{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22542/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22542","id":"gutenberg_22542","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22542","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian biography -- Palestine","Christianity","Jesus Christ -- Biography","Jesus Christ -- Mormon interpretations","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"JESUS THE CHRIST\n\nA Study of the Messiah and His Mission\naccording to Holy Scriptures both\nAncient and Modern\n\nBy\n\nJAMES E. TALMAGE\n\nOne of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of\nJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\n\n\nPUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH\n\nSIXTH EDITION\n\nTWENTY-EIGHTH TO THIRTIETH THOUSAND INCLUSIVE\n\nSalt Lake City, Utah\n\nDeseret Book Company\n\n1922\n\nCopyright\n\nSeptember 1915, December 1915, April 1916\nand November 1916\n\nBy\n\nJOSEPH F. SMITH\n\nTrustee-in-Trust for the\nChurch of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints\n\nCopyright, October, 1922\n\nBy\n\nHEBER J. GRANT\n\nTrustee-in-Trust for the\nChurch of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints\n\n\nPrinted in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe scope of the subject presented in this work is expressed on the\ntitle page. It will be readily seen that the author has departed from\nthe course usually followed by writers on the Life of Jesus Christ,\nwhich course, as a rule, begins with the birth of Mary's Babe and ends\nwith the ascension of the slain and risen Lord from Olivet. The\ntreatment embodied in these pages, in addition to the narrative of the\nLord's life in the flesh comprizes the antemortal existence and\nactivities of the world's Redeemer, the revelations and personal\nmanifestations of the glorified and exalted Son of God during the\napostolic period of old and in modern times, the assured nearness of the\nLord's second advent, and predicted events beyond--all so far as the\nHoly Scriptures make plain.\n\nIt is particularly congruous and appropriate that the Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-day Saints--the only Church that affirms authority\nbased on specific revelation and commission to use the Lord's Holy Name\nas a distinctive designation--should set forth her doctrines concerning\nthe Messiah and His mission.\n\nThe author of this volume entered upon his welcome service under request\nand appointment from the presiding authorities of the Church; and the\ncompleted work has been read to and is approved by the First Presidency\nand the Council of the Twelve. It presents, however, the writer's\npersonal belief and profoundest conviction as to the truth of what he\nhas written. The book is published by the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints.\n\nA characteristic feature of the work is the guidance afforded by modern\nscriptures and the explication of the Holy Writ of olden times in the\nlight of present day revelation, which, as a powerful and well directed\nbeam, illumines many dark passages of ancient construction.\n\nThe spirit of the sacredness inherent in the subject has been a constant\ncompanion of the writer throughout his pleasing labor, and he reverently\ninvokes the same as a minister to the readers of the volume.\n\nJAMES E. TALMAGE.\n\nSalt Lake City, Utah,\nSeptember, 1915.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION.\n\n\nThe second edition of this work appeared in December, 1915, and the\nthird in March, 1916. The third edition presented several minor\nalterations in wording and contained additional notes and references.\nSucceeding issues, including the fifth which was printed on India paper,\nand the present edition are practically uniform with the third.\n\nJAMES E. TALMAGE.\n\nSalt Lake City, Utah,\nOctober, 1922.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\nChapter 1.\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nHistoricity of Jesus the Christ.--Scope and purpose of the present\ntreatise\n\nChapter 2.\n\nPREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST.\n\nAntemortal existence of spirits.--Primeval council in heaven.--Rebellion\nof Lucifer.--His defeat and expulsion.--Free agency of man insured.--The\nBeloved Son chosen to be the Savior and Redeemer of mankind\n\nChapter 3.\n\nTHE NEED OF A REDEEMER.\n\nSpirits of diverse capacities.--Entrance of sin into the world\nforeseen.--God's foreknowledge not a determining cause.--Creation of man\nin the flesh.--Fall of man.--Atonement necessary.--Jesus Christ the only\nBeing eligible as Redeemer and Savior.--Universal resurrection provided\n\nChapter 4.\n\nTHE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST.\n\nThe Godhead.--Jesus Christ the Word of power.--Jesus Christ the\nCreator.--Jehovah.--The Eternal I AM.--Proclamations of Jesus Christ by\nthe Father\n\nChapter 5.\n\nEARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED.\n\nBiblical prophecies.--Revelation to Enoch.--The Prophet predicted by\nMoses.--Sacrifices as prototypes.--Book of Mormon predictions\n\nChapter 6.\n\nTHE MERIDIAN OF TIME.\n\nSignificance of the designation.--Epitome of Israel's history.--Jews in\nvassalage to Rome.--Scribes and rabbis.--Pharisees and Sadducees.--Other\nsects and parties\n\nChapter 7.\n\nGABRIEL'S ANNUNCIATION OF JOHN AND OF JESUS.\n\nAngelic visitation to Zacharias.--Birth of John the\nforerunner.--Annunciation to Mary the Virgin.--Mary and Joseph.--Their\ngenealogies.--Jesus Christ heir to the throne of David\n\nChapter 8.\n\nTHE BABE OF BETHLEHEM.\n\nBirth of Jesus Christ.--His presentation in the temple.--Visit of the\nmagi.--Herod's evil designs.--The Child taken into Egypt.--Birth of\nChrist made known to Nephites.--Time of the birth\n\nChapter 9.\n\nTHE BOY OF NAZARETH.\n\nJesus to be called a Nazarene.--At the temple when twelve years of\nage.--Jesus and the doctors of the law.--Jesus of Nazareth\n\nChapter 10.\n\nIN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA.\n\nJohn the Baptist.--The voice in the wilderness.--Baptism of Jesus.--The\nFather's proclamation.--Descent of the Holy Ghost.--Sign of the\ndove.--Temptations of Christ\n\nChapter 11.\n\nFROM JUDEA TO GALILEE.\n\nJohn Baptist's testimony of Christ.--First disciples.--The Son of Man,\nsignificance of title.--Miracle of transmuting water into\nwine.--Miracles in general\n\nChapter 12.\n\nEARLY INCIDENTS IN OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\nFirst clearing of the temple.--Jesus and Nicodemus.--John Baptist's\ndisciples in disputation.--John's tribute to and repeated testimony of\nthe Christ\n\nChapter 13.\n\nHONORED BY STRANGERS, REJECTED BY HIS OWN.\n\nJesus and the Samaritan woman.--Among the Samaritans.--While at Cana\nChrist heals a nobleman's son in Capernaum.--At Nazareth Christ preaches\nin synagog.--Nazarenes attempt to kill him.--Demons subdued in\nCapernaum.--Demoniacal possession\n\nChapter 14.\n\nCONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN GALILEE.\n\nA leper healed.--Leprosy.--Palsied man healed and forgiven.--Imputation\nof blasphemy.--Publicans and sinners.--Old cloth, old bottles, and the\nnew.--Preliminary call of disciples.--Fishers of men\n\nChapter 15.\n\nLORD OF THE SABBATH.\n\nSabbath distinctively sacred to Israel.--Cripple healed on Sabbath\nday.--Accusations by the Jews and the Lord's reply thereto.--Disciples\ncharged with Sabbath-breaking.--Man with a withered hand healed on\nSabbath day\n\nChapter 16.\n\nTHE CHOSEN TWELVE.\n\nTheir call and ordination.--The Twelve considered individually.--Their\ncharacteristics in general.--Disciples and apostles\n\nChapter 17.\n\nTHE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n\nThe Beatitudes.--Dignity and responsibility in the ministry.--The Mosaic\nlaw superseded by the gospel of Christ.--Sincerity of purpose. The\nLord's Prayer.--True wealth.--Promise and re-assurance.--Hearing and\ndoing\n\nChapter 18.\n\nAS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY.\n\nHealing of centurion's servant.--Young man of Nain raised from the\ndead.--John Baptist's message to Jesus.--The Lord's commentary\nthereon.--Death of John Baptist.--Jesus in house of Simon the\nPharisee.--Penitent woman forgiven.--Christ's authority ascribed to\nBeelzebub.--The sin against the Holy Ghost.--Sign-seekers\n\nChapter 19.\n\n\"HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES.\"\n\nThe Sower.--Wheat and Tares.--Seed growing secretly.--Mustard\nSeed.--Leaven.--Hidden Treasure.--Pearl of Great Price.--Gospel\nNet.--The Lord's purpose in parabolic teaching.--Parables in general\n\nChapter 20.\n\n\"PEACE, BE STILL.\"\n\nCandidates for discipleship.--Stilling the storm.--Quieting the demons\nin region of Gadara.--Raising of daughter of Jairus.--Restoration to\nlife and resurrection.--A woman healed amidst the throng.--Blind see and\ndumb speak\n\nChapter 21.\n\nTHE APOSTOLIC MISSION, AND EVENTS RELATED THERETO.\n\nJesus again in Nazareth.--The Twelve charged and sent out.--Their\nreturn.--Five thousand people miraculously fed.--Miracle of walking upon\nthe water.--People seek Christ for more loaves and fishes.--Christ the\nbread of life.--Many disciples turn away\n\nChapter 22.\n\nA PERIOD OF DARKENING OPPOSITION.\n\nCeremonial washings.--Pharisees rebuked.--Jesus in borders of Tyre and\nSidon.--Daughter of Syro-Phoenician woman healed.--Miracles wrought in\ncoasts of Decapolis.--Four thousand people miraculously fed.--More\nseekers after signs.--Leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and\nHerodians.--Peter's great confession, \"Thou art the Christ\"\n\nChapter 23.\n\nTHE TRANSFIGURATION.\n\nVisitation of Moses and Elijah.--The Father again proclaims the\nSon.--The apostles temporarily restrained from testifying concerning the\ntransfiguration.--Elias and Elijah.--The Lesser and the Higher\nPriesthood\n\nChapter 24.\n\nFROM SUNSHINE TO SHADOW.\n\nYouthful demoniac healed.--Further prediction of Christ's death and\nresurrection.--The tribute money; supplied by a miracle.--Humility\nillustrated by a little child.--Parable of the Lost Sheep.--In Christ's\nname.--My brother and I.--Parable of the Unmerciful Servant\n\nChapter 25.\n\nJESUS AGAIN IN JERUSALEM.\n\nDeparture from Galilee.--At the Feast of Tabernacles.--Another charge of\nSabbath desecration.--Living water for the spiritually thirsty.--Plans\nto arrest Jesus.--Nicodemus protests.--Woman taken in adultery.--Christ\nthe light of the world.--The truth shall make men free.--Christ's\nseniority over Abraham.--Sight restored on Sabbath day.--Physical and\nspiritual blindness.--Shepherd and sheep-herder.--Christ the Good\nShepherd.--His inherent power over life and death.--Sheep of another\nfold\n\nChapter 26.\n\nOUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN PEREA AND JUDEA.\n\nJesus rejected in Samaria.--James and John reproved for revengeful\ndesire.--The Seventy charged and sent.--Their return.--A lawyer's\nquestion.--Parable of Good Samaritan.--Martha and Mary.--Ask and\nreceive.--Parable of Friend at Midnight.--Criticism on Pharisees and\nlawyers.--Parable of Foolish Rich Man.--The unrepentant to\nperish.--Parable of Barren Fig Tree.--A woman healed on the\nSabbath.--Many or few to be saved?--Jesus warned of Herod's design\n\nChapter 27.\n\nCONTINUATION OF THE PEREAN AND JUDEAN MINISTRY.\n\nIn the house of one of the chief Pharisees.--Parable of the Great\nSupper.--Counting the cost.--Salvation even for publicans and\nsinners.--Parable of the Lost Sheep repeated.--Of the Lost Coin.--Of the\nProdigal Son.--Of the Unrighteous Steward.--Of the Rich Man and\nLazarus.--Of the Unprofitable Servants.--Ten lepers healed.--Parable of\nthe Pharisee and Publican.--On marriage and divorce.--Jesus and the\nlittle ones.--The rich young ruler.--First may be last and last\nfirst.--Parable of the Laborers\n\nChapter 28.\n\nTHE LAST WINTER.\n\nAt the Feast of Dedication.--Sheep know the Shepherd's Voice.--The\nLord's retirement in Perea.--Lazarus raised from the dead.--Jewish\nhierarchy agitated over the miracle.--Prophecy by Caiaphas, the high\npriest.--Jesus in retirement at Ephraim\n\nChapter 29.\n\nON TO JERUSALEM.\n\nJesus again foretells His death and resurrection.--Aspiring request of\nJames and John.--Sight restored near Jericho.--Zaccheus the chief\npublican.--Parable of the Pounds.--The supper in the house of Simon the\nleper.--Mary's tribute in anointing Jesus.--Iscariot's protest.--\nChrist's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.--Certain Greeks seek\ninterview with Jesus.--The Voice from heaven\n\nChapter 30.\n\nJESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE DAILY.\n\nA leafy but fruitless fig tree cursed.--Second clearing of the\ntemple.--Children shout Hosanna.--Christ's authority challenged by the\nrulers.--Parable of the two sons. Of the Wicked Husbandmen.--The\nrejected Stone to be head of the corner.--Parable of the Royal Marriage\nFeast.--The wedding garment lacking\n\nChapter 31.\n\nTHE CLOSE OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\nPharisees and Herodians in conspiracy.--C\u00e6sar to have his due.--The\nimage on the coin.--Sadducees and the resurrection.--Levirate\nmarriages.--The great commandment.--Jesus turns questioner.--Scathing\ndenunciation of scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!--Lamentation over\nJerusalem.--The widow's mites.--Christ's final withdrawal from\ntemple.--Destruction of temple predicted\n\nChapter 32.\n\nFURTHER INSTRUCTION TO THE APOSTLES.\n\nProphecies relating to destruction of Jerusalem and the Lord's future\nadvent.--Watch!--Parable of Ten Virgins.--Of the Entrusted Talents.--The\ninevitable judgment.--Another and specific prediction of the Lord's\nimpending death\n\nChapter 33.\n\nTHE LAST SUPPER AND THE BETRAYAL.\n\nJudas Iscariot in conspiracy with the Jews.--Preparations for the Lord's\nlast Passover.--The last supper of Jesus with the Twelve.--The traitor\ndesignated.--Ordinance of washing of feet.--Sacrament of the Lord's\nSupper.--The betrayer goes out into the night.--Discourse following the\nsupper.--The High-Priestly Prayer.--The Lord's agony in Gethsemane.--The\nbetrayal and the arrest\n\nChapter 34.\n\nTHE TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION.\n\nThe Jewish trial.--Christ before Annas and Caiaphas.--The illegal night\ncourt.--The morning session.--False witnesses and unrighteous\nconviction.--Peter's denial of his Lord.--Christ's first arraignment\nbefore Pilate.--Before Herod.--Second appearance before\nPilate.--Pilate's surrender to Jewish clamor.--The sentence of\ncrucifixion.--Suicide of Judas Iscariot\n\nChapter 35.\n\nDEATH AND BURIAL.\n\nOn the way to Calvary.--The Lord's address to the daughters of\nJerusalem.--The crucifixion.--Occurrences between the Lord's death and\nburial.--The burial.--The sepulchre guarded\n\nChapter 36.\n\nIN THE REALM OF DISEMBODIED SPIRITS.\n\nActuality of the Lord's death.--Condition of spirits between death and\nresurrection.--The Savior among the dead.--The gospel preached to the\nspirits in prison\n\nChapter 37.\n\nTHE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION.\n\nChrist is risen.--The women at the sepulchre.--Angelic\ncommunications.--The risen Lord seen by Mary Magdalene.--And by other\nwomen.--A priestly conspiracy of falsehood.--The Lord and two disciples\non the Emmaus road.--He appears to disciples in Jerusalem and eats in\ntheir presence.--Doubting Thomas.--The Lord appears to the apostles at\nthe sea of Tiberias.--Other manifestations in Galilee.--Final commission\nto the apostles.--The ascension\n\nChapter 38.\n\nTHE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY.\n\nMatthias ordained to the apostleship.--Bestowal of the Holy Ghost at\nPentecost.--The apostles' preaching.--Imprisoned and delivered.--\nGamaliel's advice to the council.--Stephen the martyr.--Saul of Tarsus,\nhis conversion.--Becomes Paul the apostle.--The record by John the\nRevelator.--Close of the apostolic ministry\n\nChapter 39.\n\nMINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.\n\nThe Lord's death signalized by great calamities on western\ncontinent.--The Voice of the Lord Jesus Christ heard.--His visitations\nto the Nephites.--The Nephite Twelve.--Baptism among Nephites.--The\nMosaic law fulfilled.--Address to Nephites compared with Sermon on the\nMount.--Sacrament of bread and wine instituted among Nephites.--Name of\nChrist's Church.--The Three Nephites.--Growth of the Church.--Final\napostasy of Nephite nation\n\nChapter 40.\n\nTHE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY.\n\nThe great falling away as predicted.--Individual apostasy from the\nChurch.--Apostasy of the Church.--Constantine makes Christianity the\nreligion of state.--Papal claims to secular authority.--Churchly\ntyranny.--The Dark Ages.--The inevitable revolt.--The Reformation.--Rise\nof Church of England.--Catholicism and Protestantism.--The apostasy\naffirmed.--Mission of Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers predicted in\nancient scripture.--Fulfilment of the prophecies.--Establishment of\nAmerican nation provided for\n\nChapter 41.\n\nPERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUS\nCHRIST IN MODERN TIMES.\n\nA new dispensation.--Joseph Smith's perplexity over sectarian\nstrife.--The Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ appear to and\npersonally instruct Joseph Smith.--Visitation of Moroni.--The Book of\nMormon.--Aaronic Priesthood restored by John the Baptist.--Melchizedek\nPriesthood restored by Peter, James, and John.--The Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-day Saints.--Divine manifestations in Kirtland\nTemple.--The Lord Jesus Christ appears.--Specific authority of olden\ndispensations conferred by Moses, Elias, and Elijah.--The Holy\nPriesthood now operative on earth\n\nChapter 42.\n\nJESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN.\n\nAncient predictions of the Lord's second advent.--Modern revelation\naffirms the same.--Today and tomorrow.--The great and dreadful day near\nat hand.--Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven.--The Millennium.--The\ncelestial consummation\n\nIndex\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 1.\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nIt is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what has\nsince come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the\nChrist, was born in Bethlehem of Judea.[1] The principal data as to His\nbirth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably\nindisputable; they are facts of record, and are accepted as essentially\nauthentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities\nof deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past\nas to circumstantial details; but such differences are of strictly minor\nimportance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow of\nrational doubt upon the historicity of the earthly existence of the Man\nknown in literature as Jesus of Nazareth.\n\nAs to who and what He was there are dissensions of grave moment dividing\nthe opinions of men; and this divergence of conception and belief is\nmost pronounced upon those matters to which the greatest importance\nattaches. The solemn testimonies of millions dead and of millions living\nunite in proclaiming Him as divine, the Son of the Living God, the\nRedeemer and Savior of the human race, the Eternal Judge of the souls of\nmen, the Chosen and Anointed of the Father--in short, the Christ. Others\nthere are who deny His Godhood while extolling the transcendent\nqualities of His unparalleled and unapproachable Manhood.