before the flock; while the stranger, though he bethe herder, they know not; he must needs drive, for he cannot lead. Continuing the allegory, which the recorder speaks of as a parable, Jesus designated Himself as the door to the sheepfold, and made plainthat only through Him could the under-shepherds rightly enter. True, there were some who sought by avoiding the portal and climbing over thefence to reach the folded flock; but these were robbers, trying to getat the sheep as prey; their selfish and malignant purpose was to killand carry off. 

Changing the figure, Christ proclaimed: "I am the good shepherd. " Hethen further showed, and with eloquent exactness, the difference betweena shepherd and a hireling herder. The one has personal interest in andlove for his flock, and knows each sheep by name, the other knows themonly as a flock, the value of which is gaged by number; to the hirelingthey are only as so many or so much. While the shepherd is ready tofight in defense of his own, and if necessary even imperil his life forhis sheep, the hireling flees when the wolf approaches, leaving the wayopen for the ravening beast to scatter, rend, and kill. 

Never has been written or spoken a stronger arraignment of falsepastors, unauthorized teachers, self-seeking hirelings who teach forpelf and divine for dollars, deceivers who pose as shepherds yet avoidthe door and climb over "some other way, " prophets in the devil'semploy, who to achieve their master's purpose, hesitate not to robethemselves in the garments of assumed sanctity, and appear in sheep'sclothing, while inwardly they are ravening wolves. [876]

With effective repetition Jesus continued: "I am the good shepherd, andknow my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even soknow I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. " For this causewas Jesus the Father's Beloved Son--that He was ready to lay down Hislife for the sake of the sheep. That the sacrifice He was soon to renderwas in fact voluntary, and not a forfeiture under compulsion, issolemnly affirmed in the Savior's words: "Therefore doth my Father loveme, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No mantaketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay itdown, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have Ireceived of my Father. " The certainty of His death and of His subsequentresurrection are here reiterated. A natural effect of His immortalorigin, as the earth-born Son of an immortal Sire, was that He wasimmune to death except as He surrendered thereto. The life of Jesus theChrist could not be taken save as He willed and allowed. The power tolay down His life was inherent in Himself, as was the power to take upHis slain body in an immortalized state. [877] These teachings causedfurther division among the Jews. Some pretended to dispose of the matterby voicing anew the foolish assumption that Jesus was but an insanedemoniac, and that therefore His words were not worthy of attention. Others with consistency said "These are not the words of him that hath adevil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?" So it was that a fewbelieved, many doubted though partly convinced, and some condemned. 

As part of this profound discourse, Jesus said: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hearmy voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. "[878] The"other sheep" here referred to constituted the separated flock orremnant of the house of Joseph, who, six centuries prior to the birth ofChrist, had been miraculously detached from the Jewish fold inPalestine, and had been taken beyond the great deep to the Americancontinent. When to them the resurrected Christ appeared He thus spake:"And verily, I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said, othersheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, andthey shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and oneshepherd. "[879] The Jews had vaguely understood Christ's reference toother sheep as meaning in some obscure way, the Gentile nations; andbecause of their unbelief and consequent inability to rightlycomprehend, Jesus had withheld any plainer exposition of His meaning, for so, He informed the Nephites, had the Father directed. "This muchdid the Father command me, " He explained, "that I should tell unto them, That other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I mustbring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, andone shepherd. " On the same occasion the Lord declared that there wereyet other sheep, those of the Lost, or Ten, Tribes, to whom He was thenabout to go, and who would eventually be brought forth from their placeof exile, and become part of the one blessed fold under the governanceof the one supreme Shepherd and King. [880]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 25. 

1. The Feast of Tabernacles. --In the order of yearly occurrence this wasthe third of the great festivals, the observance of which was among thenational characteristics of the people of Israel; the others were thePassover, and the feast of Weeks or Pentecost; at each of the three allthe males in Israel were required to appear before the Lord in formalcelebration of the respective feast (Exo. 23:17). The feast ofTabernacles was also known as the "feast of ingathering" (Exo. 23:16);it was both a memorial and a current harvest celebration. Incommemoration of their long journeying in the wilderness following theirdeliverance from Egypt, in the course of which journey they had to livein tents and improvized booths, the people of Israel were required toobserve annually a festival lasting seven days, with an added day ofholy convocation. During the week the people lived in booths, bowers, ortabernacles, made of the branches or "boughs of goodly trees" wattledwith willows from the brook (Lev. 23:34-43; Numb. 29:12-38; Deut. 16:13-15; 31:10-13). The festival lasted from the 15th to the 22d of themonth Tizri, the seventh in the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to partsof our September and October. It was made to follow soon after theannual Day of Atonement which was a time of penitence and affliction ofthe soul in sorrow for sin (Lev. 23:26-32). The altar sacrifices at thefeast of Tabernacles exceeded those prescribed for other festivals, andcomprized a daily offering of two rams, fourteen lambs, and a kid as asin offering, and in addition a varying number of young bullocks, thirteen of which were sacrificed on the first day, twelve on thesecond, eleven on the third, and so on to the seventh day, on whichseven were offered, making in all seventy bullocks (Numb. 29:12-38). Rabbinism invested this number, seventy, and the graded diminution inthe number of altar victims, with much symbolical significance not setforth in the law. 

At the time of Christ, tradition had greatly embellished many of theprescribed observances. Thus the "boughs of goodly trees, " moreliterally rendered "fruit" (Lev. 23:40), had come to be understood asthe citron fruit; and this every orthodox Jew carried in one hand, whilein the other he bore a leafy branch or a bunch of twigs, known as the"lulab, " when he repaired to the temple for the morning sacrifice, andin the joyous processions of the day. The ceremonial carrying of waterfrom the spring of Siloam to the altar of sacrifice was a prominentfeature of the service. This water was mingled with wine at the altarand the mixture was poured upon the sacrificial offering. Manyauthorities hold that the bringing of water from the pool was omitted onthe last or great day of the feast, and it is inferred that Jesus had inmind the circumstance of the omission when He cried: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. " At night, during the progress of thefeast, great lamps were kept burning in the temple courts, and thisincident Christ may have used as an objective illustration in hisproclamation: "I am the light of the world. "

For fuller account see any reliable and comprehensive Bible Dictionary, and Josephus Ant. Viii, 4:1; xv, 3:3, etc. The following is an excerptfrom Edersheim, _Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah_, vol. Ii, p. 158-160: "When the Temple-procession had reached the Pool of Siloam, thepriest filled his golden pitcher from its waters. Then they went back tothe Temple, so timing it that they should arrive just as they werelaying the pieces of the sacrifice on the great altar of burnt-offering, towards the close of the ordinary morning-sacrifice service. A threefoldblast of the priests' trumpets welcomed the arrival of the priest as heentered through the Water Gate, which obtained its name from thisceremony, and passed straight into the Court of the Priests. .. . Immediately after the 'pouring of the water, ' the great 'Hallel, 'consisting of Psalms 113 to 118 inclusive, was chanted antiphonally, orrather, with responses, to the accompaniment of the flute. .. . In furthersymbolism of this Feast, as pointing to the ingathering of the heathennations, the public services closed with a procession round the altar bythe priests. .. . But on 'the last, the Great Day of the Feast, ' thisprocession of priests made the circuit of the altar, not only once, butseven times, 'as if they were again compassing, but now with prayer, theGentile Jericho which barred their possession of the promised land. '"

2. The Test of our Lord's Doctrine. --Any man may know for himselfwhether the doctrine of Christ is of God or not by simply doing the willof the Father (John 7:17). Surely it is a more convincing course thanthat of relying upon another's word. The writer was once approached byan incredulous student in college, who stated that he could not acceptas true the published results of a certain chemical analysis, since thespecified amounts of some of the ingredients were so infinitesimallysmall that he could not believe it possible to determine such minutequantities. The student was but a beginner in chemistry; and with hislittle knowledge he had undertaken to judge as to the possibilities ofthe science. He was told to do the things his instructor prescribed, andhe should some day know for himself whether the results were true orfalse. In the senior year of his course, he received for laboratoryanalysis a portion of the very substance whose composition he had oncequestioned. With the skill attained by faithful devotion he successfullycompleted the analysis, and reported results similar to those, which inhis inexperience he had thought impossible to obtain. He was manlyenough to acknowledge as unfounded his earlier skepticism and rejoicedin the fact that he had been able to demonstrate the truth for himself. 

3. The Pool of Siloam. --"The names 'Shiloah' ('Shelah, ' Neh. 3:15, 'Siloah' in authorized version) and 'Siloam' are the exact equivalent inHebrew and Greek, respectively, of 'Silwan' in the modern Arabic name('Ain Silwan') of the pool at the mouth of El-Wad. All the ancientreferences agree with this identification (compare Neh. 3:15; Josephus, Wars of the Jews, v, 4:1, 2; 6:1; 9:4; 12:2; ii, 16:2; vi, 7:2; 8:5). Inspite of its modern designation as an 'ain' (spring), Siloam is not aspring, but is fed by a tunnel cut through the rock from the Gihon, orVirgin's Fountain. "--L. B. Paton, in article "Jerusalem, " _Stand. BibleDictionary_. 

4. Whence was the Messiah to Come?--Many stifled their inward promptingsto a belief in Jesus as the Messiah, by the objection that allprophecies relating to His coming pointed to Bethlehem as Hisbirthplace, and Jesus was of Galilee. Others rejected Him because theyhad been taught that no man was to know whence the Messiah came and theyall knew Jesus came from Galilee. The seeming inconsistency is thusexplained: The city of David, or Bethlehem in Judea, was beyond questionthe fore-appointed place of the Messiah's birth; but the rabbis haderroneously taught that soon after birth the Christ Child would becaught away, and after a time would appear as a Man, and that no onewould know whence or how He had returned. Geikie (ii, p. 274), citingLightfoot in part, thus states the popular criticism: "'Do not therabbis tell us' said some, 'that the Messiah will be born at Bethlehem, but that He will be snatched away by spirits and tempests soon after Hisbirth, and that when He returns the second time no one will know fromwhence He has come?' But we know this man comes from Nazareth. "

5. The Record Relating to the Woman Taken in Adultery. --Some moderncritics claim that the verses John 7:53 and 8:1-11 inclusive are out ofplace as they appear in the authorized or King James version of theBible, on the grounds that the incident therein recorded does not appearin certain of the ancient manuscript copies of John's Gospel, and thatthe style of the narrative is distinctive. In some manuscripts itappears at the end of the book. Other manuscripts contain the account asit appears in the English Bible. Canon Farrar pertinently asks (p. 404, note), why, if the incident is out of place or not of John's authorship, so many important manuscripts give place to it as we have it?

6. The Treasury, and Court of the Women. --"Part of the space within theinner courts was open to Israelites of both sexes, and was knowndistinctively as the Court of the Women. This was a colonnadedenclosure, and constituted the place of general assembly in theprescribed course of public worship. Chambers used for ceremonialpurposes occupied the four corners of this court; and between these andthe houses at the gates, were other buildings, of which one seriesconstituted the Treasury wherein were set trumpet-shaped receptacles forgifts. " (See Mark 12:41-44. )--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 57-58. 

7. The Sheepfold. --Dummelow's _Commentary_ says, on John 10:2: "Tounderstand the imagery, it must be remembered that Eastern folds arelarge open enclosures, into which several flocks are driven at theapproach of night. There is only one door, which a single shepherdguards, while the others go home to rest. In the morning the shepherdsreturn, are recognized by the doorkeeper, call their flocks round them, and lead them forth to pasture. "

FOOTNOTES:

[834] John 7:1-10. 

[835] Page 343. 

[836] John 7:5; compare Mark 3:21 in which "friends" is an inaccuraterendition for "kinsmen". 

[837] Compare Christ's answer to His mother, John 2:4; see also 7:30;8:20. 

[838] John 7:11-53. 

[839] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[840] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[841] John 5; see pages 206-208 herein. 

[842] Page 69. 

[843] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[844] This was regarded as a literal fulfilment of Isa. 12:3. 

[845] John 7:37, 38; compare with the assurance respecting "livingwater" given to the Samaritan woman, 4:10-15. 

[846] John 7:39; compare 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7; Luke 24:49; Acts2:4. 

[847] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[848] John 3; page 158 herein. 

[849] According to many excellent authorities, Jonah, Nahum, and Hoseawere all of Galilee; and it is further believed that Elijah also was ofGalilean nativity. 

[850] John 8:1-11. 

[851] Deut. 22:22-27. 

[852] Matt. 5:21-48. 

[853] Deut. 17:6, 7; also 13:9. 

[854] Compare Rom. 2:1, 22; Matt. 7:1, 2; Luke 6:37; 2 Sam. 12:5-7. 

[855] John 8:10, 11; compare 5:11. Consider another instance of mercygranted through contrition Luke 7:36-50. 

[856] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[857] John 8:12-20. 

[858] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[859] John 8:12; compare 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46. See alsoDoc. And Cov. 6:21; 10:58, 70; 11:11; 14:9; 84:45, 46; 88:6-13. 

[860] Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Numb. 35:30; Matt. 18:16. 

[861] John 8:21-59. 

[862] Compare P. Of G. P. , Moses 4:4; 5:24; B. Of M. , 2 Nephi 2:18; Doc. And Cov. 10:25; 93:25. 

[863] Pages 174, 183. 

[864] Exo. 3:14; compare 6:3. 

[865] Compare Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:4, 8; see also John 17:5, 24; Col. 1:17. Page 36 herein. 

[866] Page 13. 

[867] John 9. 

[868] Whether this incident occurred in immediate sequence to the eventslast considered, or at a later time after the return of Jesus toJerusalem following an unrecorded departure therefrom, is not stated inthe scriptural record. The value of the lesson is not affected by itsplace in the catalog of our Lord's works. 

[869] Exo. 20:5; 34:7; Lev. 26:39; Numb. 14:18; 1 Kings 21:29; compareEzek. Chap. 18. 

[870] Pages 192 and 208. 

[871] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[872] That is, "heed" or "believe". 

[873] John 10:1-21. 

[874] Note the promise of a Shepherd to Israel, Isa. 40:11; 49:9, 10;Ezek. 34:23; 37:24; compare Jer. 3:15; 23:4; Heb, 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25;5:4; Rev. 7:17. Read studiously Psalm 23. 

[875] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[876] Matt. 7:15; compare 24:4, 5, 11, 24; Mark 13:22; Rom. 16:17, 18;Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; Acts 20:29. 

[877] Pages 22 and 81. 

[878] John 10:16; compare as to "one fold and one shepherd, " Ezek. 37:22; Isa. 11:13; Jer. 3:18; 50:4. See "Articles of Faith, "xviii, --"The Gathering of Israel. "

[879] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 15:21; read verses 12-24; see chapter 39 herein. 

[880] 3 Nephi 16:1-5. 

CHAPTER 26. 

OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN PEREA AND JUDEA. 

When or under what attendant circumstances our Lord departed fromJerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, in the last autumn of Hisearthly life, we are not told. The writers of the synoptic Gospels haverecorded numerous discourses, parables, and miracles, as incidents of ajourney toward Jerusalem, in the course of which, Jesus, accompanied bythe apostles, traversed parts of Samaria and Perea, and the outlyingsections of Judea. We read of Christ's presence in Jerusalem at theFeast of Dedication, [881] between two and three months after the Feastof Tabernacles; and it is probable that some of the events now to beconsidered occurred during that interval. [882] That Jesus left Jerusalemsoon after the Feast of Tabernacles is certain; whether He returned toGalilee, or went only into Perea, possibly with a short detour acrossthe border into Samaria, is not conclusively stated. We shall here asheretofore devote our study primarily to His words and works, with butminor regard to place, time, or sequence. 

As the time of His foreknown betrayal and crucifixion drew near, "hesteadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, "[883] though, as we shallfind, He turned northward on two occasions, once when He retired to theregion of Bethabara, and again to Ephraim. [884]

HIS REJECTION IN SAMARIA. [885]

Jesus sent messengers ahead, to announce His coming and to prepare forHis reception. In one of the Samaritan villages He was refusedentertainment and a hearing, "because his face was as though he would goto Jerusalem. " Racial prejudice had superseded the obligations ofhospitality. This repulse is in unfavorable contrast with thecircumstances of His earlier visit among the Samaritans, when He hadbeen received with gladness and entreated to remain; but on thatoccasion He was journeying not toward but farther from Jerusalem. [886]

The disrespect shown by the Samaritans was more than the disciples couldendure without protest. James and John, those Sons of Thunder, were soresentful as to yearn for vengeance. Said they: "Lord, wilt thou that wecommand fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Eliasdid?"[887] Jesus rebuked His uncharitable servants thus: "Ye know notwhat manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come todestroy men's lives, but to save them. " Repulsed in this village thelittle company went to another, as the Twelve had been instructed to dounder like circumstances. [888] This was but one of the impressivelessons given to the apostles in the matter of tolerance, forbearance, charity, patience, and long-suffering. 

Luke gives next place to the incident of three men who were desirous orwilling to become disciples of Christ; one of them seems to have beendiscouraged at the prospect of hardship such as the ministry entailed;the others wished to be temporarily excused from service, one that hemight attend the burial of his father, the other that he might first bidhis loved ones farewell. This, or a similar occurrence, is recorded byMatthew in another connection, and has already received attention inthese pages. [889]

THE SEVENTY CHARGED AND SENT. 

The supreme importance of our Lord's ministry, and the shortness of thetime remaining to Him in the flesh, demanded more missionary laborers. The Twelve were to remain with Him to the end; every hour of possibleinstruction and training had to be utilized in their further preparationfor the great responsibilities that would rest upon them after theMaster's departure. As assistants in the ministry, He called andcommissioned the Seventy, and straightway sent them forth, [890] "two andtwo before his face into every city and place, whither he himself wouldcome. " The need of their service was explained in the introduction tothe impressive charge by which they were instructed in the duties oftheir calling. "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. "[891]

Many matters on which the Twelve had been instructed prior to theirmissionary tour were now repeated to the Seventy. They were told thatthey must expect unfriendly and even hostile treatment; their situationwould be as that of lambs among wolves. They were to travel withoutpurse or scrip, and thus necessarily to depend upon the provision thatGod would make through those to whom they came. As their mission wasurgent, they were not to stop on the way to make or renew personalacquaintanceships. On entering a house they were to invoke peace uponit; if the household deserved the gift peace would rest therein, butotherwise the Lord's servants would feel that their invocation wasvoid. [892] To any family by whom they were received they were to impartblessing--healing the afflicted, and proclaiming that the kingdom of Godhad come nigh unto that house. They were not to go from one house toanother seeking better entertainment, nor should they expect or desireto be feasted, but they should accept what was offered, eating thatwhich was set before them, thus sharing with the family. If rejected inany city, they were to depart therefrom, leaving, however, their solemntestimony that the city had turned away from the kingdom of God, whichhad been brought to its doors, and attesting the same by riddingthemselves of the dust of that place. [893] It was not for them topronounce anathema or curse, but the Lord assured them that such a citywould bring upon itself a fate worse than the doom of Sodom. [894] Hereminded them that they were His servants, and therefore whoever heardor refused to hear them would be judged as having so treated Him. 

They were not restrained, as the Twelve had been, from enteringSamaritan towns or the lands of the Gentiles. This difference isconsistent with the changed conditions, for now the prospectiveitinerary of Jesus would take Him into non-Jewish territory, where Hisfame had already spread; and furthermore, His plan provided for anextension of the gospel propaganda, which was to be ultimatelyworld-wide. The narrow Jewish prejudice against Gentiles in general andSamaritans in particular was to be discountenanced; and proof of thisintent could not be better given than by sending authorized ministersamong those peoples. We must keep in mind the progressiveness of theLord's work. At first the field of gospel preaching was confined to theland of Israel, [895] but the beginning of its extension was inauguratedduring our Lord's life, and was expressly enjoined upon the apostlesafter His resurrection. [896] Duly instructed, the Seventy set out upontheir mission. [897]

Mention of the condemnation that would follow wilful rejection of theauthorized servants of God aroused in our Lord's mind sad memories ofthe repulses He had suffered, and of the many unrepentant souls, in thecities wherein He had accomplished so many mighty works. In profoundsorrow He predicted the woes then impending over Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. [898]

THE SEVENTY RETURN. 

Considerable time may have elapsed, weeks or possibly months, betweenthe departure of the Seventy and their return. We are not told when orwhere they rejoined the Master; but this we know, that the authority andpower of Christ had been abundantly manifest in their ministry; and thatthey had rejoiced in the realization. "Lord, " said they, "even thedevils are subject unto us through thy name. "[899] This testimony wasfollowed by the Lord's solemn statement: "I beheld Satan as lightningfall from heaven. " This was said with reference to the expulsion of therebellious son of the morning, after his defeat by Michael and theheavenly hosts. [900] Commending the Seventy for their faithful labors, the Lord gave them assurance of further power, on the implied conditionof their continued worthiness: "I give unto you power to tread onserpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothingshall by any means hurt you. "[901] The promise that they should tread onserpents and scorpions included immunity from injury by venomouscreatures if encountered in the path of duty[902] and power to prevailover the wicked spirits that serve the devil, who is elsewhere expresslycalled the serpent. [903] Great as was the power and authority thusimparted, these disciples were told not to rejoice in such, norprimarily in the fact that evil spirits were subject unto them, butrather because they were accepted of the Lord, and that their names werewritten in heaven. [904]

The righteous joy of His servants and His contemplation of theirfaithfulness caused Jesus to rejoice. His happiness found its mostappropriate expression in prayer, and thus He prayed: "I thank thee, OFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things fromthe wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. " Compared with the learnedmen of the time, such as the rabbis and scribes, whose knowledge servedbut to harden their hearts against the truth, these devoted servantswere as babes in humility, trust, and faith. Such children were and areamong the nobles of the kingdom. As in the hours of darkest sorrow, soin this moment of righteous exultation over the faithfulness of Hisfollowers, Jesus communed with the Father, to do whose will was His solepurpose. 

Our Lord's joy on this occasion is comparable to that which Heexperienced when Peter had burst forth with the confession of his soul:"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. " In solemn discourseJesus said: "All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no manknoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but theSon, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. " Then in more intimatecommunion with the disciples He added: "Blessed are the eyes which seethe things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kingshave desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them;and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. "

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

We have seen that the Pharisees and their kind were constantly on thealert to annoy and if possible disconcert Jesus on questions of law anddoctrine, and to provoke Him to some overt utterance or deed. [905] Itmay be such an attempt that is recorded by Luke in immediate sequence tohis account of the joyous return of the Seventy, [906] for he tells usthat the "certain lawyer, " of whom he speaks, put a question to temptJesus. Viewing the questioner's motive with all possible charity, forthe basal meaning of the verb which appears in our version of the Bibleas "to tempt" is that of putting to test or trial and not necessarilyand solely to allure into evil, [907] though the element of entrapping orensnaring is connoted, we may assume that he wished to test theknowledge and wisdom of the famous Teacher, probably for the purpose ofembarrassing Him. Certainly his purpose was not that of sincere searchfor truth. 

This lawyer, standing up among the people who had gathered to hearJesus, asked: "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"[908]Jesus replied by a counter question, in which was plainly intimated thatif this man, who was professedly learned in the law, had read andstudied properly, he should know without asking what he ought to do. "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" The man replied with anadmirable summary of the commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy Godwith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself"[909] The answer wasapproved. "This do, and thou shalt live" said Jesus. These simple wordsconveyed a rebuke, as the lawyer must have realized; they indicated thecontrast between knowing and doing. Having thus failed in his plan toconfound the Master, and probably realizing that he, a lawyer, had madeno creditable display of his erudition by asking so simple a questionand then answering it himself, he tamely sought to justify himself byinquiring further; "And who is my neighbour?" We may well be gratefulfor the lawyer's question; for it served to draw from the Master'sinexhaustible store of wisdom one of His most appreciated parables. 

The story is known as the _Parable of the Good Samaritan_; it runs asfollows:

 "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. "

Then of the lawyer Jesus asked: "Which now of these three, thinkestthou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, Hethat shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thoulikewise. "[910]

Whatever of motive there may have been in the lawyer's query, "Who is myneighbour?" aside from that of self-justification and a desire toretreat in the best form possible from an embarrassing situation, we mayconceive to lie in the wish to find a limitation in the application ofthe law, beyond which he would not be bound to go. If he had to love hisneighbors as he loved himself, he wanted to have as few neighbors aspossible. His desire may have been somewhat akin to that of Peter, whowas eager to learn just how many times he was required to forgive anoffending brother. [911]

The parable with which our Lord replied to the lawyer's question is richin interest as a story alone, and particularly so as an embodiment ofprecious lessons. It was withal so true to existing conditions, that, like the story of the sower who went forth to sow, and other parablesgiven by the Lord Jesus, it may be true history as well as parable. Theroad between Jerusalem and Jericho was known to be infested by highwayrobbers; indeed a section of the thoroughfare was called the Red Path orBloody Way because of the frequent atrocities committed thereon. Jerichowas prominent as a residence place for priests and Levites. A priest, who, out of respect to his office, if for none other cause, should havebeen willing and prompt in acts of mercy, caught sight of the woundedtraveler and passed by on the far side of the road. A Levite followed;he paused to look, then passed on. These ought to have remembered thespecified requirement of the law--that if one saw an ass or an ox falldown by the way, he should not hide himself, but should surely help theowner to lift the creature up again. [912] If such was their duty towarda brother's beast, much greater was their obligation when a brotherhimself was in so extreme a plight. 

Doubtless priest as well as Levite salved his conscience with ampleexcuse for his inhumane conduct; he may have been in a hurry, or wasfearful, perhaps, that the robbers would return and make him also avictim of their outrage. Excuses are easy to find; they spring up asreadily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside. When the Samaritan camealong and saw the wretched state of the wounded man, he had no excusefor he wanted none. Having done what he could by way of emergencytreatment as recognized in the medical practise of the day, he placedthe injured one upon his own beast, probably a mule or an ass, and tookhim to the nearest inn, where he tended him personally and madearrangements for his further care. The essential difference between theSamaritan and the others was that the one had a compassionate heart, while they were unloving and selfish. Though not definitely stated, thevictim of the robbers was almost certainly a Jew; the point of theparable requires it to be so. That the merciful one was a Samaritan, showed that the people called heretic and despized by the Jews couldexcel in good works. To a Jew, none but Jews were neighbors. We are notjustified in regarding priest, Levite, or Samaritan as the type of hisclass; doubtless there were many kind and charitable Jews, and manyheartless Samaritans; but the Master's lesson was admirably illustratedby the characters in the parable; and the words of His application werepungent in their simplicity and appropriateness. 

MARTHA AND MARY. [913]

On one of His visits to Bethany, a small town about two miles fromJerusalem, Jesus was received at the home where dwelt two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha was housekeeper, and therefore she assumedresponsibility for the proper treatment of the distinguished Guest. While she busied herself with preparations and "was cumbered about muchserving, " well intended for the comfort and entertainment of Jesus, Marysat at the Master's feet, listening with reverent attention to Hiswords. Martha grew fretful in her bustling anxiety, and came in, saying:"Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?bid her therefore that she help me. " She was talking to Jesus but reallyat Mary. For the moment she had lost her calmness in undue worry overincidental details. It is reasonable to infer that Jesus was on terms offamiliarity in the household, else the good woman would scarcely haveappealed to Him in a little matter of domestic concern. He replied toher complaining words with marked tenderness: "Martha, Martha, thou artcareful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: andMary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away fromher. "

There was no reproof of Martha's desire to provide well; nor anysanction of possible neglect on Mary's part. We must suppose that Maryhad been a willing helper before the Master's arrival; but now that Hehad come, she chose to remain with Him. Had she been culpably neglectfulof her duty, Jesus would not have commended her course. He desired notwell-served meals and material comforts only, but the company of thesisters, and above all their receptive attention to what He had to say. He had more to give them than they could possibly provide for Him. Jesusloved the two sisters and their brother as well. [914] Both these womenwere devoted to Jesus, and each expressed herself in her own way. Marthawas of a practical turn, concerned in material service; she was bynature hospitable and self-denying. Mary, contemplative and morespiritually inclined, showed her devotion through the service ofcompanionship and appreciation. [915]

By inattention to household duties, the little touches that make or marthe family peace, many a woman has reduced her home to a comfortlesshouse; and many another has eliminated the essential elements of home byher self-assumed and persistent drudgery, in which she denies to herdear ones the cheer of her loving companionship. One-sided service, however devoted, may become neglect. There is a time for labor insidethe home as in the open; in every family time should be found forcultivating that better part, that one thing needful--true, spiritualdevelopment. 

ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU. [916]

"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, whenhe ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. "Our Lord's example and the spirit of prayer manifest in His daily lifemoved the disciples to ask for instruction as to how they should pray. No form of private prayer was given in the law, but formal prayers hadbeen prescribed by the Jewish authorities, and John the Baptist hadinstructed his followers in the mode or manner of prayer. Responding tothe disciples' request, Jesus repeated that brief epitome of soulfuladoration and supplication which we call the Lord's Prayer. This He hadbefore given in connection with the Sermon on the Mount. [917] On thisoccasion of its repetition, the Lord supplemented the prayer byexplaining the imperative necessity of earnestness and enduringpersistency in praying. 

The lesson was made plain by the _Parable of the Friend at Midnight_:

 "And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. "

The man to whose home a friend had come at midnight could not let hisbelated and weary guest go hungry, yet there was no bread in the house. He made his visitor's wants his own, and pleaded at his neighbor's dooras though asking for himself. The neighbor was loath to leave hiscomfortable bed and disturb his household to accommodate another; but, finding that the man at the door was importunate, he at last arose andgave him what he asked, so as to get rid of him and be able to sleep inpeace. The Master added by way of comment and instruction: "_Ask, and itshall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall beopened unto you. _"

The hospitable man in the parable had refused to be repulsed; he kept onknocking until the door was opened; and as a result received what hewanted, found what he had set out to obtain. The parable is regarded bysome as a difficult one to apply, since it deals with the selfish andcomfort-loving element of human nature, and apparently uses this tosymbolize God's deliberate delay. The explanation, however, is clearwhen the context is duly considered. The Lord's lesson was, that if man, with all his selfishness and disinclination to give, will neverthelessgrant what his neighbor with proper purpose asks and continues to ask inspite of objection and temporary refusal, with assured certainty willGod grant what is persistently asked in faith and with righteous intent. No parallelism lies between man's selfish refusal and God's wise andbeneficent waiting. There must be a consciousness of real need forprayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer effective; and in mercythe Father sometimes delays the granting that the asking may be morefervent. But in the words of Jesus: "If ye then, being evil, know how togive good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenlyFather give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Sometime later Jesus spake another parable, the moral of which is soclosely akin to that of the story of the midnight visitor, as to suggestthe study of the later lesson here. It is known as the _Parable of theUnjust Judge_, or of the _Importunate Widow_:

 "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. "[918]

The judge was of wicked character; he denied justice to the widow, whocould obtain redress from none other. He was moved to action by thedesire to escape the woman's importunity. Let us beware of the error ofcomparing his selfish action with the ways of God. Jesus did notindicate that as the wicked judge finally yielded to supplication sowould God do; but He pointed out that if even such a being as thisjudge, who "feared not God, neither regarded man, " would at last hearand grant the widow's plea, no one should doubt that God, the Just andMerciful, will hear and answer. The judge's obduracy, though whollywicked on his part, may have been ultimately advantageous to the widow. Had she easily obtained redress she might have become again unwary, andperchance a worse adversary than the first might have oppressed her. TheLord's purpose in giving the parable is specifically stated; it was "tothis end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. "[919]

CRITICISM ON PHARISEES AND LAWYERS. [920]

Varied comment as to the source of our Lord's superhuman powers wasaroused afresh by His merciful act of expelling a demon from a man, who, in consequence of this evil possession had been dumb. The old Pharisaictheory, that He cast out devils through the power of "Beelzebub, thechief of the devils, " was revived. The utter foolishness of such aconception was demonstrated, as it had been on an earlier occasion towhich we have given attention. [921] The spiritual darkness, in whichevil men grope for signs, the disappointment and condemnation that awaitthem, and other precious precepts, Jesus elucidated in furtherdiscourse. [922]

Then, by invitation He went to the house of a certain Pharisee to dine. Other Pharisees, as also lawyers and scribes, were present. Jesusintentionally omitted the ceremonial washing of hands, which all othersin the company scrupulously performed before taking their places attable. This omission caused a murmur of disapproval if not an openexpression of fault-finding. Jesus utilized the occasion by voicing apungent criticism of Pharisaic externalism, which He likened to thecleansing of cups and platters on the outside, while the inside is leftfilthy. "Fools" said He, "did not he that made that which is withoutmake that which is within also?" In another form we may ask, Did not Godwho established the outward observances of the law, ordain the inwardand spiritual requirements of the gospel also? In response to a questionby one of the lawyers, Jesus included them in His sweeping reproof. Pharisees and scribes resented the censure to which they had beensubjected, and "began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him tospeak of many things: laying wait for him, and seeking to catchsomething out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. " As our Lord'srecorded utterances on this occasion appear also in His finaldenunciation of Pharisaism, later delivered at the temple, we may welldefer further consideration of the matter until we take up in order thatnotable occurrence. [923]

THE DISCIPLES ADMONISHED AND ENCOURAGED. [924]

Popular interest in our Lord's movements was strong in the region beyondJordan, as it had been in Galilee. We read of Him surrounded by "aninnumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one uponanother. " Addressing the multitude, and more particularly His disciples, Jesus warned them of the leaven of the Pharisees, which He characterizedas hypocrisy. [925] The recent scene at the table of a Pharisee gavespecial significance to the warning. Some of the precepts recorded inconnection with His Galilean ministry were here repeated, and particularstress was laid upon the superiority of the soul to the body, and ofeternal life as contrasted with the brief duration of mortal existence. 

One man in the company, intent on selfish interests and unable to seebeyond the material affairs of life, spoke out saying, "Master, speak tomy brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. " Jesus promptlyrefused to act as mediator or judge in the matter. "Man, who made me ajudge or a divider over you?" was the Master's rejoinder. The wisdomunderlying His refusal to interfere is apparent. As in the case of theguilty woman who had been brought before Him for judgment, [926] so inthis instance, He refrained from intervention in matters of legaladministration. An opposite course would have probably involved Him inuseless disputation, and might have given color to a complaint that Hewas arrogating to Himself the functions of the legally establishedtribunals. The man's appeal, however, was made the nucleus of valuableinstruction; his clamor for a share in the family inheritance causedJesus to say: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's lifeconsisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. "

This combined admonition and profound statement of truth was emphasizedby the _Parable of the Foolish Rich Man_. Thus runs the story:

 "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. "[927]

The man's abundance had been accumulated through labor and thrift;neglected or poorly-tilled fields do not yield plentifully. He is notrepresented as one in possession of wealth not rightfully his own. Hisplans for the proper care of his fruits and goods were not of themselvesevil, though he might have considered better ways of distributing hissurplus, as for the relief of the needy. His sin was twofold; first, heregarded his great store chiefly as the means of securing personal easeand sensuous indulgence; secondly, in his material prosperity he failedto acknowledge God, and even counted the years as his own. In the hourof his selfish jubilation he was smitten. Whether the voice of God cameto him as a fearsome presentiment of impending death, or by angelmessenger, or how otherwise, we are not informed; but the voice spokehis doom: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required ofthee. "[928] He had used his time and his powers of body and mind to sow, reap and garner--all for himself. And what came of it all? Whose shouldbe the wealth, to amass which he had jeopardized his soul? Had he beenother than a fool he might have realized as Solomon had done, the vanityof hoarding wealth for another, and he perhaps of uncertain character, to possess. [929]

Turning to the disciples Jesus reiterated some of the glorious truths Hehad uttered when preaching on the mount, [930] and pointed to the birdsof the air, the lilies and grass of the field, as examples of theFather's watchful care; He admonished His hearers to seek the kingdom ofGod, and, doing so, they should find all needful things added. "Fearnot, little flock, " He added in tone of affectionate and paternalregard, "for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. "They were urged to store their wealth in bags that wax not old, [931]containers suited to the heavenly treasure which, unlike the goods ofthe foolish rich man, shall not be left behind when the soul issummoned. The man whose treasure is of earth leaves it all at death; hewhose wealth is in heaven goes to his own, and death is but the portalto his treasury. 

The disciples were admonished to be ever ready, waiting as servants waitat night with lights burning, for their master's return; and, inasmuchas the lord of the household comes at his will, in the early or laterwatches, if when he comes he finds his faithful servants ready to openimmediately to his knock he will honor them as they deserve. So is theSon of Man to come, perhaps when least expected. To a questioninterjected by Peter as to whether "this parable" was spoken to theTwelve only or to all, Jesus made no direct reply; the answer, however, was conveyed in the continuation of the allegory of contrast betweenfaithful and wicked servants. [932] "Who then is that faithful and wisesteward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give themtheir portion of meat in due season?" The faithful steward is a goodtype of the apostles, individually or as a body. As stewards they werecharged with the care of the other servants, and of the household; andas to them more had been given than to the others, so of them more wouldbe required; and they would be held to strict accountability for theirstewardship. 

The Lord then referred feelingly to His own mission, and especially tothe dreadful experiences then soon to befall Him, saying: "I have abaptism to be baptised with; and how am I straitened till it beaccomplished!" He told again of the strife and dissension that wouldfollow the preaching of His gospel, and dwelt upon the significance ofthen current events. To those who, ever ready to interpret the signs ofthe weather, yet remained wilfully blind to the important developmentsof the times, He applied the caustic epithet, hypocrites![933]

"EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH. "[934]

Some of the people who had been listening to our Lord's discoursereported to Him the circumstances of a tragical event that had takenplace, probably but a short time before, inside the temple walls. Anumber of Galileans had been slain by Roman soldiers, at the base of thealtar, so that their blood had mingled with that of the sacrificialvictims. It is probable that the slaughter of these Galileans wasincident to some violent demonstration of Jewish resentment againstRoman authority, which the procurator, Pilate, construed as an incipientinsurrection, to be promptly and forcibly quelled. Such outbursts werenot uncommon, and the Roman tower or fortress of Antonia had beenerected in a commanding position overlooking the temple grounds, andconnected therewith by a wide flight of steps, so that soldiers couldhave ready access to the enclosure at the first indication of turmoil. The purpose of the informants who brought this matter to the attentionof Jesus is not stated; but we find probability in the thought that Hisreference to the signs of the times had reminded them of the tragedy, and that they were inclined to speculate as to the deeper significanceof the occurrence. Some may have wondered as to whether the fate of theGalilean victims had befallen them as a merited retribution. Anyway, tosome such conception as this Jesus directed His reply. By question andanswer He assured them that those who had so been slain were not to beconsidered as sinners above other Galileans; "But, " said He, "except yerepent, ye shall all likewise perish. "

Then, referring on His own initiative to another catastrophe, He citedthe instance of eighteen persons who had been killed by the fall of atower at Siloam, and affirmed that these were not to be counted greatersinners than other Jerusalemites. "But, " came the reiteration, "exceptye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. " There were perhaps some whobelieved that the men upon whom the tower had fallen had deserved theirfate; and this conception is the more probable if the generally acceptedassumption be correct, that the calamity came upon the men while theywere engaged under Roman employ in work on the aqueduct, for theconstruction of which Pilate had used the "corban" or sacred treasure, given by vow to the temple. [935]

It is not man's prerogative to pass upon the purposes and designs ofGod, nor to judge by human reason alone that this person or that suffersdisaster as a direct result of individual sin. [936] Nevertheless menhave ever been prone to so judge. There are many inheritors of thespirit of Job's friends, who assumed his guilt as certain because of thegreat misfortunes and sufferings that had come upon him. [937] Even whileJesus spake, calamity dark and dire was impending over temple, city andnation; and unless the people would repent and accept the Messiah thenin their midst, the decree of destruction would be carried to its dreadfulfilment. Hence, as Jesus said, except the people repented they shouldperish. The imperative need of reformation was illustrated by the_Parable of the Barren Fig Tree_. 

 "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. "[938]

In Jewish literature, particularly in rabbinical lore, the fig tree isof frequent mention as a symbol of the nation. The warning conveyed inthe parable is plain; the element of possible escape is no less evident. If the fig tree represents the covenant people, then the vineyard isnaturally the world at large, and the dresser of the vineyard is the Sonof God, who by personal ministry and solicitous care makes intercessionfor the barren tree, in the hope that it may yet bear fruit. The parableis of universal application; but so far as it had special bearing uponthe Jewish "fig tree" of that time, it was attended by an awful sequel. The Baptist had cried out in warning that the ax was even then inreadiness, and every unfruitful tree would be hewn down. [939]

A WOMAN HEALED ON THE SABBATH. [940]

On a certain Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagog, of what place weare not told, though it was probably in one of the towns of Perea. Therewas present a woman who for eighteen years had been suffering from aninfirmity that had so drawn and atrophied the muscles as to bend herbody so that she could in no wise straighten herself. Jesus called herto Him, and without waiting for petition or request, said simply, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. " These words Heaccompanied by the laying-on of hands, a feature of His healingministrations not always performed. She was healed forthwith and stooderect; and, acknowledging the source of the power by which she had beenreleased from her bonds, glorified God in a fervent prayer ofthanksgiving. Doubtless many of the beholders rejoiced with her; butthere was one whose soul was stirred by indignation only; and he, theruler of the synagog. Instead of addressing himself to Jesus, of whosepower he may have been afraid, he vented his ill feeling upon thepeople, by telling them there were six days in which men ought to work, and that on those days they who wished to be healed should come, but noton the Sabbath. The rebuke was ostensibly directed to the people, especially to the woman who had received the blessing, but in realityagainst Jesus; for if there were any element of work in the healing ithad been done by Him, not by the woman nor by others. Upon the ruler ofthe synagog the Lord turned with direct address: "Thou hypocrite, dothnot each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from thestall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being adaughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, beloosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"

It may be inferred that the woman's affliction had been more deeplyseated than in the muscles; for Luke who was himself a physician[941]tells us she "had a spirit of infirmity, " and records the significantwords of the Lord to the effect that Satan had held her bound foreighteen years. But whatever her ailment, whether wholly physical or inpart mental and spiritual, she was freed from her bonds. Again was theChrist triumphant; His adversaries were shamed into silence, while thebelievers rejoiced. The rebuke to the ruler of the synagog was followedby a brief discourse in which Jesus gave to these people some of theteachings before delivered in Galilee; these included the parables ofthe mustard seed and the leaven. [942]

WILL MANY OR FEW BE SAVED?[943]

Continuing His journey toward Jerusalem, Jesus taught in many of thecities and towns of Perea. His coming had probably been announced by theSeventy, who had been sent to prepare the people for His ministry. Oneof those who had been impressed by His doctrines submitted thisquestion: "Lord, are there few that be saved?" Jesus replied: "Strive toenter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek toenter in, and shall not be able. "[944] The counsel was enlarged upon toshow that neglect or procrastination in obeying the requirements forsalvation may result in the soul's loss. When the door is shut injudgment many will come knocking, and some will plead that they hadknown the Lord, having eaten and drunk in His company, and that He hadtaught upon their streets; but to them who had failed to accept thetruth when offered the Lord shall say: "I tell you, I know you notwhence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. " The peoplewere warned that their Israelitish lineage would in no wise save them, for many who were not of the covenant people would believe and be saved, while unworthy Israelites would be thrust out. [945] So is it that "Thereare last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. "

JESUS WARNED OF HEROD'S DESIGN. [946]

On the day of the discourse last noted, certain Pharisees came to Jesuswith this warning and advice: "Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herodwill kill thee. "[947] We have heretofore found the Pharisees in openhostility to the Lord, or secretly plotting against Him; and somecommentators regard this warning as another evidence of Pharisaiccunning--possibly intended to rid the province of Christ's presence, ordesigned to drive Him toward Jerusalem, where He would be again withineasy reach of the supreme tribunal. Ought we not to be liberal andcharitable in our judgment as to the intent of others? Doubtless therewere good men in the fraternity of Pharisees, [948] and those who cameinforming Christ of a plot against His life were possibly impelled byhumane motives, and may even have been believers at heart. That Herodhad designs against our Lord's liberty or life appears most probable inthe answer Jesus made. He received the information in all seriousness, and His comment thereon is one of the strongest of His utterancesagainst an individual. "Go ye, " said He, "and tell that fox, Behold, Icast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third dayI shall be perfected. " The specifying of today, tomorrow, and the thirdday, was a means of expressing the present in which the Lord was thenacting, the immediate future, in which He would continue to minister, since, as He knew, the day of His death was yet several months distant, and the time at which his earthly work would be finished and He beperfected. He placed beyond doubt the fact that He did not intend tohasten His steps, neither cut short His journey nor cease His laborsthrough fear of Herod Antipas, who for craft and cunning was besttypified by a sly and murderous fox. Nevertheless it was Christ'sintention to go on, and soon in ordinary course He would leave Perea, which was part of Herod's domain, and enter Judea; and at the foreknowntime would make His final entry into Jerusalem, for in that city was Heto accomplish his sacrifice. "It cannot be, " He explained, "that aprophet perish out of Jerusalem. "

The awful reality that He, the Christ, would be slain in the chief cityof Israel wrung from Him the pathetic apostrophe over Jerusalem, whichwas repeated when for the last time His voice was heard within thetemple walls. [949]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 26. 

1. Christ's Ministry Following His Final Withdrawal From Galilee. --Johntells us that when Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem to attend theFeast of Tabernacles, He went "not openly, but as it were in secret"(7:10). It appears improbable that the numerous works recorded by thesynoptic writers as features of our Lord's ministry, which extended fromGalilee through Perea, into Samaria and parts of Judea, could haveattended that special and, as it were secret, journey, at the time ofthe Feast of Tabernacles. The lack of agreement among writers as to thesequence of events in Christs' life is wide. A comparison of the"Harmonies" published in the most prominent Bible Helps (see e. G. Oxfordand Bagster "Helps") exemplifies these divergent views. Thesubject-matter of our Lord's teachings maintains its own intrinsic worthirrespective of merely circumstantial incidents. The following excerptfrom Farrar (_Life of Christ_, chap. 42) will be of assistance to thestudent, who should bear in mind, however, that it is professedly but atentative or possible arrangement. "It is well known that the whole ofone great section in St. Luke--from 9:51 to 18:30--forms an episode inthe Gospel narrative of which many incidents are narrated by thisEvangelist alone, and in which the few identifications of time and placeall point to one slow and solemn progress from Galilee to Jerusalem(9:51; 13:22; 17:11; 10:38). Now after the Feast of Dedication our Lordretired into Perea, until He was summoned thence by the death of Lazarus(John 10:40, 42; 11:1-46); after the resurrection [raising] of Lazarus, He fled to Ephraim (11:54); and He did not leave His retirement atEphraim until He went to Bethany, six days before His final Passover(12:1). 

"This great journey, therefore, from Galilee to Jerusalem, so rich inoccasions which called forth some of His most memorable utterances, musthave been either a journey to the Feast of Tabernacles or to the Feastof Dedication. That it could not have been the former may be regarded assettled, not only on other grounds, but decisively because that was arapid and secret journey, this an eminently public and leisurely one. 

"Almost every inquirer seems to differ to a greater or less degree as tothe exact sequence and chronology of the events which follow. Withoutentering into minute and tedious disquisitions where absolute certaintyis impossible, I will narrate this period of our Lord's life in theorder which, after repeated study of the Gospels, appears to me to bethe most probable, and in the separate details of which I have foundmyself again and again confirmed by the conclusions of other independentinquirers. And here I will only premise my conviction--

"1. That the episode of St. Luke up to 18:30, mainly refers to a singlejourney, although unity of subject, or other causes, may have led thesacred writer to weave into his narrative some events or utteranceswhich belong to an earlier or later epoch. 

"2. That the order of the facts narrated even by St. Luke alone is not, and does not in any way claim to be, strictly chronological; so that theplace of any event in the narrative by no means necessarily indicatesits true position in the order of time. 

"3. That this journey is identical with that which is partially recordedin Matt. 18:1; 20:16; Mark 10:1-31. 

"4. That (as seems obvious from internal evidence) the events narratedin Matt. 20:17-28; Mark 10:32-45; Luke 18:31-34, belong not to thisjourney but to the last which Jesus ever took--the journey from Ephraimto Bethany and Jerusalem. "

2. Jesus at the Home in Bethany. --Some writers (e. G. Edersheim) placethis incident as having occurred in the course of our Lord's journey toJerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles; others (e. G. Geikie)assume that it took place immediately after that feast; and yet others(e. G. Farrar) assign it to the eve of the Feast of Dedication, nearlythree months later. The place given it in the text is that in which itappears in the scriptural record. 

3. Shall but Few be Saved?--Through latter-day revelation we learn thatgraded conditions await us in the hereafter, and that beyond salvationare the higher glories of exaltation. The specified kingdoms or gloriesof the redeemed, excepting the sons of perdition, are the Celestial, theTerrestrial, and the Telestial. Those who obtain place in the Telestial, the lowest of the three, are shown to be "as innumerable as the stars inthe firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore. " And theseshall not be equal, "For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his owndominion, in the mansions which are prepared. And they shall be servantsof the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. " See Doc. And Cov. 76:111, 112; read the entiresection; see also _The Articles of Faith_ xxii:16-27; and p. 601 herein. 

FOOTNOTES:

[881] John 10:22. 

[882] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[883] Luke 9:51. 

[884] John 10:40; 11:54. 

[885] Luke 9:51-56. 

[886] John 4:4-42; page 176 herein. 

[887] Luke 9:54; compare 2 Kings 1:10, 12. 

[888] Matt. 10:23. 

[889] Luke 9:57-62; see pages 305-307 herein. 

[890] Luke 10:1-12. 

[891] Compare Matt. 9:37, 38; see also John 4:35. 

[892] Edersheim (vol. Ii, p. 138) says: "The expression 'if the son ofpeace be there' is a Hebraism, equivalent to 'if the house be worthy'(compare Matt. 10:13) and refers to the character of the head of thehouse and the tone of the household. "

[893] Compare Matt. 10:14; page 329 herein. 

[894] Compare the charge given the Seventy with that of the Twelve, Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-11; Luke 9:1-5; see page 328 herein. 

[895] Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24. 

[896] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15. 

[897] Doc. And Cov. 107:25; 124:137-140; see also "Articles of Faith, "xi:20, 28. The special office of the Seventy has been reestablished inthe restored Church; and in this, the last dispensation, many quorums ofSeventy are maintained for the work of the ministry. The office of theSeventy is one belonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. 

[898] Luke 10:13-15; compare Matt. 11:20-24; see page 258 herein. 

[899] Luke 10:17. 

[900] Rev. 9:1; 12:8, 9; see pages 6 and 7 herein. 

[901] Luke 10:19; read verses 20-24. 

[902] Compare Mark 16:18; Acts 28:5. 

[903] Rev. 12:9; 20:2; compare Gen. 3:1-4, 14, 15. 

[904] Compare Rev. 13:8; 20:12; 21:27. 

[905] Compare Mark 12:13; see also Luke 11:53, 54. 

[906] Luke 10:25-37. 

[907] Compare Gen. 22:1. 

[908] Compare Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18. 

[909] Luke 10:27; compare Deut. 6:5, and Lev. 19:18; see also Matt. 22:35-40. 

[910] Luke 10:30-37. 

[911] Matt. 18:21, 22; compare Luke 17:4; page 392 herein. 

[912] Deut. 22:4; compare. Exo. 23:5. 

[913] Luke 10:38-42. Note 2, end of chapter. 

[914] John 11:5. 

[915] Compare John 12:2, 3. 

[916] Luke 11:1-13. 

[917] Pages 238-241. 

[918] Luke 18:2-5; read verses 1, and 6-8. See also Doc. And Cov. 101:81-94. 

[919] Luke 18:1; compare 21:36; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1Thess. 5:17. 

[920] Luke 11:37-54. 

[921] Luke 11:14-28; see page 265 herein. 

[922] Luke 11:29-36; see page 270 herein. 

[923] Matt. 23; see chapter 31 herein. 

[924] Luke 12:1-12. 

[925] Page 359. 

[926] Page 404. 

[927] Luke 12:14-21. 

[928] Compare the fate that overtook Nebuchadnezzar, while the words ofboastful pride were yet in his mouth (Dan. 4:24-33); and that ofBelshazzar, before whose eyes appeared the hand of destiny in the midstof his riotous feast; in that night was the king's soul required of him. (Dan. 5. )

[929] Eccles. 2:18, 19; compare succeeding verses; see also Psa. 39:6:49:6-20; Job 27: 16, 17. 

[930] Luke 12:22-31; compare Matt. 6:25-34. 

[931] Compare Matt. 6:20. 

[932] Luke 12:35-48. 

[933] Luke 12:49-57; compare Matt. 10:34-37. 

[934] Luke 13:1-5. 

[935] Josephus, Wars ii, 9:4; also page 352 herein. 

[936] Compare John 9:2, 3; also page 413 herein. 

[937] Job 4:7; 8:2-14, 20; 22:5. 

[938] Luke 13:6-9. 

[939] Luke 3:9. 

[940] Luke 13:11-17. 

[941] Colos. 4:14. 

[942] Luke 13:19-21; see pages 290, 291 herein. 

[943] Luke 13:23-30. Note 3, end of chapter. 

[944] Compare Matt. 7:13. 

[945] Compare Matt. 7:23; 8:11, 12; 19:30; Mark 10:31. 

[946] Luke 13:31-33. 

[947] In the revised version the last clause reads "for Herod would fainkill thee. "

[948] Paul the apostle had been a Pharisee of the most pronounced type. (Acts 23:6; 26:5. )

[949] Luke 13:34, 35: compare Matt. 23:37-39. 

CHAPTER 27. 

CONTINUATION OF THE PEREAN AND JUDEAN MINISTRY. 

IN THE HOUSE OF ONE OF THE CHIEF PHARISEES. [950]

On a certain Sabbath Jesus was a guest at the house of a prominentPharisee. A man afflicted with dropsy was there; he may have come withthe hope of receiving a blessing, or possibly his presence had beenplanned by the host or others as a means of tempting Jesus to work amiracle on the holy day. The exercize of our Lord's healing power was atleast thought of if not openly intimated or suggested, for we read that"Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is itlawful to heal on the Sabbath day?"[951] No one ventured to reply. Jesusforthwith healed the man; then He turned to the assembled company andasked: "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, andwill not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"[952] The learnedexpositors of the law remained prudently silent. 

Observing the eager activity of the Pharisee's guests in securing forthemselves prominent places at table, Jesus instructed them in a matterof good manners, pointing out not only the propriety but the advantageof decent self-restraint. An invited guest should not select for himselfthe seat of honor, for some one more distinguished than he may come, andthe host would say: "Give this man place. " Better is it to take a lowerseat, then possibly the lord of the feast may say: "Friend, go uphigher. " The moral follows: "For whosoever exalteth himself shall beabased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. "[953]

This festive gathering at the house of the chief Pharisee includedpersons of prominence and note, rich men and officials, leadingPharisees, renowned scholars, famous rabbis and the like. Looking overthe distinguished company, Jesus said: "When thou makest a dinner or asupper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, northy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence bemade thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, thelame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompensethee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. "This bit of wholesome advice was construed as a reproof; and some oneattempted to relieve the embarrassing situation by exclaiming: "Blessedis he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. "[954] The remark wasan allusion to the great festival, which according to Jewishtraditionalism was to be a feature of signal importance in the Messianicdispensation. Jesus promptly turned the circumstance to good account bybasing thereon the profoundly significant _Parable of the Great Supper_:

"A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servantat supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things arenow ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The firstsaid unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go andsee it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have boughtfive yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Sothat servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master ofthe house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into thestreets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and themaimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it isdone as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord saidunto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel themto come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That noneof those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. "[955]

The story implies that invitations had been given sufficiently early tothe chosen and prospective guests; then on the day of the feast amessenger was sent to notify them again, as was the custom of the time. Though called a supper, the meal was to be a sumptuous one; moreover, the principal meal of the day was commonly spoken of as supper. One manafter another declined to attend, one saying: "I pray thee have meexcused"; another: "I cannot come. " The matters that engaged the timeand attention of those who had been bidden, or as we would say, invited, to the feast, were not of themselves discreditable, far less sinful; butto arbitrarily allow personal affairs to annul an honorable engagementonce accepted was to manifest discourtesy, disrespect and practicalinsult toward the provider of the feast. The man who had bought a fieldcould have deferred the inspection; he who had just purchased cattlecould have waited a day to try them under the yoke; and the newlymarried man could have left his bride and his friends for the period ofthe supper that he had promised to attend. Plainly none of these peoplewanted to be present. The master of the house was justly angry. Hiscommand to bring in the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind fromthe city streets must have appealed to those who listened to our Lord'srecital as a reminiscence of His counsel given a few minutes before, concerning the kind of guests a rich man could invite with profit to hissoul. The second sending out of the servant, this time into the highwaysand hedges outside the city walls, to bring in even the country poor, indicated boundless benevolence and firm determination on thehouseholder's part. 

Explication of the parable was left to the learned men to whom the storywas addressed. Surely some of them would fathom its meaning, in part atleast. The covenant people, Israel, were the specially invited guests. They had been bidden long enough aforetime, and by their own professionas the Lord's own had agreed to be partakers of the feast. When all wasready, on the appointed day, they were severally summoned by theMessenger who had been sent by the Father; He was even then in theirmidst. But the cares of riches, the allurement of material things, andthe pleasures of social and domestic life had engrossed them; and theyprayed to be excused or irreverently declared they could not or wouldnot come. Then the gladsome invitation was to be carried to theGentiles, who were looked upon as spiritually poor, maimed, halt, andblind. And later, even the pagans beyond the walls, strangers in thegates of the holy city, would be bidden to the supper. These, surprizedat the unexpected summons, would hesitate, until by gentle urging andeffective assurance that they were really included among the biddenguests, they would feel themselves constrained or compelled to come. Thepossibility of some of the discourteous ones arriving later, after theyhad attended to their more absorbing affairs, is indicated in the Lord'sclosing words: "For I say unto you, That none of those men which werebidden shall taste of my supper. "

COUNTING THE COST. [956]

As had been in Galilee, so was it in Perea and Judea--great multitudesattended the Master whenever He appeared in public. When once a scribehas presented himself as a disciple, offering to follow wherever theMaster led, Jesus had indicated the self-denial, privation and sufferingincident to devoted service, with the result that the man's enthusiasmwas soon spent. [957] So now to the eager multitude Jesus applied a testof sincerity. He would have only genuine disciples, not enthusiasts of aday, ready to desert His cause when effort and sacrifice were mostneeded. Thus did He sift the people: "If any man come to me, and hatenot his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, andsisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Andwhosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be mydisciple. " Literal hatred toward one's family was not specified as acondition of discipleship; indeed a man who indulges hatred or any otherevil passion is a subject for repentance and reformation. Thepreeminence of duty toward God over personal or family demands on thepart of one who had assumed the obligations of a disciple was theprecept. [958]

As Jesus pointed out, it is good common-sense to count well the costbefore one enters upon a great undertaking, even in ordinary affairs. Aman who wishes to build, say a tower or a house, tries to determine, before he begins the work, what the expense will be; otherwise he may beable to do no more than lay the foundation; then, not only will he findhimself a loser, for the unfinished structure will be of no service, butpeople may laugh at his lack of prudent forethought. So also a king, finding his realm menaced by hostile invaders, does not rush into battlerecklessly; he first tries to ascertain the strength of the enemy'sforces; and then, if the odds against him be too great, he sends anembassage to treat for peace. "So likewise, " said Jesus to the peoplearound Him, "whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. " All who entered His service would be expectedto maintain their self-sacrificing devotion. He wanted no disciples whowould become like salt that had spoiled, unsavory and useless. "He thathath ears to hear, let him hear. "[959]

SALVATION FOR "PUBLICANS AND SINNERS"--ILLUSTRATIVE PARABLES. [960]

The Pharisees in Galilee had intolerantly criticized Jesus because ofHis friendly and helpful ministry among the publicans and theirassociates, who were disparagingly classed together as "publicans andsinners. "[961] He had replied to these uncharitable aspersions by sayingthat a physician is most needed by them that are sick, and that He hadcome to call sinners to repentance. The Judean Pharisees raised asimilar complaint, and were particularly virulent when they saw that"all the publicans and sinners" drew near to hear Him. He met theirmurmurs by presenting a number of parables, designed to show theincumbent duty of trying to recover the lost, and the joy of success insuch God-like endeavor. The first of the series of parables was that ofthe _Lost Sheep_; this we have considered in connection with its earlierdelivery in the course of instruction to the disciples in Galilee. [962]Its application in the present instance, however, is somewhat differentfrom that of its former presentation. The lesson on this later occasionwas directed to the self-seeking Pharisees and scribes who personifiedthe theocracy, and whose bounden duty it should have been to care forthe strayed and the lost. If the "publicans and sinners, " whom theseecclesiasts so generally contemned, were nearly as bad as they wererepresented to be, if they were men who had broken through theclose-hedged path of the law and had become in a measure apostate, theywere the ones toward whom the helping hand of missionary service couldbe best extended. In no instance of Pharisaic slur upon, or opendenunciation of, these "publicans and sinners, " do we find Jesusdefending their alleged evil ways; His attitude toward these spirituallysick folk was that of a devoted physician: His concern over thesestrayed sheep was that of a loving shepherd whose chief desire was tofind them out and bring them back to the fold. This neither thetheocracy as a system nor its officials as individual ministers evenattempted to do. The shepherd, on finding the sheep that was lost, thinks not at the time of reprimand or punishment; on the contrary, "when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Andwhen he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them: Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which waslost. "

A direct application of the parable appears in the Lord's conciseaddress to the Pharisees and scribes: "I say unto you, that likewise joyshall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninetyand nine just persons, which need no repentance. " Were they the ninetyand nine, who, by self-estimation had strayed not, being "just persons, which need no repentance?" Some readers say they catch this note of justsarcasm in the Master's concluding words. In the earlier part of thestory, the Lord Himself appears as the solicitous Shepherd, and by plainimplication His example is such as the theocratic leaders ought toemulate. Such a conception puts the Pharisees and scribes in theposition of shepherds rather than of sheep. Both explications aretenable; and each is of value as portraying the status and duty ofprofessing servants of the Master in all ages. 

Without break in the narrative, the Lord passed from the story of thelost sheep to the _Parable of the Lost Coin_. 

"Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently tillshe find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and herneighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piecewhich I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presenceof the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. "

Between this parable and that of the lost sheep there are certainnotable differences, though the lesson in each is in general the same. The sheep had strayed by its own volition; the coin[963] had beendropped, and so was lost as a result of inattention or culpablecarelessness on the part of its owner. The woman, discovering her lossinstitutes a diligent search; she sweeps the house, and perhaps learnsof dirty corners, dusty recesses, cobwebby nooks, to which she had beenoblivious in her self-complacency as an outwardly clean and conventionalhousewife. Her search is rewarded by the recovery of the lost piece, andis incidentally beneficial in the cleansing of her house. Her joy islike that of the shepherd wending his way homeward with the sheep uponhis shoulders--once lost but now regained. 

The woman who by lack of care lost the precious piece may be taken torepresent the theocracy of the time, and the Church as an institution inany dispensational period; then the pieces of silver, every one agenuine coin of the realm, bearing the image of the great King, are thesouls committed to the care of the Church; and the lost piece symbolizesthe souls that are neglected and, for a time at least, lost sight of, bythe authorized ministers of the Gospel of Christ. These cogentillustrations were followed by one yet richer in imagery and moreimpressively elaborate in detail. It is the never to be forgotten_Parable of the Prodigal Son_. [964]

"And he said, A certain man had two sons; And the younger of them saidto his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the youngerson gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, andthere wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spentall, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be inwant. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; andhe sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filledhis belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave untohim. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of myfather's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! Iwill arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I havesinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to becalled thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, andcame to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father sawhim, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and inthy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the fathersaid to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; andput a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither thefatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my sonwas dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they beganto be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drewnigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of theservants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thybrother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because hehath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in:therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering saidto his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neithertransgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest mea kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thyson was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hastkilled for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art everwith me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should makemerry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;and was lost, and is found. "

The demand of the younger son for a portion of the patrimony even duringhis father's lifetime, is an instance of deliberate and unfilialdesertion; the duties of family cooperation had grown distasteful tohim, and the wholesome discipline of the home had become irksome. He wasdetermined to break away from all home ties, forgetful of what home haddone for him and the debt of gratitude and duty by which he was morallybound. He went into a far country, and, as he thought, beyond the reachof the father's directing influence. He had his season of riotousliving, of unrestrained indulgence and evil pleasure, through it allwasting his strength of body and mind, and squandering his father'ssubstance; for what he had received had been given as a concession andnot as the granting of any legal or just demand. Adversity came uponhim, and proved to be a more effective minister for good than pleasurehad been. He was reduced to the lowest and most menial service, that ofherding swine, which occupation, to a Jew, was the extreme ofdegradation. Suffering brought him to himself. He, the son of honorableparentage, was feeding pigs and eating with them, while even the hiredservants at home had good food in plenty and to spare. He realized notalone his abject foolishness in leaving his father's well-spread tableto batten with hogs, but the unrighteousness of his selfish desertion;he was not only remorseful but repentant. He had sinned against hisfather and against God; he would return, confess his sin, and ask, notto be reinstated as a son, but to be allowed to work as a hired servant. Having resolved he delayed not, but immediately set out to find his longway back to home and father. 

The father became aware of the prodigal's approach and hastened to meethim. Without a word of condemnation, the loving parent embraced andkissed the wayward but now penitent boy, who, overcome by thisundeserved affection, humbly acknowledged his error, and sorrowfullyconfessed that he was not worthy to be known as his father's son. It isnoteworthy that in his contrite confession he did not ask to be acceptedas a hired servant as he had resolved to do; the father's joy was toosacred to be thus marred, he would please his father best by placinghimself unreservedly at that father's disposal. The rough garb ofpoverty was discarded for the best robe; a ring was placed on his fingeras a mark of reinstatement; shoes told of restored sonship, not ofemployment as a hired servant. The father's glad heart could expressitself only in acts of abundant kindness; a feast was made ready; forwas not the son, once counted as dead now alive? Had not the lost beenfound again?

So far the story sustains a relation of close analogy to the twoparables that preceded it in the same discourse; the part followingintroduces another important symbolism. No one had complained at therecovery of the stray sheep nor at the finding of the lost coin; friendshad rejoiced with the finder in each case. But the father's happiness atthe return of the prodigal was interrupted by the grumbling protest ofthe elder son. He, on approaching the house, had observed the evidencesof festal joy; and, instead of entering as was his right, had inquiredof one of the servants as to the cause of the unusual rejoicing. Onlearning that his brother had returned and that the father had prepareda festival in honor of the event, this elder son grew angry, andchurlishly refused to enter the house even after his father had come outand entreated him. He cited his own faithfulness and devotion to theroutine labor of the farm, to which claim of excellence the father didnot demur; but the son and heir reproached his father for having failedto give him so much as a kid with which to make merry with his friends;while now that the wayward and spendthrift son had come back the fatherhad killed for him even the fatted calf. There is significance in theelder one's designation of the penitent as "this thy son, " rather than"my brother. " The elder son, deafened by selfish anger, refused to heararight the affectionate assurance; "Son, thou art ever with me, and allthat I have is thine, " and with heart hardened by unbrotherly resentmenthe stood unmoved by the emotional and loving outburst, "this thy brotherwas dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. "

We are not justified in extolling the virtue of repentance on the partof the prodigal above the faithful, plodding service of his brother, whohad remained at home, true to the duties required of him. The devotedson was the heir; the father did not disparage his worth, nor deny hisdeserts. His displeasure over the rejoicing incident to the return ofhis wayward brother was an exhibition of illiberality and narrowness;but of the two brothers the elder was the more faithful, whatever hisminor defects may have been. The particular point emphasized in theLord's lesson, however, had to do with his uncharitable and selfishweaknesses. 

Pharisees and scribes, to whom this masterpiece of illustrative incidentwas delivered, must have taken to themselves its personal application. They were typified by the elder son, laboriously attentive to routine, methodically plodding by rule and rote in the multifarious labors of thefield, without interest except that of self, and all unwilling towelcome a repentant publican or a returned sinner. From all such theywere estranged; such a one might be to the indulgent and forgivingFather, "this thy son, " but never to them, a brother. They cared not whoor how many were lost, so long as they were undisturbed in heirship andpossession by the return of penitent prodigals. But the parable was notfor them alone; it is a living perennial yielding the fruit of wholesomedoctrine and soul-sustaining nourishment for all time. Not a wordappears in condonation or excuse for the prodigal's sin; upon that theFather could not look with the least degree of allowance;[965] but overthat sinner's repentance and contrition of soul, God and the householdof heaven rejoiced. 

The three parables which appear in the scriptural record as parts of acontinuous discourse, are as one in portraying the joy that abounds inheaven over the recovery of a soul once numbered among the lost, whetherthat soul be best symbolized by a sheep that had wandered afar, a cointhat had dropped out of sight through the custodian's neglect, or a sonwho would deliberately sever himself from home and heaven. There is nojustification for the inference that a repentant sinner is to be givenprecedence, over a righteous soul who has resisted sin; were such theway of God, then Christ, the one sinless Man, would be surpassed in theFather's esteem by regenerate offenders. Unqualifiedly offensive as issin, the sinner is yet precious in the Father's eyes, because of thepossibility of his repentance and return to righteousness. The loss of asoul is a very real and a very great loss to God. He is pained andgrieved thereby, for it is His will that not one should perish. [966]

DISCIPLES INSTRUCTED BY PARABLE. 

Addressing Himself more directly to the disciples present, who on thisoccasion probably comprized in addition to the apostles, many believers, including even some of the publicans, Jesus spake the _Parable of theUnrighteous Steward_. [967]

 "And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. "

The three preceding parables show forth their lessons through therelationship of close analogy and intimate similarities; this oneteaches rather by its contrast of situations. The steward in the storywas the duly authorized agent of his employer, holding what we wouldcall the power-of-attorney to act in his master's name. [968] He wascalled to account because a report of his wastefulness and lack of carehad reached the master's ears. The steward did not deny his guilt, andforthwith he received notice of dismissal. Considerable time would berequired for making up his accounts preparatory to turning thestewardship over to his successor. This interval, during which heremained in authority, he determined to use so far as possible to hisown advantage, even though he wrought further injustice to his master'sinterests. He contemplated the condition of dependence in which he wouldsoon find himself. Through unthrift and extravagance he had failed tolay by any store from his earnings; he had wasted his own and his lord'ssubstance. He felt that he was unfit for hard manual labor; and he wouldbe ashamed to beg, particularly in the community in which he had been alavish spender and a man of influence. With the desire to put othersunder some obligation to himself so that when he was deposed he couldthe more effectively appeal to them, he called his lord's debtors andauthorized them to change their bonds, bills of sale, or notes of hand, so as to show a greatly decreased indebtedness. Without doubt these actswere unrighteous; he defrauded his employer, and enriched the debtorsthrough whom he hoped to be benefited. Most of us are surprized to knowthat the master, learning what his far-seeing though selfish anddishonest steward had done, condoned the offense and actually commendedhim for his foresight, "because he had done wisely" as our versionreads, or "because he had done prudently" as many scholars aver to bethe better rendering. 

In pointing the moral of the parable Jesus said:[969] "For the childrenof this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon ofunrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you intoeverlasting habitations. " Our Lord's purpose was to show the contrastbetween the care, thoughtfulness, and devotion of men engaged in themoney-making affairs of earth, and the half hearted ways of many who areprofessedly striving after spiritual riches. Worldly-minded men do notneglect provision for their future years, and often are sinfully eagerto amass plenty; while the "children of light, " or those who believespiritual wealth to be above all earthly possessions, are lessenergetic, prudent, or wise. By "mammon of unrighteousness" we mayunderstand material wealth or worldly things. While far inferior to thetreasures of heaven, money or that which it represents may be the meansof accomplishing good, and of furthering the purposes of God. Our Lord'sadmonition was to utilize "mammon" in good works, while it lasted, forsome day it shall fail, and only the results achieved through its useshall endure. [970] If the wicked steward, when cast out from hismaster's house because of unworthiness, might hope to be received intothe homes of these whom he had favored, how much more confidently maythey who are genuinely devoted to the right hope to be received into theeverlasting mansions of God! Such seems to be part of the lesson. 

It was not the steward's dishonesty that was extolled; his prudence andforesight were commended, however; for while he misapplied his master'ssubstance, he gave relief to the debtors; and in so doing he did notexceed his legal powers, for he was still steward though he was morallyguilty of malfeasance. The lesson may be summed up in this wise: Makesuch use of your wealth as shall insure you friends hereafter. Bediligent; for the day in which you can use your earthly riches will soonpass. Take a lesson from even the dishonest and the evil; if they are soprudent as to provide for the only future they think of, how much moreshould you, who believe in an eternal future, provide therefor! If youhave not learned wisdom and prudence in the use of "unrighteous mammon, "how can you be trusted with the more enduring riches? If you have notlearned how to use properly the wealth of another, which has beencommitted to you as steward, how can you expect to be successful in thehandling of great wealth should such be given you as your own? Emulatethe unjust steward and the lovers of mammon, not in their dishonesty, cupidity, and miserly hoarding of the wealth that is at best buttransitory, but in their zeal, forethought, and provision for thefuture. Moreover, let not wealth become your master; keep it to itsplace as a servant, for, "No servant can serve two masters: for eitherhe will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to theone, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. "

DERISION OF THE PHARISEES MET; ANOTHER ILLUSTRATIVE PARABLES. [971]

The Pharisees, who were covetous, or more precisely stated, who werelovers of money, [972] overheard the foregoing instructions to thedisciples, and openly scoffed at the Teacher and the lesson. What didthis Galilean, who owned nothing but the clothes He wore, know aboutmoney or the best way of administering wealth? Our Lord's reply to theirwords of derision was a further condemnation. They knew all the tricksof the business-world, and could outdo the unrighteous steward in craftymanipulation; and yet so successfully could they justify themselvesbefore men as to be outwardly honest and straightforward; furthermore, they made ostentatious display of a certain type of simplicity, plainness, and self-denial, in which external observances they assertedsuperiority over the luxury-loving Sadducees; they had grown arrogantlyproud of their humility, but God knew their hearts, and the traits andpractises they most esteemed were an abomination in His sight. Theyposed as custodians of the law and expounders of the prophets. The "lawand the prophets" had been in force until the Baptist's time, sincewhich the gospel of the kingdom had been preached, and people were eagerto enter it[973] though the theocracy strove mightily to prevent. Thelaw had not been invalidated; easier were it that heaven and earth passaway than that one tittle of the law fail of fulfilment;[974] yet thosePharisees and scribes had tried to nullify the law. In the matter ofdivorce, for example, they, by their unlawful additions and falseinterpretations, had condoned even the sin of adultery. 

The Master gave as a further lesson the _Parable of the Rich Man andLazarus_:

 "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. "[975]

The afflicted beggar is honored with a name; the other is designatedsimply as "a certain rich man. "[976] The two are presented as theextremes of contrast between wealth and destitution. The rich man wasclothed in the costliest attire, purple and fine linen; and hisevery-day fare was a sumptuous feast. Lazarus had been brought to thegates of the rich man's palace, and there left, a helpless mendicant, his body covered with sores. The rich man was attended by servitorsready to gratify his slightest desire; the poor beggar at his gates hadneither companions nor attendants except the dogs, which like himselfwaited for the refuse from the rich man's table. Such is the picture ofthe two in life. An abrupt change of scene brings into view the same twoon the far side of the veil that hangs between the here and thehereafter. Lazarus died; no mention is made of his funeral; hisfestering body was probably thrown into a pauper's grave; but angelsbore his immortal spirit into Paradise, the resting place of the blessedand commonly known in the figurative lore of the rabbis as Abraham'sbosom. The rich man also died; his burial was doubtless an elaborateaffair, but we read not of any angelic escort receiving his spirit. Inhell he lifted up his eyes and saw, afar, Lazarus at peace in the abodeof Abraham. 

As a Jew the man had often boasted of having Abraham for his father; andnow the wretched spirit appealed to the patriarch of his race by thepaternal address, "Father Abraham, " and asked only the boon of a singledrop of water to be placed on his parched tongue; this he prayed thatLazarus, the erstwhile beggar, might bring. The reply throws light oncertain conditions existing in the spirit world, though as in the use ofparables generally, the presentation is largely figurative. Addressingthe poor tormented spirit as "Son, " Abraham reminded him of all the goodthings he had kept for himself on earth, whilst Lazarus had lain asuffering, neglected beggar at his gates; now by the operation of divinelaw, Lazarus had received recompense, and he, retribution. Moreover, togrant his pitiful request was impossible, for between the abode of therighteous where Lazarus rested and that of the wicked where he suffered"there is a great gulf fixed, " and passage between the two isinterdicted. The next request of the miserable sufferer was not whollyselfish; in his anguish he remembered those from whom he had beenseparated by death, fain would he save his brothers from the fate he hadmet; and he prayed that Lazarus be sent back to earth to visit theancestral home, and warn those selfish, pleasure-seeking, and yet mortalbrothers, of the awful doom awaiting them except they would repent andreform. There may have been in this petition an insinuation that had hebeen sufficiently warned he would have done better, and would haveescaped the torment. To the reminder that they had the words of Mosesand the prophets, which they should obey, he replied that if one went tothem from the dead they would surely repent. Abraham answered that ifthey would not heed Moses and the prophets neither would "they bepersuaded, though one rose from the dead. "

In any attempt to interpret the parable as a whole or definitely applyany of its parts, we should bear in mind that it was addressed to thePharisees as an instructive rebuke for the derision and scorn with whichthey had received the Lord's warning concerning the dangers attendingservitude to mammon. Jesus employed Jewish metaphors, and the imagery ofthe parable is such as would most directly appeal to the officialexpounders of Moses and the prophets. While as a practise it would becritically unfair to deduce doctrinal principles from parabolicincidents, we cannot admit that Christ would teach falsely even inparable; and therefore we accept as true the portrayal of conditions inthe world of the disembodied. That righteous and unrighteous dwell apartduring the interval between death and resurrection is clear. Paradise, or as the Jews like to designate that blessed abode, "Abraham's bosom, "is not the place of final glory, any more than the hell to which therich man's spirit was consigned is the final habitation of thecondemned. [977] To that preliminary or intermediate state, however, men's works do follow them;[978] and the dead shall surely find thattheir abode is that for which they have qualified themselves while inthe flesh. 