\n\nTo the student of history this Man among men stands first, foremost, and\nalone, as a directing personality in the world's progression. Mankind\nhas never produced a leader to rank with Him. Regarded solely as a\nhistoric personage He is unique. Judged by the standard of human\nestimation, Jesus of Nazareth is supreme among men by reason of the\nexcellence of His personal character, the simplicity, beauty, and\ngenuine worth of His precepts, and the influence of His example and\ndoctrines in the advancement of the race. To these distinguishing\ncharacteristics of surpassing greatness the devout Christian soul adds\nan attribute that far exceeds the sum of all the others--the divinity of\nChrist's origin and the eternal reality of His status as Lord and God.\n\nChristian and unbeliever alike acknowledge His supremacy as a Man, and\nrespect the epoch-making significance of His birth. Christ was born in\nthe meridian of time;[2] and His life on earth marked at once the\nculmination of the past and the inauguration of an era distinctive in\nhuman hope, endeavor, and achievement. His advent determined a new order\nin the reckoning of the years; and by common consent the centuries\nantedating His birth have been counted backward from the pivotal event\nand are designated accordingly. The rise and fall of dynasties, the\nbirth and dissolution of nations, all the cycles of history as to war\nand peace, as to prosperity and adversity, as to health and pestilence,\nseasons of plenty and of famine, the awful happenings of earthquake and\nstorm, the triumphs of invention and discovery, the epochs of man's\ndevelopment in godliness and the long periods of his dwindling in\nunbelief--all the occurrences that make history--are chronicled\nthroughout Christendom by reference to the year before or after the\nbirth of Jesus Christ.\n\nHis earthly life covered a period of thirty-three years; and of these\nbut three were spent by Him as an acknowledged Teacher openly engaged in\nthe activities of public ministry. He was brought to a violent death\nbefore He had attained what we now regard as the age of manhood's prime.\nAs an individual He was personally known to but few; and His fame as a\nworld character became general only after His death.\n\nBrief account of some of His words and works has been preserved to us;\nand this record, fragmentary and incomplete though it be, is rightly\nesteemed as the world's greatest treasure. The earliest and most\nextended history of His mortal existence is embodied within the\ncompilation of scriptures known as the New Testament; indeed but little\nis said of Him by secular historians of His time. Few and short as are\nthe allusions to Him made by non-scriptural writers in the period\nimmediately following that of His ministry, enough is found to\ncorroborate the sacred record as to the actuality and period of Christ's\nearthly existence.\n\nNo adequate biography of Jesus as Boy and Man has been or can be\nwritten, for the sufficing reason that a fulness of data is lacking.\nNevertheless, man never lived of whom more has been said and sung, none\nto whom is devoted a greater proportion of the world's literature. He is\nextolled by Christian, Mohammedan and Jew, by skeptic and infidel, by\nthe world's greatest poets, philosophers, statesmen, scientists, and\nhistorian. Even the profane sinner in the foul, sacrilege of his oath\nacclaims the divine supremacy of Him whose name he desecrates.\n\nThe purpose of the present treatise is that of considering the life and\nmission of Jesus _as_ the Christ. In this undertaking we are to be\nguided by the light of both ancient and modern scriptures; and, thus\nled, we shall discover, even in the early stages of our course, that the\nword of God as revealed in latter days is effective in illuming and\nmaking plain the Holy Writ of ancient times, and this, in many matters\nof the profoundest imports.[3]\n\nInstead of beginning our study with the earthly birth of the Holy Babe\nof Bethlehem, we shall consider the part taken by the Firstborn Son of\nGod in the primeval councils of heaven, at the time when He was chosen\nand ordained to be the Savior of the unborn race of mortals, the\nRedeemer of a world then in its formative stages of development. We are\nto study Him as the Creator of the world, as the Word of Power, through\nwhom the purposes of the Eternal Father were realized in the preparation\nof the earth for the abode of His myriad spirit-children during the\nappointed period of their mortal probation. Jesus Christ was and is\nJehovah, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the\nages have spoken, the God of all nations, and He who shall yet reign on\nearth as King of kings and Lord of lords.\n\nHis wondrous yet natural birth, His immaculate life in the flesh, and\nHis voluntary death as a consecrated sacrifice for the sins of mankind,\nshall claim our reverent attention; as shall also His redeeming service\nin the world of disembodied spirits; His literal resurrection from\nbodily death to immortality; His several appearings to men and His\ncontinued ministry as the Resurrected Lord on both continents; the\nreestablishment of His Church through His personal presence and that of\nthe Eternal Father in the latter days; and His coming to His temple in\nthe current dispensation. All these developments in the ministration of\nthe Christ are already of the past. Our proposed course of investigation\nwill lead yet onward, into the future concerning which the word of\ndivine revelation is of record. We shall consider the conditions\nincident to the Lord's return in power and glory to inaugurate the\ndominion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and to usher in the\npredicted Millennium of peace and righteousness. And yet beyond we shall\nfollow Him, through the post-Millennial conflict between the powers of\nheaven and the forces of hell, to the completion of His victory over\nSatan, sin, and death, when He shall present the glorified earth and its\nsanctified hosts, spotless and celestialized, unto the Father.\n\nThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms her possession\nof divine authority for the use of the sacred name, Jesus Christ, as the\nessential part of her distinctive designation. In view of this exalted\nclaim, it is pertinent to inquire as to what special or particular\nmessage the Church has to give to the world concerning the Redeemer and\nSavior of the race, and as to what she has to say in justification of\nher solemn affirmation, or in vindication of her exclusive name and\ntitle. As we proceed with our study, we shall find that among the\nspecific teachings of the Church respecting the Christ are these:\n\n(1) The unity and continuity of His mission in all ages--this of\nnecessity involving the verity of His preexistence and foreordination.\n(2) The fact of His antemortal Godship. (3) The actuality of His birth\nin the flesh as the natural issue of divine and mortal parentage. (4)\nThe reality of His death and physical resurrection, as a result of which\nthe power of death shall be eventually overcome. (5) The literalness of\nthe atonement wrought by Him, including the absolute requirement of\nindividual compliance with the laws and ordinances of His gospel as the\nmeans by which salvation may be attained. (6) The restoration of His\nPriesthood and the reestablishment of His Church in the current age,\nwhich is verily the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. (7) The\ncertainty of His return to earth in the near future, with power and\ngreat glory, to reign in Person and bodily presence as Lord and King.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] As to the year of Christ's birth, see chapter 8.\n\n[2] See chapter 6.\n\n[3] The Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and\nthe Pearl of Great Price constitute the standard works of the Church of\nJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These will be cited alike as\nScriptures in the following pages, for such they are.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 2.\n\nPREEXISTENCE AND FOREORDINATION OF THE CHRIST.\n\n\nWe affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who is\nknown among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all who acknowledge His\nGodhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth in\nthe flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordained\nto be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race.\nForeordination implies and comprizes preexistence as an essential\ncondition; therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to the\nother; and consequently in this presentation no segregation of evidence\nas applying specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to His\nforeordination will be attempted.\n\nJohn the Revelator beheld in vision some of the scenes that had been\nenacted in the spirit-world before the beginning of human history. He\nwitnessed strife and contention between loyalty and rebellion, with the\nhosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and the\nrebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also called the devil, the\nserpent, and the dragon. We read: \"And there was war in heaven; Michael\nand his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his\nangels.\"[4]\n\nIn this struggle between unembodied hosts the forces were unequally\ndivided; Satan drew to his standard only a third part of the children of\nGod, who are symbolized as the \"stars of heaven\";[5] the majority either\nfought with Michael, or at least refrained from active opposition, thus\naccomplishing the purpose of their \"first estate\"; while the angels who\narrayed themselves on the side of Satan \"kept not their first\nestate\",[6] and therefore rendered themselves ineligible for the\nglorious possibilities of an advanced condition or \"second estate\".[7]\nThe victory was with Michael and his angels; and Satan or Lucifer,\ntheretofore a \"son of the morning\", was cast out of heaven, yea \"he was\ncast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him\".[8] The\nprophet Isaiah, to whom these momentous occurrences had been revealed\nabout eight centuries prior to the time of John's writings, laments with\ninspired pathos the fall of so great a one; and specifies selfish\nambition as the occasion: \"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,\nson of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst\nweaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascent\ninto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit\nalso upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I\nwill ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most\nHigh. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the\npit.\"[9]\n\nJustification for citing these scriptures in connection with our present\nconsideration will be found in the cause of the great contention--the\nconditions that led to this war in heaven. It is plain from the words of\nIsaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank, sought to aggrandize\nhimself without regard to the rights and agency of others. The matter is\nset forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in a revelation given to\nMoses and repeated through the first prophet of the present\ndispensation: \"And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That\nSatan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is\nthe same which was from the beginning, and he came before me,\nsaying--Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem\nall mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it;\nwherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved son, which was my\nBeloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me--Father, thy will be\ndone, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan\nrebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I,\nthe Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine\nown power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should\nbe cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of\nall lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his\nwill, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.\"[10]\n\nThus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how\nlong before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts of\nthe spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals,[11]\npossessing power and opportunity to choose the course they would pursue\nand the leaders whom they would follow and obey.[12] In that great\nconcourse of spirit-intelligences, the Father's plan, whereby His\nchildren would be advanced to their second estate, was submitted and\ndoubtless discussed. The opportunity so placed within the reach of the\nspirits who were to be privileged to take bodies upon the earth was so\ntranscendently glorious that those heavenly multitudes burst forth into\nsong and shouted for joy.[13]\n\nSatan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conducted\nthrough the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act and agency to\nchoose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled to do right--that\none soul would not be lost--was rejected; and the humble offer of Jesus\nthe First-born--to assume mortality and live among men as their Exemplar\nand Teacher, observing the sanctity of man's agency but teaching men to\nuse aright that divine heritage--was accepted. The decision brought war,\nwhich resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his angels, who were\ncast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident to the mortal\nor second estate.\n\nIn that august council of the angels and the Gods, the Being who later\nwas born in flesh as Mary's Son, Jesus, took prominent part, and there\nwas He ordained of the Father to be the Savior of mankind. As to time,\nthe term being used in the sense of all duration past, this is our\nearliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God; to us who read,\nit marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus the Christ.[14]\n\nOld Testament scriptures, while abounding in promises relating to the\nactuality of Christ's advent in the flesh, are less specific in\ninformation concerning His antemortal existence. By the children of\nIsrael, while living under the law and still unprepared to receive the\ngospel, the Messiah was looked for as one to be born in the lineage of\nAbraham and David, empowered to deliver them from personal and national\nburdens, and to vanquish their enemies. The actuality of the Messiah's\nstatus as the chosen Son of God, who was with the Father from the\nbeginning, a Being of preexistent power and glory, was but dimly\nperceived, if conceived at all, by the people in general; and although\nto prophets specially commissioned in the authorities and privileges of\nthe Holy Priesthood, revelation of the great truth was given,[15] they\ntransmitted it to the people rather in the language of imagery and\nparable than in words of direct plainness. Nevertheless the testimony of\nthe evangelists and the apostles, the attestation of the Christ Himself\nwhile in the flesh, and the revelations given in the present\ndispensation leave us without dearth of scriptural proof.\n\nIn the opening lines of the Gospel book written by John the apostle, we\nread: \"In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the\nword was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were\nmade by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.... And\nthe Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,\nthe glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and\ntruth.\"[16]\n\nThe passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably give\nto the phrase \"In the beginning\" the same meaning as attaches thereto in\nthe first line of Genesis; and such signification must indicate a time\nantecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth.\nThat the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the Father in that beginning\nand who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, and\nthat He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitely\naffirmed. These statements are corroborated through a revelation given\nto Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God,\nand to hear the voice of the Father with respect to the things that had\nbeen made: \"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is\nmine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.\"[17]\n\nJohn the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ and\nthe fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state.[18] To the\nsame effect is the testimony of Paul[19] and of Peter. Instructing the\nsaints concerning the basis of their faith, the last-named apostle\nimpressed upon them that their redemption was not to be secured through\ncorruptible things nor by the outward observance of traditional\nrequirements, \"But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb\nwithout blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the\nfoundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for\nyou.\"[20]\n\nEven more impressive and yet more truly conclusive are the personal\ntestimonies of the Savior as to His own pre-existent life and the\nmission among men to which He had been appointed. No one who accepts\nJesus as the Messiah can consistently reject these evidences of His\neternal nature. When, on a certain occasion, the Jews in the synagogue\ndisputed among themselves and murmured because of their failure to\nunderstand aright His doctrine concerning Himself, especially as\ntouching His relationship with the Father, Jesus said unto them: \"For I\ncame down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that\nsent me.\" And then, continuing the lesson based upon the contrast\nbetween the manna with which their fathers had been fed in the\nwilderness and the bread of life which He had to offer, He added: \"I am\nthe living bread which came down from heaven,\" and again declared \"the\nliving Father hath sent me.\" Not a few of the disciples failed to\ncomprehend His teachings; and their complaints drew from Him these\nwords: \"Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man\nascend up where he was before?\"[21]\n\nTo certain wicked Jews, wrapped in the mantle of racial pride, boastful\nof their descent through the lineage of Abraham, and seeking to excuse\ntheir sins through an unwarranted use of the great patriarch's name, our\nLord thus proclaimed His own preeminence: \"Verily, verily, I say unto\nyou, Before Abraham was, I am.\"[22] The fuller significance of this\nremark will be treated later; suffice it in the present connection to\nconsider this scripture as a plain avowal of our Lord's seniority and\nsupremacy over Abraham. But as Abraham's birth had preceded that of\nChrist by more than nineteen centuries, such seniority must have\nreference to a state of existence antedating that of mortality.\n\nWhen the hour of His betrayal was near, in the last interview with the\napostles prior to His agonizing experience in Gethsemane, Jesus\ncomforted them saying: \"For the Father himself loveth you, because ye\nhave loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth\nfrom the Father, and am come into the world again, I leave the world,\nand go to the Father.\"[23] Furthermore, in the course of upwelling\nprayer for those who had been true to their testimony of His\nMessiahship, He addressed the Father with this solemn invocation: \"And\nthis is the life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,\nand Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the\nearth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O\nFather glorify thou with thine own self with the glory which I had with\nthee before the world was.\"[24]\n\nBook of Mormon scriptures are likewise explicit in proof of the\npreexistence of the Christ and of His foreappointed mission. One only of\nthe many evidences therein found will be cited here. An ancient prophet,\ndesignated in the record as the brother of Jared,[25] once pleaded with\nthe Lord in special supplication: \"And the Lord said unto him, Believest\nthou the words which I shall speak? And he answered, Yea, Lord, I know\nthat thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not\nlie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed himself\nunto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things, ye are redeemed\nfrom the fall: therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore\nI shew myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the\nfoundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ.\nI am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and\nthat eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall\nbecome my sons and my daughters. And never have I shewed myself unto man\nwhom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast.\nSeest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men\nwere created in the beginning, after mine own image. Behold, this body,\nwhich ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created\nafter the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the\nspirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh.\"[26] The main facts\nattested by this scripture as having a direct bearing upon our present\nsubject are those of the Christ manifesting Himself while yet in His\nantemortal state, and of His declaration that He had been chosen from\nthe foundation of the world as the Redeemer.\n\nRevelation given through the prophets of God in the present dispensation\nis replete with evidence of Christ's appointment and ordination in the\nprimeval world; and the whole tenor of the scriptures contained in the\nDoctrine and Covenants may be called in witness. The following instances\nare particularly in point. In a communication to Joseph Smith the\nprophet, in May, 1833, the Lord declared Himself as the One who had\npreviously come into the world from the Father, and of whom John had\nborne testimony as the Word; and the solemn truth is reiterated that He,\nJesus Christ, \"was in the beginning, before the world was\", and further,\nthat He was the Redeemer who \"came into the world, because the world was\nmade by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.\"\nAgain, He is referred to as \"the Only Begotten of the Father, full of\ngrace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the\nflesh.\" In the course of the same revelation the Lord said: \"And now,\nverily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father and am the\nfirstborn.\"[27] On an earlier occasion, as the modern prophet testifies,\nhe and an associate in the priesthood were enlightened by the Spirit so\nthat they were able to see and understand the things of God--\"Even those\nthings which were from the beginning before the world was, which were\nordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the\nbosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record,\nand the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus\nChrist, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the\nheavenly vision.\"[28]\n\nThe testimony of scriptures written on both hemispheres, that of records\nboth ancient and modern, the inspired utterances of prophets and\napostles, and the words of the Lord Himself, are of one voice in\nproclaiming the preexistence of the Christ and His ordination as the\nchosen Savior and Redeemer of mankind--in the beginning, yea, even\nbefore the foundation of the world.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 2.\n\n1. Graded Intelligences in the Antemortal State.--That the spirits of\nmen existed as individual intelligences, of varying degrees of ability\nand power, prior to the inauguration of the mortal state upon this earth\nand even prior to the creation of the world as a suitable abode for\nhuman beings, is shown in great plainness through a divine revelation to\nAbraham: \"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences\nthat were organized before the world was; and among all these there were\nmany of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were\ngood, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make\nmy rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that\nthey were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou\nwast chosen before thou wast born.\" (P. of G.P., Abraham 3:22, 23.)\n\nThat both Christ and Satan were among those exalted intelligences, and\nthat Christ was chosen while Satan was rejected as the future Savior of\nmankind, are shown by the portions of the revelation immediately\nfollowing that above quoted: \"And there stood one among them that was\nlike unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go\ndown, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and\nwe will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them\nherewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their\nGod shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be\nadded upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not have\nglory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and\nthey who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their\nheads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one\nanswered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another\nanswered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send\nthe first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and,\nat that day, many followed after him\" (verses 24-28).\n\n2. The Primeval Council in the Heavens.--\"It is definitely stated in the\nBook of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our\nlikeness;' and again, after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the\nLord said, 'Behold, the man has become as one of us;' and the inference\nis direct that in all that related to the work of the creation of the\nworld there was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recorded\nin the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The scriptures\ntell us there are 'Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but one\nGod, the Father' (1 Cor. 8:5). And for this reason, though there were\nothers engaged in the creation of the worlds, it is given to us in the\nBible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these truths is only\nrevealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to God; as\nwe are told in the scriptures: 'The secret of the Lord is with them that\nfear him; and he will show them his covenant.'--Psalms 25:14.\n\n\"It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the\nplan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were then\nspirits, and had not yet obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For,\nin view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it,\nwhereby it would be possible for them to obtain tabernacles, and in\nthose tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exalted\namong the Gods, we are told that at that time, 'the morning stars sang\ntogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.' The question then\narose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltation\nand eternal glory of God's sons be brought about? It is evident that at\nthat Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and that\nafter a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of the\nFather's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Father\nwith a plan of his own, saying, 'Behold [here am] I; send me, I will be\nthy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost,\nand surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor.' But Jesus, on\nhearing this statement made by Lucifer, said, 'Father, thy will be done,\nand the glory be thine forever.' From these remarks made by the well\nbeloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of this\nsubject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan and\ndesign pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son\nwanted to do was to carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear\nhad been before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to His\nFather, who, as God the Father, and the originator and designer of the\nplan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to\nintroduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted His\nhonor, and said: 'I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thine\nhonor.' He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and\npresumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making him\na serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him\nto obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's, through\nobedience to the law which He had suggested; and again, Lucifer wanted\nthe honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out principles\nwhich were contrary to the Father's wish.\"--John Taylor--_Mediation and\nAtonement_, pp. 93, 94.\n\n3. The Jaredites.--\"Of the two nations whose histories constitute the\nBook of Mormon, the first in order of time consisted of the people of\nJared, who followed their leader from the Tower of Babel at the time of\nthe confusion of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-four\nplates of gold by Ether, the last of their prophets, who, foreseeing the\ndestruction of his people because of their wickedness, hid away the\nhistorical plates. They were afterward found, B.C. 123, by an expedition\nsent out by King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on these\nplates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the condensed account\nwas attached by him to the Book of Mormon record; it appears in the\nmodern translation under the name of the Book of Ether.\n\n\"The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not mentioned by name\nin the record as we have it; he is known only as the brother of Jared.\nOf the people, we learn that, amid the confusion of Babel, Jared and his\nbrother importuned the Lord that He would spare them and their\nassociates from the impending disruption. Their prayer was heard, and\nthe Lord led them with a considerable company, who, like themselves,\nwere free from the taint of idolatry, away from their homes, promising\nto conduct them to a land choice above all other lands. Their course of\ntravel is not given with exactness; we learn only that they reached the\nocean, and there constructed eight vessels, called barges, in which they\nset out upon the waters. These vessels were small and dark within; but\nthe Lord made luminous certain stones, which gave light to the\nimprisoned voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-four\ndays, the colony landed on the western shore of North America, probably\nat a place south of the Gulf of California, and north of the Isthmus of\nPanama.\n\n\"Here they became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time to\ninternal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one\nanother until the people were totally destroyed. This destruction, which\noccurred near the hill Ramah, afterward known among the Nephites as\nCumorah, probably took place at about the time of Lehi's landing in\nSouth America--590 B.C.\"--The author, _Articles of Faith_, xiv:10-12.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[4] Rev. 12:7; see also verses 8 and 9.\n\n[5] Rev. 12:4; see also Doc. and Cov. 29:36-38; and 76:25-27.\n\n[6] Jude 6.\n\n[7] P. of G.P., Abraham 3:26.\n\n[8] Rev. 12:9.\n\n[9] Isa. 14:12-15; compare Doc. and Cov. 29:36-38; and 76:23-27.\n\n[10] P. of G.P., Moses 4:1-4; see also Abraham 3:27, 28.\n\n[11] For a further treatment of the preexistence of spirits see the\nauthor's \"Articles of Faith\" x:21-30.\n\n[12] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[13] Job 38:7.\n\n[14] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[15] Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7.\n\n[16] John 1:1-3, 14; see also 1 John 1:1; 5: 7; Rev. 19:13; compare Doc.\nand Cov. 93:1-17, 21.\n\n[17] P. of C.P., Moses 1:32, 33; see also 2:5.\n\n[18] 1 John 1:1-3; 2:13, 14; 4:9; Rev. 3:14.\n\n[19] 2 Tim. 1:9, 10; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:4; 3:9, 11; Titus 1:2. See\nespecially Rom. 3:25; and note the marginal rendering--\"foreordained\"--\nmaking the passage read: \"Whom God hath foreordained to be a\npropitiation.\"\n\n[20] 1 Peter 1:19, 20.\n\n[21] John 6:38, 51, 57, 61, 62.\n\n[22] John 8:58; see also 17:5, 24; and compare Exo. 3:14. Page 37.\n\n[23] John 16:27, 28; see also 13:3.\n\n[24] John 17:3-5; see also verses 24, 25.\n\n[25] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[26] B. of M., Ether 3:11-16. See also 1 Nephi 17:30; 19:7; 2 Nephi 9:5;\n11:7; 25:12; 26:12; Mosiah 3:5; 4:2; 7:27; 13:34; 15:1; Alma 11:40;\nHela. 14:12; 3 Nephi 9:15.\n\n[27] Doc. and Cov. 93:1-17, 21.\n\n[28] Doc. and Cov. 76:13, 14.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 3.\n\nTHE NEED OF A REDEEMER.\n\n\nWe have heretofore shown that the entire human race existed as\nspirit-beings in the primeval world, and that for the purpose of making\npossible to them the experiences of mortality this earth was created.\nThey were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet but\nspirits; and the divine plan provided that they be free-born in the\nflesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and to\nact for themselves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to the\neternal progression of God's children that they be subjected to the\ninfluences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and\nproved withal, \"to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord\ntheir God shall command them.\"[29] Free agency is an indispensable\nelement of such a test.\n\nThe Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied\ncapacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge made\nplain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some of\nHis children would succeed and others would fail; some would be\nfaithful, others false; some would choose the good, others the evil;\nsome would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the\nroad to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter the\nworld, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of but\nbrief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be\ndisobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presence\nand left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograde\nrather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It was necessary\nthat a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make\namends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and\neventual exaltation in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to be\novercome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would live\nanew, their spirits clothed with immortalized bodies over which death\ncould not again prevail.\n\nLet not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assuming\nthat the Father's foreknowledge as to what _would be_, under given\nconditions, determined that such _must be_. It was not His design that\nthe souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work and\nglory, \"to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.\"[30]\nNevertheless He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly\nfall; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of averting\nthe dire effect, provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself\nthereof.[31] The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own\nministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself,\nthrough labor, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was accepted\nand made the foreordained plan of man's redemption from death, of his\neventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible\nexaltation through righteous achievement.\n\nIn accordance with the plan adopted in the council of the Gods, man was\ncreated as an embodied spirit; his tabernacle of flesh was composed of\nthe elements of earth.[32] He was given commandment and law, and was\nfree to obey or disobey--with the just and inevitable condition that he\nshould enjoy or suffer the natural results of his choice.[33] Adam, the\nfirst man[34] placed upon the earth in pursuance of the established\nplan, and Eve who was given unto him as companion and associate,\nindispensable to him in the appointed mission of peopling the earth,\ndisobeyed the express commandment of God and so brought about the \"fall\nof man\", whereby the mortal state, of which death is an essential\nelement, was inaugurated.[35] It is not proposed to consider here at\nlength the doctrine of the fall; for the present argument it is\nsufficient to establish the fact of the momentous occurrence and its\nportentous consequences.[36] The woman was deceived, and in direct\nviolation of counsel and commandment partook of the food that had been\nforbidden, as a result of which act her body became degenerate and\nsubject to death. Adam realized the disparity that had been brought\nbetween him and his companion, and with some measure of understanding\nfollowed her course, thus becoming her partner in bodily degeneracy.\nNote in this matter the words of Paul the apostle: \"Adam was not\ndeceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.\"[37]\n\nThe man and the woman had now become mortal; through indulgence in food\nunsuited to their nature and condition and against which they had been\nspecifically warned, and as the inevitable result of their disobeying\nthe divine law and commandment, they became liable to the physical\nailments and bodily frailties to which mankind has since been the\nnatural heir.[38] Those bodies, which before the fall had been perfect\nin form and function, were now subjects for eventual dissolution or\ndeath. The arch-tempter through whose sophistries, half-truths and\ninfamous falsehoods, Eve had been beguiled, was none other than Satan,\nor Lucifer, that rebellious and fallen \"son of the morning\", whose\nproposal involving the destruction of man's liberty had been rejected in\nthe council of the heavens, and who had been \"cast out into the earth\",\nhe and all his angels as unbodied spirits, never to be tabernacled in\nbodies of their own.[39] As an act of diabolic reprisal following his\nrejection in the council, his defeat by Michael and the heavenly hosts,\nand his ignominious expulsion from heaven, Satan planned to destroy the\nbodies in which the faithful spirits--those who had kept their first\nestate--would be born; and his beguilement of Eve was but an early stage\nof that infernal scheme.\n\nDeath has come to be the universal heritage; it may claim its victim in\ninfancy or youth, in the period of life's prime, or its summons may be\ndeferred until the snows of age have gathered upon the hoary head; it\nmay befall as the result of accident or disease, by violence, or as we\nsay, through natural causes; but come it must, as Satan well knows; and\nin this knowledge is his present though but temporary triumph. But the\npurposes of God, as they ever have been and ever shall be, are\ninfinitely superior to the deepest designs of men or devils; and the\nSatanic machinations to make death inevitable, perpetual and supreme\nwere provided against even before the first man had been created in the\nflesh. The atonement to be wrought by Jesus the Christ was ordained to\novercome death and to provide a means of ransom from the power of Satan.\n\nAs the penalty incident to the fall came upon the race through an\nindividual act, it would be manifestly unjust, and therefore impossible\nas part of the divine purpose, to make all men suffer the results\nthereof without provision for deliverance.[40] Moreover, since by the\ntransgression of one man sin came into the world and death was entailed\nupon all, it is consistent with reason that the atonement thus made\nnecessary should be wrought by one.[41] \"Wherefore, as by one man sin\nentered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all\nmen, for that all have sinned ... Therefore as by the offence of one\njudgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness\nof one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.