The rich man's fate was not the effect of riches, nor was the rest intowhich Lazarus entered the resultant of poverty. Failure to use hiswealth aright, and selfish satisfaction with the sensuous enjoyment ofearthly things to the exclusion of all concern for the needs orprivations of his fellows, brought the one under condemnation; whilepatience in suffering, faith in God and such righteous life as isimplied though not expressed, insured happiness to the other. The proudself-sufficiency of the rich man, who lacked nothing that wealth couldfurnish, and who kept aloof from the needy and suffering, was hisbesetting sin. The aloofness of the Pharisees, on which indeed theyprided themselves, as their very name, signifying "separatists, "expressed, was thus condemned. The parable teaches the continuation ofindividual existence after death, and the relation of cause to effectbetween the life one leads in mortality and the state awaiting himbeyond. 

UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. [979]

From the Pharisees, Jesus turned to His disciples and admonished them todiligence. Having cautioned them against unguarded utterances or actionsat which others might take offense, He proceeded to impress the absolutenecessity of unselfish devotion, toleration and forgiveness. Theapostles, realizing the whole-souled service required of them, imploredthe Lord, saying: "Increase our faith. " They were shown that faith wasless fitly reckoned in terms of quantity than by test of quality; andthe analogy of the mustard seed was again invoked. "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto thissycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted inthe sea; and it should obey you. "[980] Their faith could best be gagedby obedience and untiring service. 

This was emphasized by the _Parable of the Unprofitable Servants_. 

 "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. "

The servant might well feel that after a day's work in the field he isentitled to rest; but on reaching the house he finds other demands madeupon him. The master has a right to the servant's time and attention;such was among the conditions under which the servant had been engaged;and while his employer might thank him or give some substantial reward, the servant cannot demand such recompense. So the apostles, who hadgiven themselves entirely up to their Master's service, were not tohesitate nor demur, whatever the effort or sacrifice required. The bestthey could do would be no more than their duty required; and, withoutregard to the Master's estimate of their worth, they were to accountthemselves as unprofitable servants. [981]

TEN LEPERS HEALED. [982]

In the course of His journey toward Jerusalem Jesus "passed through themidst of Samaria and Galilee. " Ten men afflicted with leprosyapproached, probably they came as near as the law permitted, yet theywere afar off. These men were of mixed nationality; the plague underwhich they suffered in common had made them companions in distress. Theycried aloud "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. " The Lord answered: "Goshew yourselves unto the priests. "[983] This instruction implied theirultimate healing; obedience would be the test of their faith. None whohad been leprous could be lawfully restored to community life untilpronounced clean by a priest. The stricken ten hastened to obey theLord's command, "and it came to pass, that, as they went, they werecleansed. "[984] One of the ten turned back, and with loud voiceglorified God; then he prostrated himself at the feet of Christ, givingthanks. We are told that the grateful one was a Samaritan, from which weinfer that some or all of the others were Jews. Pained over the lack ofgratitude on the part of the nine, Jesus exclaimed: "Were there not tencleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that return togive glory to God, save this stranger. " And to the cleansed Samaritan, still worshiping at His feet, the Lord said: "Arise, go thy way: thyfaith hath made thee whole. " Doubtless the nine who came not back wereobedient to the strict letter of the Lord's command; for He had toldthem to go to the priests; but their lack of gratitude and their failureto acknowledge the power of God in their restoration stand inunfavorable contrast with the spirit of the one; and he was a Samaritan. The occurrence must have impressed the apostles as another evidence ofacceptability and possible excellence on the part of aliens, to thedisparagement of Jewish claims of superiority irrespective of merit. 

THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. [985]

"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves thatthey were righteous, and despised others:

 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. "

We are expressly told that this parable was given for the benefit ofcertain ones who trusted in their self-righteousness as an assurance ofjustification before God. It was not addressed to the Pharisees nor tothe publicans specifically. The two characters are types of widelyseparated classes. There may have been much of the Pharisaic spirit ofself-complacency among the disciples and some of it even among theTwelve. A Pharisee and a publican went up to the temple to pray. ThePharisee prayed "with himself"; his words can hardly be construed as aprayer to God. That he stood while praying was not an impropriety, forthe standing attitude was usual in prayer; the publican also stood. ThePharisee thanked God that he was so much better than other men; he wastrue to his class, a separatist who looked with disdain upon all whowere not like him. That he was not like "this publican" was made a pointof special thanksgiving. His boast, that he fasted twice a week and gavetithes of all that he possessed, was a specification of worthiness abovewhat was required by the law as then administered; he thus implied thatGod was his debtor. [986] The publican, standing afar off, was sooppressed by his consciousness of sin and his absolute need of divinehelp, that he cast down his eyes and smote upon his breast, cravingmercy as a penitent sinner. The Pharisee departed, justified in his ownconscience and before man, prouder than ever; the other went down to hishouse justified before God though still a despized publican. The parableis applicable to all men; its moral was summed up in a repetition of ourLord's words spoken in the house of the chief Pharisee: "For every onethat exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himselfshall be exalted. "[987]

ON MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. [988]

While wending His way by short stages toward Jerusalem, and while still"beyond" or on "the farther side" of Jordan, and therefore in Pereanterritory, Jesus was met by a body of Pharisees, who had come with thedeliberate purpose of inciting Him to say or do something on which theycould base an accusation. The question they had agreed to submit relatedto marriage and divorce, and no subject had been more vehementlycontested in their own schools and among their own rabbis. [989] Thecrafty questioners may have hoped that Jesus would denounce theadulterous state in which Herod Antipas was then living, and so bringupon Himself the fury of Herodias, to which the Baptist had already dieda victim. "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?"they asked. Jesus cited the original and eternal law of God in thematter; and indicated the only rational conclusion to be drawntherefrom: "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginningmade them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leavefather and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall beone flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. Whattherefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. "[990] Godhad provided for honorable marriage, and had made the relation betweenhusband and wife paramount even to that of children to parents; thesevering of such a union was an invention of man, not a command of God. The Pharisees had a ready rejoinder: "Why did Moses then command to givea writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" Be it remembered thatMoses had not commanded divorce, but had required that in case a manshould separate from his wife he give her a bill of divorcement. [991]Jesus made this fact plain, saying: "Moses because of the hardness ofyour hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginningit was not so. "

The higher requirement of the gospel followed: "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, andshall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her whichis put away doth commit adultery. "[992] The Mosaic provision had beenbut permissive, and was justified only because of existingunrighteousness. Strict compliance with the doctrine enunciated by JesusChrist is the only means by which a perfect social order can bemaintained. It is important to note, however, that in His reply to thecasuistical Pharisees, Jesus announced no specific or binding rule as tolegal divorces; the putting away of a wife, as contemplated under theMosaic custom, involved no judicial investigation or action by anestablished court. In our Lord's day the prevailing laxity in the matterof marital obligation had produced a state of appalling corruption inIsrael; and woman, who by the law of God had been made a companion andpartner with man, had become his slave. The world's greatest champion ofwoman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ. [993]

The Pharisees retired foiled in purpose and convicted in conscience. TheLord's strict construction of the marriage bond was startling even tosome of the disciples; these came to Him privately, saying that if a manwas so bound it would be better not to marry at all. Such a broadgeneralization the Lord disapproved except so far as it might apply inspecial cases. True, there were some who were physically incapacitatedfor marriage; others voluntarily devoted themselves to a celibate life, and some few adopted celibacy "for the kingdom of heaven's sake, " thatthereby they might be free to render all their time and energy to theLord's service. But the disciples' conclusion that "it is not good tomarry" was true only in the exceptional instances stated. Marriage ishonorable;[994] for neither man without woman nor woman without man canbe perfect in the Lord's sight. [995]

JESUS AND THE LITTLE ONES. [996]

The next event of record is one of surpassing sweetness, rich in preceptand invaluable in example. Mothers brought their little children toJesus, reverently desiring that the lives of those little ones bebrightened by a sight of the Master and be blessed by a touch of Hishand or a word from His lips. The circumstance appears in appropriatesequence to that of the Lord's instructions concerning the sacredness ofmarriage and the sanctity of the home. The disciples, zealous that theirMaster be not troubled unnecessarily, and conscious of the continuousdemands on His time and attention, rebuked those who had so ventured totrespass. Even the disciples seem to have been yet under the influenceof the traditional conception that women and children were of inferiorstatus, and that for such to seek the Lord's attention was an act ofpresumption. Jesus was displeased over the misdirected zeal of Hisfollowers, and rebuked them. Then He uttered that memorable sentence ofinfinite tenderness and divine affection: "_Suffer the little childrento come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom ofGod. _" Taking the children one by one into His arms, He laid His handsupon them and blessed them. [997] Then said He: "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, heshall not enter therein. "[998]

"ONE THING THOU LACKEST. "[999]

Jesus was accosted on the way by a young man, who came running to meetor overtake Him, and who knelt at His feet, inquiring: "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" The question was askedin earnestness; the questioner was in very different spirit from that ofthe lawyer who made a similar inquiry with the purpose of tempting theMaster. [1000] Jesus said: "Why callest thou me good? there is none goodbut one, that is, God. " This remark was no denial of sinlessness on theSavior's part; the young man had called Him "good" by way of politecompliment rather than in recognition of His Godship, and Jesus declinedto acknowledge the distinction when applied in that sense. The Lord'sremark must have deepened the young man's conception as to theseriousness of his question. Then said Jesus: "If thou wilt enter intolife, keep the commandments. " To the further inquiry, as to whichcommandments were meant, Jesus cited the prohibitions against murder, adultery, theft, and the bearing of false witness, and the requirementsas to honoring parents, and loving one's neighbor as one's self. Insimplicity and without pride or sense of self-righteousness, the youngman said: "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack Iyet?" His evident sincerity appealed to Jesus, who looked upon himlovingly and said: "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoeverthou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:and come, take up the cross, and follow me. "[1001]

The young man was disappointed and saddened. He had probably expected tohear the great Teacher prescribe some one special observance, by whichexcellence could be achieved. Luke tells us that the young man was aruler; this may mean that he was a presiding official in the localsynagog or possibly a Sanhedrist. He was well versed in the law, and hadbeen strict in obedience thereto. He desired to advance in good worksand make clear his title to an eternal heritage. But the Masterprescribed what he had least expected; "And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. " In his way, heyearned for the kingdom of God, yet more devotedly he loved his greatpossessions. To give up wealth, social position, and officialdistinction, was too great a sacrifice; and the necessary self-denialwas a cross too heavy for him to bear, even though treasure in heavenand life eternal were offered him. Love of worldly things was this man'sbesetting weakness; Jesus diagnosed his case and prescribed a suitableremedy. We are not warranted in saying that the same treatment would bebest in all cases of spiritual defection; but where the symptomsindicate the need, it may be employed with confidence as to the cure. 

Gazing sorrowfully upon the retreating figure of the wealthy young rulerJesus said to the disciples: "Verily I say unto you, That a rich manshall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. " To impress the lessonmore thoroughly He applied one of the figurative proverbs of the age, and said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. "[1002] At thisstatement the disciples were amazed. "Who then can be saved?" theywondered. Jesus understood their perplexity, and encouraged them withthe assurance that with God all things are possible. Thus were theygiven to understand that while wealth is a means of temptation to whichmany succumb, it is no insuperable obstacle, no insurmountable barrier, in the way of entrance to the kingdom. Had the young ruler followed theadvice called forth by his inquiry, his possession of riches would havemade possible to him meritorious service such as few are able to render. Willingness to place the kingdom of God above all material possessionswas the one thing he lacked. [1003] Everyone of us may pertinently ask, What do I lack?

THE FIRST MAY BE LAST, AND THE LAST FIRST. [1004]

The sorrowful departure of the rich young ruler, whose great possessionswere so much a part of his life that he could not give them up at thetime, though we may hope that he afterward did, brought forth from Peteran abrupt question, which revealed the course of his thoughts andaspirations: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; whatshall we have therefore?" Whether he spoke for himself alone, or by hisuse of the plural "we" meant to include all the Twelve, is uncertain andunimportant. He was thinking of the home and family he had left, and alonging for them was pardonable; he was thinking also of boats and nets, hooks and lines, and the lucrative business for which such things stood. All these he had forsaken; what was to be his reward? Jesus answered:"Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in theregeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes ofIsrael. " It is doubtful that Peter or any other of the Twelve had everconceived of so great a distinction. The day of regeneration, when theSon of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, as Judge and King, iseven yet future; but in that day, those of the Lord's Twelve who enduredto the end shall be enthroned as judges in Israel. The further assurancewas given that "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, orsisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for myname's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlastinglife. " Rewards of such transcendent worth could scarcely be reckoned ortheir meaning comprehended. Lest those to whom they were promised mightcount too surely upon successful attainment, to the neglect of effort, and become proud withal, the Lord added this profound precept ofcaution: "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall befirst. "

It was the text of the sermon known to us as the _Parable of theLaborers_. [1005] Hear it:

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said unto them:

 "Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. "

The procedure of a householder going into the marketplace to hirelaborers was common to the time and place, and is still an ordinaryoccurrence in many lands. The first to be hired in the course of thestory made a definite bargain as to wages. Those who were employed atnine, twelve, and three o'clock respectively went willingly withoutagreement as to what they were to receive; so glad were they to find achance to work that they lost no time in specifying terms. At fiveo'clock in the afternoon or evening, when but a single hour of theworking day remained, the last band of laborers went to work, trustingto the master's word that whatever was right they should receive. Thatthey had not found work earlier in the day was no fault of theirs; theyhad been ready and willing, and had waited at the place where employmentwas most likely to be secured. At the close of the day, the laborerscame for their wages; this was in accordance with law and custom, for ithad been established by statute in Israel that the employer should paythe servant, hired by the day, before the sun went down. [1006] Underinstructions, the steward who acted as paymaster began with those whohad been engaged at the eleventh hour; and to each of them he gave adenarius, or Roman penny, worth about fifteen cents in our money, andthe usual wage for a day's work. This was the amount for which those whobegan earliest had severally bargained; and as these saw theirfellow-workers, who had served but an hour, receive each a penny, theyprobably exulted in the expectation of receiving a wage proportionatelylarger, notwithstanding their stipulation. But each of them received apenny and no more. Then they complained; not because they had beenunderpaid, but because the others had received a full day's pay for butpart of a day's work. The master answered in all kindness, remindingthem of their agreement. Could he not be just to them and charitable tothe rest if he so chose? His money was his own, and he could give of itas he liked. Were those grumblers justified in their evil displeasurebecause their master was charitable and good? "So, " said Jesus, passingdirectly from the story to one of the lessons it was designed to teach, "the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, butfew chosen. "[1007]

The parable was plainly intended for the edification of the Twelve. Itwas called out by Peter's question, "What shall we have therefore?" Itstands as truly in force today as when it was delivered by the Master, as a rebuke of the bargaining spirit in the Lord's work. God needsworkers, and such as will labor faithfully and effectively are welcomedinto the vineyard. If, before beginning they insist on the stipulationof a wage, and this be agreed to, each shall receive his penny providedhe has not lost his place through idleness or transgression. But thosewho diligently labor, knowing that the Master will give to them whateveris right, and with thought for the work rather than for the wage, shallfind themselves more bountifully enriched. A man may work for wages andyet not be a hireling. Between the worthy hired servant and the hirelingthere is the difference that distinguishes the shepherd from the sheepherder. [1008] Was there not a suggestion of the hireling's spirit in thequery of even the first of the apostles, "What shall we have therefore?"The Twelve had been called into service early in the Savior's ministry;they had responded to the call, without promise of even a penny; theywere yet to feel the burden and heat of the day; but they were solemnlycautioned against attempt or desire to fix their reward. The Mastershall judge as to the deserts of each servant; the wage at best is afree gift; for on the basis of strict accounting who of us is not indebt to God? The last called is as likely as the first to proveunworthy. No general reversal is implied whereby all the late comersshall be advanced and all the early workers demoted. "Many that arefirst shall be last" was the Lord's statement, and by implication we mayunderstand that not all the last, though some of them, may be countedamong the first. Of the many called or permitted to labor in thevineyard of the Lord, few may so excel as to be chosen for exaltationabove their fellows. Even the call and ordination to the HolyApostleship is no guarantee of eventual exaltation in the celestialkingdom. Iscariot was so called and placed among the first; now, verilyhe is far below the last in the kingdom of God. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 27. 

1. Rich Men and Their Stewards. --"'A certain rich man had a steward, ' Welearn here, incidentally, how evenly balanced are the various conditionsof life in a community, and how little of substantial advantage wealthcan confer on its possessor. As your property increases, your personalcontrol over it diminishes; the more you possess the more you mustentrust to others. Those who do their own work are not troubled withdisobedient servants; those who look after their own affairs, are nottroubled with unfaithful overseers. "--Arnot's _Parables of our Lord_, p. 454. 

2. The Mammon of Unrighteousness. --The revised version of Luke 16:9, reads: "And I say unto you, Make to yourself friends by means of themammon of unrighteousness, that, when it shall fail, they may receiveyou into the eternal tabernacles. " The Lord's counsel to the discipleswas to so use worldly wealth as to accomplish good thereby, that when"it, " i. E. All earthly possessions, fail, they would have friends towelcome them into "the eternal tabernacles" or heavenly mansions. Instudying a parable based on contrasts, such as this one is, care must beexercized not to carry too far any one point of analogy. Thus, we cannotreasonably gather that Jesus intended even to intimate that theprerogative of receiving any soul into the "eternal tabernacles" orexcluding therefrom, rests with those who on earth had been benefited orinjured through that person's acts, except so far as their witness tohis deeds may be taken into account in the final judgment. The wholeparable is full of wisdom for him who is in search of such; to thehypercritical mind it may appear inconsistent, as so it did appear tothe Pharisees who derided Jesus for the story He had told. Luke 16:14 isrendered in the revised version, "And the Pharisees, who were lovers ofmoney, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. "

3. Lazarus and Dives. --Of all our Lord's recorded parables this is theonly one in which a personal name is applied to any of the characters. The name "Lazarus" used in the parable was also the true name of a manwhom Jesus loved, and who, subsequent to the delivery of this parable, was restored to life after he had lain for days in the tomb. The name, aGreek variant of Eleazar, signifies "God is my help. " In manytheological writings, the rich man of this parable is called Dives, butthe name is not of scriptural usage. "Dives" is a Latin adjectivemeaning "rich. " Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary (John 11:1, 2, 5)is one of three men mentioned by name as subjects of our Lord'sbeneficent miracles; the other two are Bartimeus (Mark 10:46) andMalchus (John 18:10). Commenting on the fact that our Lord gave a nameto the beggar but left the rich man nameless in the parable, Augustine(in Sermon xli) suggestively asks: "Seems He not to you to have beenreading from that book where He found the name of the poor man written, but found not the name of the rich; for that book is the Book of Life?"

4. Divergent Views Concerning Divorce. --In relation to the differentopinions upon this subject among Jewish authorities in the time ofChrist, Geikie (vol. Ii, p. 347-8) says: "Among the questions of the dayfiercely debated between the great rival schools of Hillel and Shammai, no one was more so than that of divorce. The school of Hillel contendedthat a man had a right to divorce his wife for any cause he mightassign, if it were no more than his having ceased to love her, or hishaving seen one he liked better, or her having cooked a dinner badly. The school of Shammai, on the contrary, held that divorce could beissued only for the crime of adultery, and offences against chastity. Ifit were possible to get Jesus to pronounce in favor of either school, the hostility of the other would be roused, and hence, it seemed afavorable chance for compromising Him. " The following from Dummelow's_Commentary_, dealing with Matt. 5:32, is further illustrative: "RabbiAkiba (Hillelite) said, 'If a man sees a woman handsomer than his ownwife he may put her [his wife] away, because it is said, If she find notfavor in his eyes. ' The school of Hillel said 'If the wife cook herhusband's food ill, by over-salting or over-roasting it, she is to beput away. ' On the other hand Rabbi Jochanan (a Shammaite) said 'Theputting away of a wife is odious. ' Both schools agreed that a divorcedwife could not be taken back. .. . Rabbi Chananiah said 'God has notsubscribed His name to divorces, except among Israelites, as if He hadsaid: I have conceded to the Israelites the right of dismissing theirwives; but to the Gentiles I have not conceded it. ' Jesus retorts thatit is not the privilege but the infamy and reproach of Israel, thatMoses found it necessary to tolerate divorce. "

5. Jesus the Ennobler of Woman. --Geikie thus paraphrases part ofChrist's reply to the Pharisee's question concerning divorce, andcomments thereon. "'I say, therefore, that whoever puts away his wife, except for fornication, which destroys the very essence of marriage bydissolving the oneness it had formed, and shall marry another, commitsadultery; and whoever marries her who is put away for any other causecommits adultery, because the woman is still, in God's sight, wife ofhim who had divorced her. ' This statement was of far deeper moment thanthe mere silencing of malignant spies. It was designed to set forth forall ages the law of His New Kingdom in the supreme matter of familylife. It swept away for ever from His Society the conception of woman asa mere toy or slave of man, and based true relations of the sexes on theeternal foundation of truth, right, honor, and love. To ennoble theHouse and the Family by raising woman to her true position was essentialto the future stability of His Kingdom, as one of purity and spiritualworth. By making marriage indissoluble, He proclaimed the equal rightsof woman and man within the limits of the family, and, in this, gavetheir charter of nobility to the mothers of the world. For her noblerposition in the Christian era, compared with that granted her inantiquity, woman is indebted to Jesus Christ. "--_Life and Words ofChrist_, vol. Ii, p. 349. 

6. The Blessing of Children. --When Christ, a resurrected Being, appearedamong the Nephites on the western continent, He took the children, oneby one, and blessed them; and the assembled multitude saw the littleones encircled as with fire, while angels ministered unto them. (3 Nephi17:11-25. ) Through modern revelation the Lord has directed that allchildren born in the Church be brought for blessing to those who areauthorized to administer this ordinance of the Holy Priesthood. Thecommandment is as follows: "Every member of the church of Christ havingchildren, is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are tolay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them inHis name. " (Doc. And Cov. 20:70. ) Accordingly, it is now the custom inthe Church to bring the little ones to the Fast-day service in theseveral wards, at which they are received one by one into the arms ofthe elders, and blessed, names being given them at the same time. Thefather of the child, if he be an elder, is expected to participate inthe ordinance. 

The blessing of children is in no sense analogous to, far less is it asubstitution for, the ordinance of baptism, which is to be administeredonly to those who have come to years of understanding, and who arecapable of repentance. As the author has written elsewhere, "Some pointto the incident of Christ blessing little children, and rebuking thosewho would forbid the little ones coming unto Him, (Matt. 19:13; Mark10:13; Luke 18:15) as an evidence in favor of infant baptism; but, ashas been tersely said:--'From the action of Christ's blessing infants, to infer they are to be baptized, proves nothing so much as that thereis a want of better argument; for the conclusion would with moreprobability be derived thus: Christ blessed infants, and so dismissedthem, but baptized them not; therefore infants are not to bebaptized. '"--The author, _Articles of Faith_, vi:14. See paragraphs11-17 in same lecture. 

7. The Camel and the Needle's Eye. --In comparing the difficulty of arich man entering the kingdom with that of a camel passing through theeye of a needle, Jesus used a rhetorical figure, which, strong andprohibitory as it appears in our translation, was of a type familiar tothose who heard the remark. There was a "common Jewish proverb, that aman did not even in his dreams see an elephant pass through the eye of aneedle" (Edersheim). Some interpreters insist that a rope, not a camel, was mentioned by Jesus, and these base their contention on the fact thatthe Greek word _kamelos_ (camel) differs in but a single letter from_kamilos_ (rope), and that the alleged error of substituting "camel" for"rope" in the scriptural text is chargeable to the early copyists. Farrar (p. 476) rejects this possible interpretation on the ground thatproverbs involving comparisons of a kind with that of a camel passingthrough the eye of a needle are common in the Talmud. 

It has been asserted that the term "needle's eye" was applied to a smalldoor or wicket set in or alongside the great gates in the walls ofcities; and the assumption has been raised that Jesus had such a wicketin mind when He spoke of the seeming impossibility of a camel passingthrough a needle's eye. It would be possible though very difficult for acamel to squeeze its way through the little gate, and it could in nowise do so except when relieved of its load and stripped of all itsharness. If this conception be correct, we may find additionalsimilitude between the fact that the camel must first be unloaded andstripped, however costly its burden or rich its accoutrement, and thenecessity of the rich young ruler, and so of any man, divesting himselfof the burden and trappings of wealth, if he would enter by the narrowway that leadeth into the kingdom. The Lord's exposition of His sayingis all-sufficient for the purposes of the lesson: "With men this isimpossible, but with God all things are possible. " (Matt. 19:26. )

8. Undue Concern as to Wages in the Lord's Service. --The instructive andinspiring Parable of the Laborers was called forth by Peter's questionof self-interest--"What shall we have therefore?" In tender mercy theLord refrained from directly rebuking His impulsive servant for undueconcern as to the wage to be expected; but He turned the incident toexcellent purpose by making it the text of a valuable lesson. Thefollowing treatment by Edersheim (vol. Ii, p. 416) is worthconsideration. "There was here deep danger to the disciples: danger oflapsing into feelings akin to those with which the Pharisees viewed thepardoned publicans, or the elder son in the parable his younger brother;danger of misunderstanding the right relations, and with it the verycharacter of the kingdom, and of work in and for it. It is to this thatthe Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard refers. The principle whichChrist lays down is, that, while nothing done for Him shall lose itsreward, yet, from one reason or another, no forecast can be made, noinferences of self-righteousness may be drawn. It does not by any meansfollow, that most work done--at least, to our seeing and judging--shallentail a greater reward. On the contrary, 'many that are first shall belast; and the last shall be first. ' Not _all_, nor yet always andnecessarily, but 'many. ' And in such cases no wrong has been done; thereexists no claim, even in view of the promises of due acknowledgment ofwork. Spiritual pride and self assertion can only be the outcome eitherof misunderstanding God's relation to us, or else of a wrong state ofmind towards others--that is, it betokens mental or moral unfitness. Ofthis the Parable of the Laborers is an illustration. .. . But, whileillustrating how it may come that some who were first are last, and howutterly mistaken or wrong is the thought that they must necessarilyreceive more than others, who, seemingly, have done more--how, in short, work for Christ is not a ponderable quantity, so much for so much, noryet we be the judges of when and why a worker has come--it also conveysmuch that is new, and, in many respects, most comforting. "

FOOTNOTES:

[950] Luke 14:1-24. 

[951] The question is identical with that asked of Jesus in the synagogat Capernaum preliminary to the healing of the man with the witheredhand (Matt. 12:10). 

[952] Exo. 23:5; Deut. 22:4; Luke 13:15. 

[953] Compare Matt. 23:12; Luke 1:52; 18:14; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5. 

[954] Compare Matt. 8:11; Rev. 19:9. The expression "eat bread" is aHebraism, signifying eating in full as at a feast rather than partakingof bread only. 

[955] Luke 14:16-24. Compare the parable relating to the marriage of theking's son (Matt. 22:2-10); study points of resemblance and differencebetween the two and the distinctive lessons of each. See page 536. 

[956] Luke 14:25-35. 

[957] Matt. 8:19, 20; compare Luke 9:57, 58; page 305 herein. 

[958] Compare the requirement under the Mosaic administration, Deut. 13:6-11; and note the application of the principle to the apostles, Matt. 10:37-39. 

[959] Compare Matt. 5:13; Mark 9:50

[960] Luke 15. 

[961] Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32. See page 193 herein. 

[962] Matt. 18:12-14. See page 389 herein. 

[963] That the lost piece of silver was a coin, and not a piece ofunstamped bullion nor an ornament, is apparent from the original, "drachma, " a silver coin. See page 384 herein. 

[964] Luke 15:11-32. 

[965] Compare Doc. And Cov. 1:31; B. Of M. , Alma 45:16. 

[966] Compare Matt. 18:14; P. Of G. P. , Moses 1:39. 

[967] Luke 16:1-8. 

[968] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[969] Luke 16:9-13. 

[970] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[971] Luke 16:14-31. 

[972] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[973] Revised version, Luke 16:16: "The law and the prophets were untilJohn; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, andevery man entereth violently into it. "

[974] Compare Matt. 5:18; see page 233 herein. 

[975] Luke 16:19-31. 

[976] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[977] Compare B. Of M. , Alma 40:11-14; see "Articles of Faith, " xxi, Note 5. "The Intermediate State of the Soul. "

[978] Rev. 14:13. 

[979] Luke 17:1-10. 

[980] Compare Matt. 17:20; 21:21; Mark 9:23; 11:23; see page 381 herein. 

[981] Compare Job 22:3; 35:7. 

[982] Luke 17:11-19. Many writers treat this occurrence as havingimmediately followed the repulse of Jesus and the apostles in a certainSamaritan village (Luke 9:52-56). We give it place in the order followedby Luke, the sole recorder of the two incidents. 

[983] Compare Lev. 13:2; 14:2; see also page 189 herein. 

[984] Compare case of Naaman the Syrian, 2 Kings 5:14. 

[985] Luke 18:9-14. Luke's narrative, the order of which we havefollowed in the events succeeding Christ's departure from Jerusalemafter the Feast of Tabernacles, includes our Lord's reply to thePharisee's question as to "when the kingdom of God should come, " andadditions thereto (17:20-37); these matters were afterward treated withgreater fulness in a discourse near Jerusalem (Matt. 24) and will beconsidered in connection with that later event. The Parable of theImportunate Widow (Luke 18:1-7) has already received attention, (page436). 

[986] Note to what blasphemous extreme the doctrine of supererogation, or excess of merit, was carried by the papacy in the 13th century; see"The Great Apostasy, " 913-15. 

[987] Compare Luke 14:11. 

[988] Matt. 19:3-12; see also Mark 10:2-12. This subject is introducedby Matthew and Mark directly preceding that of Christ blessing littlechildren; which latter is recorded by Luke next after the Parable of thePharisee and the Publican. We therefore turn from Luke's record to theaccounts given by the other synoptic writers. 

[989] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[990] Compare Gen. 1:27; 2:24; 5:2; Eph. 5:31. 

[991] Deut. 24:1-4. 

[992] Compare Matt. 5:32; Luke 16:18; see also 1 Cor. 7:10-13. 

[993] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[994] Compare Heb. 13:4. 

[995] Compare 1 Cor. 11:11. 

[996] Mark 10:13-16; compare Matt. 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17. 

[997] Compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 17:11-25. See Note 6, end of chapter. 

[998] Page 386. 

[999] Matt. 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-30. 

[1000] Luke 10:25; page 429 herein. 

[1001] This is Mark's record, (10:21) which is the most detailed of thethree accounts. 

[1002] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1003] Consider the lessons of the parables of the Hidden Treasure, andthe Pearl of Great Price, pages 292-4. 

[1004] Matt. 19:27-30; Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30. 

[1005] Matt. 20:1-16. The parable is the outgrowth of the eventsimmediately preceding it. Matt. 19:27-30 should be read as part of thenarrative continued in chap. 20. The existing division into chapters isunfortunate. 

[1006] Deut. 24:15. 

[1007] The concluding clause, "for many be called but few chosen, " isomitted from the revised version. Note 8, end of chapter. 

[1008] Page 416. 

CHAPTER 28. 

THE LAST WINTER. 

AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. [1009]

Jesus returned to Jerusalem in time to attend the Feast of Dedicationduring the last winter of His earthly life. This feast, like that ofTabernacles, was one of national rejoicing, and was celebrated annuallyfor a period of eight days beginning on the 25th of Chislev, [1010] whichcorresponds in part to our December. It was not one of the great feastsprescribed by Mosaic statute, but had been established in 164 or 163B. C. At the time of the rededication of the Temple of Zerubbabelfollowing the rehabilitation of the sacred structure after its profanedesecration by Antiochus Epiphanes, the pagan king of Syria. [1011] Whilethe festival was in progress, Jesus went to the temple and was seenwalking in the part of the enclosure known as Solomon's Porch. [1012] Hispresence soon became known to the Jews, who came crowding about Him inunfriendly spirit, ostensibly to ask questions. Their inquiry was: "Howlong dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell usplainly, " The mere asking of such a question evidences the deep anddisturbing impression which the ministry of Christ had produced amongthe official classes and the people generally; in their estimation, theworks he had wrought appeared as worthy of the Messiah. 

The Lord's reply was indirect in form, though in substance and effectincisive and unmistakable. He referred them to His former utterances andto His continued works. "I told you, " He said, "and ye believed not: theworks that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But yebelieve not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Mysheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I giveunto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall anyman pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greaterthan all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Iand my Father are one. " The reference to what had been before told was areminder of His teachings on the occasion of an earlier sojourn amongthem, when He had proclaimed Himself as the I AM, who was older andgreater than Abraham, and of His other proclamation of Himself as theGood Shepherd. [1013]

He could not well answer their inquiry by a simple unqualifiedaffirmation, for by such He would have been understood as meaning thatHe claimed to be the Messiah according to their conception, the earthlyking and conqueror for whom they professed to be looking. He was no suchChrist as they had in mind; yet was He verily Shepherd and King to allwho would hear His words and do His works; and to such He renewed thepromise of eternal life and the assurance that no man could pluck themout of His own or the Father's hand. To this doctrine, both exalted andprofound in scope, the casuistical Jews could offer no refutation, norcould they find therein the much desired excuse for open accusation; ourLord's concluding sentence, however, stirred the hostile throng tofrenzy. "I and my Father are one" was His solemn declaration. [1014] Intheir rage they scrambled for stones wherewith to crush Him. Owing tothe unfinished state of the temple buildings, there were probably manyblocks and broken fragments of rock at hand; and this was the secondmurderous attempt upon our Lord's life within the purlieus of HisFather's House. [1015]

Fearless, and with the compelling calmness of more than human majesty, Jesus said: "Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for whichof those works do ye stone me?" They angrily retorted: "For a good workwe stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being aman, makest thyself God. "[1016] Plainly they had found no ambiguity inHis words. He then cited to them the scriptures, wherein even judgesempowered by divine authority are called gods, [1017] and asked: "Is itnot written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken: sayye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" Then, revertingto the first avouchment that His own commission was of the Father who isgreater than all, He added: "If I do not the works of my Father, believeme not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: thatye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. "[1018]Again the Jews sought to take Him, but were foiled by means not stated;He passed from their reach and departed from the temple. 

OUR LORD'S RETIREMENT IN PEREA. [1019]

The violent hostility of the Jews in Jerusalem, the headquarters of thetheocracy, was such that Jesus withdrew from the city and itsneighborhood. The day for His sacrifice had not yet come, and while Hisenemies could not kill Him until He allowed Himself to be taken intotheir hands, His work would be retarded by further hostile disturbances. He retired to the place at which John the Baptist had begun his publicministry, which is probably also the place of our Lord's baptism. Theexact location is not specified; it was certainly beyond Jordan andtherefore in Perea. We read that Jesus abode there, and from this wegather that He remained in one general locality instead of travelingfrom town to town as had been His custom. People resorted to Him eventhere, however, and many believed on Him. The place was endeared tothose who had gone to hear John and to be baptized by him;[1020] and asthese recalled the impassioned call to repentance, the stirringproclamation of the kingdom by the now murdered and lamented Baptist, they remembered his affirmation of One mightier than himself, and saw inJesus the realization of that testimony. "John, " they said, "did nomiracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. "

The duration of this sojourn in Perea is nowhere recorded in ourscriptures. It could not have lasted more than a few weeks at most. Possibly some of the discourses, instructions, and parables alreadytreated as following the Lord's departure from Jerusalem after the Feastof Tabernacles in the preceding autumn, may chronologically belong tothis interval. From this retreat of comparative quiet, Jesus returned toJudea in response to an earnest appeal from some whom He loved. He leftthe Bethany of Perea for the Judean Bethany, where dwelt Martha andMary. [1021]

LAZARUS RESTORED TO LIFE. [1022]

Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, lay ill in the family home atBethany of Judea. His devoted sisters sent a messenger to Jesus, withthe simple announcement, in which, however, we cannot fail to recognizea pitiful appeal: "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. " WhenJesus received the message, He remarked: "This sickness is not untodeath, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorifiedthereby. " This was probably the word carried back to the sisters, whomJesus loved. Lazarus had died in the interval; indeed he must haveexpired soon after the messenger had started with the tidings of theyoung man's illness. The Lord knew that Lazarus was dead; yet He tarriedwhere He was for two days after receiving the word; then He surprizedthe disciples by saying: "Let us go into Judea again. " They sought todissuade the Master by reminding Him of the recent attempt upon His lifeat Jerusalem, and asked wonderingly, "Goest thou thither again?" Jesusmade clear to them that He was not to be deterred from duty in the timethereof, nor should others be; for as He illustrated, the working day istwelve hours long; and during that period a man may walk withoutstumbling, for he walks in the light, but if he let the hours pass andthen try to walk or work in darkness, he stumbles. It was then His dayto work, and He was making no mistake in returning to Judea. 

He added: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake himout of sleep. " The simile between death and sleep was as common amongthe Jews as with us;[1023] but the disciples construed the sayingliterally, and remarked that if the sick man was sleeping it would bewell with him. Jesus set them right. "Lazarus is dead, " He said, andadded, "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intentye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. " It is evident thatJesus had already decided to restore Lazarus to life; and, as we shallsee, the miracle was to be a testimony of our Lord's Messiahship, convincing to all who would accept it. A return to Judea at that timewas viewed by at least some of the apostles with serious apprehension;they feared for their Master's safety, and thought that their own liveswould be in peril; nevertheless they did not hesitate to go. Thomasboldly said to the others: "Let us also go, that we may die with him. "

Arriving on the outskirts of Bethany, Jesus found that Lazarus "had lainin the grave four days already. "[1024] The bereaved sisters were athome, where had gathered, according to custom, friends to console themin their grief. Among these were many prominent people, some of whom hadcome from Jerusalem. Word of the Master's approach reached Martha first, and she hastened to meet Him. Her first words were: "Lord, if thou hadstbeen here, my brother had not died. " It was an expression of anguishcombined with faith; but, lest it appear as lacking in trust, shehastened to add: "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask ofGod, God will give it thee. " Then said Jesus in words of assuringtenderness: "Thy brother shall rise again. " Perhaps some of the Jews whohad come to comfort her had said as much, for they, the Sadduceesexcepted, believed in a resurrection; and Martha failed to find in theLord's promise anything more than a general assurance that her departedbrother should be raised with the rest of the dead. In natural andseemingly casual assent she remarked: "I know that he shall rise againin the resurrection at the last day. " Then said Jesus: "I am theresurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he weredead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shallnever die. Believest thou this?"

The sorrowing woman's faith had to be lifted and centered in the Lord ofLife with whom she was speaking. She had before confessed her convictionthat whatever Jesus asked of God would be granted; she had to learn thatunto Jesus had already been committed power over life and death. She washopefully expectant of some superhuman interposition by the Lord Jesusin her behalf, yet she knew not what that might be. Apparently at thistime she had no well-defined thought or even hope that He would call herbrother from the tomb. To the Lord's question as to whether she believedwhat He had just said, she answered with simple frankness; all of it shewas not able to understand; but she believed in the Speaker even whileunable to fully comprehend His words. "Yea, Lord, " she said, "I believethat thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into theworld. "

Then she returned to the home, and with precaution of secrecy on accountof the presence of some whom she knew to be unfriendly to Jesus, said toMary: "The Master is come, and calleth for thee. " Mary left the house inhaste. The Jews who had been with her thought that she had been impelledby a fresh resurgence of grief to go again to the grave, and theyfollowed her. When she reached the Master, she knelt at His feet, andgave expression to her consuming sorrow in the very words Martha hadused: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. " Wecannot doubt that the conviction so voiced had been the burden ofcomment and lamentation between the two sisters--if only Jesus had beenwith them they would not have been bereft of their brother. 

The sight of the two women so overcome by grief, and of the peoplewailing with them, caused Jesus to sorrow, so that He groaned in spiritand was deeply troubled. "Where have ye laid him?" He asked; and Jesuswept. As the sorrowing company went toward the tomb, some of the Jews, observing the Lord's emotion and tears, said: "Behold how he loved him!"but others, less sympathetic because of their prejudice against Christ, asked critically and reproachfully: "Could not this man, which openedthe eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not havedied?" The miracle by which a man blind from birth had been made to seewas very generally known, largely because of the official investigationthat had followed the healing. [1025] The Jews had been compelled toadmit the actuality of the astounding occurrence; and the question nowraised as to whether or why One who could accomplish such a wonder couldnot have preserved from death a man stricken with an ordinary illness, and that man one whom He seemed to have dearly loved, was an innuendothat the power possessed by Jesus was after all limited, and ofuncertain or capricious operation. This manifestation of malignantunbelief caused Jesus again to groan with sorrow if notindignation. [1026]

The body of Lazarus had been interred in a cave, the entrance to whichwas closed by a great block of stone. Such burial-places were common inthat country, natural caves or vaults hewn in the solid rock being usedas sepulchres by the better classes of people. Jesus directed that thetomb be opened. Martha, still unprepared for what was to follow, ventured to remonstrate, reminding Jesus that the corpse had been fourdays immured, and that decomposition must have already set in. [1027]Jesus thus met her objection: "Said I not unto thee, that, if thouwouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" This may havehad reference both to His promise spoken to Martha in person--that herbrother should rise again--and to the message sent from Perea--that theillness of Lazarus was not unto final death at that time, but for theglory of God and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 

The stone was removed. Standing before the open portal of the tomb, Jesus looked upward and prayed: "Father, I thank thee that thou hastheard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of thepeople which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hastsent me. " He did not ask the Father for power or authority; such hadalready been given Him; but He gave thanks, and in the hearing of allwho stood by acknowledged the Father and expressed the oneness of Hisown and the Father's purposes. Then, with a loud voice He cried:"Lazarus, come forth. " The dead man heard that voice of authoritativecommand; the spirit straightway reentered the tabernacle of flesh, thephysical processes of life were resumed; and Lazarus, again alive, cameforth. His freedom of motion was limited, for the grave clothes hamperedhis movements, and his face was still bound by the napkin by which thelifeless jaw had been held in place. To those who stood near, Jesussaid: "Loose him, and let him go. "

The procedure throughout was characterized by deep solemnity and by theentire absence of every element of unnecessary display. Jesus, who whenmiles away and without any ordinary means of receiving the informationknew that Lazarus was dead, doubtless could have found the tomb; yet Heinquired: "Where have ye laid him?" He who could still the waves of thesea by a word could have miraculously effected the removal of the stonethat sealed the mouth of the sepulchre; yet He said: "Take ye away thestone. " He who could reunite spirit and body could have loosened withouthands the cerements by which the reanimated Lazarus was bound; yet Hesaid: "Loose him, and let him go. " All that human agency could do wasleft to man. In no instance do we find that Christ used unnecessarilythe superhuman powers of His Godship; the divine energy was neverwasted; even the material creation resulting from its exercize wasconserved, as witness His instructions regarding the gathering up of thefragments of bread and fish after the multitudes had been miraculouslyfed. [1028]

The raising of Lazarus stands as the third recorded instance ofrestoration to life by Jesus. [1029] In each the miracle resulted in aresumption of mortal existence, and was in no sense a resurrection fromdeath to immortality. In the raising of the daughter of Jairus, thespirit was recalled to its tenement within the hour of its quitting; theraising of the widow's son is an instance of restoration when the corpsewas ready for the grave; the crowning miracle of the three was thecalling of a spirit to reenter its body days after death, and when, bynatural processes the corpse would be already in the early stages ofdecomposition. Lazarus was raised from the dead, not simply to assuagethe grief of mourning relatives; myriads have had to mourn over death, and so myriads more shall have to do. One of the Lord's purposes wasthat of demonstrating the actuality of the power of God as shown forthin the works of Jesus the Christ, and Lazarus was the accepted subjectof the manifestation; just as the man afflicted with congenitalblindness had been chosen to be the one through whom "the works of Godshould be made manifest. "[1030]

That the Lord's act of restoring Lazarus to life was of effect intestifying to His Messiahship is explicitly stated. [1031] All thecircumstances leading up to final culmination in the miracle contributedto its attestation. No question as to the actual death of Lazarus couldbe raised, for his demise had been witnessed, his body had been preparedand buried in the usual way, and he had lain in the grave four days. Atthe tomb, when he was called forth, there were many witnesses, some ofthem prominent Jews, many of whom were unfriendly to Jesus and who wouldhave readily denied the miracle had they been able. God was glorifiedand the divinity of the Son of Man was vindicated in the result. 

THE HIERARCHY GREATLY AGITATED OVER THE MIRACLE. [1032]

As in connection with most of our Lord's public acts--while some ofthose who heard and saw were brought to believe in Him, others rejectedthe proffered lesson and reviled the Master--so with this mightywork--some were stirred to faith and others went their ways each withmind darkened and spirit more malignant than ever. Some of those who hadseen the dead man raised to life went immediately and reported thematter to the rulers, whom they knew to be intensely hostile towardJesus. In the parable we have recently studied, the spirit of the richman pleaded from his place of anguish that Lazarus, the once pitiablebeggar, be sent from paradise to earth, to warn others of the fateawaiting the wicked, to which appeal Abraham replied: "If they hear notMoses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rosefrom the dead. "[1033] Now a Lazarus had been in reality raised from thedead, and many of the Jews rejected the testimony of his return andrefused to believe in Christ through whom alone death is overcome. TheJews tried to get Lazarus into their power that they might kill him and, as they hoped, silence forever his testimony of the Lord's power overdeath. [1034]

The chief priests, who were mostly Sadducees, and the Pharisees withthem assembled in council to consider the situation created by thislatest of our Lord's great works. The question they discussed was: "Whatdo we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, allmen will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away bothour place and nation. " As stated by themselves, there was no denying thefact of the many miracles wrought by Jesus; but instead of earnestly andprayerfully investigating as to whether these mighty works were notamong the predicted characteristics of the Messiah, they thought only ofthe possible effect of Christ's influence in alienating the people fromthe established theocracy, and of the fear that the Romans, takingadvantage of the situation, would deprive the hierarchs of their "place"and take from the nation what little semblance of distinct autonomy itstill possessed. Caiaphas, the high priest, [1035] cut short thediscussion by saying: "Ye know nothing at all. " This sweeping assertionof ignorance was most likely addressed to the Pharisees of theSanhedrin; Caiaphas was a Sadducee. His next utterance was of greatersignificance than he realized: "Nor consider that it is expedient forus, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nationperish not. " John solemnly avers that Caiaphas spake not of himself, butby the spirit of prophecy, which, in spite of his implied unworthiness, came upon him by virtue of his office, and that thus: "He prophesiedthat Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, butthat also he should gather together in one the children of God that werescattered abroad. " But a few years after Christ had been put to death, for the salvation of the Jews and of all other nations, the verycalamities which Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin had hoped to avert befell infull measure; the hierarchy was overthrown, the temple destroyed, Jerusalem demolished and the nation disrupted. From the day of thatmemorable session of the Sanhedrin, the rulers increased their effortsto bring about the death of Jesus, by whatever means they might findavailable. They issued a mandate that whosoever knew of His whereaboutsshould give the information to the officials, that they might promptlytake Him into custody. [1036]

JESUS IN RETIREMENT AT EPHRAIM. [1037]

The hostility of the ecclesiastical rulers became so great that Jesusonce more sought retirement in a region sufficiently far from Jerusalemto afford Him security from the watchful and malignant eyes of Hispowerful and openly avowed enemies. But a few weeks of mortal liferemained to Him, and the greater part of this brief period had to bedevoted to the further instruction of the apostles. He prudentlywithdrew from the vicinity of Bethany and "went thence unto a countrynear to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continuedwith his disciples. " Thus did our Lord spend the rest of the winter andprobably the early days of the succeeding spring. That His retreat wasprivate if not practically secret is suggested by John's statement that"Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews"; and furtherindication is found in the fact that although the chief priests andPharisees had virtually set a price upon His head, no man gaveinformation as to His whereabouts. The place of this last retirement isnot definitely known; it is generally thought to be the localityelsewhere called Ephrain and Ephron, [1038] which lay a little less thantwenty miles northerly from Jerusalem. Equally uncertain is the durationof our Lord's abode there. When He emerged again into public notice, itwas to enter upon His solemn march toward Jerusalem and the cross. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 28. 

1. Origin of the Feast of Dedication. --Concerning the second temple, known as the Temple of Zerubbabel, the author has written elsewhere: "Ofthe later history of this temple the biblical record gives but fewdetails; but from other sources we learn of its vicissitudes. Inconnection with the Maccabean persecution the House of the Lord wasprofaned. A Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, captured Jerusalem (168 to165 B. C. ) and perpetrated blasphemous outrage against the religion ofthe people. He plundered the temple and carried away its goldencandlestick, its golden altar of incense, its table of shewbread, andeven tore down the sacred veils, which were of fine linen and scarlet. His malignity was carried so far that he purposely desecrated the altarof sacrifice by offering swine thereon, and erected a heathen altarwithin the sacred enclosure. Not content with the violation of thetemple, this wicked monarch had altars erected in the towns, and orderedthe offering of unclean beasts upon them. The rite of circumcision wasforbidden on pain of death, and the worship of Jehovah was declared acrime. As a result of this persecution many of the Jews apostatized, anddeclared that they belonged to the Medes and Persians--the nations fromwhose dominion they had been delivered by the power of God. .. . Then inthe year 163 B. C. The House was rededicated; and the occasion wasremembered in annual festival thereafter under the name of the Feast ofDedication. "--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 51-53. According to Josephus(Ant. Xii, 7:7) the festival came to be known as The Lights; andbrilliant illumination both of the temple and of dwellings, was afeature of the celebration. Traditional accounts say that eight days hadbeen set as the duration of the feast, in commemoration of a legendarymiracle by which the consecrated oil in the only jar found intact, andbearing the unbroken seal of the high priest, had been made to serve fortemple purposes through eight days, which time was required for theceremonial preparation of a new supply. 

2. Solomon's Porch. --This name had been applied to the eastern colonnadeor row of porticoes within the temple enclosure, in recognition of atradition that the porch covered and included a portion of the originalwall belonging to the Temple of Solomon. See _The House of the Lord_, pp. 55-57. 

3. The Oneness of Christ and the Father. --The revised version gives forJohn 10:30: "I and the Father are one" instead of "I and my Father areone. " By "the Father" the Jews rightly understood the Eternal Father, God. In the original Greek "one" appears in the neuter gender, andtherefore expresses oneness in attributes, power, or purpose, and not aoneness of personality which would have required the masculine form. Fortreatment of the unity of the Godhead, and the separate personality ofeach Member, see _Articles of Faith_, ii, 20-24. 

4. The Place of our Lord's Retirement. --Jesus went "beyond Jordan intothe place where John at first baptized" (John 10:40). This was probablyBethabara (1:28), which is called Bethany in some of the earliestmanuscripts and is so designated in the latest revised version. Caremust be taken not to confuse this Perean Bethany with the Bethany inJudea, the home of Martha and Mary, which was within two miles ofJerusalem. 

5. Lazarus in the Tomb Four Days. --On the very probable assumption thatthe journey from Bethany in Judea to the place where Jesus was, inPerea, would require one day, Lazarus must have died on the day of themessenger's departure; for this day and the two days that elapsed beforeJesus started toward Judea, and the day required for the return, wouldno more than cover the four days specified. It was and still is thecustom in Palestine as in other oriental countries to bury on the day ofdeath. 

It was the popular belief that on the fourth day after death the spirithad finally departed from the vicinity of the corpse, and thatthereafter decomposition proceeded unhindered. This may explain Martha'simpulsive though gentle objection to having the tomb of her brotheropened four days after his death (John 11:39). It is possible that theconsent of the next of kin was required for the lawful opening of agrave. Both Martha and Mary were present, and in the presence of manywitnesses assented to the opening of the tomb in which their brotherlay. 

6. Jesus Groaned in Spirit. --The marginal readings for "he groaned inthe spirit" (John 11:33) and "again groaning in himself" (v. 38), asgiven in the revised version, are "was moved with indignation in thespirit" and "being moved with indignation in himself. " All philologicalauthorities agree that the words in the original Greek express sorrowfulindignation, or as some aver, anger, and not alone a sympathetic emotionof grief. Any indignation the Lord may have felt, as intimated in verse33, may be attributed to disapproval of the customary wailing overdeath, which as vented by the Jews on this occasion, profaned the realand soulful grief of Martha and Mary; and His indignation, expressed bygroaning as mentioned in verse 38, may have been due to the carpingcriticism uttered by some of the Jews as recorded in verse 37. 

7. Caiaphas, High Priest that Year. --John's statement that Caiaphas washigh priest "that same year" must not be construed as meaning that theoffice of high priest was of a single year's tenure. Under Jewish lawthe presiding priest, who was known as the high priest, would remain inoffice indefinitely; but the Roman government had arrogated to itselfthe appointive power as applying to this office; and frequent changeswere made. This Caiaphas, whose full name was Josephus Caiaphas, washigh priest under Roman appointment during a period of eleven years. Tosuch appointments the Jews had to submit, though they often recognizedas the high priest under their law, some other than the "civil highpriest" appointed by Roman authority. Thus we find both Annas andCaiaphas exercizing the authority of the office at the time of ourLord's arrest and later. (John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6; compare Luke 3:2. )Farrar (p. 484, note) says: "Some have seen an open irony in theexpression of St. John (11:49) that Caiaphas was high priest 'that sameyear, ' as though the Jews had got into this contemptuous way of speakingduring the rapid succession of priests--mere phantoms set up anddisplaced by the Roman fiat--who had in recent years succeeded eachother. There must have been at least five living high priests, andex-high priests at this council--Annas, Ismael Ben Phabi, Eleazar BenHaman, Simon Ben Kamhith, and Caiaphas, who had gained his elevation bybribery. "

8. Divinely Appointed Judges Called "gods. "--In Psalm 82:6, judgesinvested by divine appointment are called "gods. " To this scripture theSavior referred in His reply to the Jews in Solomon's Porch. Judges soauthorized officiated as the representatives of God and are honored bythe exalted title "gods. " Compare the similar appellation applied toMoses (Exo. 4:16; 7:1). Jesus Christ possessed divine authorization, notthrough the word of God transmitted to Him by man, but as an inherentattribute. The inconsistency of calling human judges "gods, " and ofascribing blasphemy to the Christ who called Himself the Son of God, would have been apparent to the Jews but for their sin-darkened minds. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1009] John 10:22-39. 

[1010] Also rendered Kislev, Chisleu, and Cisleu. See Zech. 7:1. 

[1011] Josephus, Antiquities, xii, 5:3-5. See Ezra 6:17, 18; also Note1, end of chapter. 

[1012] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1013] John 8:58; and 10:11; see also pages 411 and 416 herein. 

[1014] Revised version gives "I and the Father. " See Note 3, end ofchapter. 

[1015] John 8:59. Page 412. 

[1016] Concerning blasphemy see pages 191 and 269, also page 629. 

[1017] Psa. 82, particularly verses 1 and 6. Note 8, end of chapter. 

[1018] A better rendering of the last verse is: "But if I do them [i. E. The Father's works], though ye believe not me, believe the works; thatye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in theFather. "--(Revised version. )

[1019] John 10:40-42. 

[1020] Pages 121-124. 

[1021] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1022] John 11:1-46. 

[1023] Compare Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; Job 14:12; 1 Thess. 4:14. 

[1024] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1025] John 9; see page 412 herein. 

[1026] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1027] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1028] John 6:12; Matt. 15:37; see pages 334 and 358 herein. 

[1029] Matt. 9:23-25; Luke 7:11-17; pages 251 and 313 herein. 

[1030] John 9:3. 

[1031] John 12:9-11, 17. 

[1032] John 11:46-54. 

[1033] Luke 16:31; page 466 herein. 

[1034] John 12:10. 

[1035] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1036] John 11:57. 

[1037] John 11:54. 

[1038] 2 Chron. 13:19; Josh. 15:9. 

CHAPTER 29. 

ON TO JERUSALEM. 

JESUS AGAIN FORTELLS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. [1039]

Each of the three synoptic writers has made record of this last journeyto Jerusalem and of occurrences connected therewith. The deep solemnityof the developments now so near at hand, and of the fate He was settingout to meet so affected Jesus that even the apostles were amazed at Hisabsorption and evident sadness; they fell behind in amazement and fear. Then He paused, called the Twelve about Him, and in language of absoluteplainness, without metaphor or simile, He said: "Behold, we go up toJerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerningthe Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto theGentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day heshall rise again. "

It is to us an astounding fact that the Twelve failed to comprehend Hismeaning; yet Luke unqualifiedly affirms: "And they understood none ofthese things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they thethings which were spoken. " This avouchment of the Savior's approachingdeath and resurrection spoken in confidential certainty to the Twelvewas the third of its kind; and still they could not bring themselves toaccept the awful truth. [1040] According to Matthew's account, they weretold of the very manner by which the Lord should die--that the Gentilesshould crucify Him; yet they understood not. To them there was somedreadful incongruity, some dire inconsistency or inexplicablecontradiction in the sayings of their beloved Master. They knew Him tobe the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One bebrought into subjection and be slain? They could not fail to realizethat some unprecedented development in His life was impending; this theymay have vaguely conceived to be the crisis for which they had beenwaiting, the open proclamation of His Messianic dignity, Hisenthronement as Lord and King. And such indeed was to be, though in amanner far different from their anticipations. The culminatingprediction--that on the third day He would rise again--seems to havepuzzled them the most; and, at the same time, this assurance of ultimatetriumph may have made all intermediate occurrences appear as of butsecondary and transitory import. They persistently repelled the thoughtthat they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre. 

THE QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE AGAIN. [1041]

Notwithstanding all the instructions the apostles had receivedconcerning humility, and though they had before them the supreme exampleof the Master's life and conduct, in which the fact that service was theonly measure of true greatness was abundantly demonstrated, theycontinued to dream of rank and honor in the kingdom of the Messiah. Perhaps because of the imminence of the Master's triumph, with whichthey all were particularly impressed at this time though ignorant of itsreal significance, certain of the Twelve appealed to the Lord in thecourse of this journey with a most ambitious request. The petitionerswere James and John, though according to Matthew's record theirmother[1042] was the first to ask. The request was that when Jesus cameinto possession of His kingdom, He would so signally honor the aspiringpair as to install them in seats of eminence, one on His right hand, theother on His left. Instead of sharply rebuking such presumption, Jesusgently but impressively asked: "Are ye able to drink of the cup that Ishall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptizedwith?" The answer was full of self-confidence inspired by ignorantmisapprehension. "We are able, " they replied. Then said Jesus: "Ye shalldrink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I ambaptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mineto give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of myFather. "

The ten apostles were indignant at the two brothers, possibly lessthrough disapproval of the spirit that had prompted the petition thanbecause the two had forestalled the others in applying for the chiefposts of distinction. But Jesus, patiently tolerant of their humanweaknesses, drew the Twelve around Him, and taught them as a lovingfather might instruct and admonish his contentious children. He showedthem how earthly rulers, such as princes among the Gentiles, domineerover their subjects, manifesting lordship and arbitrarily exercizing theauthority of office. But it was not to be so among the Master'sservants; whoever of them would be great must be a servant indeed, willingly ministering unto his fellows; the humblest and most willingservant would be the chief of the servants. "For even the Son of mancame not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life aransom for many. "[1043]

SIGHT RESTORED TO THE BLIND NEAR JERICHO. [1044]

In the course of His journey Jesus came to Jericho, at or near whichcity He again exerted His wondrous power in opening the eyes of theblind. Matthew states that two sightless men were made to see, and thatthe miracle was enacted as Jesus was leaving Jericho; Mark mentions butone blind man, whom he names Bartimeus or the son of Timeus, and agreeswith Matthew in saying that the healing was effected when Jesus wasdeparting from the city; Luke specifies but one subject of the Lord'shealing mercy, "a certain blind man, " and chronicles the miracle as anincident of Christ's approach to Jericho. These slight variations attestthe independent authorship of each of the records, and the apparentdiscrepancies have no direct bearing upon the main facts, nor do theydetract from the instructional value of the Lord's work. As we havefound to be the case on an earlier occasion, two men were mentionedthough but one figures in the circumstantial accounts. [1045]

The man who is more particularly mentioned, Bartimeus, sat by thewayside, asking alms. Jesus approached, accompanied by the apostles, many other disciples, and a great multitude of people, probably made uplargely of travelers on their way to Jerusalem to attend the Passoverfestival, the time for which was about a week ahead. Hearing the trampof so great a company the sightless beggar inquired what it all meant, and was answered, "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. " Eager lest theopportunity of gaining the Master's attention be lost, he immediatelycried in a loud voice: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. " Hisappeal, and particularly his use of the title, Son of David, show thathe knew of the great Teacher, had confidence in His power to heal andfaith in Him as the promised King and Deliverer of Israel. [1046] Thosewho were in advance of Jesus in the company tried to silence the man, but the more they rebuked him the louder and more persistently did hecry: "Thou son of David, have mercy on me. " Jesus halted in His courseand directed that the man be brought to Him. Those who but a momentbefore would have stopped the blind man's yearning appeal, now that theMaster had noticed him were eager to be of service. To the sightless onethey brought the glad word: "Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee";and he, casting aside his outer garment lest it hinder, came in haste toChrist. To the Lord's question, "What wilt thou that I shall do untothee?" Bartimeus answered: "Lord, that I may receive my sight. " ThenJesus spake the simple words of power and blessing: "Receive thy sight:thy faith hath saved thee. " The man, full of gratitude and knowing thatnothing short of divine interposition could have opened his eyes, followed his Benefactor, glorifying God in heartfelt prayers ofthanksgiving, in which many of those who had witnessed the miraclefervently joined. 

ZACCHEUS, THE CHIEF AMONG THE PUBLICANS. [1047]

Jericho was a city of considerable importance; among its residentofficials was a staff of publicans, or collectors of customs, and ofthese the chief was Zaccheus, [1048] who had grown rich from the revenuesof office. He had doubtless heard of the great Galilean who hesitatednot to mingle with publicans, detested though they were by the Jews ingeneral; he may have known, also, that Jesus had placed one of thispublican class among the most prominent of the disciples. That Zaccheuswas a Jew is indicated by his name, which is a variant of "Zacharias, "with a Greek or Latin termination; he must have been particularlyobnoxious to his people on account of his advanced status among thepublicans, all of whom were in Roman employ. He had a great desire tosee Jesus; the feeling was not one of mere curiosity; he had beenimpressed and set thinking by the things he had heard about this Teacherfrom Nazareth. But Zaccheus was a little man, and could not ordinarilysee over the heads of others; so he ran ahead of the company and climbeda tree alongside the road. When Jesus reached the place, to the greatsurprize of the man in the tree He looked up and said: "Zaccheus, makehaste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. " Zaccheuscame down with haste, and joyfully received the Lord as his guest. Themultitude by whom Jesus had been accompanied appear to have beengenerally friendly toward Him; but at this turn of affairs they murmuredand criticized, saying that the Master "was gone to be guest with a manthat is a sinner"; for all publicans were sinners in Jewish eyes, andZaccheus admitted that the opprobrium in his case was possibly deserved. But having seen and conversed with Jesus, this chief among the publicansbelieved and was converted. As proof of his change of heart Zaccheusthen and there voluntarily vowed unto the Lord to make amends andrestitution if it were found that he owed such. "Behold, Lord, " he said, "the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anythingfrom any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. " These wereworks meet for repentance. The man realized that he could not change hispast; but he knew he could in part at least atone for some of hismisdeeds. His pledge to restore in fourfold measure whatever he hadwrongfully acquired was in line with the Mosaic law as to restitution, but far in excess of the recompense required. [1049] Jesus accepted theman's profession of repentance, and said: "This day is salvation come tothis house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. " Another straysheep had been returned to the fold; another lost treasure had beenfound; another wayward son had come back to the Father's house. [1050]"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. "

UNTO EVERY ONE THAT HATH SHALL BE GIVEN. [1051]

As the multitude approached Jerusalem, Jesus being in their midst, expectation ran high as to what the Lord would do when He reached thecapital of the nation. Many of those with Him were looking for aproclamation of His royal authority and "they thought that the kingdomof God should immediately appear. " Jesus told them a story; we call itthe _Parable of the Pounds_:

"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself akingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and deliveredthem ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But hiscitizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will nothave this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he wasreturned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servantsto be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he mightknow how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a verylittle, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise tohim, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For Ifeared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thoulayedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith untohim, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thouknewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, andreaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money intothe bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and giveit to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hathten pounds. ) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall begiven; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken awayfrom him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reignover them, bring hither, and slay them before me. "

Both the circumstances of the story and the application of the parablewere more readily apparent to the Jewish multitude than they are to us. The departure of a certain nobleman from a vassal province to the courtof the suzerain to seek investiture of kingly authority, and the protestof the citizens over whom he asserted the right to reign, were incidentsof Jewish history still fresh in the minds of the people to whom Christspoke. [1052] The explication of the parable is this: The people were notto look for an immediate establishment of the kingdom in temporal power. He who would be king was pictured as having departed for a far countryfrom which he would assuredly return. Before leaving he had given toeach of his servants a definite sum of money; and by their success inusing this he would judge of their fitness to serve in offices of trust. When he returned he called for an accounting, in the course of which thecases of three servants are specified as types. One had so used thepound as to gain ten pounds; he was commended and received a reward suchas only a sovereign could give, the governorship of ten cities. Thesecond servant, with equal capital had increased it only five fold; hewas properly rewarded in proportion by appointment as governor over fivecities. The third gave back what he had received, without increase, forhe had failed to use it. He had no reason and only a very poor excuse tooffer for his dereliction. In justice he was severely reprimanded, andthe money was taken from him. When the king directed that the pound soforfeited by the unfaithful servant be given to him who already had ten, some surprize was manifest amongst those who stood by; but the kingexplained, that "unto every one that hath shall be given, " for such aone uses to advantage the means entrusted to his care, while "from himthat hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him"; for hehas demonstrated his utter unfitness to possess and use aright. Thispart of the parable, while of general application, must have appealed tothe apostles as particularly apt; for each of them had received in trustan equal endowment through ordination, and each would be required toaccount for his administration. 

The fact is apparent that Christ was the nobleman who was to be investedwith the authority of kingship, and who would return to require theaccounting at the hands of His trusted servants. [1053] But many of thecitizens hated Him and would protest His investiture, saying they wouldnot have Him to reign over them. [1054] When He does return in power andauthority, these rebellious citizens shall surely receive the punishmentthey deserve. [1055]

IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE LEPER. [1056]

Six days before the Feast of the Passover, that is to say before the dayon which the paschal lamb was to be eaten, [1057] Jesus arrived atBethany, the home town of Martha and Mary, and of Lazarus who hadrecently died and been restored to life. The chronology of events duringthe last week of our Lord's life supports the generally accepted beliefthat in this year, the fourteenth day of Nisan, on which the Passoverfestival began, fell on Thursday; and this being so, the day on whichJesus reached Bethany was the preceding Friday, the eve of the JewishSabbath. Jesus fully realized that this Sabbath was the last He wouldlive to see in mortality. The Gospel-writers have drawn a veil ofreverent silence over the events of that day. It appears that Jesuspassed His last Sabbath in retirement at Bethany. The journey afoot fromJericho had been no easy walk, for the road ascended to an altitude ofnearly three thousand feet, and was withal otherwise a toilsome way. 

On Saturday, [1058] probably in the evening after the Sabbath had passed, a supper was spread for Jesus and the Twelve in the house of Simon theleper. No other mention of this man, Simon, appears in scripture. If hewas living at the time our Lord was entertained in the house known byhis name, and if he was present, he must have been previously healed ofhis leprosy, as otherwise he could not have been allowed within thetown, far less to be one of a festal company. It is reasonable to thinkthat the man had once been a victim of leprosy and had come to becurrently known as Simon the leper, and that he was one among the manysufferers from this dread disease who had been healed through the Lord'sministrations. 

Martha was in charge of the supper arrangements on this memorableoccasion, and her sister Mary was with her, while Lazarus sat at tablewith Jesus. Many have assumed that the house of Simon the leper was thefamily home of the two sisters and Lazarus, in which case it is possiblethat Simon was the father of the three; but of such relationship we haveno proof. [1059] There was no attempt to secure unusual privacy at thissupper. Such occasions were customarily marked by the presence of manyuninvited lookers-on in that time; and we are not surprized to learn, therefore, that many people were there and that they had come "not forJesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he hadraised from the dead. " Lazarus was a subject of much interest anddoubtless of curiosity among the people; and at the time of hisprivileged and intimate association with Jesus in Bethany, the chiefpriests were plotting to put him to death, on account of the effect hisrestoration had had upon the people, many of whom believed on Jesusbecause of the miracle. 

That supper in Bethany was an event never to be forgotten. Mary, themore contemplative and spiritually minded of the two sisters, she wholoved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His words, and who hadbeen commended for having so chosen the one needful thing, which hermore practical sister lacked, [1060] brought from among her treasures analabaster cruse containing a pound of costly spikenard ointment; shebroke the sealed flask[1061] and poured its fragrant contents upon thehead and feet of her Lord, and wiped His feet with her loosenedtresses. [1062] To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to dohim honor; to anoint his feet also was to show unusual and signalregard; but the anointing of head and feet with spikenard, and in suchabundance, was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even tokings. [1063] Mary's act was an expression of adoration; it was thefragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection. 

But this splendid tribute of a devout woman's love was made the cause ofdisagreeable protest. Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the Twelve, butdishonest, avaricious, and small-souled in character, vented hisgrumbling complaint, saying: "Why was not this ointment sold for threehundred pence, and given to the poor?"[1064] His seeming solicitude forthe poor was all hypocrisy. He was a thief and lamented that he had notbeen given the precious ointment to sell, or that the price had not beenturned into the bag of which he was the self-interested custodian. Mary's use of the costly unguent had been so lavish that others besideJudas had let their surprize grow into murmuring; but to him isattributed the distinction of being the chief complainer. Mary'ssensitive nature was pained by the ungracious words of disapproval; butJesus interposed, saying: "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hathwrought a good work upon me. " Then in further rebuke and by way ofsolemn instruction He continued; "For ye have the poor always with you;but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment onmy body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoeverthis gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. "

We are left without certain information as to whether Mary knew thatwithin a few days her beloved Lord would be in the tomb. She may havebeen so informed in view of the hallowed intimacy between Jesus and thefamily; or she may have gathered from the remarks of Christ to theapostles that the sacrifice of His life was impending; or perhaps byinspired intuition she was impelled to render the loving tribute bywhich her memory has been enshrined in the hearts of all who know andlove the Christ. John has preserved to us this remark of Jesus in therebuke called forth by the grumbling Iscariot: "Let her alone; againstthe day of my burying hath she kept this"; and Mark's version islikewise suggestive of definite and solemn purpose on Mary's part: "Sheis come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. "

CHRIST'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. [1065]

While still in Bethany or in the neighboring village of Bethphage, andaccording to John's account on the next day after the supper at Simon'shouse, Jesus directed two of His disciples to go to a certain place, where, He told them, they would find an ass tied, and with her a colt onwhich no man had ever sat. These they were to bring to Him. If stoppedor questioned they were to say the Lord had need of the animals. Matthewalone mentions both ass and colt; the other writers specify the latteronly; most likely the mother followed as the foal was led away, and thepresence of the dam probably served to keep the colt tractable. Thedisciples found all to be as the Lord had said. They brought the colt toJesus, spread their coats on the gentle creature's back, and set theMaster thereon. The company started toward Jerusalem, Jesus riding intheir midst. 

Now, as was usual, great numbers of people had come up to the city manydays before the beginning of the Passover rites, in order that theymight attend to matters of personal purification, and make good theirarrears in the offering of prescribed sacrifices. Though the great day, on which the festival was to be inaugurated, was yet four days ahead, the city was thronged with pilgrim crowds; and among these muchquestioning had arisen as to whether Jesus would venture to appearpublicly in Jerusalem during the feast, in view of the well-known plansof the hierarchy to take Him into custody. The common people wereinterested in every act and movement of the Master; and word of Hisdeparture from Bethany sped ahead of Him; so that by the time He beganthe descent from the highest part of the road on the flank of the Mountof Olives, great crowds had gathered about Him. The people were jubilantover the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city; they spread outtheir garments, and cast palm fronds and other foliage in His path, thuscarpeting the way as for the passing of a king. For the time being Hewas their king, and they His adoring subjects. The voices of themultitude sounded in reverberating harmony: "Blessed be the King thatcometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in thehighest"; and again: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he thatcometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. "[1066]

But amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of thegreat city wherein stood the House of the Lord; and He wept, because ofthe wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as theSon of God; moreover He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction beforewhich both city and temple were soon to fall. In anguish and tears, Hethus apostrophized the doomed city: "If thou hadst known, even thou, atleast in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but nowthey are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, thatthine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stoneupon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. " Themultitude was increased by tributary crowds who fell in with theimposing procession at every crossway; and the shouts of praise andhomage were heard inside the city while the advancing company was yetfar from the walls. When the Lord rode through the massive portal andactually entered the capital of the Great King, the whole city wasthrilled. To the inquiry of the uninformed, "Who is this?" the multitudeshouted: "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. " It may bethat the Galilean pilgrims were first to answer and loudest in thegladsome proclamation; for the proud Judeans held Galilee in low esteem, and on this day, Jesus of Galilee was the most prominent personage inJerusalem. The Pharisees, resentful of the honors thus shown to One whomthey had long plotted to destroy, impotently condoled with one anotherover the failure of all their nefarious schemes, saying: "Perceive yehow ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. " Unable tocheck the surging enthusiasm of the multitudes, or to silence the joyousacclamations, some of the Pharisees made their way through the throngsuntil they reached Jesus, and to Him they appealed, saying: "Master, rebuke thy disciples. " But the Lord "answered and said unto them, I tellyou that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediatelycry out"[1067]

Dismounting, He entered afoot the temple enclosure; shouts of adulationgreeted Him there. Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the officialrepresentatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, wereincensed; there was no denying the fact that the people were renderingMessianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene; and that too within thevery purlieus of the temple of Jehovah. 

The purpose of Christ in thus yielding Himself for the day to thedesires of the people and accepting their homage with kingly grace maynot be fully comprehended by us of finite mind. That the occasion was noaccidental or fortuitous happening, of which He took advantage withoutpreconceived intention, is evident. He knew beforehand what would be, and what He would do. It was no meaningless pageantry; but the actualadvent of the King into His royal city, and His entry into the temple, the house of the King of kings. He came riding on an ass, in token ofpeace, acclaimed by the Hosanna shouts of multitudes; not on acaparisoned steed with the panoply of combat and the accompaniment ofbugle blasts and fanfare of trumpets. That the joyous occasion was in nosense suggestive of physical hostility or of seditious disturbance issufficiently demonstrated by the indulgent unconcern with which it wasviewed by the Roman officials, who were usually prompt to send theirlegionaries swooping down from the fortress of Antonia at the firstevidence of an outbreak; and they were particularly vigilant insuppressing all Messianic pretenders, for false Messiahs had arisenalready, and much blood had been shed in the forcible dispelling oftheir delusive claims. But the Romans saw nothing to fear, perhaps muchto smile at, in the spectacle of a King mounted upon an ass, andattended by subjects, who, though numerous, brandished no weapons butwaved instead palm branches and myrtle sprigs. The ass has beendesignated in literature as "the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty, " andone riding upon an ass as the type of peaceful progress. 

Such triumphal entry of Jesus into the chief city of the Jews would havebeen strikingly inconsistent with the general tenor of His ministry inits early stages. Even the intimation that He was the Christ had beenmade with guarded care, if at all; and every manifestation of popularregard in which He might have figured as a national leader had beensuppressed. Now, however, the hour of the great consummation was near athand; the public acceptance of the nation's homage, and theacknowledgment of both kingly and Messianic titles, constituted an openand official proclamation of His divine investiture. He had entered cityand temple in such royal state as befitted the Prince of Peace. By therulers of the nation He had been rejected and His claims derided. Themanner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of thelaw and the prophets; for Zechariah's impressive forecast, thefulfilment of which the evangelist, John, finds in the events of thismemorable Sunday, [1068] was frequently cited among them: "Rejoicegreatly, O, daughter of Zion; shout, O, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, andriding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. "[1069]

CERTAIN GREEKS VISIT CHRIST. [1070]

Among the multitudes who came to Jerusalem at the time of the annualPassover were people of many nations. Some of these, though not ofJewish descent, had been converted to Judaism; they were admitted to thetemple precincts, but were not allowed to pass beyond the court of theGentiles. [1071] Sometime during our Lord's last week of mortal life, possibly on the day of His royal entry into the city, [1072] certainGreeks, who were evidently numbered among the proselytes since they hadcome "to worship at the feast, " sought an interview with Jesus. Imbuedwith a becoming sense of decorum they hesitated to directly approach theMaster, and applied instead to Philip, one of the apostles, saying:"Sir, we would see Jesus. " Philip consulted with Andrew, and the twothen informed Jesus, who, as we may reasonably infer from the contextthough the fact is not explicitly stated, graciously received theforeign visitors and imparted to them precepts of the utmost worth. Itis evident that the desire of these Greeks to meet the Master was notgrounded on curiosity or other unworthy impulse; they earnestly wishedto see and hear the Teacher whose fame had reached their country, andwhose doctrines had impressed them. 

To them Jesus testified that the hour of His death was near at hand, thehour in which "the Son of man should be glorified. " They were surprizedand pained by the Lord's words, and possibly they inquired as to thenecessity of such a sacrifice. Jesus explained by citing a strikingillustration drawn from nature: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Excepta corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but ifit die, it bringeth forth much fruit;"[1073] The simile is an aptone, --and at once impressively simple and beautiful. A farmer whoneglects or refuses to cast his wheat into the earth, because he wantsto keep it, can have no increase; but if he sow the wheat in good richsoil, each living grain may multiply itself many fold, though ofnecessity the seed must be sacrificed in the process. So, said the Lord, "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life inthis world shall keep it unto life eternal. " The Master's meaning isclear; he that loves his life so well that he will not imperil it, or, if need be, give it up, in the service of God, shall forfeit hisopportunity to win the bounteous increase of eternal life; while he whoesteems the call of God as so greatly superior to life that his love oflife is as hatred in comparison, shall find the life he freely yields oris willing to yield, though for the time being it disappear like thegrain buried in the soil; and he shall rejoice in the bounty of eternaldevelopment. If such be true of every man's existence, howtranscendently so was it of the life of Him who came to die that men maylive? Therefore was it necessary that He die, as He had said He wasabout to do; but His death, far from being life lost, was to be lifeglorified. 

VOICE FROM HEAVEN. [1074]

The realization of the harrowing experiences upon which He was about toenter, and particularly the contemplation of the state of sin, whichmade His sacrifice imperative, so weighed upon the Savior's mind that Hesorrowed deeply. "Now is my soul troubled, " He groaned; "and what shallI say?" He exclaimed in anguish. Should He say, "Father, save me fromthis hour" when as He knew "for this cause" had He come "unto thishour?" To His Father alone could He turn for comforting support, not toask relief from, but strength to endure, what was to come; and Heprayed: "Father, glorify thy name. " It was the rising of a mighty Soulto meet a supreme issue, which for the moment had seemed to beoverwhelming. To that prayer of renewed surrender to the Father's will, "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. "

The voice was real; it was no subjective whisper of comfort to the innerconsciousness of Jesus, but an external, objective reality. People whowere standing by heard the sound, and interpreted it variously; somesaid it was thunder; others, of better spiritual discernment, said: "Anangel spake to him"; and some may have understood the words as hadJesus. Now fully emerged from the passing cloud of enveloping anguish, the Lord turned to the people, saying: "This voice came not because ofme, but for your sakes. " And then, with the consciousness of assuredtriumph over sin and death, He exclaimed in accents of divinejubilation, as though the cross and the sepulchre were already of thepast: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of thisworld be cast out. " Satan, the prince of the world was doomed. [1075]"And I, " the Lord continued, "if I be lifted up from the earth, willdraw all men unto me. " John assures us that this last utterancesignified the manner of the Lord's death; the people so understood, andthey asked an explanation of what seemed to them an inconsistency, inthat the scriptures, as they had been taught to interpret the same, declared that the Christ was to abide forever, [1076] and now He whoclaimed to be the Messiah, the Son of Man, averred that He must belifted up. "Who is this Son of man?" they asked. Mindful as ever not tocast pearls where they would not be appreciated, the Lord refrained froma direct avowal, but admonished them to walk in the light while thelight was with them, for darkness would surely follow; and as Hereminded them, "he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither hegoeth. " In conclusion the Lord admonished them thus: "While ye havelight, believe in the light, that ye may be the children oflight. "[1077]

At the close of this discourse Jesus departed from the people "and didhide himself from them. " The record of the first day of what has come tobe known as the week of our Lord's passion[1078] is thus concluded byMark: "And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now theeventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. "[1079]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 29. 

1. The Mother of James and John. --The mother of these two sons ofZebedee (Matt. 20:20; compare 4:21) is generally understood to have beenthe Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion(Mark 15:40; compare Matt. 27:56 in which "the mother of Zebedee'schildren" is mentioned, and the name "Salome" is omitted), and one ofthose who arrived first at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection(Mark 16:1). From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and"his mother's sister" (19:25) and omits mention of Salome by name, someexpositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus;and therefore the Savior's aunt. This relationship would make James andJohn cousins to Jesus. While the scriptural record does not disprovethis alleged kinship, it certainly does not affirm the same. 

2. Jericho. --This was an ancient city, lying north-easterly fromJerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In thecourse of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through amiraculous interposition of divine power. (Josh. 6). The productivenessof the region is indicated by the descriptive appellation "city of palmtrees" (Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chron. 28:15). The name Jerichomeans "place of fragrance. " Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequenceof its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below thelevel of the Mediterranean; this explains Luke's statement (19:28) thatafter Jesus had spoken the Parable of the Pounds when on the way fromJericho, "he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. " In the time ofChrist, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of itscommercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to themaintenance of a customs office there, over which Zaccheus seems to havepresided. 

3. The Nobleman and the Kingdom. --The local setting of the part of theParable of the Pounds that relates to a certain nobleman going into afar country to receive for himself a kingdom, had its parallel inhistory. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, hadbeen named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor theconfirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from thepeople. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar(p. 493, note) says: "A nobleman going into a far country to receive akingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately knownthat this was done both by Archelaus and by Antipas (Jos. Ant. Xvii, 9:4). And in the case of Archelaus the Jews had actually sent toAugustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose hisclaims, which, though it failed at the time, was subsequently successful(Josephus, Ant. Xvii, 13:2). Philipus defended the property ofArchelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the ProconsulSabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho(Jos. Ant. Xvii, 13:1) would naturally recall these circumstances to themind of Jesus, and the parable is another striking example of the mannerin which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, andmade them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also anotherunsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of theGospels. "

4. "We Will Not Have this Man to Reign Over Us. "--On this phase of theparable, Trench (_Miracles_, p. 390) very aptly remarks: "Twice beforeHe had gone to receive His kingdom, this very declaration found formalutterance from their lips, --once when they cried to Pilate, 'We have noking but Cęsar'; and again when they remonstrated with him, 'Write not, The King of the Jews' (John 19:15, 21; compare Acts 17:7). But thestricter fulfilment of these words is to be found in the demeanor of theJews after His ascension, their fierce hostility to Christ in His infantChurch (Acts 12:3; 13:45; 14:18; 17:5; 18:6; 22:22; 23:12; 1 Thes. 2:15). "

5. The Day of the Supper at Bethany. --John places this event as havingoccurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany, for as we seefrom 12:12, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the nextday after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probablyreached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem didnot occur on the day following Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath. Matthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of thesupper after the record of the triumphal entry and other events, fromwhich some have drawn the inference that these two writers place thesupper two days before the Passover. This inference lacks confirmation. In this matter the chronological order given by John appears to be thetrue one. 

6. The Family Home at Bethany. --The home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarusappears to have been the usual abiding place of Jesus when He was inBethany. Undoubtedly He was on terms of very close and affectionateacquaintanceship with all members of the family, even before themiraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead, and, this supremely blessedoccurrence must have intensified into worshipful reverence the esteem inwhich our Lord had been held in that household. As to whether this homewas identical with the house of Simon the leper, the scriptural recorddoes not state. John, who gives a fairly detailed account of the supperserved by Martha, makes no mention of Simon or his house. It isnoticeable that the synoptic writers say very little about this home inBethany. Farrar has aptly remarked (p. 483): "We seem to trace in theSynoptists a special reticence about the family at Bethany. The house inwhich they take a prominent position is called 'the house of Simon theleper'; Mary is called simply 'a woman' by St. Matthew and St. Mark(Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3); and St. Luke contents himself with callingBethany 'a certain village' (Luke 10:38), although he was perfectlyaware of the name (Luke 19:29). "

7. Spikenard Ointment. --This was among the most highly prized oforiental unguents. That with which Mary anointed Jesus is described byMatthew and Mark as "very precious, " and by John as "very costly. " Inthe original the adjective "pistic" appears; this is translated by someas meaning "liquid, " but by others as signifying "genuine. " There weremany inferior imitations of the real spikenard, or nard; and we are leftwithout a doubt that Mary's precious gift was of the best. The plantfrom which the fragrant extract is obtained is a species of beardedgrass indigenous in India. Spikenard is mentioned in Song of Solomon1:12; 4:13, 14. 

8. Hosanna!--"Hosanna" is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for"Save us now, " or "Save, we pray, " which occurs in the original of Psalm118:25. It occurs nowhere in the English Bible except in theacclamations of the people at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and in the joyous shouts of children in the temple (Matt. 21:9, 15). Note the rendering of the "Hosanna Shout" in the restored Church ofChrist in the current dispensation on occasions of particular rejoicingbefore the Lord (see the _House of the Lord_, pp. 120, 150, 210). "Hallelujah, " literally rendered, means "Praise ye Jehovah. " It occursin the Greek form "Alleluia" in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6. 

9. The First Day in Passion Week. --A comparison of the accounts of theLord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of certain events following, as recorded by the three synoptists, shows at least a possibility ofdiscrepancy as to sequence. It appears certain that Jesus visited thetemple grounds on the day of the royal advent into the city. FromMatthew 21:12 and Luke 19:45 and the context preceding these passages, the inference has been drawn that the second clearing of the templeoccurred on the day of the processional entry; while others interpretMark 11:11 and 15 as meaning that the event took place on a later day. The question is admittedly an open one; and the order of presentationfollowed in the text is one of convenience of treatment based onrational probability. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1039] Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34. 

[1040] The earlier predictions were: (1) that spoken shortly before theTransfiguration (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31), and (2) that which followed, in Galilee, (Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:31; compare Luke 9:44). 

[1041] Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45. 

[1042] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1043] For earlier lessons on the greatness of humility see pages 386and 471; for the significance of the title, Son of Man, see pages142-144. 

[1044] Matt. 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43. 

[1045] See account of the two demoniacs, Matt. 8:28, compare Mark 5:1, Luke 8:27. See also page 310 herein. 

[1046] Compare Matt. 9:27; 15:22; page 85 herein. 

[1047] Luke 19:1-10. 

[1048] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1049] Exo. 22:1-9. 

[1050] Compare pages 389 and 454 to 461. 

[1051] Luke 19:11-27. 

[1052] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1053] Compare Mark 13:34. 

[1054] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1055] Comparison of similarities and differences between this parableand that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be made in chapter 32, pages 580-584. 

[1056] John 12:1-8; Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9. 

[1057] See Exo. 12:1-10; also page 112 herein. 

[1058] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1059] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1060] Luke 10:40-42; page 432 herein. 

[1061] The better rendering is "cruse" or "flask" instead of "box. " Seerevised version. 

[1062] This occurrence must not be confused with that of an earlieranointing of Jesus by a penitent sinner in the house of Simon thePharisee (Luke 7:36-50) in Galilee. See page 262 herein. 

[1063] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1064] Three hundred pence or Roman denarii would be approximately equalin value to forty-five dollars. 

[1065] Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19. 

[1066] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[1067] Compare Hab. 2:11. 

[1068] The Sunday before Easter is annually celebrated by many Christiansects as Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Lord's triumphal entryinto Jerusalem. 

[1069] Zech. 9:9. 

[1070] John 12:20-26. 

[1071] See "House of the Lord, " pages 56, 57. 

[1072] John records this event in immediate sequence to the Lord'striumphal entry, though without any specific indication of the time ofits occurrence. 

[1073] Compare 1 Cor. 15:36. 

[1074] John 12:27-36. 

[1075] Compare John 14:30; 16:11. 

[1076] See e. G. Isa. 9:7; Dan. 7:14, 27; Ezek. 37:25. 

[1077] Compare John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; see page 407. 

[1078] Acts 1:3. 

[1079] Mark 11:11. Note 9, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 30. 

JESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE DAILY. 

AN INSTRUCTIVE INCIDENT ON THE WAY. [1080]

On the morrow, which, as we reckon, was Monday, the second day ofPassion week, Jesus and the Twelve returned to Jerusalem and spent thegreater part of the day at the temple. The start from Bethany was anearly one, and Jesus hungered by the way. Looking ahead He saw a figtree that differed from the rest of the many fig trees of the region inthat it was in full leaf though the season of fruit had not yetcome. [1081] It is well known that the fruit-buds of a fig-tree appearearlier than do the leaves, and that by the time the tree is in fullfoliage the figs are well advanced toward maturity. Moreover, certainspecies of figs are edible while yet green; indeed the unripe fruit isrelished in the Orient at the present time. It would be reasonable, therefore, for one to expect to find edible figs even in early April ona tree that was already covered with leaves. When Jesus and His partyreached this particular tree, which had rightly been regarded as rich inpromise of fruit, they found on it nothing but leaves; it was a showy, fruitless, barren tree. It was destitute even of old figs, those of thepreceding season, some of which are often found in spring on fruitfultrees. Jesus pronounced upon that tree the sentence of perpetualbarrenness. "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever" He saidaccording to Mark's account; or, as Matthew records the judgment, "Letno fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. " The latter writer tells usin immediate sequence that "presently the fig tree withered away"; butthe former makes it appear that the effect of the curse was not observeduntil the following morning, when, as Jesus and the apostles were onceagain on the way between Bethany and Jerusalem, they saw that the figtree had withered and dried from the roots up. Peter called attention tothe blasted tree, and, addressing Jesus, exclaimed: "Master, behold, thefig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. "

Applying the lesson of the occasion, Jesus said, "Have faith in God";and then He repeated some of His former assurances as to the power offaith, by which even mountains may be removed, should there be need ofsuch miraculous accomplishment, and through which, indeed, any necessarything may be done. The blighting of a tree was shown to be small incomparison with the greater possibilities of achievement through faithand prayer. But to so achieve one must work and pray without reservationor doubt, as the Lord thus made plain: "Therefore I say unto you, Whatthings soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, andye shall have them. " Prayer must be acceptable unto God to be effective;and it follows that he who desires to accomplish any work through prayerand faith must be fit to present himself before the Lord insupplication; therefore Jesus again instructed the apostles saying: "Andwhen ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that yourFather also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But ifye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgiveyour trespasses. "[1082]

The blighting of the barren fig tree is regarded by many as unique amongthe recorded miracles of Christ, from the fact that while all the otherswere wrought for relief, blessing, and beneficent purposes generally, this one appears as an act of judgment and destructive execution, Nevertheless in this miracle the Lord's purpose is not hidden; and theresult, while fatal to a tree, is of lasting blessing to all who wouldlearn and profit, by the works of God. If no more has been accomplishedby the miracle than the presenting of so impressive an object lesson forthe instructions that followed, that smitten tree has proved of greaterservice to humanity than have all the fig orchards of Bethphage. [1083]To the apostles the act was another and an indisputable proof of theLord's power over nature, His control of natural forces and all materialthings, His jurisdiction over life and death. He had healed multitudes;the wind and the waves had obeyed His words; on three occasions He hadrestored the dead to life; it was fitting that He should demonstrate Hispower to smite and to destroy. In manifesting His command over death, Hehad mercifully raised a maiden from the couch on which she had died, ayoung man from the bier on which he was being carried to the grave, another from the sepulchre in which he had been laid away a corpse; butin proof of His power to destroy by a word He chose a barren andworthless tree for His subject. Could any of the Twelve doubt, when, afew days later they saw Him in the hands of vindictive priests andheartless pagans, that did He so will He could smite His enemies by aword, even unto death? Yet not until after His glorious resurrection dideven the apostles realize how truly voluntary His sacrifice had been. 

But the fate that befell the barren fig tree is instructive from anotherpoint of view. The incident is as much parable as miracle. That leafytree was distinguished among fig trees; the others offered noinvitation, gave no promise; "the time of figs was not yet"; they, indue season would bring forth fruit and leaves; but this precocious andleafy pretender waved its umbrageous limbs as in boastful assertion ofsuperiority. For those who responded to its ostentatious invitation, forthe hungering Christ who came seeking fruit, it had naught but leaves. Even for the purposes of the lesson involved, we cannot conceive of thetree being blighted primarily because it was fruitless, for at thatseason the other fig trees were bare of fruit also; it was made theobject of the curse and the subject of the Lord's instructive discourse, because, having leaves, it was deceptively barren. Were it reasonable toregard the tree as possessed of moral agency, we would have to pronounceit a hypocrite; its utter barrenness coupled with its abundance offoliage made of it a type of human hypocrisy. 

The leafy, fruitless tree was a symbol of Judaism, which loudlyproclaimed itself as the only true religion of the age, andcondescendingly invited all the world to come and partake of its richripe fruit; when in truth it was but an unnatural growth of leaves, withno fruit of the season, nor even an edible bulb held over from earlieryears, for such as it had of former fruitage was dried to worthlessnessand made repulsive in its worm-eaten decay. The religion of Israel haddegenerated into an artificial religionism, which in pretentious showand empty profession outclassed the abominations of heathendom. Asalready pointed out in these pages, the fig tree was a favorite type inrabbinical representation of the Jewish race, and the Lord had beforeadopted the symbolism in the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, thatworthless growth which did but cumber the ground. [1084]

SECOND CLEARING OF THE TEMPLE. [1085]

Within the temple grounds Jesus was filled with indignation at the sceneof tumult and desecration which the place presented. Three years before, at Passover time, He had been wrought up to a high state of righteousanger by a similar exhibition of sordid chaffering within the sacredprecincts, and had driven out the sheep and oxen and forcibly expelledthe traders and the money-changers and all who were using His Father'shouse as a house of merchandize. [1086] That was near the beginning ofHis public labor, and the vigorous action was among the first of Hisworks to attract general attention; now, within four days of the cross, He cleared the courts again by casting out all "them that sold andbought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, andthe seats of them that sold doves"; nor would He suffer any to carrytheir buckets and baskets through the enclosure, as many were in thehabit of doing, and so making the way a common thoroughfare. "Is it notwritten, " He demanded of them in wrath, "My house shall be called of allnations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. " Onthe former occasion, before He had declared or even confessed HisMessiahship, He had designated the temple as "My Father's house"; nowthat He had openly avowed Himself to be the Christ, He called it "Myhouse. " The expressions are in a sense synonymous; He and the Fatherwere and are one in possession and dominion. The means by which thelater expulsion was accomplished are not stated; but it is plain thatnone could withstand His authoritative command; He acted in the strengthof righteousness, before which the forces of evil had to give way. 

His wrath of indignation was followed by the calmness of gentleministry; there in the cleared courts of His house, blind and lame folkcame limping and groping about Him, and He healed them. The anger of thechief priests and scribes was raging against Him; but it was impotent. They had decreed His death, and had made repeated efforts to take Him, and there He sat within the very area over which they claimed supremejurisdiction, and they were afraid to touch Him because of the commonpeople, whom they professed to despize yet heartily feared--"for all thepeople were very attentive to hear him. "

The rage of the officials was further aggravated by a touching incident, which seems to have accompanied or to have immediately followed Hismerciful healing of the afflicted folk at the temple. Children saw whatHe did; with their innocent minds yet unsullied by the prejudice oftradition and their sight yet undarkened by sin, they perceived in Himthe Christ, and burst forth into praise and worship in a hymn that washeard by the angels: "Hosanna to the son of David. " With ill-concealedanger the temple officials demanded of Him: "Hearest thou what thesesay?" They probably expected Him to disclaim the title, or possiblyhoped that He would reassert His claim in a manner that would affordexcuse for legal action against Him, for to most of them the Son ofDavid was the Messiah, the promised King. Would He clear Himself of theblasphemy that attached to the unjustified acknowledgment of so awful adignity? Jesus answered, with an implied rebuke for their ignorance ofthe scriptures: "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes andsucklings thou hast perfected praise?"[1087]

It was now Monday evening; Jesus left the city and retired again toBethany, where He lodged. This course was a prudent one, in view of thedetermination of the rulers to get Him into their power provided theycould do so without arousing the people. This they could not accomplishby day, for wherever He appeared He was the center of a multitude; buthad He remained in Jerusalem over night the vigilant emissaries of thehierarchy might have succeeded in taking Him, unless He withstood themby some miraculous action. Near as was His hour, it had not yet struck;and He would be made captive only as He permitted Himself, a voluntaryvictim, to be taken into the hands of His enemies. 

CHRIST'S AUTHORITY CHALLENGED BY THE RULERS. [1088]

On the following day, that is on Tuesday, He returned to the temple withthe Twelve, passing the withered fig tree on the way and impressing themoral of the combined miracle and parable as we have already seen. As Hetaught in the sacred place, preaching the gospel to all who would hear, the chief priests with a number of scribes and elders came upon Him in abody. They had been debating about Him over night, and had resolved onat least one step; they would challenge His authority for what He haddone the day before. They were the guardians of the temple, both thematerial structure and the theocratic system for which the holy edificestood; and this Galilean, who permitted Himself to be called the Christand defended those who so acclaimed Him, had for the second time ignoredtheir authority within the temple walls and in the presence of thecommon people over whom they lorded so arrogantly. So this officialdeputation, with plans matured, came to Him saying: "By what authoritydoest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" This actionwas doubtless a preliminary step in a preconcerted attempt to suppressthe activities of Jesus, both of word and deed, within the templeprecincts. It will be remembered that after the first cleansing of thetemple, the Jews had angrily demanded of Jesus a sign by which theymight judge the question of His divine commission;[1089] and it issignificant that on this latter occasion no sign was asked, but insteadthereof, a specific avowal as to the authority He possessed and by whomit had been given Him. A three years' course of miracle and teaching wasknown to them; on the yesterday blind and lame had been healed insidethe temple walls; and Lazarus, the living testimony of the Lord's powerover death and the grave was before them. To ask a further sign wouldhave been to flagrantly expose themselves to the ridicule of the people. 

They knew what authority the Lord claimed; their question was ofsinister purpose. Jesus did not condescend to voice an answer in whichthey could possibly find further excuse for antagonizing Him; but Heavailed Himself of a method very common among themselves--that ofcountering one question with another. "And Jesus answered and said untothem, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wisewill tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" They consulted among themselvesas to what answer would best serve to extricate them from anembarrassing position; no mention is made of any attempt to ascertainthe truth and reply accordingly; they were thoroughly nonplussed. Shouldthey answer that John's baptism was of God, Jesus would probably demandof them why then they had not believed in the Baptist, and why they didnot accept John's testimony concerning Himself. On the other hand, should they aver that John had no divine authority to preach andbaptize, the people would turn against them, for the martyred Baptistwas revered by the masses as a prophet. In spite of their boastedlearning, they answered as puzzled school-boys might do when theyperceive hidden difficulties in what at first seemed but a simpleproblem. "We cannot tell" said they. Then Jesus replied "Neither tell Iyou by what authority I do these things. "

Chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people were outwitted andhumiliated. The tables were completely turned upon them; Jesus, whomthey had come to question, became the examiner; they a class of cowedand unwilling listeners. He the ready instructor, and the multitudeinterested observers. With little likelihood of immediate interruptionthe Master proceeded in calm deliberation to relate to them a series ofthree splendid stories, each of which they felt applied to themselveswith incisive certainty. The first of the narrations we call the_Parable of the Two Sons_. 

"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to thefirst, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered andsaid, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came tothe second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: andwent not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They sayunto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, Thatthe publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. ForJohn came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not;but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seenit, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. "[1090]

The opening sentence, "But what think ye?" was a call to closeattention. It implied a question soon to follow; and that proved to be:Which of the two sons was the obedient one? There was but one consistentanswer, and they had to give it, however loath. The application of theparable followed with convicting promptness. They, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and elders of the people, were typified by the secondson, who, when told to labor in the vineyard answered so assuringly, butwent not, though the vines were running to wild growth for want ofpruning, and such poor fruit as might mature would be left to fall androt upon the ground. The publicans and sinners upon whom they ventedtheir contempt, whose touch was defilement, were like unto the firstson, who in rude though frank refusal ignored the father's call, butafterward relented and set to work, repentantly hoping to make amendsfor the time he had lost and for the unfilial spirit he had shown. [1091]Publicans and sinners, touched in their hearts by the clarion call torepentance, had flocked to the Baptist in the wilderness with theearnest inquiry: "Master, what shall we do?"[1092] John's call had beento no particular class; but while self-confessed sinners had repentedand sought baptism at his hands, those very Pharisees and elders of thepeople had rejected his testimony and had hypocritically sought toensnare him. [1093] Through the parable Jesus answered His own questionas to whether the baptism of John was of God or of man. The Lord'saffirmation, "Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlotsgo into the kingdom of God before you, " was condemnatory of the corruptthough sanctimonious polity of the hierarchy throughout. It was notwholly without intimation of possible reformation, however. He did notsay that the repentant sinners should enter, and the priestly hypocritesstand forever excluded; for the latter there was hope if they would butrepent, though they would have to follow, not lead, in the gloriousprocession of the redeemed. In a continuation of the same discourse theLord presented the _Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen_, as follows:

"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted avineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, andbuilt a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a farcountry: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servantsto the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And thehusbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, andstoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: andthey did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, andlet us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him outof the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyardcometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, Hewill miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyardunto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in theirseasons. "[1094]

Again the Jews were compelled to make answer to the great question withwhich the parable dealt, and again by their answer they pronouncedjudgment upon themselves. The vineyard, broadly speaking, was the humanfamily, but more specifically the covenant people, Israel; the soil wasgood and capable of yielding in rich abundance; the vines were choiceand had been set out with care; and the whole vineyard was amplyprotected with a hedge, and suitably furnished with winepress andtower. [1095] The husbandmen could be none other than the priests andteachers of Israel, including the ecclesiastical leaders who were thenand there present in an official capacity. The Lord of the vineyard hadsent among the people prophets authorized to speak in His name; andthese the wicked tenants had rejected, maltreated, and, in manyinstances, cruelly slain. [1096] In the more detailed reports of theparable we read that when the first servant came, the cruel husbandmen"beat him and sent him away empty"; the next they wounded "in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled"; another they murdered and all whocame later were brutally mistreated, and some of them were killed. Thosewicked men had used the vineyard of their Lord for personal gain, andhad rendered no part of the vintage to the lawful Owner. When the Lordsent other messengers, "more than the first, " or in other words, greaterthan the earlier ones, the most recent example being John the Baptist, the husbandmen rejected them with evil determination more pronouncedthan ever. At last the Son had come in person; His authority they fearedas that of the lawful heir, and with malignity almost beyond belief, they determined to kill Him that they might perpetuate their unworthypossession of the vineyard and thenceforward hold it as their own. 

Jesus carried the story without break from the criminal past to the yetmore tragic and awful future, then but three days distant; and calmlyrelated in prophetic imagery, as though already fulfilled, how thoseevil men cast the well beloved Son out of the vineyard and slew Him. Unable to evade the searching question as to what the Lord of thevineyard would naturally and righteously do to the wicked husbandmen, the Jewish rulers gave the only pertinent answer possible--that He wouldsurely destroy those wretched sinners, and let out His vineyard totenants who were more honest and worthy. 

Suddenly changing the figure, "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never readin the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same isbecome the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it ismarvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of Godshall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruitsthereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but onwhomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. "[1097] Therecould be no misapprehension as to the Lord's meaning; the rejected Stonewhich was eventually to have chief place, "the head of the corner, " inthe edifice of salvation, was Himself, the Messiah. To some that Stonewould be a cause of stumbling; wo unto them, for thereby would they bebroken, and only through repentance and works of righteousness couldthey even in part recover; but upon others, those who would persist intheir opposition, the Stone would fall in judgment; and wo, wo to them, for beneath it they would be destroyed as though ground to powder. [1098]From them, the leaders, and from the people who followed their unholyprecepts and foul example, the kingdom of God was about to be taken, andwould in time be given to the Gentiles, who, the Lord affirmed, wouldprove more worthy than Israel had been. We gather from Luke's accountthat in contemplation of this awful penalty, "they, " whether priestlyrulers or common people we are not told, exclaimed in despair, "Godforbid!"

As the chief priests and Pharisees realized the completeness of theirdiscomfiture and the extent of the humiliation to which they had beensubjected in the eyes of the people, they were incensed beyond measure, and even attempted to lay hold on Jesus there in the temple; but thesympathies of the multitude were so unmistakably in His favor that theangry ecclesiasts desisted. The people in general, while not prepared toopenly proclaim Him as the Christ, knew that He was a prophet of God, and their dread of official displeasure and possible penalty did notdeter them from friendly demonstrations. 

Jesus resumed His teaching by relating the _Parable of the RoyalMarriage Feast_. 

"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, Thekingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage forhis son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden tothe wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth otherservants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared mydinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready:come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took hisservants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when theking heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, anddestroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he tohis servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were notworthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, andgathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and thewedding was furnished with guests. "[1099]

The invitation of a king to his subjects is equivalent to a command. Themarriage feast was no surprize event, for the selected guests had beenbidden long aforetime; and, in accordance with oriental custom werenotified again on the opening day of the festivities, [1100] which, according to Hebrew customs, would be understood as extending over aperiod of seven or fourteen days; in this case of a marriage in theroyal family the greater duration would be assumed. Many of the biddenguests refused to come when formally summoned; and of the tolerantking's later and more pressing message they made light and went theirways, while the most wicked turned upon the servants who brought theroyal summons, mistreated them cruelly, and some of them they killed. Itis plainly evident that the refusal to attend the king's feast was adeliberate rebellion against the royal authority and a personalindignity against both the reigning sovereign and his son. It was asmuch a duty as an honor for loyal subjects to attend the marriagefestival of the prince, whom we cannot err in regarding as the lawfulheir to the throne, and therefore the one who might some day reign overthem. The turning away by one man to his farm and by another to hismerchandize is in part an evidence of their engrossment in materialpursuits to the utter disregard of their sovereign's will; but itsignifies further an effort to deaden their troubled consciences by someabsorbing occupation; and possibly also a premeditated demonstration ofthe fact that they placed their personal affairs above the call of theirking. The monarch executed a terrible retribution upon his rebellioussubjects. If the parable was intended to be an allegorical presentationof actual events, it passes at this point from the story of the past tothat of the future, for the destruction of Jerusalem postdates byseveral decades the death of Christ. Finding the guests who had someclaim on the royal invitation to be utterly unworthy, the king sent outhis servants again, and these gathered in from the highways andcross-roads, from the byways and the lanes, all they could find, irrespective of rank or station, whether rich or poor, good or bad; "andthe wedding was furnished with guests. "

The great feast by which the Messianic reign was to be ushered in was afavorite theme of jubilant exposition in both synagog and school; andexultation ran high in the rabbinical dictum that none but the childrenof Abraham would be among the blessed partakers. The king in the parableis God; the son whose marriage was the occasion of the feast is Jesus, the Son of God; the guests who were bidden early, yet who refused tocome when the feast was ready, are the covenant people who rejectedtheir Lord, the Christ; the later guests, who were brought in from thestreets and the roads, are the Gentile nations, to whom the gospel hasbeen carried since its rejection by the Jews; the marriage feast issymbolical of the glorious consummation of the Messiah's mission. [1101]

All students of the subject must have noted the points of resemblance bywhich this parable is related to that of the great supper;[1102] fewerperhaps have considered the differences between the two. The earlierstory was told in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, probably insome town in Perea; the later one was related within the temple, afterPharisaic opposition to Christ had reached its height. The first is ofsimpler plot and of gentler climax. The neglect of the invited guests inthe first story was accompanied by excuses in which some approach topolite apology appears; the refusal of those bidden in the secondparable was markedly offensive, and was coupled with outrageous abuseand murder. The host in one instance was a wealthy though privatecitizen, in the other the giver of the feast was a king. In the first, the occasion was one of ordinary though abundant entertainment; in thesecond, the determining time was that of the appointed marriage of theroyal heir. Retribution in the first instance was limited to exclusionfrom the banquet; in the latter the individual punishment was death, which was followed by the punitive example of the city's destruction. 

Our account of the royal marriage feast is not yet complete; the storyalready considered is supplemented by the following:

 "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. "

The lessons embodied in this section of the parable may beadvantageously considered apart from those of the first division. As wasbefitting his dignity, the king came into the banquet hall after theguests had taken their places in orderly array. His immediate detectionof one who was without the prescribed garment implies a personalscrutiny of the guests. One may be led to inquire, how, under thecircumstances of hurried summoning, the several guests could havesuitably attired themselves for the feast. The unity of the narrativerequires that some provision had been made whereby each one who properlyapplied was given the garment prescribed by the king's command, and inkeeping with the established custom at court. That the unrobed guest wasguilty of neglect, intentional disrespect, or some more grievousoffense, is plain from the context. The king at first was graciouslyconsiderate, inquiring only as to how the man had entered without awedding garment. Had the guest been able to explain his exceptionalappearance, or had he any reasonable excuse to offer, he surely wouldhave spoken; but we are told that he remained speechless. The king'ssummons had been freely extended to all whom his servants had found; buteach of them had to enter the royal palace by the door; and beforereaching the banquet room, in which the king would appear in person, each would be properly attired; but the deficient one, by some means hadentered by another way; and not having passed the attendant sentinels atthe portal, he was an intruder, of a kind with the man to whom the Lordhad before referred as a thief and a robber because, not entering by thedoor, he had climbed up some other way. [1103] The king gave a command, and his ministers[1104] bound the offender and cast him forth from thepalace into outer darkness, where the anguish of remorse caused weepingand gnashing of teeth. 

As summary and epilogue of the three great parables constituting thisseries, the Lord spake these words of solemn import: "For many arecalled, but few are chosen. "[1105] Each of the parables has its ownwealth of wisdom; and the three are as one in declaring the great truththat even the children of the covenant will be rejected except they makegood their title by godly works; while to the heathen and the sinnersthe portals of heaven shall open, if by repentance and compliance withthe laws and ordinances of the gospel they shall merit salvation. 

The story of the royal marriage feast was the last of our Lord'sparables delivered publicly to a mixed audience. Two others were spokento the apostles, as they sat in solemn converse with the Lord on theMount of Olives after the public ministry of Christ had been brought toa close. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 30. 

1. Fig Tree. --"The fig tree is very common in Palestine (Deut. 8:8). Itsfruit is a well known and highly esteemed article of food. In the Eastthis is of three kinds; (1) the early fig, ripening about the end ofJune; (2) the summer fig, ripening in August; (3) the winter fig, largerand darker than No. 2, hanging and ripening late on the tree, even afterthe leaves were shed, and sometimes gathered in the spring. The blossomsof the fig tree are within the receptacle or so-called fruit, and notvisible outwardly; and this fruit begins to develop before the leaves. Hence the fig tree which had leaves before the usual time mightnaturally have been expected to have also some figs on it (Mark 11:13);but it was not true to its pretensions. " (Smith's _Comp. Bible Dict_. )

2. The Two Sons in the Parable. --Although this excellent parable wasaddressed to the chief priests, scribes, and elders, who had come inhostile spirit to demand of Christ the credentials of His authority, itslesson is of universal application. The two sons are yet alive in everyhuman community--the one openly boastful of his sin, the other ahypocritical pretender. Jesus did not commend the rough refusal of thefirst son of whom the father made a righteous demand for service; it washis subsequent repentance attended by works that made him superior tohis brother who had made fair promise but had kept it not. There aremany today who boast that they make no profession of religion, norpretense of godly life. Their frankness will not mitigate their sins; itsimply shows that a certain species of hypocrisy is not prominent amongtheir numerous offenses; but that a man is innocent of one vice, saythat of drunkenness, in no wise diminishes his measure of guilt if he bea liar, a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer. Both the sons in theparable were grievous sinners; but the one turned from his evil ways, which theretofore he had followed with flagrant openness, while theother continued in dark deeds of sin, which he sought to cover by acloak of hypocrisy. Let no man think that because he becomes intoxicatedat the public bar he is any the less a drunkard than is he who swallowsthe "beverage of hell" in comparative privacy, though the latter be bothdrunkard and hypocrite. For these sins, as for all others, genuinerepentance is the only saving antidote. 

3. Israel Symbolized by Vineyard and Vines. --The aptness of our Lord'srepresentation of Israel as a vineyard could not have escaped theperception of the Jews, to whom Old Testament similes of analogous formwere familiar figures. Notable among others is the striking picturepresented by Isaiah (5:1-7), in which the well provided vineyard isshown as producing wild grapes only, for which grievous disappointmentof his expectations the owner determined to break down the wall, removethe hedge, and leave the vineyard to its fate of abandonment. Theexplication of the parable voiced by Isaiah is thus given: "For thevineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men ofJudah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but beholdoppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. " The worthlessness of avine save only for its fruit was set forth by the Lord through Hisprophet Ezekiel (15:2-5); and truly it is so, that the wood of the grapeplant is fit for nothing but burning; the whole vine as wood is inferiorto a branch from a forest tree (verse 3). And Israel is represented assuch a vine, precious if but fruitful, otherwise nothing but fuel andthat of poor quality. The psalmist sang of the vine that Jehovah hadbrought out of Egypt and which, planted with care and hedged about, hadflourished even with goodly boughs; but the favor of the Lord had beenturned from the vine, and it had been left desolate (Psalm 80:8-16). Forfurther allusions see Isa. 27:2-6; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10-14; Hosea10:1. 

4. The Call to the Marriage Feast. --The calling of the guests who hadbeen bidden aforetime is thus commented upon by Trench (_Parables_, pp. 175-6): "This summoning of those already bidden, was, and, as moderntravellers attest, is still, quite in accordance with Eastern manners. Thus Esther invites Haman to a banquet on the morrow (Esth. 5:8), andwhen the time has actually arrived, the chamberlain comes to usher himto the banquet (6:14). There is, therefore, no slightest reason why weshould make '_them that were bidden_' to mean them that were now _to bebidden_; such an interpretation not merely violating all laws ofgrammar, but the higher purpose with which the parable was spoken; forour Lord, assuming that the guests had been invited long ago, does thusremind His hearers that what He brought, if in one sense new, was inanother a fulfilment of the old; that He claimed to be heard, not as onesuddenly starting up, unconnected with aught which had gone before butas Himself 'the end of the law, ' to which it had been ever tending, thebirth with which the whole Jewish dispensation had been pregnant, andwhich alone should give a meaning to it all. In His words, '_them thatwere bidden_, ' is involved the fact that there was nothing abrupt in thecoming of His kingdom, that its rudiments had a long while before beenlaid, that all to which His adversaries clung as precious in their pasthistory was prophetic of blessings now actually present to them in Him. The original invitation, which had now come to maturity, reached back tothe foundation of the Jewish commonwealth, was taken up and repeated byeach succeeding prophet, as he prophesied of the crowning grace thatshould one day be brought to Israel (Luke 10:24; 1 Pet. 1:12), andsummoned the people to hold themselves in a spiritual readiness towelcome their Lord and their King. "

5. Servants and Ministers. --According to good philological authority, "ministers" or "ministering attendants" is a more literal rendering ofthe original than "servants" in Matt. 22:13. In the earlier verses 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, of the same chapter, "servants" or "servitors" best expressesthe meaning of the original. The distinction is significant, as itimplies an important difference of station between the servants who weresent out to bid the people to the feast, and the ministers in immediateattendance upon the king. The first are typical of God's servants whoproclaim His word in the world; the latter symbolize the angels whoshall execute His judgments on the wicked by gathering out from Hiskingdom all things that offend. Compare Matt. 13:30, 39, 41; Doc. AndCov. 86:5. 

6. The Called and the Chosen. --Edersheim's reflections upon this subjectfollow in part (vol. Ii, pp. 429, 430): "The King entered to see Hisguests, and among them he descried one who had not on a weddinggarment. .. . As the guests had been travelers, and as the feast was inthe King's palace, we cannot be mistaken in supposing that such garmentswere supplied in the palace to all who sought them. And with this agreesthe circumstance, that the man so addressed 'was speechless. ' Hisconduct argued utter insensibility as regarded that to which he had beencalled--ignorance of what was due the King, and what became such afeast. For, although no previous state of preparedness was required ofthe invited guests, all being bidden, whether good or bad, yet the factremained that, if they were to take part in the feast they must put on agarment suited to the occasion. All are invited to the gospel feast; butthey who will partake of it must put on the King's wedding garment ofevangelical holiness. And whereas it is said in the parable that onlyone was descried without this garment, this is intended to teach, thatthe King will not only generally view His guests, but that each will beseparately examined, and that no one--no, not a single individual--willbe able to escape discovery amidst the mass of guests, if he has not thewedding garment. In short, in that day of trial, it is not a scrutiny ofchurches, but of individuals in the Church. .. . The call comes to all;but it may be outwardly accepted, and a man may sit down to the feast, and yet he may not be chosen to partake of the feast, because he has notthe wedding garment of converting, sanctifying grace. And so, one may bethrust even from the marriage board into the darkness without, with itssorrow and anguish. Thus, side by side, yet wide apart, are thesetwo--God's call and God's choice. The connecting link between them isthe wedding garment, freely given in the Palace. Yet, we must seek it, ask it, put it on. And as here also, we have, side by side, God's giftand man's activity. And still, to all time, and to all men, alike in itswarning, teaching, and blessing, is it true: 'Many are called, but fewchosen!' Many words of related meaning, both Hebrew and Greek, aretranslated 'garment' in our English Bible. The Greek original in themention of the wedding garment is _enduma_; this does not occur in otherBible passages as the original of 'garment. ' The noun is related to theGreek verb _enduein_, 'to put on, as a garment. ' Compare Luke 24:49, 'until ye be endued with power from on high. '"

FOOTNOTES:

[1080] Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-26. 

[1081] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1082] Page 240. 

[1083] "Bethphage, " the name of a village close to Bethany, andtherefore near to the Mount of Olives, means "house of figs. " Seemention, Matt. 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29. "Bethany" signifies "houseof dates. " For "house" in the literal translation we may read "place. "

[1084] Luke 13:6-9; page 443 herein. 

[1085] Matt. 21:12, 13: Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46. 

[1086] John 2:14-17; pages 153-158 herein. 

[1087] Matt. 21:16; compare Psalm 8:2; see also Matt. 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:27. 

[1088] Matt. 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8. 

[1089] John 2:18-21; page 156 herein. 

[1090] Matt. 21:28-32. 

[1091] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1092] Luke 3:12; compare 7:29; see page 123 herein. 

[1093] Matt. 3:7. 

[1094] Matt. 21:33-41; compare Mark 12:1-9; Luke 20:9-16. 

[1095] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1096] Compare Luke 11:47, 48; Matt. 23:29-33. 

[1097] Matt. 21:42-44; see also Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18; comparePsalm 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6, 7. 

[1098] Compare Dan. 2:44, 45; Isa. 60:12. 

[1099] Matt. 22:1-10. 

[1100] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1101] Compare Matt. 25:10; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:32; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9. 

[1102] Luke 14:16-24; page 450 herein. 

[1103] Compare page 416. 

[1104] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1105] Matt. 22:14; compare 20:16; see page 481. Note 6, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 31. 

THE CLOSE OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY. 

A CONSPIRACY OF PHARISEES AND HERODIANS. [1106]

The Jewish authorities continued unceasingly active in their determinedefforts to tempt or beguile Jesus into some act or utterance on whichthey could base a charge of offense, under either their own or Romanlaw. The Pharisees counseled together as to "how they might entangle himin his talk"; and then, laying aside their partisan prejudices, theyconspired to this end with the Herodians, a political faction whosechief characteristic was the purpose of maintaining in power the familyof the Herods, [1107] which policy of necessity entailed the upholding ofthe Roman power, upon which the Herods depended for their delegatedauthority. The same incongruous association had been entered into beforein an attempt to provoke Jesus to overt speech or action in Galilee; andthe Lord had coupled the parties together in His warning to thedisciples to beware of the leaven of both. [1108] So, on the last day ofour Lord's teaching in public, Pharisees and Herodians joined forcesagainst Him; the one watchful for the smallest technical infringement ofthe Mosaic law, the other alert to seize upon the slightest excuse forcharging Him with disloyalty to the secular powers. Their plans wereconceived in treachery, and put into operation as the living embodimentof a lie. Choosing some of their number who had not before appeared inpersonal antagonism to Jesus, and who were supposed to be unknown toHim, the chief conspirators sent these with instructions to "feignthemselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that sothey might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. "

This delegation of hypocritical spies came asking a question, inpretended sincerity, as though they were troubled in conscience anddesired counsel of the eminent Teacher. "Master, " said they with fawningduplicity, "we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God intruth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not theperson of men. " This studied tribute to our Lord's courage andindependence of thought and action was truthful in every word; but asuttered by those fulsome dissemblers and in their nefarious intent, itwas egregiously false. The honeyed address, however, by which theconspirators attempted to cajole the Lord into unwariness, indicatedthat the question they were about to submit was one requiring for itsproper answer just such qualities of mind as they pretendinglyattributed to Him. 

"Tell us therefore, " they continued, "What thinkest thou? Is it lawfulto give tribute unto Cęsar, or not?" The question had been chosen withdiabolic craft; for of all acts attesting compulsory allegiance to Romethat of having to pay the poll-tax was most offensive to the Jews. HadJesus answered "Yes, " the guileful Pharisees might have inflamed themultitude against Him as a disloyal son of Abraham; had His answer been"No, " the scheming Herodians could have denounced Him as a promoter ofsedition against the Roman government. Moreover the question wasunnecessary; the nation, both rulers and people had settled it, howevergrudgingly, for they accepted and circulated among themselves the Romancoinage as a common medium of exchange; and it was a criterion ofrecognition among the Jews that to make current the coins of anysovereign was to acknowledge his royal authority. "But Jesus perceivedtheir wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?" All theirartful expressions of false adulation were countered by the witheringepithet "hypocrites. " "Shew me the tribute money, " He commanded, andthey produced a penny--a Roman denarius bearing the effigy and name ofTiberius Cęsar, emperor of Rome. "Whose is this image andsuperscription?" He asked. They answered "Cęsar's. " "Then saith he untothem, Render therefore unto Cęsar the things which are Cęsar's; and untoGod the things that are God's. "[1109]

The reply was a masterly one by whatever standard we gage it; it hasbecome an aphorism in literature and life. It swept away any lingeringthought or expectation that in the mind of Him who had so recentlyridden into Jerusalem as King of Israel and Prince of Peace, there waseven the semblance of aspiration for earthly power or dominion. Itestablished for all time the one righteous basis of relationship betweenspiritual and secular duties, between church and state. The apostles inlater years builded upon this foundation and enjoined obedience to thelaws of established governments. [1110]

One may draw a lesson if he will, from the association of our Lord'swords with the occurrence of Cęsar's image on the coin. It was thateffigy with its accompanying superscription that gave special point toHis memorable instruction, "Render therefore unto Cęsar the things whichare Cęsar's. " This was followed by the further injunction: "and unto Godthe things that are God's. " Every human soul is stamped with the imageand superscription of God, however blurred and indistinct the lines mayhave become through the corrosion or attrition of sin;[1111] and as untoCęsar should be rendered the coins upon which his effigy appeared, sounto God should be given the souls that bear His image. Render unto theworld the stamped pieces that are made legally current by the insigniaof worldly powers, and give unto God and His service, yourselves--thedivine mintage of His eternal realm. 

Pharisees and Herodians were silenced by the unanswerable wisdom of theLord's reply to their crafty question. Try as they would, they could not"take hold of his words, " and they were put to shame before the peoplewho were witnesses to their humiliation. Marveling at His answer, andunwilling to take the chance of further and possibly greaterembarrassment, they "left him, and went their way. " Nevertheless theseperverted Jews persisted in their base and treacherous purpose, asappears nowhere more glaringly evident than in their utterly falseaccusation before Pilate--that Jesus was guilty of "forbidding to givetribute to Cęsar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. "[1112]

SADDUCEES QUESTION ABOUT THE RESURRECTION. [1113]

Next, the Sadducees tried to discomfit Jesus by propounding what theyregarded as an involved if not indeed a very difficult question. TheSadducees held that there could be no bodily resurrection, on whichpoint of doctrine as on many others, they were the avowed opponents ofthe Pharisees. [1114] The question submitted by the Sadducees on thisoccasion related directly to the resurrection, and was framed todiscredit the doctrine by a most unfavorable and grossly exaggeratedapplication thereof. "Master, " said the spokesman of the party, "Mosessaid, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry hiswife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us sevenbrethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the secondalso, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman diedalso. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of theseven? for they all had her. " It was beyond question that the Mosaic lawauthorized and required that the living brother of a deceased andchildless husband should marry the widow with the purpose of rearingchildren to the name of the dead, whose family lineage would thus belegally continued. [1115] Such a state of affairs as that presented bythe casuistical Sadducees, in which seven brothers in succession had aswife and left as childless widow the same woman, was possible under theMosaic code relating to levirate marriages; but it was a most improbableinstance. 

Jesus stopped not, however, to question the elements of the problem aspresented to Him; whether the case was assumed or real mattered not, since the question "Whose wife shall she be?" was based on an utterlyerroneous conception. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, notknowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrectionthey neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels ofGod in heaven. " The Lord's meaning was clear, that in the resurrectedstate there can be no question among the seven brothers as to whose wifefor eternity the woman shall be, since all except the first had marriedher for the duration of mortal life only, and primarily for the purposeof perpetuating in mortality the name and family of the brother whofirst died. Luke records the Lord's words as follows in part: "But theywhich shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and theresurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; andare the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. " In theresurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for allquestions of marital status must be settled before that time, under theauthority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal inmarriage for both time and eternity. [1116]

From the case presented by His treacherous questioners, Jesus turned tothe actuality of the resurrection, which was involved in and implied bythe inquiry. "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, " said He, "have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I amthe God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God isnot the God of the dead, but of the living. " This was a direct assaultupon the Sadducean doctrine of negation concerning the literalresurrection of the dead. The Sadducees were distinctively the zealousupholders of the law, wherein Jehovah affirms Himself to be the God ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob;[1117] yet they denied the possibleresurrection of these patriarchs, and made the exalted title, underwhich the Lord had revealed Himself to Moses, valid only during thebrief mortal existence of the progenitors of the Israelitish nation. Thedeclaration that Jehovah is not the God of the dead but of the livingwas an unanswerable denunciation of the Sadducean perversion ofscripture; and with solemn finality the Lord added: "Ye therefore dogreatly err. " Certain of the scribes present were impressed by theincontrovertible demonstration of the truth, and exclaimed withapprobation: "Master, thou hast well said. " The proud Sadducees wereconfuted and silenced; "and after that they durst not ask him anyquestion at all. "

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. [1118]

The Pharisees, covertly rejoicing over the discomfiture of their rivals, now summoned courage enough to plan another attack of their own. One oftheir number, a lawyer, by which title we may understand one of thescribes who was distinctively also a professor of ecclesiastical law, asked: "Which is the first commandment of all?" or, as Matthew statesthe question: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Thereply was prompt, incisive, and so comprehensive as to cover therequirements of the law in their entirety. With the imperative call toattention with which Moses had summoned Israel to hear and heed, [1119]the very words of which were written on the phylacteries[1120] which thePharisees wore as frontlets between their eyes, Jesus answered: "Hear, OIsrael; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thyGod with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the secondis like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There isnone other commandment greater than these. " Matthew's wording of theconcluding declaration is: "On these two commandments hang all the lawand the prophets. "

The philosophic soundness of the Lord's profound generalization andcomprehensive summarizing of the "law and the prophets"[1121] willappeal to all students of human nature. It is a common tendency of manto reach after, or at least to inquire after and marvel about, thesuperlative. Who is the greatest poet, philosopher, scientist, preacheror statesman? Who stands first and foremost in the community, thenation, or even, as the apostles in their aspiring ignorance asked, inthe kingdom of heaven? Which mountain overtops all the rest? Which riveris the longest or the largest? Such queries are ever current. The Jewshad divided and subdivided the commandments of the law, and hadsupplemented even the minutest subdivision with rules of their owncontriving. Now came the Pharisee asking which of all these requirementswas the greatest. [1122] To love God with all one's heart and soul andmind is to serve Him and keep all His commandments. To love one'sneighbor as one's self is to be a brother in the broadest and, at thesame time, the most exacting sense of the term. Therefore thecommandment to love God and man is the greatest, on the basis of thesimple and mathematical truth that the whole is greater than any part. What need of the decalog could there be if mankind would obey this firstand great and all-embracing commandment? The Lord's reply to thequestion was convincing even to the learned scribe who had acted asspokesman for his Pharisaic colleagues. The man was honest enough toadmit the righteousness and wisdom on which the reply was grounded, andimpulsively he voiced acceptance, saying, "Well, Master, thou hast saidthe truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And tolove him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and withall the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour ashimself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. " Jesuswas no whit less prompt than the well-intending scribe in acknowledgingmerit in the words of an opponent; and to the man He gave theencouraging assurance: "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. " As towhether the scribe remained firm in purpose and eventually gainedentrance into that blessed abode, the scriptural record is silent. 

JESUS TURNS QUESTIONER. [1123]

Sadducees, Herodians, Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes, all had in turnmet discomfiture and defeat in their efforts to entangle Jesus onquestions of doctrine or practise, and had utterly failed to incite Himto any act or utterance on which they could lawfully charge Him withoffense. Having so effectually silenced all who had ventured tochallenge Him to debate, either covertly or with open intent, that "noman after that durst ask him any question, " Jesus in turn became theaggressive interrogator. Turning to the Pharisees, who had clusteredtogether for greater facility in consultation, Jesus began a colloquywhich proceeded as follows:

"What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son ofDavid. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till Imake thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is hehis son?" The Lord's citation of David's jubilant and worshipful song ofpraise, which, as Mark avers, Jesus said was inspired by the Holy Ghost, had reference to the Messianic psalm[1124] in which the royal singeraffirmed his own reverent allegiance, and extolled the glorious reign ofthe promised King of kings, who is specifically called therein "a priestforever after the order of Melchizedek. "[1125] Puzzling as was theunexpected question to the erudite Jews, we fail to perceive in it anyinexplicable difficulty, since to us, less prejudiced than they wholived in expectation of a Messiah who would be David's son only in thesense of family descent and royal succession in the splendor of temporalrule, the eternal Godship of the Messiah is a fact demonstrated andundeniable. Jesus the Christ is the Son of David in the physical way oflineage by which both Jesus and David are sons of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, and Adam. But while Jesus was born in the flesh as late in the centuriesas the "meridian of time"[1126] He was Jehovah, Lord and God, beforeDavid, Abraham, or Adam was known on earth. [1127]

WICKED SCRIBES AND PHARISEES DENOUNCED. [1128]

The humiliating defeat of the Pharisaic party was made all the morememorable and bitter by the Lord's final denunciation of the system, andHis condemnation of its unworthy representatives. Addressing Himselfprimarily to the disciples, yet speaking in the hearing of themultitude, He directed the attention of all to the scribes andPharisees, who, He pointed out, occupied the seat of Moses as doctrinalexpounders and official administrators of the law, and who weretherefore to be obeyed in their authoritative rule; but against theirpernicious example the disciples were forcefully warned. "All thereforewhatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, " said the Lord, "but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not. " Distinctionbetween due observance of official precept and the personalresponsibility of following evil example, though it be that of men highin authority, could not have been made plainer. Disobedience to law wasnot to be excused because of corruption among the law's representatives, nor was wickedness in any individual to be condoned or palliated becauseof another's villainy. 

In explanation of the caution He so openly blazoned against the vices ofthe rulers, the Lord continued: "For they bind heavy burdens andgrievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but theythemselves will not move them with one of their fingers. " Rabbinism hadpractically superseded the law in the substitution of multitudinousrules and exactions, with conditional penalties; the day was filled withtraditional observances by which even the trivial affairs of life wereencumbered; yet from bearing these and other grievous burdenshypocritical officials could find excuse for personal exemption. 

Their inordinate vanity and their irreverent assumption of excessivepiety were thus stigmatized: "But all their works they do for to be seenof men: they make broad their phylacteries, [1129] and enlarge theborders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, andthe chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and tobe called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. " The high-sounding title, Rabbi, signifying Master, Teacher, or Doctor, had eclipsed the divinelyrecognized sanctity of priesthood; to be a rabbi of the Jews wasregarded as vastly superior to being a priest of the Most HighGod. [1130] "But be not ye called Rabbi, " said Jesus to the apostles andthe other disciples present, "for one is your Master, even Christ; andall ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for oneis your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: forone is your Master, even Christ. "[1131]

Those upon whom would rest the responsibility of building the Church Hehad founded were not to aspire to worldly titles nor the honors of men;for those chosen ones were brethren, and their sole purpose should bethe rendering of the greatest possible service to their one and onlyMaster. As had been so strongly impressed on earlier occasions, excellence or supremacy in the apostolic calling, and similarly in theduties of discipleship or membership in the Church of Christ, was and isto be achieved through humble and devoted service alone; therefore saidthe Master again, "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shallhumble himself shall be exalted. "

From the mixed multitude of disciples and unbelievers, comprizing manyof the common people who listened in glad eagerness to learn, [1132]Jesus turned to the already abashed yet angry rulers, and deluged themwith a veritable torrent of righteous indignation, through which flashedthe lightning of scorching invective, accompanied by thunder peals ofdivine anathema. 

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up thekingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neithersuffer ye them that are entering to go in. " The Pharisaic standard ofpiety was the learning of the schools; one unversed in thetechnicalities of the law was accounted as unacceptable to God andveritably accursed. [1133] By their casuistry and perverted explicationsof scripture they confused and misled the "common people, " and so stoodas obstacles at the entrance to the kingdom of God, refusing to go inthemselves and barring the way to others. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receivethe greater damnation. "[1134] The avarice of the Jewish hierarchy in ourLord's lifetime was an open scandal. By extortion and unlawful exactionunder cover of religious duty the priestly rulers had amassed anenormous treasure, [1135] of which the contributions of the poor, and theconfiscation of property, including even the houses of dependent widows, formed a considerable proportion; and the perfidy of the practise wasmade the blacker by the outward pretense of sanctity and thesacrilegious accompaniment of wordy prayer. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea andland to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofoldmore the child of hell than yourselves. " It is possible that this woewas directed more against the effort to secure proselytes to Pharisaismthan that of converting aliens to Judaism; but as the latter wasthoroughly degraded and the former disgustingly corrupt, the applicationof our Lord's denunciation to either or both is warranted. Of the Jewswho strove to make proselytes it has been said that "out of a badheathen they made a worse Jew. " Many of their converts soon becameperverts. 

"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by thetemple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of thetemple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, thegold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shallswear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the giftthat is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether isgreater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whosotherefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all thingsthereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by himthat dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth bythe throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. " Thus did the Lordcondemn the infamous enactments of the schools and the Sanhedrinconcerning oaths and vows; for they had established or endorsed a codeof rules, inconsistent and unjust, as to technical trifles by which avow could be enforced or invalidated. If a man swore by the temple, theHouse of Jehovah, he could obtain an indulgence for breaking his oath;but if he vowed by the gold and treasure of the Holy House, he was boundby the unbreakable bonds of priestly dictum. Though one should swear bythe altar of God, his oath could be annulled; but if he vowed by thecorban gift or by the gold upon the altar, [1136] his obligation wasimperative. To what depths of unreason and hopeless depravity had menfallen, how sinfully foolish and how wilfully blind were they, who sawnot that the temple was greater than its gold, and the altar than thegift that lay upon it! In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord had said"Swear not at all";[1137] but upon such as would not live according tothat higher law, upon those who persisted in the use of oaths and vows, the lesser and evidently just requirement of strict fidelity to theterms of self-assumed obligations was to be enforced, withoutunrighteous quibble or inequitable discrimination. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe ofmint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of thelaw, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not toleave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, andswallow a camel. " The law of the tithe had been a characteristic featureof the theocratic requirements in Israel from the days of Moses; and thepractise really long antedated the exodus. As literally construed, thelaw required the tithing of flocks and herds, fruit and grain, [1138] butby traditional extension all products of the soil had been included. Theconscientious tithing of all one's possessions, even pot-herbs and othergarden produce, was approved by the Lord; but He denounced as rankhypocrisy the observance of such requirements as an excuse forneglecting the other duties of true religion. The reference to "theweightier matters of the law" may have been an allusion to therabbinical classification of "light" and "heavy" requirements under thelaw; though it is certain the Lord approved no such arbitrarydistinctions. To omit the tithing of small things, such as mint leaves, and sprigs of anise and cummin, was to fall short in dutiful observance;but to ignore the claims of judgment, mercy, and faith, was to forfeitone's claim to blessing as a covenant child of God. By a strong simile, the Lord stigmatized such inconsistency as comparable to one'sscrupulous straining at a gnat while figuratively willing to gulp down acamel. [1139]

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean theoutside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full ofextortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which iswithin the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be cleanalso. "[1140] Pharisaic scrupulosity in the ceremonial cleansing ofplatters and cups, pots and brazen vessels, has been already alluded to. Cleanliness the Lord in no wise depreciated; His shafts ofdisapprobation were aimed at the hypocrisy of maintaining at onceoutward spotlessness and inward corruption. Cups and platters thoughcleansed to perfection were filthy before the Lord if their contents hadbeen bought by the gold of extortion, or were to be used in pandering togluttony, drunkenness or other excess. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like untowhited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are withinfull of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye alsooutwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisyand iniquity. " It was an awful figure, that of likening them towhitewashed tombs, full of dead bones and rotting flesh. As the dogmasof the rabbis made even the slightest contact with a corpse or itscerements, or with the bier upon which it was borne, or the grave inwhich it had been lain, a cause of personal defilement, which onlyceremonial washing and the offering of sacrifices could remove, care wastaken to make tombs conspicuously white, so that no person need bedefiled through ignorance of proximity to such unclean places; and, moreover, the periodical whitening of sepulchres was regarded as amemorial act of honor to the dead. But even as no amount of care ordegree of diligence in keeping bright the outside of a tomb could staythe putrescence going on within, so no externals of pretendedrighteousness could mitigate the revolting corruption of a heart reekingwith iniquity. Jesus had before compared Pharisees with unmarked graves, over which men inadvertently walked and so became defiled though theyknew it not;[1141] on the occasion now under consideration He denouncedthem as whitened tombs, flauntingly prominent, but sepulchresnevertheless. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build thetombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, Andsay, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have beenpartakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye bewitnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killedthe prophets. " National pride, not wholly unlike patriotism, had forcenturies expressed itself in formal regard for the burial crypts of theancient prophets, many of whom had been slain because of their righteousand fearless zeal. Those modern Jews were voluble to disavow allsympathy with the murderous deeds of their progenitors, who had martyredthe prophets, and ostentatiously averred that if they had lived in thetimes of those martyrdoms they would have been no participators therein, yet by such avouchment they proclaimed themselves the offspring of thosewho had shed innocent blood. 

With scorching maledictions the Lord thus consigned them to their fate:"Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generationof vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, Isend unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them yeshall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in yoursynagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may comeall the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteousAbel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew betweenthe temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shallcome upon this generation. " To their sanctimonious asseverations ofsuperiority over their fathers who had slain Jehovah's envoys, JehovahHimself replied by predicting that they would dye their hands in theblood of prophets, wise men, and righteous scribes, whom He would sendamongst them; and thus would they prove themselves literal sons ofmurderers, and murderers themselves, so that upon them should rest theburden of all the righteous blood that had been shed for a testimony ofGod, from righteous Abel to the martyred Zacharias. [1142] That dreadfate, outlined with such awful realism, was to be no eventuality of thedistant future; every one of the frightful woes the Lord had uttered wasto be realized in that generation. 

THE LORD'S LAMENTATION OVER JERUSALEM. [1143]

Concerning scribes, Pharisees, and Pharisaism, Jesus had uttered Hislast word. Looking from the temple heights out over the city of thegreat King, soon to be abandoned to destruction, the Lord was obsessedby emotions of profound sorrow. With the undying eloquence of anguish Hebroke forth in such a lamentation as no mortal father ever voiced overthe most unfilial and recreant of sons. 

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonestthem which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thychildren together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For Isay unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessedis he that cometh in the name of the Lord. " Had Israel but received herKing, the world's history of post-meridian time would never have beenwhat it is. The children of Israel had spurned the proffered safety of aprotecting paternal wing; soon the Roman eagle would swoop down uponthem and slay. The stupendous temple, which but a day before the Lordhad called "My house, " was now no longer specifically His; "Your house, "said He, "is left unto you desolate. " He was about to withdraw from bothtemple and nation; and by the Jews His face was not again to be seen, until, through the discipline of centuries of suffering they shall beprepared to acclaim in accents of abiding faith, as some of them hadshouted but the Sunday before under the impulse of an erroneousconception, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. "

A WIDOW'S GIFT. [1144]

From the open courts Jesus moved over toward the colonnaded treasury ofthe temple, and there He sat, seemingly absorbed in a revery of sorrow. Within that space were thirteen chests, each provided with atrumpet-shaped receptacle; and into these the people dropped theircontributions for the several purposes indicated by inscriptions on theboxes. Looking up, Jesus observed the lines of donors, of all ranks anddegrees of affluence and poverty, some depositing their gifts withevident devoutness and sincerity of purpose, others ostentatiouslycasting in great sums of silver and gold, primarily to be seen of men. Among the many was a poor widow, who with probable effort to escapeobservation dropped into one of the treasure-chests two small bronzecoins known as mites; her contribution amounted to less than half a centin American money. The Lord called His disciples about Him, directedtheir attention to the poverty-stricken widow and her deed, and said:"Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than allthey which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in oftheir abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, evenall her living. "

In the accounts kept by the recording angels, figured out according tothe arithmetic of heaven, entries are made in terms of quality ratherthan of quantity, and values are determined termined on the basis ofcapability and intent. The rich gave much yet kept back more; thewidow's gift was her all. It was not the smallness of her offering thatmade it especially acceptable, but the spirit of sacrifice and devoutintent with which she gave. On the books of the heavenly accountantsthat widow's contribution was entered as a munificent gift, surpassingin worth the largess of kings. "For if there be first a willing mind, itis accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that hehath not. "[1145]

CHRIST'S FINAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE TEMPLE. 

Our Lord's public discourses and the open colloquies in which He hadparticipated with professionals and priestly officials, in the course ofHis daily visits to the temple during the first half of Passion week, had caused many of the chief rulers, beside others, to believe on Him asthe veritable Son of God; but the fear of Pharisaic persecution and thedread of excommunication from the synagog[1146] deterred them fromconfessing the allegiance they felt, and from accepting the means ofsalvation so freely offered. "They loved the praise of men more than thepraise of God. "[1147]

It may have been while Jesus directed His course for the last timetoward the exit portal of the one-time holy place that He uttered thesolemn testimony of His divinity recorded by John. [1148] Crying with aloud voice to priestly rulers and the multitude generally, He said: "Hethat believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. Andhe that seeth me seeth him that sent me. " Allegiance to Himself wasallegiance to God; the people were plainly told that to accept Him wasin no degree a weakening of their adherence to Jehovah, but on thecontrary a confirmation thereof. Repeating precepts of earlierutterance, He again proclaimed Himself the light of the world, by whoserays alone mankind might be delivered from the enveloping darkness ofspiritual unbelief. The testimony He left with the people would be themeans of judgment and condemnation to all who wilfully rejected it. "For, " said He in solemn finality, "I have not spoken of myself; but theFather which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, andwhat I should speak. And I know that his commandment is lifeeverlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said untome, so I speak. "

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED. [1149]

As Jesus was departing from the enclosure wherein stood what once hadbeen the House of the Lord, one or more of the disciples called Hisattention to the magnificent structures, the massive stones, thecolossal columns, and the lavish and costly adornment of the severalbuildings. The Lord's answering comment was an unqualified prophecy ofthe utter destruction of the temple and everything pertaining to it. "Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone uponanother, that shall not be thrown down. " Such was the definite and direprediction. Those who heard were dumbfounded; neither by question norother response did they attempt to elicit more. The literal fulfilmentof that awful portent was but an incident in the annihilation of thecity less than forty years later. 

With the Lord's final departure from the temple, which probably occurredin the afternoon of the Tuesday of that last week, His public ministrywas brought to its solemn ending. Whatever of discourse, parable, orordinance was to follow, would be directed only to the furtherinstruction and investiture of the apostles. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 31. 

1. The Image on the Coin. --The Jews had an aversion for images oreffigies in general, the use of which they professed to hold as aviolation of the second commandment. Their scruples, however, did notdeter them from accepting coins bearing the effigies of kings, eventhough these monarchs were pagans. Their own coins bore other devices, such as plants, fruits, etc. , in place of a human head; and the Romanshad condescendingly permitted the issue of a special coinage for Jewishuse, each piece bearing the name but not the effigy of the monarch. Theordinary coinage of Rome was current in Palestine, however. 

2. Submission to Secular Authority. --Governments are instituted of God, sometimes by His direct interposition, sometimes by His permission. Whenthe Jews had been brought into subjection by Nebuchadnezzar, king ofBabylon, the Lord commanded through the prophet Jeremiah (27:4-8) thatthe people render obedience to their conqueror, whom He called Hisservant; for verily the Lord had used the pagan king to chastize therecreant and unfaithful children of the covenant. The obedience soenjoined included the payment of taxes and extended to completesubmission. After the death of Christ the apostles taught obedience tothe powers that be, which powers, Paul declared "are ordained of God. "See Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; see also 1 Peter 2:13, 14. Through the medium of modern revelation, the Lord has required of Hispeople in the present dispensation, obedience to and loyal support ofthe duly established and existing governments in all lands. See Doc. AndCov. 58:21-22; 98:4-6; and section 134 throughout. The restored Churchproclaims as an essential part of its belief and practise: "We believein being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, inobeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. " See _Articles of Faith_, xxiii. 

3. Marriage for Eternity. --Divine revelation in the dispensation of thefulness of times has made plain the fact, that contracts of marriage, asindeed all other agreements between parties in mortality, are of novalidity beyond the grave, except such contracts be ratified andvalidated by the duly established ordinances of the Holy Priesthood. Sealing in the marriage covenant for time and eternity, which has cometo be known as celestial marriage, is an ordinance established by divineauthority in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. See the author'streatment of this subject in _Articles of Faith_, xxiv, 18-24; and_House of the Lord_, under "Sealing in Marriage, " pp. 101-109. 

4. Divisions and Subdivisions of the Law. --"The Rabbinical schools, intheir meddling, carnal, superficial spirit of word-weaving andletter-worship, had spun large accumulations of worthless subtlety allover the Mosaic law. Among other things they had wasted their idlenessin fantastic attempts to count, and classify, and weigh, and measure allthe separate commandments of the ceremonial and moral law. They had cometo the sapient conclusion that there were 248 affirmative precepts, being as many as the members in the human body, and 365 negativeprecepts, being as many as the arteries and veins, or the days of theyear: the total being 613, which was also the number of letters in thedecalog. They arrived at the same result from the fact that the Jewswere commanded (Numb. 15:38) to wear fringes (_tsitsith_) on the cornersof their _tallith_, bound with a thread of blue; and as each fringe hadeight threads and five knots, and the letters of the word _tsitsith_make 600, the total number of commandments was, as before 613. Nowsurely, out of such a large number of precepts and prohibitions, _all_could not be of quite the same value; some were 'light' (_kal_), andsome were 'heavy' (_kobhed_). But which? and what was the greatestcommandment of all? According to some Rabbis, the most important of allis that about the _tephillin_ and the _tsitsith_, the fringes andphylacteries; and 'he who diligently observes it is regarded in the samelight as if he had kept the whole Law. '

"Some thought the omission of ablutions as bad as homicide; some thatthe precepts of the Mishna were all 'heavy'; those of the Law were some'heavy' and some 'light. ' Others considered the _third_ to be thegreatest commandment. None of them had realized the great principle, that the wilful violation of one commandment is the transgression of all(James 2:10), because the object of the entire Law is the spirit of_obedience to God_. On the question proposed by the lawyer theShammaites and Hillelites were in disaccord, and, as usual, both schoolswere wrong: the Shammaites, in thinking that mere trivial externalobservances were valuable, apart from the spirit in which they wereperformed, and the principle which they exemplified; the Hillelites, inthinking that _any_ positive command could in itself be unimportant, andin not seeing that great principles are essential to the due performanceof even the slightest duties. "--Farrar, _Life of Christ_, chap. 52. 

5. Phylacteries and Borders. --Through a traditional interpretation ofExo. 13:9 and Deut. 6:8, the Hebrews adopted the custom of wearingphylacteries, which consisted essentially of strips of parchment onwhich were inscribed in whole or in part the following texts: Exo. 13:2-10 and 11-17; Deut. 6:4-9, and 11:13-21. Phylacteries were worn onthe head and arm. The parchment strips for the head were four, on eachof which one of the texts cited above was written. These were placed ina cubical box of leather measuring from 1/2 inch to 1-1/2 inches alongthe edge; the box was divided into four compartments and one of thelittle parchment rolls was placed in each. Thongs held the box in placeon the forehead between the eyes of the wearer. The arm phylacterycomprized but a single roll of parchment on which the four prescribedtexts were written; this was placed in a little box which was bound bythongs to the inside of the left arm so as to be brought close to theheart when the hands were placed together in the attitude of devotion. The Pharisees wore the arm phylactery above the elbow, while theirrivals, the Sadducees, fastened it to the palm of the hand (see Exo. 13:9). The common people wore phylacteries only at prayer time; but thePharisees were said to display them throughout the day. Our Lord'sreference to the Pharisees' custom of making broad their phylacterieshad reference to the enlarging of the containing box, particularly thefrontlet. The size of the parchment strips was fixed by rigid rule. 

The Lord had required of Israel through Moses (Numb. 15:38) that thepeople attach to the border of their garment a fringe with a ribbon ofblue. In ostentatious display of assumed piety, the scribes andPharisees delighted to wear enlarged borders to attract publicattention. It was another manifestation of hypocriticalsanctimoniousness. 

6. Ecclesiastical Titles. --Our Lord severely condemned the seeking aftertitles as insignia of rank in His service. Nevertheless He named theTwelve whom He chose, Apostles; and in the Church founded by Himself theoffices of Evangelist, High Priest, Pastor, Elder, Bishop, Priest, Teacher, and Deacon were established (see _Articles of Faith_, xi:1-4). It was the empty man-made title that attached to the individual, not theauthorized title of office to which men were called throughauthoritative ordination, to which the Lord affixed the seal of Hisdisapproval. Titles of office in the Holy Priesthood are of too sacred acharacter to be used as marks of distinction among men. In the restoredChurch in the current dispensation, men are ordained to the Priesthoodand to the several offices comprized within both the Lesser or Aaronic, and the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood; but though one be thus made anElder, a Seventy, a High Priest, a Patriarch or an Apostle, he shouldnot court the usage of the title as a mere embellishment of his name. (See "The Honor and Dignity of Priesthood" by the author in _ImprovementEra_, Salt Lake City, March, 1914. )

Chas. F. Deems, in _The Light of the Nations_, pp. 583-4, says inspeaking of the irreverent use of ecclesiastical titles: "The Phariseesloved also the highest places in the synagogs, and it gratified theirvanity to be called Teacher, Doctor, Rabbi. Against these Jesus warnedHis disciples. They were not to love to be called Rabbi, a title whichoccurs in three forms, _Rab_, Teacher, Doctor; _Rabbi_, My Doctor orTeacher; _Rabboni_, My great Doctor. Nor were they to call any man'Father, ' in the sense of granting him any infallibility of judgment orpower over their consciences. .. . 'Papa, ' as the simple Moravians calltheir great man, Count Zinzendorf: 'Founder, ' as Methodists denominategood John Wesley; 'Holy Father in God, ' as bishops are sometimes called;'Pope, ' which is the same as 'Papa'; 'Doctor of Divinity, ' the Christianequivalent of the Jewish 'Rabbi, ' are all dangerous titles. But it isnot the employment of a name which Jesus denounces, it is the spirit ofvanity which animated the Pharisees, and the servile spirit which theemployment of titles is apt to engender. Paul and Peter spoke ofthemselves as spiritual fathers. Jesus teaches that positions in thesocieties of his followers, such as should afterward be formed, were notto be regarded as dignities, but rather as services; that no man shouldseek them for the honor they might confer, but for the field ofusefulness they might afford; and that no man should lead off a sect, there being but one leader; and that the whole body of believers arebrethren, of whom God is the Father. "

The writer last quoted very properly disparages aspirations, stimulatedby vanity and self-righteous assumption, to the use of the title"Reverend" as applied to men. 

7. Seven or Eight Woes?--Some of the early Mss. Of the Gospels omitverse 14 from Matt. 23. Such omission reduces the number of specificutterances beginning "Woe unto you" from eight to seven. There is noquestion as to the appearance in the original of the passages in Mark12:40 and Luke 20:47, which are one in meaning with Matt. 23:14. 

8. The Temple Treasure. --In connection with the incident of the widow'smites, Edersheim (vol. Ii, pp. 387-8) writes: "Some might come withappearance of self-righteousness, some even with ostentation, some ascheerfully performing a happy duty. 'Many that were rich cast inmuch'--yes, very much, for such was the tendency that a law had to beenacted forbidding the gift to the Temple of more than a certainproportion of one's possessions. And the amount of such contributionsmay be inferred by recalling the circumstance, that at the time ofPompey and Crassus, the Temple treasury, after having lavishly defrayedevery possible expenditure, contained in money nearly half a million, and precious vessels to the value of nearly two millions sterling. " Seealso Josephus, Antiquities xiv, 4:4; 7:1, 2. 