\"[42]\nSo taught the apostle Paul; and, further: \"For since by man came death,\nby man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,\neven so in Christ shall all be made alive.\"[43]\n\nThe atonement was plainly to be a vicarious sacrifice, voluntary and\nlove-inspired on the Savior's part, universal in its application to\nmankind so far as men shall accept the means of deliverance thus placed\nwithin their reach. For such a mission only one who was without sin\ncould be eligible. Even the altar victims of ancient Israel offered as a\nprovisional propitiation for the offenses of the people under the Mosaic\nlaw had to be clean and devoid of spot or blemish; otherwise they were\nunacceptable and the attempt to offer them was sacrilege.[44] Jesus\nChrist was the only Being suited to the requirements of the great\nsacrifice:\n\n1--As the one and only sinless Man;\n\n2--As the Only Begotten of the Father and therefore the only Being born\nto earth possessing in their fulness the attributes of both Godhood and\nmanhood;\n\n3--As the One who had been chosen in the heavens and foreordained to\nthis service.\n\nWhat other man has been without sin, and therefore wholly exempt from\nthe dominion of Satan, and to whom death, the wage of sin, is not\nnaturally due? Had Jesus Christ met death as other men have done--the\nresult of the power that Satan has gained over them through their\nsins--His death would have been but an individual experience, expiatory\nin no degree of any faults or offenses but His own. Christ's absolute\nsinlessness made Him eligible, His humility and willingness rendered Him\nacceptable to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation\ncould be made for the sins of all men.\n\nWhat other man has lived with power to withstand death, over whom death\ncould not prevail except through his own submission? Yet Jesus Christ\ncould not be slain until His \"hour had come\", and that, the hour in\nwhich He voluntarily surrendered His life, and permitted His own decease\nthrough an act of will. Born of a mortal mother He inherited the\ncapacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage\nthe power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His\nlife; to this effect is His own affirmation: \"Therefore doth my Father\nlove me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man\ntaketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it\ndown, and I have power to take it again.\"[45] And further: \"For as the\nFather hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in\nhimself.\"[46] Only such a One could conquer death; in none but Jesus the\nChrist was realized this requisite condition of a Redeemer of the world.\n\nWhat other man has come to earth with such appointment, clothed with the\nauthority of such foreordination? The atoning mission of Jesus Christ\nwas no self-assumption. True, He had offered Himself when the call was\nmade in the heavens; true, He had been accepted, and in due time came to\nearth to carry into effect the terms of that acceptance; but He was\nchosen by One greater than Himself. The burden of His confession of\nauthority was ever to the effect that He operated under the direction of\nthe Father, as witness these words: \"I came down from heaven, not to do\nmine own will, but the will of him that sent me.\"[47] \"My meat is to do\nthe will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.\"[48] \"I can of\nmine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;\nbecause I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath\nsent me.\"[49]\n\nThrough the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ--a redeeming service,\nvicariously rendered in behalf of mankind, all of whom have become\nestranged from God by the effects of sin both inherited and individually\nincurred--the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may come\nagain into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and forever\nin the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirably\nimplied in our English word, \"atonement,\" which, as its syllables\nattest, is _at-one-ment_, \"denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into\nagreement of those who have been estranged.\"[50] The effect of the\natonement may be conveniently considered as twofold:\n\n1--The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the\nfall of our first parents; and,\n\n2--Salvation, whereby means of relief from the results of individual sin\nare provided.\n\nThe victory over death was made manifest in the resurrection of the\ncrucified Christ; He was the first to pass from death to immortality and\nso is justly known as \"the first fruits of them that slept.\"[51] That\nthe resurrection of the dead so inaugurated is to be extended to every\none who has or shall have lived is proved by an abundance of scriptural\nevidence. Following our Lord's resurrection, others who had slept in the\ntomb arose and were seen of many, not as spirit-apparitions but as\nresurrected beings possessing immortalized bodies: \"And the graves were\nopened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of\nthe graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and\nappeared unto many.\"[52]\n\nThose who thus early came forth are spoken of as \"the saints\"; and other\nscriptures confirm the fact that only the righteous shall be brought\nforth in the earlier stages of the resurrection yet to be consummated;\nbut that all the dead shall in turn resume bodies of flesh and bones is\nplaced beyond doubt by the revealed word. The Savior's direct\naffirmation ought to be conclusive: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The\nhour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the\nSon of God: and they that hear shall live.... Marvel not at this: for\nthe hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear\nhis voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the\nresurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the\nresurrection of damnation.\"[53] The doctrine of a universal resurrection\nwas taught by the apostles of old,[54] as also by the Nephite\nprophets;[55] and the same is confirmed by revelation incident to the\npresent dispensation.[56] Even the heathen who have not known God shall\nbe brought forth from their graves; and, inasmuch as they have lived and\ndied in ignorance of the saving law, a means of making the plan of\nsalvation known unto them is provided. \"And then shall the heathen\nnations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the\nfirst resurrection.\"[57]\n\nJacob, a Nephite prophet, taught the universality of the resurrection,\nand set forth the absolute need of a Redeemer, without whom the purposes\nof God in the creation of man would be rendered futile. His words\nconstitute a concise and forceful summary of revealed truth directly\nbearing upon our present subject:\n\n\"For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of\nthe great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the\nresurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the\nfall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen,\nthey were cut off from the presence of the Lord; wherefore it must needs\nbe an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this\ncorruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment\nwhich came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration.\nAnd if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its\nmother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace!\nFor behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become\nsubject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal\nGod, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have\nbecome like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be\nshut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of\nlies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our\nfirst parents; who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and\nstirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and\nall manner of secret works of darkness. O how great the goodness of our\nGod, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful\nmonster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of\nthe body, and also the death of the spirit. And because of the way of\ndeliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I\nhave spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which\ndeath is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the\nspiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is\nhell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell\nmust deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its\ncaptive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored\none to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy\nOne of Israel. O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand,\nthe paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and\nthe grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the\nbody is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and\nimmortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like\nunto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be\nperfect.\"[58]\n\nThe application of the atonement to individual transgression, whereby\nthe sinner may obtain absolution through compliance with the laws and\nordinances embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is conclusively\nattested by scripture. Since forgiveness of sins can be secured in none\nother way, there being either in heaven or earth no name save that of\nJesus Christ whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men,[59]\nevery soul stands in need of the Savior's mediation, since all are\nsinners. \"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God\", said\nPaul of old,[60] and John the apostle added his testimony in these\nwords: \"If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the\ntruth is not in us.\"[61]\n\nWho shall question the justice of God, which denies salvation to all who\nwill not comply with the prescribed conditions on which alone it is\ndeclared obtainable? Christ is \"the author of eternal salvation unto all\nthem that obey him\",[62] and God \"will render to every man according to\nhis deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for\nglory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are\ncontentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,\nindignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man\nthat doeth evil.\"[63]\n\nSuch then is the need of a Redeemer, for without Him mankind would\nforever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progression\nwould be inevitably lost.[64] The mortal probation is provided as an\nopportunity for advancement; but so great are the difficulties and the\ndangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and so weak is\nman in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that of\nhumanity no soul would find its way back to God from whom it came. The\nneed of a Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from\nthe temporal to the spiritual plane, from the lower kingdom to the\nhigher. In this conception we are not without analogies in the natural\nworld. We recognize a fundamental distinction between inanimate and\nliving matter, between the inorganic and the organic, between the\nlifeless mineral on the one hand and the living plant or animal on the\nother. Within the limitations of its order the dead mineral grows by\naccretion of substance, and may attain a relatively perfect condition of\nstructure and form as is seen in the crystal. But mineral matter, though\nacted upon favorably by the forces of nature--light, heat, electric\nenergy and others--can never become a living organism; nor can the dead\nelements, through any process of chemical combination dissociated from\nlife, enter into the tissues of the plant as essential parts thereof.\nBut the plant, which is of a higher order, sends its rootlets into the\nearth, spreads its leaves in the atmosphere, and through these organs\nabsorbs the solutions of the soil, inspires the gases of the air, and\nfrom such lifeless materials weaves the tissue of its wondrous\nstructure. No mineral particle, no dead chemical substance has ever been\nmade a constituent of organic tissue except through the agency of life.\nWe may, perhaps with profit, carry the analogy a step farther. The plant\nis unable to advance its own tissue to the animal plane. Though it be\nthe recognized order of nature that the \"animal kingdom\" is dependent\nupon the \"vegetable kingdom\" for its sustenance, the substance of the\nplant may become part of the animal organism only as the latter reaches\ndown from its higher plane and by its own vital action incorporates the\nvegetable compounds with itself. In turn, animal matter can never\nbecome, even transitorily, part of a human body, except as the living\nman assimilates it, and by the vital processes of his own existence\nlifts, for the time being, the substance of the animal that supplied him\nfood to the higher plane of his own existence. The comparison herein\nemployed is admittedly defective if carried beyond reasonable limits of\napplication; for the raising of mineral matter to the plane of the\nplant, vegetable tissue to the level of the animal, and the elevation of\neither to the human plane, is but a temporary change; with the\ndissolution of the higher tissues the material thereof falls again to\nthe level of the inanimate and the dead. But, as a means of illustration\nthe analogy may not be wholly without value.\n\nSo, for the advancement of man from his present fallen and relatively\ndegenerate state to the higher condition of spiritual life, a power\nabove his own must cooperate. Through the operation of the laws\nobtaining in the higher kingdom man may be reached and lifted; himself\nhe cannot save by his own unaided effort.[65] A Redeemer and Savior of\nmankind is beyond all question essential to the realization of the plan\nof the Eternal Father, \"to bring to pass the immortality and eternal\nlife of man\";[66] and that Redeemer and Savior is Jesus the Christ,\nbeside whom there is and can be none other.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 3.\n\n1. God's Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause.--\"Respecting the\nforeknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of\nitself a determining cause whereby events are inevitably brought to\npass. A mortal father, who knows the weaknesses and frailties of his\nson, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully predict the calamities\nand sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son's\nfuture a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of\nposition, self-respect, reputation and honor; even the dark shadows of a\nfelon's cell and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in the\nsaddening visions of that fond father's soul; yet, convinced by\nexperience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, he\nforesees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow\nand anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father's\nforeknowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? The son, perchance,\nhas reached his maturity; he is the master of his own destiny; a free\nagent unto himself. The father is powerless to control by force or to\ndirect by arbitrary command; and, while he would gladly make any effort\nor sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for what\nseems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful,\nloving parent does not, because of his knowledge, contribute to the\nson's waywardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectful\nfather, who takes not the trouble to study the nature and character of\nhis son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in careless\nindifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness\nbe benefitting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operate\nas a contributory cause to dereliction.\n\n\"Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition\nof each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and\nexperience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledge\ncompared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal\nexperience with their children is infinitesimally small. By reason of\nthat surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children,\nof men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations;\nHe knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from\nthe beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He\nforesees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; not\nas one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall\nbe.\"--From the author's _Great Apostasy_, pp. 19, 20.\n\n2. Man Free to Choose for Himself.--\"The Father of souls has endowed His\nchildren with the divine birthright of free agency; He does not and will\nnot control them by arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; He\ncompels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act\nfor himself; and, associated with this independence, is the fact of\nstrict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In\nthe judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and\ncircumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies\ndue to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or\nevil, the wholesome teachings of youth, or the absence of good\ninstruction--these and all other contributory elements must be taken\ninto account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the soul's guilt\nor innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will be\nthe result with given conditions operating on known natures and\ndispositions of men, while every individual is free to choose good or\nevil within the limits of the many conditions existing and\noperative.\"--_Great Apostasy_, p. 21; see also _Articles of Faith_,\niii:1, 2.\n\n3. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy.--A modern revelation given\nto the Church in 1833 (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 89), prescribes rules for\nright living, particularly as regards the uses of stimulants, narcotics,\nand foods unsuited to the body. Concerning the physical causes by which\nthe fall was brought about, and the close relation between those causes\nand current violations of the Word of Wisdom embodied in the revelation\nreferred to above, the following is in point. \"This, [the Word of\nWisdom] like other revelations that have come in the present\ndispensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race. The\nprinciple of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All the\nessentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his\nimmortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made\nof it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practise. He was\nnot told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told\nto look upon it as the fakir of India has come to look upon his body, or\nprofesses to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly contemned; but he\nwas told that he must not take into that body certain things which were\nthere at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the\npower which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become\nsubject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out\nto you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to\nbe enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these good\nthings are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out\nof eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and we\nshould avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto\nAdam, so is it told unto us: Touch not these things; for in the day that\nthou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die.