9. Zacharias the Martyr. --In referring to the martyrs of ante-meridiantime the Lord is recorded as having used the expression "from the bloodof righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom yeslew between the temple and the altar" (Matt. 23:35). The Old Testamentas at present compiled, contains no mention of a martyr named Zachariasson of Barachias, but does chronicle the martyrdom of Zechariah son ofJehoiada (2 Chron. 24:20-22). "Zechariah" and "Zacharias" are equivalentnames. It is the opinion of most Bible scholars that the Zachariasreferred to in Matthew's record is Zechariah son of Jehoiada. In theJewish compilation of Old Testament scriptures, the murder of Zechariahappears as the last recorded martyrdom; and the Lord's reference to therighteous men who had been slain, from Abel to Zechariah or Zacharias, may have been a sweeping inclusion of all the martyrs down to that time, from first to last. However, we have a record of Zechariah son ofBerechiah (Zech. 1:1, 7), and this Berechiah was the son of Iddo. Thenagain, Zechariah son of Iddo is mentioned (Ezra 5:1); but, as iselsewhere found in the older scriptures, the grandson is called the son. The Old Testament does not number this Zechariah among the martyrs, buttraditional accounts (Whitby's citation of the Targum) say that he waskilled "in the day of propitiation. " That the Lord referred to a lateand probably the latest of the recorded martyrdoms is probable; and itis equally evident that the case was well known among the Jews. It islikely that a fuller account appeared in scriptures current among theJews at the time of Christ but since lost. See Note 4, page 119. 

10. Destruction of the Temple. --"For thirty or more years after thedeath of Christ, the Jews continued the work of adding to andembellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate design conceived andprojected by Herod had been practically completed; the Temple waswell-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was ready fordestruction. Its fate had been definitely foretold by the SaviorHimself. Commenting on a remark by one of the disciples concerning thegreat stones and the splendid buildings on the Temple hill, Jesus hadsaid, 'Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left onestone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ' (Mark 13:1, 2; seealso Matt. 24:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6. ) This dire prediction soon found itsliteral fulfilment. In the great conflict with the Roman legions underTitus, many of the Jews had taken refuge within the Temple courts, seemingly hoping that there the Lord would again fight the battles ofHis people and give them victory. But the protecting presence of Jehovahhad long since departed therefrom and Israel was left a prey to the foe. Though Titus would have spared the Temple, his legionaries, maddened bythe lust of conflict, started the conflagration and everything thatcould be burned was burned. The slaughter of the Jews was appalling;thousands of men, women and children were ruthlessly butchered withinthe walls, and the temple courts were literally flooded with humanblood. This event occurred in the year 70 A. D. ; and according toJosephus, in the same month and on the same day of the month as that onwhich the once glorious Temple of Solomon had fallen a prey to theflames kindled by the king of Babylon. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, vi, 4:5, 8. For a detailed and graphic account of the destruction of theTemple see chapters 4 and 5 in their entirety. ) Of the Temple furniturethe golden candlestick and the table of shewbread from the Holy Placewere carried by Titus to Rome as trophies of war; and representations ofthese sacred pieces are to be seen on the arch erected to the name ofthe victorious general. Since the destruction of the splendid Temple ofHerod no other structure of the kind, no Temple, no House of the Lord asthe terms are used distinctively, has been reared on the easternhemisphere. "--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 61, 62. 

Josephus ascribes the destruction of the Temple of Herod to the anger ofGod, and states that the devouring flames "took their rise from the Jewsthemselves, and were occasioned by them. " The soldier who applied thetorch to the Holy House, which had remained intact while fire raged inthe courts, is regarded by the historian as an instrument of divinevengeance. We read (Wars, vi, 4:5): "One of the soldiers, withoutstaying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at sogreat an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and beinglifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, throughwhich there was a passage to the rooms that were round the Holy House, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward the Jews made a greatclamor, such as so mighty an affliction required. "

FOOTNOTES:

[1106] Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:19-26. 

[1107] Page 68. 

[1108] Mark 3:6; 8:15. 

[1109] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1110] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1111] Pages 12, 13. 

[1112] Luke 23:2. Page 633. 

[1113] Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38. 

[1114] Pages 65, 72. 

[1115] Deut. 25:5. 

[1116] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1117] Gen. 28:13; Exo. 3:6, 15. 

[1118] Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34. 

[1119] Deut. 6:4, 5. 

[1120] Note 5, page 565. 

[1121] Compare page 245. 

[1122] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1123] Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44. 

[1124] Psalm 110. 

[1125] Psalm 110:4; compare Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21. 

[1126] Chapter 6. 

[1127] Chapters 4 and 5. 

[1128] Matt. 23; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47; compare Luke 11:39-52. 

[1129] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1130] Pages 63, 71. 

[1131] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1132] Mark 12:37. 

[1133] John 7:49; compare 9:34. 

[1134] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1135] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[1136] Page 352. 

[1137] Matt. 5:33-37; page 235 herein. 

[1138] Lev. 27:30; Numb. 18:21; Deut. 12:6; 14:22-28. See also theauthor's "The Law of the Tithe"; 20 pp. , 1914. 

[1139] The revised version, generally admitted the more nearly correct, reads "strain out the gnat" instead of "strain at a gnat. "

[1140] Compare Luke 11:39, 40; Mark 7:4; page 437 herein. 

[1141] Luke 11:44. 

[1142] Note 9, end of chapter. 

[1143] Matt. 23:37-39; compare Luke 13:34, 35. 

[1144] Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4. 

[1145] 2 Cor. 8:12. 

[1146] John 12:42; compare 7:13; 9:22. 

[1147] John 12:43; compare 5:44. 

[1148] John 12:44-50. 

[1149] Matt. 24:1, 2; Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6. Note 10, end ofchapter. 

CHAPTER 32. 

FURTHER INSTRUCTION TO THE APOSTLES. 

PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM AND THE LORD'SFUTURE ADVENT. [1150]

In the course of His last walk from Jerusalem back to the beloved homeat Bethany, Jesus rested at a convenient spot on the Mount of Olives, from which the great city and the magnificent temple were to be seen infullest splendor, illumined by the declining sun in the late afternoonof that eventful April day. As He sat in thoughtful revery He wasapproached by Peter and James, John and Andrew, of the Twelve, and tothem certainly, though probably to all the apostles, He gaveinstruction, embodying further prophecy concerning the future ofJerusalem, Israel, and the world at large. His fateful prediction--thatof the temple buildings not one stone would be left upon another--hadcaused the apostles to marvel and fear; so they came privatelyrequesting explanation. "Tell us, " said they, "when shall these thingsbe? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of theworld?" The compound character of the question indicates anunderstanding of the fact that the destruction of which the Lord hadspoken was to be apart from and precedent to the signs that were toimmediately herald His glorious advent and the yet later ushering in ofthe consummation commonly spoken of then and now as "the end of theworld. " An assumption that the events would follow in close successionis implied by the form in which the question was put. 

The inquiry referred specifically to time--when were these things to be?The reply dealt not with dates, but with events; and the spirit of thesubsequent discourse was that of warning against misapprehension, andadmonition to ceaseless vigilance. "Take heed that no man deceive you"was the first and all-important caution; for within the lives of most ofthose apostles, many blaspheming imposters would arise, each claiming tobe the Messiah. The return of Christ to earth as Lord and Judge was moreremote than any of the Twelve realized. Before that glorious event, manywonderful and appalling developments would be witnessed, among theearliest of which would be wars and rumors of wars, caused by nationrising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, to the dreadaccompaniment of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many places;yet all these would be but the beginning of the sorrow or travail tofollow. 

They, the apostles, were told to expect persecution, not only at thehands of irresponsible individuals, but at the instance of the officialssuch as they who were at that moment intent on taking the life of theLord Himself, and who would scourge them in the synagogs, deliver themup to hostile tribunals, cite them before rulers and kings, and even putsome of them to death--all because of their testimony of the Christ. Asthey had been promised before, so again were they assured, that whenthey would stand before councils, magistrates, or kings, the words theyshould speak would be given them in the hour of their trial, andtherefore they were told to take no premeditative thought as to whatthey should say or how they should meet the issues confronting them;"for, " said the Master, "it is not ye that speak, but the HolyGhost. "[1151] Even though they found themselves despized and hated ofmen, and though they were to suffer ignominy, torture, and death, yet asto their eternal welfare they were promised such security that bycomparison they would lose not so much as a hair of their heads. Inconsoling encouragement the Lord bade them possess their souls inpatience. [1152] In face of all trials and even the direst persecution, it was incumbent upon them to persevere in their ministry, for thedivine plan provided and required that the gospel of the kingdom bepreached amongst all nations. Their labors would be complicated andopposed by the revolutionary propaganda of many false prophets, anddifferences of creed would disrupt families, and engender suchbitterness that brothers would betray one another, and children wouldrise against their parents, accusing them of heresies and deliveringthem up to death. Even among those who had professed discipleship toChrist many would be offended and hatred would abound; love for thegospel would wax cold, and iniquity would be rampant among men; and onlythose who would endure to the end of their lives could be saved. 

From this circumstantial forecast of conditions then directly impending, the Lord passed to other developments that would immediately precede thedestruction of Jerusalem and the total disruption of the Jewish nation. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of byDaniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, " said He, according toMatthew's account, and virtually so also as stated by Mark, or "when yeshall see Jerusalem compassed with armies" as Luke writes, "then knowthat the desolation thereof is nigh. " This was a specific sign that nonecould misunderstand. Daniel the prophet had foreseen the desolation andabominations thereof, which comprized the forcible cessation of templerites, and the desecration of Israel's shrine by pagan conquerors. [1153]

The realization of Daniel's prophetic vision was to be heralded by theencompassing of Jerusalem by armies. Then all who would escape shouldmake haste; from Judea they should flee to the mountains; he who was onthe housetop would have no time to take his goods, but should hastendown by the outer steps and flee; he who was in the field would betterleave without first returning to his house even for his clothes. Terrible, indeed, would that day be for women hampered by the conditionsincident to approaching maternity, or the responsibility of caring fortheir suckling babes. All would do well to pray that their flight be notforced upon them in winter time; nor on the Sabbath, lest regard for therestrictions as to Sabbath-day travel, or the usual closing of the citygates on that day, should diminish the chances of escape. Thetribulations of the time then foreshadowed would prove to beunprecedented in horror and would never be paralleled in all their awfuldetails in Israel's history; but in mercy God had decreed that thedreadful period should be shortened for the sake of the elect believers, otherwise no flesh of Israel would be saved alive. Multitudes were tofall by the sword; other hosts were to be led away captive, and so bescattered amongst all nations; and Jerusalem, the pride and boast ofdegenerate Israel, should be "trodden down of the Gentiles, until thetimes of the Gentiles be fulfilled. " In every frightful detail was theLord's prediction brought to pass, as history avouches. [1154]

After the passing of those terrible times, and thence onward for aperiod of unspecified duration, Satan would deceive the world throughfalse doctrines, spread by evil men masquerading as ministers of God, who would continue to cry "Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there"; butagainst all such the Twelve were put on their guard, and through themand other teachers, whom they would call and ordain, would the world bewarned. Deceiving prophets, emissaries of the devil, would be active, some alluring people into the deserts, and impelling them to hermitlives of pernicious asceticism, others insisting that Christ could befound in the secret chambers of monastic seclusion; and some of themshowing forth through the power of Satan, such signs and wonders as "toseduce, if it were possible, even the elect"; but of all such schemingof the prince of evil, the Lord admonished His own: "Believe it not";and added, "take ye heed; behold I have foretold you all things. "[1155]

In the day of the Lord's advent in glory and vengeance, no man shall bein doubt; there shall be no chance of conflicting claims by contendingsects, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth evenunto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. "[1156] Thegathering of Israel in the last days was pictured as the flocking ofeagles to the place where the body of the Church would beestablished. [1157]

The chronological order of the predicted occurrences so far consideredin this wonderful discourse on things to come, is clear; first there wasto be a period of virulent persecution of the apostles and the Church ofwhich they would be in charge; then the destruction of Jerusalem, withall the horrors of merciless warfare was to follow; and this in turn wasto be succeeded by a long period of priestcraft and apostasy with bittersectarian dissension and cruel persecution of the righteous. The briefreference to the non-localized, universal phenomena, by which His adventis to be signalized, is a parenthetical demonstration of the falseclaims as to where Christ would be found; later the Lord passed todistinctive and unquestionable reference to the circumstances of Histhen and yet future advent. Following the age of man-made creeds, andunauthorized ministry characteristic of the great apostasy, marvelousoccurrences are to be manifested through the forces of nature, and thesign of the Son of Man shall ultimately appear, one accompanying featureof which shall be the completion of the gathering of the elect from allparts of the earth to the places appointed. 

The duty that Jesus enjoined upon the apostles as of first importancethroughout all the coming scenes of sorrow, suffering and turmoil, wasthat of vigilance. They were to pray, watch, and work, diligently andwith unwavering faith. The lesson was illustrated by a masterly analogy, which, under the broadest classification, may be called a parable. Directing their attention to the fig tree and other trees whichflourished on the sunny slopes of Olivet, the Master said: "Behold thefig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and knowof your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, whenye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God isnigh at hand. " Of the fig tree in particular the Lord remarked: "Whenhis branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summeris nigh. " This sign of events near at hand was equally applicable to thepremonitory conditions which were to herald the fall of Jerusalem andthe termination of the Jewish autonomy, and to the developments by whichthe Lord's second advent shall be immediately preceded. 

The next declaration in the order of the evangelical record reads:"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all thesethings be fulfilled. " This may be understood as applying to thegeneration in which the portentous happenings before described would berealized. So far as the predictions related to the overthrow ofJerusalem, they were literally fulfilled within the natural lifetime ofseveral of the apostles and of multitudes of their contemporaries; suchof the Lord's prophecies as pertain to the heralding of His secondcoming are to brought to pass within the duration of the generation ofsome who witness the inauguration of their fulfilment. The certainty offulfilment was emphasized by the Lord in the profound affirmation:"Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not passaway. "[1158]

All speculation concerning the time of the Lord's appearing, whetherbased on assumption, deduction, or calculation of dates, was forestalledby Christ's averment: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but theFather. "[1159] That His advent in power and glory is to be sudden andunexpected to the unobserving and sinful world, but in immediatesequence to the signs which the vigilant and devout may read andunderstand, was made plain by comparison with the prevailing socialconditions of Noah's time, when in spite of prophecy and warning thepeople had continued in their feasting and merry-making, in marrying andgiving in marriage, until the very day of Noah's entrance into the ark, "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shallalso the coming of the Son of man be. "

In the last stages of the gathering of the elect, the ties ofcompanionship shall be quickly severed; of two men laboring in thefield, or of two women engaged side by side in household duties, thefaithful one shall be taken and the sinner left. "Watch therefore, " wasthe solemn behest, "for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. " Inexplication of this admonishment, the Lord condescended to compare thesuddenness and secrecy of His coming to the movements of anight-prowling thief; and pointed out, that if a householder had certainknowledge as to the time of a burglar's predetermined visit, he wouldremain on vigilant watch; but because of uncertainty he may be found offhis guard, and the thief may enter and despoil the home. 

Again likening the apostles to duly appointed stewards in a greathousehold, [1160] the Lord spoke of Himself as the householder, saying:"The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, andcommanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not whenthe master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at thecockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find yousleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. " But if thesteward grow negligent because of his master's long absence, and givehimself up to feasting and unlicensed pleasure, or become autocratic andunjust toward his fellow-servants, his lord shall come in an hour whenleast expected, and shall consign that wicked servant to a place amongthe hypocrites, where he shall weep bitter tears of remorse, and gnashhis teeth in impotent despair. [1161]

THE NEED OF WATCHFULNESS AND DILIGENCE ILLUSTRATED BY PARABLES. 

To more indelibly impress upon the apostles, and, through theirsubsequent ministry, upon the world, the absolute need of unceasingwatchfulness and unwavering diligence in preparation for the coming ofthe Lord in judgment, Jesus depicted in parables the prospectivecondition of mankind in the last times. The first of these illustrativeportrayals is the _Parable of the Ten Virgins_. The only report of it wehave is that given by Matthew, [1162] as follows:

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, whichtook their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five ofthem were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took theirlamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vesselswith their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered andslept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroomcometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmedtheir lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lestthere be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the doorwas shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know younot. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour whereinthe Son of man cometh. "

The story itself is based on oriental marriage customs, with which theLord's attentive listeners were familiar. It was and yet is common inthose lands, particularly in connection with marriage festivities amongthe wealthy classes, for the bridegroom to go to the home of the bride, accompanied by his friends in processional array, and later to conductthe bride to her new home with a larger body of attendants composed ofgroomsmen, bridesmaids, relatives and friends. As the bridal partyprogressed, to the accompaniment of gladsome music, it was increased bylittle groups who had gathered in waiting at convenient places along theroute, and particularly near the end of the course where organizedcompanies came forth to meet the advancing procession. Weddingceremonies were appointed for the evening and night hours; and thenecessary use of torches and lamps gave brilliancy and added beauty tothe scene. 

In the parable ten maidens were waiting to welcome and join in with thebridal company, the time of whose arrival was uncertain. Each had herlamp attached to the end of a rod so as to be held aloft in the festalmarch; but of the ten virgins five had wisely carried an extra supply ofoil, while the other five, probably counting on no great delay, orassuming that they would be able to borrow from others, or perchancehaving negligently given no thought at all to the matter, had no oilexcept the one filling with which their lamps had been supplied atstarting. The bridegroom tarried, and the waiting maidens grew drowsyand fell asleep. At midnight, the forerunners of the marriage partyloudly proclaimed the bridegroom's approach, and cried in haste: "Go yeout to meet him. " The ten maidens, no longer sleepy, but eagerly active, set to work to trim their lamps; then the wise ones found use for theoil in their flasks, while the thoughtless five bewailed their destitutecondition, for their lamps were empty and they had no oil forreplenishment. They appealed to their wiser sisters, asking a share oftheir oil; but these declined; for, in a time of such exigency, to giveof their store would have been to render themselves unfit, inasmuch asthere was oil enough for their own lamps only. Instead of oil they couldimpart only advice to their unfortunate sisters, whom they directed togo to the nearest shop and buy for themselves. While the foolish virginswere away in quest of oil, the wedding party passed into the housewherein the feast was provided, and the door was shut against all tardycomers. In time the unwise maidens, too late to participate in theprocessional entry, called from without, pleading for admittance; butthe bridegroom refused their request, and disclaimed allacquaintanceship with them, since they had not been numbered among hisattendants or those of the bride. 

The Bridegroom is the Lord Jesus; the marriage feast symbolizes Hiscoming in glory, to receive unto Himself the Church on earth as Hisbride. [1163] The virgins typify those who profess a belief in Christ, and who, therefore, confidently expect to be included among the blessedparticipants at the feast. The lighted lamp, which each of the maidenscarried, is the outward profession of Christian belief and practise; andin the oil reserves of the wiser ones we may see the spiritual strengthand abundance which diligence and devotion in God's service alone caninsure. The lack of sufficient oil on the part of the unwise virgins isanalogous to the dearth of soil in the stony field, wherein the seedreadily sprouted but soon withered away. [1164] The Bridegroom's comingwas sudden; yet the waiting virgins were not held blamable for theirsurprize at the abrupt announcement, but the unwise five suffered thenatural results of their unpreparedness. The refusal of the wise virginsto give of their oil at such a critical time must not be regarded asuncharitable; the circumstance typifies the fact that in the day ofjudgment every soul must answer for himself; there is no way by whichthe righteousness of one can be credited to another's account; thedoctrine of supererogation is wholly false. [1165] The Bridegroom'scondemnatory disclaimer, "I know you not, " was equivalent to adeclaration that the imploring but neglectful ones, who had been foundunready and unprepared, did not know Him. [1166]

The application of the parable and its wealth of splendid suggestion aresummarized in a masterly manner by the Lord's impressive adjuration:"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein theSon of man cometh. " The fulfilment of the predictions enshrined in thisprecious parable is yet future, but near. In 1831 the Lord Jesus Christrevealed anew the indications by which the imminence of His gloriousadvent may be perceived. Through the mouth of His prophet Joseph SmithHe thus spake: "And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shallthe parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins: forthey that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the HolySpirit for their guide, and have not been deceived; verily I say untoyou, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abidethe day, and the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; andthey shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow upwithout sin unto salvation, for the Lord shall be in their midst, andhis glory shall be upon them, and he will be their King and theirLawgiver. "[1167]

Still discoursing in solemn earnestness to the apostles as the eveningshadows gathered about the Mount of Olives, the Lord delivered the lastof His recorded parables. We call it the _Parable of the EntrustedTalents_. [1168]

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And untoone he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to everyman according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with thesame, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that hadreceived two, he also gained other two. But he that had received onewent and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a longtime the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And sohe that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I havegained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a fewthings, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joyof thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two othertalents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good andfaithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will makethee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Thenhe which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew theethat thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, andgathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went andhid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lordanswered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thouknewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have notstrawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Taketherefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath tentalents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall haveabundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even thatwhich he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "

Some of the resemblances between this parable and that of thePounds[1169] appear on even a casual reading; significant differencesare discovered by comparison and study. The earlier parable was spokento a mixed multitude in the course of our Lord's last journey fromJericho to Jerusalem; the later one was given in privacy to the mostintimate of His disciples in the closing hours of the last day of Hispublic preaching. The two should be studied together. In the story ofthe Pounds, an equal amount of capital is given to each of the servants, and men's diverse ability to use and apply, with commensurate results inreward or penalty, is demonstrated; in that of the Entrusted Talents, the servants receive different amounts, "every man according to hisseveral ability"; and equal diligence, though shown in one instance bygreat gain and in the other by small but proportionate increase, isequally rewarded. Unfaithfulness and negligence are condemned andpunished in both. 

In the parable now under consideration, the master is presented asdelivering his wealth into the hands of his own servants, literally, bondservants;[1170] they, as well as the possessions held by them intrust were his. Those servants had no rights of actual ownership, nortitle of permanent proprietorship in the treasure committed to theircare; all they had, the time and opportunity to use their talents, andthey themselves, belonged to their lord. We cannot fail to perceive evenin the early incidents of the story that the Master of the servants wasthe Lord Jesus; the servants, therefore, were the disciples and moreparticularly the apostles, who, while of equal authority throughordination in the Holy Priesthood, as specifically illustrated by theearlier parable of the Pounds, were of varied ability, of diversepersonality, and unequal generally in nature and in such accomplishmentsas would be called into service throughout their ministry. The Lord wasabout to depart; He would return only "after a long time"; thesignificance of this latter circumstance is in line with that expressedthrough the parable of the Ten Virgins in the statement that theBridegroom tarried. 

At the time of reckoning, the servants who had done well, the one withhis five talents, the other with his two, reported gladly, conscious asthey were of having at least striven to do their best. The unfaithfulservant prefaced his report with a grumbling excuse, which involved theimputation of unrighteousness in the Master. The honest, diligent, faithful servants saw and reverenced in their Lord the perfection of thegood qualities which they possessed in measured degree; the lazy andunprofitable serf, afflicted by distorted vision, professed to see inthe Master his own base defects. The story in this particular, as in theother features relating to human acts and tendencies, is psychologicallytrue; in a peculiar sense men are prone to conceive of the attributes ofGod as comprizing in augmented degree the dominant traits of their ownnature. 

Both the servant who had been entrusted with five talents and he who hadreceived but two were equally commended, and, as far as we are told, were equally recompensed. The talents bestowed upon each were the giftof his Lord, who knew well whether that servant was capable of using tobetter advantage one, two, or five. Let no one conclude that good workof relatively small scope is less necessary or acceptable than likeservice of wider range. Many a man who has succeeded well in businesswith small capital would have failed in the administration of vast sums;so also in spiritual achievements "there are diversities of gifts, butthe same Spirit. "[1171] Of the man endowed with many talents greaterreturns were expected; of the one-talented man relatively little wasrequired, yet in that little he failed. [1172] At the least he could havedelivered the money to the bank, through which it would have been keptin circulation to the benefit of the community, and would have earnedinterest meanwhile. Likewise, in the spiritual application, a manpossessed of any good gift, such as musical ability, eloquence, skill inhandicraft, or the like, ought to use that gift to the full, that he orothers may be profited thereby: but should he be too neglectful toexercize his powers in independent service, he may assist others toprofitable effort, by encouragement if by nothing more. 

Who can doubt in the spirit of the Lord's teaching, that had the manbeen able to report the doubling of his single talent, he would havebeen as cordially commended and as richly recompensed as were his morehighly endowed and faithful fellows? It is notable that to the charge ofunrighteousness made by the unfaithful servant, the Lord deigns norefutation; the spirit of the reply was the same as that expressed inthe earlier parable: "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thouwicked servant. "[1173] The unworthy man sought to excuse himself by thedespicable but all too common subterfuge of presumptuously chargingculpability in another, and in this instance, that other was his Lord. Talents are not given to be buried, and then to be dug up and offeredback unimproved, reeking with the smell of earth and dulled by thecorrosion of disuse. The unused talent was justly taken from him who hadcounted it as of so little worth, and was given to one, who, althoughpossessing much, would use the additional gift to his own profit, to thebetterment of his fellows, and to the glory of his Lord. 

THE INEVITABLE JUDGMENT. [1174]

The Lord had uttered His last parable. In words of plainness, thoughsuffused with the beauty of effective simile, He impressed upon thelistening disciples the certainty of judgment by which the world shallbe visited in the day of His appearing. Then shall the wheat besegregated from the tares, [1175] and the sheep divided from the goats. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angelswith him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before himshall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one fromanother, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shallset the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. " Unto thoseon His right hand the King shall give commendation and blessing, bestowing a rich recompense for their good works, as attested by thehungry they had fed, the thirsty to whom they had given drink, thestranger they had lodged, the naked they had clothed, the sick to whomthey had ministered, the prisoners they had visited and encouraged, allof which mercies are accredited to them as having been rendered to theirLord in person. The blessed company, overwhelmed by the plenitude of theKing's bounty, of which they regard themselves as undeserving, will faindisclaim the merit attributed to them; "And the King shall answer andsay unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it untoone of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. "

Unto them who wait on the left in terrified expectancy, the King shallrecount their several deficiencies, in that they had given Him neitherfood nor drink, shelter nor clothing despite His need; neither had theyvisited Him though ill, nor ministered unto His wants when He lay in aprison cell. In the desperation of anguish these shall ask when andwhere they had had such opportunity of comforting Him, and He shallanswer, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of theleast of these, ye did it not to me. " The righteous shall be welcomedwith "Come ye blessed of my Father"; the wicked shall hear the awfulsentence, "Depart from me ye cursed. " Eternal life is the inestimablereward; everlasting punishment the unfathomable doom. [1176]

Viewing as one discourse the two parables and the teaching that directlyfollowed, we find in it such unity of subject and thoroughness oftreatment as to give to the whole both beauty and worth beyond the sumof these qualities exhibited in the several parts. Vigilant waiting inthe Lord's cause, and the dangers of unreadiness are exemplified in thestory of the virgins; diligence in work and the calamitous results ofsloth are prominent features of the tale of the talents. These twophases of service are of reciprocal and complementary import; it is asnecessary at times to wait as at others to work. The lapse of a longperiod, as while the Bridegroom tarried, and as during the Master'sabsence in "a far country, "[1177] is made plain throughout asintervening between the Lord's departure and His return in glory. Theabsolute certainty of the Christ coming to execute judgment upon theearth, in the which every soul shall receive according to his deserts, is the sublime summary of this unparalleled discourse. 

ANOTHER SPECIFIC PREDICTION OF THE LORD'S DEATH. 

Following the instructions to the apostles at the resting place onOlivet, and probably in the course of the continued walk toward Bethanythat evening, Jesus reminded the Twelve of the awful fate awaiting Him, and specified the time of His betrayal and the manner of His death. "Yeknow, " He said, "that after two days is the feast of the passover, andthe Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. "[1178]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 32. 

1. Early Fulfilment of the Lord's Prophecies. --As to the literalfulfilment of the Lord's predictions relating to the times immediatelyfollowing His ascension and down to the destruction of Jerusalem, thestudent must be referred to scriptural and other history. Only a briefsummary of the most notable events can be attempted here. 

On the matter of wars and rumors or threats of wars, see Josephus, Antiquities xviii, ch. 9, and Wars, ii, ch. 10. The latter reference isto the account of the decree issued by Caligula that his statue be setup and duly reverenced in the temple, in consequence of which the Jewsprotested so strenuously that war was declared against them, but wasaverted by the death of the emperor. Concerning the death of Caligula, Josephus remarks that it "happened most happily for our nation inparticular, which would have almost utterly perished, if he had not beensuddenly slain. " Other threats of war against the Jews were severallymade by the emperors Claudius and Nero. 

Nation rose against nation, as for example, in the assault of Greeks andSyrians upon the Jews, in the course of which 50, 000 Jews were slain atSelucia on the Tigris, and 20, 000 at Cęsarea, 13, 000 at Scythopolis, and2, 500 at Ascalon. Famine and its attendant pestilence prevailed duringthe reign of Claudius, (41-54 A. D. ) and such had been specificallypredicted by inspiration, through Agabus (Acts 11:28). The famine wasvery severe in Palestine (Josephus, Antiquities, xx, ch. 2). Earthquakeswere of alarming frequency and of unusual severity, between the death ofChrist and the destruction of Jerusalem, particularly in Syria, Macedonia, Campania, and Achia. See Tacitus, _Annals_, books xii andxiv; and for account of violent seismic disturbances at Rome, seeSuetonius in his _Life of Galba_. Josephus (Wars iv, ch. 4) records aparticularly severe earthquake that disrupted parts of Judea, and wasaccompanied by "amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth--amanifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men. " Theportent of "fearful sights and great signs" from heaven, as recorded byLuke was realized in the phenomenal events chronicled by Josephus(Preface to "Wars"). 

Of the persecution that befell the apostles and others, and of theirarraignment before rulers, Dr. Adam Clarke, in his commentary onpassages in Matt 24, says: "We need go no farther than the Acts of theApostles for the completion of these particulars. Some were delivered tocouncils, as Peter and John (Acts 4:5). Some were brought before rulersand kings, as Paul before Gallio (18:12); before Felix (ch. 24); beforeFestus and Agrippa (ch. 25). Some had utterance and wisdom which theiradversaries were not able to resist; so Stephen (6:10), and Paul whomade even Felix himself tremble (24:25). Some were imprisoned, as Peterand John (4:3). Some were beaten, as Paul and Silas (16:23). Some wereput to death, as Stephen (7:59); and James the brother of John (12:2). But if we look beyond the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to thebloody persecutions under Nero, we shall find these predictions stillmore amply fulfilled; in these, numberless Christians fell, besidesthose two champions of the faith, Peter and Paul. And it was, as saysTertullian, a war against the very name of Christ; for he who was calledChristian had committed crime enough in bearing the name to be put todeath. So true were our Savior's words that they should be hated of allmen for His Name's sake. "

Among the false prophets, and men who claimed to be the duly accreditedministers of Christ, were Simon Magus who drew many people after him(Acts 8:9, 13, 18-24; see also _The Great Apostasy_, 7:1, 2), Menander, Dositheus, and Theudas, and the false apostles referred to by Paul (2Cor. 11:13) and others, such as Hymeneus and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17, 18). Dummelow's _Commentary_ applies here the record by Josephus concerning"a body of wicked men, who deceived and deluded the people underpretense of divine inspiration, who prevailed with the multitude to actlike madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, pretending thatGod would there show them the signals of victory. " Compare 2 Peter 2:1;1 John 2:18; 4:1. That the love of many did wax cold, both before andafter the destruction of Jerusalem, is attested by the facts of theworld-wide apostasy, which was the result of corruption within andpersecution from without the Church (see _The Great Apostasy_, chaps. 3-9). 

The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom "in all the world" was noless truly an essential characteristic of the apostolic period than itis of the current or last dispensation. The rapid spread of the gospeland the phenomenal growth of the Church under the direction of theapostles of old, is recorded as one of the marvels of history (_GreatApostasy_, 1:21, and citation of Eusebius). Paul, writing about thirtyyears after Christ's ascension, affirms that the gospel had already beencarried to every nation, and "preached to every creature under heaven"(Col. 1:23, compare verse 6). 

The "abomination of desolation" cited by the Lord from the prophecy byDaniel was strictly fulfilled in the investment of Jerusalem by theRoman army (compare Luke 21:20, 21). To the Jews the ensigns and imagesof the Romans were a disgusting abomination. Josephus (Wars vi, ch. 6)states that the Roman ensigns were set up inside the temple and that thesoldiery offered sacrifices before them. 

The warning to all to flee from Jerusalem and Judea to the mountainswhen the armies would begin to surround the city was so generally heededby members of the Church, that according to the early Church writers notone Christian perished in the awful siege (see Eusebius, _Eccles. Hist. _, book iii, ch. 5). The first siege by Gallus was unexpectedlyraised, and then, before the armies of Vespasian arrived at the walls, all Jews who had faith in the warning given by Christ to the apostles, and by these to the people, fled beyond Jordan, and congregated mostlyat Pella (compare Josephus, Wars ii, ch. 19). 

As to the unprecedented horrors of the siege, which culminated in theutter destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, see Josephus, Wars vi, chaps. 3 and 4. That historian estimates the number slain in Jerusalemalone as 1, 100, 000 and in other cities and rural parts a third as manymore. For details see Josephus, Wars ii, chaps. 18, 20; iii, 2, 7, 8, 9;iv, 1, 2, 7, 8, 9; vii, 6, 9, 11. Many tens of thousands were takencaptive, to be afterward sold into slavery, or to be slain by wildbeasts, or in gladiatorial combat in the arena for the amusement ofRoman spectators. 

In the course of the siege, a wall was constructed about the entirecity, thus fulfilling the Lord's prediction (Luke 19:43), "thine enemiesshall cast a trench about thee, " in which, by the admittedly bettertranslation, "bank" or "palisade" should appear instead of "trench". InSeptember A. D. 70 the city fell into the hands of the Romans; and itsdestruction was afterward made so thorough that its site was plowed up. Jerusalem was "trodden down of the Gentiles", and ever since has beenunder Gentile dominion, and so shall continue to be "until the times ofthe Gentiles be fulfilled. " (Luke 21:24. )

2. In the Deserts and in Secret Chambers. --The 24th chapter of Matthew, and its parallel scriptures in Mark 13 and Luke 21, may be the moreeasily understood if we bear in mind that the Lord therein speaks of twodistinct events, each a consummation of long ages of preparation, andthe first a prototype of the second. Many of the specific predictionsare applicable both to the time preceding or at the destruction ofJerusalem, and to developments of succeeding time down to the secondcoming of Christ. The passage in Matt. 24:26 may be given this two-foldapplication. Josephus tells of men leading others away into the desert, saying under pretended inspiration that there should they find God; andthe same historian mentions a false prophet who led many into the secretchambers of the temple during the Roman assault, promising them thatthere would the Lord give them deliverance. Men, women, and childrenfollowed this fanatical leader, and were caught in the holocaust ofdestruction, so that 6, 000 of them perished in the flames (Josephus, Wars vi, ch. 5). Concerning an application of the Lord's precepts tolater times and conditions, the author has elsewhere written (_The GreatApostasy_, 7:22-25): One of the heresies of early origin and rapidgrowth in the Church was the doctrine of antagonism between body andspirit, whereby the former was regarded as an incubus and a curse. Fromwhat has been said this will be recognized as one of the perversionsderived from the alliance of Gnosticism with Christianity. A result ofthis grafting in of heathen doctrines was an abundant growth of hermitpractises, by which men sought to weaken, torture, and subdue theirbodies, that their spirits or "souls" might gain greater freedom. Manywho adopted this unnatural view of human existence retired to thesolitude of the desert, and there spent their time in practises of sternself-denial and in acts of frenzied self-torture. Others shut themselvesup as voluntary prisoners, seeking glory in privation and self-imposedpenance. It was this unnatural view of life that gave rise to theseveral orders of recluses, hermits, and monks. 

Think you not that the Savior had such practises in mind, when, warningthe disciples of the false claims to sanctity that would characterizethe times then soon to follow, He said: "Wherefore if they shall sayunto you. Behold he [Christ] is in the desert, go not forth: behold, heis in the secret chambers, believe it not"?

3. The Time of Christ's Advent Not Known. --The Lord's statement that thetime of His advent in glory was unknown to man, and that the angels knewit not, "neither the Son", but that it was known to the Father only, appears plain and unambiguous notwithstanding many and conflictingcommentaries thereon. Jesus repeatedly affirmed that His mission was todo the will of the Father; and it is evident that the Father's will wasrevealed to Him from time to time. While in the flesh He laid no claimto omniscience; though whatever He willed to know He learned through themedium of communication with the Father. Christ had not asked to knowwhat the Father had not intimated His readiness to reveal, which, inthis instance, was the day and hour of the Son's appointed return toearth as a glorified, resurrected Being. We need not hesitate to believethat at the time Jesus delivered to the apostles the discourse underconsideration, He was uninformed on the matter; for He so states. In thelast interview between Christ and the apostles immediately before Hisascension (Acts 1:6, 7) they asked "Lord, wilt thou at this time restoreagain the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you toknow the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his ownpower. " Nor has the date of the Messianic consummation been sincerevealed to any man; though even now, the fig tree is rapidly puttingforth its leaves, and he who hath eyes to see and a heart to understandknows that the summer of the Lord's purpose is near at hand. 

4. The False Doctrine of Supererogation. --Among the pernicious fallaciespromulgated as authorized dogmas by the apostate church during the longperiod of spiritual darkness following the close of the apostolicministry, was the awful enormity known as the doctrine ofsupererogation. As stated by Mosheim (_Eccl. Hist. _ Cent. Xii, part ii, ch. 3:4) the dreadful doctrine was formulated in the thirteenth centuryas follows: "That there actually existed an immense treasure of _merit_, composed of the pious deeds and virtuous actions which the saints hadperformed _beyond what was necessary for their own salvation_, and whichwere therefore applicable to the benefit of others; that the guardianand dispenser of this precious treasure was the Roman pontiff, and thatof consequence he was empowered to assign to such as he thought proper aportion of this inexhaustible source of merit, suitable to theirrespective guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from the punishment dueto their crimes. " Concerning the fallacy of this doctrine the author haswritten (_The Great Apostasy_, 9:15), in this wise: "This doctrine ofsupererogation is as unreasonable as it is unscriptural and untrue. Man's individual responsibility for his acts is as surely a fact as ishis agency to act for himself. He will be saved through the merits andby the atoning sacrifice of our Redeemer and Lord; and his claim uponthe salvation provided is strictly dependent on his compliance with theprinciples and ordinances of the gospel as established by Jesus Christ. Remission of sins and the eventual salvation of the human soul areprovided for; but these gifts of God are not to be purchased with money. Compare the awful fallacies of supererogation and the blasphemouspractise of assuming to remit the sins of one man in consideration ofthe merits of another, with the declaration of the one and only Saviorof mankind: 'But I say unto you that every idle word that men shallspeak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. '" Ifconclusions as to doctrine may be drawn from our Lord's parables, theparable of the Ten Virgins affords refutation of the Satanic suggestionthat one man's sin may be neutralized by another's righteousness. Weknow no supererogation but that of the Lord Jesus Christ, through whosemerits salvation is placed within the reach of all men. 

5. "This Generation. "--Consult any reliable unabridged dictionary of theEnglish language for evidence of the fact that the term "generation, " asconnoting a period of time, has many meanings, among which are "race, kind, class. " The term is not confined to a body of people living at onetime. Fausett's _Bible Cyclopedia, Critical and Expository_, afterciting many meanings attached to the word, says: "In Matthew 24:34 'thisgeneration shall not pass (viz. The Jewish race, of which the generationin Christ's days was a sample in character; compare Christ's address tothe "generation, " 23:35, 36, in proof that "generation" means at timesthe whole Jewish race) till all these things be fulfilled'--a prophecythat the Jews shall be a distinct people still when He shall comeagain. "

FOOTNOTES:

[1150] Matt. 24:3-51; Mark 13:3-37: Luke 21:5-35. Compare P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith, 1. 

[1151] Mark 13:11; compare Matt. 10:19, 20; Luke 12:11, 12; 21:14, 15. 

[1152] Luke 21:19; compare Doc. And Cov. 101:38. 

[1153] Dan. 9:27. 

[1154] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1155] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1156] Matt. 24:27; compare Luke 17:22-24. 

[1157] The "body, " as that of the Church, is rendered "carcase" in bothauthorized and revised versions. For the application of the figure--ofeagles gathering about a carcase--to the assembling of scattered Israel, see P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith, 1:27, where we read: "so likewise shallmine elect be gathered from the four quarters of the earth. " Among Biblescholars, a favorite interpretation of the passage, "For wheresoever thecarcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together, " is that Christwas likening unto eagles (revised version "vultures") the angels thatshall come with Him to execute judgment upon mankind, and unto a carcasethe corruption of sin. See Matt. 24:28; compare Luke 17:37. 

[1158] Matt. 24:35; compare 5:18; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; compare 16:17;see also Heb. 1:10, 11; 2 Peter 3:7-10; Rev. 21:1. Note 5, end ofchapter. 

[1159] This is Mark's version; in the parallel passage Matt. 24:36, thewords "neither the Son" are not found in the King James text, but doappear in the revised version. See Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1160] Page 441. 

[1161] Matt. 24:45-51; Mark 13:34-37; Luke 21:34-36, compare 12:35-48. 

[1162] Matt. 25:1-13. 

[1163] Compare Rev. 21:2, 9; 22:17; see also Matt. 9:15; John 3:29. 

[1164] See Parable of the Sower, Matt. 13:5, 6, 20, 21; page 282 herein. 

[1165] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1166] Compare John 10:14. 

[1167] Doc. And Cov. 45:56-59; see also 63:53, 54. 

[1168] Matt. 25:14-30. 

[1169] Luke 19:12-27; see also page 508 herein. 

[1170] Margin, revised version. 

[1171] 1 Cor. 12:4; study the entire chapter. 

[1172] Luke 12:48. 

[1173] Luke 19:22; compare Matt. 12:37. 

[1174] Matt. 25:31-46. 

[1175] Matt. 13:24-30; page 286 herein. 

[1176] Page 286. 

[1177] The revised version reads "another country" instead of "a farcountry, " in Matt. 25:14. 

[1178] Matt. 26:2. 

CHAPTER 33. 

THE LAST SUPPER AND THE BETRAYAL. 

PRIESTLY CONSPIRATORS AND THE TRAITOR. 

As the time for the annual Feast of the Passover approached, andparticularly during the two days immediately preceding the beginning ofthe festival, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people, inshort the Sanhedrin and the entire priestly party, conspiredpersistently together as to the best manner of taking Jesus into custodyand putting Him to death. At one of these gatherings of evil counsel, which was held at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, [1179] it wasdecided that Jesus should be taken by subtlety if possible, as theprobable effect of an open arrest would be an uprising of the people. The rulers feared especially an outbreak by the Galileans, who had aprovincial pride in the prominence of Jesus as one of their countrymen, and many of whom were then in Jerusalem. It was further concluded andfor the same reasons, that the Jewish custom of making impressiveexamples of notable offenders by executing public punishment upon themat times of great general assemblages, be set aside in the case ofJesus; therefore the conspirators said: "Not on the feast day, lestthere be an uproar among the people. "[1180]

On earlier occasions they had made futile attempts to get Jesus intotheir hands;[1181] and they were naturally dubious as to the outcome oftheir later machinations. At this juncture they were encouraged andgladdened in their wicked plots by the appearance of an unexpected ally. Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, sought an audience with these rulersof the Jews, and infamously offered to betray his Lord into theirhands. [1182] Under the impulse of diabolic avarice, which, however, wasprobably but a secondary element in the real cause of his perfidioustreachery, he bargained to sell his Master for money, and chaffered withthe priestly purchasers over the price of the Savior's blood. "What willye give me?" he asked; "and they covenanted with him for thirty piecesof silver. "[1183] This amount, approximately seventeen dollars in ourmoney, but of many times greater purchasing power with the Jews in thatday than now with us, was the price fixed by the law as that of a slave;it was also the foreseen sum of the blood-money to be paid for theLord's betrayal. [1184] That the silver was actually paid to Judas, either at this first interview or at some later meeting between thetraitor and the priests, is demonstrated by after events. [1185]

He had pledged himself to the blackest deed of treachery of which man iscapable, and from that hour he sought the opportunity of superseding hisinfamous promise by its more villainous fulfilment. We are yet to beafflicted by other glimpses of the evil-hearted Iscariot in the courseof this dread chronicle of tragedy and perdition; for the present let itbe said that before Judas sold Christ to the Jews, he had sold himselfto the devil; he had become Satan's serf, and did his master's bidding. 

THE LAST SUPPER. 

The day preceding the eating of the passover lamb had come to be knownamong the Jews as the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, [1186]since on that day all leaven had to be removed from their dwellings, andthereafter for a period of eight days the eating of anything containingleaven was unlawful. On the afternoon of this day, the paschal lambswere slain within the temple court, by the representatives of familiesor companies who were to eat together; and a portion of the blood ofeach lamb was sprinkled at the foot of the altar of sacrifice by one ofthe numerous priests on duty for the day. The slain lamb, then said tohave been sacrificed, was borne away to the appointed gathering place ofthose by whom it was to be eaten. During the first of the days ofunleavened bread, which in the year of our Lord's death appears to havefallen on Thursday, [1187] some of the Twelve inquired of Jesus wherethey should make preparations for the paschal meal. [1188] He instructedPeter and John to return to Jerusalem, and added: "Behold, when ye areentered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher ofwater; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall sayunto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is theguest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And heshall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And theywent, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready thepassover. "

In the evening, Thursday evening as we reckon time, but the beginning ofFriday according to the Jewish calendar, [1189] Jesus came with theTwelve, and together they sat down to the last meal of which the Lordwould partake before His death. Under strain of profound emotion, "Hesaid unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with youbefore I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, andgave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: for Isay unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until thekingdom of God shall come. " The pronouncing of a blessing by the hostupon a cup of wine, which was afterward passed round the table to eachparticipant in turn, was the customary manner of beginning the Passoversupper. At this solemn meal Jesus appears to have observed theessentials of the Passover procedure; but we have no record of Hiscompliance with the many supernumerary requirements with which thedivinely established memorial of Israel's deliverance from bondage hadbeen invested by traditional custom and rabbinical prescription. As weshall see, the evening's proceedings in that upper room comprized muchbeside the ordinary observance of an annual festival. 

The supper proceeded under conditions of tense sadness. As they ate, theLord sorrowfully remarked: "Verily I say unto you, One of you whicheateth with me shall betray me. " Most of the apostles fell into a stateof introspection; and one after another exclaimed: "Is it I?" "Lord, isit I?" It is pleasing to note that each of those who so inquired wasmore concerned with the dread thought that possibly he was an offender, however inadvertently so, than as to whether his brother was about toprove himself a traitor. Jesus answered that it was one of the Twelve, then and there eating with Him from the common dish, and continued withthe terrifying pronouncement: "The Son of man indeed goeth, as it iswritten of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!good were it for that man if he had never been born. " Then JudasIscariot, who had already covenanted to sell his Master for money, andwho at this moment probably feared that silence might arouse suspicionagainst himself, asked with a brazen audacity that was veritablydevilish: "Master, is it I?" With cutting promptness the Lord replied:"Thou hast said. "[1190]

There was further cause of sorrow to Jesus at the supper. Some of theTwelve had fallen into muttering dispute among themselves over thematter of individual precedence, [1191] possibly as to the order in whichthey should take their places at table, over which triviality scribesand Pharisees as well as the Gentiles often quarreled;[1192] and againthe Lord had to remind the apostles that the greatest of them all was hewho most willingly served his fellows. They had been taught before; yetnow, at this late and solemn hour, they were suffused with vain andselfish ambition. In sorrowful earnestness the Lord pleaded with them, asking who is greater, he that sits at the table, or he that serves? Andthe obvious reply He supplemented by the statement: "But I am among youas he that serveth. " With loving pathos He added: "Ye are they whichhave continued with me in my temptations;"[1193] and then He assuredthem that they should lack neither honor nor glory in the kingdom ofGod, for if they proved faithful they should be appointed to thrones asthe judges of Israel. For those of His chosen ones who were true to Him, the Lord had no feeling less than that of love, and of yearning fortheir victory over Satan and sin. 

THE ORDINANCE OF THE WASHING OF FEET[1194]

Leaving the table, the Lord laid aside His outer garments and girdedHimself with a towel as an apron; then having provided Himself with abasin and a supply of water, He knelt before each of the Twelve in turn, washed his feet, and wiped them with the towel. When He reached Peter, that impulsive apostle protested, saying: "Lord, dost thou wash myfeet?" That the proceeding was something more than mere service forpersonal comfort, and more than an object-lesson of humility, appears inthe Lord's words to Peter--"What I do thou knowest not now; but thoushalt know hereafter. " Peter, failing to understand, objected yet morevehemently; "Thou shalt never wash my feet, " he exclaimed. Jesusanswered: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. " Then, witheven greater impetuosity than before, Peter implored as he stretchedforth both feet and hands, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my handsand my head. " He had gone to the other extreme, insisting, thoughignorantly and unthinkingly, that things be done his way, and failingyet to see that the ordinance had to be administered as the Lord willed. Again correcting His well-intending though presumptuous servant, Jesussaid to him: "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, butis clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. " Each of them hadbeen immersed at baptism; the washing of feet was an ordinancepertaining to the Holy Priesthood, the full import of which they had yetto learn. [1195]

Having resumed His garments and returned to His place at the table, Jesus impressed the significance of what he had done, saying: "Ye callme Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lordand Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another'sfeet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have doneto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater thanhis lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If yeknow these things, happy are ye if ye do them. "[1196]

THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. [1197]

While Jesus with the Twelve still sat at table, He took a loaf or cakeof bread, and having reverently given thanks and by blessing sanctifiedit, He gave a portion to each of the apostles, saying: "Take, eat; thisis my body"; or, according to the more extended account, "This is mybody which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. " Then, takinga cup of wine, He gave thanks and blessed it, and gave it unto them withthe command: "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the newtestament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I sayunto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, untilthat day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. "[1198] Inthis simple but impressive manner was instituted the ordinance, sinceknown as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The bread and wine, dulyconsecrated by prayer, become emblems of the Lord's body and blood, tobe eaten and drunk reverently, and in remembrance of Him. 

The proceedings at the institution of this sacred rite were afterwardrevealed to Paul the apostle, whose recorded testimony as to itsestablishment and sanctity is in accord with the accounts given by theGospel-writers. [1199] As shall be hereinafter shown, the ordinance wasinstituted by the Lord among the Nephites, on the western continent, andhas been reestablished in the present dispensation. [1200] During thedark ages of apostasy, unauthorized changes in the administration of theSacrament were introduced, and many false doctrines as to its meaningand effect were promulgated. [1201]

THE BETRAYER GOES OUT INTO THE NIGHT. [1202]

In saying to the Twelve, whose feet He had washed, "Ye are clean, " theLord had specified an exception by His after remark, "but not all. "John, the recorder, takes care to explain that Jesus had in mind thetraitor, and, "therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. " The guiltyIscariot had received without protest the Lord's service in the washingof his recreant feet, though after the ablution he was spiritually morefilthy than before. When Jesus had again sat down, the burden of Hisknowledge concerning the treacherous heart of Judas again foundexpression. "I speak not of you all, " He said, "I know whom I havechosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth breadwith me hath lifted up his heel against me. "[1203] The Lord was intenton impressing the fact of His foreknowledge as to what was to come, sothat when the terrible development was an accomplished fact, theapostles would realize that thereby the scriptures had been fulfilled. Troubled in spirit, He reiterated the dreadful assertion that one ofthose present would betray Him. Peter made signs to John, who occupiedthe place next to Jesus and was at that moment leaning his head on theLord's breast, that he ask which of them was the traitor. To John'swhispered inquiry the Lord replied: "He it is, to whom I shall give asop, when I have dipped it. "

There was nothing unusual for a person at table, particularly the host, to dip a piece of bread into the dish of gravy or savory mixture, andhand it to another. Such action on the part of Jesus attracted nogeneral attention. He dipped the morsel of bread and gave it to JudasIscariot, with the words: "That thou doest, do quickly. " The othersunderstood the Lord's remark as an instruction to Judas to attend tosome duty or go upon some errand of ordinary kind, perhaps to purchasesomething for the further celebration of the Passover, or to carry giftsto some of the poor, for Judas was the treasurer of the party and "hadthe bag. " But Iscariot understood. His heart was all the more hardenedby the discovery that Jesus knew of his infamous plans, and he wasmaddened by the humiliation he felt in the Master's presence. After thesop, which he had opened his mouth to receive from the Lord's hand, "Satan entered into him" and asserted malignant mastership. Judas wentout immediately, abandoning forever the blessed company of his brethrenand the Lord. John chronicles the traitor's departure with the terse andominous remark, "and it was night. "

DISCOURSE FOLLOWING THE SUPPER. 

The departure of Judas Iscariot appears to have dissipated to somedegree the cloud of utter sadness by which the little company had beendepressed; and our Lord Himself was visibly relieved. As soon as thedoor had closed upon the retreating deserter, Jesus exclaimed, as thoughHis victory over death had been already accomplished: "Now is the Son ofman glorified, and God is glorified in him. " Addressing the Eleven interms of parental affection, He said: "Little children, yet a littlewhile I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment Igive unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that yealso love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are mydisciples, if ye have love one to another. "[1204] The law of Mosesenjoined mutual love among friends and neighbors;[1205] but the newcommandment, by which the apostles were to be governed, embodied love ofa higher order. They were to love one another as Christ loved them; andtheir brotherly affection was to be a distinguishing mark of theirapostleship, by which the world would recognize them as men set apart. 

The Lord's reference to His impending separation from them troubled thebrethren. Peter put the question, "Lord, whither goest thou?" Jesusanswered: "Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shaltfollow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I followthee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. " Peter seems to haverealized that his Master was going to His death; yet, undeterred, heasserted his readiness to follow even that dark way rather than beseparated from his Lord. We cannot doubt the earnestness of Peter'spurpose nor the sincerity of his desire at that moment. In his boldavowal, however, he had reckoned with the willingness of his spiritonly, and had failed to take into full account the weakness of hisflesh. Jesus, who knew Peter better than the man knew himself, thustenderly reproved his excess of self-confidence: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but Ihave prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou artconverted, strengthen thy brethren. " The first of the apostles, the Manof Rock, yet had to be converted, or as more precisely rendered, "turnedagain";[1206] for as the Lord foresaw, Peter would soon be overcome, even to the extent of denying his acquaintanceship with Christ. WhenPeter stoutly declared again his readiness to go with Jesus, even intoprison or to death, the Lord silenced him with the remark: "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thricedeny that thou knowest me. "

The apostles had to be prepared to meet a new order of things, newconditions and new exigencies; persecution awaited them, and they weresoon to be bereft of the Master's sustaining presence. Jesus asked ofthem: "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked yeanything? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, hethat hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he thathath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say untoyou, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And hewas reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me havean end. " The Lord was soon to be numbered among the transgressors, ashad been foreseen;[1207] and His disciples would be regarded as thedevotees of an executed criminal. In the mention of purse, scrip, shoes, and sword, some of the brethren caught at the literal meaning, and said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords, " Jesus answered with curt finality, "It is enough, " or as we might say, "Enough of this. " He had notintimated any immediate need of weapons, and most assuredly not for Hisown defense. Again they had failed to fathom His meaning; but experiencewould later teach them. [1208]

For such information as we have concerning the last discourse deliveredby Jesus to the apostles before His crucifixion, we are indebted to Johnalone among the Gospel-writers; and every reader is advized to studywith care the three chapters in which these sublime utterances arepreserved for the enlightenment of mankind. [1209] Observing thesorrowful state of the Eleven, the Master bade them be of good cheer, grounding their encouragement and hope on faith in Himself. "Let notyour heart be troubled, " He said, "ye believe in God, believe also inme. " Then, as though drawing aside the veil between the earthly and theheavenly state and giving His faithful servants a glimpse of conditionsbeyond, He continued: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if itwere not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Andif I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive youunto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go yeknow, and the way ye know. "[1210] Thus in language simple and plain theLord declared the fact of graded conditions in the hereafter, of varietyof occupation and degrees of glory, of place and station in the eternalworlds. [1211] He had affirmed His own inherent Godship, and throughtheir trust in Him and obedience to His requirements would they find theway to follow whither He was about to precede them. Thomas, that loving, brave, though somewhat skeptical soul, desiring more definiteinformation ventured to say: "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; andhow can we know the way?" The Lord's answer was a reaffirmation of Hisdivinity; "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto theFather, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Fatheralso: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. "

At this point Philip interposed with the request, "Lord, shew us theFather, and it sufficeth us. " Jesus answered with pathetic and mildreproof: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not knownme, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayestthou then, Shew us the Father?" He was grieved by the thought that Hisnearest and dearest friends on earth, those upon whom He had conferredthe authority of the Holy Priesthood, should be yet ignorant of Hisabsolute oneness with the Father in purpose and action. Had the EternalFather stood amongst them, in Person, under the conditions thereexisting, He would have done as did the Well Beloved and Only BegottenSon, whom they knew as Jesus, their Lord and Master. So absolutely werethe Father and the Son of one heart and mind, that to know either was toknow both; nevertheless the Father could be reached only through theSon. So far as the apostles had faith in Christ, and did His will, should they be able to do the works that Christ in the flesh had done, and even greater things, for His mortal mission was of but a few hoursfurther duration, and the unfolding of the divine plan of the ages wouldcall for yet greater miracles than those wrought by Jesus in the briefperiod of His ministry. 

For the first time the Lord directed His disciples to pray in His nameto the Father, and assurance of success in righteous supplication wasgiven in these words: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that willI do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. "[1212] The name of Jesus Christ was tobe thenceforth the divinely established talisman by which the powers ofheaven could be invoked to operate in any righteous undertaking. 

The Holy Ghost was promised to the apostles; He would be sent throughChrist's intercession, to be to them "another Comforter, " or as renderedin later translations, "another Advocate" or "Helper, " even the Spiritof Truth, who, though the world would reject Him as they had rejectedthe Christ, should dwell with the disciples, and in them even as Christthen dwelt in them and the Father in Him. "I will not leave youcomfortless, " Jesus assured the brethren, "I will come to you. Yet alittle while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because Ilive, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in myFather, and ye in me, and I in you. "[1213] This was followed by theassurance that Christ though unknown by the world would manifest Himselfto those who loved Him and kept His commandments. 

Judas Thaddeus, otherwise known as Lebbeus, [1214] "not Iscariot, " as therecorder is careful to particularize, was puzzled over the untraditionaland un-Jewish thought of a Messiah who would be known but to the chosenfew and not to Israel at large; and he asked: "Lord, how is it that thouwilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus explainedthat His and the Father's companionship was attainable only by thefaithful. He further cheered the apostles by the promise that when theComforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father would send in the name of theSon, would come to them, He would teach them further, and would bring totheir remembrance the teachings they had received from the Christ. Thedistinct personality of each member of the Godhead, Father, Son, andHoly Ghost, is here again plainly shown. [1215] Comforting the yettroubled disciples, Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I giveunto you"; and that they might realize that this meant more than theconventional salutation of the times, for "Peace be with you" was anevery-day greeting among the Jews, the Lord affirmed that He gave thatinvocation in a higher sense, and "not as the world giveth. " Againbidding them put aside their grief and be not afraid, Jesus added: "Yehave heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. Ifye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: formy Father is greater than I. " The Lord made clear to His servants thatHe had told them these things beforehand, so that when the predictedevents came to pass the apostles would be confirmed in their faith inHim, the Christ. He had time to say but little more, for the next hourwould witness the beginning of the supreme struggle; "the prince of thisworld cometh, " He said, and with triumphal joy added, "and hath nothingin me. "[1216]

In superb allegory the Lord thus proceeded to illustrate the vitalrelationship between the apostles and Himself, and between Himself andthe Father, by the figure of a vine-grower, a vine, and itsbranches:[1217] "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and everybranch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, [1218] that it may bring forthmore fruit. " A grander analogy is not to be found in the world'sliterature. Those ordained servants of the Lord were as helpless anduseless without Him as is a bough severed from the tree. As the branchis made fruitful only by virtue of the nourishing sap it receives fromthe rooted trunk, and if cut away or broken off withers, dries, andbecomes utterly worthless except as fuel for the burning, so those men, though ordained to the Holy Apostleship, would find themselves strongand fruitful in good works, only as they remained in steadfast communionwith the Lord. Without Christ what were they, but unschooled Galileans, some of them fishermen, one a publican, the rest of undistinguishedattainments, and all of them weak mortals? As branches of the Vine theywere at that hour clean and healthful, through the instructions andauthoritative ordinances with which they had been blessed, and by thereverent obedience they had manifested. 

"Abide in me, " was the Lord's forceful admonition, else they wouldbecome but withered boughs. "I am the vine, " He added in explication ofthe allegory "ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Ifa man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that yebear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples. " Their love for oneanother was again specified as an essential to their continued love forChrist. [1219] In that love would they find joy. Christ had been to theman exemplar of righteous love from the day of their first meeting; andHe was about to give the supreme proof of His affection, as foreshadowedin His words, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay downhis life for his friends. " And that those men were the Lord's friendswas thus graciously affirmed; "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever Icommand you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knowethnot what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all thingsthat I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. " Thisintimate relationship in no sense modified the position of Christ astheir Lord and Master, for by Him they had been chosen and ordained; andit was His will that they should so live that whatever they asked in thename of the holy friendship which He acknowledged should be granted themof the Father. 

They were again told of the persecutions that awaited them, and of theirapostolic calling as special and individual witnesses of the Lord. [1220]That the world then did, and would yet more intensely hate them was afact they had to face; but they were to remember that the world hadhated their Master before them, and that they had been chosen and byordination had been set apart from the world; therefore they must nothope to escape the world's hatred. The servant was not greater than hismaster, nor the apostle than his Lord, as on general principles theyknew, and as they had been specifically told. They that hated them hatedthe Christ; and they that hated the Son hated the Father; great shall bethe condemnation of such. Had the wicked Jews not closed their eyes andstopped their ears to the mighty works and gracious words of theMessiah, they would have been convinced of the truth, and the truthwould have saved them; but they were left without cloak or excuse fortheir sin; and Christ affirmed that in their evil course had thescriptures been fulfilled in that they had hated Him without acause. [1221] Then, reverting to the great and cheering promise ofsupport through the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord said: "But whenthe Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, eventhe Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testifyof me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me fromthe beginning. "

These things had Jesus declared unto them that they might not "beoffended, " or in other words, taken by surprize, misled, and caused todoubt and stumble by the unprecedented events then impending. Theapostles were forewarned of persecution, of their expulsion from thesynagogs, and of a time in which hatred against them should be so bitterand the Satanic darkness of mind and spirit so dense that whosoeversucceeded in killing one of them would profess that his foul deed hadbeen done in God's service. In view of their overwhelming sorrow at theLord's departure, He sought again to cheer them, saying: "Nevertheless Itell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I gonot away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I willsend him unto you. "

The assured descent of the Holy Ghost, through whom they should be madestrong to meet every need and emergency, was the inspiring theme of thispart of the Lord's discourse. Many things which Christ yet had to say toHis apostles, but which they were at that time unable to understand, theHoly Ghost would teach them. "Howbeit, " said Jesus, "when he, the Spiritof truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall notspeak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: andhe will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shallreceive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Fatherhath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shallshew it unto you. "[1222]

Turning again to the matter of His departure, then so near as to bereckoned by hours, the Lord said, in amplified form of what He hadbefore affirmed: "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, alittle while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. "[1223]The apostles pondered and some questioned among themselves as to theLord's meaning, yet so deep was the solemnity of the occasion that theyventured no open inquiry. Jesus knew of their perplexity and graciouslyexplained that they would soon weep and lament while the world rejoiced;this had reference to His death; but He promised that their sorrowshould be turned into joy; and this was based on His resurrection towhich they should be witnesses. He compared their then present andprospective state to that of a woman in travail, who in the after joy ofblessed motherhood forgets her anguish. The happiness that awaited themwould be beyond the power of man to take away; and thenceforth theyshould ask not of Christ alone, but of the Father in Christ's name;"And, " said the Lord, "in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, andye shall receive, that your joy may be full. "[1224] They were to beadvanced to such honor and exalted recognition that they should approachthe Father in prayer direct, but in the name of the Son; for they werebeloved of the Father because they had loved Jesus, the Son, and hadaccepted Him as One sent by the Father. 

The Lord again solemnly averred: "I came forth from the Father, and amcome into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. "The disciples were gratified at this plain avouchment, and exclaimed:"Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we surethat thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should askthee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. " Theirsatisfaction threatened danger through over-confidence; and the Lordcautioned them, saying, that in an hour then close they should all bescattered, every man to his own, leaving Jesus alone, except for theFather's presence. In the same connection He told them that before thenight had passed every one of them would be offended because of Him, even as it had been written: "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheepof the flock shall be scattered abroad. "[1225] Peter, the most vehementof all in his protestations, had been told, as we have seen, that bycock-crow that night he would have thrice denied his Lord; but all ofthem had declared they would be faithful whatever the trial. [1226] Infurther affirmation of the material actuality of His resurrection, Jesuspromised the apostles that after He had risen from the grave He would gobefore them into Galilee. [1227]

In conclusion of this last and most solemn of the discourses deliveredby Christ in the flesh, the Lord said: "These things I have spoken untoyou, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall havetribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. "[1228]

THE CONCLUDING PRAYER. 

The impressive discourse to the apostles was followed by a prayer suchas could be addressed to none but the Eternal Father, and such as nonebut the Son of that Father could offer. [1229] It has been called, andnot inappropriately, the Lord's High-Priestly Prayer. In it Jesusacknowledged the Father as the source of His power and authority, whichauthority extends even to the giving of eternal life to all who areworthy: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the onlytrue God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. " By way of reverentreport as to the work assigned Him, the Son said: "I have glorified theeon the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Andnow, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory whichI had with thee before the world was. " With unfathomable love the Lordpleaded for those whom the Father had given Him, the apostles thenpresent, who had been called out from the world, and who had been trueto their testimony of Himself as the Son of God. Of them but one, theson of perdition, had been lost. In the fervor of devoted supplication, the Lord pleaded:

 "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. "

When they had sung a hymn, Jesus and the Eleven went out to the Mount ofOlives. [1230]

THE LORD'S AGONY IN GETHSEMANE. [1231]

Jesus and the eleven apostles went forth from the house in which theyhad eaten, passed through the city gate, which was usually left open atnight during a public festival, crossed the ravine of the Cedron, ormore accurately Kidron, brook, and entered an olive orchard known asGethsemane, [1232] on the slope of Mount Olivet. Eight of the apostles Heleft at or near the entrance, with the instruction: "Sit ye here, whileI go and pray yonder"; and with the earnest injunction: "Pray that yeenter not into temptation. " Accompanied by Peter, James and John, Hewent farther; and was soon enveloped by deep sorrow, which appears tohave been, in a measure, surprizing to Himself, for we read that He"began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy. " He was impelled to denyHimself the companionship of even the chosen three; and, "Saith he untothem, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup passfrom me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. " Mark's versionof the prayer is: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; takeaway this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thouwilt. "[1233]

This part of His impassioned supplication was heard by at least one ofthe waiting three; but all of them soon yielded to weariness and ceasedto watch. As on the Mount of Transfiguration, when the Lord appeared inglory, so now in the hour of His deepest humiliation, these threeslumbered. Returning to them in an agony of soul Jesus found themsleeping; and addressing Peter, who so short a time before had loudlyproclaimed his readiness to follow the Lord even to prison and death, Jesus exclaimed: "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch andpray, that ye enter not into temptation"; but in tenderness added, "thespirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. " The admonition to theapostles to pray at that time lest they be led into temptation may havebeen prompted by the exigencies of the hour, under which, if left tothemselves, they would be tempted to prematurely desert their Lord. 

Aroused from slumber the three apostles saw the Lord again retire, andheard Him pleading in agony: "O my Father, if this cup may not pass awayfrom me, except I drink it, thy will be done. " Returning a second timeHe found those whom He had so sorrowfully requested to watch with Himsleeping again, "for their eyes were heavy"; and when awakened they wereembarrassed or ashamed so that they wist not what to say. A third timeHe went to His lonely vigil and individual struggle, and was heard toimplore the Father with the same words of yearning entreaty. Luke tellsus that "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengtheninghim"; but not even the presence of this super-earthly visitant coulddispel the awful anguish of His soul. "And being in an agony he prayedmore earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of bloodfalling down to the ground. "[1234]

Peter had had a glimpse of the darksome road which he had professedhimself so ready to tread; and the brothers James and John knew nowbetter than before how unprepared they were to drink of the cup whichthe Lord would drain to its dregs. [1235]

When for the last time Jesus came back to the disciples left on guard, He said: "Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. " There was nouse of further watching; already the torches of the approaching bandconducted by Judas were observable in the distance. Jesus exclaimed:"Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. "Standing with the Eleven, the Lord calmly awaited the traitor's coming. 

Christ's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both asto intensity and cause. The thought that He suffered through fear ofdeath is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection andtriumphal return to the Father from whom He had come, and to a state ofglory even beyond what He had before possessed; and, moreover, it waswithin His power to lay down His life voluntarily. [1236] He struggledand groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earthmight even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mentalanguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce anextrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul suchas only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great hispowers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for hishuman organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have producedunconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ metand overcame all the horrors that Satan, "the prince of thisworld"[1237] could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to thetemptations immediately following the Lord's baptism[1238] was surpassedand overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil. 

In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adamto the end of the world. Modern revelation assists us to a partialunderstanding of the awful experience. In March 1830, the glorifiedLord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: "For behold, I, God, have suffered thesethings for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but ifthey would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which sufferingcaused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because ofpain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit:and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished mypreparations unto the children of men. "[1239]

From the terrible conflict in Gethsemane, Christ emerged a victor. Though in the dark tribulation of that fearful hour He had pleaded thatthe bitter cup be removed from His lips, the request, however oftrepeated, was always conditional; the accomplishment of the Father'swill was never lost sight of as the object of the Son's supreme desire. The further tragedy of the night, and the cruel inflictions that awaitedHim on the morrow, to culminate in the frightful tortures of the cross, could not exceed the bitter anguish through which He had successfullypassed. 

THE BETRAYAL AND THE ARREST. [1240]

During the period of the Lord's last and most loving communion with theEleven, Judas had been busy in his treacherous conspiracy with thepriestly authorities. It is probable that the determination to make thearrest that night was reached when Judas reported that Jesus was withinthe city walls and might easily be apprehended. The Jewish rulersassembled a body of temple guardsmen or police, and obtained a band ofRoman soldiers under command of a tribune; this band or cohort wasprobably a detachment from the garrison of Antonia commissioned for thework of the night on requisition of the chief priests. [1241] Thiscompany of men and officers representing a combination of ecclesiasticaland military authority, set forth in the night with Judas at their head, intent on the arrest of Jesus. They were equipped with lanterns, torches, and weapons. It is probable that they were first conducted tothe house in which Judas had left his fellow apostles and the Lord, whenthe traitor had been dismissed; and that finding the little company hadgone out, Judas led the multitude to Gethsemane, for he knew the place, and knew also that "Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. "

While Jesus was yet speaking to the Eleven whom He had roused fromslumber with the announcement that the betrayer was at hand, Judas andthe multitude approached. As a preconcerted sign of identification therecreant Iscariot, with treacherous duplicity, came up with ahypocritical show of affection, saying, "Hail, master, " and profaned hisLord's sacred face with a kiss. [1242] That Jesus understood thetreacherous significance of the act appears in His pathetic, yetpiercing and condemning reproach: "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of manwith a kiss?" Then, applying the title with which the other apostles hadbeen honored, the Lord said: Friend, do that for which thou artcome. [1243] It was a reiteration of the behest given at the suppertable, "That thou doest, do quickly. "

The armed band hesitated, though their guide had given the signal agreedupon. Jesus walked toward the officers, with whom stood Judas, andasked, "Whom seek ye?" To their reply, "Jesus of Nazareth, " the Lordrejoined: "I am he. " Instead of advancing to take Him, the crowd pressedbackward, and many of them fell to the ground in fright. The simpledignity and gentle yet compelling force of Christ's presence proved morepotent than strong arms and weapons of violence. Again He put thequestion, "Whom seek ye?" and again they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth. "Then said Jesus: "I have told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way. " The last remark had reference to the apostles, who were in danger of arrest; and in this evidence of Christ'ssolicitude for their personal safety, John saw a fulfilment of theLord's then recent utterance in prayer, "Of them which thou gavest mehave I lost none. "[1244] It is possible that had any of the Eleven beenapprehended with Jesus and made to share the cruel abuse and torturinghumiliation of the next few hours, their faith might have failed them, relatively immature and untried as it then was; even as in succeedingyears many who took upon themselves the name of Christ yielded topersecution and went into apostasy. [1245]

When the officers approached and seized Jesus, some of the apostles, ready to fight and die for their beloved Master, asked, "Lord, shall wesmite with the sword?" Peter, waiting not for a reply, drew his swordand delivered a poorly aimed stroke at the head of one of the nearest ofthe crowd, whose ear was severed by the blade. The man thus wounded wasMalchus, a servant of the high priest. Jesus, asking liberty of Hiscaptors by the simple request, "Suffer ye thus far, "[1246] steppedforward and healed the injured man by a touch. Turning to Peter the Lordrebuked his rashness, and commanded him to return the sword to itsscabbard, with the reminder that "all they that take the sword shallperish with the sword. " Then, to show the needlessness of armedresistance, and to emphasize the fact that He was submitting voluntarilyand in accordance with foreseen and predicted developments, the Lordcontinued: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and heshall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how thenshall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"[1247] Andfurther, "the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drinkit?"[1248]

But, though surrendering Himself unresistingly, Jesus was not unmindfulof His rights; and to the priestly officials, chief priests, captain ofthe temple guard, and elders of the people who were present, He voicedthis interrogative protest against the illegal night seizure: "Are yecome out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I satdaily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. Butall this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might befulfilled. " Luke records the Lord's concluding words thus: "but this isyour hour, and the power of darkness. " Unheeding His question, andwithout deference to His submissive demeanor, the captain and theofficers of the Jews bound Jesus with cords and led Him away, a Prisonerat the mercy of His deadliest enemies. 

The eleven apostles, seeing that resistance was useless, not only onaccount of disparity of numbers and supply of weapons but chieflybecause of Christ's determination to submit, turned and fled. Every oneof them forsook Him, even as He had foretold. That they were really injeopardy is shown by an incident preserved by Mark alone. An unnamedyoung man, aroused from sleep by the tumult of the marching band, hadsallied forth with no outer covering but a linen sheet. His interest inthe arrest of Jesus and his close approach caused some of the guardsmenor soldiers to seize him; but he broke loose and escaped leaving thesheet in their hands. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 33. 

1. The Day of the Passover Feast. --Controversy has been rife for manycenturies as to the day of the passover feast in the week of our Lord'sdeath. That He was crucified on Friday, the day before the JewishSabbath, and that He rose a resurrected Being on Sunday, the dayfollowing the Sabbath of the Jews, are facts attested by the fourGospel-writers. From the three synoptists we infer that the last supperoccurred on the evening of the first day of unleavened bread, andtherefore at the beginning of the Jewish Friday. That the Lord's lastsupper was regarded by Himself and the apostles as a passover mealappears from Matt. 26:2, 17, 18, 19 and parallel passages, Mark14:14-16; Luke 22:11-13; as also from Luke 22:7, 15. John, however, whowrote after the synoptists and who probably had their writings beforehim, as is indicated by the supplementary character of his testimony or"Gospel", intimates that the last supper of which Jesus and the Twelvepartook together occurred before the Feast of the Passover (John 13:1, 2); and the same writer informs us that on the following day, Friday, the Jews refrained from entering the Roman hall of judgment, lest theybe defiled and so become unfit to eat the Passover (18:28). It should beremembered that by common usage the term "Passover" was applied not onlyto the day or season of the observance, but to the meal itself, andparticularly to the slain lamb (Matt. 26:17; Mark 14:12, 14, 16; Luke22:8, 11, 13, 15; John 18:28; compare 1 Cor. 5:7). John also specifiesthat the day of the crucifixion was "the preparation of the passover"(19:14), and that the next day, which was Saturday, the Sabbath, "was anhigh day" (verse 31), that is a Sabbath rendered doubly sacred becauseof its being also a feast day. 

Much has been written by way of attempt to explain this seemingdiscrepancy. No analysis of the divergent views of Biblical scholars onthis subject will be attempted here; the matter is of incidentalimportance in connection with the fundamental facts of our Lord'sbetrayal and crucifixion; for brief summaries of opinions and concisearguments the student may be referred to Smith's _Comprehensive BibleDictionary_, article "Passover"; Edersheim's _Life and Times of Jesusthe Messiah_, pp. 480-2, and 566-8; Farrar's _Life of Christ_, Appendix, Excursus 10; Andrews' _Life of our Lord_, and Gresswell's_Dissertations_. Suffice it here to say that the apparent inconsistencymay be explained by any of several assumptions. Thus, first, and veryprobably, the Passover referred to by John, for the eating of which thepriests were desirous of keeping themselves free from Leviticaldefilement, may not have been the supper at which the paschal lamb waseaten, but the supplementary meal, the Chagigah. This later meal, theflesh part of which was designated as a sacrifice, had come to beregarded with veneration equal to that attaching to the paschal supper. Secondly; it is held by many authorities on Jewish antiquities thatbefore, at, and after the time of Christ, two nights were devoted yearlyto the paschal observance, during either of which the lamb might beeaten, and that this extension of time had been made in consideration ofthe increased population, which necessitated the ceremonial slaughteringof more lambs than could be slain on a single day; and in thisconnection it is interesting to note that Josephus (Wars, vi, ch. 9:3)records the number of lambs slain at a single Passover as 256, 500. Inthe same paragraph, Josephus states that the lambs had to be slainbetween the ninth and the eleventh hour (3 to 5 p. M. ). According to thisexplanation, Jesus and the Twelve may have partaken of the passover mealon the first of the two evenings, and the Jews who next day feareddefilement may have deferred their observance until the second. Thirdly;the Lord's last paschal supper may have been eaten earlier than the timeof general observance, He knowing that night to be His last inmortality. Supporters of this view explain the message to the man whoprovided the chamber for the last supper, "My time is at hand" (Matt. 26:18) as indicating a special urgency for the passover observance byChrist and the apostles, before the regularly appointed day. Someauthorities assert that an error of one day had crept into the Jewishreckoning of time, and that Jesus ate the passover on the true date, while the Jews were a day behind. If "the preparation of the passover"(John 19:14) on Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion, means theslaughtering of the paschal lambs, our Lord, the real sacrifice of whichall earlier altar victims had been but prototypes, died on the crosswhile the passover lambs were being slain at the temple. 