\n\n\"Here let me say that therein consisted the fall--the eating of things\nunfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a\nthing of earth: and I take this occasion to raise my voice against the\nfalse interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certain\npeople, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a hushed\nand half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense\nagainst the laws of chastity and of virtue. Such a doctrine is an\nabomination. What right have we to turn the scriptures from their proper\nsense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what\nHe said? The fall was a natural process, resulting through the\nincorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that\ncame from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God\nregarding what they should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fall\nconsisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue.\nIt is not true; the human race is not born of fornication. These bodies\nthat are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let\nit not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods\nbefore he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were\nguilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led\nmany to excuse departures from the path of chastity and the path of\nvirtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, that it is as old as\nAdam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by Eve. It was\nthe introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the\nseeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race\nshould degenerate as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and\nof chastity have been transgressed.\n\n\"Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil\nwe shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know\nnow. But be it known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true\nthat they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not\nto eat; but who amongst you can rise up and condemn?\"--From an address\nby the author at the Eighty-fourth Semiannual Conference of the Church,\nOct. 6, 1913; published in the Proceedings of the Conference, pp. 118,\n119.\n\n4. Christ Wrought Redemption from the Fall.--\"The Savior thus becomes\nmaster of the situation--the debt is paid, the redemption made, the\ncovenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all\npower is now given into the hands of the Son of God--the power of the\nresurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of salvation, the\npower to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this\ndesign. Hence life and immortality are brought to light, the gospel is\nintroduced, and He becomes the author of eternal life and exaltation. He\nis the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the Savior of man and the world; and\nHe has appointed the law of the gospel as the medium which must be\ncomplied with in this world or the next, as He complied with His\nFather's law; hence 'he that believeth shall be saved, and he that\nbelieveth not shall be damned.' The plan, the arrangement, the\nagreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted before the\nfoundation of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and was\ncarried out and consummated on the cross. Hence being the mediator\nbetween God and man, He becomes by right the dictator and director on\nearth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the\npresent and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth\nor the heavens, in time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the\nApostle and High-Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of\nlife.\"--John Taylor, _Mediation and Atonement_, p. 171.\n\n5. Redemption from the Effect of the Fall.--\"'Mormonism' accepts the\ndoctrine of the fall, and the account of the transgression in Eden, as\nset forth in Genesis; but it affirms that none but Adam is or shall be\nanswerable for Adam's disobedience; that mankind in general are\nabsolutely absolved from responsibility for that 'original sin,' and\nthat each shall account for his own transgressions alone; that the fall\nwas foreknown of God, that it was turned to good effect by which the\nnecessary condition of mortality should be inaugurated; and that a\nRedeemer was provided before the world was; that general salvation, in\nthe sense of redemption from the effects of the fall, comes to all\nwithout their seeking it; but that individual salvation or rescue from\nthe effects of personal sins is to be acquired by each for himself by\nfaith and good works through the redemption wrought by Jesus\nChrist.\"--From the author's _Story and Philosophy of 'Mormonism,'_ p.\n111.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[29] P. of G.P., Abraham 3:25. For a fuller treatment of man's Free\nAgency, see the author's \"Articles of Faith,\" iii:1-10, and the numerous\nreferences there given.\n\n[30] P. of G.P., Moses 1:39; compare 6:59. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[31] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[32] Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7; compare P. of G.P., Moses 2:26, 27; 3:7;\nAbraham 4:26-28; 5:7.\n\n[33] Gen. 1:28-31; 2:16, 17; compare P. of G.P., Moses 2:28-31; 3:16,\n17; Abraham 4:28-31; 5:12, 13.\n\n[34] Gen. 2:8; compare statement in verse 5--that prior to that time\nthere was \"not a man to till the ground\"; see also P. of G.P., Moses\n3:7; Abraham 1:3; and B. of M., 1 Nephi 5:11.\n\n[35] Gen. chap. 3; compare P. of G.P., Moses chap. 4.\n\n[36] See \"Articles of Faith,\" iii:21-32.\n\n[37] 1 Tim. 2:14; see also 2 Cor. 11:3.\n\n[38] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[39] See page 7.\n\n[40] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[41] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[42] Rom. 5:12, 18.\n\n[43] 1 Cor. 15:21, 22.\n\n[44] Lev. 22:20; Deut. 15:21; 17:1; Mal. 1:8, 14; compare Heb. 9:14; 1\nPeter 1:19.\n\n[45] John 10:17-18\n\n[46] John 5:26\n\n[47] John 6:38\n\n[48] John 4:34\n\n[49] John 5:30; see also verse 19; also Matt. 26:42; compare Doc. and\nCov. 19:2; 20:24.\n\n[50] New Standard Dictionary under \"propitiation.\"\n\n[51] 1 Cor. 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5.\n\n[52] Matt. 27:52, 53.\n\n[53] John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth\nreads: \"They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and\nthey who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust.\"--Doc. and\nCov. 76:17.\n\n[54] For instances see Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12, 13.\n\n[55] For instances see B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Helaman\n14:15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Mormon 9:13, 14.\n\n[56] For instances see Doc. and Cov. 18:11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98.\n\n[57] Doc. and Cov. 45:54.\n\n[58] B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:6-13; read the entire chapter.\n\n[59] P. of G.P., Moses 6:52; compare B. of M., 2 Nephi 25:20; Mosiah\n3:17; 5:8; Doc. and Cov. 76:1.\n\n[60] Rom. 3:23; see also verse 9; Gal. 3:22.\n\n[61] 1 John 1:8.\n\n[62] Heb. 5:9.\n\n[63] Rom. 2:6-9.\n\n[64] No special treatment relating to the Fall, the Atonement, or the\nResurrection has been either attempted or intended in this chapter. For\nsuch the student is referred to doctrinal works dealing with these\nsubjects. See the author's \"Articles of Faith,\" lectures iii, iv, and\nxxi.\n\n[65] A comparison related to that given in the text is treated at length\nby Henry Drummond in his essay, \"Biogenesis,\" which the reader may study\nwith profit.\n\n[66] P. of G.P., Moses 1:39.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 4.\n\nTHE ANTEMORTAL GODSHIP OF CHRIST.\n\n\nIt now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status of\nJesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemn\ncouncil in heaven, in which He was chosen to be the future Savior and\nRedeemer of mankind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh.\n\nWe claim scriptural authority for the assertion that Jesus Christ was\nand is God the Creator, the God who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and\nall the antediluvial patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the God of\nAbraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Israel as a united people, and the\nGod of Ephraim and Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation; the\nGod who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the\nGod of the Old Testament record; and the God of the Nephites. We affirm\nthat Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One.\n\nThe scriptures specify three personages in the Godhead; (1) God the\nEternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. These\nconstitute the Holy Trinity, comprizing three physically separate and\ndistinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council of\nthe heavens.[67] At least two of these appear as directing participants\nin the work of creation; this fact is instanced by the plurality\nexpressed in Genesis: \"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after\nour likeness\"; and later, in the course of consultation concerning\nAdam's act of transgression, \"the Lord God said, Behold, the man is\nbecome as one of us.\"[68] From the words of Moses, as revealed anew in\nthe present dispensation, we learn more fully of the Gods who were\nactively engaged in the creation of this earth: \"And I, God, said unto\nmine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make\nman in our image, after our likeness.\" Then, further, with regard to the\ncondition of Adam after the fall: \"I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only\nBegotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us.\"[69] In the account of\nthe creation recorded by Abraham, \"the Gods\" are repeatedly\nmentioned.[70]\n\nAs heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in the\nwork of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive through\nwhom the will, commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect.\nIt is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus\nChrist, is designated by the apostle John as the Word; or as declared by\nthe Father \"the word of my power\".[71] The part taken by Jesus Christ in\nthe creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him the\nCreator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle to\nthe Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Son\nas separate though associated Beings: \"God, who at sundry times and in\ndivers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath\nin these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed\nheir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.\"[72] Paul is even\nmore explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking of\nJesus the Son, he says: \"For by him were all things created, that are in\nheaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be\nthrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were\ncreated by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all\nthings consist.\"[73] And here let be repeated the testimony of John,\nthat by the Word, \"who was with God, and who was God even in the\nbeginning, all things were made; and without him was not anything made\nthat was made.\"[74]\n\nThat the Christ who was to come was in reality God the Creator was\nrevealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel,\nthe converted Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites\njustified his testimony as follows: \"And also that ye might know of the\ncoming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of\nearth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye might\nknow of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on\nhis name.\"[75]\n\nTo these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the\npersonal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected\nBeing. In His visitation to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself:\n\"Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the\nearth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the\nbeginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the\nFather glorified his name.\"[76] To the Nephites, who failed to\ncomprehend the relation between the gospel declared unto them by the\nResurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to be\nin force, and who marveled at His saying that old things had passed\naway, He explained in this wise: \"Behold I say unto you, that the law is\nfulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law,\nand I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in\nme is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an\nend.\"[77]\n\nThrough revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice of\nJesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew:\n\"Hearken, O ye people of my church to whom the kingdom has been\ngiven--hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the\nearth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all\nthings were made which live, and move, and have a being.\"[78] And again,\n\"Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, who created the\nheavens and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness.\"[79]\n\nThe divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and\ntitles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man's judgment there\nmay be but little importance attached to names; but in the nomenclature\nof the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God is\nrighteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name[80] and of names\ngiven by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have\nbeen prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the\nBaptist, John, who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names of\npersons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently\ndefinite as titles denoting the particular service to which the bearers\nwere called, or the special blessings conferred upon them.[81]\n\n_Jesus_ is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of\nGreek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was _Yehoshua_ or _Yeshua_, or,\nas we render it in English, _Joshua_. In the original the name was well\nunderstood as meaning \"Help of Jehovah\", or \"Savior\". Though as common\nan appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name was\nnevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph,\nthe espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, \"And thou shalt call\nhis name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.\"[82]\n\n_Christ_ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common\nname; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with its\nHebrew equivalent _Messiah_ or _Messias_, signifying the _Anointed\nOne_.[83] Other titles, each possessing a definitive meaning, such as\n_Emmanuel_, _Savior_, _Redeemer_, _Only Begotten Son_, _Lord_, _Son of\nGod_, _Son of Man_, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; the\nfact of main present importance to us is that these several titles are\nexpressive of our Lord's divine origin and Godship. As seen, the\nessential names or titles of Jesus the Christ were made known before His\nbirth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in the mortal\nstate.[84]\n\n_Jehovah_ is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, _Yahveh_ or\n_Jahveh_, signifying the _Self-existent One_, or _The Eternal_. This\nname is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament\nas LORD, printed in capitals.[85] The Hebrew, _Ehyeh_, signifying _I\nAm_, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term _Yahveh_\nor _Jehovah_; and herein lies the significance of this name by which the\nLord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commission\nto go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage: \"Moses\nsaid unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and\nshall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and\nthey shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And\nGod said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say\nunto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.\"[86] In the\nsucceeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be \"the God of Abraham,\nthe God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\" While Moses was in Egypt, the\nLord further revealed Himself, saying \"I am the LORD: and I appeared\nunto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty,\nbut by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.\"[87] The central fact\nconnoted by this name, _I Am_, or _Jehovah_, the two having essentially\nthe same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no\nend, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have\nhad no beginning; the name is related to such other titles as _Alpha and\nOmega_, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.[88]\n\nJesus, when once assailed with question and criticism from certain Jews\nwho regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an assurance of divine\npreferment, met their abusive words with the declaration: \"Verily,\nverily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am\".[89] The true\nsignificance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the\nsentence punctuated and pointed as follows: \"Verily, verily, I say unto\nyou, Before Abraham, was I AM;\" which means the same as had He\nsaid--Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offended\nat hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of an\nearlier scripture,[90] they held was not to be uttered on pain of death,\nthat they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. The\nJews regarded _Jehovah_ as an ineffable name, not to be spoken; they\nsubstituted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name,\n_Adonai_, signifying _the Lord_. The original of the terms _Lord_ and\n_God_ as they appear in the Old Testament, was either _Yahveh_ or\n_Adonai_; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, as\nshown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John, evangelist and\napostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord who\nspoke through the voice of Isaiah,[91] and with Jehovah who spoke\nthrough Zechariah.[92]\n\nThe name _Elohim_ is of frequent occurrence in the Hebrew texts of the\nOld Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In form\nthe word is a Hebrew plural noun;[93] but it connotes the plurality of\nexcellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number. It is\nexpressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. _Elohim_, as\nunderstood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the\nname-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit\nis _Jehovah_--the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.\n\nJesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himself\nthe _I Am_ or _Jehovah_, who was God before Abraham lived on earth, was\nthe same Being who is repeatedly proclaimed as the God who made covenant\nwith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who led Israel from the bondage\nof Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, the one and only God known\nby direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general.