2. Did Judas Iscariot Partake of the Sacrament of the Lord'sSupper?--This question cannot be definitely answered from the briefaccounts we have of the proceedings at the last supper. At best, onlyinference, not conclusion, is possible. According to the records made byMatthew and Mark, the Lord's announcement that there was a traitor amongthe Twelve was made early in the course of the meal; and the institutionof the Sacrament occurred later. Luke records the prediction oftreachery as following the administering of the sacramental bread andwine. All the synoptists agree that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supperwas administered before the sitting at the ordinary meal had broken up;though the Sacrament was plainly made a separate and distinct feature. John (13:2-5) states that the washing of feet occurred when supper wasended, and gives us good reason for inferring that Judas was washed withthe rest (verses 10, 11), and that he later (verses 26-30) went out intothe night for the purpose of betraying Jesus. The giving of a "sop" toJudas (verses 26, 27) even though supper was practically over, is notinconsistent with John's statement that the supper proper was endedbefore the washing of feet was performed; the act does not appear tohave been so unusual as to cause surprize. To many it has appearedplausible, that because of his utter baseness Judas would not bepermitted to participate with the other apostles in the holy ordinanceof the Sacrament; others infer that he was allowed to partake, as apossible means of moving him to abandon his evil purpose even at thatlate hour, or of filling his cup of iniquity to overflowing. Thewriter's personal opinion is based on the last conception. 

3. Washing of Feet. --The ordinance of the washing of feet wasreestablished through revelation December 27, 1832. It was made afeature of admission to the school of the prophets, and detailedinstructions relating to its administration were given (see Doc. AndCov. 88:140, 141). Further direction as to the ordinances involvingwashing were revealed January 19, 1841 (see Doc. And Cov. 124:37-39). 

4. Discontinuity of the Lord's Last Discourse to the Apostles. --It iscertain that part of the discourse following the last supper wasdelivered in the upper room where Christ and the Twelve had eaten; it ispossible that the latter portion was spoken and the prayer offered (John15, 16, 17) outdoors as Jesus and the Eleven wended their way toward theMount of Olives. The 14th chapter of John ends with "Arise, let us gohence"; the next chapter opens with another section of the discourse. From Matt 26:30-35, and Mark 14:26-31 we may infer that the predictionof Peter's denial of his Lord was made as the little company walked fromthe city to the mount. On the other hand, John (18:1) states that "WhenJesus had spoken these words", namely, the whole discourse, and theconcluding prayer, "he went forth with his disciples over the brookCedron. " Not one of our Lord's sublime utterances on that night ofsolemn converse with His own, and of communion between Himself and theFather, is affected by the circumstance of place. 

5. Gethsemane. --The name means "oil-press" and probably has reference toa mill maintained at the place for the extraction of oil from the olivesthere cultivated. John refers to the spot as a garden, from whichdesignation we may regard it as an enclosed space of private ownership. That it was a place frequented by Jesus when He sought retirement forprayer, or opportunity for confidential converse with the disciples, isindicated by the same writer (John 18:1, 2). 

6. The Bloody Sweat. --Luke, the only Gospel-writer who mentions sweatand blood in connection with our Lord's agony in Gethsemane, states that"his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to theground" (22:44). Many critical expositors deny that there was an actualextrusion of blood, on the grounds that the evangelist does notpositively affirm it, and that the three apostles, who were the onlyhuman witnesses, could not have distinguished blood from sweat fallingin drops, as they watched from a distance in the night, even if themoon, which at the passover season was full, had been unobscured. Modernscripture removes all doubt. See Doc. And Cov. 19:16-19 quoted in thetext (page 613), also 18:11. See further a specific prediction of thebloody sweat, B. Of M. , Mosiah 3:7. 

7. "Suffer Ye thus Far. "--Many understand these words, uttered by Jesusas He raised His hand to heal the wounded Malchus, to have beenaddressed to the disciples, forbidding their further interference. Trench (_Miracles_, 355) considers the meaning to be as follows: 'Holdnow; thus far ye have gone in resistance, but let it be no further; nomore of this. ' The disputed interpretation is of little importance as tothe bearing of the incident on the events that followed. 

8. The Cup as a Symbol. --Our Lord's frequent mention of His foreseensufferings as the cup of which the Father would have Him drink (Matt. 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 18:11; compare Matt. 20:22; Mark10:38; 1 Cor. 10:21) is in line with Old Testament usage of the term"cup" as a symbolic expression for a bitter or poisonous potiontypifying experiences of suffering. See Psa. 11:6; 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22;Jer. 25:15, 17; 49:12. In contrast, the opposite meaning is attached tothe use of the term in some passages, e. G. Psa. 16:5; 23:5; 116:13; Jer. 16:7. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1179] Matt. 26:3-5; see also Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1, 2. 

[1180] Revised version of Matt. 26:5 reads: "Not during the feast, lestthere be a tumult among the people. "

[1181] John 7:30, 44, 45-53; 11:47-57. 

[1182] Matt. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10, 11; Luke 22:3-6. 

[1183] Matt. 26:15. The revised version reads: "And they weighed untohim thirty pieces of silver. " Compare Zech. 11:12. 

[1184] Exo. 21:32; Zech. 11:12, 13. 

[1185] Matt. 27:3-10. 

[1186] Matt. 26:17. 

[1187] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1188] Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13. 

[1189] It should be remembered that the Jews counted their days asbeginning at sunset, not, as with us, at midnight. 

[1190] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1191] Luke 22:24-30. 

[1192] Luke 14:7-11; see page 449 herein. 

[1193] Luke 22:28; see page 133 herein. 

[1194] John 13:1-20. 

[1195] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1196] The Lord's expression "neither he that is sent greater than hethat sent him" (John 13:16) is more correctly rendered "neither theapostle than he that sent him" (revised version, margin); see pages 228, 229 herein. 

[1197] Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19, 20. 

[1198] In the revised version we read "covenant" instead of "testament"in Matt. 26:28, and in parallel passages. 

[1199] 1 Cor. 11:23-34. 

[1200] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 18:6-11; Doc. And Cov. 20:75; see also the"Articles of Faith, " ix. 

[1201] See "The Great Apostasy" 8:15-19. 

[1202] John 13:18-30. 

[1203] Compare Psalm 41:9. 

[1204] John 13:31-34. 

[1205] Lev. 19:18. 

[1206] So reads the revised version of Luke 22:32. 

[1207] Isa. 53:12; compare Mark 15:28. 

[1208] Read John 13:36-38; Luke 22:31-38; compare Matt. 26:31-35; Mark14: 27-31. 

[1209] John, chaps. 14, 15, 16. 

[1210] John 14:1-4. 

[1211] See "The Articles of Faith, " iv:28, 29; and xxii:16-27. 

[1212] John 14:13, 14; compare 16:24. 

[1213] John 14:15-20; compare verse 26; and 15:26. 

[1214] Matt. 10:3, and Luke 6:16; also page 224 herein. 

[1215] See "Articles of Faith, " ii:20-24; page 127 herein. 

[1216] John 14:22-31. 

[1217] John 15:1-8. 

[1218] Revised version, "cleanseth it. "

[1219] John 15:9-17. 

[1220] John 15:18-27. 

[1221] Verse 25; compare Psalms 35:19; 69:4; 109:3. 

[1222] John 16:13-15; read verses 1-15. 

[1223] John 16:16; compare 7:33; 13:33; 14:19. 

[1224] John 16:17, 23, 24; read verses 17-28. 

[1225] Matt. 26:31; Mark 14:27; compare Zech. 13:7; see also Matt. 11:6. 

[1226] Matt. 26:31-35; Mark 14:29-31. 

[1227] Matt. 26:32; Mark 14:28; compare 16:7. 

[1228] John 16:33. 

[1229] John 17. 

[1230] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1231] Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46. 

[1232] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1233] "Abba" is expressive of combined affection and honor, andsignifies "Father. " It is applied to the Eternal Father by Jesus in thepassage above, and by Paul (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). 

[1234] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1235] John 13:37; Matt. 20:22; Mark 10:38, 39. 

[1236] John 5:26, 27; and 10:17, 18; also page 418 herein. 

[1237] John 14:30. 

[1238] Page 127. 

[1239] Doc. And Cov. 19:16-19; compare 18:11. See also B. Of M. , 2 Nephi9:5, 7, 21; Mosiah 3:7-14; 15:12; Alma 7:11-13; 11:40; 22:14; 34:8-15; 3Nephi 11:11; 27:14, 15; and chapter 4 herein. 

[1240] Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-12. 

[1241] "Cohort, " a term descriptive of a Roman body, and "militarytribune" are more literal renderings of the Greek original than "band"and "captain" in John 18:3, 12. See revised version, margin. 

[1242] The Greek text of Matt. 26:49, and Mark 14:45 clearly impliesthat Judas "kissed him much, " that is many times, or effusively. Seemargin of revised version. 

[1243] This is a more nearly correct translation than "wherefore artthou come?" in the common version. See revised version. Matt. 26:50. 

[1244] John 18:9; compare 17:12. 

[1245] See "The Great Apostasy, " chaps. 4 and 5. 

[1246] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1247] Compare Isa. 53:8. 

[1248] Note 8, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 34. 

THE TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION. 

THE JEWISH TRIAL. 

From Gethsemane the bound and captive Christ was haled before the Jewishrulers. John alone informs us that the Lord was taken first to Annas, who sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas, the high priest;[1249] thesynoptists record the arraignment before Caiaphas only. [1250] No detailsof the interview with Annas are of record; and the bringing of Jesusbefore him at all was as truly irregular and illegal, according toHebrew law, as were all the subsequent proceedings of that night. Annas, who was father-in-law to Caiaphas, had been deposed from thehigh-priestly office over twenty years before; but throughout thisperiod he had exerted a potent influence in all the affairs of thehierarchy. [1251] Caiaphas, as John is careful to remind us, "was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one manshould die for the people. "[1252]

At the palace of Caiaphas, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of thepeople were assembled, in a meeting of the Sanhedrin, informal orotherwise, all eagerly awaiting the result of the expedition led byJudas. When Jesus, the object of their bitter hatred and theirpredetermined victim, was brought in, a bound Prisoner, He wasimmediately put upon trial in contravention of the law, both written andtraditional, of which those congregated rulers of the Jews professed tobe such zealous supporters. No legal hearing on a capital charge couldlawfully be held except in the appointed and official courtroom of theSanhedrin. From the account given in the fourth Gospel we infer that thePrisoner was first subjected to an interrogative examination by the highpriest in person. [1253] That functionary, whether Annas or Caiaphas is amatter of inference, inquired of Jesus concerning His disciples and Hisdoctrines. Such a preliminary inquiry was utterly unlawful; for theHebrew code provided that the accusing witnesses in any cause before thecourt should define their charge against the accused, and that thelatter should be protected from any effort to make him testify againsthimself. The Lord's reply should have been a sufficient protest to thehigh priest against further illegal procedure. "Jesus answered him, Ispake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in thetemple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I saidnothing. Why askest thou me?--ask them which heard me, what I have saidunto them: behold, they know what I said. " This was a lawful objectionagainst denying to a prisoner on trial his right to be confronted by hisaccusers. It was received with open disdain; and one of the officers whostood by, hoping perhaps to curry favor with his superiors, actuallystruck Jesus a vicious blow, [1254] accompanied by the question, "Answerest thou the high priest so?" To this cowardly assault the Lordreplied with almost superhuman gentleness:[1255] "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?" Combinedwith submissiveness, however, this constituted another appeal to theprinciples of justice; if what Jesus had said was evil, why did not theassailant accuse Him; and if He had spoken well, what right had a policeofficer to judge, condemn, and punish, and that too in the presence ofthe high priest? Law and justice had been dethroned that night. 

"Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought falsewitness against Jesus, to put him to death. "[1256] Whether "all thecouncil" means a legal quorum, which would be twenty-three or more, or afull attendance of the seventy-two Sanhedrists, is of small importance. Any sitting of the Sanhedrin at night, and more particularly for theconsideration of a capital charge, was directly in violation of Jewishlaw. Likewise was it unlawful for the council to consider such a chargeon a Sabbath, a feast day, or on the eve of any such day. In theSanhedrin, every member was a judge; the judicial body was to hear thetestimony, and, according to that testimony and nought else, render adecision on every case duly presented. The accusers were required toappear in person; and they were to receive a preliminary warning againstbearing false witness. Every defendant was to be regarded and treated asinnocent until convicted in due course. But in the so-called trial ofJesus, the judges not only sought witnesses, but specifically tried tofind false witnesses. Though many false witnesses came, yet there was no"witness" or testimony against the Prisoner, for the suborned perjurersfailed to agree among themselves; and even the lawless Sanhedristshesitated to openly violate the fundamental requirement that at leasttwo concordant witnesses must testify against an accused person, for, otherwise, the case had to be dismissed. 

That Jesus was to be convicted on some charge or other, and be put todeath, had been already determined by the priestly judges; their failureto find witnesses against Him threatened to delay the carrying out oftheir nefarious scheme. Haste and precipitancy characterized theirprocedure throughout; they had unlawfully caused Jesus to be arrested atnight; they were illegally going through the semblance of a trial atnight; their purpose was to convict the Prisoner in time to have Himbrought before the Roman authorities as early as possible in themorning--as a criminal duly tried and adjudged worthy of death. The lackof two hostile witnesses who would tell the same falsehoods was aserious hindrance. But, "at the last came two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to buildit in three days. " Others, however, testified: "We heard him say, I willdestroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days Iwill build another made without hands. "[1257] And so, as Mark observes, even in this particular their "witness" or testimony did not agree. Surely in a case at bar, such discrepancy as appears between "I am ableto" and "I will, " as alleged utterances of the accused, is of vitalimportance. Yet this semblance of formal accusation was the sole basisof a charge against Christ up to this stage of the trial. It will beremembered that in connection with the first clearing of the temple, near the commencement of Christ's ministry, He had answered theclamorous demand of the Jews for a sign of His authority by saying"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. " He spokenot at all of Himself as the one who would destroy; the Jews were to bethe destroyers, He the restorer. But the inspired writer is particularto explain that Jesus "spake of the temple of his body, " and not at allof those buildings reared by man. [1258]

One may reasonably inquire as to what serious import could be attachedto even such a declaration as the perjured witnesses claimed to haveheard from the lips of Christ. The veneration with which the Jewsprofessed to regard the Holy House, however wantonly they profaned itsprecincts, offers a partial but insufficient answer. The plan of theconspiring rulers appears to have been that of convicting Christ on acharge of sedition, making Him out to be a dangerous disturber of thenation's peace, an assailant of established institutions, andconsequently an inciter of opposition against the vassal autonomy of theJewish nation, and the supreme dominion of Rome. [1259]

The vaguely defined shadow of legal accusation produced by the dark andinconsistent testimony of the false witnesses, was enough to emboldenthe iniquitous court. Caiaphas, rising from his seat to give dramaticemphasis to his question, demanded of Jesus: "Answerest thou nothing?what is it which these witness against thee?" There was nothing toanswer. No consistent or valid testimony had been presented against Him;therefore He stood in dignified silence. Then Caiaphas, in violation ofthe legal proscription against requiring any person to testify in hisown case except voluntarily and on his own initiative, not only demandedan answer from the Prisoner, but exercized the potent prerogative of thehigh-priestly office, to put the accused under oath, as a witness beforethe sacerdotal court. "And the high priest answered and said unto him, Iadjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be theChrist, the Son of God. "[1260] The fact of a distinct specification of"the Christ" and "the Son of God" is significant, in that it implies theJewish expectation of a Messiah, but does not acknowledge that He was tobe distinctively of divine origin. Nothing that had gone before can beconstrued as a proper foundation for this inquiry. The charge ofsedition was about to be superseded by one of greater enormity--that ofblasphemy. [1261]

To the utterly unjust yet official adjuration of the high priest, Jesusanswered: "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you: Hereafter shallye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming inthe clouds of heaven. " This expression "Thou hast said" was equivalentto--I am what thou hast said. [1262] It was an unqualified avowal ofdivine parentage, and inherent Godship. "Then the high priest rent hisclothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we ofwitnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? Theyanswered and said, He is guilty of death. "[1263]

Thus the judges in Israel, comprizing the high priest, the chiefpriests, the scribes and elders of the people, the Great Sanhedrin, unlawfully assembled, decreed that the Son of God was deserving ofdeath, on no evidence save that of His own acknowledgment. By expressprovision the Jewish code forbade the conviction, specifically on acapital charge, of any person on his own confession, unless that wasamply supported by the testimony of trustworthy witnesses. As in theGarden of Gethsemane Jesus had voluntarily surrendered Himself, sobefore the judges did He personally and voluntarily furnish the evidenceupon which they unrighteously declared Him deserving of death. Therecould be no crime in the claim of Messiahship or divine Sonship, exceptthat claim was false. We vainly search the record for even an intimationthat inquiry was made or suggested as to the grounds upon which Jesusbased His exalted claims. The action of the high priest in rending hisgarments was a dramatic affectation of pious horror at the blasphemywith which his ears had been assailed. It was expressly forbidden in thelaw that the high priest rend his clothes;[1264] but fromextra-scriptural writings we learn that the rending of garments as anattestation of most grievous guilt, such as that of blasphemy, wasallowable under traditional rule. [1265] There is no indication that thevote of the judges was taken and recorded in the precise and orderlymanner required by the law. 

Jesus stood convicted of the most heinous offense known in Jewry. However unjustly, He had been pronounced guilty of blasphemy by thesupreme tribunal of the nation. In strict accuracy we cannot say thatthe Sanhedrists sentenced Christ to death, inasmuch as the power toauthoritatively pronounce capital sentences had been taken from theJewish council by Roman decree. The high-priestly court, however, decided that Jesus was worthy of death, and so certified when theyhanded Him over to Pilate. In their excess of malignant hate, Israel'sjudges abandoned their Lord to the wanton will of the attendant varlets, who heaped upon Him every indignity their brutish instincts couldsuggest. They spurted their foul spittle into His face;[1266] and then, having blindfolded Him, amused themselves by smiting Him again andagain, saying the while: "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he thatsmote thee?" The miscreant crowd mocked Him, and railed upon Him withjeers and taunts, and branded themselves as blasphemers in fact. [1267]

The law and the practise of the time required that any person foundguilty of a capital offense, after due trial before a Jewish tribunal, should be given a second trial on the following day; and at this laterhearing any or all of the judges who had before voted for convictioncould reverse themselves; but no one who had once voted for acquittalcould change his ballot. A bare majority was sufficient for acquittal, but more than a majority was required for conviction. By a provisionthat must appear to us most unusual, if all the judges voted forconviction on a capital charge the verdict was not to stand and theaccused had to be set at liberty; for, it was argued, a unanimous voteagainst a prisoner indicated that he had had no friend or defender incourt, and that the judges might have been in conspiracy against Him. Under this rule in Hebrew jurisprudence the verdict against Jesus, rendered at the illegal night session of the Sanhedrists, was void, forwe are specifically told that "they all condemned him to be guilty ofdeath. "[1268]

Apparently for the purpose of establishing a shadowy pretext of legalityin their procedure, the Sanhedrists adjourned to meet again in earlydaylight. Thus they technically complied with the requirement--that onevery case in which the death sentence had been decreed the court shouldhear and judge a second time in a later session--but they completelyignored the equally mandatory provision that the second trial must beconducted on the day following that of the first hearing. Between thetwo sittings on consecutive days the judges were required to fast andpray, and to give the case on trial calm and earnest consideration. 

Luke, who records no details of the night trial of Jesus, is the onlyGospel-writer to give place to a circumstantial report of the morningsession. He says: "And as soon as it was day, the elders of the peopleand the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him intotheir council. "[1269] Some Biblical scholars have construed theexpression, "led him into their council, " as signifying that Jesus wascondemned by the Sanhedrin in the appointed meeting-place of the court, viz. Gazith or the Hall of Hewn Stones, as the law of the time required;but against this we have the statement of John that they led Jesusdirectly from Caiaphas to the Roman hall of judgment. [1270]

It is probable, that at this early daylight session, the irregularproceedings of the dark hours were approved, and the details of furtherprocedure decided upon. They "took counsel against Jesus to put him todeath"; nevertheless they went through the form of a second trial, theissue of which was greatly facilitated by the Prisoner's voluntaryaffirmations. The judges stand without semblance of justification forcalling upon the Accused to testify; they should have examined anew thewitnesses against Him. The first question put to Him was, "Art thou theChrist? tell us. " The Lord made dignified reply: "If I tell you, ye willnot believe: and if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let mego. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power ofGod. " Neither did the question imply nor the answer furnish cause forcondemnation. The whole nation was looking for the Messiah; and if Jesusclaimed to be He, the only proper judicial action would be that ofinquiring into the merit of the claim. The crucial question followedimmediately: "Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Yesay that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for weourselves have heard of his own mouth. "[1271]

Jehovah was convicted of blasphemy against Jehovah. The only mortalBeing to whom the awful crime of blasphemy, in claiming divineattributes and powers, was impossible, stood before the judges of Israelcondemned as a blasphemer. The "whole council, " by which expression wemay possibly understand a legal quorum, was concerned in the finalaction. Thus ended the miscalled "trial" of Jesus before the high-priestand elders[1272] of His people. "And straightway in the morning thechief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and thewhole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered himto Pilate. "[1273] During the few hours that remained to Him inmortality, He would be in the hands of the Gentiles, betrayed anddelivered up by His own. [1274]

PETER'S DENIAL OF HIS LORD. [1275]

When Jesus was taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane, all theEleven forsook Him and fled. This is not to be accounted as certainevidence of cowardice, for the Lord had indicated that they shouldgo. [1276] Peter and at least one other disciple followed afar off; and, after the armed guard had entered the palace of the high priest withtheir Prisoner, Peter "went in, and sat with the servants to see theend. " He was assisted in securing admittance by the unnamed disciple, who was on terms of acquaintanceship with the high priest. That otherdisciple was in all probability John, as may be inferred from the factthat he is mentioned only in the fourth Gospel, the author of whichcharacteristically refers to himself anonymously. [1277]

While Jesus was before the Sanhedrists, Peter remained below with theservants. The attendant at the door was a young woman; her femininesuspicions had been aroused when she admitted Peter, and as he sat witha crowd in the palace court she came up, and having intently observedhim, said: "Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. " But Peter denied, averring he did not know Jesus. Peter was restless; his conscience andthe fear of identification as one of the Lord's disciples troubled him. He left the crowd and sought partial seclusion in the porch; but thereanother maid spied him out, and said to those nearby: "This fellow wasalso with Jesus of Nazareth"; to which accusation Peter replied with anoath: "I do not know the man. "

The April night was chilly, and an open fire had been made in the hallor court of the palace. Peter sat with others at the fire, thinking, perhaps, that brazen openness was better than skulking caution as apossible safeguard against detection. About an hour after his formerdenials, some of the men around the fire charged him with being adisciple of Jesus, and referred to his Galilean dialect as evidence thathe was at least a fellow countryman with the high priest's Prisoner;but, most threatening of all, a kinsman of Malchus, whose ear Peter hadslashed with the sword, asked peremptorily: "Did not I see thee in thegarden with him?" Then Peter went so far in the course of falsehood uponwhich he had entered as to curse and swear, and to vehemently declarefor the third time, "I know not the man. " As the last profane falsehoodleft his lips, the clear notes of a crowing cock broke upon hisears, [1278] and the remembrance of his Lord's prediction welled up inhis mind. Trembling in wretched realization of his perfidious cowardice, he turned from the crowd and met the gaze of the suffering Christ, whofrom the midst of the insolent mob looked into the face of His boastful, yet loving but weak apostle. Hastening from the palace, Peter went outinto the night, weeping bitterly. As his later life attests, his tearswere those of real contrition and true repentance. 

CHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE BEFORE PILATE. 

As we have already learned, no Jewish tribunal had authority to inflictthe death penalty; imperial Rome had reserved this prerogative as herown. The united acclaim of the Sanhedrists, that Jesus was deserving ofdeath, would be ineffective until sanctioned by the emperor's deputy, who at that time was Pontius Pilate, the governor, or more properly, procurator, of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. Pilate maintained hisofficial residence at Cęsarea, [1279] on the Mediterranean shore; but itwas his custom to be present in Jerusalem at the times of the greatHebrew feasts, probably in the interest of preserving order, or ofpromptly quelling any disturbance amongst the vast and heterogeneousmultitudes by which the city was thronged on these festive occasions. The governor with his attendants was in Jerusalem at this momentousPassover season. Early on Friday morning, the "whole council, " that isto say, the Sanhedrin, led Jesus, bound, to the judgment hall of PontiusPilate; but with strict scrupulosity they refrained from entering thehall lest they become defiled; for the judgment chamber was part of thehouse of a Gentile, and somewhere therein might be leavened bread, evento be near which would render them ceremonially unclean. Let every onedesignate for himself the character of men afraid of the mere proximityof leaven, while thirsting for innocent blood!

In deference to their scruples Pilate came out from the palace; and, asthey delivered up to him their Prisoner, asked: "What accusation bringye against this man?" The question, though strictly proper andjudicially necessary, surprized and disappointed the priestly rulers, who evidently had expected that the governor would simply approve theirverdict as a matter of form and give sentence accordingly; but insteadof doing so, Pilate was apparently about to exercize his authority oforiginal jurisdiction. With poorly concealed chagrin, their spokesman, probably Caiaphas, answered: "If he were not a malefactor, we would nothave delivered him up unto thee. " It was now Pilate's turn to feel or atleast to feign umbrage, and he replied in effect: Oh, very well; if youdon't care to present the charge in proper order, take ye him, and judgehim according to your law; don't trouble me with the matter. But theJews rejoined: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. "

John the apostle intimates in this last remark a determination on thepart of the Jews to have Jesus put to death not only by Roman sanctionbut by Roman executioners;[1280] for, as we readily may see, had Pilateapproved the death sentence and handed the Prisoner over to the Jews forits infliction, Jesus would have been stoned, in accordance with theHebrew penalty for blasphemy; whereas the Lord had plainly foretold thatHis death would be by crucifixion, which was a Roman method ofexecution, but one never practised by the Jews. Furthermore, if Jesushad been put to death by the Jewish rulers, even with governmentalsanction, an insurrection among the people might have resulted, forthere were many who believed on Him. The crafty hierarchs weredetermined to bring about His death under Roman condemnation. 

"And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow pervertingthe nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cęsar, saying that hehimself is Christ a King. "[1281] It is important to note that noaccusation of blasphemy was made to Pilate; had such been presented, thegovernor, thoroughly pagan in heart and mind, would probably havedismissed the charge as utterly unworthy of a hearing; for Rome with hermany gods, whose number was being steadily increased by current heathendeification of mortals, knew no such offense as blasphemy in the Jewishsense. The accusing Sanhedrists hesitated not to substitute forblasphemy, which was the greatest crime known to the Hebrew code, thecharge of high treason, which was the gravest offense listed in theRoman category of crimes. To the vociferous accusations of the chiefpriests and elders, the calm and dignified Christ deigned no reply. Tothem He had spoken for the last time--until the appointed season ofanother trial, in which He shall be the Judge, and they the prisoners atthe bar. 

Pilate was surprized at the submissive yet majestic demeanor of Jesus;there was certainly much that was kingly about the Man; never before hadsuch a One stood before him. The charge, however, was a serious one; menwho claimed title to kingship might prove dangerous to Rome; yet to thecharge the Accused answered nothing. Entering the judgment hall, Pilatehad Jesus called. [1282] That some of the disciples, and among themalmost certainly John, also went in, is apparent from the detailedaccounts of the proceedings preserved in the fourth Gospel. Anyone wasat liberty to enter, for publicity was an actual and a widely proclaimedfeature of Roman trials. 

Pilate, plainly without animosity or prejudice against Jesus, asked:"Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou thisthing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?" The Lord'scounter-question, as Pilate's rejoinder shows, meant, and was understoodto mean, as we might state it: Do you ask this in the Roman and literalsense--as to whether I am a king of an earthly kingdom--or with theJewish and more spiritual meaning? A direct answer "Yes" would have beentrue in the Messianic sense, but untrue in the worldly signification;and "No" could have been inversely construed as true or untrue. "Pilateanswered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests havedelivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdomis not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would myservants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now ismy kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou aking then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end wasI born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bearwitness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth myvoice. "

It was clear to the Roman governor that this wonderful Man, with Hisexalted views of a kingdom not of this world, and an empire of truth inwhich He was to reign, was no political insurrectionist; and that toconsider Him a menace to Roman institutions would be absurd. Those lastwords--about truth--were of all the most puzzling; Pilate was restive, and perhaps a little frightened under their import. "What is truth?" herather exclaimed in apprehension than inquired in expectation of ananswer, as he started to leave the hall. To the Jews without heannounced officially the acquittal of the Prisoner. "I find in him nofault at all" was the verdict. 

But the chief priests and scribes and elders of the people wereundeterred. Their thirst for the blood of the Holy One had developedinto mania. Wildly and fiercely they shrieked: "He stirreth up thepeople, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to thisplace. " The mention of Galilee suggested to Pilate a new course ofprocedure. Having confirmed by inquiry that Jesus was a Galilean, hedetermined to send the Prisoner to Herod, the vassal ruler of thatprovince, who was in Jerusalem at the time. [1283] By this action Pilatehoped to rid himself of further responsibility in the case, andmoreover, Herod, with whom he had been at enmity, might be placatedthereby. 

CHRIST BEFORE HEROD. [1284]

Herod Antipas, the degenerate son of his infamous sire, Herod theGreat, [1285] was at this time tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and bypopular usage, though without imperial sanction, was flatteringly calledking. He it was who, in fulfilment of an unholy vow inspired by awoman's voluptuous blandishments, had ordered the murder of John theBaptist. He ruled as a Roman vassal, and professed to be orthodox in theobservances of Judaism. He had come up to Jerusalem, in state, to keepthe feast of the Passover. Herod was pleased to have Jesus sent to himby Pilate; for, not only was the action a gracious one on the part ofthe procurator, constituting as after events proved a preliminary toreconciliation between the two rulers, [1286] but it was a means ofgratifying Herod's curiosity to see Jesus, of whom he had heard so much, whose fame had terrified him, and by whom he now hoped to see someinteresting miracle wrought. [1287]

Whatever fear Herod had once felt regarding Jesus, whom he hadsuperstitiously thought to be the reincarnation of his murdered victim, John the Baptist, was replaced by amused interest when he saw thefar-famed Prophet of Galilee in bonds before him, attended by a Romanguard, and accompanied by ecclesiastical officials. Herod began toquestion the Prisoner; but Jesus remained silent. The chief priests andscribes vehemently voiced their accusations; but not a word was utteredby the Lord. Herod is the only character in history to whom Jesus isknown to have applied a personal epithet of contempt. "Go ye and tellthat fox" He once said to certain Pharisees who had come to Him with thestory that Herod intended to kill Him. [1288] As far as we know, Herod isfurther distinguished as the only being who saw Christ face to face andspoke to Him, yet never heard His voice. For penitent sinners, weepingwomen, prattling children, for the scribes, the Pharisees, theSadducees, the rabbis, for the perjured high priest and his obsequiousand insolent underling, and for Pilate the pagan, Christ had words--ofcomfort or instruction, of warning or rebuke, of protest ordenunciation--yet for Herod the fox He had but disdainful and kinglysilence. Thoroughly piqued, Herod turned from insulting questions toacts of malignant derision. He and his men-at-arms made sport of thesuffering Christ, "set him at nought and mocked him"; then in travestythey "arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again toPilate. "[1289] Herod had found nothing in Jesus to warrant condemnation. 

CHRIST AGAIN BEFORE PILATE. [1290]

The Roman procurator, finding that he could not evade furtherconsideration of the case, "called together the chief priests and therulers and the people, " and "said unto them, Ye have brought this manunto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, havingexamined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching thosethings whereof ye accuse him; No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him;and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will thereforechastise him, and release him. " Pilate's desire to save Jesus from deathwas just and genuine; his intention of scourging the Prisoner, whoseinnocence he had affirmed and reaffirmed, was an infamous concession toJewish prejudice. He knew that the charge of sedition and treason waswithout foundation; and that even the framing of such an accusation bythe Jewish hierarchy, whose simulated loyalty to Cęsar was but a cloakfor inherent and undying hatred, was ridiculous in the extreme; and hefully realized that the priestly rulers had delivered Jesus into hishands because of envy and malice. [1291]

It was the custom for the governor at the Passover season to pardon andrelease any one condemned prisoner whom the people might name. On thatday there lay in durance, awaiting execution, "a notable prisoner, called Barabbas, " who had been found guilty of sedition, in that he hadincited the people to insurrection, and had committed murder. This manstood convicted of the very charge on which Pilate specifically andHerod by implication had pronounced Jesus innocent, and Barabbas was amurderer in addition. Pilate thought to pacify the priests and people byreleasing Jesus as the subject of Passover leniency; this would be atacit recognition of Christ's conviction before the ecclesiasticalcourt, and practically an endorsement of the death sentence, supersededby official pardon. Therefore he asked of them: "Whom will ye that Irelease unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?" Thereappears to have been a brief interval between Pilate's question and thepeople's answer, during which the chief priests and elders busiedthemselves amongst the multitude, urging them to demand the release ofthe insurrectionist and murderer. So, when Pilate reiterated thequestion: "Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?"assembled Israel cried "Barabbas. " Pilate, surprized, disappointed, andangered, then asked: "What shall I do then with Jesus which is calledChrist? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governorsaid, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. "

The Roman governor was sorely troubled and inwardly afraid. To add tohis perplexity he received a warning message from his wife, even as hesat on the judgment seat: "Have thou nothing to do with that just man:for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. "Those who know not God are characteristically superstitious. Pilatefeared to think what dread portent his wife's dream might presage. But, finding that he could not prevail, and foreseeing a tumult among thepeople if he persisted in the defense of Christ, he called for water andwashed his hands before the multitude--a symbolic act of disclaimingresponsibility, which they all understood--proclaiming the while: "I aminnocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. " Then rose thatawful self-condemnatory cry of the covenant people: "His blood be on usand on our children. " History bears an appalling testimony to theliteral fulfilment of that dread invocation. [1292] Pilate releasedBarabbas, and gave Jesus into the custody of the soldiers to bescourged. 

Scourging was a frightful preliminary to death on the cross. Theinstrument of punishment was a whip of many thongs, loaded with metaland edged with jagged pieces of bone. Instances are of record in whichthe condemned died under the lash and so escaped the horrors of livingcrucifixion. In accordance with the brutal customs of the time, Jesus, weak and bleeding from the fearful scourging He had undergone, was givenover to the half-savage soldiers for their amusement. He was no ordinaryvictim, so the whole band came together in the Pretorium, or great hallof the palace, to take part in the diabolical sport. They stripped Jesusof His outer raiment, and placed upon Him a purple robe. [1293] Then witha sense of fiendish realism they platted a crown of thorns, and placedit about the Sufferer's brows; a reed was put into His right hand as aroyal scepter; and, as they bowed in a mockery of homage, they salutedHim with: "Hail, King of the Jews!" Snatching away the reed or rod, theybrutally smote Him with it upon the head, driving the cruel thorns intoHis quivering flesh; they slapped Him with their hands, and spat uponHim in vile and vicious abandonment. [1294]

Pilate had probably been a silent observer of this barbarous scene. Hestopped it, and determined to make another attempt to touch the springsof Jewish pity, if such existed. He went outside, and to the multitudesaid: "Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find nofault in him. " This was the governor's third definite proclamation ofthe Prisoner's innocence. "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown ofthorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold theman!"[1295] Pilate seems to have counted on the pitiful sight of thescourged and bleeding Christ to soften the hearts of the maddened Jews. But the effect failed. Think of the awful fact--a heathen, a pagan, whoknew not God, pleading with the priests and people of Israel for thelife of their Lord and King! When, unmoved by the sight, the chiefpriests and officers cried with increasing vindictiveness, "crucify him, crucify him, " Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence, "Take ye him andcrucify him, " but added with bitter emphasis: "I find no fault in him. "

It will be remembered that the only charge preferred against Christbefore the Roman governor was that of sedition; the Jewish persecutorshad carefully avoided even the mention of blasphemy, which was theoffense for which they had adjudged Jesus worthy of death. Now thatsentence of crucifixion had been extorted from Pilate, they brazenlyattempted to make it appear that the governor's mandate was but aratification of their own decree of death; therefore they said: "We havea law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Sonof God. " What did it mean? That awe-inspiring title, Son of God, struckyet deeper into Pilate's troubled conscience. Once more he took Jesusinto the judgment hall, and in trepidation asked, "Whence art thou?" Theinquiry was as to whether Jesus was human or superhuman. A direct avowalof the Lord's divinity would have frightened but could not haveenlightened the heathen ruler; therefore Jesus gave no answer. Pilatewas further surprized, and perhaps somewhat offended at this seemingdisregard of his authority. He demanded an explanation, saying:"Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power tocrucify thee, and have power to release thee?" Then Jesus replied: "Thoucouldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee fromabove: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. "The positions were reversed; Christ was the Judge, and Pilate thesubject of His decision. Though not found guiltless, the Roman waspronounced less culpable than he or those who had forced Jesus into hispower, and who had demanded of him an unrighteous committal. 

The governor, though having pronounced sentence, yet sought means ofreleasing the submissive Sufferer. His first evidence of wavering wasgreeted by the Jews with the cry, "If thou let this man go, thou art notCęsar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cęsar. "Pilate took his place in the judgment seat, which was set up in theplace of the Pavement, or Gabbatha, outside the hall. He was resentfulagainst those Jews who had dared to intimate that he was no friend ofCęsar, and whose intimation might lead to an embassy of complaint beingsent to Rome to misrepresent him in exaggerated accusation. Pointing toJesus, he exclaimed with unveiled sarcasm: "Behold your King!" But theJews answered in threatening and ominous shouts: "Away with him, awaywith him, crucify him. " In stinging reminder of their nationalsubjugation, Pilate asked with yet more cutting irony, "Shall I crucifyyour King?" And the chief priests cried aloud: "We have no king butCęsar. "

Even so was it and was to be. The people who had by covenant acceptedJehovah as their King, now rejected Him in Person, and acknowledged nosovereign but Cęsar. Cęsar's subjects and serfs have they been throughall the centuries since. Pitiable is the state of man or nation who inheart and spirit will have no king but Cęsar![1296]

Wherein lay the cause of Pilate's weakness? He was the emperor'srepresentative, the imperial procurator with power to crucify or tosave; officially he was an autocrat. His conviction of Christ'sblamelessness and his desire to save Him from the cross are beyondquestion. Why did Pilate waver, hesitate, vacillate, and at length yieldcontrary to his conscience and his will? Because, after all, he was moreslave than freeman. He was in servitude to his past. He knew that shouldcomplaint be made of him at Rome, his corruption and cruelties, hisextortions and the unjustifiable slaughter he had caused would all bebrought against him. He was the Roman ruler, but the people over whom heexercized official dominion delighted in seeing him cringe, when theycracked, with vicious snap above his head, the whip of a threatenedreport about him to his imperial master, Tiberius. [1297]

JUDAS ISCARIOT. [1298]

When Judas Iscariot saw how terribly effective had been the outcome ofhis treachery, he became wildly remorseful. During Christ's trial beforethe Jewish authorities, with its associated humiliation and cruelty, thetraitor had seen the seriousness of his action; and when the unresistingSufferer had been delivered up to the Romans, and the fatal consummationhad become a certainty, the enormity of his crime filled Judas withnameless horror. Rushing into the presence of the chief priests andelders, while the final preparations for the crucifixion of the Lordwere in progress, he implored the priestly rulers to take back theaccursed wage they had paid him, crying in an agony of despair: "I havesinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. " He may have vaguelyexpected a word of sympathy from the conspirators in whose wickedlyskilful hands he had been so ready and serviceable a tool; possibly hehoped that his avowal might stem the current of their malignancy, andthat they would ask for a reversal of the sentence. But the rulers inIsrael repulsed him with disgust. "What is that to us?" they sneered, "see thou to that. " He had served their purpose; they had paid him hisprice; they wished never to look upon his face again; and pitilesslythey flung him back into the haunted blackness of his maddenedconscience. Still clutching the bag of silver, the all too realremembrancer of his frightful sin, he rushed into the temple, penetrating even to the precincts of priestly reservation, and dashedthe silver pieces upon the floor of the sanctuary. [1299] Then, under thegoading impulse of his master, the devil, to whom he had become abond-slave, body and soul, he went out and hanged himself. 

The chief priests gathered up the pieces of silver, and in sacrilegiousscrupulosity, held a solemn council to determine what they should dowith the "price of blood. " As they deemed it unlawful to add theattainted coin to the sacred treasury, they bought with it a certainclay-yard, once the property of a potter, and the very place in whichJudas had made of himself a suicide; this tract of ground they set apartas a burial place for aliens, strangers, and pagans. The body of Judas, the betrayer of the Christ, was probably the first to be there interred. And that field was called "Aceldama, that is to say, The field ofblood. "[1300]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 34. 

1. Annas, and His Interview with Jesus. --"No figure is better known incontemporary Jewish history than that of Annas; no person deemed morefortunate or successful, but also none more generally execrated than thelate high priest. He had held the pontificate for only six or sevenyears; but it was filled by not fewer than five of his sons, by hisson-in-law Caiaphas, and by a grandson. And in those days it was, atleast for one of Annas' disposition, much better to have been than to behigh priest. He enjoyed all the dignity of the office, and all itsinfluence also, since he was able to promote to it those most closelyconnected with him. And while they acted publicly, he really directedaffairs, without either the responsibility or the restraints which theoffice imposed. His influence with the Romans he owed to the religiousviews which he professed, to his open partisanship of the foreigner, andto his enormous wealth. .. . We have seen what immense revenues the familyof Annas must have derived from the Temple booths, and how nefarious andunpopular was the traffic. The names of those bold, licentious, unscrupulous, degenerate sons of Aaron were spoken with whisperedcurses. Without referring to Christ's interference with thatTemple-traffic, which, if His authority had prevailed, would of coursehave been fatal to it, we can understand how antithetic in every respecta Messiah, and such a Messiah as Jesus, must have been to Annas. .. . Noaccount is given of what passed before Annas. Even the fact of Christ'sbeing first brought to him is only mentioned in the fourth Gospel. Asthe disciples had all forsaken Him and fled, we can understand that theywere in ignorance of what actually passed, till they had again rallied, at least so far, that Peter and 'another disciple', evidently John, 'followed Him into the palace of the high priest'--that is, into thepalace of Caiaphas, not of Annas. For as, according to the threesynoptic Gospels, the palace of the high priest Caiaphas was the sceneof Peter's denial, the account of it in the fourth Gospel must refer tothe same locality, and not to the palace of Annas. "--Edersheim, _Lifeand Times of Jesus the Messiah_; vol. 2, pp. 547-8. 

2. Christ's Forbearance when Smitten. --That Jesus maintained Hisequanimity and submissiveness even under the provocation of a blow dealtby a brutish underling in the presence of the high priest, isconfirmatory of our Lord's affirmation that He had "overcome the world"(John 16:33). One cannot read the passage without comparing, perhapsinvoluntarily, the divine submissiveness of Jesus on this occasion, withthe wholly natural and human indignation of Paul under somewhat similarconditions at a later time (Acts 23:1-5). The high priest Ananias, displeased at Paul's remarks, ordered someone who stood by to smite himon the mouth. Paul broke forth in angry protest: "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, andcommandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?" Afterward heapologized, saying that he knew not that it was the high priest who hadgiven the command that he be smitten. See _Articles of Faith_, xxiii, II, and Note 1 following the same lecture; and Farrar's _Life and Worksof St. Paul_, pp. 539-540. 

3. High Priests and Elders. --These titles as held by officials of theJewish hierarchy in the time of Christ must not be confused with thesame designations as applied to holders of the Higher or MelchizedekPriesthood. The high priest of the Jews was the presiding priest; he hadto be of Aaronic descent to be a priest at all; he became high priest byRoman appointment. The elders, as the name indicates, were men of matureyears and experience, who were appointed to act as magistrates in thetowns, and as judges in the ecclesiastical tribunals, either in theLesser Sanhedrins of the provinces, or in the Great Sanhedrin atJerusalem. The term "elder" as commonly used among the Jews in the daysof Jesus had no closer relation to eldership in the MelchizedekPriesthood than had the title "scribe". The duties of Jewish highpriests and elders combined both ecclesiastical and secular functions;indeed both offices had come to be in large measure politicalperquisites. See "Elder" in Smith's _Bible Dictionary_. From thedeparture of Moses to the coming of Christ, the organized theocracy ofIsrael was that of the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, comprizing theoffice of priest, which was confined to the lineage of Aaron, and thelesser offices of teacher and deacon, which were combined in theLevitical order. See "Orders and Offices in the Priesthood" by theauthor in _The Articles of Faith_, xi:13-24. 

4. Illegalities of the Jewish Trial of Jesus. --Many volumes have beenwritten on the so-called trial of Jesus. Only a brief summary of theprincipal items of fact and law can be incorporated here. For furtherconsideration reference may be made to the following treatments:Edersheim, _Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_; Andrews, _Life of OurLord_; Dupin, _Jesus before Caiaphas and Pilate_; Mendelsohn, _CriminalJurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews_; Salvador, _Institutions ofMoses_; Innes, _The Trial of Jesus Christ_; Maimonides, _Sanhedrin_; MM. Lemann, _Jesus before the Sanhedrin_; Benny, _Criminal Code of theJews_; and Walter M. Chandler, of the New York Bar, _The Trial of Jesusfrom a Lawyer's Standpoint_. The last named is a two volume worktreating respectively, "The Hebrew Trial" and "The Roman Trial", andcontains citations from the foregoing and other works. 

Edersheim (vol. 2, pp. 556-8) contends that the night arraignment ofJesus in the house of Caiaphas was not a trial before the Sanhedrin, andnotes the irregularities and illegalities of the procedure as proof thatthe Sanhedrin could not have done what was done that night. With amplecitations in corroboration of the legal requirements specified, theauthor says: "But besides, the trial and sentence of Jesus in the palaceof Caiaphas would have outraged every principle of Jewish criminal lawand procedure. Such causes could only be tried, and capital sentencepronounced, in the regular meeting-place of the Sanhedrin, not, as here, in the high priest's palace; no process, least of all such an one, mightbe begun in the night, nor even in the afternoon, although if thediscussion had gone on all day, sentence might be pronounced at night. Again, no process could take place on Sabbaths or feast-days, or even onthe eves of them, although this would not have nullified proceedings;and it might be argued on the other side, that a process against one whohad seduced the people should preferably be carried on, and sentenceexecuted, on public feast-days, for the warning of all. Lastly, incapital causes there was a very elaborate system of warning, andcautioning witnesses; while it may safely be affirmed that at a regulartrial Jewish judges, however prejudiced, would not have acted as theSanhedrists and Caiaphas did on this occasion. .. . But although Christwas not tried and sentenced in a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin, therecan, alas! be no question that His condemnation and death were the work, if not of the Sanhedrin, yet of the Sanhedrists--of the whole body ofthem ('all the council') in the sense of expressing what was thejudgment and purpose of all the supreme council and leaders of Israel, with only very few exceptions. We bear in mind that the resolution tosacrifice Christ had for some time been taken. "

The purpose in quoting the foregoing is to show on acknowledged andeminent authority, some of the illegalities of the night trial of Jesus, which, as shown by the above, and by the scriptural record, wasconducted by the high priest and "the council" or Sanhedrin, inadmittedly irregular and unlawful manner. If the Sanhedrists tried andcondemned, yet were not in session as the Sanhedrin, the enormity of theproceeding is, if possible, deeper and blacker than ever. 

In Chandler's excellent work (vol. I, "The Hebrew Trial"), the record offact in the case, and the Hebrew criminal law bearing thereon areexhaustively considered. Then follows an elaborate "Brief", in which thefollowing points are set forth in order. 

"_Point 1: The Arrest of Jesus was illegal_", since it was effected bynight, and through the treachery of Judas, an accomplice, both of whichfeatures were expressly forbidden in the Jewish law of that day. 

"_Point 2: The private examination of Jesus before Annas or Caiaphas wasillegal_"; for (1) it was made by night; (2) the hearing of any cause bya 'sole judge' was expressly forbidden; (3) as quoted from Salvador, 'Aprinciple perpetually reproduced in the Hebrew scriptures relates to thetwo conditions of publicity and liberty. '

"_Point 3: The indictment against Jesus was, in form, illegal. _ 'Theentire criminal procedure of the Mosaic code rests upon four rules:certainty in the indictment; publicity in the discussion; full freedomgranted to the accused; and assurance against all dangers or errors oftestimony'--Salvador, p. 365. 'The Sanhedrin did not and could notoriginate charges; it only investigated those brought beforeit'--Edersheim, vol. I, p. 309. 'The evidence of the leading witnessesconstituted the charge. There was no other charge; no more formalindictment. Until they spoke and spoke in the public assembly, theprisoner was scarcely an accused man, '--Innes, p. 41. 'The onlyprosecutors known to Talmudic criminal jurisprudence are the witnessesto the crime. Their duty is to bring the matter to the cognizance of thecourt, and to bear witness against the criminal. In capital cases theyare the legal executioners also. Of an official accuser or prosecutorthere is nowhere any trace in the laws of the ancient Hebrews. '--Mendelsohn, p. 110. 

"_Point 4: The proceedings of the Sanhedrin against Jesus were illegalbecause they were conducted at night. _ 'Let a capital offense be triedduring the day, but suspend it at night, '--Mishna, Sanhedrin 4:1. 'Criminal cases can be acted upon by the various courts during daytimeonly, by the Lesser Sanhedrions from the close of the morning servicetill noon, and by the Great Sanhedrion till evening. '--Mendelsohn, p. 112. 

"_Point 5: The proceedings of the Sanhedrin against Jesus were illegalbecause the court convened before the offering of the morningsacrifice. _ 'The Sanhedrin sat from the close of the morning sacrificeto the time of the evening sacrifice, '--Talmud, Jer. San. 1:19. 'Nosession of the court could take place before the offering of the morningsacrifice'. --MM. Lemann, p. 109. 'Since the morning sacrifice wasoffered at the dawn of day, it was hardly possible for the Sanhedrin toassemble until the hour after that time, '--Mishna, Tamid, ch. 3. 

"_Point 6: The proceedings against Jesus were illegal because they wereconducted on the day preceding a Jewish Sabbath; also on the first dayof unleavened bread and the eve of the Passover. _ 'They shall not judgeon the eve of the Sabbath nor on that of any festival. '--Mishna, San. 4:1. 'No court of justice in Israel was permitted to hold sessions onthe Sabbath or any of the seven Biblical holidays. In cases of capitalcrime, no trial could be commenced on Friday or the day previous to anyholiday, because it was not lawful either to adjourn such cases longerthan over night, or to continue them on the Sabbath or holiday. '--RabbiWise, 'Martyrdom of Jesus', p. 67. 

"_Point 7: The trial of Jesus was illegal because it was concludedwithin one day. _ 'A criminal case resulting in the acquittal of theaccused may terminate the same day on which the trial began. But if asentence of death is to be pronounced, it cannot be concluded before thefollowing day. '--Mishna, San. 4:1. 

"_Point 8: The sentence of condemnation pronounced against Jesus by theSanhedrin was illegal because it was founded upon His uncorroboratedconfession. _ 'We have it as a fundamental principle of our jurisprudencethat no one can bring an accusation against himself. Should a man makeconfession of guilt before a legally constituted tribunal, suchconfession is not to be used against him unless properly attested by twoother witnesses, '--Maimonides, 4:2. 'Not only is self-condemnation neverextorted from the defendant by means of torture, but no attempt is evermade to lead him on to self-incrimination. Moreover, a voluntaryconfession on his part is not admitted in evidence, and therefore notcompetent to convict him, unless a legal number of witnesses minutelycorroborate his self-accusation. '--Mendelsohn, p. 133. 

"_Point 9: The condemnation of Jesus was illegal because the verdict ofthe Sanhedrin was unanimous. _ 'A simultaneous and unanimous verdict ofguilt rendered on the day of the trial has the effect of anacquittal. '--Mendelsohn, p. 141. 'If none of the judges defend theculprit, i. E. , all pronounce him guilty, having no defender in thecourt, the verdict of guilty was invalid and the sentence of death couldnot be executed. '--Rabbi Wise, 'Martyrdom of Jesus', p. 74. 

"_Point 10: The proceedings against Jesus were illegal in that: (1) Thesentence of condemnation was pronounced in a place forbidden by law; (2)The high priest rent his clothes; (3) The balloting was irregular. _'After leaving the hall Gazith no sentence of death can be passed uponany one soever, '--Talmud, Bab. 'Of Idolatry' 1:8. 'A sentence of deathcan be pronounced only so long as the Sanhedrin holds its sessions inthe appointed place. '--Maimonides, 14. See further Levit. 21:10; compare10:6. 'Let the judges each in his turn absolve or condemn. '--Mishna, San. 15:5. 'The members of the Sanhedrin were seated in the form of asemicircle, at the extremity of which a secretary was placed, whosebusiness it was to record the votes. One of these secretaries recordedthe votes in favor of the accused, the other those againsthim. '--Mishna, San. 4:3. 'In ordinary cases the judges voted accordingto seniority, the oldest commencing; in a capital case the reverse orderwas followed. '--Benny, p. 73. 

"_Point 11: The members of the Great Sanhedrin were legally disqualifiedto try Jesus. _ 'Nor must there be on the judicial bench either arelation or a particular friend, or an enemy of either the accused or ofthe accuser. '--Mendelsohn, p. 108. 'Nor under any circumstances was aman known to be at enmity with the accused person permitted to occupy aposition among the judges. '--Benny, p. 37. 

"_Point 12: The condemnation of Jesus was illegal because the merits ofthe defense were not considered. _ 'Then shalt thou enquire, and makesearch, and ask diligently. '--Deut. 13:14. 'The judges shall weigh thematter in the sincerity of their conscience. '--Mishna, San. 4:5. 'Theprimary object of the Hebrew judicial system was to render theconviction of an innocent person impossible. All the ingenuity of theJewish legists was directed to the attainment of this end. '--Benny, p. 56. "

Chandler's masterly statements of fact and his arguments on each of theforegoing points are commended to the investigator. The author terselyavers: "The pages of human history present no stronger case of judicialmurder than the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, for thesimple reason that all forms of law were outraged and trampled underfoot in the proceedings instituted against Him. " (p. 216. )

5. "His Blood be on us, and on Our Children. "--Edersheim (vol. 2, p. 578) thus forcefully comments on the acknowledgment of responsibilityfor the death of Christ: "The Mishna tells us that, after the solemnwashing of hands of the elders and their disclaimer of guilt, priestsresponded with this prayer: 'Forgive it to thy people Israel, whom thouhast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood upon thy peopleIsrael. ' But here, in answer to Pilate's words, came back that deep, hoarse cry: 'His blood be upon us, ' and--God help us!--'on ourchildren. ' Some thirty years later, and on that very spot, was judgmentpronounced against some of the best in Jerusalem; and among the 3, 600victims of the governor's fury, of whom not a few were scourged andcrucified right over against the Pretorium, were many of the noblest ofthe citizens of Jerusalem. (Josephus, Wars, xiv, chap. 8:9). A few yearsmore, and hundreds of crosses bore Jewish mangled bodies within sight ofJerusalem. And still have these wanderers seemed to bear, from centuryto century, and from land to land, that burden of blood; and still doesit seem to weigh 'on us and on our children'. "

6. "We Have no King but Cęsar. "--"With this cry Judaism was, in theperson of its representatives, guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, ofapostasy. It committed suicide; and ever since has its dead body beencarried in show from land to land, and from century to century, --to bedead and to remain dead, till He come a second time, who is theresurrection and the life. "--Edersheim, vol. 2, p. 581. 

7. The Underlying Cause of Pilate's Surrender to the JewishDemands. --Pilate knew what was right but lacked the moral courage to doit. He was afraid of the Jews, and more afraid of hostile influence atRome. He was afraid of his conscience, but more afraid of losing hisofficial position. It was the policy of Rome to be gracious andconciliatory in dealing with the religions and social customs ofconquered nations. Pontius Pilate had violated this liberal policy fromthe early days of his procuratorship. In utter disregard of the Hebrewantipathy against images and heathen insignia, he had the legionariesenter Jerusalem at night, carrying their eagles and standards decoratedwith the effigy of the emperor. To the Jews this act was a defilement ofthe Holy City. In vast multitudes they gathered at Cęsarea, andpetitioned the procurator that the standards and other images be removedfrom Jerusalem. For five days the people demanded and Pilate refused. Hethreatened a general slaughter, and was amazed to see the people offerthemselves as victims of the sword rather than relinquish their demands. Pilate had to yield (Josephus, Ant. Xviii, chap. 3:1; also Wars, ii, chap. 9:2, 3). Again he gave offense in forcibly appropriating theCorban, or sacred funds of the temple, to the construction of anaqueduct for supplying Jerusalem with water from the pools of Solomon. Anticipating the public protest of the people, he had caused Romansoldiers to disguise themselves as Jews; and with weapons concealed tomingle with the crowds. At a given signal these assassins plied theirweapons and great numbers of defenceless Jews were killed or wounded(Josephus, Ant. Xviii, chap. 3:2; and Wars, ii, chap. 9:3, 4). Onanother occasion, Pilate had grossly offended the people by setting upin his official residence at Jerusalem, shields that had been dedicatedto Tiberius, and this "less for the honor of Tiberius than for theannoyance of the Jewish people. " A petition signed by the ecclesiasticalofficials of the nation, and by others of influence, including fourHerodian princes, was sent to the emperor, who reprimanded Pilate anddirected that the shields be removed from Jerusalem to Cęsarea (Philo. De Legatione ad Caium; sec. 38). 

These outrages on national feeling, and many minor acts of violence, extortion and cruelty, the Jews held against the procurator. He realizedthat his tenure was insecure, and he dreaded exposure. Such wrongs hadhe wrought that when he would have done good, he was deterred throughcowardly fear of the accusing past. 

8. Judas Iscariot. --Today we speak of a traitor as a "Judas" or an"Iscariot". The man who made the combined name infamous has been forages a subject of discussion among theologians and philosophers, and inlater times the light of psychological analysis has been turned uponhim. German philosophers were among the earliest to assert that the manhad been judged in unrighteousness, and that his real character was ofbrighter tint than that in which it had been painted. Indeed somecritics hold that of all the Twelve Judas was the one most thoroughlyconvinced of our Lord's divinity in the flesh; and these apologistsattempt to explain the betrayal as a deliberate and well-intended moveto force Jesus into a position of difficulty from which He could escapeonly by the exercize of His powers of Godship, which, up to that time, He had never used in His own behalf. 

We are not the invested judges of Judas nor of any other; but we arecompetent to frame and hold opinions as to the actions of any. In thelight of the revealed word it appears that Judas Iscariot had givenhimself up to the cause of Satan while ostensibly serving the Christ inan exalted capacity. Such a surrender to evil powers could beaccomplished only through sin. The nature and extent of the man'stransgressions through the years are not told us. He had received thetestimony that Jesus was the Son of God; and in the full light of thatconviction he turned against his Lord, and betrayed Him to death. Modernrevelation is no less explicit than ancient in declaring that the pathof sin is that of spiritual darkness leading to certain destruction. Ifthe man who is guilty of adultery, even in his heart only, shall, unlesshe repents, surely forfeit the companionship of the Spirit of God, and"shall deny the faith", and so the voice of God hath affirmed (see Doc. And Cov. 63:16), we cannot doubt that any and all forms of deadly sinshall poison the soul and, if not forsaken through true repentance, shall bring that soul to condemnation. For his trained and skilfulservants, Satan will provide opportunities of service commensurate withtheir evil ability. Whatever the opinion of modern critics as to thegood character of Judas, we have the testimony of John, who for nearlythree years had been in close companionship with him, that the man was athief (12:6); and Jesus referred to him as a devil (6:70), and as "theson of perdition" (17:12). See in this connection Doc. And Cov. 76:41-48. 

That the evil proclivities of Judas Iscariot were known to Christ isevidenced by the Lord's direct statement that among the Twelve was onewho was a devil; (John 6:70; compare 13:27; Luke 22:3); and furthermorethat this knowledge was His when the Twelve were selected is suggestedby the words of Jesus: "I know whom I have chosen", coupled with theexplanation that in the choice He had made would the scriptures befulfilled. As the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God was foreknown andforetold so the circumstances of the betrayal were foreseen. It would becontrary to both the letter and spirit of the revealed word to say thatthe wretched Iscariot was in the least degree deprived of freedom oragency in the course he followed to so execrable an end. His was theopportunity and privilege common to the Twelve, to live in the light ofthe Lord's immediate presence, and to receive from the source divine therevelation of God's purposes. Judas Iscariot was no victim ofcircumstances, no insensate tool guided by a superhuman power, except ashe by personal volition gave himself up to Satan, and accepted a wage inthe devil's employ. Had Judas been true to the right, other means thanhis perfidy would have operated to bring the Lamb to the slaughter. Hisordination to the apostleship placed him in possession of opportunityand privilege above that of the uncalled and unordained; and with suchblessed possibility of achievement in the service of God camecorresponding capability to fall. A trusted and exalted officer of thegovernment can commit acts of treachery and treason such as areimpossible to the citizen who has never learned the secrets of State. Advancement implies increased accountability, even more literally so inthe affairs of God's kingdom than in the institutions of men. 

There is an apparent discrepancy between the account of Judas Iscariot'sdeath given by Matthew (27:3-10) and that in Acts (1:16-20). Accordingto the first, Judas hanged himself; the second states that he fellheadlong, "and all his bowels gushed out. " If both records be accurate, the wretched man probably hanged himself, and afterward fell, possiblythrough the breaking of the cord or the branch to which it was attached. Matthew says the Jewish rulers purchased the "field of blood"; thewriter of the Acts quotes Peter as saying that Judas bought the fieldwith the money he had received from the priests. As the ground wasbought with the money that had belonged to Iscariot, and as this moneyhad never been formally taken back by the temple officials, the fieldbought therewith belonged technically to the estate of Judas. Thevariations are of importance mainly as showing independence ofauthorship. The accounts agree in the essential feature, that Judas dieda miserable suicide. 

Concerning the fate of the "sons of perdition, " the Lord has given apartial but awful account through a revelation dated February 16, 1832:"Thus saith the Lord, concerning all those who know my power, and havebeen made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the powerof the devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy mypower--They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say thatit had been better for them never to have been born, For they arevessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil andhis angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is noforgiveness in this world nor in the world to come, Having denied theHoly Spirit after having received it, and having denied the OnlyBegotten Son of the Father--having crucified him unto themselves and puthim to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake offire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels, And the only ones onwhom the second death shall have any power. .. . Wherefore, he saves allexcept them: they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which isendless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the deviland his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire isnot quenched, which is their torment; And the end thereof, neither theplace thereof, nor their torment, no man knows. Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who aremade partakers thereof: Nevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision untomany, but straightway shut it up again: Wherefore the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except them who are ordained unto this condemnation. "--Doc. And Cov. 76:31-37, 44-48. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1249] John 18:13, 24. 

[1250] Matt. 26:57; Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54. 

[1251] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1252] John 18:14; compare 11:49, 50. 

[1253] John 18:19-23. 

[1254] The common text of John 18:22, says that the man "struck Jesuswith the palm of his hand, " that is to say slapped Him; such an actadded humiliating insult to violence; the marginal reading of therevised version is "with a rod. " There is lack of agreement on thispoint in the early Mss. 

[1255] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1256] Matt. 26:59-61; Mark 14:55-59. 

[1257] Matt. 26:61 and Mark 14:58. 

[1258] John 2:18-22; see pages 156, 157 herein. 

[1259] Note the accusation reported to Pilate that Jesus was guilty of"perverting the nation, " Luke 23:2. 

[1260] Matt. 26:63-66; compare Mark 14:61-64. 

[1261] Pages 191, 201. 

[1262] Compare Mark 14:62. 

[1263] Matt. 26:65, 66. Revised version reads: "He is worthy of death, "and gives in margin a yet more literal rendering: "liable to" death. 

[1264] Lev. 21:10. 

[1265] Josephus, Wars, ii, 15:2, 4; also 1 Maccabees 11:71. 

[1266] Matt. 26:67; Mark 14:65; compare Luke 18:32; see also Isa. 50:6. 

[1267] Matt. 26:68; Luke 22:62-65. 

[1268] Mark 14:64. 

[1269] Luke 22:66. 

[1270] John 18:28. 

[1271] Luke 22:66-71. 

[1272] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1273] Mark 15:1; compare Matt. 27:1, 2; John 18:28. 

[1274] Note 4, end of chapter, gives further details of the unlawfulirregularities of the Jewish trial of Jesus. 

[1275] Matt. 26:58, 69-75; Mark 14:54, 66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John18:15-18, 25-27. 

[1276] John 18:8, 9; page 615 herein. 

[1277] John 1:35, 40; 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20, 24. 

[1278] Observe that Mark, who alone states that the Lord said to Peter"before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice, " (14:30) recordsa first crowing of the cock after Peter's first denial (v. 68) and asecond crowing after the third denial (v. 72). 

[1279] Cęsarea Palestina, not Cęsarea Philippi. 

[1280] John 18:28-32. 

[1281] Luke 23:2. 

[1282] John 18:33-38; compare Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3, 4. 

[1283] Luke 23:5-7. 

[1284] Luke 23:8-12. 

[1285] Pages 110, 118; see also page 106. 

[1286] Luke 23:12. 

[1287] Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7, 9. 

[1288] Luke 13:31, 32; page 446 herein. 

[1289] Luke 23:11. Revised version reads, "arraying him in gorgeousapparel. " Clarke ("Commentaries") and many other writers assume that therobe was white, that being the usual color of dress amongst the Jewishnobility. 

[1290] Luke 23:13-25; Matt. 27:15-31; Mark 15:6-20; John 18:39, 40;19:1-16. 

[1291] Matt. 27:18; Mark 15:10. 

[1292] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1293] Matthew says "scarlet, " Mark and John say "purple. "

[1294] Compare Luke 18:32. 

[1295] "Ecce Homo. "

[1296] Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1297] Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1298] Matt. 27:3-10; compare Acts 1:16-20. 

[1299] Revised version of Matt. 27:5 reads, "And he cast down the piecesof silver into the sanctuary" instead of "in the temple, " signifyingthat he flung the money into the Porch of the Holy House, asdistinguished from the outer and public courts. 

[1300] Acts 1:19; Matt. 27:8. Note 8, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 35. 

DEATH AND BURIAL. 

ON THE WAY TO CALVARY. [1301]

Pontius Pilate, having reluctantly surrendered to the clamorous demandsof the Jews, issued the fatal order; and Jesus, divested of the purplerobe and arrayed in His own apparel, was led away to be crucified. Abody of Roman soldiers had the condemned Christ in charge; and as theprocession moved out from the governor's palace, a motley crowdcomprizing priestly officials, rulers of the Jews, and people of manynationalities, followed. Two convicted criminals, who had been sentencedto the cross for robbery, were led forth to death at the same time;there was to be a triple execution; and the prospective scene of horrorattracted the morbidly minded, such as delight to gloat over thesufferings of their fellows. In the crowd, however, were some genuinemourners, as shall be shown. It was the Roman custom to make theexecution of convicts as public as possible, under the mistaken andanti-psychological assumption, that the spectacle of dreadful punishmentwould be of deterrent effect. This misconception of human nature has notyet become entirely obsolete. 

The sentence of death by crucifixion required that the condemned personcarry the cross upon which he was to suffer. Jesus started on the waybearing His cross. The terrible strain of the preceding hours, the agonyin Gethsemane, the barbarous treatment He had suffered in the palace ofthe high priest, the humiliation and cruel usage to which He had beensubjected before Herod, the frightful scourging under Pilate's order, the brutal treatment by the inhuman soldiery, together with the extremehumiliation and the mental agony of it all, had so weakened His physicalorganism that He moved but slowly under the burden of the cross. Thesoldiers, impatient at the delay, peremptorily impressed into service aman whom they met coming into Jerusalem from the country, and him theycompelled to carry the cross of Jesus. No Roman or Jew would havevoluntarily incurred the ignominy of bearing such a gruesome burden; forevery detail connected with the carrying out of a sentence ofcrucifixion was regarded as degrading. The man so forced to walk in thefootsteps of Jesus, bearing the cross upon which the Savior of the worldwas to consummate His glorious mission, was Simon, a native of Cyrene. From Mark's statement that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufuswe infer that the two sons were known to the evangelist's readers asmembers of the early Church, and there is some indication that thehousehold of Simon the Cyrenian came to be numbered with thebelievers. [1302]

Among those who followed or stood and watched the death-procession pass, were some, women particularly, who bewailed and lamented the fate towhich Jesus was going. We read of no man who ventured to raise his voicein protest or pity; but on this dreadful occasion as at other times, women were not afraid to cry out in commiseration or praise. Jesus, whohad been silent under the inquisition of the priests, silent under thehumiliating mockery of the sensual Herod and his coarse underlings, silent when buffeted and beaten by the brutal legionaries of Pilate, turned to the women whose sympathizing lamentations had reached Hisears, and uttered these pathetic and portentous words of admonition andwarning: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep foryourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, inthe which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs thatnever bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin tosay to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For ifthey do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Itwas the Lord's last testimony of the impending holocaust of destructionthat was to follow the nation's rejection of her King. Althoughmotherhood was the glory of every Jewish woman's life, yet in theterrible scenes which many of those there weeping would live to witness, barrenness would be accounted a blessing; for the childless would havefewer to weep over, and at least would be spared the horror of seeingtheir offspring die of starvation or by violence; for so dreadful wouldbe that day that people would fain welcome the falling of the mountainsupon them to end their sufferings. [1303] If Israel's oppressors could dowhat was then in process of doing to the "Green Tree, " who bore theleafage of freedom and truth and offered the priceless fruit of lifeeternal, what would the powers of evil not do to the withered branchesand dried trunk of apostate Judaism?

Along the city streets, out through the portal of the massive wall, andthence to a place beyond but yet nigh unto Jerusalem, the cortegeadvanced. The destination was a spot called Golgotha, or Calvary, meaning "the place of a skull. "[1304]

CRUCIFIXION. [1305]

At Calvary the official crucifiers proceeded without delay to carry intoeffect the dread sentence pronounced upon Jesus and upon the twocriminals. Preparatory to affixing the condemned to the cross, it wasthe custom to offer each a narcotic draught of sour wine or vinegarmingled with myrrh and possibly containing other anodyne ingredients, for the merciful purpose of deadening the sensibility of the victim. This was no Roman practise, but was allowed as a concession to Jewishsentiment. When the drugged cup was presented to Jesus He put it to Hislips, but having ascertained the nature of its contents refused todrink, and so demonstrated His determination to meet death withfaculties alert and mind unclouded. 

Then they crucified Him, on the central cross of three, and placed oneof the condemned malefactors on His right hand, the other on His left. Thus was realized Isaiah's vision of the Messiah numbered among thetransgressors. [1306] But few details of the actual crucifixion are givenus. We know however that our Lord was nailed to the cross by spikesdriven through the hands and feet, as was the Roman method, and notbound only by cords as was the custom in inflicting this form ofpunishment among some other nations. Death by crucifixion was at oncethe most lingering and most painful of all forms of execution. Thevictim lived in ever increasing torture, generally for many hours, sometimes for days. The spikes so cruelly driven through hands and feetpenetrated and crushed sensitive nerves and quivering tendons, yetinflicted no mortal wound. The welcome relief of death came through theexhaustion caused by intense and unremitting pain, through localizedinflammation and congestion of organs incident to the strained andunnatural posture of the body. [1307]

As the crucifiers proceeded with their awful task, not unlikely withroughness and taunts, for killing was their trade and to scenes ofanguish they had grown callous through long familiarity, the agonizedSufferer, void of resentment but full of pity for their heartlessnessand capacity for cruelty, voiced the first of the seven utterancesdelivered from the cross. In the spirit of God-like mercy He prayed:"_Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. _" Let us notattempt to fix the limits of the Lord's mercy; that it would be extendedto all who in any degree could justly come under the blessed boonthereof ought to be a sufficing fact. There is significance in the formin which this merciful benediction was expressed. Had the Lord said, "Iforgive you, " His gracious pardon may have been understood to be but aremission of the cruel offense against Himself as One tortured underunrighteous condemnation; but the invocation of the Father's forgivenesswas a plea for those who had brought anguish and death to the Father'sWell Beloved Son, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Moses forgaveMiriam for her offense against himself as her brother; but God alonecould remit the penalty and remove the leprosy that had come upon herfor having spoken against Jehovah's high priest. [1308]

It appears that under Roman rule, the clothes worn by a condemned personat the time of execution became the perquisites of the executioners. Thefour soldiers in charge of the cross upon which the Lord suffereddistributed parts of His raiment among themselves; and there remainedHis coat, [1309] which was a goodly garment, woven throughout in onepiece, without seam. To rend it would be to spoil; so the soldiers castlots to determine who should have it; and in this circumstance theGospel-writers saw a fulfilment of the psalmist's prevision: "Theyparted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they castlots. "[1310]

To the cross above the head of Jesus was affixed a title or inscription, prepared by order of Pilate in accordance with the custom of settingforth the name of the crucified and the nature of the offense for whichhe had been condemned to death. In this instance the title was inscribedin three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, one or more of which wouldbe understood by every observer who could read. The title so exhibitedread: "_This is Jesus the King of the Jews_"; or in the more extendedversion given by John "_Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews_. "[1311]The inscription was read by many, for Calvary was close to the publicthoroughfare and on this holiday occasion the passers-by were doubtlessnumerous. Comment was aroused; for, if literally construed, theinscription was an official declaration that the crucified Jesus was infact King of the Jews. When this circumstance was brought to theattention of the chief priests, they excitedly appealed to the governor, saying: "Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King ofthe Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. " Pilate'saction in so wording the title, and his blunt refusal to permit analteration, may have been an intended rebuff to the Jewish officials whohad forced him against his judgment and will to condemn Jesus; possibly, however, the demeanor of the submissive Prisoner, and His avowal ofKingship above all royalty of earth had impressed the mind if not theheart of the pagan governor with a conviction of Christ's uniquesuperiority and of His inherent right of dominion; but, whatever thepurpose behind the writing, the inscription stands in history astestimony of a heathen's consideration in contrast with Israel'sruthless rejection of Israel's King. [1312]

The soldiers whose duty it was to guard the crosses, until loiteringdeath would relieve the crucified of their increasing anguish, jestedamong themselves, and derided the Christ, pledging Him in their cups ofsour wine in tragic mockery. Looking at the title affixed above theSufferer's head, they bellowed forth the devil-inspired challenge: "Ifthou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. " The morbid multitude, andthe passers-by "railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thouthat destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross. " But worst of all, the chief priests andthe scribes, the elders of the people, the unvenerable Sanhedrists, became ring-leaders of the inhuman mob as they gloatingly exulted andcried aloud: "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the Kingof Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believehim. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him:for he said, I am the Son of God. "[1313] Though uttered in ribaldmockery, the declaration of the rulers in Israel stands as anattestation that Christ had saved others, and as an intended ironicalbut a literally true proclamation that He was the King of Israel. Thetwo malefactors, each hanging from his cross, joined in the generalderision, and "cast the same in his teeth. " One of them, in thedesperation incident to approaching death, echoed the taunts of thepriests and people: "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. "

The dominant note in all the railings and revilings, the ribaldry andmockery, with which the patient and submissive Christ was assailed whileHe hung, "lifted up" as He had said He would be, [1314] was that awful"If" hurled at Him by the devil's emissaries in the time of mortalagony; as in the season of the temptations immediately after His baptismit had been most insidiously pressed upon Him by the devilhimself. [1315] That "If" was Satan's last shaft, keenly barbed anddoubly envenomed, and it sped as with the fierce hiss of a viper. Was itpossible in this the final and most dreadful stage of Christ's mission, to make Him doubt His divine Sonship, or, failing such, to taunt oranger the dying Savior into the use of His superhuman powers forpersonal relief or as an act of vengeance upon His tormentors? Toachieve such a victory was Satan's desperate purpose. The shaft failed. Through taunts and derision, through blasphemous challenge anddiabolical goading, the agonized Christ was silent. 

Then one of the crucified thieves, softened into penitence by theSavior's uncomplaining fortitude, and perceiving in the divineSufferer's demeanor something more than human, rebuked his railingfellow, saying: "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the samecondemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of ourdeeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. " His confession of guiltand his acknowledgment of the justice of his own condemnation led toincipient repentance, and to faith in the Lord Jesus, his companion inagony. "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest intothy kingdom. "[1316] To the appeal of penitence the Lord replied withsuch a promise as He alone could make: "Verily I say unto thee, To dayshalt thou be with me in paradise. "[1317]

Among the spectators of this, the greatest tragedy in history, were somewho had come in sympathy and sorrow. No mention is found of the presenceof any of the Twelve, save one, and he, the disciple "whom Jesus loved, "John the apostle, evangelist, and revelator; but specific record is madeof certain women who, first at a distance, and then close by the cross, wept in the anguish of love and sorrow. "Now there stood by the cross ofJesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. "[1318]

In addition to the women named were many others, some of whom hadministered unto Jesus in the course of His labors in Galilee, and whowere among those that had come up with Him to Jerusalem. [1319] First inpoint of consideration among them all was Mary, the mother of Jesus, into whose soul the sword had pierced even as righteous Simeon hadprophesied. [1320] Jesus looking with tender compassion upon His weepingmother, as she stood with John at the foot of the cross, commended herto the care and protection of the beloved disciple, with the words, "_Woman, behold thy son!_" and to John, "_Behold thy mother!_" Thedisciple tenderly led the heart-stricken Mary away from her dying Son, and "took her unto his own home, " thus immediately assuming the newrelationship established by his dying Master. 

Jesus was nailed to the cross during the forenoon of that fatefulFriday, probably between nine and ten o'clock. [1321] At noontide thelight of the sun was obscured, and black darkness spread over the wholeland. The terrifying gloom continued for a period of three hours. Thisremarkable phenomenon has received no satisfactory explanation fromscience. It could not have been due to a solar eclipse, as has beensuggested in ignorance, for the time was that of full moon; indeed thePassover season was determined by the first occurrence of full moonafter the spring equinox. The darkness was brought about by miraculousoperation of natural laws directed by divine power. It was a fittingsign of the earth's deep mourning over the impending death of herCreator. [1322] Of the mortal agony through which the Lord passed whileupon the cross the Gospel-scribes are reverently reticent. 

At the ninth hour, or about three in the afternoon, a loud voice, surpassing the most anguished cry of physical suffering issued from thecentral cross, rending the dreadful darkness. It was the voice of theChrist: "_Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, MyGod, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?_" What mind of man can fathomthe significance of that awful cry? It seems, that in addition to thefearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane hadrecurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitteresthour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. Thatthe supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all itsfulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediatePresence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victoryover the forces of sin and death. The cry from the cross, though heardby all who were near, was understood by few. The first exclamation, _Eloi_, meaning _My God_, was misunderstood as a call for Elias. 

The period of faintness, the conception of utter forsakenness soonpassed, and the natural cravings of the body reasserted themselves. Themaddening thirst, which constituted one of the worst of the crucifixionagonies, wrung from the Savior's lips His one recorded utteranceexpressive of physical suffering. "_I thirst_" He said. One of those whostood by, whether Roman or Jew, disciple or skeptic, we are not told, hastily saturated a sponge with vinegar, a vessel of which was at hand, and having fastened the sponge to the end of a reed, or stalk of hyssop, pressed it to the Lord's fevered lips. Some others would have preventedthis one act of human response, for they said: "Let be, let us seewhether Elias will come to save him. " John affirms that Christ utteredthe exclamation, "I thirst, " only when He knew "that all things were nowaccomplished"; and the apostle saw in the incident a fulfilment ofprophecy. [1323]

Fully realizing that He was no longer forsaken, but that His atoningsacrifice had been accepted by the Father, and that His mission in theflesh had been carried to glorious consummation, He exclaimed in a loudvoice of holy triumph: "_It is finished!_" In reverence, resignation, and relief, He addressed the Father saying: "_Father, into thy hands Icommend my spirit. _"[1324] He bowed His head, and voluntarily gave upHis life. 

Jesus the Christ was dead. His life had not been taken from Him exceptas He had willed to permit. Sweet and welcome as would have been therelief of death in any of the earlier stages of His suffering fromGethsemane to the cross, He lived until all things were accomplished ashad been appointed. In the latter days the voice of the Lord Jesus hasbeen heard affirming the actuality of His suffering and death, and theeternal purpose thereby accomplished. Hear and heed His words: "For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore hesuffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come untohim. "[1325]

IMPORTANT OCCURRENCES BETWEEN THE LORD'S DEATH AND BURIAL. 

The death of Christ was accompanied by terrifying phenomena. There was aviolent earthquake; the rocks of the mighty hills were disrupted, andmany graves were torn open. But, most portentous of all in Judaisticminds, the veil of the temple which hung between the Holy Place and theHoly of Holies[1326] was rent from top to bottom, and the interior, which none but the high priest had been permitted to see, was thrownopen to common gaze. It was the rending of Judaism, the consummation ofthe Mosaic dispensation, and the inauguration of Christianity underapostolic administration. 

The Roman centurion and the soldiers under his command at the place ofexecution were amazed and greatly affrighted. They had probablywitnessed many deaths on the cross, but never before had they seen a manapparently die of his own volition, and able to cry in a loud voice atthe moment of dissolution. That barbarous and inhuman mode of executioninduced slow and progressive exhaustion. The actual death of Jesusappeared to all who were present to be a miracle, as in fact it was. This marvel, coupled with the earthquake and its attendant horrors, soimpressed the centurion that he prayed to God, and solemnly declared:"Certainly this was a righteous man. " Others joined in fearsomeaverment: "Truly this was the Son of God. " The terrified ones who spokeand those who heard left the place in a state of fear, beating theirbreasts, and bewailing what seemed to be a state of impendingdestruction. [1327] A few loving women, however, watched from a distantpoint, and saw all that took place until the Lord's body was laid away. 

It was now late in the afternoon; at sunset the Sabbath would begin. That approaching Sabbath was held to be more than ordinarily sacred forit was a high day, in that it was the weekly Sabbath and a paschal holyday. [1328] The Jewish officials, who had not hesitated to slay theirLord, were horrified at the thought of men left hanging on crosses onsuch a day, for thereby the land would be defiled;[1329] so thesescrupulous rulers went to Pilate and begged that Jesus and the twomalefactors be summarily dispatched by the brutal Roman method ofbreaking their legs, the shock of which violent treatment had been foundto be promptly fatal to the crucified. The governor gave his consent, and the soldiers broke the limbs of the two thieves with cudgels. Jesus, however, was found to be already dead, so they broke not His bones. Christ, the great Passover sacrifice, of whom all altar victims had beenbut suggestive prototypes, died through violence yet without a bone ofHis body being broken, as was a prescribed condition of the slainpaschal lambs. [1330] One of the soldiers, to make sure that Jesus wasactually dead, or to surely kill Him if He was yet alive, drove a spearinto His side, making a wound large enough to permit a man's hand to bethrust thereinto. [1331] The withdrawal of the spear was followed by anoutflow of blood and water, [1332] an occurrence so surprizing that John, who was an eye-witness, bears specific personal testimony to the fact, and cites the scriptures thereby fulfilled. [1333]

THE BURIAL. [1334]

A man known as Joseph of Arimathea, who was at heart a disciple ofChrist, but who had hesitated to openly confess his conversion throughfear of the Jews, desired to give the Lord's body a decent and honorableinterment. But for some such divinely directed intervention, the body ofJesus might have been cast into the common grave of executed criminals. This man, Joseph, was "a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just. "It is expressly said of him that he "had not consented to the counseland deed of them"; from which statement we infer that he was aSanhedrist and had been opposed to the action of his colleagues incondemning Jesus to death, or at least had refrained from voting withthe rest. Joseph was a man of wealth, station, and influence. He went inboldly unto Pilate and begged the body of Christ. The governor wassurprized to learn that Jesus was already dead; he summoned thecenturion and inquired as to how long Jesus had lived on the cross. Theunusual circumstance seems to have added to Pilate's troubled concern. He gave command and the body of Christ was delivered to Joseph. 

The body was removed from the cross; and in preparing it for the tombJoseph was assisted by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, thesame who had come to Jesus by night three years before, and who at oneof the conspiracy meetings of the council had protested against theunlawful condemnation of Jesus without a hearing. [1335] Nicodemusbrought a large quantity of myrrh and aloes, about a hundredweight. Theodorous mixture was highly esteemed for anointing and embalming, but itscost restricted its use to the wealthy. These two revering discipleswrapped the Lord's body in clean linen, "with the spices, as the mannerof the Jews is to bury"; and then laid it in a new sepulchre, hewn inthe rock. The tomb was in a garden, not far from Calvary, and was theproperty of Joseph. Because of the nearness of the Sabbath the intermenthad to be made with haste; the door of the sepulchre was closed, a largestone was rolled against it;[1336] and thus laid away the body was leftto rest. Some of the devoted women, particularly Mary Magdalene, and"the other Mary, " who was the mother of James and Joses, had watched theentombment from a distance; and when it was completed "they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day accordingto the commandment. "

THE SEPULCHRE GUARDED. [1337]

On the day following the "preparation, " that is to say on Saturday, theSabbath and "high-day, "[1338] the chief priests and Pharisees came in abody to Pilate, saying: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, whilehe was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command thereforethat the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciplescome by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risenfrom the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. " It isevident that the most inveterate of the human enemies of Christremembered His predictions of an assured resurrection on the third dayafter His death. Pilate answered with terse assent: "Ye have a watch: goyour way, make it as sure as ye can. " So the chief priests and Phariseessatisfied themselves that the sepulchre was secure by seeing that theofficial seal was affixed at the junction of the great stone and theportal, and that an armed guard was placed in charge. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 35. 

1. Simon the Cyrenian. --Simon, upon whom the cross of Jesus was laid, was a member of the Jewish colony in northern Africa, which had beenestablished nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ byPtolemeus Lagi, who transported thither great numbers of Jews fromPalestine (Josephus, Antiquities, xii, chap. 1). Cyrene, the home ofSimon, was in the province of Libya; its site is within the presentboundaries of Tunis. That the African Jews were numerous and influentialis evidenced by the fact that they maintained a synagog in Jerusalem(Acts 6:9) for the accommodation of such of their number as visited thecity. Rufus and his mother are mentioned in friendly reference by Paulover a quarter of a century after the death of Christ (Romans 16:13). Ifthis Rufus be one of the sons of Simon named by Mark (15:21), astradition indicates, it is probable that Simon's family was prominentlyidentified with the Primitive Church. As to whether Simon had become adisciple before the crucifixion, or was converted through his compulsoryservice in bearing the Lord's cross, or became a member of the Church ata later date, we are not definitely told. 

2. Christ's Words to the Daughters of Jerusalem. --"The time would come, when the Old Testament curse of barrenness (Hosea 9:14) would be covetedas a blessing. To show the fulfilment of this prophetic lament of Jesusit is not necessary to recall the harrowing details recorded by Josephus(Wars, vi, 3:4), when a frenzied mother roasted her own child, and inthe mockery of desperateness reserved the half of the horrible meal forthose murderers who daily broke in upon her to rob her of what scantyfood had been left her; nor yet other of those incidents, too revoltingfor needless repetition, which the historian of the last siege ofJerusalem chronicles. But how often, these many centuries, must Israel'swomen have felt that terrible longing for childlessness, and how oftenmust the prayer of despair for the quick death of falling mountains andburying hills rather than prolonged torture (Hosea 10:8), have risen tothe lips of Israel's sufferers! And yet, even so, these words were alsoprophetic of a still more terrible future (Rev. 6:10). For, if Israelhad put such flame to its 'green tree' how terribly would the divinejudgment burn among the dry wood of an apostate and rebellious people, that had so delivered up its Divine King, and pronounced sentence uponitself by pronouncing it upon Him!"--Edersheim, _Life and Times of Jesusthe Messiah_ vol. 2, p. 588. 

Concerning the prayer that mountains fall to crush and hide, Farrar(_Life of Christ_, p. 645, note), says: "These words of Christ met witha painfully literal illustration when hundreds of the unhappy Jews atthe siege of Jerusalem hid themselves in the darkest and vilestsubterranean recesses, and when, besides those who were hunted out, noless than two thousand were killed by being buried under the ruins oftheir hiding places. " A further fulfilment may be yet future. ConsultJosephus, Wars, vi. 9:4. See also Hos. 9:12-16; 10:8; Isa. 2:10; compareRev. 6:16. 

3. "The Place of a Skull. "--The Aramaic Hebrew name "Golgotha", theGreek "Kranion", and the Latin "Calvaria" or, as Anglicized, "Calvary", have the same meaning, and connote "a skull". The name may have beenapplied with reference to topographical features, as we speak of thebrow of a hill; or, if the spot was the usual place of execution, it mayhave been so called as expressive of death, just as we call a skull adeath's head. It is probable that the bodies of executed convicts wereburied near the place of death; and if Golgotha or Calvary was theappointed site for execution, the exposure of skulls and other humanbones through the ravages of beasts and by other means, would not besurprizing; though the leaving of bodies or any of their parts unburiedwas contrary to Jewish law and sentiment. The origin of the name is ofas little importance as are the many divergent suppositions concerningthe exact location of the spot. 

4. Crucifixion. --"It was unanimously considered the most horrible formof death. Among the Romans also the degradation was a part of theinfliction, and the punishment if applied to freeman was only used inthe case of the vilest criminals. .. . The criminal carried his own cross, or at any rate a part of it. Hence, figuratively, _to take, take up_ or_bear one's cross_ is _to endure suffering, affliction, or shame_ like acriminal on his way to the place of crucifixion (Matt. 10:38; 16:24;Luke 14:27, etc. ). The place of execution was outside the city (1 Kings21:13; Acts 7:58; Heb. 13:12), often in some public road or otherconspicuous place. Arrived at the place of execution, the sufferer wasstripped naked, the dress being the perquisite of the soldiers (Matt. 27:35). The cross was then driven into the ground, so that the feet ofthe condemned were a foot or two above the earth, and he was lifted uponit; or else stretched upon it on the ground and then lifted with it. " Itwas the custom to station soldiers to watch the cross, so as to preventthe removal of the sufferer while yet alive. "This was necessary fromthe lingering character of the death, which sometimes did not superveneeven for three days, and was at last the result of gradual benumbing andstarvation. But for this guard, the persons might have been taken downand recovered, as was actually done in the case of a friend ofJosephus. .. . In most cases the body was suffered to rot on the cross bythe action of sun and rain, or to be devoured by birds and beasts. Sepulture was generally therefore forbidden; but in consequence of Deut. 21:22, 23, an express national exception was made in favor of the Jews(Matt. 27:58). This accursed and awful mode of punishment was happilyabolished by Constantine. " Smith's _Bible Dict. _

5. Pilate's Inscription--"The King of the Jews. "--No two of theGospel-writers give the same wording of the title or inscription placedby Pilate's order above the head of Jesus on the cross; the meaning, however, is the same in all, and the unessential variation is evidenceof individual liberty among the recorders. It is probable that there wasactual diversity in the trilingual versions. John's version is followedin the common abbreviations used in connection with Roman Catholicfigures of Christ: J. N. R. J. ; or, inasmuch as "I" used to be anordinary equivalent of "J", --I. N. R. I. --"Jesus of Nazareth, King [Rex]of the Jews. "

6. The Women at the Cross. --"According to the authorized version andrevised version, only three women are named, but most modern criticshold that four are intended. Translate, therefore, 'His mother, and Hismother's sister, (i. E. Salome, the mother of the evangelist [John]); andMary the wife of Cleophas; and Mary Magdalene. '"--Taken from Dummelow'scommentary on John 19:25. 

7. The Hour of the Crucifixion. --Mark (15:25) says: "And it was thethird hour and they crucified him"; the time so specified corresponds tothe hour from 9 to 10 a. M. This writer and his fellow synoptists, Matthew and Luke, give place to many incidents that occurred between thenailing of Christ to the cross and the sixth hour or the hour from 12noon to 1 p. M. From these several accounts it is clear that Jesus wascrucified during the forenoon. A discrepancy plainly appears betweenthese records and John's statement (19:14) that it was "about the sixthhour" (noon) when Pilate gave the sentence of execution. All attempts toharmonize the accounts in this particular have proved futile because thediscrepancy is real. Most critics and commentators assume that "aboutthe sixth hour" in John's account is a misstatement, due to the errorsof early copyists of the manuscript Gospels, who mistook the signmeaning 3rd for that signifying 6th. 

8. The Physical Cause of Christ's Death. --While, as stated in the text, the yielding up of life was voluntary on the part of Jesus Christ, forHe had life in Himself and no man could take His life except as Hewilled to allow it to be taken, (John 1:4; 5:26; 10:15-18) there was ofnecessity a direct physical cause of dissolution. As stated also thecrucified sometimes lived for days upon the cross, and death resulted, not from the infliction of mortal wounds, but from internal congestion, inflammations, organic disturbances, and consequent exhaustion of vitalenergy. Jesus, though weakened by long torture during the precedingnight and early morning, by the shock of the crucifixion itself, as alsoby intense mental agony, and particularly through spiritual sufferingsuch as no other man has ever endured, manifested surprizing vigor, bothof mind and body, to the last. The strong, loud utterance, immediatelyfollowing which He bowed His head and "gave up the ghost", whenconsidered in connection with other recorded details, points to aphysical rupture of the heart as the direct cause of death. If thesoldier's spear was thrust into the left side of the Lord's body andactually penetrated the heart, the outrush of "blood and water" observedby John is further evidence of a cardiac rupture; for it is known thatin the rare instances of death resulting from a breaking of any part ofthe wall of the heart, blood accumulates within the pericardium, andthere undergoes a change by which the corpuscles separate as a partiallyclotted mass from the almost colorless, watery serum. Similaraccumulations of clotted corpuscles and serum occur within the pleura. Dr. Abercrombie of Edinburgh, as cited by Deems (_Light of the Nations_, p. 682), "gives a case of the sudden death of a man aged seventy-sevenyears, owing to a rupture of the heart. In his case 'the cavities of thepleura contained _about three pounds of fluid_, but the lungs weresound. '" Deems also cites the following instance: "Dr. Elliotson relatesthe case of a woman who died suddenly. 'On opening the body thepericardium was found distended with _clear serum_, and a very largecoagulum of blood, which had escaped through a spontaneous rupture ofthe aorta near its origin, without any other morbid appearance. ' Manycases might be cited, but these suffice. " For detailed treatment of thesubject the student may be referred to Dr. Wm. Stroud's work _On thePhysical Cause of the Death of Christ_. Great mental stress, poignantemotion either of grief or joy, and intense spiritual struggle are amongthe recognized causes of heart rupture. 

The present writer believes that the Lord Jesus died of a broken heart. The psalmist sang in dolorous measure according to his inspiredprevision of the Lord's passion: "Reproach hath broken my heart; and Iam full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there wasnone; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall formy meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. " (Psalm 69:20, 21; see also 22:14. )

9. The Request that Christ's Tomb be Sealed. --Many critics hold that thedeputation called upon Pilate on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath hadended. This assumption is made on the ground that to do what thesepriestly officials did, in personally supervizing the sealing of thetomb, would have been to incur defilement, and that they would not haveso done on the Sabbath. Matthew's statement is definite--that theapplication was made on "the next day, that followed the day of thepreparation. " The preparation day extended from sunset on Thursday tothe beginning of the Sabbath at sunset on Friday. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1301] Matt. 27:31-33; Mark 15:20-22; Luke 23:26-33; John: 16, 17. 

[1302] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1303] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1304] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1305] Matt. 27:34-50; Mark 15:23-37; Luke 23:33-46; John 19:18-30. 

[1306] Isa. 53:12; compare Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37. 

[1307] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1308] Numb. 12. 

[1309] Revised version, marginal reading, "tunic. "

[1310] Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23, 24; compare Psa. 22:18. 

[1311] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1312] Pages 85 and 89. 

[1313] Matt. 27:42, 43. The clause "if he be the King of Israel" inverse 42 of the common text is admittedly a mistranslation; it shouldread "He is the King of Israel. " See revised version; also Edersheim, vol. 2, p. 596; compare Mark 15:32. 

[1314] John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32. 

[1315] Matt. 4:3, 6; see pages 130, 137 herein. 

[1316] Luke 23:42; the revised version reads "when thou comest in thykingdom. "

[1317] See chapter 36, following. 

[1318] John 19:25; compare Matt. 27:55, 56; Mark 15:40, 41; Luke 23:48, 49. See Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1319] See references last cited; and Luke 8:2, 3; also page 264 herein. 

[1320] Luke 2:34, 35; page 97 herein. 

[1321] Mark 15:25; see Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1322] Compare P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:37, 40, 48, 49, 56. 

[1323] John 19:28; compare Psa. 69:21. 

[1324] The Gospel writers leave us in some uncertainty as to which ofthe last two utterances from the cross. --"It is finished, " and "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, " was spoken first. 

[1325] Doc. And Cov. 18:11; revelation given in June 1829; see also19:16-19, and page 613 herein. 

[1326] See "The House of the Lord, " pages 59, 60. 

[1327] Matt. 27:51-54; Mark 15:38, 39; Luke 23:47-49. 

[1328] John 19:31-37. 

[1329] Deut. 21:23. 

[1330] Exo. 12:46; Numb. 9:12; Psa. 34:20; John 19:36; 1 Cor. 5:7. 

[1331] John 20:27; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 11:14, 15. 

[1332] Note 8, end of chapter. 

[1333] John 19:34-37; compare Psa. 22:16, 17; Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7. 

[1334] Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42. 

[1335] John 3:1, 2; 7:50; see pages 158 and 404 herein. 

[1336] See revised version, Mark 15:46. 

[1337] Matt. 27:62-66. 

[1338] Note 9, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 36. 

IN THE REALM OF DISEMBODIED SPIRITS. 

Jesus the Christ died in the literal sense in which all men die. Heunderwent a physical dissolution by which His immortal spirit wasseparated from His body of flesh and bones, and that body was actuallydead. While the corpse lay in Joseph's rock-hewn tomb, the living Christexisted as a disembodied Spirit. We are justified in inquiring where Hewas and what were His activities during the interval between His deathon the cross and His emergence from the sepulchre with spirit and bodyreunited, a resurrected Soul. The assumption that most naturallysuggests itself is that He went where the spirits of the dead ordinarilygo; and that, in the sense in which while in the flesh He had been a Manamong men, He was, in the disembodied state a Spirit among spirits. Thisconception is confirmed as a fact by scriptural attestation. 

As heretofore shown[1339] Jesus Christ was the chosen and ordainedRedeemer and Savior of mankind; to this exalted mission He had been setapart in the beginning, even before the earth was prepared as the abodeof mankind. Unnumbered hosts who had never heard the gospel, lived anddied upon the earth before the birth of Jesus. Of those departed myriadsmany had passed their mortal probation with varying degrees of righteousobservance of the law of God so far as it had been made known unto them, but had died in unblamable ignorance of the gospel; while othermultitudes had lived and died as transgressors even against such moietyof God's law to man as they had learned and such as they had professedto obey. Death had claimed as its own all of these, both just andunjust. To them went the Christ, bearing the transcendently glorioustidings of redemption from the bondage of death, and of possiblesalvation from the effects of individual sin. This labor was part of theSavior's foreappointed and unique service to the human family. The shoutof divine exultation from the cross, "It is finished, " signified theconsummation of the Lord's mission in mortality; yet there remained toHim other ministry to be rendered prior to His return to the Father. 

To the penitent transgressor crucified by His side, who reverentlycraved remembrance when the Lord should come into His kingdom, [1340]Christ had given the comforting assurance: "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. " The spirit of Jesus and thespirit of the repentant thief left their crucified bodies and went tothe same place in the realm of the departed. [1341] On the third dayfollowing, Jesus, then a resurrected Being, positively stated to theweeping Magdalene: "I am not yet ascended to my Father. " He had gone toparadise but not to the place where God dwells. Paradise, therefore, isnot Heaven, if by the latter term we understand the abode of the EternalFather and His celestialized children. [1342] Paradise is a place wheredwell righteous and repentant spirits between bodily death andresurrection. Another division of the spirit world is reserved for thosedisembodied beings who have lived lives of wickedness and who remainimpenitent even after death. Alma, a Nephite prophet, thus spake of theconditions prevailing among the departed:

"Now concerning the state of the soul between death and theresurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, thatthe spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortalbody; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, aretaken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come topass that the spirits of those who are righteous, are received into astate of happiness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a stateof peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from allcare, and sorrow, &c. And then shall it come to pass, that the spiritsof the wicked, yea, who are evil; for behold, they have no part norportion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil worksrather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house; and these shall be cast out intoouter darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing ofteeth; and this because of their own iniquity; being led captive by thewill of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked:yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for the fieryindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in thisstate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of theirresurrection. "[1343]

While divested of His body Christ ministered among the departed, both inparadise and in the prison realm where dwelt in a state of durance thespirits of the disobedient. To this effect testified Peter nearly threedecades after the great event: "For Christ also hath once suffered forsins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being putto death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also hewent and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime weredisobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days ofNoah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight soulswere saved by water. "[1344]

The disobedient who had lived on earth in the Noachian period areespecially mentioned as beneficiaries of the Lord's ministry in thespirit world. They had been guilty of gross offenses, and had wantonlyrejected the teachings and admonitions of Noah, the earthly minister ofJehovah. For their flagrant sin they had been destroyed in the flesh, and their spirits had endured in a condition of imprisonment, withouthope, from the time of their death to the advent of Christ, who came asa Spirit amongst them. We are not to assume from Peter's illustrativemention of the disobedient antediluvians that they alone were includedin the blessed opportunities offered through Christ's ministry in thespirit realm; on the contrary, we conclude in reason and consistencythat all whose wickedness in the flesh had brought their spirits intothe prison house were sharers in the possibilities of expiation, repentance, and release. Justice demanded that the gospel be preachedamong the dead as it had been and was to be yet more widely preachedamong the living. Let us consider the further affirmation of Peter, aspart of his pastoral admonition to the members of the Primitive Church:"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and thedead. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but liveaccording to God in the spirit. "[1345]

That Jesus knew, while yet in the body, that His mission as theuniversal Redeemer and Savior of the race would not be complete when Hecame to die is sufficiently demonstrated by His words to the casuisticalJews, following the Sabbath day healing at Bethesda: "Verily, verily, Isay unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hearthe voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as theFather hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life inhimself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, becausehe is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in thewhich all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall comeforth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and theythat have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. "[1346] Thesolemn truth, that through the atonement of Christ salvation would bemade possible to the dead as well as to the living, was revealed to theprophets centuries before the meridian of time. Isaiah was permitted toforesee the fate of the ungodly, and the state prepared for haughty andrebellious offenders against righteousness; but the dread vision was inpart brightened by the deliverance that had been provided. "And it shallcome to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of thehigh ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in thepit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall theybe visited. "[1347] To the same mighty prophet was shown the universalityof the Savior's atoning victory, as comprizing the redemption of Jew andGentile, living and dead; and convincingly he voiced the word ofrevelation: "Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, andstretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that whichcometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, andspirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee inrighteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and givethee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to openthe blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and themthat sit in darkness out of the prison house. "[1348]

David, singing the praises of the Redeemer whose dominion should extendeven to the souls in hell, shouted in joy at the prospect ofdeliverance: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: myflesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wiltshew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thyright hand there are pleasures for evermore. "[1349]

From these and other scriptures it is evident that the ministry ofChrist among the disembodied was foreseen, predicted, and accomplished. The fact that the gospel was preached to the dead necessarily impliesthe possibility of the dead accepting the same and availing themselvesof the saving opportunities thereof. In the merciful providence of theAlmighty, provision has been made for vicarious service by the livingfor the dead, in the ordinances essential to salvation; so that all whoin the spirit-world accept the word of God as preached to them, developtrue faith in Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior, and contritelyrepent of their transgressions, shall be brought under the saving effectof baptism by water for the remission of sins, and be recipients of thebaptism of the Spirit or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost. [1350] Paulcites the principle and practise of baptism by the living for the deadas proof of the actuality of the resurrection: "Else what shall they dowhich are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why arethey then baptized for the dead?"[1351] Free agency, the divinebirthright of every human soul, will not be annulled by death. Only asthe spirits of the dead become penitent and faithful will they bebenefited by the vicarious service rendered in their behalf on earth. 

Missionary labor among the dead was inaugurated by the Christ; who of uscan doubt that it has been continued by His authorized servants, thedisembodied, who while in the flesh had been commissioned to preach thegospel and administer in the ordinances thereof through ordination inthe Holy Priesthood? That the faithful apostles who were left to buildup the Church on earth following the departure of its divine Founder, that other ministers of the word of God ordained to the Priesthood byauthority in the Primitive as well as in the Latter-day Church, havepassed from ministerial service among mortals to a continuation of suchlabor among the disembodied, is so abundantly implied in scripture as tobe made a certainty. They are called to follow in the footsteps of theMaster, ministering here among the living, and beyond among the dead. 

The victory of Christ over death and sin would be incomplete were itseffects confined to the small minority who have heard, accepted, andlived the gospel of salvation in the flesh. Compliance with the laws andordinances of the gospel is essential to salvation. Nowhere in scriptureis a distinction made in this regard between the living and the dead. The dead are those who have lived in mortality upon earth; the livingare mortals who yet shall pass through the ordained change which we calldeath. All are children of the same Father, all to be judged andrewarded or punished by the same unerring justice, with the sameinterposition of benign mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in theflesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He wasordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;[1352] He isLord alike of living and dead, [1353] as men speak of dead and living, though all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there willbe but a single class, for all live unto Him. [1354] While His bodyreposed in the tomb, Christ was actively engaged in the furtheraccomplishment of the Father's purposes, by offering the boon ofsalvation to the dead, both in paradise and in hell. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 36. 

1. Paradise. --The scriptures prove that at the time of the finaljudgment every man will stand before the bar of God, clothed in hisresurrected body, and this, irrespective of his condition ofrighteousness or guilt. While awaiting resurrection, disembodied spiritsexist in an intermediate state, of happiness and rest or of sufferingand suspense, according to the course they have elected to follow inmortality. Reference to paradise as the abode of righteous spiritsbetween the time of death and that of the resurrection is made by theprophet Nephi (2 Nephi 9:13), by a later prophet of the same name (4Nephi 14), by Moroni (Moroni 10:34); as also by Alma whose words arequoted in the text (Alma 40:12, 14). New Testament scripture is ofanalogous import (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). The word"paradise" by its derivation through the Greek from the Persian, signifies a pleasant place, or a place of restful enjoyment. (See _TheArticles of Faith_, xxi, note 5). By many the terms "hades" and "sheol"are understood to designate the place of departed spirits, comprizingboth paradise and the prison realm; by others the terms are applied onlyto the latter, the place of the wicked, which is apart from paradise, the abode of the just. 

The assumption that the gracious assurance given by Christ to thepenitent sinner on the cross was a remission of the man's sins, and apassport into heaven, is wholly contrary to both the letter and spiritof scripture, reason, and justice. Confidence in the efficacy ofdeath-bed professions and confessions on the basis of this incident isof the most insecure foundation. The crucified malefactor manifestedboth faith and repentance; his promised blessing was that he should thatday hear the gospel preached in paradise; in the acceptance or rejectionof the word of life he would be an agent unto himself. The requirementof obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel as an essential tosalvation was not waived, suspended, or superseded in his case. 

2. The Scripture Relating to Christ Among the Spirits in Prison. --Therevised version of 1 Peter 3:18-20 reads: "Because Christ also sufferedfor sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring usto God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; inwhich also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, whichaforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in thedays of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eightsouls were saved through water. " This is regarded by scholars as acloser approach to accuracy in translation than the common version. Certain important differences between the two versions will appear tothe studious reader. The common version of the latter part of verse 18and the whole of verse 19 reads: "being put to death in the flesh, butquickened by the spirit: By which also he went and preached unto thespirits in prison. " The revised text expresses the true thought thatChrist was quickened, that is to say, was active, in His own spiritstate, although His body was inert and in reality dead at the time; andthat _in_ that disembodied state He went and preached to the disobedientspirits. The later reading fixes the time of our Lord's ministry amongthe departed as the interval between His death and resurrection. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1339] Chapters 2 and 3 herein. 

[1340] Page 659. 

[1341] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1342] Note the distinction made by Paul 2 Cor. 12:2-4. 

[1343] B. Of M. , Alma 40:11-14. 

[1344] 1 Peter 3:18-20; see Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1345] 1 Peter 4:5, 6. See Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1346] John 5:25-29; see also page 210 herein. 

[1347] Isa. 24:21, 22. 

[1348] Isa. 42:5-7. 

[1349] Psalm 16:9-11. 

[1350] See page 124 herein; also "The Articles of Faith, " vii:18-33; and"The House of the Lord, " pages 63-93. 

[1351] 1 Cor. 15:29; see also "House of the Lord, " p. 92. 

[1352] Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5. 

[1353] Rom. 14:9. 

[1354] Luke 20:36, 38; "The Articles of Faith, " vii:18. 

CHAPTER 37. 

THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION. 

CHRIST IS RISEN. 

Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, had passed, and the night preceding thedawn of the most memorable Sunday in history was well nigh spent, whilethe Roman guard kept watch over the sealed sepulchre wherein lay thebody of the Lord Jesus. While it was yet dark, the earth began to quake;an angel of the Lord descended in glory, rolled back the massive stonefrom the portal of the tomb, and sat upon it. His countenance wasbrilliant as the lightning, and his raiment was as the driven snow forwhiteness. The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell to the earth as deadmen. When they had partially recovered from their fright, they fled fromthe place in terror. Even the rigor of Roman discipline, which decreedsummary death to every soldier who deserted his post, could not deterthem. Moreover, there was nothing left for them to guard; the seal ofauthority had been broken, the sepulchre was open, and empty. [1355]

At the earliest indication of dawn, the devoted Mary Magdalene and otherfaithful women set out for the tomb, bearing spices and ointments whichthey had prepared for the further anointing of the body of Jesus. Someof them had been witnesses of the burial, and were conscious of thenecessary haste with which the corpse had been wrapped with spicery andlaid away by Joseph and Nicodemus, just before the beginning of theSabbath; and now these adoring women came early to render loving servicein a more thorough anointing and external embalmment of the body. On theway as they sorrowfully conversed, they seemingly for the first timethought of the difficulty of entering the tomb. "Who shall roll us awaythe stone from the door of the sepulchre?" they asked one of another. Evidently they knew nothing of the seal and the guard of soldiery. Atthe tomb they saw the angel, and were afraid; but he said unto them:"Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He isnot here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where theLord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen fromthe dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall yesee him: lo, I have told you. "[1356]

The women, though favored by angelic visitation and assurance, left theplace amazed and frightened. Mary Magdalene appears to have been thefirst to carry word to the disciples concerning the empty tomb. She hadfailed to comprehend the gladsome meaning of the angel's proclamation"He is risen, as he said"; in her agony of love and grief she rememberedonly the words "He is not here, " the truth of which had been soforcefully impressed by her own hasty glance at the open and tenantlesstomb. "Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the otherdisciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken awaythe Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laidhim. "

Peter, and "that other disciple" who, doubtless, was John, set forth inhaste, running together toward the sepulchre. John outran his companion, and on reaching the tomb stooped to look in, and so caught a glimpse ofthe linen cerements lying on the floor; but the bold and impetuous Peterrushed into the sepulchre, and was followed by the younger apostle. Thetwo observed the linen grave-clothes, and lying by itself, the napkinthat had been placed about the head of the corpse. John frankly affirmsthat having seen these things, he believed, and explains in behalf ofhimself and his fellow apostles, "For as yet they knew not thescripture, that he must rise again from the dead. "[1357]

The sorrowful Magdalene had followed the two apostles back to the gardenof the burial. No thought of the Lord's restoration to life appears tohave found place in her griefstricken heart; she knew only that the bodyof her beloved Master had disappeared. While Peter and John were withinthe sepulchre, she had stood without, weeping. After the men had leftshe stooped and looked into the rock-hewn cavern. There she saw twopersonages, angels in white; one sat "at the head, and the other at thefeet, where the body of Jesus had lain. " In accents of tenderness theyasked of her: "Woman, why weepest thou?" In reply she could but voiceanew her overwhelming sorrow: "Because they have taken away my Lord, andI know not where they have laid him. " The absence of the body, which shethought to be all that was left on earth of Him whom she loved sodeeply, was a personal bereavement. There is a volume of pathos andaffection in her words, "They have taken away my Lord. "

Turning from the vault, which, though at that moment illumined byangelic presence, was to her void and desolate, she became aware ofanother Personage, standing near. She heard His sympathizing inquiry:"Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" Scarcely lifting hertearful countenance to look at the Questioner, but vaguely supposingthat He was the caretaker of the garden, and that He might haveknowledge of what had been done with the body of her Lord, sheexclaimed: "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hastlaid him, and I will take him away. " She knew that Jesus had beeninterred in a borrowed tomb; and if the body had been dispossessed ofthat resting place, she was prepared to provide another. "Tell me wherethou hast laid him, " she pleaded. 

It was Jesus to whom she spake, her beloved Lord, though she knew itnot. One word from His living lips changed her agonized grief intoecstatic joy. "Jesus saith unto her, Mary. " The voice, the tone, thetender accent she had heard and loved in the earlier days lifted herfrom the despairing depths into which she had sunk. She turned, and sawthe Lord. In a transport of joy she reached out her arms to embrace Him, uttering only the endearing and worshipful word, "Rabboni, " meaning Mybeloved Master. Jesus, restrained her impulsive manifestation ofreverent love, saying, "Touch me not[1358] for I am not yet ascended tomy Father, " and adding, "but go to my brethren, and say unto them, Iascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and yourGod. "[1359]

To a woman, to Mary of Magdala, was given the honor of being the firstamong mortals to behold a resurrected Soul, and that Soul, the LordJesus. [1360] To other favored women did the risen Lord next manifestHimself, including Mary the mother of Joses, Joanna, and Salome themother of the apostles James and John. These and the other women withthem had been affrighted by the presence of the angel at the tomb, andhad departed with mingled fear and joy. They were not present when Peterand John entered the vault, nor afterward when the Lord made Himselfknown to Mary Magdalene. They may have returned later, for some of themappear to have entered the sepulchre, and to have seen that the Lord'sbody was not there. As they stood wondering in perplexity andastonishment, they became aware of the presence of two men in shininggarments, and as the women "bowed down their faces to the earth" theangels said unto them: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is nothere, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet inGalilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands ofsinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And theyremembered his words. "[1361] As they were returning to the city todeliver the message to the disciples, "Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then saidJesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go intoGalilee, and there shall they see me. "[1362]

One may wonder why Jesus had forbidden Mary Magdalene to touch Him, andthen, so soon after, had permitted other women to hold Him by the feetas they bowed in reverence. We may assume that Mary's emotional approachhad been prompted more by a feeling of personal yet holy affection thanby an impulse of devotional worship such as the other women evinced. Though the resurrected Christ manifested the same friendly and intimateregard as He had shown in the mortal state toward those with whom He hadbeen closely associated, He was no longer one of them in the literalsense. There was about Him a divine dignity that forbade close personalfamiliarity. To Mary Magdalene Christ had said: "Touch me not; for I amnot yet ascended to my Father. " If the second clause was spoken inexplanation of the first, we have to infer that no human hand was to bepermitted to touch the Lord's resurrected and immortalized body untilafter He had presented Himself to the Father. It appears reasonable andprobable that between Mary's impulsive attempt to touch the Lord, andthe action of the other women who held Him by the feet as they bowed inworshipful reverence, Christ did ascend to the Father, and that later Hereturned to earth to continue His ministry in the resurrected state. 

Mary Magdalene and the other women told the wonderful story of theirseveral experiences to the disciples, but the brethren could not credittheir words, which "seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed themnot. "[1363] After all that Christ had taught concerning His rising fromthe dead on that third day, [1364] the apostles were unable to accept theactuality of the occurrence; to their minds the resurrection was somemysterious and remote event, not a present possibility. There wasneither precedent nor analogy for the stories these women told--of adead person returning to life, with a body of flesh and bones, such ascould be seen and felt--except the instances of the young man of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and the beloved Lazarus of Bethany, betweenwhose cases of restoration to a renewal of mortal life and the reportedresurrection of Jesus they recognized essential differences. The griefand the sense of irreparable loss which had characterized the yesterdaySabbath, were replaced by profound perplexity and contending doubts onthis first day of the week. But while the apostles hesitated to believethat Christ had actually risen, the women, less skeptical, moretrustful, knew, for they had both seen Him and heard His voice, and someof them had touched His feet. 

A PRIESTLY CONSPIRACY OF FALSEHOOD. [1365]

When the Roman guardsmen had sufficiently recovered from fright to maketheir precipitate departure from the sepulchre, they went to the chiefpriests, under whose orders they had been placed by Pilate, [1366] andreported the supernatural occurrences they had witnessed. The chiefpriests were Sadducees, of which sect or party a distinguishing featurewas the denial of the possibility of resurrection from the dead. Asession of the Sanhedrin was called, and the disturbing report of theguard was considered. In the spirit in which these deceiving hierarchshad tried to kill Lazarus for the purpose of quelling popular interestin the miracle of his restoration to life, they now conspired todiscredit the truth of Christ's resurrection by bribing the soldiers tolie. These were told to say "His disciples came by night, and stole himaway while we slept"; and for the falsehood they were offered large sumsof money. The soldiers accepted the tempting bribe, and did as they wereinstructed; for this course appeared to them the best way out of acritical situation. If they were found guilty of sleeping at theirposts, immediate death would be their doom;[1367] but the Jewsencouraged them by the promise: "If this come to the governor's ears, wewill persuade him and secure you. " It must be remembered that thesoldiers had been put at the disposal of the chief priests, andpresumably therefore were not required to report the details of theirdoings to the Roman authorities. 

The recorder adds that until the day of his writing, the falsehood ofChrist's body having been stolen from the tomb by the disciples wascurrent among the Jews. The utter untenability of the false report isapparent. If all the soldiers were asleep--a most unlikely occurrenceinasmuch as such neglect was a capital offense--how could they possiblyknow that any one had approached the tomb? And, more particularly, howcould they substantiate their statement even if it were true, that thebody was stolen and that the disciples were the grave-robbers?[1368] Themendacious fiction was framed by the chief priests and elders of thepeople. Not all the priestly circle were parties to it however. Some, who perhaps had been among the secret disciples of Jesus before Hisdeath, were not afraid to openly ally themselves with the Church, when, through the evidence of the Lord's resurrection, they had becomethoroughly converted. We read that but a few months later "a greatcompany of the priests were obedient to the faith. "[1369]

CHRIST WALKS AND TALKS WITH TWO OF THE DISCIPLES. [1370]

During the afternoon of that same Sunday, two disciples, not of theapostles, left the little band of believers in Jerusalem and set out forEmmaus, a village between seven and eight miles from the city. Therecould be but one topic of conversation between them, and on this theycommuned as they walked, citing incidents in the Lord's life, dwellingparticularly upon the fact of His death through which their hopes of aMessianic reign had been so sadly blighted, and marveling deeply overthe incomprehensible testimony of the women concerning His reappearanceas a living Soul. As they went, engrossed in sorrowful and profounddiscourse, another Wayfarer joined them; it was the Lord Jesus, "buttheir eyes were holden that they should not know him. " In courteousinterest, He asked: "What manner of communications are these that yehave one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" One of the disciples, Cleopas by name, replied with surprize tinged with commiseration for theStranger's seeming ignorance: "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in thesedays?" Intent on drawing from the men a full statement of the matter bywhich they were so plainly agitated, the unrecognized Christ asked, "What things?" They could not be reticent. "Concerning Jesus ofNazareth" they explained, "which was a prophet mighty in deed and wordbefore God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulersdelivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. " Insorrowful mood they went on to tell how they had trusted that the nowcrucified Jesus would have proved to be the Messiah sent to redeemIsrael; but alas! this was the third day since He had been slain. Then, with brightening countenances, yet still perplexed, they told of certainwomen of their company who had astonished them that morning by sayingthat they had visited the sepulchre early and had discovered that theLord's body was not there, but, "that they had also seen a vision ofangels, which said that he was alive. " Moreover, others beside the womenhad gone to the tomb, and had verified the absence of the body but hadnot seen the Lord. 

Then Jesus, gently chiding His fellow travelers as foolish men and slowof heart in their hesitating acceptance of what the prophets had spoken, asked impressively, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, andto enter into his glory?" Beginning with the inspired predictions ofMoses, He expounded to them the scriptures, touching upon all theprophetic utterances concerning the Savior's mission. Having continuedwith the two men to their destination Jesus "made as though he wouldhave gone further, " but they urged Him to tarry with them, for the daywas already far spent. He so far acceded to their hospitable entreaty asto enter the house, and, as soon as their simple meal was prepared, toseat Himself with them at the table. As the Guest of honor, He took theloaf, "blessed it and brake, and gave to them. " There may have beensomething in the fervency of the blessing, or in the manner of breakingand distributing the bread, that revived memories of former days; or, possibly, they caught sight of the pierced hands; but, whatever theimmediate cause, they looked intently upon their Guest, "and their eyeswere opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. " Ina fulness of joyful wonderment they rose from the table, surprized atthemselves for not having recognized Him sooner. One said to the other, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" Straightway they started toretrace their steps and hastened back to Jerusalem to confirm by theirwitness what, before, the brethren had been slow to believe. 

RISEN LORD APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES IN JERUSALEM AND EATS IN THEIRPRESENCE. [1371]

When Cleopas and his companion reached Jerusalem that night, they foundthe apostles and other devoted believers assembled in solemn andworshipful discourse within closed doors. Precautions of secrecy hadbeen taken "for fear of the Jews. " Even the apostles had been scatteredby the arrest, arraignment, and judicial murder of their Master; butthey and the disciples in general rallied anew at the word of Hisresurrection, as the nucleus of an army soon to sweep the world. The tworeturning disciples were received with the joyous announcement, "TheLord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. " This is the solemention made by the Gospel-writers of Christ's personal appearance toSimon Peter on that day. The interview between the Lord and His oncerecreant but now repentant apostle must have been affecting in theextreme. Peter's remorseful penitence over his denial of Christ in thepalace of the high priest was deep and pitiful; he may have doubted thatever again would the Master call him His servant; but hope must havebeen engendered through the message from the tomb brought by the women, in which the Lord sent greetings to the apostles, whom for the firsttime He designated as His brethren, [1372] and from this honorable andaffectionate characterization Peter had not been excluded; moreover, theangel's commission to the women had given prominence to Peter byparticular mention. [1373] To the repentant Peter came the Lord, doubtless with forgiveness and loving assurance. The apostle himselfmaintains a reverent silence respecting the visitation, but the factthereof is attested by Paul as one of the definite proofs of the Lord'sresurrection. [1374]

Following the jubilant testimony of the assembled believers, Cleopas andhis fellow traveler told of the Lord's companionship with them on theEmmaus road, of the things He had taught them, and of the manner inwhich He had become known unto them in the breaking of bread. As thelittle company communed together, "Jesus himself stood in the midst ofthem, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. " They were affrighted, supposing with superstitious dread that a ghost had intruded amongstthem. But the Lord comforted them, saying "Why are ye troubled? and whydo thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that itis I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. " Then He showed them the wounds in His hands and feetand side. "They yet believed not for joy, " which is to say, they thoughtthe reality, to which they all were witnesses, too good, too glorious, to be true. To further assure them that He was no shadowy form, noimmaterial being of tenuous substance, but a living Personage withbodily organs internal as well as outward, He asked "Have ye here anymeat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and other food, [1375]which He took "and did eat before them. "

These unquestionable evidences of their Visitant's corporeity calmed andmade rational the minds of the disciples; and now that they werecomposed and receptive the Lord reminded them that all things that hadhappened to Him were in accordance with what He had told them while Hehad lived amongst them. In His divine presence their understanding wasquickened and enlarged so that they comprehended as never before thescriptures--the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets and thepsalms--concerning Him. That His now accomplished death was a necessity, He attested as fully as He had predicted and affirmed the sameaforetime. Then He said unto them: "Thus it is written, and thus itbehoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: andthat repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his nameamong all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of thesethings. " Then were the disciples glad. As He was about to depart theLord gave them His blessing, saying "Peace be unto you: as my Fatherhath sent me, even so send I you. " This specification of men sent byauthority points directly to the apostles; "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained, "[1376]

DOUBTING THOMAS. [1377]

When the Lord Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples on theevening of the Resurrection Sunday, one of the apostles, Thomas, wasabsent. He was informed of what the others had witnessed, but wasunconvinced; even their solemn testimony, "We have seen the Lord, "failed to awaken an echo of faith in his heart. In his state of mentalskepticism he exclaimed: "Except I shall see in his hands the print ofthe nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust myhand into his side, I will not believe. " Caution and charity must attendour judgment in any conclusion as to the incredulous attitude of thisman. He could scarcely have doubted the well attested circumstance ofthe empty sepulchre, nor the veracity of Mary Magdalene and the otherwomen as to the presence of angels and the Lord's appearing, nor Peter'stestimony nor that of the assembled company; but he may have regardedthe reported manifestations as a series of subjective visions; and theabsence of the Lord's body may have been vaguely considered as a resultof Christ's supernatural restoration to life followed by a bodily andfinal departure from earth. It was the corporeal manifestation of therisen Lord, the exhibition of the wounds incident to crucifixion, theinvitation to touch and feel the resurrected body of flesh and bones, towhich Thomas demurred. He had no such definite conception of theresurrection as would accord with a literal acceptance of the testimonyof his brethren and sisters who had seen, heard, and felt. 

A week later, for so the Jewish designation, "after eight days, " is tobe understood, therefore on the next Sunday, which day of the weekafterward came to be known to the Church as the "Lord's Day" and to beobserved as the Sabbath in place of Saturday, the Mosaic Sabbath, [1378]the disciples were again assembled, and Thomas was with them. Themeeting was held within closed and, presumably, guarded doors, for therewas danger of interference by the Jewish officers. "Then came Jesus, thedoors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be notfaithless, but believing. "

The skeptical mind of Thomas was instantly cleansed, his doubting heartwas purified; and a conviction of the glorious truth flooded his soul. In contrite reverence he bowed before his Savior, the while exclaimingin worshipful acknowledgment of Christ's Deity: "My Lord and my God. "His adoration was accepted, and the Savior said: "Thomas, because thouhast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. "

AT THE SEA OF GALILEE. [1379]

The angel at the sepulchre and the risen Christ Himself had severallysent word to the apostles to go into Galilee, where the Lord would meetthem as He had said before His death. [1380] They deferred theirdeparture until after the week following the resurrection, and then onceagain in their native province, they awaited further developments. Inthe afternoon of one of those days of waiting, Peter said to six of hisfellow apostles, "I go a fishing"; and the others replied, "We also gowith thee. " Without delay they embarked on a fishing boat; and thoughthey toiled through the night, the net had been drawn in empty afterevery cast. As morning approached they drew near the land, disappointedand disheartened. In the early dawn they were hailed from the shore byOne who asked: "Children, have ye any meat?"[1381] They answered "No. "It was Jesus who made the inquiry, though none in the boat recognizedHim. He called to them again, saying: "Cast the net on the right side ofthe ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were notable to draw it for the multitude of fishes. " They did as directed andthe result was so surprizing as to appear to them miraculous; it musthave aroused memories of that other remarkable draught of fishes, in thetaking of which their fishermen's skill had been superseded; and atleast three witnesses of the earlier miracle were now in the boat. [1382]

John, quick to discern, said to Peter, "It is the Lord"; and Peter, impulsive as ever, hastily girt his fisher's coat about him and spranginto the sea, the sooner to reach land and prostrate himself at hisMaster's feet. The others left the vessel and entered a small boat inwhich they rowed to shore, towing the heavily laden net. On the landthey saw a fire of coals, with fish broiling thereon, and alongside asupply of bread. Jesus told them to bring of the fish they had justcaught, to which instruction the stalwart Peter responded by dashinginto the shallows and dragging the net to shore. When counted, the haulwas found to consist of a hundred and fifty-three great fishes; and thenarrator is careful to note that "for all there were so many, yet wasnot the net broken. "

Then Jesus said "Come and dine"; and as the Host at the meal, He dividedand distributed the bread and fish. We are not told that He ate with Hisguests. Everyone knew that it was the Lord who so hospitably served; yeton this, as on all other occasions of His appearing in the resurrectedstate, there was about Him an awe-inspiring and restraining demeanor. They would have liked to question Him, but durst not. John tells us thatthis was the "third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead"; by which we understand theoccasion to have been the third on which Christ had manifested Himselfto the apostles, in complete or partial assembly; for, including alsothe appearing to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to Peter, and tothe two disciples on the country road, this was the seventh recordedappearance of the risen Lord. 

When the meal was finished, "Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son ofJonas, lovest thou me more than these?" The question, however tenderlyput, must have wrung Peter's heart, coupled as it was with the reminderof his bold but undependable protestation, "Though all men shall beoffended because of thee, yet will I never be offended", [1383] followedby his denial that he had ever known the Man. [1384] To the Lord'sinquiry Peter answered humbly, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I lovethee. " Then said Jesus, "Feed my lambs. " The question was repeated; andPeter replied in identical words, to which the Lord responded, "Feed mysheep. " And yet the third time Jesus asked, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovestthou me?" Peter was pained and grieved at this reiteration, thinkingperhaps that the Lord mistrusted him; but as the man had three timesdenied, so now was he given opportunity for a triple confession. To thethrice repeated question, Peter answered: "Lord, thou knowest allthings; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed mysheep. "

The commission "Feed my sheep" was an assurance of the Lord'sconfidence, and of the reality of Peter's presidency among the apostles. He had emphatically announced his readiness to follow his Master even toprison and death. Now, the Lord who had died said unto him: "Verily, verily; I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, andwalkedst whither thou wouldst: but when thou shalt be old, thou shaltstretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry theewhither thou wouldst not. " John informs us that the Lord so spakesignifying the death by which Peter should find a place among themartyrs; the analogy points to crucifixion, and traditional history iswithout contradiction as to this being the death by which Peter sealedhis testimony of the Christ. 

Then said the Lord to Peter, "Follow me. " The command had both immediateand future significance. The man followed as Jesus drew apart from theothers on the shore; yet a few years and Peter would follow his Lord tothe cross. Without doubt Peter comprehended the reference to hismartyrdom, as his writings, years later, indicate. [1385] As Christ andPeter walked together, the latter, looking backward, saw that John wasfollowing, and inquired: "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Peterwished to peer into the future as to his companion's fate--was John alsoto die for the faith? The Lord replied: "If I will that he tarry till Icome, what is that to thee? follow thou me. " It was an admonition toPeter to look to his own course of duty, and to follow the Master, wherever the road should lead. 

Concerning himself, John adds: "Then went this saying abroad among thebrethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not untohim, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what isthat to thee?" That John still lives in the embodied state, and shallremain in the flesh until the Lord's yet future advent, is attested bylater revelation. [1386] In company with his martyred and resurrectedcompanions, Peter and James, the "disciple whom Jesus loved" hasofficiated in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship in this thedispensation of the fulness of times. 

OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF THE RISEN LORD IN GALILEE. [1387]

Jesus had designated a mountain in Galilee whereon He would meet theapostles; and thither the Eleven went. When they saw Him at theappointed place, they worshiped Him. The record adds "but some doubted, "by which may be implied that others beside the apostles were present, among whom were some who were unconvinced of the actual corporeity ofthe resurrected Christ. This occasion may have been that of which Paulwrote a quarter of a century later, concerning which he affirms thatChrist "was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, " of whom, though some had died, the majority remained at the time of Paul'swriting, living witnesses to his testimony. [1388]

To those assembled on the mount Jesus declared: "All power is given untome in heaven and in earth. " This could be understood as nothing lessthan an affirmation of His absolute Godship. His authority was supreme, and those who were commissioned of Him were to minister in His name, andby a power such as no man could give or take away. 

FINAL COMMISSION AND THE ASCENSION. 

Throughout the forty days following His resurrection, the Lordmanifested Himself at intervals to the apostles, to some individuallyand to all as a body, [1389] and instructed them in "the thingspertaining to the kingdom of God. "[1390] The record is not alwaysspecific and definite as to time and place of particular events; but asto the purport of the Lord's instructions during this period thereexists no cause for doubt. Much that He said and did is notwritten, [1391] but such things as are of record, John assures hisreaders, "are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through hisname. "[1392]

As the time of His ascension drew nigh, the Lord said unto the elevenapostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to everycreature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he thatbelieveth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them thatbelieve; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak withnew tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadlything, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, andthey shall recover. "[1393] In contrast with their earlier commission, under which they were sent only "to the lost sheep of the house ofIsrael, "[1394] they were now to go to Jew and Gentile, bond and free, tomankind at large, of whatever nation, country, or tongue. Salvation, through faith in Jesus the Christ, followed by repentance and baptism, was to be freely offered to all; the rejection of the offer thenceforthwould bring condemnation. Signs and miracles were promised to "followthem that believe, " thus confirming their faith in the power divine; butno intimation was given that such manifestations were to precede belief, as baits to catch the credulous wonder-seeker. 

Assuring the apostles anew that the promise of the Father would berealized in the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord instructed them toremain in Jerusalem, whither they had now returned from Galilee, untilthey would be "endued with power from on high";[1395] and He added: "ForJohn truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the HolyGhost not many days hence. "[1396]

In that last solemn interview, probably as the risen Savior led themortal Eleven away from the city toward the old familiar resort on theMount of Olives, the brethren, still imbued with their conception of thekingdom of God as an earthly establishment of power and dominion, askedof Him, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom toIsrael?" Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or theseasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shallreceive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shallbe witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and inSamaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. "[1397] Their duty wasthus defined and emphasized: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I havecommanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of theworld. Amen. "[1398]

When Christ and the disciples had gone "as far as to Bethany, " the Lordlifted up His hands, and blessed them; and while yet He spake, He rosefrom their midst, and they looked upon Him as He ascended until a cloudreceived Him out of their sight. While the apostles stood gazingsteadfastly upward, two personages, clothed in white apparel, appearedby them; these spake unto the Eleven, saying: "Ye men of Galilee, whystand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up fromyou into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him gointo heaven. "[1399]

Worshipfully and with great joy the apostles returned to Jerusalem, there to await the coming of the Comforter. The Lord's ascension wasaccomplished; it was as truly a literal departure of a material Being asHis resurrection had been an actual return of His spirit to His owncorporeal body, theretofore dead. With the world abode and yet abidesthe glorious promise, that Jesus the Christ, the same Being who ascendedfrom Olivet in His immortalized body of flesh and bones, shall return, descending from the heavens, in similarly material form and substance. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 37. 

1. Precise Time and Manner of Christ's Emergence from the Tomb NotKnown. --Our Lord definitely predicted His resurrection from the dead onthe third day, (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22;13:32; 18:33), and the angels at the tomb (Luke 24:7), and the risenLord in Person (Luke 24:46) verified the fulfilment of the prophecies;and apostles so testified in later years (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). Thisspecification of the third day must not be understood as meaning afterthree full days. The Jews began their counting of the daily hours withsunset; therefore the hour before sunset and the hour following belongedto different days. Jesus died and was interred during Friday afternoon. His body lay in the tomb, dead, during part of Friday (first day), throughout Saturday, or as we divide the days, from sunset Friday tosunset Saturday, (second day), and part of Sunday (third day). We knownot at what hour between Saturday sunset and Sunday dawn He rose. 

The fact that an earthquake occurred, and that the angel of the Lorddescended and rolled the stone from the portal of the tomb in the earlydawn of Sunday--for so we infer from Matt. 28:1, 2--does not prove thatChrist had not already risen. The great stone was rolled back and theinside of the sepulchre exposed to view, so that those who came couldsee for themselves that the Lord's body was no longer there; it was notnecessary to open the portal in order to afford an exit to theresurrected Christ. In His immortalized state He appeared in anddisappeared from closed rooms. A resurrected body, though of tangiblesubstance, and possessing all the organs of the mortal tabernacle, isnot bound to earth by gravitation, nor can it be hindered in itsmovements by material barriers. To us who conceive of motion only in thedirections incident to the three dimensions of space, the passing of asolid, such as a living body of flesh and bones, through stone walls, isnecessarily incomprehensible. But that resurrected beings move inaccordance with laws making such passage possible and to them natural, is evidenced not only by the instance of the risen Christ, but by themovements of other resurrected personages. Thus, in September, 1823, Moroni, the Nephite prophet who had died about 400 A. D. , appeared toJoseph Smith in his chamber, three times during one night, coming andgoing without hindrance incident to walls or roof, (see P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:43; also _The Articles of Faith_, i:15-17). That Moroniwas a resurrected man is shown by his corporeity manifested in hishandling of the metallic plates on which was inscribed the record knownto us as the Book of Mormon. So also resurrected beings possess thepower of rendering themselves visible or invisible to the physicalvision of mortals. 

2. Attempts to Discredit the Resurrection Through Falsehood. --Theinconsistent assertion that Christ had not risen but that His body hadbeen stolen from the tomb by the disciples, has been sufficientlytreated in the text. The falsehood is its own refutation. Unbelievers oflater date, recognizing the palpable absurdity of this gross attempt atmisrepresentation, have not hesitated to suggest other hypotheses, eachof which is conclusively untenable. Thus, the theory based upon theimpossible assumption that Christ was not dead when taken from thecross, but was in a state of coma or swoon, and that He was afterwardresuscitated, disproves itself when considered in connection withrecorded facts. The spear-thrust of the Roman soldier would have beenfatal, even if death had not already occurred. The body was taken down, handled, wrapped and buried by members of the Jewish council, who cannotbe thought of as actors in the burial of a living man; and so far assubsequent resuscitation is concerned, Edersheim (vol. 2, p. 626)trenchantly remarks: "Not to speak of the many absurdities which thistheory involves, it really shifts--if we acquit the disciples ofcomplicity--the fraud upon Christ Himself. " A crucified person, removedfrom the cross before death and subsequently revived, could not havewalked with pierced and mangled feet on the very day of hisresuscitation, as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. Another theory thathas had its day is that of unconscious deception on the part of thosewho claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, such persons havingbeen victims of subjective but unreal visions conjured up by their ownexcited and imaginative condition. The independence and markedindividuality of the several recorded appearings of the Lord disprovethe vision theory. Such subjective visual illusions as are predicated bythis hypothesis, presuppose a state of expectancy on the part of thosewho think they see; but all the incidents connected with themanifestations of Jesus after His resurrection were directly opposed tothe expectations of those who were made witnesses of His resurrectedstate. 

The foregoing instances of false and untenable theories regarding theresurrection of our Lord are cited as examples of the numerous abortiveattempts to explain away the greatest miracle and the most glorious factof history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by evidencemore conclusive than that upon which rests our acceptance of historicalevents in general. Yet the testimony of our Lord's rising from the deadis not founded on written pages. To him who seeks in faith and sincerityshall be given an individual conviction which shall enable him toreverently confess as exclaimed the enlightened apostle of old: "Thouart the Christ, the Son of the living God. " Jesus, who is God the Son, is not dead. "I know that my Redeemer liveth. " (Job 19:25. )

3. Recorded Appearances of Christ Between Resurrection and Ascension. --

1. To Mary Magdalene, near the sepulchre (Mark 16:9, 10; John 20:14). 

2. To other women, somewhere between the sepulchre and Jerusalem (Matt. 28:9). 

3. To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13). 

4. To Peter, in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5). 

5. To ten of the apostles and others at Jerusalem (Luke 24:36; John20:19). 

6. To the eleven apostles at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14; John 20:26). 

7. To the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias, Galilee, (John 21). 

8. To the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16). 

9. To five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6); locality notspecified, but probably in Galilee. 

10. To James (1 Cor. 15:7). Note that no record of this manifestation ismade by the Gospel-writers. 

11. To the eleven apostles at the time of the ascension, Mount ofOlives, near Bethany (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51). 

The Lord's manifestations of Himself to men subsequent to the ascensionwill be considered later. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1355] Matt. 28:1-4, see also verse 11. 

[1356] Matt. 28:5-7; compare Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-2. 

[1357] John 20:1-10. 

[1358] Revised version, "Take not hold on me" (margin). 

[1359] John 20:11-17. 

[1360] Mark 16:9. 

[1361] Luke 24:3-8. 

[1362] Matt. 28:9, 10. 

[1363] Luke 24:9-11; compare Mark 16:9-13. 

[1364] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1365] Matt. 28:11-15. 

[1366] Matt. 27:65, 66; page 665 herein. 

[1367] Compare Acts 12:19. 

[1368] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1369] Acts 6:7; compare John 12:42. 

[1370] Luke 24:13-32; compare Mark 16:12. 

[1371] Luke 24:33-48; John 20:19-23. 

[1372] Matt. 28:10; John 20:17. 

[1373] Mark 16:7. 

[1374] 1 Cor. 15:5. 

[1375] The words "and of an honeycomb" (Luke 24:42) are omitted from therevised version, and by many authorities are declared to be a spuriousaddition to the original text. 

[1376] John 20:21-23. 

[1377] John 20:24-29; compare Mark 16:14. 

[1378] Rev. 1:10; compare Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2. 

[1379] John 21:1-23. 

[1380] Matt 28:10; Mark 16:7; compare Matt. 26:32, Mark 14:28. 

[1381] The noun of address, "Children" is equivalent to our modern useof "Sirs, " "Men" or "Lads. " It was quite in harmony with the vernacular. 

[1382] Luke 5:4-10; also page 198 herein. 

[1383] Matt. 26:33; Mark 14:29; compare Luke 22:33; John 13:37; p. 600herein. 

[1384] Matt. 26:70, 72, 74; also page 629 herein. 

[1385] Peter 1:14. 

[1386] Doc. And Cov. Sec. 7; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 28:1-12. 

[1387] Matt. 28:16-18. 

[1388] 1 Cor. 15:6. 

[1389] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1390] Acts 1:3. 

[1391] John 20:30; compare 21:25 remembering that the latter passage mayhave reference to occurrences both before and after the Lord's death. 

[1392] John 20:31. 

[1393] Mark 16:15-18. 

[1394] Matt. 10:5, 6. 

[1395] "Clothed with power from on high" according to revised version, Luke 24:49. 

[1396] Acts 1:5; see also Luke 24:49; and compare John 14:16, 17, 26;15:26; 16:7, 13. 

[1397] Acts 1:7, 8; compare Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32. 

[1398] Matt. 28:19, 20. 

[1399] Acts 1:9-11; see also Luke 24:50, 51. 

CHAPTER 38. 

THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY. 

MATTHIAS ORDAINED TO THE APOSTLESHIP. [1400]

After witnessing the Lord's ascension from Olivet, the eleven apostlesreturned to Jerusalem filled with joy and thoroughly suffused with thespirit of adoring worship. Both in the temple and in a certain upperroom, which was their usual place of meeting, they continued in prayerand supplication, often in association with other disciples, includingMary the mother of the Lord, some of her sons, and the little sisterhoodof faithful women who had ministered to Jesus in Galilee and hadfollowed Him thence to Jerusalem and to Calvary. [1401] The disciples, most of whom had been dispersed by the tragic events of that last andfateful Passover, had gathered again, with renewed and fortified faith, about the great fact of the Lord's resurrection. Christ had become "thefirstfruits of them that slept, " "the first begotten of the dead, " and"the firstborn" of the race to rise from death to immortality. [1402]They knew that not only had the grave been compelled to give up the bodyof their Lord, but that a way had been provided for the striking of thefetters of death from every soul. Immediately following the resurrectionof the Lord Jesus, many righteous ones who had slept in the tomb hadbeen resurrected, and had appeared in Jerusalem, revealing themselvesunto many. [1403] The universality of the resurrection of the dead wassoon to become a prominent feature of apostolic teaching. 

The first official act undertaken by the apostles was the filling of thevacancy in the council of the Twelve, occasioned by the apostasy andsuicide of Judas Iscariot. Sometime between the ascension of Christ andthe feast of Pentecost, when the Eleven and other disciples, in allabout a hundred and twenty, were together "with one accord in prayer andsupplication, " Peter laid the matter before the assembled Church, pointing out that the fall of Judas had been foreseen, [1404] and citingthe psalmist's invocation: "Let his habitation be desolate, and let noman dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take, "[1405] Peteraffirmed the necessity of completing the apostolic quorum; and he thusset forth the qualifications essential in the one who should be ordainedto the Holy Apostleship: "Wherefore of these men which have companiedwith us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was takenup from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of hisresurrection. " Two faithful disciples were nominated by the Eleven, Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. In earnest supplication the assemblybesought the Lord to indicate whether either of these men, and if sowhich, was to be chosen for the exalted office; then, "they gave forththeir lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with theeleven apostles. "

The proceeding throughout is deeply significant and instructive. TheEleven fully realized that on them lay the responsibility, and in themwas vested the authority, to organize and develop the Church of Christ;that the council or quorum of the apostles was limited to a membershipof twelve; and that the new apostle, like themselves, must be competentto testify in special and personal witness concerning the earthlyministry, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The selection ofMatthias was accomplished in a general assembly of the Primitive Church;and while the nominations were made by the apostles, all present appearby implication to have had a voice in the matter of installation. Theprinciple of authoritative administration through common consent of themembership, so impressively exemplified in the choosing of Matthias, wasfollowed, a few weeks later, by the selection of "seven men of honestreport, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, " who having been sustained bythe vote of the Church, were set apart to a special ministry by thelaying-on of the apostles' hands. [1406]

THE BESTOWAL OF THE HOLY GHOST. [1407]

At the time of Pentecost, which fell on the fiftieth day after thePassover, [1408] and therefore, at this particular recurrence, about ninedays after Christ's ascension, the apostles "were all with one accord inone place, " engaged in their customary devotions, and waiting, asinstructed, until they would be endowed with a particular bestowal ofpower from on high. [1409] The promised baptism by fire and the HolyGhost befell them on that day. "Suddenly there came a sound from heavenas of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they weresitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the HolyGhost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave themutterance. "

The "sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind" was heardabroad;[1410] and a multitude gathered about the place. The visiblemanifestation of "cloven tongues like as of fire, " by which each of theTwelve was invested, was seen by those within the house, but apparentlynot by the gathering crowds. The apostles spoke to the multitude, and agreat miracle was wrought, by which "every man heard them speak in hisown language"; for the apostles, now richly gifted, spake in manytongues, as the Holy Ghost, by whom they had been endowed, gave themutterance. There were present men from many lands and of many nations, and their languages were diverse. In amazement some of them said:"Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we everyman in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" While many were impressedby the preternatural ability of the brethren, others in mocking tonessaid the men were drunken. This instance of Satanic prompting toinconsiderate speech is especially illustrative of inconsistency andrash ineptitude. Strong drink gives to no man wisdom; it steals away hissenses and makes of him a fool. 

Then Peter, as the president of the Twelve, stood up and proclaimed inbehalf of himself and his brethren: "Ye men of Judea, and all ye thatdwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: forthese are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour ofthe day. " It was the Jewish custom, particularly on festival days, toabstain from food and drink until after the morning service in synagog, which was held about the third hour, or nine o'clock in the forenoon. The apostle cited ancient prophecy embodying the promise of Jehovah thatHe would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that wonders would bewrought, even as those there present witnessed. [1411] Then boldly didPeter testify of Jesus of Nazareth, whom he characterized as "a manapproved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which Goddid by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know;" and, reminding them, in accusing earnestness, of the awful crime to whichthey had been in some degree parties, he continued: "Him, beingdelivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye havetaken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hathraised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possiblethat he should be holden of it. " Citing the inspired outburst of thepsalmist, who had sung in jubilant measure of the soul that should notbe left in hell, and of the flesh that should not see corruption, heshowed the application of these scriptures to the Christ; and fearlesslyaffirmed: "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received ofthe Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, whichye now see and hear. " With increasing fervency, fearing neither derisionnor violence, and driving home to the hearts of his enthralled listenersthe fearful fact of their guilt, Peter proclaimed as in voice ofthunder: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that Godhath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord andChrist. "

The power of the Holy Ghost could not be resisted; to every earnest soulit carried conviction. They that heard were pricked in their hearts, andin contrition cried out to the apostles: "Men and brethren, what shallwe do?" Now that they were prepared for the message of salvation, it wasgiven without reserve. "Repent, " answered Peter, "and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and yeshall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as theLord our God shall call. "

To the apostles' testimony, to the exhortation and warning, the peopleresponded with profession of faith and repentance. Their joy wascomparable to that of the spirits in prison, to whom the disembodiedChrist had borne the authoritative word of redemption and salvation. Those who repented and confessed their belief in Christ at thatmemorable Pentecost were received into the Church by baptism, to thenumber of about three thousand. That their conversion was genuine andnot the effect of a passing enthusiasm, that they were literally bornagain through baptism into a newness of life, is evidenced by the factthat they endured in the faith--"and they continued steadfastly in theapostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and inprayers. " So devoted were these early converts, so richly blessed withthe outpouring of the Holy Ghost was the Church in those days, that themembers voluntarily disposed of their individual possessions and had allthings in common. To them faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was of greaterworth than the wealth of earth. [1412] Among them, there was nothingcalled "mine" or "thine, " but all things were theirs in the Lord. [1413]Signs and wonders followed the apostles, "and the Lord added to thechurch daily such as should be saved. "

Through the bestowal of the Holy Ghost the apostles had become changedmen. As made clear to them by the Spirit of Truth, the scripturesconstituted a record of preparation for the events to which they werespecial and ordained witnesses. Peter, who but a few weeks earlier hadquailed before a serving-maid, now spoke openly, fearing none. Seeingonce a lame beggar at the Gate Beautiful which led into the templecourt, he took the afflicted one by the hand, saying: "Silver and goldhave I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christof Nazareth rise up and walk. "[1414] The man was healed and leaped inthe exuberance of his newly found strength; then he went with Peter andJohn into the temple, praising God aloud. An amazed crowd, which grew toinclude about five thousand men, gathered around the apostles inSolomon's Porch; and Peter, observing their wonderment, seized on theoccasion to preach to them Jesus the Crucified. He ascribed all praisefor the miracle to the Christ whom the Jews had delivered up to beslain, and in unambiguous accusation declared: "The God of Abraham, andof Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his SonJesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and theJust, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed thePrince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we arewitnesses. " In merciful recognition of the ignorance in which they hadsinned, he exhorted them to expiatory penitence, crying: "Repent yetherefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when thetimes of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and heshall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom theheaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, whichGod hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the worldbegan. " There was no encouragement to a belief that their sins could beannulled by wordy profession; a due season of repentance was theirprivilege, if so be they would believe. 

As Peter and John thus testified, the priests and the captain of thetemple, together with the ruling Sadducees, came upon them towardevening, and put them in prison to await the action of the judges nextday. [1415] On the morrow they were arraigned before Annas, Caiaphas, andother officials, who demanded of them by what power or in whose namethey had healed the lame man. Peter, impelled by the power of the HolyGhost, answered: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people ofIsrael, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand herebefore you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of youbuilders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is theresalvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven givenamong men, whereby we must be saved. "[1416]

The hierarchy learned to their consternation that the work they hadsought to destroy through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was spreadingnow as it had never spread before. In desperation they commanded theapostles, "Not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. " ButPeter and John answered boldly: "Whether it be right in the sight of Godto hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot butspeak the things which we have seen and heard. " This rejoinder ofrighteous defiance the priestly rulers dared not openly resent; they hadto content themselves with threats. 

The Church grew with surprizing rapidity; "believers were the more addedto the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. " So abundantly was thegift of healing manifest through the ministrations of the apostles thatas formerly to Christ, now to them, the people flocked, bringing theirsick folk and those possessed of evil spirits; and all were healed. Sogreat was the faith of the believers that they laid their afflicted oneson couches in the streets, "that at the least the shadow of Peterpassing by might overshadow some of them. "[1417]

The high priest and his haughty Sadducean associates caused the apostlesto be again arrested and thrown into the common prison. But that nightthe angel of the Lord opened the dungeon doors and brought the prisonersforth, telling them to go into the temple and further proclaim theirtestimony of the Christ. This the apostles did, and were so engaged whenthe Sanhedrin assembled to put them on trial. The officers who were sentto bring the prisoners to the judgment hall returned, saying: "Theprison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standingwithout before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no manwithin. " As the judges sat in impotent consternation, an informerappeared with the word that the men they wanted were at that momentpreaching in the courts. The captain and his guard arrested the apostlesa third time, and brought them in, but without violence, for they fearedthe people. The high priest accused the prisoners by question andaffirmation: "Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teachin this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. " Yet, how recently hadthose same rulers led the rabble in the awful imprecation, "His blood beon us, and on our children. "[1418]

Peter and the other apostles, undaunted by the august presence, andundeterred by threatening words or actions, answered with the directcounter-charge that they who sat there to judge were the slayers of theSon of God. Ponder well the solemn affirmation: "We ought to obey Godrather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slewand hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be aPrince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgivenessof sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also theHoly Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. "

Closing, locking, bolting their hearts against the testimony of theLord's own, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the peoplecounseled together as to how they could put these men to death. Therewas at least one honorable exception among the murderously inclinedcouncilors. Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and a noted doctor of the law, the teacher of Saul of Tarsus afterward known through conversion, works, and divine commission, as Paul the apostle, [1419] rose in the council, and having directed that the apostles be removed from the hall, warnedhis colleagues against the injustice they had in mind. He cited thecases of men falsely claiming to have been sent of God, everyone of whomhad come to grief with utter and most ignominious failure of hisseditious plans; so would these men come to nought if the work theyprofessed proved to be of men; "But, " added the dispassionate andlearned doctor, "if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply yebe found even to fight against God. "[1420] Gamaliel's advice prevailedfor the time being, to the extent of causing the apostles' lives to bespared; but the council, in contravention of justice and propriety, hadthe prisoners beaten. Then the brethren were discharged with the renewedinjunction that they speak not in the name of Jesus. They went outrejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer stripes andhumiliation in defense of the Lord's name; and daily, both in thetemple, and by house to house visitation, they valiantly taught andpreached Jesus the Christ. Converts to the Church were not confined tothe laity; a great company of the priests swelled the number of thedisciples, who multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. [1421]

STEPHEN THE MARTYR; HIS VISION OF THE LORD. [1422]

First among the "seven men of honest report" who were set apart underthe hands of the apostles to administer the common store of the Churchcommunity, was Stephen, a man eminent in faith and good works, throughwhom the Lord wrought many miracles. He was zealous in service, aggressive in doctrine, and fearless as a minister of Christ. Some ofthe foreign Jews, who maintained a synagog in Jerusalem, engaged Stephenin disputation, and being unable "to resist the wisdom and the spirit bywhich he spake, " conspired to have him charged with heresy andblasphemy. He was brought before the council on the word of men subornedto witness against him; and these averred that they had "heard him speakblasphemous words against Moses, and against God. " The perjured accusersfurther testified that he had repeatedly spoken blasphemously againstthe temple, and the law, and had even declared that Jesus of Nazarethwould some day destroy the temple, and change the Mosaic ceremonies. Thecharge was utterly false in spirit and fact, though possibly in a sensepartly true in form; for, judging by what we have of record concerningStephen's character and works, he was a zealous preacher of the word asa world religion, through which the exclusiveness and alleged sanctityof Jerusalem as the holy city and of the now desecrated temple as theearthly abiding-place of Jehovah, would be abrogated; furthermore heseems to have realized that the law of Moses had been fulfilled in themission of the Messiah. 