\n\nThe identity of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was well\nunderstood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings was\nconfirmed by the risen Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortly\nafter His ascension from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This is\nthe record: \"And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying,\nArise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my\nside, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and\nin my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of\nthe whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.\"[94]\n\nIt would appear unnecessary to cite at greater length in substantiating\nour affirmation that Jesus Christ was God even before He assumed a body\nof flesh. During that antemortal period there was essential difference\nbetween the Father and the Son, in that the former had already passed\nthrough the experiences of mortal life, including death and\nresurrection, and was therefore a Being possessed of a perfect,\nimmortalized body of flesh and bones, while the Son was yet unembodied.\nThrough His death and subsequent resurrection Jesus the Christ is today\na Being like unto the Father in all essential characteristics.\n\nA general consideration of scriptural evidence leads to the conclusion\nthat God the Eternal Father has manifested Himself to earthly prophets\nor revelators on very few occasions, and then principally to attest the\ndivine authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. As before shown, the Son was\nthe active executive in the work of creation; throughout the creative\nscenes the Father appears mostly in a directing or consulting capacity.\nUnto Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses the Father revealed Himself,\nattesting the Godship of the Christ, and the fact that the Son was the\nchosen Savior of mankind.[95] On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus,\nthe Father's voice was heard, saying, \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I\nam well pleased\";[96] and at the transfiguration a similar testimony was\ngiven by the Father.[97] On an occasion yet later, while Jesus prayed in\nanguish of soul, submitting Himself that the Father's purposes be\nfulfilled and the Father's name glorified, \"Then came there a voice from\nheaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it\nagain.\"[98] The resurrected and glorified Christ was announced by the\nFather to the Nephites on the western hemisphere, in these words:\n\"Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have\nglorified my name: hear ye him.\"[99] From the time of the occurrence\nlast noted, the voice of the Father was not heard again among men, so\nfar as the scriptures aver, until the spring of 1820, when both the\nFather and the Son ministered unto the prophet Joseph Smith, the Father\nsaying, \"This is my beloved Son, hear him!\"[100] These are the instances\nof record in which the Eternal Father has been manifest in personal\nutterance or other revelation to man apart from the Son. God the\nCreator, the Jehovah of Israel, the Savior and Redeemer of all nations,\nkindreds and tongues, are the same, and He is Jesus the Christ.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 4.\n\n1. Names Given of God.--The significance of names when given of God\nfinds illustration in many scriptural instances. The following are\nexamples: \"Jesus\" meaning _Savior_ (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31); \"John,\"\nsignifying _Jehovah's gift_, specifically applied to the Baptist, who\nwas sent to earth to prepare the way for Jehovah's coming in the flesh\n(Luke 1:13); \"Ishmael,\" signifying _God shall hear him_ (Gen. 16:11);\n\"Isaac,\" meaning _laughter_ (Gen. 17:19, compare 18:10-15). As instances\nof names changed by divine authority to express added blessings, or\nspecial callings, consider the following: \"Abram,\" which connoted\n_nobility_ or _exaltation_ and as usually rendered, _father of\nelevation_, was changed to \"Abraham,\" _father of a multitude_ which\nexpressed the reason for the change as given at the time thereof, \"for a\nfather of many nations have I made thee\" (Gen. 17:5). \"Sarai,\" the name\nof Abraham's wife, and of uncertain distinctive meaning, was substituted\nby \"Sarah\" which signified _the princess_ (Gen 17:15). \"Jacob,\" a name\ngiven to the son of Isaac with reference to a circumstance attending his\nbirth, and signifying _a supplanter_, was superseded by \"Israel\" meaning\n_a soldier of God, a prince of God_; as expressed in the words effecting\nthe change, \"Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as\na prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.\"\n(Gen. 32:28; compare 35:9, 10.) \"Simon,\" meaning _a hearer_, the name of\nthe man who became the chief apostle of Jesus Christ, was changed by the\nLord to \"Cephas\" (Aramaic) or \"Peter\" (Greek) meaning _a rock_ (John\n1:42; Matt 16:18; Luke 6:14). On James and John the sons of Zebedee, the\nLord conferred the name or title \"Boanerges\" meaning _sons of thunder_\n(Mark 3:17).\n\nThe following is an instructive excerpt: \"_Name_ in the scriptures not\nonly = that by which a person is designated, but frequently = all that\nis known to belong to the person having this designation, and the person\nhimself. Thus 'the name of God' or 'of Jehovah,' etc., indicates His\nauthority (Deut. 18:20; Matt. 21:9, etc.), His dignity and glory (Isa.\n48:9, etc.), His protection and favor (Prov. 18:10, etc.), His character\n(Exo. 34:5, 14, compare 6, 7, etc.), His divine attributes in general\n(Matt. 6:9, etc.), etc. The Lord is said to set or put His name where\nthe revelation or manifestation of His perfections is made (Deut. 12:5,\n14:24, etc.). To believe in or on the name of Christ is to receive and\ntreat Him in accordance with the revelation which the scriptures make of\nHim (John 1:12; 2:23), etc.\"--Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of the\nBible_, article \"Name.\"\n\n2. Jesus Christ, the God of Israel.--\"That Jesus Christ was the same\nBeing who called Abraham from his native country, who led Israel out of\nthe land of Egypt with mighty miracles and wonders, who made known to\nthem His law amid the thunderings of Sinai, who delivered them from\ntheir enemies, who chastened them for their disobedience, who inspired\ntheir prophets, and whose glory filled Solomon's temple, is evident from\nall the inspired writings, and in none more so than in the Bible.\n\n\"His lamentation over Jerusalem evidences that, in His humanity, He had\nnot forgotten His former exalted position: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou\nthat killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,\nhow often would I have gathered thy children together ... and ye would\nnot!' (Matt. 23:37). It was this Creator of the world, this mighty\nRuler, this Controller of the destinies of the human family, who, in His\nlast moments, cried out in the agony of His soul, 'My God, my God, why\nhast thou forsaken me?'\" (Mark 15:34.)--From _Compendium of the\nDoctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little.\n\n3. \"Jehovah\" a Name Not Uttered by the Jews.--Long prior to the time of\nChrist, certain schools among the Jews, ever intent on the observance of\nthe letter of the law, though not without disregard of its spirit, had\ntaught that the mere utterance of the name of God was blasphemous, and\nthat the sin of so doing constituted a capital offense. This extreme\nconception arose from the accepted though uninspired interpretation of\nLev. 24:16, \"And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall\nsurely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone\nhim: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he\nblasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.\" We take the\nfollowing from Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible_, article\n\"Jehovah\": \"The true pronunciation of this name, [Yehovah] by which God\nwas known to the Hebrews, has been entirely lost, the Jews themselves\nscrupulously avoiding every mention of it, and substituting in its stead\none or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen\nto be written [_Adonai_, Lord, or _Elohim_, God].... According to Jewish\ntradition it was pronounced but once a year by the high priest on the\nday of atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this point\nthere is some doubt.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[67] See \"God and the Godhead,\" in the author's \"Articles of Faith,\"\nlecture ii.\n\n[68] Gen. 1:26; and 3:22.\n\n[69] P. of G.P., Moses 2:26; and 4:28.\n\n[70] P. of G.P., Abraham, chaps. 4 and 5.\n\n[71] See page 10; John 1:1; and P. of G.P., Moses 1:32.\n\n[72] Heb. 1:1, 2; see also 1 Cor. 8:6.\n\n[73] Colos. 1:16, 17.\n\n[74] John 1:1-3.\n\n[75] B. of M., Helaman 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2: Alma 11:39.\n\n[76] B. of M., 3 Nephi 9:15.\n\n[77] B. of M., 3 Nephi 15:4, 5.\n\n[78] Doc. and Cov. 45:1.\n\n[79] Doc. and Cov. 14:9; see also 29:1, 31; 76:24.\n\n[80] Exo. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 5:11.\n\n[81] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[82] Matt. 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31.\n\n[83] John 1:41; 4:25.\n\n[84] Luke 1:31; 2:21; Matt. 1:21, 25; see also verse 23 and compare Isa.\n7:14; Luke 2:11. See further P. of G.P., Moses 6:51, 57; 7:20; 8:24. B.\nof M., 1 Nephi 10:4; 2 Nephi 10:3; Mosiah 3:8.\n\n[85] The name appears thus in Gen. 2:5; see also Exo. 6:2-4; and read\nfor comparison Gen. 17:1; 35:11.\n\n[86] Exo. 3:13, 14; compare with respect to the fact of eternal duration\nexpressed in this name, Isa. 44:6; John 8:58; Colos. 1:17; Heb. 13:8;\nRev. 1:4; see also P. of G.P., Moses 1:3 and the references there given.\n\n[87] Exo. 6:2, 3. Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[88] Rev. 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13; compare Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.\n\n[89] John 8:58.\n\n[90] Lev. 24:16. Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[91] Isa. 6:8-11; and compare John 12:40, 41.\n\n[92] Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.\n\n[93] The singular, \"Eloah,\" appears only in poetic usage.\n\n[94] B. of M., 3 Nephi 11:13, 14; also 1 Nephi 17:40 and observe from\nverse 30 that the Redeemer is here spoken of as the God who delivered\nIsrael. See further Mosiah 7:19. Chapter 39 herein.\n\n[95] P. of G.P., Moses 1:6, 31-33; 2:1; 4:2, 3; 6:57; compare 7:35, 39,\n47, 53-59; 8:16, 19, 23, 24; Abraham 3:22-28. See chapter 5 herein.\n\n[96] Matt. 3:17; also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22.\n\n[97] Matt. 17:5; Luke 9:35.\n\n[98] John 12:28.\n\n[99] B. of M., 3 Nephi 11:7.\n\n[100] P. of G.P. Joseph Smith 2:17.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 5.\n\nEARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED.\n\n\nThe coming of Christ to earth to tabernacle in the flesh was no\nunexpected or unheralded event. For centuries prior to the great\noccurrence the Jews had professed to be looking for the advent of their\nKing; and, in the appointed ceremonials of worship as in private\ndevotions, the coming of the promised Messiah was prominent as a matter\nof the supplication of Israel to Jehovah. True, there was much diversity\nin lay opinion and in rabbinical exposition as to the time and manner of\nHis appearing; but the certainty thereof was fundamentally established\nin the beliefs and hopes of the Hebrew nation.\n\nThe records known to us as the books of the Old Testament, together with\nother inspired writings once regarded as authentic but excluded from\nlater compilations as not strictly canonical, were current among the\nHebrews at and long before the time of Christ's birth. These scriptures\nhad their beginning in the proclamation of the law through Moses,[101]\nwho wrote the same, and delivered the writing into the official custody\nof the priests with an express command that it be read in the assemblies\nof the people at stated times. To these earlier writings were added the\nutterances of divinely commissioned prophets, the records of appointed\nhistorians, and the songs of inspired poets, as the centuries passed; so\nthat at the time of our Lord's ministry the Jews possessed a great\naccumulation of writings accepted and revered by them as\nauthoritative.[102] These records are rich in prediction and promise\nrespecting the earthly advent of the Messiah, as are other scriptures to\nwhich the Israel of old had not access.\n\nAdam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assurance of the\nSavior's appointed ministry, through the acceptance of which, he, the\ntransgressor, might gain redemption. Brief mention of the plan of\nsalvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promise\ngiven of God following the fall--that though the devil, represented by\nthe serpent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam's\nposterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruise\nthe adversary's head.[103] It is significant that this assurance of\neventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both of\nwhich were introduced to earth through Satan the arch-enemy of mankind,\nwas to be realized through the offspring of woman; the promise was not\nmade specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance of\noffspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth of\nJesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begotten\nby an immortal Father. He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father in\nthe flesh, and was born of woman.\n\nThrough scriptures other than those embodied in the Old Testament we\nlearn with greater fulness of the revelations of God to Adam respecting\nthe coming of the Redeemer. As a natural and inevitable result of his\ndisobedience, Adam had forfeited the high privilege he once\nenjoyed--that of holding direct and personal association with his God;\nnevertheless in his fallen state he was visited by an angel of the Lord,\nwho revealed unto him the plan of redemption: \"And after many days an\nangel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer\nsacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the\nLord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a\nsimilitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is\nfull of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in\nthe name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name\nof the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam,\nwhich beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only\nBegotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that\nas thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as\nmany as will.\"[104]\n\nThe Lord's revelation to Adam making known the ordained plan whereby the\nSon of God was to take upon Himself flesh in the meridian of time, and\nbecome the Redeemer of the world, was attested by Enoch, son of Jared\nand father of Methuselah. From the words of Enoch we learn that to him\nas to his great progenitor, Adam, the very name by which the Savior\nwould be known among men was revealed--\"which is Jesus Christ, the only\nname which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come\nunto the children of men.\"[105] The recorded covenant of God with\nAbraham, and the reiteration and confirmation thereof with Isaac and in\nturn with Jacob--that through their posterity should all nations of the\nearth be blessed--presaged the birth of the Redeemer through that chosen\nlineage.[106] Its fulfilment is the blessed heritage of the ages.\n\nIn pronouncing his patriarchal blessing upon the head of Judah, Jacob\nprophesied: \"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver\nfrom between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the\ngathering of the people be.\"[107] That by Shiloh is meant the Christ is\nevidenced by the fulfilment of the conditions set forth in the\nprediction, in the state of the Jewish nation at the time of our Lord's\nbirth.[108]\n\nMoses proclaimed the coming of a great Prophet in Israel, whose ministry\nwas to be of such importance that all men who would not accept Him would\nbe under condemnation; and that this prediction had sole reference to\nJesus Christ is conclusively shown by later scriptures. Thus spake the\nLord unto Moses: \"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their\nbrethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he\nshall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to\npass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak\nin my name, I will require it of him.\"[109] The system of sacrifice\nexpressly enjoined in the Mosaic code was essentially a prototype of the\nsacrificial death to be accomplished by the Savior on Calvary. The blood\nof countless altar victims, slain by Israel's priests in the course of\nprescribed ritual, ran throughout the centuries from Moses to Christ as\na prophetic flood in similitude of the blood of the Son of God appointed\nto be shed as an expiatory sacrifice for the redemption of the race.\nBut, as already shown, the institution of bloody sacrifice as a type of\nthe future death of Jesus Christ dates from the beginning of human\nhistory; since the offering of animal sacrifices through the shedding of\nblood was required of Adam, to whom the significance of the ordinance,\nas \"a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father\",\nwas expressly defined.[110]\n\nThe paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually\nrecurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of\nGod who in due time would be slain for the sins of the world. The\ncrucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and the\nconsummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal lambs had\nbeen but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later\ntimes: \"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.\"[111]\n\nJob in the day of dire affliction rejoiced in his testimony of the\ncoming Messiah, and declared with prophetic conviction: \"I know that my\nredeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the\nearth.\"[112] The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurring\nallusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of which are\ndescribed in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utterances\nis found in New Testament scriptures.[113]\n\nIsaiah, whose prophetic office was honored by the personal testimony of\nChrist and the apostles, manifested in numerous passages the burden of\nhis conviction relating to the great event of the Savior's advent and\nministry on earth. With the forcefulness of direct revelation he told of\nthe Virgin's divine maternity, whereof Immanuel should be born, and his\nprediction was reiterated by the angel of the Lord, over seven centuries\nlater.[114] Looking down through the ages the prophet saw the\naccomplishment of the divine purposes as if already achieved, and sang\nin triumph: \"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and\nthe government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called\nWonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince\nof Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no\nend, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to\nestablish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even\nforever.\"[115]\n\nImmediately prior to its fulfilment, the blessed promise was repeated by\nGabriel, sent from the presence of God to the chosen Virgin of\nNazareth.[116] As made known to the prophet and by him proclaimed, the\ncoming Lord was the living Branch that should spring from the undying\nroot typified in the family of Jesse;[117] the foundation Stone insuring\nthe stability of Zion;[118] the Shepherd of the house of Israel;[119]\nthe Light of the world,[120] to Gentile as well as Jew; the Leader and\nCommander of His people.[121] The same inspired voice predicted the\nforerunner who should cry in the wilderness: \"Prepare ye the way of the\nLord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.