When the Sanhedrists looked upon him, his face was illumined, and theysaw it "as it had been the face of an angel. " In answer to the charge, he delivered an address, which on critical analysis appears to have beenextemporaneous, nevertheless it is strikingly logical and impressive inargument. The delivery was abruptly terminated, however, by a murderousassault. [1423] In effective epitome Stephen traced the history of thecovenant people from the time of Abraham down, showing that thepatriarchs, and in turn Moses and the prophets, had lived and ministeredin progressive preparation for the development of which those presentwere witnesses. He pointed out that Moses had foretold the coming of aProphet, who was none other than Jehovah, whom their fathers hadworshipped in the wilderness, before the tabernacle, and later in thetemple; but, he affirmed, "the most High dwelleth not in temples madewith hands, " the most gorgeous of which could be but small to Him whosaid: "Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. "[1424]

It is plain to be seen that Stephen's speech was not one of vindication, and far from a plea in his own defense; it was a proclamation of theword and purposes of God by a devoted servant who had no thought forpersonal consequences. In forceful arraignment he thus addressed hisjudges: "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye doalways resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which ofthe prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain themwhich shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have beennow the betrayers and murderers. " Maddened at this direct accusation, the Sanhedrists "gnashed on him with their teeth. " He knew that theythirsted for his blood; but, energized by the Holy Ghost, he lookedsteadfastly upward, and exclaimed in rapture: "Behold I see the heavensopened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. "[1425]This is the first New Testament record of a manifestation of Christ tomortal eyes by vision or otherwise, subsequent to His ascension. Thepriestly rulers cried aloud, and stopped their ears to what they choseto regard as blasphemous utterances; and, rushing upon the prisoner withone accord, they hurried him outside the city walls and stoned him todeath. True to his Master, he prayed: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit";and then, crushed to earth, he cried with a loud voice: "Lord, lay notthis sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. "

So died the first martyr for the testimony of the risen Christ. He wasslain by a mob comprizing chief priests, scribes, and elders of thepeople. What cared they that no sentence had been pronounced againsthim, or that they were acting in reckless defiance of Roman law? Devoutmen bore the mangled body to its burial; and all the disciples lamentedgreatly. Persecution increased, and members of the Church were scatteredthrough many lands, wherein they preached the gospel and won many to theLord. The blood of Stephen the martyr proved to be rich and virile seed, from which sprang a great harvest of souls. [1426]

CHRIST MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO SAUL OF TARSUS, LATER KNOWN AS PAUL, THEAPOSTLE. 

Among the disputants who, when defeated in discussion, conspired againstStephen and brought about his death, were Jews from Cilicia. [1427]Associated with them was a young man named Saul, a native of theCilician city of Tarsus. This man was an able scholar, a forcefulcontroversialist, an ardent defender of what he regarded as the right, and a vigorous assailant of what to him was wrong. Though born in Tarsushe had been brought to Jerusalem in early youth and had there grown up astrict Pharisee and an aggressive supporter of Judaism. He was a studentof the law under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the most eminentmasters of the time[1428] and had the confidence of the highpriest. [1429] His father, or perhaps an earlier progenitor, had acquiredthe rank of Roman citizenship, and Saul was a born heir to thatdistinction. Saul was a violent opponent of the apostles and the Church, and had made himself a party to the death of Stephen by openlyconsenting thereunto and by holding in personal custody the garments ofthe false witnesses while they stoned the martyr. 

He wrought havoc in the Church by entering private houses and halingthence men and women suspected of belief in the Christ, and these hecaused to be cast into prison. [1430] The persecution in which he took soprominent a part caused a scattering of the disciples throughout Judea, Samaria, and other lands; though the apostles remained and continuedtheir ministry in Jerusalem. [1431] Not content with local activityagainst the Church, "Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughteragainst the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, anddesired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he foundany of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring thembound unto Jerusalem. "[1432]

As Saul and his attendants neared Damascus they were halted by anoccurrence of awe-inspiring grandeur. [1433] At noontide there suddenlyappeared a light far exceeding the brightness of the sun, and in thisdazzling splendor the whole party was enveloped, so that they fell tothe ground in terror. In the midst of the unearthly glory, a sound washeard, which to Saul alone was intelligible as an articulate voice; heheard and understood the reproving question spoken in the Hebrew tongue:"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" In trepidation he inquired: "Whoart thou, Lord?" The reply sounded the heart of Saul to its depths: "Iam Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest"; and continued, as insympathetic consideration of the persecutor's situation and therenunciation that would be required of him: "It is hard for thee to kickagainst the pricks. "[1434] The enormity of his hostility and enmityagainst the Lord and His people filled the man's soul with horror, andin trembling contrition he asked: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"The reply was: "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told theewhat thou must do. " The brilliancy of the heavenly light had blindedSaul. His companions led him into Damascus, where, at the house ofJudas, in the street called Straight, he sat in darkness for three days, during which period he neither ate nor drank. 

There lived in that city a faithful disciple named Ananias, to whom theLord spake, instructing him to visit Saul and minister unto him that hemight be healed of his blindness. Ananias was astonished at thecommission, and ventured to remind the Lord that Saul was a notoriouspersecutor of the saints, and had come at that time to Damascus toarrest and put in bonds all believers. But the Lord answered: "Go thyway: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before theGentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him howgreat things he must suffer for my name's sake. " Ananias went to Saul, laid his hands upon the penitent sufferer, saying: "Brother Saul, theLord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled withthe Holy Ghost. " The physical obstruction to vision was removed; scalyparticles fell from the eyes of Saul, and his sight was restored. Without delay or hesitation, he was baptized. When strengthened by foodhe communed with the disciples at Damascus and straightway began topreach in the synagogs, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God. [1435]

When Saul returned to Jerusalem, the disciples were doubtful of hissincerity, they having known of him as a violent persecutor; butBarnabas, a trusted disciple, brought him to the apostles, told of hismiraculous conversion and testified of his valiant service in preachingthe word of God. He was received into fellowship, and afterward wasordained under the hands of the apostles. [1436] His Hebrew name, Saul, was in time substituted by the Latin Paulus, or as to us, Paul. [1437] Inview of his commission to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles, the use ofhis Roman name may have been of advantage, and particularly so as he wasa Roman citizen and therefore could claim the rights and exemptionsattaching to the status of citizenship. [1438]

It is no part of our present purpose to follow even in outline thelabors of the man thus peremptorily and miraculously called into theministry; the fact of Christ's personal manifestations to him is thesole subject of present consideration. While in Jerusalem Paul wasblessed with a visual manifestation of the Lord Jesus, accompanied bythe giving of specific instructions. His own testimony is to thiseffect: "While I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; and saw himsaying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: forthey will not receive thy testimony concerning me. " In explanation ofhis rejection by the people, Paul confessed his evil past, saying, "Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them thatbelieved on thee: and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, Ialso was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept theraiment of them that slew him. " To this the Lord replied: "Depart; for Iwill send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. "[1439] Once again, as he laya prisoner in the Roman castle, the Lord stood by him in the night, andsaid: "Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me inJerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. "[1440]

Paul's personal witness that he had seen the resurrected Christ isexplicit and emphatic. With his enumeration of some of the risen Lord'sappearances he associates his own testimony, as addressed to theCorinthian saints, in this wise: "For I delivered unto you first of allthat which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins accordingto the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again thethird day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundredbrethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, butsome are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of allthe apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born outof due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to becalled an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. "[1441]

CLOSE OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY--THE REVELATION THROUGH JOHN. 

The period of apostolic ministry continued until near the close of thefirst century of our era, approximately sixty to seventy years from thetime of the Lord's ascension. In the course of that epoch the Churchexperienced both prosperity and vicissitude. At first the organized bodyincreased in membership and influence in a manner regarded asphenomenal, if not miraculous. [1442] The apostles and the many otherministers who labored under their direction in graded positions ofauthority strove so effectively to spread the word of God, that Paulwriting approximately thirty years after the ascension affirmed that thegospel had already been carried to every nation, or, to use his words, "preached to every creature under heaven. "[1443] Through the agency ofthe Holy Ghost Christ continued to direct the affairs of His Church onthe earth; and His mortal representatives, the apostles, traveled andtaught, healed the afflicted, rebuked evil spirits, and raised the deadto a renewal of life. [1444]

We are without record of any direct or personal appearance of Christ tomortals between the manifestations to Paul and the revelation to John onthe isle of Patmos. Tradition confirms John's implication that he hadbeen banished thither "for the word of God, and for the testimony ofJesus Christ. "[1445] He avers that what he wrote, now known as the bookof Revelation, is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave untohim, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. "[1446]The apostle gives a vivid description of the glorified Christ as seen byhim: and of the Lord's words he made record as follows: "Fear not; I amthe first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and ofdeath. "[1447] John was commanded to write to each of the seven churches, or branches of the Church of Christ, then existing in Asia, administering reproof, admonition and encouragement, as the condition ofeach required. 

The final ministry of John marked the close of the apostolicadministration in the Primitive Church. His fellow apostles had gone totheir rest, most of them having entered through the gates of martyrdom, and although it was his special privilege to tarry in the flesh untilthe Lord's advent in glory, [1448] he was not to continue his service asan acknowledged minister, known to and accepted by the Church. Evenwhile many of the apostles lived and labored, the seed of apostasy hadtaken root in the Church and had grown with the rankness of perniciousweeds. This condition had been predicted, both by Old Testamentprophets[1449] and by the Lord Jesus. [1450] The apostles also spake inplain prediction of the growth of the apostasy all too grievouslyapparent to them as then in progress. [1451] Personal manifestations ofthe Lord Jesus to mortals appear to have ceased with the passing of theapostles of old, and were not again witnessed until the dawn of theDispensation of the Fulness of Times. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 38. 

1. Presiding Authority and Common Consent. --"Another instance ofofficial action in choosing and setting apart men to special office inthe Church arose soon after the ordination of Matthias. It appears thatone feature of the Church organization in early apostolic days was acommon ownership of material things, distribution being made accordingto need. As the members increased, it was found impracticable for theapostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporalmatters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honestreport, whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of theseaffairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on ofhands. The instance is instructive as showing that the apostles realizedtheir possession of authority to direct in the affairs of the Church, and that they observed with strictness the principle of common consentin the administration of their high office. They exercized theirpriestly powers in the spirit of love, and with due regard to the rightsof the people over whom they were placed to preside. "--The author, _TheGreat Apostasy_, 1:19. 

2. Pentecost. --The name means "fiftieth" and was applied to the Jewishfeast that was celebrated fifty days after the second day of unleavenedbread, or the Passover day. It is also known as "the feast of weeks"(Exo. 34:22; Deut. 16:10), because according to the Hebrew style, itfell seven weeks, or a week of weeks, after the Passover; as "the feastof harvest" (Exo. 23:16); and as "the day of the first-fruits" (Numb. 28:26). Pentecost was one of the great feasts in Israel, and was ofmandatory observance. Special sacrifices were appointed for the day, aswas also an offering suitable to the harvest season, comprizing twoleavened loaves made of the new wheat; these were to be waved before thealtar and then given to the priests (Lev. 23:15-20). Because of theunprecedented events that characterized the first Pentecost after ourLord's ascension, the name has become current in Christian literature asexpressive of any great spiritual awakening or unusual manifestation ofdivine grace. 

3. Having All Things in Common. --No condition recorded of the earlyapostolic ministry expresses more forcefully the unity and devotion ofthe Church in those days than does the fact of the members establishinga system of common ownership of property (Acts 2:44, 46; 4:32-37;6:1-4). One result of this community of interest in temporal things wasa marked unity in spiritual matters; they "were of one heart and of onesoul. " Lacking nothing, they lived in contentment and godliness. Overthirty centuries earlier the people of Enoch had rejoiced in a similarcondition of oneness, and their attainments in spiritual excellence wereso effective that "the Lord came and dwelt with his people . .. And theLord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and onemind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. " (P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:16-18. ) The Nephite disciples grew in holiness, as"they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, onewith another. " (B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 26:19; see also 4 Nephi 1:2-3. ) Asystem of unity in material affairs has been revealed to the Church inthis current dispensation, (Doc. And Cov. 82:17, 18; 51:10-13, 18;104:70-77), to the blessings of which the people may attain as theylearn to replace selfish concern by altruism, and individual advantageby devotion to the general welfare. --See _The Articles of Faith_, xxiv:13-15. 

4. Saul's Conversion. --The sudden change of heart by which an ardentpersecutor of the saints was so transformed as to become a truedisciple, is to the average mind a miracle. Saul of Tarsus was a devotedstudent and observer of the law, a strict Pharisee. We find nointimation that he ever met or saw Jesus during the Lord's life in theflesh; and his contact with the Christian movement appears to have beenbrought about through disputation with Stephen. In determining what hewould call right and what wrong the young enthusiast was guided too muchby mind and too little by heart. His learning, which should have beenhis servant, was instead his master. He was a leading spirit in thecruel persecution of the first converts to Christianity; yet none candoubt his belief that even in such he was rendering service to Jehovah(compare John 16:2). His unusual energy and superb ability weremisdirected. As soon as he realized the error of his course, he turnedabout, without counting risk, cost, or the certainty of persecution andprobable martyrdom. His repentance was as genuine as had been hispersecuting zeal. All through his ministry he was tortured by the past(Acts 22:4, 19, 20; 1 Cor. 15:9; 2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 1:13); yet he found ameasure of relief in the knowledge that he had acted in good conscience(Acts 26:9-11). It was "hard for him to kick against the pricks"(revised version "goad, " Acts 9:5; 26:14) of tradition, training, andeducation; yet he hesitated not. He was a chosen instrument for the workof the Lord (Acts 9:15); and promptly he responded to the Master's will. Whatever of error Saul of Tarsus had committed through youthful zeal, Paul the apostle gave his all--his time, talent, and life--to expiate. He was preeminently the Lord's apostle to the Gentiles; and this openingof the doors to others than Jews was the main contention between himselfand Stephen. In accordance with the divine and fateful purpose, Paul wascalled to do the work, in opposition to which he had been a participantin the martyrdom of Stephen. At the Lord's word of direction Paul wasready to preach Christ to the Gentiles; only by a miracle could theJewish exclusiveness of Peter and the Church generally be overcome (Acts10; and 11:1-18). 

5. Rapid Growth of the Primitive Church. --Eusebius, who wrote in theearly part of the fourth century, speaking of the first decade after theSavior's ascension, says: "Thus, then, under a celestial influence andcooperation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divineprophecy, the sound of His inspired evangelists and apostles had gonethroughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly abounding and filled with members from everypeople. Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended tothem from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease ofidolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ, through the teachings and miracles of His messengers. "--(Eusebius, _Eccles. Hist. _, Book I, ch. 3. )

6. Patmos. --A small island in the Icarian section of the Aegean Sea. Dr. John R. Sterret writes of it in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_ asfollows: "A volcanic island of the Sporades group, now nearly treeless. It is characterized by an indented coast and has a safe harbor. By theRomans it was made a place of exile for the lower class of criminals. John, the author of 'Revelation' was banished thither by Domitian, 94A. D. According to tradition he lived there at hard labor for eighteenmonths. "

7. The Holy Ghost Given. --In answer to a question as to whether the HolyGhost was received by the apostles at or before Pentecost, a statementwas published by the First Presidency of the Church on February 5, 1916(see _Deseret News_ of that date), from which statement the followingexcerpts are taken: "The answer to this question depends upon what ismeant by 'receiving' the Holy Ghost. If reference is made to the promiseof Jesus to His apostles about the endowment or gift of the Holy Ghostby the presence and ministration of the 'personage of Spirit, ' calledthe Holy Ghost by revelation (Doc. And Cov. 130:22), then the answer is, it was not until the day of Pentecost that the promise was fulfilled. But the divine essence called the Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, or HolyGhost, by which God created or organized all things, and by which theprophets wrote and spoke, was bestowed in former ages, and inspired theapostles in their ministry long before the day of Pentecost. .. . We readthat Jesus, after His resurrection, breathed upon His disciples andsaid, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost. ' But we also read that He said, 'Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in thecity of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high' (John20:22; Luke 24:49). We read further: 'For the Holy Ghost was not yetgiven; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. ' (John 7:39. ) Thus thepromise was made, but the fulfilment came after, so that the Holy Ghostsent by Jesus from the Father did not come in person until the day ofPentecost, and the cloven tongues of fire were the sign of His coming. "

FOOTNOTES:

[1400] Acts 1:15-26. 

[1401] Luke 24:52, 53; Acts 1:12-14. 

[1402] 1 Cor. 15:20; Rev. 1:5; Colos. 1:18. 

[1403] Matt. 27:52, 53. 

[1404] Acts 1:16; compare Psalm 41:9; see also John 13:18. 

[1405] Acts 1:20. The revised version substitutes on a preponderance ofauthority "office" or, (marginal reading), "overseership, " for theerroneous rendering "bishoprick" in the common version. Compare Psalm109:8. 

[1406] Acts 6:1-6; Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1407] Acts 2:1-41. Note 7, end of chapter. 

[1408] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1409] Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 5, 8. 

[1410] Acts 2:6, in a better rendering than that of the common text (seerevised version) reads: "And when this sound was heard, the multitudecame together. "

[1411] Joel 2:28, 29; compare Zech. 12:10. 

[1412] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1413] Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-37; 6:1-4. 

[1414] Acts 3:6; read the entire chapter. 

[1415] Acts 4:1-22. 

[1416] Acts 4:8-12; compare Psalm 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42. 

[1417] Acts 5:12-17. 

[1418] Matt. 27:25; compare 23:35; see pages 638 and 648 herein. 

[1419] Acts 22:3. 

[1420] Acts 5:33-40. 

[1421] Acts 6:7. 

[1422] Acts 6:8-15; and 7. 

[1423] Acts 7:1-53. 

[1424] Isa. 66:1, 2; see also Matt. 5:34, 35; 23:22. 

[1425] Acts 7:56. Note this exceptional application of the title, Son ofMan, to Christ by anyone other than Himself. See page 142 herein. 

[1426] Acts 8:4; 11:19. 

[1427] Acts 6:9. 

[1428] Acts 22:3; compare 5:34; page 708 herein. 

[1429] In view of Saul's social status and recognized ability, manybelieve him to have been a member of the Sanhedrin; but for thisassumption we find no definite warrant in scripture. 

[1430] Acts 7:58; 8:1-3. 

[1431] Acts 8:1. 

[1432] Acts 9:1, 2. Observe that "way" here used for the first time toconnote the gospel or religion of Christ, occurs frequently in Acts(16:17; 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). 

[1433] Three versions of this manifestation and its immediate resultsappear in Acts (9:3-29; 22:6-16; and 26:12-18): the first is thehistorian's narrative, while the others are given as reports of Saul'sown words. 

[1434] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1435] Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1436] Acts 9:26-28; 13:2, 3. 

[1437] Acts 13:9. 

[1438] Acts 16:37-40; 22:25-28; 23:27; 25:11; 26:32; 28:19. 

[1439] Acts 22:17-21. 

[1440] Acts 23:11. 

[1441] 1 Cor. 15:3-9. 

[1442] Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1443] Col. 1:23; see verse 6; also "The Great Apostasy, " 1:20, 21. 

[1444] Acts 9:36-43. 

[1445] Rev. 1:9; see Note 6, end of chapter. 

[1446] Rev. 1:1; read the whole chapter. 

[1447] Rev. 1:10-20. 

[1448] Page 694 herein. 

[1449] Isa. 24:1-6; Amos. 8:11, 12. 

[1450] Matt. 24:4, 5, 10-13, 23-26. 

[1451] Acts 20:17-31, particularly 29, 30; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; 2Thess. 2:3, 4, 7, 8; 2 Peter 2:1-3, read the entire chapter and observeits application to conditions in the world today; Jude 3, 4, 17-19; Rev. 13:4, 6-9; 14:6, 7. See "The Great Apostasy, " chapter 2. 

CHAPTER 39. 

MINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

By considering the apostolic ministry in immediate sequence to our studyof the Lord's ascension from the Mount of Olives, we have departed fromthe chronological order of the several personal manifestations of therisen Savior to mortals; for very soon after His final farewell to theapostles in Judea He visited His "other sheep, " not of the eastern fold, whose existence He had affirmed in that impressive sermon concerning theGood Shepherd and His sheep. [1452] Those other sheep who were to hearthe Shepherd's voice and eventually be made part of the united fold, were the descendants of Lehi who, with his family and a few others, hadleft Jerusalem 600 B. C. And had crossed the great deep to what we nowknow as the American continent, whereon they had grown to be a mightythough a divided people. [1453]

THE LORD'S DEATH SIGNALIZED BY GREAT CALAMITIES ON THE AMERICANCONTINENT. 

As already set forth in these pages, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem hadbeen made known to the Nephite nation on the western hemisphere bydivine revelation; and the glad event had been marked by the appearanceof a new star, by a night devoid of darkness so that two days and thenight between had been as one day, and by other wonderful occurrences, all of which had been predicted through the prophets of the westernworld. [1454] Samuel the Lamanite, who through faithfulness and goodworks had become a prophet, mighty in word and deed, duly chosen andcommissioned of God, had coupled with his predictions of the gloriousoccurrences that were to mark the birth of Christ, prophecies of othersigns--of darkness, terror, and destruction--by which the Savior's deathon the cross would be signalized. [1455] Every prophetic word concerningthe phenomena that were to attend the Lord's birth had been fulfilled;and many people had been brought thereby to believe in Christ as thepromised Redeemer; but, as is usual with those whose belief rests onmiracles, many among the Nephites "began to forget those signs andwonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonishedat a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hardin their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve allwhich they had heard and seen. "[1456]

Thirty and three years had sped their course since the illumined nightand the other signs of Messiah's advent; then, on the fourth day of thefirst month, or, according to our calendar, during the first week ofApril, in the thirty-fourth year, there arose a great and terribletempest, with thunderings, lightnings, and both elevations anddepressions of the earth's surface, so that the highways were broken up, mountains were sundered, and many cities were utterly destroyed byearthquake, fire, and the inrush of the sea. For three hours theunprecedented holocaust continued; and then thick darkness fell, in thewhich it was found impossible to kindle a fire; the awful gloom was likeunto the darkness of Egypt[1457] in that its clammy vapors could befelt. This condition lasted until the third day, so that a night a dayand a night were as one unbroken night, and the impenetrable blacknesswas rendered the more terrible by the wailing of the people, whoseheart-rending refrain was everywhere the same, "O that we had repentedbefore this great and terrible day. "[1458]

Then, piercing the darkness, came a Voice, [1459] before which thefrightful chorus of human lamentation was silenced; "Wo, wo, wo untothis people" resounded throughout the land. The Voice proclaimedincreasing woes except the people should repent. Destruction hadbefallen because of wickedness, and the devil was then laughing over thenumber of the dead and the retributive cause of their destruction. Theextent of the dread calamity was detailed; cities that had been burnedwith their inhabitants, others that had sunk into the sea, yet othersburied in the earth, were enumerated; and the divine reason for thiswidespread destruction was plainly set forth--that the wickedness andabominations of the people might be hidden from the face of the earth. Those who had lived to hear were declared to be the more righteous ofthe inhabitants; and to them hope was offered on conditions of morethorough repentance and reformation. 

The identity of the Voice was thus made known: "Behold, I am JesusChrist the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and allthings that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I amin the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorifiedhis name. " The Lord commanded that the people should no longer serve Himwith bloody sacrifices and burnt offerings; for the law of Moses wasfulfilled; and thenceforth the only acceptable sacrifice would be thebroken heart and the contrite spirit; and such should never be rejected. The humble and repentant the Lord would receive as His own. "Behold, " Hesaid, "for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again;therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved. "

The Voice ceased; and through the space of many hours of continuingdarkness vociferous lamentations were hushed, for the people wereconvicted of their guilt and silently wept in astonishment over whatthey had heard, and in hopeful anticipation of the salvation that hadbeen offered. A second time the Voice was heard, as in sorrow over thosewho had refused to accept the Savior's succor; for often had Heprotected them, more often would He have so done had they been willing, and yet in the future would He cherish them, "as a hen gathereth herchickens under her wings" if they would repent and live inrighteousness. On the morning of the third day the darkness dispersed, seismic disturbances ceased, and the storms abated. As the pall waslifted from the land the people saw how profound had been theconvulsions of earth, and how great had been their loss of kindred andfriends. In their contrition and humiliation they remembered thepredictions of the prophets, and knew that the mandate of the Lord hadbeen executed upon them. [1460]

Christ had risen; and following Him many of the righteous dead on thewestern continent rose from their graves, and appeared as resurrected, immortalized beings among the survivors of the land-wide destruction;even as in Judea many of the saints had been raised immediately afterthe resurrection of Christ. [1461]

FIRST VISITATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE NEPHITES. [1462]

About six weeks or more after the events last considered, [1463] a greatmultitude of the Nephites had assembled at the temple in the land calledBountiful, [1464] and were earnestly discoursing with one another overthe great changes that had been wrought in the land, and particularlyconcerning Jesus Christ, of whose atoning death the predicted signs hadbeen witnessed in all their tragic details. The prevailing spirit of theassembly was that of contrition and reverence. While thus congregatedthey heard a sound as of a Voice from above; but both a first and asecond utterance were to them unintelligible. As they listened with raptintentness, the Voice was heard a third time, and it said unto them:"_Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I haveglorified my name: hear ye him. _"[1465]

While gazing upward in reverent expectation, the people beheld a Man, clothed in a white robe, who descended and stood among them. He spake, saying: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shallcome into the world; and behold, I am the light and the life of theworld; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hathgiven me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins ofthe world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in allthings from the beginning. " The multitude prostrated themselves inadoration for they remembered that their prophets had foretold that theLord would appear among them after His resurrection and ascension. [1466]

As He directed, the people arose, and one by one came to Him, and didsee and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and thespear-wound in His side. Moved to adoring utterance, with one accordthey cried: "Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God!" then, falling at the feet of Jesus, they worshiped Him. 

Summoning Nephi and eleven others to approach, the Lord gave themauthority to baptize the people after His departure, and prescribed themode of baptism with particular injunction against disputation in thematter or alteration of the given form, as witness the Lord's words:

 "Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying, Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name, for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been. "[1467]

The people in general, and particularly the Twelve, chosen as stated, were impressively warned against contention over matters of doctrine, the spirit of which was declared to be of the devil, "who is the fatherof contention. " The doctrine of Jesus Christ was set forth in simple yetcomprehensive summary in these words:

 "Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me, and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men: everywhere, to repent and believe in me; And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned. "[1468]

Repentance, and humility akin to that of the innocent trusting childwere the prerequisites for baptism, without which none could inherit thekingdom of God. With the incisiveness and simplicity that hadcharacterized His teachings in Palestine, the Lord thus instructed Hisnewly chosen Twelve:

 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this, buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock, but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell standeth open to receive such, when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. Therefore go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken unto the ends of the earth. "[1469]

Then, turning to the multitude, Jesus admonished them to give heed tothe teachings of the Twelve, and continued with a discourse embodyingthe sublime principles He had taught among the Jews in the Sermon on theMount. [1470] The Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the same splendidarray of ennobling precepts are set forth, and the same wealth ofeffective comparison and apt illustration appear, in both Matthew's andNephi's versions of this unparalleled address; but a significantdifference is observed in every reference to the fulfilment of theMosaic law; for where the Jewish scriptures record the Lord's words aspointing to a fulfilment then incomplete, the corresponding expressionsin the Nephite account are in the past tense, the law having beenalready fulfilled in its entirety through the death and resurrection ofChrist. Thus, to the Jews Jesus had said: "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all befulfilled"; but to the Nephites: "For verily I say unto you, one jot norone tittle hath not passed away from the law, but in me it hath all beenfulfilled. "[1471]

Many marveled over this matter, wondering what the Lord would have themdo concerning the law of Moses; "for they understood not the saying thatold things had passed away, and that all things had become new. " Jesus, conscious of their perplexity, proclaimed in plainness that He was theGiver of the law, and that by Him had it been fulfilled and thereforeabrogated. His affirmation is particularly explicit:

 "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end. Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled. And because I said unto you, that old things hath passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come. For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses, hath an end in me. "[1472]

Addressing Himself to the Twelve He affirmed that never had the Fathercommanded Him to inform the Jews concerning the existence of theNephites, except indirectly by mention of other sheep not of the Jewishfold; and as, "because of stiffneckedness and unbelief, " they had failedto comprehend His words, the Father had commanded Him to say no morewith reference either to the Nephites or to the third fold--comprizing"the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led awayout of the land. " To the Nephite disciples Jesus taught many othermatters that had been withheld from the Jews, who through unfitness toreceive had been left in ignorance. Even the Jewish apostles had wronglysupposed that those "other sheep" were the Gentile nations, notrealizing that the carrying of the gospel to the Gentiles was part oftheir particular mission, and oblivious to the fact that never wouldChrist manifest Himself in person to those who were not of the house ofIsrael. Through the promptings of the Holy Ghost and under theministrations of men commissioned and sent would the Gentiles hear theword of God; but to the personal manifestation of the Messiah they wereineligible. [1473] Great, however, will be the Lord's mercies andblessings to the Gentiles who accept the truth, for unto them the HolyGhost shall bear witness of the Father and of the Son; and all of themwho comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel shall be numberedin the house of Israel. Their conversion and enfoldment with the Lord'sown will be as individuals, and not as nations, tribes, orpeoples. [1474]

The adoring multitude, numbering about two thousand five hundred souls, thought that Jesus was about to depart; and they tearfully yearned tohave Him remain. He comforted them with the assurance that He wouldreturn on the morrow, and admonished them to ponder upon the things Hehad taught, and to pray in His name to the Father for understanding. Hehad already informed the Twelve, and now stated to the people, that Hewould show Himself and minister "unto the lost tribes of Israel, forthey are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath takenthem. " Voicing the compassion He felt, the Lord directed the people tofetch their afflicted ones, the lame, halt, maimed, blind and deaf, theleprous, and the withered; and when these were brought He healed them, every one. Then, as He commanded, parents brought their little children, and placed them in a circle around Him. The multitude bowed in prayer;and Jesus prayed for them; "And, " wrote Nephi, "no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of menconceive so great and marvellous things as we both saw and heard Jesusspeak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at thetime we heard him pray for us unto the Father. " The prayer being ended, Jesus bade the multitude arise; and joyfully He exclaimed: "Blessed areye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. " Jesus wept. Then He took the children, one by one, and blessed them, praying untothe Father for each. 

 "And when he had done this he wept again, and he spake unto the multitude, and saith unto them, behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold, they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were, in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. "[1475]

The Lord Jesus sent for bread and wine, and caused the people to sitdown. The bread He brake and blessed, and gave thereof to the Twelve;these, having eaten, distributed bread to the multitude. The wine wasblessed, and all partook, the Twelve first, and afterward the people. With impressiveness similar to that attending the institution of theSacrament of the Lord's Supper among the apostles in Jerusalem, Jesusmade plain the sanctity and significance of the ordinance, saying thatauthority for its future administration would be given; and that it wasto be participated in by all who had been baptized into fellowship withChrist, and was always to be observed in remembrance of Him, the breadbeing the sacred emblem of His body, the wine the token of His bloodthat had been shed. By express commandment, the Lord forbade thesacrament of bread and wine to all but the worthy; "For, " He explained, "whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth anddrinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man isunworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood, ye shall forbid him. "But the people were forbidden to cast out from their assemblies thosefrom whom the Sacrament was to be withheld, if so be they would butrepent and seek fellowship through baptism. [1476]

The necessity of prayer was explicitly emphasized by the Lord, thecommandment to pray being given to the Twelve and to the multitudeseparately. Individual supplication, family devotions, andcongregational worship were thus enjoined:

 "Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name; and whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you. Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed. And behold, ye shall meet together oft, and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you, and forbid them not; but ye shall pray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if it so be that they come unto you oft, ye shall pray for them unto the Father, in my name. "[1477]

The Lord then touched with His hand each of the Twelve, investing them, in words unheard by others, with power to confer the Holy Ghost by theimposition of hands upon all repentant and baptized believers. [1478] Ashe finished the ordination of the Twelve, a cloud overshadowed thepeople, so that the Lord was hidden from their sight; but the twelvedisciples "saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven. "

CHRIST'S SECOND VISITATION TO THE NEPHITES. [1479]

On the morrow a yet greater multitude assembled in expectation of theSavior's return. Throughout the night messengers had spread the glorioustidings of the Lord's appearing, and of His promise to again visit Hispeople. So great was the assembly that Nephi and his associates causedthe people to separate into twelve bodies, to each of which one of thedisciples was assigned to impart instruction and to lead in prayer. Theburden of supplication was that the Holy Ghost should be given untothem. Led by the chosen disciples the whole vast concourse approachedthe water's edge, and Nephi, going first, was baptized by immersion; hethen baptized the eleven others whom Jesus had chosen. When the Twelvehad come forth out of the water, "they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. And behold, they were encircled about as if it were fire;and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and dobear record; and angels did come down out of heaven, and did ministerunto them. And it came to pass that while the angels were ministeringunto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst, andministered unto them. "[1480]

Thus Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples and ministeringangels. At His command the Twelve and the multitude knelt in prayer; andthey prayed unto Jesus, calling Him their Lord and their God. Jesusseparated Himself by a little space, and in humble attitude prayed, saying in part: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the HolyGhost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their beliefin me, that I have chosen them out of the world. Father, I pray theethat thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe intheir words. " The disciples were yet fervently praying to Jesus when Hereturned to them; and as He looked upon them with merciful and approvingsmile, they were glorified in His presence, so that their countenancesand their apparel shone with a brilliancy like unto that of the face andgarments of the Lord, even so that "there could be nothing on earth sowhite as the whiteness thereof. " A second and a third time Jesus retiredand prayed unto the Father; and while the people comprehended themeaning of His prayer, they confessed and bare record that "so great andmarvellous were the words which he prayed, that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man. " The Lord rejoiced in the faith ofthe people, and to the disciples He said: "So great faith have I neverseen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not shew unto them so greatmiracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there arenone of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neitherhave they heard so great things as ye have heard. "[1481] Then the Lordadministered the Sacrament in manner as on the yesterday; but both thebread and the wine were provided without human aid. The sanctity of theordinance was thus expressed: "He that eateth this bread, eateth of mybody to his soul, and he that drinketh of this wine, drinketh of myblood to his soul, and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shallbe filled. "

This was followed by instructions concerning the covenant people, Israel, of whom the Nephites were a part, and of the relation they wouldbear to the Gentile nations in the future development of the divinepurpose. Jesus declared Himself to be that Prophet whose coming Moseshad foretold, and the Christ of whom all the prophets had testified. Thetemporary supremacy of the Gentiles, whereby the further scattering ofIsrael would be accomplished, and the eventual gathering of the covenantpeople, were predicted, with frequent reference to the inspiredutterances of Isaiah bearing thereon. [1482] The future of Lehi'sdescendants was pictured as a dwindling in unbelief through iniquity; inconsequence of which the Gentiles would grow to be a mighty people onthe western continent, even though that land had been given as anultimate inheritance to the house of Israel. The establishment of thethen future but now existent American nation, characterized as "a freepeople, " was thus foretold and God's purpose therein explained: "For itis wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that thesethings might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that thecovenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted withhis people, O house of Israel. "[1483]

As a sign of the time in which the gathering of the several branches ofIsrael from their long dispersion should take place, the Lord specifiedthe prosperity of the Gentiles in America, and their agency in bringingthe scriptures to the degraded remnant of Lehi's posterity or theAmerican Indians. [1484] It was made plain that all Gentiles who wouldrepent, and accept the gospel of Christ through baptism, should benumbered among the covenant people and be made partakers of theblessings incident to the last days, in which the New Jerusalem would beestablished on the American continent. The joyful account of gatheredIsrael as Jehovah had given it aforetime through the mouth of Hisprophet Isaiah, was repeated by the resurrected Jehovah to His Nephiteflock. [1485] Admonishing them to ponder the words of the prophets, whichwere of record amongst them, and to give heed to the new scriptures Hehad made known, and especially commanding the Twelve to teach the peoplefurther concerning the things He had expounded, the Lord informed themof the revelations given through Malachi, and directed that the same bewritten. [1486]

The prophecies so reiterated by Him who had inspired Malachi toutterance, were at that time obviously of the future, and are even yetunfulfilled in their entirety. The advent of the Lord, to which thesescriptures testify, is yet future; but that the time is now near--that"great and dreadful day of the Lord"--is attested by the fact thatElijah who was to come before that day, has appeared in the discharge ofhis particular commission--that of turning the hearts of the livingchildren to their dead progenitors, and the hearts of the departedfathers to their still mortal posterity. [1487]

The personal ministry of Christ on the occasion of this secondvisitation lasted three days, during which He gave the people manyscriptures, such as had been before given unto the Jews, for so theFather had commanded; and He expounded unto them the purposes of God, from the beginning until the time at which Christ shall return in Hisglory; "And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and allkindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to bejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil; ifthey be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they beevil, to the resurrection of damnation, being on a parallel, the one onthe one hand, and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before theworld began. " In merciful ministration He healed their afflicted folk, and raised a man from the dead. At later but unspecified times, Heshowed Himself among the Nephites, and "did break bread oft, and blessit, and give it unto them. "[1488]

After His second ascension from among them, the spirit of prophecy wasmanifest among the people, and this extended even to children and babes, many of whom spake of marvelous things, as the Spirit gave themutterance. The Twelve entered upon their ministry with vigor, teachingall who would hear, and baptizing those who, through repentance, soughtcommunion with the Church. Upon all who thus complied with therequirements of the gospel, the Holy Ghost was bestowed; and those soblessed lived together in love, and were called the Church ofChrist. [1489]

CHRIST'S VISITATION TO HIS CHOSEN TWELVE AMONG THE NEPHITES. [1490]

Under the administration of the twelve ordained disciples the Churchgrew and prospered in the land of Nephi. [1491] The disciples, as specialwitnesses of the Christ, traveled, preached, taught, and baptized allwho professed faith and showed forth repentance. On a certain occasionthe Twelve were assembled in "mighty prayer and fasting, " seekinginstruction on a particular matter which, notwithstanding the Lord'sinjunction against contention, had given rise to disputation among thepeople. As they supplicated the Father in the Son's name, Jesus appearedamongst them, and asked: "What will ye that I shall give unto you?"Their answer was: "Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the namewhereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among thepeople concerning this matter. " They had provisionally called thecommunity of baptized believers the Church of Christ; but, apparentlythis true and distinguishing name had not been generally acceptedwithout question. 

 "And the Lord said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? for by this name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day; therefore whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name, that he will bless the church for my sake; And how be it my church, save it be called in my name? for if a church be called in Moses' name, then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man, then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name, then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name, the Father will hear you; and if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel, then will the Father shew forth his own works in it; but if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you, they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return; for their works do follow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you. "[1492]

In such wise did the Lord confirm as an authoritative bestowal, the namewhich, through inspiration, had been assumed by His obedient children, _The Church of Jesus Christ_. The Lord's explanation as to the one andonly Name by which the Church could be appropriately known is cogent andconvincing. It was not the church of Lehi or Nephi, of Mosiah or Alma, of Samuel or Helaman; else it should have been called by the name of theman whose church it was, even as today there are churches named aftermen;[1493] but being the Church established by Jesus Christ, it couldproperly bear none other name than His. 

Jesus then reiterated to the Nephite Twelve many of the cardinalprinciples He had before enunciated to them and to the people at large;and commanded that His words be written, excepting certain exaltedcommunications which He forbade them to write. The importance ofpreserving as a priceless treasure the new scriptures He had given wasshown, with assurance that in heaven records were kept of all thingsdone by divine direction. The Twelve were told that they were to be thejudges of their people; and in view of such investiture they wereadmonished to diligence and godliness. [1494] The Lord was made glad bythe faith and ready obedience of the Nephites amongst whom He hadministered; and to the twelve special witnesses He said: "And nowbehold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and alsothis generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all theholy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them arelost. Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who arenow alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them Ihave fulness of joy. " His joy, however, was mingled with sorrow becauseof the apostasy into which the later generations would fall; this Heforesaw as a dire condition that would attain its climax in the fourthgeneration from that time. [1495]

THE THREE NEPHITES. 

In loving compassion the Lord spoke unto the twelve disciples, one byone, asking: "What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone tothe Father?"[1496] All but three expressed the desire that they mightcontinue in the ministry until they had reached a goodly age, and thenin due time be received by the Lord into His kingdom. To them Jesus gaveblessed assurance, saying: "After that ye are seventy and two years old, ye shall come unto me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest. " Heturned to the three who had reserved the request they ventured not toexpress;

 "And he said unto them, Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me; therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death, but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father, unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled, according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory, with the powers of heaven; and ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory, ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality: and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. "[1497]

The blessed three were assured that in the course of their prolongedlife they should be immune to pain, and should know sorrow only as theygrieved for the sins of the world. For their desire to labor in bringingsouls unto Christ as long as the world should stand, they were promisedan eventual fulness of joy, even like unto that to which the LordHimself had attained. Jesus touched each of the nine who were to liveand die in the Lord, but the three who were to tarry till He would comein His glory He did not touch. "And then he departed. "

A change was wrought in the bodies of the Three Nephites, so that, whilethey remained in the flesh, they were exempt from the usual effects ofphysical vicissitude. The heavens were opened to their gaze; they werecaught up, and saw and heard unspeakable things. "And it was forbiddenthem that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power thatthey could utter the things which they saw and heard. " Though they livedand labored as men among their fellows, preaching, baptizing, andconferring the Holy Ghost upon all who gave heed to their words, theenemies to the truth were powerless to do them injury. Somewhat laterthan a hundred and seventy years after the Lord's last visitation, malignant persecution was waged against the Three. For their zeal in theministry they were cast into prison; but "the prisons could not holdthem, for they were rent in twain. " They were incarcerated inunderground dungeons; "But they did smite the earth with the word ofGod, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths ofthe earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to holdthem. " Thrice they were cast into a furnace of fire, but received noharm; and three times were they thrown into dens of ravenous beasts, but, "behold they did play with the beasts, as a child with a sucklinglamb, and received no harm. "[1498] Mormon avers that in answer to hisprayers the Lord had made known unto him that the change wrought uponthe bodies of the Three, was such as to deprive Satan of all power overthem, and that "they were holy, and that the powers of the earth couldnot hold them; and in this state they were to remain until the judgmentday of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change, and to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, butto dwell with God eternally in the heavens. "[1499] For nearly threehundred years, and possibly longer, the Three Nephites ministeredvisibly among their fellows; but as the wickedness of the peopleincreased these special ministers were withdrawn, and thereaftermanifested themselves only to the righteous few. Moroni, the lastprophet of the Nephites, when engaged in completing the record of hisfather, Mormon, and adding thereto matters of his own knowledge, wroteconcerning these three disciples of the Lord, that they "did tarry inthe land until the wickedness of the people was so great, that the Lordwould not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they beupon the face of the land no man knoweth. But behold, my father and Ihave seen them, and they have ministered unto us. "[1500] Their ministrywas to be extended to Jews and Gentiles, amongst whom they laborunrecognized as of ancient birth; and they are sent unto the scatteredtribes of Israel, and to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, from whom they have brought and are bringing many souls unto Christ, "that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincingpower of God which is in them. "[1501]

GROWTH OF THE CHURCH FOLLOWED BY THE APOSTASY OF THE NEPHITE NATION. 

The Church of Jesus Christ developed rapidly in the land of Nephi, andbrought to its faithful adherents unprecedented blessings. Even thehereditary animosity between Nephites and Lamanites was forgotten; andall lived in peace and prosperity. So great was the unity of the Churchthat its members owned all things in common, and "therefore they werenot rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, andpartakers of the heavenly gift. "[1502] Populous cities replaced thedesolation of ruin that had befallen at the time of the Lord'scrucifixion. The land was blessed, and the people rejoiced inrighteousness. "And it came to pass that there was no contention in theland, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of thepeople. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, norwhoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness;and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people whohad been created by the hand of God. "[1503] Nine of the twelve specialwitnesses chosen by the Lord passed at appointed times to their rest, and others were ordained in their stead. The state of blessed prosperityand of common ownership continued for a period of a hundred andsixty-seven years; but soon thereafter came a most distressing change. Pride displaced humility, display of costly apparel superseded thesimplicity of happier days; rivalry led to contention, and thence thepeople "did have their goods and their substance no more common amongthem, and they began to be divided into classes, and they began to buildup churches unto themselves, to get gain, and began to deny the truechurch of Christ. "[1504] Man-made churches multiplied, and persecution, true sister to intolerance, became rampant. The red-skinned Lamanitesreverted to their degraded ways, and developed a murderous hostilityagainst their white brothers; and all manner of corrupt practises becamecommon among both nations. For many decades the Nephites retreatedbefore their aggressive foes, making their way north-eastward throughwhat is now the United States. About 400 A. D. The last great battle wasfought near the hill Cumorah;[1505] and the Nephite nation becameextinct. [1506] The degenerate remnant of Lehi's posterity, the Lamanitesor American Indians, have continued until this day. Moroni, the last ofthe Nephite prophets, hid away the record of his people in the hillCumorah, whence it has been brought forth by divine direction in thecurrent dispensation. That record is now before the world translatedthrough the gift and power of God, and published to the edification ofall nations, as the BOOK OF MORMON. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 39. 

1. The Land Bountiful. --This comprized the northerly part of SouthAmerica, extending to the Isthmus of Panama. On the north it was boundedby the Land of Desolation, which embraced Central America, and, in laterNephite history, an indefinite extent north of the Isthmus. The SouthAmerican continent in general is called, in the Book of Mormon, the Landof Nephi. 

2. The Jewish and Nephite Versions of the "Sermon on the Mount. "--Asindicated in the text, one of the most impressive contrasts between theSermon on the Mount and the virtual repetition of the discourse by ourLord on the occasion of His visit to the Nephites, is that of predictionconcerning the fulfilment of the law of Moses in the first delivery, andunqualified affirmation in the second that the law had been fulfilled. Among the Beatitudes certain differences appear, in each of which theNephite sermon is more explicit. Thus, instead of, "Blessed are the poorin spirit" (Matt. 5:3), we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit whocome unto me" (3 Nephi 12:3). Instead of, "Blessed are they which dohunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled"(Matt. ), we read, "And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirstafter righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost"(Nephi). Instead of, "for righteousness' sake, " (Matt. ) we have "for myname's sake, " (Nephi). For the difficult passage, "Ye are the salt ofthe earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it besalted?" (Matt. ), we have the clearer expression, "I give unto you to bethe salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewithshall the earth be salted?" (Nephi). And, as already noted, in place of"one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all befulfilled" (Matt. ), we have "one jot nor one tittle hath not passed awayfrom the law, but in me it hath all been fulfilled" (Nephi). Variationsin succeeding verses are incident to this prospective fulfilment(Matt. ), and affirmed accomplishment (Nephi). Instead of the stronganalogy concerning the plucking out of an offending eye, or the severingof an evil hand (Matt. ), we find: "Behold, I give unto you acommandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into yourheart; for it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast intohell" (Nephi). Following the illustrative instances of the gospelrequirements superseding those of the law, the Nephite record presentsthis splendid summation: "Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law in me, are all fulfilled. Old things are doneaway, and all things have become new; therefore I would that ye shouldbe perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. "

In Matthew's report of the sermon, little distinction is made betweenthe precepts addressed to the multitude in general, and the instructionsgiven particularly to the Twelve. Thus, Matt. 6:25-34 was spokeninferentially to the apostles; for they and not the people were to layaside all worldly pursuits; in the sermon delivered to the Nephites thedistinction is thus made clear: "And now it came to pass that when Jesushad spoken these words, he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them, Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore Isay unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or whatye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not thelife more than meat, and the body than raiment?" etc. (See 3 Nephi13:25-34). Matt 7 opens with "Judge not that ye be not judged, " withoutintimation as to its general or special application; 3 Nephi 14 begins"And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, heturned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, judge not, that ye be notjudged. " A careful, verse-by-verse comparison between the Sermon on theMount as recorded by Matthew, and the risen Lord's discourse to Hispeople on the western continent is earnestly recommended to everystudent. 

3. Baptisms Among the Nephites After the Lord's Visitation. --We readthat before the second appearing of Christ to the Nephites, the chosenTwelve were baptized (3 Nephi 19:10-13). These men had doubtless beenbaptized before, for Nephi had been empowered not only to baptize but toordain others to the requisite authority for administering baptism (3Nephi 7:23-26). The baptism of the disciples on the morn of the Savior'ssecond visit, was in the nature of a rebaptism, involving a renewal ofcovenants, and confession of faith in the Lord Jesus. 

It is possible that in the earlier Nephite baptisms some irregularity inmode or impropriety in the spirit of administering the ordinance mayhave arisen; for, as we have seen the Lord enjoined upon the people inconnection with the instructions concerning baptism that disputationsmust cease. (3 Nephi 11:28-33. )

As to second or later baptisms, the author has written elsewhere (see_The Articles of Faith_, vii:12-17) practically as follows. Rebaptismsrecorded in scripture are few, and in each instance the specialcircumstances justifying the action are apparent. Thus, we read of Paulbaptizing certain disciples at Ephesus, though they had already beenimmersed after the manner of John's baptism. But in this case theapostle was evidently unconvinced that the baptism had been solemnizedby due authority, or that the believers had been properly instructed asto the import of the ordinance. When he tested the efficacy of theirbaptism by asking "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?"they answered him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be anyHoly Ghost. " Then asked he in seeming surprize, "Unto what then were yebaptized? and they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, Johnverily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, onChrist Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name ofthe Lord Jesus. " (See Acts 19:1-6. )

In the Church today a repetition of the baptismal rite on an individualis allowable under certain specific conditions. Thus, if one, havingentered the Church by baptism, withdraws from it, or is excommunicatedtherefrom, and afterward repents and desires to regain his standing inthe Church, he can do so only through baptism. However, such is arepetition of the initiatory ordinance as previously administered. Thereis no ordinance of "rebaptism" in the Church distinct in nature, form, or purpose, from other baptism; and, therefore, in administering baptismto a subject who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony isexactly the same as in first baptisms. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1452] John 10:16; compare B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 15:17-21; page 416 herein. 

[1453] See pages 49, 55 herein. 

[1454] Pages 49-52. 

[1455] Helaman 14:14-27. 

[1456] 3 Nephi 2:1. 

[1457] Exo. 10:21-23. 

[1458] Nephi 8:5-25; compare Helaman 14:20-27. 

[1459] Nephi chap. 9. 

[1460] 3 Nephi, chap. 10. 

[1461] Helaman 14:25; 3 Nephi 23:7-13; compare Matt. 27:52, 53. 

[1462] 3 Nephi, chaps. 11-18 inclusive. 

[1463] 3 Nephi 10:18. Bear in mind that Christ's ascension took placeforty days after His resurrection. 

[1464] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1465] 3 Nephi 11:7; compare Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 9:35; P. OfG. P. , Joseph Smith 2:17. 

[1466] 3 Nephi 11:12; compare 1 Nephi 12:6; 2 Nephi 26:1, 9; Alma 16:20. 

[1467] 3 Nephi 11:23-28; compare Doc. And Cov. 20:72-74. 

[1468] 3 Nephi 11:31-34; compare Mark 16:15, 16; see also John 12:48. 

[1469] 3 Nephi 11:39-41. 

[1470] 3 Nephi, chaps. 12, 13, 14; compare Matt, chaps. 5, 6, 7. 

[1471] Matt. 5:18, and 3 Nephi 12:18; compare 46, 47; 15:2-10; and9:17-20. See Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1472] 3 Nephi 15:4-8. See pages 234, 373, 374 herein. 

[1473] 3 Nephi 15:11-24. 

[1474] 3 Nephi 16:4-20. 

[1475] 3 Nephi 17:23-24; read entire chapter. 

[1476] 3 Nephi 18:1-14, 27-34; compare 1 Cor. 11:23-30. For theprescribed manner of administering the Sacrament, see Moroni, chaps. 4and 5; compare Doc. And Cov. 20:75-79. 

[1477] 3 Nephi 18:19-23. 

[1478] 3 Nephi 18:36, 37; Moroni 2:1-3. 

[1479] 3 Nephi, chaps. 19-25, and 26:1-5. 

[1480] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1481] Nephi, chap. 19:35, 36; read the entire chapter. 

[1482] Nephi, chap. 20; see references to Isaiah given therein. 

[1483] Nephi 21:4. 

[1484] Nephi 21:1-7; for prophecies concerning subsequent events seeremainder of chapter. 

[1485] Nephi, chap. 22; compare Isa. Chap. 54. 

[1486] Nephi, chaps. 24 and 25; compare Malachi, chap. 3 and 4. 

[1487] Doc. And Cov. 110:13-16. Elijah appeared in the Kirtland TempleApril 3, A. D. 1836, and committed to the Church the keys of authorityfor vicarious work in behalf of the dead. See chapter 41 herein, page775. 

[1488] 3 Nephi 26:4, 5, 13-15. 

[1489] Nephi 26:14-21. 

[1490] Nephi, chaps. 26, 27, and 28:1-12. 

[1491] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1492] Nephi 27:4-12. 

[1493] E. G. Of Calvin, Luther, Wesley; see also "The Great Apostasy, "10:21, 22. 

[1494] Note the assurance of a similar commission promised the Jewishapostles: Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30. See also 1 Nephi 12:9. 

[1495] Nephi 27:32 and references given therewith. 

[1496] Nephi 28:1; read verses 1-12. 

[1497] 3 Nephi 28:6-8; see page 694 herein. 

[1498] 3 Nephi 28:13-23; compare 4 Nephi 1:14, 29-33. 

[1499] 3 Nephi 28:39, 40. 

[1500] Mormon 8:10, 11; see also 3 Nephi 28:26-32, 36-40, 4 Nephi 1:14, 37; Ether 12:17. 

[1501] 3 Nephi 28:27-32. 

[1502] 4 Nephi 1:3; read 1:23; see pages 705 and 718 herein. 

[1503] 4 Nephi 1:15, 16. 

[1504] 4 Nephi 1:25, 26. 

[1505] Near Manchester, Ontario county, New York. 

[1506] See Mormon, chapters 1-9; and Moroni, chapter 10. 

CHAPTER 40. 

THE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY. 

For over seventeen hundred years on the eastern hemisphere, and for morethan fourteen centuries on the western, there appears to have beensilence between the heavens and the earth. [1507] Of direct revelationfrom God to man during this long interval, we have no authentic record. As already shown, the period of apostolic ministry on the easterncontinent probably terminated before the dawn of the second century ofthe Christian era. The passing of the apostles was followed by the rapiddevelopment of a universal apostasy as had been foreseen andpredicted. [1508]

In the accomplishment of this great falling away, external and internalcauses cooperated. Among the disintegrating forces acting from without, the most effective was the persistent persecution to which the saintswere subjected, incident to both Judaistic and pagan opposition. Vastnumbers who had professed membership and many who had been officers inthe ministry deserted the Church; while a few were stimulated to greaterzeal under the scourge of persecution. The general effect of oppositionfrom the outside--of external causes of decline in faith and worksconsidered as a whole--was the defection of individuals, resulting in awidespread _apostasy from the Church_. But immeasurably more serious wasthe result of internal dissension, schism and disruption, whereby anabsolute _apostasy of the Church_ from the way and word of God wasbrought about. 

Judaism was the earliest oppressor of Christianity, and became theinstigator and abettor of the succeeding atrocities incident to paganpersecution. Open and vigorous hostility of the Roman powers against theChristian Church became general during the reign of Nero, (beginningabout 64 A. D. ), and continued with occasional respites of a few monthsor even years at a time to the close of Diocletian's reign (about 305A. D. ). The inhuman cruelty and savage barbarity to which were subjectedthose who dared profess the name of Christ during these centuries ofheathen domination are matters of accepted history. [1509] WhenConstantine the Great came to the throne in the first quarter of thefourth century, a radical change was inaugurated in the attitude of thestate toward the church. The emperor straightway made the so-calledChristianity of the time the religion of his realm; and zealous devotionto the church became the surest recommendation to imperial favor. Butthe church was already in great measure an apostate institution and evenin crude outline of organization and service bore but remote resemblanceto the Church of Jesus Christ, founded by the Savior and builded throughthe instrumentality of the apostles. Whatever vestiges of genuineChristianity may have possibly survived in the church before, wereburied beyond the sight of man by the abuses that followed the elevationof the churchly organization to secular favor through the decree ofConstantine. The emperor, even though unbaptized, made himself the headof the church, and priestly office was more sought after than militaryrank or state preferment. The spirit of apostasy, by which the churchhad become permeated before Constantine threw about it the mantle ofimperial protection and emblazoned it with the insignia of state, nowwas roused to increased activity as the leaven of Satan's own cultureflourished under the conditions most favorable for such fungoid growth. 

The bishop of Rome had already asserted supremacy over his fellows inthe episcopate; but when the emperor made Byzantium his capital, andrenamed it in his own honor, Constantinople, the bishop of that cityclaimed equality with the Roman pontiff. The claim was contested; theensuing dissension divided the church; and the disruption has persisteduntil the present day, as is evidenced by the existing distinctionbetween the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic churches. 

The Roman pontiff exercized secular as well as spiritual authority; andin the eleventh century arrogated to himself the title of _Pope_, signifying _Father_, in the sense of paternal ruler in all things. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the temporal authority ofthe pope was superior to that of kings and emperors; and the Romanchurch became the despotic potentate of nations, and an autocrat aboveall secular states. Yet this church, reeking with the stench of worldlyambition and lust of dominance, audaciously claimed to be the Churchestablished by Him who affirmed: "My kingdom is not of this world. " Thearrogant assumptions of the Church of Rome were not less extravagant inspiritual than in secular administration. In her loudly asserted controlover the spiritual destinies of the souls of men, she blasphemouslypretended to forgive or retain individual sins, and to inflict or remitpenalties both on earth and beyond the grave. She sold permission tocommit sin and bartered for gold charters of indulgent forgiveness forsins already done. Her pope, proclaiming himself the vicar of God, satin state to judge as God Himself; and by such blasphemy fulfilled theprophecy of Paul following his warning in relation to the awfulconditions antecedent to the second coming of the Christ: "Let no mandeceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comea falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son ofperdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is calledGod, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple ofGod, shewing himself that he is God. "[1510]

In her unrestrained abandon to the license of arrogated authority, theChurch of Rome hesitated not to transgress the law of God, change theordinances essential to salvation, and ruthlessly break the everlastingcovenant, thereby defiling the earth even as Isaiah had foretold. [1511]She altered the ordinance of baptism, destroying its symbolism andassociating with it imitations of pagan rites; she corrupted theSacrament of the Lord's Supper and befouled the doctrine thereof by thevagary of _transubstantiation_;[1512] she assumed to apply the merits ofthe righteous to the forgiveness of the sinner in the unscriptural andwholly repellent dogma of _supererogation_; she promoted idolatry inmost seductive and pernicious forms; she penalized the study of the holyscriptures by the people at large; she enjoined an unnatural state ofcelibacy upon her clergy; she revelled in unholy union with the theoriesand sophistries of men, and so adulterated the simple doctrines of thegospel of Christ as to produce a creed rank with superstition andheresy; she promulgated such perverted doctrines regarding the humanbody as to make the divinely formed tabernacle of flesh appear as athing fit only to be tortured and contemned; she proclaimed it an act ofvirtue insuring rich reward to lie and deceive if thereby her owninterests might be subserved; and she so thoroughly departed from theoriginal plan of Church organization as to make of herself a spectacleof ornate display, fabricated by the caprice of man. [1513]

The most important of the internal causes by which the apostasy of thePrimitive Church was brought about may be thus summarized: (1) Thecorrupting of the simple doctrines of the gospel of Christ by admixturewith so-called philosophic systems. (2) Unauthorized additions to theprescribed rites of the Church and the introduction of vital alterationsin essential ordinances. (3) Unauthorized changes in Church organizationand government. [1514]

Under the tyrannous repression incident to usurped and unrighteousdomination by the Roman church, civilization was retarded and forcenturies was practically halted in its course. The period ofretrogression is known in history as the Dark Ages. The fifteenthcentury witnessed the movement known as the Renaissance or Revival ofLearning; there was a general and significantly rapid awakening amongmen, and a determined effort to shake off the stupor of indolence andignorance was manifest throughout the civilized world. By historians andphilosophers the revival has been regarded as an unconscious andspontaneous prompting of the "spirit of the times"; it was a developmentpredetermined in the Mind of God to illumine the benighted minds of menin preparation for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, whichwas appointed to be accomplished some centuries later. [1515]

With the renewal of intellectual activity and effort in materialbetterment, there came, as a natural and inevitable accompaniment, protest and revolt against the ecclesiastical tyranny of the age. TheAlbigenses in France had risen in insurrection against churchlydespotism during the thirteenth century; and in the fourteenth, JohnWickliffe of Oxford University had boldly denounced the corruption ofthe Roman church and clergy, and particularly the restrictions imposedby the papal hierarchy on the popular study of the scriptures. Wickliffegave to the world a version of the Holy Bible in English. Thesemanifestations of independent belief and action the papal church soughtto repress and punish by force. The Albigenses had been subjected toinhuman cruelties and unrestrained slaughter. Wickliffe was the subjectof severe and persistent persecution; and though he died in his bed thevindictiveness of the Roman church was unsated until she had caused hisbody to be exhumed and burned and the ashes scattered abroad. John Hussand Jerome of Prague were prominent on the continent of Europe inagitation against papal despotism, and both fell martyrs to the cause. Though the church had become apostate to the core, there were notlacking men brave of heart and righteous of soul, ready to give theirlives to the furtherance of spiritual emancipation. 

A notable revolt against the papacy occurred in the sixteenth century, and is known as the Reformation. This movement was begun in 1517 byMartin Luther, a German monk; and it spread so rapidly as soon toinvolve the whole domain of popedom. Formal _protests_ against thedespotism of the papal church were formulated by the representatives ofcertain German principalities and other delegates at a diet or generalcouncil held at Spires A. D. 1529; and the reformers were thenceforthknown as _Protestants_. An independent church was proposed by John, Elector of Saxony, a constitution for which was prepared at his instanceby Luther and his colleague, Melanchthon. The Protestants werediscordant. Being devoid of divine authority to guide them in matters ofchurch organization and doctrine, they followed the diverse ways of men, and were rent within while assailed from without. The Roman church, confronted by determined opponents, hesitated at no extreme of cruelty. The court of the Inquisition, which had been established in the latterpart of the fifteenth century under the infamously sacrilegious name ofthe "Holy Office, " became intoxicated with the lust of barbarous crueltyin the century of the Reformation, and inflicted indescribable tortureson persons secretly accused of heresy. 

In the early stages of the Reformation instigated by Luther, the king ofEngland, Henry VIII, declared himself a supporter of the pope, and wasrewarded by a papal bestowal of the distinguishing title "Defender ofthe Faith. " Within a few years, this same British sovereign wasexcommunicated from the Roman church, because of impatient disregard ofthe pope's authority in the matter of Henry's desire to divorce QueenCatherine so that he could marry one of her maids. The Britishparliament, in 1534, passed the Act of Supremacy, by which the nationwas declared free from all allegiance to papal authority. By Act ofParliament the king was made the head of the church within his owndominions. Thus was born the Church of England, a direct result of thelicentious amours of a debauched and infamous king. With blasphemousindifference to the absence of divine commission, with no semblance ofpriestly succession, an adulterous sovereign created a church, providedtherein a "priesthood" of his own, and proclaimed himself supremeadministrator in all matters spiritual. 

With the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism in Great Britainthe student of history is familiar. Suffice it here to say that themutual hatred of the two contending sects, the zeal of their respectiveadherents, their professed love of God and devotion to Christ's service, were chiefly signalized by the sword, the ax, and the stake. Revellingin the realization of at least a partial emancipation from the tyrannyof priestcraft, men and nations debauched their newly acquired libertyof thought, speech, and action, in a riot of abhorrent excess. Themis-called Age of Reason, and the atheistical abominations culminatingin the French Revolution stand as ineffaceable testimony of what man maybecome when glorying in his denial of God. 

Is it to be wondered at, that from the sixteenth century onward, churches of man's contriving have multiplied with phenomenal rapidity?Churches and churchly organizations professing Christianity as theircreed have come to be numbered by hundreds. On every side is heard inthis day, "Lo, here is Christ" or "Lo, there. " There are sects namedfrom the circumstances of their origin--as the Church of England; othersafter their famous founders or promoters--as Lutheran, Calvinist, Wesleyan; some are known by peculiarities of doctrine or plan ofadministration--as Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregationalist;but down to the third decade of the nineteenth century there was nochurch on earth affirming name or title as the Church of Jesus Christ. The only organization called a church existing at that time andventuring to assert claim to authority by succession was the Catholicchurch, which for centuries had been apostate and wholly bereft ofdivine authority or recognition. If the "mother church" be without avalid priesthood, and devoid of spiritual power, how can her offspringderive from her the right to officiate in the things of God? Who woulddare to affirm that man can originate a priesthood which God is bound tohonor and acknowledge? Granted that men may and do create amongthemselves societies, associations, sects, and even "churches" if theychoose so to designate their organizations; granted that they mayprescribe rules, formulate laws, and devize plans of operation, discipline, and government, and that all such laws, rules, and schemesof administration are binding upon those who assume membership--grantedall these rights and powers--whence can such human institutions derivethe authority of the Holy Priesthood, without which there can be noChurch of Christ?[1516]

The apostate condition of Christendom has been frankly admitted by manyeminent and conscientious representatives of the several churches, andby churches as institutions. Even the Church of England acknowledges theawful fact in her official declaration of degeneracy, as set forth inthe "_Homily Against Peril of Idolatry_, " in these words:

 "So that laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects, and degrees of men, women, and children of whole Christendom--an horrible and most dreadful thing to think--have been at once drowned in abominable idolatry; of all other vices most detested of God, and most damnable to man; and that by the space of eight hundred years and more. "[1517]

Let it not be concluded that through the night of the universalapostasy, long and dark as it was, God had forgotten the world. Mankindhad not been left wholly to itself. The Spirit of God was operative sofar as the unbelief of men permitted. John the apostle, and the ThreeNephite disciples, [1518] were ministering among men, though unknown. Butthrough the centuries of spiritual darkness men lived and died withoutthe administration of a contemporary apostle, prophet, elder, bishop, priest, teacher, or deacon. Whatever of the form of Godliness existed inthe churches of human establishment was destitute of divine power. Thetime foreseen by the inspired apostle had fully come--mankind in generalrefused to endure sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, did theyheap to themselves teachers, after their own lusts, and verily had theyturned away their ears from the truth to follow after fables. [1519] Thefirst quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed the cumulativefulfilment of the conditions predicted through the prophet Amos:"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine inthe land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearingthe words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and fromthe north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the wordof the Lord, and shall not find it. "[1520]

Throughout the period of apostasy the windows of heaven had been shuttoward the world, so as to preclude all direct revelation from God, andparticularly any personal ministration or theophany of the Christ. Mankind had ceased to know God; and had invested the utterances ofprophets and apostles of old, who had known Him, with a pall of mysteryand fancy, so that the True and the Living God was no longer believed toexist; but in His place the sectaries had tried to conceive of anincomprehensible being, devoid of "body, parts, or passions, " animmaterial nothing. [1521]

But it had been determined in the councils of heaven, that after manycenturies of benighted ignorance the world should be illumined anew bythe light of truth. Through the operation of the genius of intelligence, which is the Spirit of Truth, the soul of the race had been undergoing apreparation, like unto the deep plowing of a field, for the planting ofthe gospel afresh. The principle of the mariner's compass was revealedby the Spirit; the material embodiment thereof was invented by man; andby its aid the unknown oceans were explored. Toward the end of thefifteenth century Columbus was led by the inspiration of God to thediscovery of the New World, whereon dwelt the degenerate posterity ofLehi, a dark-skinned remnant of the house of Israel--the AmericanIndians. In due time the good ships _Mayflower_ and _Speedwell_ broughtto the western world the Pilgrim Fathers, as the vanguard of a hostescaping from exile and seeking a new home wherein they could worshipaccording to the dictates of their consciences. The coming of Columbusand the later immigration of the Puritan Pilgrims had been predictednearly six hundred years before Christ; their respective missions hadbeen as truly appointed unto them as has been the sending of any prophetwith a message to deliver and a work to do. [1522] The war between theAmerican Colonies and the Mother Country, and the victorious issuethereof in the emancipation of the American nation once and forever frommonarchial rule, had been foretold as further steps in preparation forthe restoration of the gospel. Time was allowed for the establishment ofa stable government, for the raising up of men chosen and inspired toframe and promulgate the Constitution of the United States, whichpromises to every man a full measure of political and religious freedom. It was not meet that the precious seed of the restored gospel be thrownupon unplowed soil, hardened by intolerance, and fit to produce onlythorns of bigotry and rank weeds of mental and spiritual serfdom. Thegospel of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of liberty; it is the truththat shall make free every man and every nation who will accept and obeyits precepts. 

At the appointed time, the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus the Christappeared to man upon the earth, and inaugurated the Dispensation of theFulness of Times. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 40. 

1. Cessation of Revelation on the Western Hemisphere. --"The easternworld had lost this knowledge of the Lord earlier than the westernhemisphere. Upon the land of North America, four hundred years after thebirth of our Savior and Master, there stood at least one man who knewthe Lord God Almighty as a distinct personality, a Being capable ofcommunicating Himself to man. That man was Moroni, the son of Mormon, whose testimony abides now and must abide through all the ages tocome. "--George Q. Cannon, _Life of Joseph Smith_, p. 21. See B. Of M. , Moroni 10:27-34. 

2. Results of the Great Apostasy Divinely Overruled for EventualGood. --The thoughtful student cannot fail to see in the progress of thegreat apostasy and its results the existence of an overruling poweroperating toward eventual good, however mysterious its methods. Theheart-rending persecutions to which the saints were subjected in theearly centuries of our era, the anguish, the torture, the bloodshedincurred in defense of the testimony of Christ, the rise of an apostatechurch, blighting the intellect and leading captive the souls ofmen--all these dread conditions were foreknown to the Lord. While wecannot say or believe that such exhibitions of human depravity andblasphemy of heart were in accordance with the divine will, certainlyGod willed to permit full scope to the free agency of man, in theexercize of which agency some won the martyr's crown, and others filledthe flagon of their iniquity to overflowing. Not less marked is thedivine permission in the revolts and rebellions, in the revolutions andreformations, that developed in opposition to the darkening influence ofthe apostate church. Wickliffe and Huss, Luther and Melanchthon, Zwingliand Calvin, Henry VIII in his arrogant assumption of priestly authority, John Knox in Scotland, Roger Williams in America--these and a host ofothers builded better than they knew, in that their efforts laid in partthe foundation of the structure of religious freedom and liberty ofconscience--and this in preparation for the restoration of the gospel ashad been divinely predicted. --_The Great Apostasy_, 10:19, 20. 

3. Declaration of a General Apostasy by the Church of England. --The_Book of Homilies_, from which the quotation given in the text is taken, was published about the middle of the sixteenth century. The officialproclamation of a universal apostasy was made prominently current, forthe Homilies were "appointed to be read in churches" in lieu of sermonsunder certain conditions. In the statement cited, the Church of Englandsolemnly avers that a state of apostasy affecting all ages, sects, anddegrees throughout whole Christendom, had prevailed for eight hundredyears prior to the establishment of the church making the declaration. That this affirmation remains effective today, as both confession andprofession of the Church of England, appears from the fact that thehomily "Against Peril of Idolatry" and certain other homilies arespecifically ratified and endorsed, and withal prescribed "to be read inChurches by the Ministers diligently and distinctly that they may beunderstanded of the people. " See "Articles of Religion" xxxv, in currentissues of Church of England, _Book of Common Prayer_. 

4. The "Creed of Athanasius. "--At the Council of Nice, convoked by theemperor Constantine, 325 A. D. , a formal statement of belief concerningthe Godhead was adopted. Later a modification was issued, known as the"Creed of Athanasius, " and though the authorship is questioned, thecreed has a place in the ritual of some of the Protestant churches. Nomore conclusive evidence that men had ceased to know God need be adducedthan the Athanasian Creed. As confessed by the Church of England in thisday, and as published in the official ritual (see _Prayer Book_) "TheCreed of Saint Athanasius" is this: "We worship one God in Trinity, andTrinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing theSubstance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son:and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of theSon, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majestyco-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the HolyGhost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate: and the Holy Ghostuncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible: and theHoly Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal: andthe Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals: but oneeternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor threeuncreated: but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise theFather is Almighty, the Son Almighty: and the Holy Ghost Almighty. Andyet they are not three Almighties: but one Almighty. So the Father isGod, the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are notthree Gods: but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords: but one Lord. "

Then follows this strange confession of what is at once required by"Christian verity, " and forbidden by the "Catholick Religion": "For likeas we are compelled by the Christian verity: to acknowledge every Personby himself to be God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the CatholickReligion: to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. "

5. The Mission of Columbus and Its Results. --Unto Nephi, son of Lehi, was shown the future of his people, including the degeneracy of a branchthereof, afterward known as Lamanites and in modern times as AmericanIndians. The coming of a man from among the Gentiles, across the deepwaters, was revealed in such plainness as to positively identify thatman with Columbus; and the coming of other Gentiles to this land, out ofcaptivity, is equally explicit. The revelation is thus recorded by Nephito whom it was given: "And it came to pass that I looked and beheld manywaters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren. Andit came to pass that the angel said unto me, Behold the wrath of God isupon the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld a man among theGentiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the manywaters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wroughtupon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seedof my brethren, who were in the promised land. And it came to pass thatI beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; andthey went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. " (1 Nephi13:10-13). The establishment of a great Gentile nation on the Americancontinent, the subjugation of the Lamanites or Indians, the war betweenthe newly established nation and Great Britain, or "their motherGentiles, " and the victorious outcome of that struggle for independence, are set forth with equal clearness in the same chapter. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1507] Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1508] No extended account of the apostasy of the Primitive Church canbe attempted here; the reader is referred to special works treating thisimportant subject. See the author's "The Great Apostasy, considered inthe Light of Scriptural and Secular History, " a work of 176 pages. 

[1509] See "The Great Apostasy, " chaps. 4 and 5. 

[1510] 1 Thess. 2:3, 4. 

[1511] Isa. 24:5. 

[1512] The false doctrine of "transubstantiation" is to the effect thatthe bread and wine administered as emblems of Christ's flesh and bloodin the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper are transmuted by priestlyconsecration into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. See "TheGreat Apostasy, " 8:16-19. As to "supererogation" see page 590 herein. 

[1513] "The Great Apostasy, " chaps. 6, 7, 8. 

[1514] "The Great Apostasy, " 6:14, 15; for comprehensive treatment ofthe subject see chapters 6 to 9 inclusive. 

[1515] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1516] This paragraph is in part a paraphrase of "The Great Apostasy, "10:21, 22. 

[1517] Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1518] Pages 694 and 738. 

[1519] See 2 Tim. 4:1-4; also "The Great Apostasy, " 2:30. 

[1520] Amos. 8:11, 12. 

[1521] See Church of England "Book of Common Prayer, " "Articles ofReligion" i. Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1522] See B. Of M. , 1 Nephi 13:10-13. Note 5, end of chapter. 

CHAPTER 41. 

PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUSCHRIST IN MODERN TIMES. 

A NEW DISPENSATION. 

In the year of our Lord 1820 there lived at Manchester, Ontario county, state of New York, a worthy citizen named Joseph Smith. His householdcomprized his wife and their nine children. The third son and fourthchild of the family was Joseph Smith Jr. , who at the time of which wespeak was in his fifteenth year. In the year specified, New York andadjacent states were swept by a wave of intense agitation in religiousmatters; and unusual zeal was put forth by ministers of the numerousrival sects to win converts to their respective folds. The boy Josephwas profoundly affected by this intense excitement, and was particularlypuzzled and troubled over the spirit of confusion and contentionmanifest through it all. As our present subject has to do with himspecifically, and in view of the transcendent importance of histestimony to the world, his own account of what ensued is givenherewith. 

 "Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, 'Lo, here!' and others, 'Lo, there!' Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist. 

 "For notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased--yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions. 

 "I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church, namely--my mother Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia. 

 "During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. 

 "My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of either reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others. 

 "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself, What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

 "While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: _If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. _

 "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. 

 "At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to 'ask of God, ' concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture. 

 "So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally. 

 "After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. 

 "But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. 

 "It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other--_This is my beloved Son, hear him!_

 "My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right--and which I should join. 

 "I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. '

 "He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. 

 "Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying, it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them. 

 "I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects--all united to persecute me. 

 "It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. 

 "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light, and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise. 

 "So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation. 