\"[122]\n\nIsaiah was permitted to read the scroll of futurity as to many\ndistinguishing conditions to attend the Messiah's lowly life and atoning\ndeath. In Him the prophet saw One who would be despized and rejected of\nmen, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, One to be wounded and\nbruised for the transgressions of the race, on whom would be laid the\niniquity of us all--a patient and willing Sacrifice, silent under\naffliction, as a lamb brought to the slaughter. The Lord's dying with\nsinners, and His burial in the tomb of the wealthy were likewise\ndeclared with prophetic certainty.[123]\n\nUnto Jeremiah came the word of the Lord in terms of plainness, declaring\nthe sure advent of the King by whom the safety of both Judah and Israel\nshould be assured;[124] the Prince of the House of David, through whom\nthe divine promise to the son of Jesse should be realized.[125] Under\nthe same spirit prophesied Ezekiel,[126] Hosea,[127] and Micah.[128]\nZechariah broke off in the midst of fateful prediction to voice the glad\nsong of thanksgiving and praise as he beheld in vision the simple\npageantry of the King's triumphal entry into the city of David.[129]\nThen the prophet bewailed the grief of the conscience-smitten nation, by\nwhom, as was foreseen, the Savior of humankind would be pierced, even\nunto death;[130] and showed that, when subdued by contrition His own\npeople would ask, \"What are these wounds in thy hands?\", the Lord would\nanswer: \"Those with which I was wounded in the house of my\nfriends.\"[131] The very price to be paid for the betrayal of the Christ\nto His death was foretold as in parable.[132]\n\nThe fact, that these predictions of the Old Testament prophets had\nreference to Jesus Christ and to Him only, is put beyond question by the\nattestation of the resurrected Lord. To the assembled apostles He said:\n\"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,\nthat all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of\nMoses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then\nopened he their understanding, that they might understand the\nscriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved\nChrist to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.\"[133]\n\nJohn the Baptist, whose ministry immediately preceded that of the\nChrist, proclaimed the coming of One mightier than himself, One who\nshould baptize with the Holy Ghost, and specifically identified Jesus of\nNazareth as that One, the Son of God, the Lamb who should assume the\nburden of the world's sins.[134]\n\nThe predictions thus far cited as relating to the life, ministry, and\ndeath of the Lord Jesus, are the utterances of prophets who, excepting\nAdam and Enoch, lived and died on the eastern hemisphere. All save John\nthe Baptist are of Old Testament record, and he, a contemporary of the\nChrist in mortality, figures in the early chapters of the Gospels. It is\nimportant to know that the scriptures of the western hemisphere are\nlikewise explicit in the declaration of the great truth that the Son of\nGod would be born in the flesh. The Book of Mormon contains a history of\na colony of Israelites, of the tribe of Joseph, who left Jerusalem 600\nB.C., during the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, on the eve of the\nsubjugation of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar and the inauguration of the\nBabylonian captivity. This colony was led by divine guidance to the\nAmerican continent, whereon they developed into a numerous and mighty\npeople; though, divided by dissension, they formed two opposing nations\nknown respectively as Nephites and Lamanites. The former cultivated the\narts of industry and refinement, and preserved a record embodying both\nhistory and scripture, while the latter became degenerate and debased.\nThe Nephites suffered extinction about 400 A.D., but the Lamanites lived\non in their degraded course, and are today extant upon the land as the\nAmerican Indians.[135]\n\nThe Nephite annals from the beginning thereof down to the time of our\nLord's birth abound in prediction and promise of the Christ; and this\nchronicle is followed by a record of the actual visitation of the\nresurrected Savior to the Nephites, and the establishment of His Church\namong them. Unto Lehi, the leader of the colony, the Lord revealed the\ntime, place, and manner of Christ's then future advent, together with\nmany important facts of His ministry, and the preparatory work of John\nthe forerunner. This revelation was given while the company was\njourneying in the wilderness of Arabia, prior to their crossing the\ngreat waters. The prophecy is thus written by Nephi, a son of Lehi and\nhis successor in the prophetic calling: \"Yea, even six hundred years\nfrom the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord\nGod raise up among the Jews; even a Messiah; or, in other words, a\nSavior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, how\ngreat a number had testified of these things concerning this Messiah, of\nwhom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore all mankind\nwere in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be, save they\nshould rely on this Redeemer. And he spake also concerning a prophet who\nshould come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord; yea,\neven he should go forth and cry in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of\nthe Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you\nwhom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am\nnot worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.\nAnd my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he\nalso said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the\nMessiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he\nshould behold and bear record, that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who\nshould take away the sins of the world. And it came to pass after my\nfather had spoken these words, he spake unto my brethren concerning the\ngospel which should be preached among the Jews; and also concerning the\ndwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah,\nwho should come, and after he had been slain, he should rise from the\ndead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the\nGentiles.\"[136]\n\nAt a later time Nephi writes, not as his father's scribe, but as a\nprophet and revelator voicing the word of God as made known to himself.\nHe was permitted to behold in vision and to declare to his people the\ncircumstances of the Messiah's birth, His baptism by John and the\nministration of the Holy Ghost with its accompanying sign of the dove;\nhe beheld our Lord moving as a Teacher of righteousness among the\npeople, healing the afflicted and rebuking spirits of evil; he saw and\nbore record of the dread scenes of Calvary; he beheld and predicted the\ncalling of the chosen Twelve, the apostles of the Lamb, for so these\nwere designated by Him who vouchsafed the vision. Moreover he told of\nthe iniquity of the Jews, who were seen in contention with the apostles;\nand thus concludes the portentous prophecy: \"And the angel of the Lord\nspake unto me again, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all\nnations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the\ntwelve apostles of the Lamb.\"[137] Soon after the defection whereby the\ndistinction between Nephites and Lamanites was established, Jacob, a\nbrother of Nephi, continued in prophecy of the assured coming of the\nMessiah, specifically declaring that He would minister at Jerusalem and\naffirming the necessity of His atoning death as the ordained means of\nhuman redemption.[138] The prophet Abinadi, in his fearless denunciation\nof sin to the wicked king Noah, preached the Christ who was to\ncome;[139] and righteous Benjamin, who was at once prophet and king,\nproclaimed the same great truth to his people about 125 B.C. So taught\nAlma[140] in his inspired admonition to his wayward son, Corianton; and\nso also Amulek[141] in his contention with Zeezrom. So proclaimed the\nLamanite prophet, Samuel, only five years prior to the actual\noccurrence; furthermore he specified the signs by which the birth of\nJesus in Judea would be made known to the people of the western world.\nSaid he: \"Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh,\nand behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall\nbelieve on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at\nthe time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in\nheaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no\ndarkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day,\ntherefore there shall be one day and a night, and a day, as if it were\none day, and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign;\nfor ye shall know of the rising of the sun, and also of its setting;\ntherefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a\nnight; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the\nnight before he is born. And behold there shall a new star arise, such\nan one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.\nAnd behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in\nheaven.\"[142]\n\nThus the scriptures of both hemispheres and in all ages of ante-meridian\ntime bore solemn testimony to the certainty of Messiah's advent; thus\nthe holy prophets of old voiced the word of revelation predicting the\ncoming of the world's King and Lord, through whom alone is salvation\nprovided, and redemption from death made sure. It is a characteristic of\nprophets sent of God that they possess and proclaim a personal assurance\nof the Christ, \"for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of\nprophecy.\"[143] Not a word of inspired prophecy relating to the great\nevent has been found void. The literal fulfilment of the predictions is\nample attestation of their origin in divine revelation, and proof\nconclusive of the divinity of Him whose coming was so abundantly\nforetold.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 5.\n\n1. The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's Atoning\nDeath.--While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering of\nsacrifices long prior to Israel's exodus from Egypt--e.g. by Abel and by\nCain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham\n(Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)--it is silent concerning\nthe divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguring\nthe atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining time\nand circumstance, under which the offering of symbolical sacrifices\noriginated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators save\nthose who admit the validity of modern revelation. The necessity of\nassuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has been\nasserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article\n\"Sacrifice\" in the Cassell _Bible Dictionary_ says: \"The idea of\nsacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the most\nancient and widely recognized in the rites of religion throughout the\nworld. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments and\napplications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has been\njudiciously inferred that sacrifice formed an element in the primeval\nworship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirect\nargument for the unity of the human race, but an illustration and\nconfirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. The\nnotion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassisted\nhuman nature, and must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewed\nas a divine revelation to primitive man.\"\n\nSmith's _Dic. of the Bible_ presents the following: \"In tracing the\nhistory of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect development\nin the Mosaic ritual, we are at once met by the long-disputed question\nas to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinct\nof man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of some\ndistinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice was\nsanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to the\nAtonement of Christ; its universal prevalence, independent of, and often\nopposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it to\nhave been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity.\nWhether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based on\nthat sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by His\nhand on the heart of man--is an historical question, perhaps insoluble.\"\n\nThe difficulty vanishes, and the \"historical question\" as to the origin\nof sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the\ncurrent dispensation, whereby parts of the record of Moses--not\ncontained in the Bible--have been restored to human knowledge. The\nscripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the\noffering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and\nthat the significance of the divinely established requirement was\nexplained in fulness to the patriarch of the race. The shedding of the\nblood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype \"of the sacrifice\nof the Only Begotten of the Father,\" dates from the time immediately\nfollowing the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation to\nAdam. See P. of G.P., Moses 5:5-8.\n\n2. Jacob's Prophecy Concerning \"Shiloh.\"--The prediction of the\npatriarch Jacob--that the sceptre should not depart from Judah before\nthe coming of Shiloh--has given rise to much disputation among Bible\nstudents. Some insist that \"Shiloh\" is the name of a place and not that\nof a person. That there was a place known by that name is beyond\nquestion (see Josh. 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; 1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 7:12); but\nthe name occurring in Gen. 49:10 is plainly that of a person. It should\nbe known that the use of the word in the King James or authorized\nversion of the Bible is held to be correct by many eminent authorities.\nThus, in Dummelow's _Commentary on the Holy Bible_, we read: \"This verse\nhas always been regarded by both Jews and Christians as a remarkable\nprophecy of the coming of the Messiah.... On the rendering given above,\nthe whole verse foretells that Judah would retain authority until the\nadvent of the rightful ruler, the Messiah, to whom all peoples would\ngather. And, broadly speaking, it may be said that the last traces of\nJewish legislative power (as vested in the Sanhedrin) did not disappear\nuntil the coming of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, from which\ntime His kingdom was set up among men.\"\n\nAdam Clarke, in his exhaustive Bible Commentary, briefly analyzes the\nobjections urged against the admissibility of this passage as applying\nto the Messiah's advent, and dismisses them all as unfounded. His\nconclusion as to the meaning of the passage is thus worded: \"Judah shall\ncontinue a distinct tribe until the Messiah shall come; and it did so;\nand after His coming it was confounded with the others, so that all\ndistinction has been ever since lost.\"\n\nProf. Douglas, as cited in Smith's Dictionary, \"claims that something of\nJudah's sceptre still remained, a total eclipse being no proof that the\nday is at an end--that the proper fulfilment of the prophecy did not\nbegin till David's time, and is consummated in Christ according to Luke\n1:32, 33.\"\n\nThe accepted meaning of the word by derivation is \"Peaceable,\" and this\nis applicable to the attributes of the Christ, who in Isa. 9:6, is\ndesignated the Prince of Peace.\n\nEusebius, who lived between 260 and 339 A.D., and is known in\necclesiastical history as Bishop of C\u00e6sarea, wrote: \"At the time that\nHerod was king, who was the first foreigner that reigned over the Jewish\npeople, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfilment, viz.\n'That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins,\nuntil He should come for whom it is reserved, the expectation of\nnations.'\" (The quoted passage is founded on the Septuagint rendering of\nGenesis 49:10).\n\nSome critics have held that in Jacob's use of the word \"Shiloh\" he did\nnot intend it as a name or proper noun at all. The writer of the article\n\"Shiloh\" in Cassell's _Bible Dictionary_ says: \"The preponderance of\nevidence is in favor of the Messianic interpretation, but opinions are\nvery divided respecting the retention of the word 'Shiloh' as a proper\nname.... Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against it\nbeing so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly considered\nto be a proper name, and that the English version represents the true\nsense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fully\ninto a question which cannot well be discussed without Hebrew criticism,\nto the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on the\nPentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus rendered: 'The\nsceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between\nhis feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations be\nto him.'\n\n\"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by\nsome writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see\nthis explanation confirmed and not weakened in the events of history.\nThe text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a\nroyal ruler of his own, but that the regal power should not finally\ncease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on the\nBabylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force,\nbecause it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out,\nand that only happened after the time of Christ.\" See further _The Book\nof Prophecy_, by G. Smith, LL.D., p. 320. See also _Compendium of the\nDoctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little,\narticle \"Christ's First Coming.\"\n\n3. Nephites and Lamanites.--The progenitors of the Nephite nation were\nled from Jerusalem, 600 B.C., by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of\nManasseh. His immediate family, at the time of their departure from\nJerusalem, comprized his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel,\nSam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the history, daughters are\nmentioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exodus\nwe are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi included\nZoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim.\nIshmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and his\ndescendants were numbered with the nation of whom we are speaking. The\ncompany journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders of\nthe Red Sea; then, changing their course to the eastward, crossed the\npeninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, built\nand provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divine\ncare upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across the\nIndian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of\nSouth America, whereon they landed (590 B.C.).... The people established\nthemselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children were\nborn, and in the course of a few generations a numerous posterity held\npossession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred,\nsome of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who had been duly\nappointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, the\neldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people\nwere known as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times they\nobserved toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally they\nwere opposed, the Lamanites manifesting implacable hatred and hostility\ntoward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of\ncivilization, built large cities and established prosperous\ncommonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lord\nchastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spread\nnorthward, occupying the northern part of South America; then, crossing\nthe Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central and\neastern portions of what is now the United States of America. The\nLamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse of\ndarkness; they became dark in skin and benighted in spirit, forgot the\nGod of their fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, and degenerated into\nthe fallen state in which the American Indians--their lineal\ndescendants--were found by those who rediscovered the western continent\nin later times. See the author's _Articles of Faith_ xiv:7, 8.