 "I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was concerned; that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to continue as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided. "[1523]

In this wise was ushered in the Dispensation of the Fulness ofTimes. [1524] The darkness of the long night of apostasy was dispelled;the glory of the heavens once more illumined the world; the silence ofcenturies was broken; the voice of God was heard again upon the earth. In the spring of A. D. 1820 there was one mortal, a boy not quite fifteenyears old, who knew as well as that he lived, that the current humanconception of Deity as an incorporeal essence of something possessingneither definite shape nor tangible substance was as devoid of truth inrespect to both the Father and the Son as its statement in formulatedcreeds was incomprehensible. The boy Joseph knew that both the EternalFather and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, were in form and stature, perfect Men; and that in Their physical likeness mankind had beencreated in the flesh. [1525] He knew further that the Father and the Sonwere individual Personages, each distinct from the other--a truth fullyattested by the Lord Jesus during His mortal existence, but which hadbeen obscured if not buried by the sophistries of human unbelief. Herealized that the unity of the Godhead was a oneness of perfection inpurpose, plan, and action, as the scriptures declare it to be, and notan impossible union of personalities, as generations of false teachershad tried to impress. This resplendent theophany confirmed the fact of auniversal apostasy, with the inevitable corollary--that the Church ofChrist was nowhere existent upon the earth. It effectively dissipatedthe delusion that direct revelation from the heavens had forever ceased;and affirmatively proved the actuality of personal communication betweenGod and mortals. 

For the fourth time since the Savior's birth in the flesh, the voice ofthe Father had attested the Son's authority in matters pertaining toearth and man. [1526] In this latter-day revelation of Himself, as on theearlier occasions, the Father did no more than affirm the fact of theSon's identity, and command that He be obeyed. 

"A MESSENGER SENT FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD. "[1527]

For about three and a half years following the glorious appearing of theFather and the Son to Joseph Smith, the youthful revelator was left tohimself, so far as further manifestations from heaven were concerned. The period was one of probation. He was subjected to the sneers ofyouths of his age, and to aggressive persecution on the part of oldermen, "who, " as he very justly and somewhat accusingly remarks, "ought tohave been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposedme to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate mannerto have reclaimed me. "[1528] He pursued his usual vocation, that of farmwork in association with his father and brothers, from whom he receivedkindness, consideration, and sympathy; and in spite of raillery, abuse, and denunciation from the community at large he remained firm andfaithful in his solemn avouchment that he had seen and heard both theEternal Father and Jesus the Christ, and that he had been instructed tojoin none of the contending sects or churches because they were allfundamentally wrong. 

On the night of the 21st of September 1823, while engaged in ferventprayer to God in the solitude of his chamber, Joseph observed the roombecome illuminated until the light exceeded that of a cloudless noon. Aglorious personage appeared within the room, standing a little spaceabove the floor. Both the body of the visitant and the loose robe hewore were of exquisite whiteness. Calling Joseph by name he announcedhimself as Moroni, "a messenger sent from the presence of God"; andinformed the young man that the Lord had a work for him to do, and thathis name should come to be spoken of both for good and for evil amongall nations, kindreds, and tongues. The angel told of a record engravenon plates of gold, which contained an account of the former inhabitantsof the American continent, and the fulness of the everlasting gospel asdelivered by the Savior to those ancient people; and furthermore, thatwith the record were a breastplate, and the Urim and Thummim, which hadbeen prepared by divine instrumentality for use in translating the book. The place at which the plates and the other sacred things were depositedwas shown to Joseph in vision, and so clear was the demonstration thathe readily recognized the spot when he visited it next day. 

The angel quoted several passages from the Old and one from the NewTestament, some verbatim, and some with small variations from theBiblical version. Joseph's statement concerning the scriptures cited byMoroni is as follows:

 "He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:

 "_For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. _

 "And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: _Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. _

 "He also quoted the next verse differently: _And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. _

 "In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people, but soon would come. 

 "He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. "[1529]

The messenger departed, and the light disappeared with him. Twice duringthe same night, however, the angel returned, each time repeating whathad been said at his first appearing and adding words of instruction andcaution. On the next day Moroni appeared to the young man again, anddirected him to inform his father of the visitations and commandments hehad received. Joseph's father instructed him to obey the messenger'sinstructions and testified that they were given of God. Joseph then wentto the locality specified by the angel, on the side of a hill called inthe record Cumorah, and immediately identified the spot that had beenshown him in vision. By the aid of a lever he removed a large stone, which proved to be the cover of a stone box wherein lay the plates andother articles described by Moroni. The angel appeared at the place, andforbade Joseph to remove the contents of the box at that time. The youngman replaced the massive stone lid and left the spot. 

Four years later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplatewere delivered into Joseph's keeping by the angel Moroni. This Moroni, who now came as a resurrected being, was the last survivor of theNephite nation; he had completed the record, and then shortly before hisdeath had hidden away the same in the hill Cumorah, whence it wasbrought forth through his instrumentality and delivered to the modernprophet and seer, Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827. That record, or, strictly speaking a part thereof, is now accessible to all; it has beentranslated through divine instrumentality and is now published in manylanguages as the Book of Mormon. [1530]

THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

On the 15th of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe in the work oftranslating the Nephite record, Oliver Cowdery, retired to a secludedglade to pray. Their special purpose was to inquire of the Lordconcerning the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, someaccount of which they had found on the plates. Joseph writes:

 "While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:

 "_Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. "_[1531]

The angelic visitor stated that his name was John, the same who isdesignated in the New Testament, John the Baptist; and that he had actedin ordaining the two under the direction of Peter, James, and John, whoheld the keys of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. He explained thatthe Aaronic Priesthood did not comprize "the power of laying on handsfor the gift of the Holy Ghost";[1532] but he predicted that the HigherPriesthood, having this power, would be conferred later. By his expressdirection, Joseph baptized Oliver, and the latter in turn baptizedJoseph, by immersion in water. 

THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN. 

Shortly after their ordination to the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by the presiding apostlesof old, Peter, James, and John, who conferred upon them the MelchizedekPriesthood and ordained them to the Holy Apostleship. In a laterrevelation the Lord Jesus thus specifically acknowledges the respectiveordinations as having been done by His will and commandment:

 "Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, jun. , and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron. .. . And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry, and of the same things which I revealed unto them: Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on the earth. "[1533]

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. 

On the sixth day of April A. D. 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints was formally organized, at Fayette, Seneca county, NewYork, in accordance with the secular law governing the establishment ofreligious associations. The persons actually participating in theorganization numbered but six, such being the minimum required by law insuch an undertaking; many others were present however, some of whom hadalready received the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins. Byrevelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord had previously specified the day onwhich the organization was to be effected, and had made known His planof Church government--with detailed instructions as to the requisiteconditions for membership; the indispensability of baptism by immersion, and the precise manner in which the initiatory ordinance was to beadministered; the manner of confirming baptized believers as members ofthe Church; the duties of elders, priests, teachers, and deacons in theChurch; the exact procedure to be followed in the administration of theSacrament of the Lord's Supper; the order of Church discipline, and themethod of transferring members from one branch to another. [1534] Thebaptized converts present at the organization were called upon toexpress their acceptance or rejection of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowderyas elders in the Church; and in accordance with the unanimous vote inthe affirmative the ordination or setting apart of these two men asrespectively first and second elder in the new organization wasperformed. [1535]

While the Book of Mormon had been in course of translation, particularlyduring the two years immediately preceding the organization of theChurch, several revelations had been given through Joseph the prophetand seer, relating to the work of translation and to the preparatorylabor necessary to the establishment of the Church as an institutionamong men. The Author of these several revelations declared Himselfdefinitely to be Jesus Christ, God, the Son of God, the Redeemer, theLight and Life of the World, Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord, the Lordand Savior. [1536] As early as A. D. 1829, the calling of the TwelveApostles was indicated, and appointment was made for the searching outof the Twelve who should stand before the world as special witnesses ofthe Christ; these were subsequently ordained to the Holy Apostleship, and the council or quorum of the Twelve has been recognized, andinstructions concerning their exalted duties have been given, innumerous revelations of later dates. [1537]

In such manner has the Church of Jesus Christ been reestablished uponthe earth, with all the powers and authority pertaining to the HolyPriesthood as committed by the Lord Jesus to His apostles in the periodof His personal ministry. The inauguration of a new dispensation of thegospel, with a restoration of the Priesthood, was absolutely necessary;since through the apostasy of the Primitive Church there lived not a manempowered to speak or administer in the name of God or His Christ. Johnthe Revelator saw in his vision of the last days an angel bringing anew"the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, andto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loudvoice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment iscome: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and thefountains of waters. "[1538]

Such an angelic embassage would have been but a needless and emptydisplay, and therefore an impossibility, had the everlasting gospelremained upon the earth with its powers of priesthood perpetuated bysuccession. The scriptural assurances of a restoration in the last daysthrough direct bestowal from the heavens is conclusive proof of theactuality of the universal apostasy. Moroni came to Joseph Smith as "amessenger sent from the presence of God, " and delivered a recordcontaining "the fulness of the everlasting gospel, " as it had beenimparted to the Lord's people in ancient times; and the world-widedistribution of the Book of Mormon, and of other publications embodyingthe revealed word in modern times, and the ministry of thousands wholabor in the authority of the Holy Priesthood combine as the loud voiceaddressed to every nation, crying: "Fear God, and give glory to him; forthe hour of his judgment is come. "

FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE HEAVENS TO MAN. 

Following the organization of the Church as heretofore described, directcommunication between the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophet Joseph wasfrequent, as the needs of the Church required. Numerous revelations weregiven, and these are accessible to all who will read. [1539] A marvelousmanifestation was granted to the prophet and his associate in thepresidency of the Church, Sidney Rigdon, the record of which appears asfollows:

 "We, Joseph Smith, jun. , and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God--even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision; For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows. Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth; they who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him for ever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--that by him and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. "[1540]

The vision was followed by further revelation both through sight andhearing; and the Lord showed unto His servants and proclaimed aloud thefate of the wicked and the characteristic features of the varied degreesof glory provided for the souls of mankind in the hereafter. The severalstates of graded honor and exaltation pertaining to the telestial, theterrestrial, and the celestial kingdoms were revealed, and the ancientscriptures relating thereto were illumined with the new light ofsimplicity and literalness. [1541]

PERSONAL APPEARING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE. 

In less than three and a half years after its organization the Churchbegan the erection of the first temple of modern times at Kirtland, Ohio. The work was undertaken in compliance with a revelation from theLord requiring this labor at the hands of His people. The Churchmembership was small; the people were in poverty; the period was one ofdetermined opposition and relentless persecution. [1542] Be it understoodthat to the Latter-day Saints a temple is more than chapel, church, tabernacle, or cathedral; it is no place of common assembly even forpurposes of congregational worship, but an edifice sacred to theordinances of the Holy Priesthood--distinctively and essentially a Houseof the Lord. The temple at Kirtland stands today, a substantial andstately building; but it is no longer in possession of the people whoreared it by unmeasured sacrifice of time, substance, and effortextending through years of self-denial and suffering. Its corner-stoneswere laid July 23, 1833, and the completed structure was dedicated March27, 1836. The dedicatory service was made ever memorable by aPentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord accompanied by thevisible presence of angels. In the evening of the same day the severalquorums of priesthood assembled in the house, and a yet greatermanifestation of divine power and glory was witnessed. On the succeedingSunday--April 3, 1836--after a service of solemn worship, including theadministration of the Lord's Supper, the prophet Joseph and hiscounselor, Oliver Cowdery, retired for prayer within the veils enclosingthe platform and pulpit reserved for the presiding authorities of theMelchizedek Priesthood. They bear this solemn testimony to the personalappearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at that time and place:

 "The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying--I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice, let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name. For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house, Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house, Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house; and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen. "[1543]

After the Savior's withdrawal, the two mortal prophets were visited byglorified beings, each of whom had officiated on earth as a speciallycommissioned servant of Jehovah, and now came to confer the authority ofhis particular office upon Joseph and Oliver, thus uniting all thepowers and authorities of olden dispensations in the restored Church ofChrist, which characterizes the last and greatest dispensation ofhistory. This is the record:

 "After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed. After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said--Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. "[1544]

JESUS THE CHRIST IS WITH HIS CHURCH TODAY. 

Right gloriously has the Lord brought about a fulfilment of the promisesuttered through the mouths of His holy prophets in by-gone ages--torestore the gospel with all its former blessings and privileges; tobestow anew the Holy Priesthood with authority to administer in the nameof God; to reestablish the Church bearing His name and founded upon therock of divine revelation; and to proclaim the message of salvation toall nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. In spite of persecutionboth mobocratic and judicially sanctioned, in spite of assaults, drivings, and slaughter, the Church has developed with marvelousrapidity and strength since the day of its organization. Joseph, theprophet, and his brother Hyrum, the patriarch of the Church, werebrutally slain as martyrs to the truth at Carthage, Illinois, June 27, 1844. But the Lord raised up others to succeed them; and the worldlearned in part and yet shall know beyond all question that the Churchso miraculously established in the last days is not the church of JosephSmith nor of any other man, but in literal verity, the Church of JesusChrist. The Lord has continued to make known His mind and will throughprophets, seers, and revelators whom He has successively chosen andappointed to lead His people; and the voice of divine revelation isheard in the Church today. As provided for in its revealed plan andconstitution, the Church is blessed by the ministry of prophets, apostles, high priests, patriarchs, seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. [1545] The spiritual gifts and blessings of oldare again enjoyed in rich abundance. [1546] New scriptures, primarilydirected to present duties and current developments in the purposes ofGod, yet which illuminate and make plain in simplicity the scriptures ofold, have been given to the world through the channel of the restoredpriesthood; and other scriptures shall yet be written. The unitedmembership of the Church proclaims:

 "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. "[1547]

The predicted gathering of Israel from their long dispersion is inprogress under the commission given by the Lord through Moses. The"mountain of the Lord's house" is already established in the top of themountains, and all peoples flow unto it; while the elders of the Churchgo forth among the nations, saying: "Come ye, and let us go up to themountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he willteach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zionshall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. "[1548]

Within sacred temples, the living are officiating vicariously in behalfof the dead; and the hearts of mortal children are turned withaffectionate concern toward their departed ancestors, while disembodiedhosts are praying for the success of their posterity, yet in the flesh, in the service of salvation. [1549] The saving gospel is offered freelyto all, for so hath its Author commanded. Through the medium of thepress, and by the personal ministrations of men invested with the HolyPriesthood whom the Church sends out by thousands, this Gospel of theKingdom is today preached throughout the world. When such witness amongthe nations is made complete, "then shall the end come"; and the nations"shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power andgreat glory. "[1550]

NOTES TO CHAPTER 41. 

1. The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. --"Now the thing to be knownis, what the fulness of times means, or the extent and authoritythereof. It means this, that the dispensation of the fulness of times ismade up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since theworld began, until this time. Unto Adam first was given a dispensation. It is well known that God spake to him with His own voice in the garden, and gave him the promise of the Messiah. And unto Noah also was adispensation given; for Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah, soshall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man;' and asthe righteous were saved then, and the wicked destroyed, so it will benow. And from Noah to Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses, and from Mosesto Elias, and from Elias to John the Baptist, and from then to JesusChrist, and from Jesus Christ to Peter, James, and John, the Apostlesall having received in their dispensation by revelation from God, toaccomplish the great scheme of restitution, spoken by all the holyProphets since the world began; the end of which is, the dispensation ofthe fulness of times, in which all things shall be fulfilled that havebeen spoken of since the earth was made. "--See _Millennial Star_, vol. 16, p. 220. 

2. Limitations of the Aaronic Priesthood. --After conferring the Lesseror Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, theofficiating angel, who had been known while a mortal being as John theBaptist, explained that the authority he had imparted did not extend tothe laying-on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, the latterordinance being a function of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Consider the instance of Philip, (not the apostle Philip), whoseordination empowered him to baptize, though a higher authority than hiswas requisite for the conferring of the Holy Ghost; and consequently theapostles Peter and John went down to Samaria to officiate in the case ofPhilip's baptized converts (Acts 8:5, 12-17). See Doc. And Cov. 20:41, 46. 

3. Priesthood and Office Therein. --It is important to know that althoughJoseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been ordained to the HolyApostleship, and therefore to a fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood, by Peter, James, and John, it was necessary that they be ordained aselders in the Church. When they received the Melchizedek Priesthood fromthe three ancient apostles, there was no organized Church of JesusChrist, and consequently no need of Church officers, such as elders, priests, teachers, or deacons. As soon as the Church was established, officers were chosen therein and these were ordained to the requisiteoffice or grade in the Priesthood. Moreover, the principle of commonconsent in the conduct of Church affairs was observed in this earlyaction of the members in voting to sustain the men nominated forofficial positions, and has continued to be the rule of the Church tothis day. It is pertinent to point out further that in conferring uponJoseph and Oliver the Aaronic Priesthood, John the Baptist did notordain them to the office of priest, teacher, or deacon. These threeoffices are included in the Aaronic, as are the offices of elder, seventy, high priest, etc. , in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Read Doc. AndCov. 20:38-67; _The Articles of Faith_, xi. 

4. Modern Temples. --The Lord's gracious promise given in the KirtlandTemple--to appear unto His servants at times then future, and to speakunto them with His own voice, provided the people would keep Hiscommandments and not pollute that holy house--has been in no wiseabrogated nor forfeited through the enforced relinquishment of theKirtland Temple by the Latter-day Saints. The people were compelled toflee before the fury of mobocratic persecution; but they hastened toerect another and yet more splendid sanctuary at Nauvoo, Illinois, andwere again dispossessed by lawless mobs. In the valleys of Utah theChurch has erected four great temples, each more stately than the last;and in these holy houses the sacred ordinances pertaining to salvationand exaltation of both the living and the dead are in uninterruptedprogress. The temples of the present dispensation, at the time of thepresent writing designated according to location, are those of Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Illinois; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City, Utah; Cardston, Canada, and Laie, Hawaii. See _The House of the Lord_, pp. 63-232. 

5. Consistency of the Church's Claim to Authority. --The proofs of orderand system in the restoration of authority to officiate in particularfunctions pertaining to the priesthood are striking, and go to prove thecontinued validity, beyond the grave, of authoritative ordination onearth. The keys of the Aaronic order, comprizing authority to baptizefor the remission of sins, were brought by John the Baptist, who hadbeen especially commissioned in that order of priesthood in the time ofChrist. The apostleship, comprizing all powers inherent in theMelchizedek Priesthood, was restored by the presiding apostles of old, Peter, James, and John. Then, as has been seen, Moses conferred theauthority to prosecute the work of gathering; and Elijah, who, nothaving tasted death, held a peculiar relation to both the living and thedead, delivered the authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. Tothese appointments by heavenly authority should be added that given byElias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and "committedthe dispensation of the gospel of Abraham. " It is evident, then, thatthe claims made by the Church with respect to its authority are completeand consistent as to the source of the powers professed and the channelsthrough which such have been delivered again to earth. Scripture andrevelation, both ancient and modern, support as an unalterable law theprinciple that no one can delegate to another an authority which thegiver does not possess. 

6. Cessation of the Melchizedek Administration in Ancient Times. --TheHigher or Melchizedek Priesthood was held by the patriarchs from Adam toMoses. Aaron was ordained to the priest's office, as were his sons; butthat Moses held superior authority is abundantly shown (Numb. 12:1-8). After Aaron's death his son Eleazar officiated in the authority of theLesser Priesthood; and even Joshua had to take counsel and authorityfrom him (Numb. 27:18-23). From the ministry of Moses to that of JesusChrist, the Lesser Priesthood alone was operative upon the earth, excepting only the instances of specially delegated authority of thehigher order such as is manifest in the ministrations of certain chosenprophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. It is evident thatthese prophets, seers, and revelators were individually and speciallycommissioned; but it appears that they had not authority to call andordain successors, for in their time the Higher Priesthood was notexistent on earth in an organized state with duly officered quorums. Notso with the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood, however. The matter ismade particularly plain through latter-day revelation. See Doc. And Cov. 84:23-28; read the entire section; also _The House of the Lord_ pp. 235-238. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1523] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:5-26; also "History of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, " vol. 1, pp. 2-8. 

[1524] Eph. 1:9, 10. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1525] See page 151 herein; Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1526] For earlier instances, see pages 126, 371, and 725. 

[1527] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:29-54, 59; also "History of theChurch, " vol. 1, pp. 10-16, 18. 

[1528] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:28. 

[1529] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:36-41; and "History of the Church, "vol. 1. Pp. 12, 13. 

[1530] See B. Of M. , Mormon 6:6; Moroni 10:2. 

[1531] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 2:68, 69; Doc. And Cov. Sec. 13;"History of the Church, " vol. 1, p. 39. 

[1532] Notes 2 and 6. End of chapter. 

[1533] Doc. And Cov. 27: 8, 12, 13. 

[1534] Doc. And Cov. Sec. 20. 

[1535] Doc. And Cov. 20:2, 3; compare 21:11; see also "History of theChurch. " vol. 1, pp. 40, 41. Note 3, end of chapter. 

[1536] Doc. And Cov. Sections 5, 6, 8, 10-12, 14-20. 

[1537] Doc. And Cov. 18:27, 31-36; 20:38-44; 84:63, 64; 95:4; 107:23-25;112:1, 14, 21; 118; 124:127-130. 

[1538] Rev. 14:6, 7. 

[1539] See Doctrine and Covenants, and "History of the Church. "

[1540] Doc. And Cov. 76:11-24; also "History of the Church" under datespecified. 

[1541] See Doc. And Cov. 76:25-119; also "The Articles of Faith, " iv:29;and xxii:18-27. 

[1542] See "The House of the Lord, " pages 114-123. 

[1543] Doc. And Cov. 110:1-10; also "History of the Church" under datespecified. Note 4, end of chapter. 

[1544] Doc. And Cov. 110:11-16. Note 5, end of chapter. 

[1545] See "Plan of Government in the Restored Church, " in "The Articlesof Faith, " xi:13-32. 

[1546] See "Spiritual Gifts" in "The Articles of Faith, " xii. 

[1547] No. 9 of "The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints. "

[1548] Isa. 2:2, 3; compare Micah 4:1, 2; see also Doc. And Cov. 29:8. 

[1549] See "The House of the Lord, " pp. 63-109. 

[1550] P. Of G. P. , Joseph Smith 1:31, 36; compare Matt 24:14, 30. 

CHAPTER 42. 

JESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN. 

THE LORD'S SECOND ADVENT PREDICTED IN ANCIENT SCRIPTURE. 

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner asye have seen him go into heaven. "[1551] So spake the white-robed angelsto the eleven apostles as the resurrected Christ ascended from theirmidst on Olivet. The scriptures abound in predictions of the Lord'sreturn. 

By the "second advent" we understand not the personal appearing of theSon of God to a few, such as His visitation to Saul of Tarsus, to JosephSmith in 1820, and again in the Kirtland Temple in 1836; nor latermanifestations to His worthy servants as specifically promised;[1552]but His yet future coming in power and great glory, accompanied by hostsof resurrected and glorified beings, to execute judgment upon the earthand to inaugurate a reign of righteousness. 

The prophets of both hemispheres, who lived prior to the meridian oftime, said comparatively little concerning the Lord's second coming;their souls were too full of the merciful plan of redemption associatedwith the Savior's birth into mortality to permit them to dwell upon theyet more distant consummation appointed for the last days. Certain ofthem, however, were permitted to behold in vision the working out of thedivine purposes even to the end of time; and these testified withunsurpassed fervency concerning the glorious coming of Christ in thefinal dispensation. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied saying, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to executejudgment upon all. "[1553] In a more extended account of the Lord'srevelations to Enoch than is included in the Bible, we read that afterthis righteous prophet had been shown the scenes of Israel's history, down to and beyond the death, resurrection and ascension of JesusChrist, he pleaded with God, saying: "I ask thee if thou wilt not comeagain on the earth. And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even sowill I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children ofNoah. .. . And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of theSon of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness forthe space of a thousand years. "[1554] Isaiah, in rapturous contemplationof the eventual triumph of righteousness, exclaimed: "Say to them thatare of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will comewith vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you";and again: "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his armshall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work beforehim. "[1555] The conditions specified were not realized in the earthlylife of the Redeemer; moreover the context clearly shows that theprophet's words are applicable to the last days only--the time of theransomed of the Lord, the time of restitution, and of the triumph ofZion. 

Of all Biblical scriptures relating to our subject, the utterances ofthe Christ Himself in the course of His earthly ministry are most directand certain. Many of these we have already considered in the narrativeof the Savior's life; the few following are sufficient for presentdemonstration. "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Fatherwith his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to hisworks. "[1556] To the apostles and the people generally He proclaimed:"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in thisadulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man beashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holyangels. "[1557] When a bound prisoner before proud Caiaphas, Jesusanswered the unlawful adjuration of the corrupt high priest, byaffirming: "I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of mansitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds ofheaven. "[1558]

The apostles had been so impressed with the Master's assurance that Hewould return to earth in power and glory, that they eagerly questionedas to the time and signs of His coming. [1559] He stated explicitly, though at the time they failed to comprehend Him, that many great eventswould intervene between His departure and return, including the long eraof darkness associated with the apostasy. [1560] But as to the certaintyof His advent in glory, as Judge, and Lord, and King, Jesus left noexcuse for dubiety in the minds of His apostles. After the ascension, throughout the course of apostolic administration, the future coming ofthe Lord was preached with earnest emphasis. [1561]

Book of Mormon prophecies concerning the advent of the Lord in the lastdays are specific and definite. On the occasion of His appearing to theNephites on the American continent shortly after His ascension from theMount of Olives, Christ preached the gospel to assembled multitudes;"And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the timethat he should come in his glory"; and the events to follow, "even untothe great and last day. "[1562] In granting the wish of the three Nephitedisciples who desired to continue their ministry in the flesh throughoutthe generations to come, the Lord said unto them:

 "Ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father, unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled, according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory, with the powers of heaven; And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory, ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality: and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. "[1563]

THE COMING OF THE LORD PROCLAIMED THROUGH MODERN REVELATION. 

To the Church of Jesus Christ, restored and reestablished in these thelast days, the word of the Lord has come repeatedly, declaring theactuality of His second advent and the nearness of that glorious yetdreadful event. But a few months after the Church was organized, thevoice of Jesus Christ was heard, admonishing the elders to vigilance andproclaiming as follows:

 "For the hour is nigh, and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe: and all the proud, and they that do wickedly, shall be as stubble, and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth; for the hour is nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled; for as they spoke so shall it come to pass; for I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand. "[1564]

In the month following, the Lord gave instructions to certain elders, concluding with these portentous words:

 "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom: for behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen. "[1565]

Again we read in a later revelation:

 "And blessed are you because you have believed; and more blessed are you because you are called of me to preach my gospel, to lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation, preparing the way of the Lord for his second coming; for behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand, that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory, and it shall be a great day at the time of my coming, for all nations shall tremble. "[1566]

The Lord Jesus addressed a general revelation to His Church in March1831, through which His earlier predictions uttered to the Twelveshortly before His betrayal were made plain, and the assurances of Hisglorious coming were thus reiterated:

"Ye look and behold the fig-trees, and ye see them with your eyes, andye say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet tender, that summer is now nigh at hand; even so it shall be in that day whenthey shall see all these things, then shall they know that the hour isnigh. And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be lookingforth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of thecoming of the Son of man: And they shall see signs and wonders, for theyshall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; andthey shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke; and before theday of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon beturned into blood, and stars fall from heaven; and the remnant shall begathered unto this place, and then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed withpower and great glory, with all the holy angels; and he that watches notfor me shall be cut off. "[1567]

So near is the consummation that the intervening period is called"today"; and, in applying this time designation in the year 1831, theLord said:

"Behold, now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of mypeople; for he that is tithed shall not be burned (at his coming); Forafter today cometh the burning: this is speaking after the manner of theLord; for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedlyshall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord ofhosts: and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon. Wherefore, if yebelieve me, ye will labor while it is called today. "[1568]

THE TIME AND ACCOMPANIMENTS OF THE LORD'S COMING. 

The date of the future advent of Christ has never been revealed to man. To the inquiring apostles who labored with the Master, He said: "But ofthat day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but myFather only. "[1569] In the present age, a similar declaration has beenmade by the Father: "I, the Lord God, have spoken it, but the hour andthe day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall theyknow until he comes. "[1570] Only through watchfulness and prayer may thesigns of the times be correctly interpreted and the imminence of theLord's appearing be apprehended. To the unwatchful and the wicked theevent will be as sudden and unexpected as the coming of a thief in thenight. [1571] But we are not left without definite information as toprecedent signs. Biblical prophecies bearing upon this subject we haveheretofore considered. [1572] As later scriptures affirm: "Before thegreat day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in thewilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shallflourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall beassembled together unto the place which I have appointed. "[1573] Warshall become so general that every man who will not take arms againsthis neighbor must of necessity flee to the land of Zion forsafety. [1574] Ephraim shall assemble in Zion on the western continent, and Judah shall be again established in the east; and the cities of Zionand Jerusalem shall be the capitals of the world empire, over whichMessiah shall reign in undisputed authority. The Lost Tribes shall bebrought forth from the place where God has hidden them through thecenturies and receive their long deferred blessings at the hands ofEphraim. The people of Israel shall be restored from their scatteredcondition. [1575]

In addressing the elders of His Church in 1832, the Lord urged upon themthe imperative need of devoted diligence, and said:

 "Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle not yourselves in sin but let your hands be clean, until the Lord come; For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light, and the moon shall be bathed in blood, and the stars shall become exceeding angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree. And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people; For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground, and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea, heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people; And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying, Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come: behold, and lo! the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. "[1576]

A characteristic of present-day revelation is the reiteration of thefact that the event is nigh at hand, "even at the doors. " The fatefultime is repeatedly designated in scripture, "the great and dreadful dayof the Lord. "[1577] Fearful indeed will it be to individuals, families, and nations, who have so far sunk into sin as to have forfeited theirclaim to mercy. The time is not that of the final judgment--when thewhole race of mankind shall stand in the resurrected state before thebar of God--nevertheless it shall be a time of unprecedented blessingunto the righteous and of condemnation and vengeance upon thewicked. [1578] With Christ shall come those who have already beenresurrected; and His approach shall be the means of inaugurating ageneral resurrection of the righteous dead, while the pure and just whoare still in the flesh shall be instantaneously changed from the mortalto the immortal state and shall be caught up with the newly resurrectedto meet the Lord and His celestial company, and shall descend with Him. To this effect did Paul prophesy: "Even so them also which sleep inJesus will God bring with him. .. . For the Lord himself shall descendfrom heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with thetrump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which arealive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, tomeet the Lord in the air. "[1579] Compare the promise made to the ThreeNephites: "And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when Ishall come in my glory, ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eyefrom mortality to immortality. "[1580] Of the superlative gloriesawaiting the righteous when the Lord shall come, we have received inthis day a partial description as follows: "And the face of the Lordshall be unveiled; and the saints that are upon the earth, who arealive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet him. "[1581] Theheathen nations shall be redeemed and have part in the firstresurrection. [1582]

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO COME. 

The coming of Christ in the last days, accompanied by the apostles ofold[1583] and by the resurrected saints, is to mark the establishment ofthe Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. The faithful apostles who were withJesus in His earthly ministry are to be enthroned as judges of the wholehouse of Israel;[1584] they will judge the Nephite Twelve, who in turnwill be empowered to judge the descendants of Lehi, or that branch ofthe Israelitish nation which was established upon the westerncontinent. [1585]

While the expressions "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven" are usedin the Bible synonymously or interchangeably, later revelation gives toeach a distinctive meaning. The Kingdom of God is the Church establishedby divine authority upon the earth; this institution asserts no claim totemporal rule over nations; its sceptre of power is that of the HolyPriesthood, to be used in the preaching of the gospel and inadministering its ordinances for the salvation of mankind living anddead. The Kingdom of Heaven is the divinely ordained system ofgovernment and dominion in all matters, temporal and spiritual; thiswill be established on earth only when its rightful Head, the King ofkings, Jesus the Christ, comes to reign. His administration will be oneof order, operated through the agency of His commissionedrepresentatives invested with the Holy Priesthood. When Christ appearsin His glory, and not before, will be realized a complete fulfilment ofthe supplication: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it isin heaven. "

The Kingdom of God has been established among men to prepare them forthe Kingdom of Heaven which shall come; and in the blessed reign ofChrist the King shall the two be made one. The relationship between themhas been revealed to the Church in this wise:

 "Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth; Yea, a voice crying--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom; Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people; Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth; Wherefore may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thy enemies may be subdued for thine is the honour, power and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. "[1586]

THE MILLENNIUM. 

The inauguration of Christ's reign on earth is to be the beginning of aperiod that shall be distinct in many important particulars from allprecedent and subsequent time; and the Lord shall reign with His peoplea thousand years. The government of individuals, communities and nationsthroughout this Millennium is to be that of a perfect theocracy, withJesus the Christ as Lord and King. The more wicked part of the raceshall have been destroyed; and during the period Satan shall be bound"that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand yearsshould be fulfilled"; while the just shall share with Christ in rightfulrule and dominion. The righteous dead shall have come forth from theirgraves, while the wicked shall remain unresurrected until the thousandyears be past. [1587] Men yet in the flesh shall mingle with immortalizedbeings; children shall grow to maturity and then die in peace or bechanged to immortality "in the twinkling of an eye. "[1588] There shallbe surcease of enmity between man and beast; the venom of serpents andthe ferocity of the brute creation shall be done away, and love shall bethe dominant power of control. Among the earliest revelations on thesubject is that given to Enoch; and in this the return of that prophetand his righteous people with Christ in the last days was thus assured:

 "And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest. And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years. "[1589]

In these latter days the Lord has thus spoken, requiring preparation forthe Millennial era, and describing in part the glories thereof:

 "And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together. And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwell upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed; And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth. And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face. And in that day whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him. And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man. And there shall be no sorrow because there is no death. In that day an infant shall not die until he is old, and his life shall be as the age of a tree, and when he dies he shall not sleep, (that is to say in the earth, ) but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious. Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things. "[1590]

The Millennium is to precede the time designated in scriptural phrase"the end of the world. " When the thousand years are passed, Satan shallbe loosed for a little season, and the final test of man's integrity toGod shall ensue. Such as are prone to impurity of heart shall yield totemptation while the righteous shall endure to the end. [1591] Arevelation to this effect was given the Church in 1831, in part asfollows:

 "For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come; For Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again, he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth; And he that liveth in righteousness shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pass away so as by fire; And the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before me in judgment. Hearken ye to these words: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds. "[1592]

THE CELESTIAL CONSUMMATION. 

The vanquishment of Satan and his hosts shall be complete. The dead, small and great, all who have breathed the breath of life on earth, shall be resurrected--every soul that has tabernacled in flesh, whethergood or evil--and shall stand before God, to be judged according to therecord as written in the books. [1593] So shall be brought to gloriousconsummation the mission of the Christ. "Then cometh the end, when heshall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when heshall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he mustreign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy thatshall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under hisfeet. "[1594] Then shall the Lord Jesus "deliver up the kingdom, andpresent it unto the Father spotless, saying--I have overcome and havetrodden the wine-press alone, even the winepress of the fierceness ofthe wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown ofhis glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever andever. "[1595] The earth shall pass to its glorified and celestializedcondition, an eternal abode for the exalted sons and daughters ofGod. [1596] Forever shall they reign, kings and priests to the Most High, redeemed, sanctified, and exalted through their Lord and God

 JESUS THE CHRIST. 

NOTES TO CHAPTER 42. 

1. Enoch, spoken of by Jude as "the seventh from Adam. " was the fatherof Methuselah. In Genesis 5:24 we read: "And Enoch walked with God; andhe was not; for God took him. " From the Lord's revelation to Moses welearn that Enoch was a mighty man, favored of God because of hisrighteousness, and a leader of and revelator to his people. Through hisagency a city was built, the inhabitants of which excelled in righteousliving to such an extent that they were of one heart and one mind andhad no poor among them. It was called the City of Holiness or Zion. Theresidue of the race were all corrupt in the sight of the Lord. Enoch andhis people were taken from the earth and are to return with Christ atHis coming. (P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:12-21, 68, 69; compare Doc. And Cov. 45:11, 12. )

2. Heathen in the First Resurrection. --"And then shall the heathennations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in thefirst resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them. " (Doc. And Cov. 45:54. ) Such is the word of the Lord with respect to those benightedpeoples who live and die in ignorance of the laws of the gospel. Thisaffirmation is sustained by other scriptures, and by a consideration ofthe principles of true justice according to which humanity is to bejudged. Man shall be accounted blameless or guilty according to hisdeeds as interpreted in the light of the law under which he is requiredto live. It is inconsistent with our conception of a just God to believeHim capable of inflicting condemnation upon any one for non-compliancewith a requirement of which the person had no knowledge. Nevertheless, the laws of the gospel cannot be suspended even in the case of those whohave sinned in darkness and ignorance; but it is reasonable to believethat the plan of redemption shall afford such benighted ones anopportunity of learning the laws of God; and, as fast as they so learn, will obedience be required on pain of the penalty. See _Articles ofFaith_, xxi:33. 

3. Regeneration of the Earth. --In speaking of the graded and progressiveglories provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration andsanctification, the Lord has thus spoken through revelation in thepresent dispensation: "And again, verily I say unto you, the earthabideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure ofits creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall besanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickenedagain, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and therighteous shall inherit it. " (Doc. And Cov. 88:25, 26. ) This appointedchange, by which the earth shall pass to the condition of acelestialized world, is referred to in numerous scriptures as theinstitution of "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1, 3, 4; B. OfM. , Ether 13:9; Doc. And Cov. 29:23). 

FOOTNOTES:

[1551] Acts 1:11. 

[1552] Pages 713, 715, 761, and 774; see also Doc. And Cov. 110:8;compare 36:8; 42:36; 97:15, 16; 109:5; 124:27; 133:2. 

[1553] Jude 14, 15; compare Gen. 5:18; see next reference following. 

[1554] P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:59, 60, 65. Note 1, end of chapter. 

[1555] Isa. 35:4; and 40:10; see also Psalms 50:3; Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6;compare Note 1 on page 149 herein. 

[1556] Matt. 16:27. 

[1557] Mark 8:38; compare Luke 9:26. 

[1558] Matt. 26:64. 

[1559] Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:7; Acts 1:6; compare page 149herein. 

[1560] Matt. 24; see chapters 32 and 40 herein. 

[1561] See Acts 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 4:5; 11:26; Philip. 3:20; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-18; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8; 1 Tim. 6:14, 15; Titus 2:13;James 5:7, 8; 1 Peter 1:5-7; 4:13; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14, etc. 

[1562] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 26:3, 4. 

[1563] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 28:7, 8; see also 29:2. 

[1564] Doc. And Cov. 29:9-11. 

[1565] Doc. And Cov. 33:17, 18. 

[1566] Doc. And Cov. 34:4-8. 

[1567] Doc. And Cov. 45:37-44; compare this section with Matt. 24, andLuke 21:5-36. See also Doc. And Cov. 49:23-28. 

[1568] Doc. And Cov. 64:23-25. 

[1569] Matt. 24:36; compare Mark 13:32-37; see pages 575, 696 herein. 

[1570] Doc. And Cov. 49:7; the context shows that the words are those ofthe Father. 

[1571] Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; compare Matt. 24:43, 44; 25:13; Luke12:39, 40; page 575 herein. 

[1572] Page 573. 

[1573] Doc. And Cov. 49:24, 25. 

[1574] Doc. And Cov. 45:68-71. 

[1575] Doc. And Cov. 133:7-14, 21-35; "Articles of Faith, " xviii andxix. 

[1576] Doc. And Cov. 88:86-92. 

[1577] Doc. And Cov. 110:14, 16; compare Joel 2:31; Mal. 4:5; B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 25:5. 

[1578] Doc and Cov. 29:11-17. 

[1579] 1 Thess. 4:14-17. 

[1580] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 28:8; see page 738 herein. 

[1581] Doc. And Cov. 88:95-98. 

[1582] Note 2, end of chapter. 

[1583] Doc. And Cov. 29:12. 

[1584] Doc. And Cov. 29:12; compare Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; page 479herein. 

[1585] B. Of M. , 3 Nephi 27:27; compare 1 Nephi 12:9, 10; Mormon 3:18. 19. 

[1586] Doc. And Cov. 65. For a fuller treatment of this subject as alsothe distinction between Church and Kingdom, see "Articles of Faith, "xx:16-26. 

[1587] Rev. 20:1-6; compare Doc. And Cov. 43:18. 

[1588] Doc. And Cov. 63:50-51; 101:30; compare 1 Cor. 15:51-57. 

[1589] P. Of G. P. , Moses 7:63-65. 

[1590] Doc. And Cov. 101:23-32; compare Isa. 65:17-25 and 11:6-9; seealso Doc. And Cov. 29:11, 22; 43:30; 63:51. 

[1591] Rev. 20:7-15. 

[1592] Doc and Cov. 43:30-34. See also "Articles of Faith, " xx:27-31. 

[1593] Rev. 20:11-15. 

[1594] 1 Cor. 15:24-27. 

[1595] Doc. And Cov. 76:107, 108. 

[1596] Note 3, end of chapter. 

INDEX

Aaronic Priesthood, restored by John the Baptist, 768; its powers, 768. 

Ablutions, ceremonial, 366. 

Abraham, Children of, 409. 

Abraham, Christ's seniority over, 410, 411. 

Aceldama, the field of blood, 643. 

Adam, the first man, 18; his transgression, 19; revelation to, 44. 

Adulteress brought to Christ, 405. 

Adulterous generation of sign-seekers, 270, 279, 359. 

Agency, free, of unembodied spirits, 8, 17; of man, 17, 29. 

American Indians, progenitors of, 49, 56, 742, 757. 

Ananias, ministers to Saul, 714. 

Andrew, follows Christ, 140; one of the Twelve, 221. 

Annas, high priest, 621, 643. 

Announcement of Christ by the Father, 39, 126, 371, 725, 761; of Christ's birth to shepherds, 93. See Annunciation. 

Annunciation by Gabriel, to Zacharias, 76; to Mary the Virgin, 79; by angel to shepherds, 93. 

Antemortal Godship of Jesus Christ, 32. 

Antemortal state, graded intelligences in, 14. 

Antipas, Herod, 110, 118, 446, 635. 

Antonia, tower or fortress of, 441. 

Apostasy, the great, 745; among Nephites, 741. 

Apostles, the Twelve, chosen and ordained, 217; individually considered, 218; general characteristics of, 226; compared with disciples, 227; charged and sent forth, 327, 328; their return, 331; futile attempt of to heal, 379; as stewards, 441, 576; Christ's final commission to, 695, 696; imprisoned, 707; delivered by an angel, 707; scourged for their testimony, 709. 

Apostleship, 227, 228; restored in present dispensation, 769. 

Apostolic ministry, the, 700; close of, 716. 

Appearances of the risen Lord to mortals before the ascension, 699. 

Archelaus, 110, 118. 

Arrest of Jesus, attempted but unaccomplished, 403; effected through betrayal, 614. 

Ascension, Christ's, 697. 

Ass, Christ rides upon, 514; as predicted, 517. 

Athanasius, creed of, 756. 

Atonement, the, a vicarious sacrifice, 21. 

Authority, in Holy Priesthood, 362; of Elias and Elijah, 375; of Twelve, attested, 392; of Christ, challenged, 530; Christ as one having, 249; Christ's ascribed to Beelzebub, 265. 

Baptism, by John the Baptist, 122, 163, 531; of Christ by John, 125; enjoined upon Nephites by Christ, 725; mode of, 726; of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, 768; as required in the Church today, 769. 

Baptist, see John the Baptist. 

Barabbas, 637. 

Barnabas, sponsor for Saul or Paul, 714. 

Bartholomew, see Nathanael. 

Bartimeus, healed of blindness, 505. 

Beatitudes, the, 230. 

Beelzebub, Christ's authority ascribed to, 265. 

Benedictus, the, 78. 

Bethany, Jesus at, 432, 448; the family home at, 522. 

Bethesda, Pool of, 206. 

Bethlehem, birthplace of Christ, 92; slaughter of children in, 100. 

Bethphage, 512, 526. 

Bethsaida, 258, 332, 346; Julias, 360. 

Betrayal of Christ; foretold, 594; effected by Judas Iscariot, 614. 

Betrothal, Jewish, 88. 

Blasphemy, 201; Christ charged with, 193, 489; Christ falsely convicted of, 629. 

Blessing of children, 485; among Nephites, 730. 

Blindness, bodily and spiritual, 412, 416. 

Bloody sweat, Christ's, 612; reality of affirmed, 613, 620. 

Book of Mormon, original of, 742, 767. 

Bountiful, Land of, 724. 

Bread of Life, Jesus Christ the, 340. 

Bridegroom, friend of the, 171. 

Brother of Jared, 12. 

Burial of Jesus, 664. 

Cęsar, paying tribute to, 545; Jews would have no king but, 641, 648. 

Cęsarea Philippi, coasts of, 368; Palestina, 631. 

Caiaphas, high priest; his inspired utterance, 498; his tenure of office, 501; Christ before, 621; the apostles before, 706. 

Called and chosen, 540. 

Calvary, 654, 667. 

Camel and needle's eye, 478, 485. 

Capernaum, 181, 186; our Lord's last sermon in synagog at, 339. 

Capitation tax, 383. 

Celestial marriage, 564. 

Cephas, see Peter. 

Ceremonial ablutions, 366. 

Child, as a little, 386; humility illustrated by a, 387. 

Childlike and childish, distinction between, 387. 

Children, precious in sight of God, 387; blessed by Christ, 475, 485; of Nephites blessed by risen Lord, 729. 

Chorazin, woe decreed to, 258. 

Chosen or only called, 540. 

Christ, see Jesus Christ. 

Christ and Messiah, significance of the titles, 36. 

Christians, early persecutions of, 746. 

Church discipline of individuals, 391. 

Church of England, origin of, 751; affirms great apostasy, 753. 

Church of Jesus Christ; foundation of, 361; rapid growth of Primitive, 705, 707, 712; name of, 736; among Nephites, 737; of Latter-day Saints, establishment of, 769. 

Churches of man's making, 752. 

Circumcision, 88. 

Clay, applied to blind man's eyes, 413. 

Clearing of the temple, the first, 153; the second, 527. 

Cleopas, 685. 

Coasts, as descriptive term, 368. 

Coin, image and superscription on, 546, 563; in mouth of a fish, 385. 

Columbus, Christopher, his mission, 754, 757. 

Comforter promised, 603, 606; given, 702. 

Commandment, the great, 549. 

Common ownership, 705, 718. 

Common people, attentive to hear Christ, 529. 

Confession, the great, 361. 

Congenital blindness healed, 413. 

Consent, common, observed in Primitive Church, 702, 718; in the Church today, 778. 

Consistency of Church's claims, 779. 

Conspiracy of Pharisees and Herodians, 544. 

Constantine the Great, gives state recognition to Christianity, 746. 

Constitution of the United States, a necessary preliminary to the restoration of the gospel, 755. 

Consummation, the celestial, 792. 

Contention forbidden, 726. 

Corban, 352, 366. 

Corner stone, Jesus the chief, 535, 706. 

Cost, counting the, 452. 

Council, the Jewish, see Sanhedrin. 

Council in Heaven, primeval, 9, 15. 

Court of the Women, in temple, 407, 422. 

Cowdery, Oliver, ordained with Joseph Smith, 767; witness of heavenly manifestations, 774. 

Creator, Jesus Christ the, 33. 

Creed of Athanasius, 756. 

Cross, figurative, 365; of Christ, borne by Simon, 653. 

Crucifixion, 655, 667; of Jesus Christ, 654; hour of, 668. 

Cumorah, scene of last Nephite battle, 742; Book of Mormon plates taken from, 767. 

Cups and platters, ceremonial cleansing of, 437. 

Dark ages, the, 749. 

Daughters of Jerusalem, Christ's lamentation over, 653, 666. 

David, Son of, see Son of David. 

Dead, gospel preached to, 24; ministered unto by Jesus Christ, 672, 673; missionary labor amongst, 674; vicarious labor for in Church today, 777. 

Death, inaugurated by Satan, 20; overcome by the atonement of Christ, 20; and resurrection of Christ predicted, 381, 382, accomplished, 662, 678. 

Decapolis, 367; Jesus in coasts of, 356. 

Dedication, feast of, 487, 499; Jesus at, 487. 

Defilement, things that cause, 352. 

Degeneracy, bodily, incident to the fall of man, 19, 29. 

Demoniacal possession, 183. 

Demons, acclaim the Christ, 181, 310, 312. 

Devil, Jesus charged as possessed of a, 401, 411. 

Didrachm, 383. 

Disciples and apostles, 227. 

Disciples, instructed, 438, 461; requirements of, 452. 

Discipline of individuals in Church, 391. 

Disembodied spirits, Christ among, 670. 

Dispensation of fulness of times, 777; ushered in, 763. 

Dives and Lazarus, 483. 

Divorce and marriage, 473; views concerning, 484. 

Doctrine, test of the Lord's, 400, 421; Christ's, as declared to Nephites, 726. 

Dogs that eat of the crumbs, 367. 

Door to the sheepfold, Christ the, 417. 

Dove, sign of, 126, 150. 

Dust, shaking from feet as a testimony, 345. 

Earth, regeneration of, 322, 793. 

Eating, spiritual symbolism of, 343, 347; with unwashen hands, 351. 

Ecce Homo, 639. 

Egypt, flight into, 100; return from, 110. 

Elders and high priests, 644. 

Elias, John Baptist and, 374; and Elijah, 375; spirit and power of, 376; appearing of in Kirtland Temple, 775. 

Elijah, and Moses at transfiguration, 371; and Elias, 375; appearance of in Kirtland Temple, 775. 

Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist, 75, 78; visited by Mary the Virgin, 82. 

Elohim, 38. 

Emmaus, Christ and two disciples journey to, 685. 

Enoch, 44, 143, 793; promise to, relating to Christ's second coming, 790. 

Enrolment at Bethlehem, 91. 

Ephraim, Jesus in retirement at, 498. 

Essenes, 67. 

Estate of man, first and second, 7. 

Eternal Father, The, a resurrected, exalted Being, 143, 151. 

Eve, beguiled by Satan, 19. 

Evenings, earlier and later, 346. 

Faith, active, as compared with passive belief, 319; a gift from God, 347; quality of, 381; nothing impossible to, 395; in behalf of others, 395; as to quantity and quality, 469; of Nephites, strong, 733. 

Fall of man 19; a process of bodily degeneracy, 19; redemption from wrought by Jesus Christ, 20, 31. 

Fasting and prayer, power gained by, 381. 

Father, the Eternal, proclaims the Son, Jesus Christ, 126, 371; to Nephites, 725; to Joseph Smith, 761. 

Feast, of Dedication, 487, 499; of Tabernacles, 400, 419; of the Passover, 112, 167; the traditional Messianic, 538. 

Few or many to be saved, 445. 

Fig tree, 541; cursed, 524; symbol of Judaism, 527; and other trees, lesson from, 754; as a type in modern revelation, 784. 

First may be last, 478. 

Fishers of men, 197, 202. 

Foreknowledge of God, not a determining cause, 18, 28. 

Foreordination of Jesus Christ, 6. 

Forgiveness, duty respecting, 391; unlimited requirement of, 393; mutual, 525. 

Fox, Herod Antipas referred to as, 446, 636. 

Free agency, of unembodied spirits, 8, 17;

 of man, 17, 29. 

Gabriel's annunciation, of John and of Jesus, 75; to Mary the Virgin, 79. 

Gadarenes and Gergesenes, land of, 323. 

Galilean ministry, beginning of, 144; close of, 398. 

Galileans, 68; slain in temple courts, 441. 

Galilee, sea of, 165; the risen Lord appears at sea of, 691; appears on mountain in, 694. 

Gamaliel, his advice to the council, 709; tutor to Saul of Tarsus, 712. 

Genealogies of Christ, 85, 89. 

Gennesaret, sea or lake of, 165. 

Gentiles, 345; to become great on western continent, 733. 

Gergesenes and Gadarenes, land of, 323. 

Gethsemane, 620; Christ's agony in, 610; His arrest in, 614. 

Goats and sheep, figurative, 584. 

God's foreknowledge not a determining cause of action, 18, 28. 

Godhead, three Personages in, 32. 

Godship of Jesus Christ, antemortal, 32. 

Golgotha, 654, 667. 

Gospels, the four, 166; the synoptic, 166. 

Graded conditions in the hereafter, 601. 

Graded intelligences in antemortal state, 14. 

Great commandment, the, 549. 

Greeks, as Gentiles, 345; certain ones visit Jesus, 518. 

Happiness and pleasure, 231, 247. 

Heathen to be redeemed; their part in first resurrection, 793. 

Hem of garment, 346. 

Henry VIII, head of Church of England, 751. 

Herder, the hireling, 417. 

Herod, the Great, 97, 106; temple of, 73; Antipas, 110, 118; referred to as "fox, " 446; Christ before, 635. 

Herodians, 68; in conspiracy with Pharisees, 544. 

Herodias, 259. 

High Priestly Prayer, Christ's, 609. 

High priests and elders, 644. 

Holy Ghost, sin against, 269, 278; promised to apostles, 603; investiture of apostles by, at Pentecost, 702. 

Homily against Idolatry, affirming the apostasy, 753. 

Hosanna shout, 516, 523. 

Hyrum Smith, martyred, 776. 

I AM, 36; Jesus Christ, the, 411. 

Image on the coin, 546, 563. 

Indians, American, progenitors of, 49, 56, 742, 757. 

Inquisition, court of the, 750. 

Isaiah, Messianic predictions by, 46, 47. 

Iscariot, see Judas Iscariot. 

Israel and Judah, kingdoms of, 59. 

Jacob's prophecy concerning Shiloh, 54. 

Jahveh, see Jehovah. 

James and John, sons of Zebedee, called, 198; members of the Twelve, 219; minister with Peter in modern days, 219, 768; their aspiring desire, 503; mother of, 521. 

James, son of Alpheus, one of the Twelve, 224. 

Jared, brother of; his interview with the unembodied Christ, 12. 

Jaredites, 16. 

Jehovah, significance of the name, 36, 41, 411. 

Jeremiah, Messianic prophecies by, 47. 

Jericho, 521. 

Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into, 513; destruction of, predicted, 569, accomplished, 586; the Lord's lamentation over, 560; daughters of, Christ's lamentation over, 653, 666. 

Jesus the Christ, as Man and Christ, 1. 

Jesus Christ, preexistence and foreordination of, 6; the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, 8, 13, 81; the Word, 10; Word of God's power, 10; His supremacy over Abraham, 11, 410, 411; His power over death, 22, 23, 418; antemortal Godship of, 32; the Creator, 33; names and titles of, 35; predicted, 42; annunciation of, 79; the Babe of Bethlehem, 91; birth of, 91; birth announced to shepherds, 93; circumcision and naming of, 95; presentation in temple, 95; testimony of Simeon and Anna regarding, 97; birth made known to Nephites, 100; time of birth of, 102, 109; boy-hood of, 111; in attendance at Passover when twelve years old, 113; with the doctors in the temple, 114; of Nazareth, 117; baptism of, 125;

 descent of Holy Ghost, upon, 126; temptations of, 127; first clearing of temple by, 154; an offender to many, 254, 274; unique status of, 384; His brethren, interview with, 398; at the feast of Tabernacles, 399; rejected in Samaria, 423; at the home in Bethany, 448; blesses little children, 475; the ennobler of woman, 484; at feast of Dedication, 487; accused of blasphemy, 489; in retirement at Ephraim, 498; predicts His death and resurrection, 363, 372, 381, 502, 518, 586; called Son of David, 80, 86, 320, 354, 505, 515, 529; triumphal entry into Jerusalem, 513; Prince of Peace, 517; visited by certain Greeks, 518; His second clearing of temple, 527; His authority challenged, 530; close of His public ministry, 544; His lamentation over Jerusalem, 560; His final withdrawal from temple, 562; specific prediction of His death, 586; foretells His betrayal, 594; His agony in Gethsemane, 610; His betrayal and arrest, 614; Jewish trial of, 621; falsely convicted of blasphemy, 629; appearance before Pilate, first, 631, second, 636; before Herod Antipas, 635; delivered up to be crucified, 639; His crucifixion, 654; His burial, 664; physical cause of death of, 668; after resurrection appears to Mary Magdalene and other women, 681; to two disciples on road to Emmaus, 685; to ten apostles and others, in whose presence He eats, 687; to Peter, 687; to the Eleven, 689; His ascension from Olivet, 697; His death signalized on American continent, 721; giver of the law to Moses, 728; visitations to Nephites, 724, 731, 736; ministers to Joseph Smith, 761, 774; revelations from in current dispensation, 770; second advent of, 780. 

Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews, 87, 90, 657. 

Jewish exclusiveness, 61. 

Jews, Christ the King of, 657. 

John the Baptist, birth announced, 76; circumcision and naming of, 78; the forerunner, 75, 122; regarded as a Nazarite, 87; in the wilderness, 121; baptizes Jesus Christ, 125; his testimony of Jesus, 138, 150, 164; his message to Jesus, 252; Christ's testimony concerning, 256; imprisonment of, 252; death of, 259; greatness of his mission, 275; the Elias that was to come, 257, 276; restores Aaronic Priesthood in modern time, 768. 

John, son of Zebedee, follows Christ, 140; called, 198; one of the Twelve, 220; his testimony regarding the graded development of Jesus, 119; with Peter at sepulchre of Jesus, 679; to tarry in the flesh until Christ's second coming, 694; the Revelator, 716. 

John and James, see James and John. 

Joseph of Arimathea, assists in burial of Christ's body, 664. 

Joseph and Mary the Virgin, espoused, 84; married, 85; genealogies of, 85, 89. 

Joseph Smith, 758; his perplexity over sectarian strife, 759; his prayer for light, 760; visited by the Father and the Son, 761; persecution of, 762; visited by Moroni, 765; receives Aaronic Priesthood, 768; receives Melchizedek Priesthood, 768; again visited by the Lord Jesus Christ, 774; visited by Moses, Elias and Elijah, 775; martyred, 776. 

Judah and Israel, kingdoms of, 59. 

Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, 225; his complaint against waste of ointment, 512; in conspiracy with Jewish rulers, 592; goes out to betray Christ, 598; his betrayal of Christ, 614; his maddening remorse and suicide, 642; views concerning his character, 649. 

Judas Thaddeus, or Lebbeus, one of the Twelve, 224, 228; his inquiry, 603. 

Judean and Perean ministry, 423, 449. 

Judgment, the inevitable, 584. 

Keys, of kingdom of heaven, 361; symbolical of power in Jewish literature, 362. 

King of the Jews, Christ the, 87, 90, 657. 

Kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven, 788. 

Kirtland Temple, scene of heavenly manifestations, 773. 

Lamanites and Nephites, 49, 55. 

Lamanites, progenitors of American Indians, 49, 56, 742, 757; promise concerning, 786. 

Lamentation over Jerusalem, 560. 

Last may be first, 478. 

Last Supper, the, 592. 

Latter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of, 769. 

Law, the, and the gospel, 234. 

Law of Moses, rabbinical divisions of, 564; Christ the giver of, 728; fulfilled, as Christ declared to Nephites, 723, 728. 

Lawyer questions Christ, 429. 

Lawyers and Pharisees, Christ's criticism on, 436. 

Lazarus and Dives, 483. 

Lazarus restored to life, 490. 

Leaven, of evil, 359; of Pharisees and Sadducees, 359. 

Leper, Simon the, 511. 

Lepers, ten healed, 470. 

Leprosy, 189, 199. 

Levi Matthew, see Matthew. 

Levirate marriages, 548. 

Light of the World, Jesus the, 407. 

Living water, figurative, 403. 

Lord's Day, the, 690. 

Lord's doctrine, test of, 421. 

Lord's High Priestly prayer, the, 609. 

Lord's Prayer, the, 238. 

Lord's Supper, Sacrament of the, 596. 

Love, mutual, enjoined on apostles, 599. 

Lucifer, see Satan. 

Luther, Martin, 750. 

Maccabean revolt, 60. 

Magnificat, the, 83. 

Magi, see Wise men. 

Malachi, his predictions misunderstood, 149; fulfilled, 775. 

Malchus, wounded by Peter, healed by Jesus, 616. 

Malefactor, the penitent, 659, 671. 

Mammon of unrighteousness, 463, 483. 

Man, preexistence of, 6, 17; an embodied spirit, 18; fall of, 19, 29; free agency of, 18, 29. 

Man of Holiness, and Man of Counsel, names of the Eternal Father, 143. 

Man, The Son of, 142. 

Manna, traditions concerning, 347. 

Mansions, many in the Father's house, 601. 

Many or few to be saved, 445. 

Marriage and divorce, 473. 

Marriage for eternity, 564. 

Marriages, levirate, 548. 

Martha and Mary, 432; at house of Simon the leper, 511. 

Mary and Joseph, see Joseph and Mary. 

Mary anoints Jesus with spikenard, 512. 

Mary Magdalene, defended against traditional aspersions, 264; at sepulchre, 679; first to behold the risen Lord, 681. 

Matthew, or Levi, called, 193; gives a feast, 194; one of the Twelve, 222. 

Matthias ordained to apostleship, 700. 

Melchizedek Priesthood, Jesus Christ holds the, 552; restored by Peter, James and John, 768. 

Meridian of Time, 57. 

Messiah, see Jesus Christ. 

Messiah and Christ, significance of names, 36. 

Messianic Psalms, 46. 

Michael in conflict with Satan, 6. 

Millennium, the, 790; predictions of, ancient, 790, modern, 791. 

Ministers and servants, 542. 

Miracles, in general, 147; attitude of science toward, 151. 

Miracles of Christ: Water transmuted into wine, 144; healing of nobleman's son, 178; Peter's mother-in-law healed, 183; demoniac healed in synagog at Capernaum, 181; leper healed, 188; palsied man healed and forgiven, 190; draught of fishes, 198; cripple healed at Bethesda pool, 206; healing of man with withered hand, 214; healing of centurion's servant, 249; young man of Nain raised from, the dead, 251; healing of a blind and dumb demoniac, 267; stilling the tempest, 307; demons rebuked in land of Gadarenes, 310; raising of daughter of Jairus, 313; healing of a woman in the throng, 317; blind and dumb healed, 319; feeding of the five thousand, 333; walking on the water, 335;

 in the land of Gennesaret, 337; healing of daughter of Syro-Phenician woman, 354; healings in coasts of Decapolis, 356; feeding of the four thousand, 357; healing of blind man near Bethsaida Julias, 360; healing of youthful demoniac, 378; tribute money supplied, 382; blind man healed on Sabbath, 413; woman healed on Sabbath, 443; dropsical man healed, 449; ten lepers healed, 470; Lazarus restored to life, 490; blind healed near Jericho, 504; blighting of barren fig tree, 524; healings in the temple courts, 528; Malchus healed of wound, 616; second draught of fishes, 691. 

Missing scriptures, 117, 119. 

Mission, of the Twelve, 328, 695; of the Seventy, 425, 427. 

Modern revelation, belief in, 776. 

Mormon, Book of, 742, 767. 

Moroni, last of Nephite prophets, 742; an angel sent from God, 765; delivers ancient records to Joseph Smith, 767. 

Moses, repels Satan, 7; his prophecy concerning Christ, 45, 138, 710, 766; with Elijah at transfiguration, 371; appearance of in Kirtland Temple, 775. 

Mount of Olives, see Olivet. 

Name, of Christ, power in, 390; in Christ's, 602; of Christ's Church, 736, 769. 

Names given of God, 40. 

Nard, see Spikenard. 

Nathanael, or Bartholomew brought to Christ, 141; one of the Twelve, 222. 

Nativity of Christ, a cause of discussion, 402, 403. 

Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus Christ, 110; our Lord's sermon in synagog at, 179; His rejection by Nazarenes, 180. 

Nazarite, 67, 87; John Baptist regarded as, 87. 

Need of a Redeemer, 17. 

Needle's eye, and camel, 478, 485. 

Neighbor, Who is my, 429. 

Nephites, birth of Christ made known to, 100; and Lamanites, 49, 55; as sheep of another fold, 419; death of Jesus signalized to, 721; visitation of the risen Lord among, 724, 731, 736; Twelve called from among, 725; the Three, 738. 

Nicodemus, visits Jesus, 158, 170; his protest before Sanhedrin, 404; assists in burial of Christ's body, 665. 

Night, watches of the, 346. 

Ninety and nine, and the lost sheep, 389. 

Nobleman seeking a kingdom, 522. 

Nunc Dimittis, the, 97. 

Offenses and offenders, 274, 388. 

Old cloth and old bottles, 195. 

Olivet, (Mount of Olives) Christ's discourse to apostles on, 540, 569; Gethsemane near, 611; the Lord's ascension from, 697. 

Oneness, of Godhead, 500; of Father and Son, 602. 

Papal claims to authority, 747. 

Parables in general, 298; definitions, 303. 

Parables of Christ: the Sower, 282; Wheat and Tares, 280; Seed growing secretly, 288; Mustard Seed, 290; Leaven, 291; Hidden Treasure, 292; Pearl of Great Price, 293; Gospel Net, 294; Lost Sheep, 389; Unmerciful Servant, 393; Good Samaritan, 430; Friend at Midnight, 434; Importunate Widow, or Unjust Judge, 436; Foolish Rich Man, 439; Barren Fig Tree, 443; Great Supper, 450; Lost Sheep (repeated), 454; Lost Coin, 455; Prodigal Son, 457; Unrighteous Steward, 461; Rich Man and Lazarus, 466; Unprofitable Servants, 470; Pharisee and Publican, 471; Laborers in Vineyard, 479; Pounds, 508; Two Sons, 532; Wicked Husbandmen, 533; Royal Marriage Feast, 536; Ten Virgins, 577; the same referred to in modern revelation, 579; Talents, 580; Pounds and Talents compared, 581. 

Parabolic teaching, Christ's purpose in, 295. 

Paradise, 672, 676; the penitent thief in, 659, 671. 

Passover, feast of, 112; Jesus at when a Boy, 113; throngs attending, 167; recurrences of during Christ's ministry, 365; the last eaten by Jesus, 593, 617. 

Patmos, 720. 

Paul, the Lord's manifestations to, 713, 715; his demeanor when smitten contrasted with that of Christ, 644. 

Pence and talents, value of, 396. 

Pentecost, 702, 718. 

Perea, the Lord's retirement in, 489. 

Perean and Judean ministry, 423, 449, Perfection, relative, 236, 248. 

Persecutions of early Christians, 746. 

Peter, James, and John, special witnesses, 314, 370, 376, 611; officiate in modern times, 219, 768. 

Peter, Simon, brought to Jesus by Andrew and named Peter, 140; called from his boat and nets, 198; one of the Twelve, 218; his confession of Christ, 360; his presidency among the apostles, 362; remonstrates with Jesus and is rebuked, 364, 368; protests against washing of his feet by Jesus, 596; his protestations of allegiance, 600; his assault on Malchus, 616; his denial of his Lord, 629; with John at sepulchre, 679; questioned by the risen Lord, 692; manner of his death foreshadowed, 693; his Pentecostal address, 703; heals lame man, 705; testifies to people and rulers in temple, 706, 708; with James and John officiates in modern times, 219, 768. 

Pharisees, and Sadducees, 65, 72; leaven of the, 359; humiliated by an unlearned indigent, 415; with lawyers criticized by Christ, 436; Jesus in house of one of chief, 449; proud of false humility, 465; with scribes, denounced, 552. 

Philip, called by Jesus, 140; one of the Twelve, 221; asks to behold the Father, 602. 

Phylacteries, and borders, 565. 

Physical cause of the Lord's death, 668. 

Pilate, see Pontius Pilate. 

Pilgrim Fathers, their mission predicted, 754, 757. 

Pleasure and happiness, 231, 247. 

Pontius Pilate, procurator, 631; hears charges against Christ, 631, 636; questions Jesus, 634, 640; sends Christ to Herod, 635; tries to save Jesus from death, 640; gives sentence of crucifixion, 639; cause of his surrender to Jewish clamor, 641, 648; writes inscription for the cross, 656; gives body of Jesus for burial, 664; allows guarding of sepulchre, 665. 

Pool, of Bethesda, 206; a cripple healed at, 207; of Siloam, 403, 421; blind man sent to wash in, 413. 

Pope, the, 747. 

Prayer, the Lord's, 238; the Lord's High Priestly, 609; and fasting, power developed by, 395; request of disciples concerning, 434. 

Precedence and humility, 503. 

Predictions of Christ's birth, life and death, 42; by Adam, 44; by Jacob, 44; by Moses, 45; by Job, 46; by Isaiah, 46; by Jeremiah, 47; by other Hebrew prophets, 48; by John the Baptist, 48; by Nephite prophets, 49, 722; of the Lord's death by Himself, 363, 372, 381, 518, 586. 

Preexistence of spirits, 6, 17; involved in disciples' question, 412; of Jesus Christ, 6. 

Presidency, Peter's among apostles, 362. 

Priesthood, Aaronic, see Aaronic Priesthood; Melchizedek, see Melchizedek Priesthood; the Holy, now operative on earth, 777; and office therein, 778. 

Primitive Church, the, 705, 707, 712, 719. 

Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ the, 517. 

Prophet, predicted by Moses--Jesus Christ 45, 138, 710, 733, 766. 

Protestants, origin of, 750. 

Psalms, Messianic, 46. 

Publicans, 193, 201; and sinners, 193; salvation for, 454; Zaccheus a chief among, 506. 

Rabbis, and scribes, 63, 71, 554. 

Redeemer, need of by essential qualifications of, 21. 

Redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, 20, 31. 

Reformation, the, 750. 

Regeneration of the earth, 322, 793. 

Repentant woman forgiven, 263. 

Restoration, to mortal life contrasted with resurrection, 316, 496; of the Priesthood in modern times, 768. 

Resurrection, universal, 24; distinct from restoration to mortal life, 316, 496; Sadducean denial of, 72; Sadducees question Jesus concerning, 547; of Jesus Christ, 678; false stories and untenable theories concerning Christ's, 683, 698; heathen in the first, 793. 

Revelation, foundation of Church of Christ, 361, 775; modern, belief in, 776. 

Reward, for merit, assured, 479. 

Rich men, and their stewards, 483; difficulty of entering kingdom, 478. 

Rigdon, Sidney, associated with Joseph Smith, 771. 

Rock of revelation, 361. 

Ruler, the rich young, 477. 

Sabbath, distinctively sacred to Israel, 203; Jesus Christ the Lord of the, 203; rabbinical requirements concerning, 205, 215; desecration of imputed to Jesus, 208, 214, 401, 413, 443; disciples charged with desecration of, 212; change of day from Saturday to Sunday, 690. 

Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, instituted among Jews, 596; on western continent, 730, 733, 735. 

Sacrifice, animal, antiquity of, 53; prototype of Christ's atoning death, 45, 53. 

Sadducees, and Pharisees, 65, 72; deny resurrection, 72; question Christ concerning resurrection, 547. 

Saliva, applied to eyes of blind man, 360, 413. 

Salome, daughter of Herodias, 259; mother of James and John, 521. 

Salt of the earth, figurative, 232, 248, 743. 

Salvation, conditions of, 26. 

Samaritan, woman talks with Jesus, 172; Christ called a, 411

Samaritans, origin of, 62; and Jews, animosity between, 183; Jesus received gladly by, 176; afterward rejected by, 423. 

Sanhedrin, the, 61, 69; Nicodemus a member of, speaks in behalf of Jesus, 404; unlawful trial of Jesus before, 621; the apostles before, 706; Gamaliel's advice to, 709; Stephen condemned by, 711. 

Satan, Lucifer, a son of the morning, 7; in conflict with Michael, 6; cast out from heaven, 8; commanded by Moses, 7; would destroy man's agency, 8; beguiles Eve, 19; introduces sin and death, 20; tempts Jesus Christ, 127; to be bound during Millennium, 791; final vanquishment of, 792. 

Saul of Tarsus, his persecution of the Saints, 712; his conversion, 713, 719; his baptism, 714; beginning of his ministry, 714; name changed to Paul, 714. 

Savior and Redeemer, necessary qualifications of, 21. 

Scourging, 638; of Jesus, 639. 

Scribes and Pharisees, 552; and rabbis, 63; see further, Pharisees. 

Scriptures, lost, 117, 119. 

Sea of Galilee, storms on, 321. 

Second advent of Christ, 780; predicted anciently, 569, 781, in modern times, 783; signs of, 573, 786; time of unknown, 575, 589, 785; near at hand, 787; accompaniments of, 787. 

Secular authority, submission to, 564. 

Seed and crop, 519. 

Sermon on the Mount, 230; repeated in effect to the Nephites, 727. 

Servants and ministers, 542. 

Seventy, the, sent, 425; return of, 427. 

Sheep and goats, figurative, 584. 

Sheep, other than of Jewish fold, 419; Nephite fold, 728; Lost Tribes another fold, 729. 

Shepherd, Christ the Good, 417. 

Shepherds, angelic annunciation to, 93; contrasted with sheepherders, 416. 

Shewbread, 213, 216. 

Shiloh, Jacob's prophecy concerning, 44, 54. 

Signs, miracles as, 147, 696; seekers of, 270, 279, 358; of Christ's birth and death shown on American continent, 100, 721. 

Silence, Christ's, when before Herod, 636. 

Siloam, Pool of, 403, 421; fall of tower at, 442. 

Simon, Peter, see Peter; the leper, 510; the Pharisee, 261; of Cyrene, 653, 666; Zelotes, one of the Twelve, 225. 

Sin, brings death into the world, 20; the unpardonable, 269, 278; servitude of, 409; and bodily affliction, 413. 

Sinners, joy in heaven over repentant, 455. 

Smith, Hyrum, see Hyrum Smith; Joseph, see Joseph Smith. 

Solomon's Porch, 487, 500, 705. 

Son of David, title, applied to Joseph of Nazareth, 84; to Jesus Christ, 80, 86, 354, 505, 515, 529; Christ's question concerning, 552. 

Son of God, The, proclaimed by the Father, 126, 371, 725, 761. 

Son of Man, The, 142. 

Son of the morning, see Satan. 

Spikenard, 523; Mary anoints Jesus with, 512. 

Spirit and power of Elias, 376. 

Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost, 603. 

Spirits, unembodied, 6, 8, 17; state of between death and resurrection, 671; disembodied, Christ's mission among, 670, 672, 677; world of, missionary labor in, 675. 

Spiritual development, the one thing needful, 433, 434. 

Stater, 384. 

Stephen, his zeal, 709; his address to the council, 710; his martyrdom, 711. 

Stewards, apostles likened unto, 441, 576. 

Stone, head of the corner--Jesus Christ--535, 706. 

Supererogation, false doctrine of, 590. 

Supper, at house of Simon the leper, 510; The Last, 592. 

Sychar, 173, 186. 

Synoptic Gospels, 166. 

Tabernacles, feast of, 419; Jesus at the, 399. 

Talents and pence, 396. 

Talmud, 62, 70. 

Targums, 179, 186. 

Tax, capitation, 383. 

Taxing, or enrolment, 104. 

Temple, of Herod, 73; the Lord's body symbolized as a, 157; Christ's first clearing of the, 153; second clearing of the, 527; tribute paid to, 396; destruction of, predicted, 563, accomplished, 567; treasure of, 567. 

Temples, modern, 778. 

Test of the Lord's doctrine, 400, 421. 

Tetrarch, 274. 

Thirty years of age, 166. 

Thomas, one of the Twelve, 223; doubts the resurrection of Christ, 689; is convinced, 690. 

"Thou art the Christ, " 360. 

Three Nephites, the, 738. 

Tiberias, sea of, 165, the risen Lord appears at, 691. 

Tithing, day of, 785. 

Titles, ecclesiastical, 566. 

Today and tomorrow, special application of terms, 785. 

Tongues, as of fire, Pentecostal manifestations, 702. 

Traditionalism, in opposition to the law, 351. 

Transubstantiation, false doctrine of, 748. 

Transfiguration, the, 370, 376. 

Transgressors, Christ numbered among, 601, 655. 

Treasure belonging to temple, 567. 

Treasury of temple, 422. 

Trial of Jesus, the Jewish, 621; illegalities of, 622, 644. 

Tribes, of Israel, 59; the Ten, or Lost, 61, 729. 

Tribute, the temple, 396; Christ pays the, 382; to be rendered to Cęsar under law, 545. 

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's, 513. 

Truth, shall make men free, 408. 

Twelve, the, see Apostles; the Nephite, 725. 

Tyre and Sidon, Jesus in borders of, 354. 

Unbelief, effect of, 381. 

Unity of Godhead, 500. 

Unpardonable sin, 269, 278. 

Vine, Christ the true, 604. 

Vineyard and vines, Israel symbolized by, 541. 

Voice, in the wilderness, --John the Baptist, 121; from heaven, the Father's, 126, 371, 519, 725; of Jesus Christ from heaven to Nephites, 723. 

War in heaven, 6. 

Washing of feet, ordinance of, 595, 619. 

Washings, ceremonial, 350, 366. 

Watches of the night, 346. 

Watchfulness enjoined, 575. 

Water, living, 403. 

Wedding garment, lacking, 539. 

Western continent, ministry of Jesus Christ on, 721. 

Widow's mites, 561. 

Wise men, the, 97; their adoration of Christ, 99. 

Witnesses, false, at trial of Jesus, 623. 

Woes over Jerusalem, 515, 560. 

Woman, a repentant, receives forgiveness, 263; one taken in sin, 405. 

"Woman, " as noun of address, 144. 

Women, Christ the ennobler of, 484; witnesses of the crucifixion, 659, 688; at sepulchre of Jesus, 681; see and touch the risen Lord, 682. 

Word, Jesus Christ, the, 10. 

Yahveh, see Jehovah. 

Zaccheus, 506. 

Zacharias, the martyr, 560, 567. 

Zacharias, the priest, visited by the angel Gabriel, 76; stricken dumb, 77, 88; his speech restored, 78. 

Zion, of Enoch, 719, 790; of the last days, 786.