\n\n4. The First Gospel Dispensation.--The gospel of Jesus Christ was\nrevealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son the\nSavior of Adam and all his posterity, repentance of sin, water baptism\nby immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowal\nwere proclaimed in the beginning of human history as the essentials to\nsalvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. \"And thus the\nGospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy\nangels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice and by\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost\" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thus\ntestified: \"But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must\nrepent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I\nam God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he\nalso said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my\nvoice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be\nbaptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is\nfull of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which\nshall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the\nchildren of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all\nthings in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you\"\n(Moses 6:50-52; read also 53-61). \"And now, behold, I say unto you: This\nis the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only\nBegotten, who shall come in the meridian of time\" (62). \"And it came to\npass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried\nunto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was\ncarried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was\nbrought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit\nof God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit and became\nquickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying:\nThou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record\nof the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever\" (64-66).\nCompare Doc. and Cov 29:42.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[101] Deut. 31:9, 24-26; compare 17:18-20.\n\n[102] \"Articles of Faith,\" xiii:7-10.\n\n[103] Gen. 3:15; compare Heb. 2:14; Rev, 12:9; 20:3.\n\n[104] P. of G.P., Moses 5:6-9. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[105] P. of G.P., Moses 6:52; study paragraphs 50-56; see also Gen.\n5:18, 21-24; Jude 14. Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[106] Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.\n\n[107] Gen. 49:10.\n\n[108] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[109] Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also a\nspecific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Nephi 20:23.\n\n[110] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[111] 1 Cor. 5:7. For references to Christ as the Lamb of God, see John\n1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. chaps. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21,\n22; also B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:10, and chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14; 2 Nephi\n31:4, 5, 6; 33:14; Alma 7:14; Mormon 9:2, 3; Doc. and Cov. 58:11;\n132:19.\n\n[112] Job 19:25; see also verses 26-27.\n\n[113] Instances: Psalm 2:7; compare Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Psa.\n16:10; compare Acts 13:34-37. Psa. 22:18; compare Matt. 27:35; Mark\n15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24. Psa. 41:9; compare John 13:18. Psa. 69:9\nand 21; compare Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; John 19:29; and John 2:17.\nPsa. 110:1 and 4; compare Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; and\nHeb. 5:6. Psa. 118:22, 23; compare Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17;\nActs 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4, 7. The following are known\nspecifically as Messianic Psalms: 2, 21, 22, 45, 67, 69, 89, 96, 110,\n132; in them the psalmist extols in poetic measure the excellencies of\nthe Messiah, and the certainty of His coming.\n\n[114] Isa. 7:14; compare Matt. 1:21-23.\n\n[115] Isa. 9:6,7.\n\n[116] Luke 1:26-33.\n\n[117] Isa. 11:1 and 10; compare Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16; see also\nJer. 23:5, 6.\n\n[118] Isa. 28:16; compare Psa. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom.\n9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-8.\n\n[119] Isa. 40:9-11; compare John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25;\n5:4; see also Ezek. 34:23.\n\n[120] Isa. 42-1; see also 9:2; 49:6; 60:3; compare Matt. 4:14-16; Luke\n2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:18; Eph. 5:8, 14.\n\n[121] Isa. 55:4; compare John 18:37.\n\n[122] Isa. 40:3; compare Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23.\n\n[123] Isa. 53; study the entire chapter; compare Acts 8:32-35.\n\n[124] Jer. 23:5, 6; see also 33:14-16.\n\n[125] Jer. 30:9.\n\n[126] Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25.\n\n[127] Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15.\n\n[128] Mic. 5:2; compare Matt 2:6; John 7:42.\n\n[129] Zech. 9:9; compare Matt. 21:4-9.\n\n[130] Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.\n\n[131] Zech. 13:6.\n\n[132] Zech. 11:12, 13; compare Matt. 26:15; 27:3-10.\n\n[133] Luke 24:44, 46; see also verses 25-27.\n\n[134] Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26, 27, 29-36; see\nalso Acts 1:5, 8; 11:16; 19:4.\n\n[135] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[136] B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:4-11.\n\n[137] B. of M., 1 Nephi chapters 11 and 12; see also 19:10.\n\n[138] B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:5, 6; 10:3. See also Nephi's prophecy\n25:12-14; and chap. 26.\n\n[139] B. of M., Mosiah 13:33-35; 15:1-13.\n\n[140] B. of M., Alma 39:15; 40:1-3.\n\n[141] B. of M., Alma 11:31-44.\n\n[142] B. of M., Helaman 14:1-6; compare 3 Nephi 1:4-21.\n\n[143] Rev. 19:10.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 6.\n\nTHE MERIDIAN OF TIME.\n\n\nUnto Moses, with whom the Lord spake \"face to face, as a man speaketh\nunto his friend,\"[144] the course of the human race, both as then past\nand future, was made known; and the coming of the Redeemer was\nrecognized by him as the event of greatest import in all the happenings\nto which the earth and its inhabitants would be witness. The curse of\nGod had aforetime fallen upon the wicked, and upon the earth because of\nthem, \"For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his\nOnly Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian\nof time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world.\"[145]\nIn this scripture appears the earliest mention of the expressive and\nprofoundly significant designation of the period in which the Christ\nshould appear--the meridian of time. If the expression be regarded as\nfigurative, be it remembered the figure is the Lord's.\n\nThe term \"meridian\", as commonly used, conveys the thought of a\nprincipal division of time or space[146] thus we speak of the hours\nbefore the daily noon as ante-meridian (a.m.) and those after noon as\npost-meridian (p.m.). So the years and the centuries of human history\nare divided by the great event of the birth of Jesus Christ. The years\npreceding that epoch-making occurrence are now designated as time\n_Before Christ_ (B.C.); while subsequent years are each specified as a\ncertain _Year of our Lord_, or, as in the Latin tongue, _Anno Domini_\n(A.D.). Thus the world's chronology has been adjusted and systematized\nwith reference to the time of the Savior's birth; and this method of\nreckoning is in use among all Christian nations. It is instructive to\nnote that a similar system was adopted by the isolated branch of the\nhouse of Israel that had been brought from the land of Palestine to the\nwestern continent; for from the appearance of the promised sign among\nthe people betokening the birth of Him who had been so abundantly\npredicted by their prophets, the Nephite reckoning of the years,\nstarting with the departure of Lehi and his colony from Jerusalem, was\nsuperseded by the annals of the new era.[147]\n\nThe occasion of the Savior's advent was preappointed; and the time\nthereof was specifically revealed through authorized prophets on each of\nthe hemispheres. The long history of the Israelitish nation had unfolded\na succession of events that found a relative culmination in the earthly\nmission of the Messiah. That we may the better comprehend the true\nsignificance of the Lord's life and ministry while in the flesh, some\nconsideration should be given to the political, social, and religious\ncondition of the people amongst whom He appeared and with whom He lived\nand died. Such consideration involves at least a brief review of the\nantecedent history of the Hebrew nation. The posterity of Abraham\nthrough Isaac and Jacob had early come to be known by the title in which\nthey took undying pride and found inspiring promise, Israelites, or the\nchildren of Israel.[148] Collectively they were so designated throughout\nthe dark days of their bondage in Egypt;[149] so during the four decades\nof the exodus and the return to the land of promise,[150] and on through\nthe period of their prosperity as a mighty people under the\nadministration of the judges, and as a united monarchy during the\nsuccessive reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon.[151]\n\nImmediately following the death of Solomon, about 975 B.C. according to\nthe most generally accepted chronology, the nation was disrupted by\nrevolt. The tribe of Judah, part of the tribe of Benjamin, and small\nremnants of a few other tribes remained true to the royal succession,\nand accepted Rehoboam, son of Solomon, as their king; while the rest,\nusually spoken of as the Ten Tribes, broke their allegiance to the house\nof David, and made Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, their king. The Ten Tribes\nretained the title Kingdom of Israel though also known as Ephraim.[152]\nRehoboam and his adherents were distinctively called the Kingdom of\nJudah. For about two hundred and fifty years the two kingdoms maintained\ntheir separate autonomy; then, about 722 or 721 B.C., the independent\nstatus of the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the captive people\nwere transported to Assyria by Shalmanezer and others. Subsequently they\ndisappeared so completely as to be called the Lost Tribes. The Kingdom\nof Judah was recognized as a nation for about one hundred and thirty\nyears longer; then, about 588 B.C., it was brought into subjection by\nNebuchadnezzar, through whom the Babylonian captivity was inaugurated.\nFor three score years and ten Judah was kept in exile and virtual\nbondage, in consequence of their transgression as had been predicted\nthrough Jeremiah.[153] Then the Lord softened the hearts of their\ncaptors, and their restoration was begun under the decree of Cyrus the\nPersian, who had subdued the Babylonian kingdom. The Hebrew people were\npermitted to return to Judea, and to enter upon the work of rebuilding\nthe temple at Jerusalem.[154]\n\nA great company of the exiled Hebrews availed themselves of this\nopportunity to return to the lands of their fathers, though many elected\nto remain in the country of their captivity, preferring Babylon to\nIsrael. The \"whole congregation\" of the Jews who returned from the\nBabylonian exile were but \"forty and two thousand three hundred and\nthree score, beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were\nseven thousand three hundred thirty and seven.\" The relatively small\nsize of the migrating nation is further shown by the register of their\nbeasts of burden.[155] While those who did return strove valiantly to\nreestablish themselves as the house of David, and to regain some measure\nof their former prestige and glory, the Jews were never again a truly\nindependent people. In turn they were preyed upon by Greece, Egypt, and\nSyria; but about 164-163 B.C., the people threw off, in part at least,\nthe alien yoke, as a result of the patriotic revolt led by the\nMaccabees, the most prominent of whom was Judas Maccabeus. The temple\nservice, which had been practically abolished through the proscription\nof victorious foes, was reestablished.[156] In the year 163 B.C., the\nsacred structure was rededicated, and the joyful occasion was thereafter\ncelebrated in annual festival as the Feast of Dedication.[157] During\nthe reign of the Maccabees, however, the temple fell into an almost\nruinous condition, more as a result of the inability of the reduced and\nimpoverished people to maintain it than through any further decline of\nreligious zeal. In the hope of insuring a greater measure of national\nprotection, the Jews entered into an unequal alliance with the Romans\nand eventually became tributary to them, in which condition the Jewish\nnation continued throughout the period of our Lord's ministry. In the\nmeridian of time Rome was virtually mistress of the world. When Christ\nwas born Augustus C\u00e6sar[158] was emperor of Rome, and the Idumean,\nHerod,[159] surnamed the Great, was the vassal king of Judea.\n\nSome semblance of national autonomy was maintained by the Jews under\nRoman dominion, and their religious ceremonials were not seriously\ninterfered with. The established orders in the priesthood were\nrecognized, and the official acts of the national council, or\nSanhedrin,[160] were held to be binding by Roman law; though the\njudicial powers of this body did not extend to the infliction of capital\npunishment without the sanction of the imperial executive. It was the\nestablished policy of Rome to allow to her tributary and vassal peoples\nfreedom in worship so long as the mythological deities, dear to the\nRomans, were not maligned nor their altars desecrated.[161]\n\nNeedless to say, the Jews took not kindly to alien domination, though\nfor many generations they had been trained in that experience, their\nreduced status having ranged from nominal vassalage to servile bondage.\nThey were already largely a dispersed people. All the Jews in Palestine\nat the time of Christ's birth constituted but a small remnant of the\ngreat Davidic nation. The Ten Tribes, distinctively the aforetime\nkingdom of Israel, had then long been lost to history, and the people of\nJudah had been widely scattered among the nations.\n\nIn their relations with other peoples the Jews generally endeavored to\nmaintain a haughty exclusiveness, which brought upon them Gentile\nridicule. Under Mosaic law Israel had been required to keep apart from\nother nations; they attached supreme importance to their Abrahamic\nlineage as children of the covenant, \"an holy people unto the Lord,\"\nwhom He had chosen \"to be a special people unto himself, above all\npeople that are upon the face of the earth\".[162] Judah had experienced\nthe woful effects of dalliance with pagan nations, and, at the time we\nare now considering, a Jew who permitted himself unnecessary association\nwith a Gentile became an unclean being requiring ceremonial cleansing to\nfree him from defilement. Only in strict isolation did the leaders find\nhope of insuring the perpetuity of the nation.\n\nIt is no exaggeration to say that the Jews hated all other peoples and\nwere reciprocally despized and contemned by all others. They manifested\nespecial dislike for the Samaritans, perhaps because this people\npersisted in their efforts to establish some claim of racial\nrelationship. These Samaritans were a mixed people, and were looked upon\nby the Jews as a mongrel lot, unworthy of decent respect. When the Ten\nTribes were led into captivity by the king of Assyria, foreigners were\nsent to populate Samaria.[163] These intermarried with such Israelites\nas had escaped the captivity; and some modification of the religion of\nIsrael, embodying at least the profession of Jehovah worship, survived\nin Samaria. The Samaritan rituals were regarded by the Jews as\nunorthodox, and the people as reprobate. At the time of Christ the\nenmity between Jew and Samaritan was so intense that travelers between\nJudea and Galilee would make long detours rather than pass through the\nprovince of Samaria which lay between. The Jews would have no dealings\nwith the Samaritans.[164]\n\nThe proud feeling of self-sufficiency, the obsession for exclusiveness\nand separation--so distinctively a Jewish trait at that time--was\ninculcated at the maternal knee and emphasized in synagog and school.\nThe Talmud,[165] which in codified form post-dates the time of Christ's\nministry, enjoined all Jews against reading the books of alien nations,\ndeclaring that none who so offended could consistently hope for\nJehovah's favor.[166] Josephus gives his endorsement to similar\ninjunction, and records that wisdom among the Jews meant only\nfamiliarity with the law and ability to discourse thereon.[167] A\nthorough acquaintanceship with the law was demanded as strongly as other\nstudies were discountenanced. Thus the lines between learned and\nunlearned came to be rigidly drawn; and, as an inevitable consequence\nthose who were accounted learned, or so considered themselves, looked\ndown upon their unscholarly fellows as a class distinct and\ninferior.[168]\n\nLong before the birth of Christ, the Jews had ceased to be a united\npeople even in matters of the law, though the law was their chief\nreliance as a means of maintaining national solidarity. As early as four\nscore years after the return from the Babylonian exile, and we know not\nwith accuracy how much earlier, there had come to be recognized, as men\nhaving authority, certain scholars afterward known as scribes, and\nhonored as rabbis[169] or teachers. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah\nthese specialists in the law constituted a titled class, to whom\ndeference and honor were paid. Ezra is designated \"the priest, the\nscribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and\nof his statutes to Israel\".[170] The scribes of those days did valuable\nservice under Ezra, and later under Nehemiah, in compiling the sacred\nwritings then extant; and in Jewish usage those appointed as guardians\nand expounders of the law came to be known as members of the Great\nSynagog, or Great Assembly, concerning which we have little information\nthrough canonical channels. According to Talmudic record, the\norganization consisted of one hundred and twenty eminent scholars. The\nscope of their labors, according to the admonition traditionally\nperpetuated by themselves, is thus expressed: _Be careful in judgment;\nset up many scholars, and make a hedge about the law_. They followed\nthis behest by much study and careful consideration of all traditional\ndetails in administration; by multiplying scribes and rabbis unto\nthemselves; and, as some of them interpreted the requirement of setting\nup many scholars, by writing many books and tractates; moreover, they\nmade a fence or hedge about the law by adding numerous rules, which\nprescribed with great exactness the officially established proprieties\nfor every occasion.\n\nScribes and rabbis were exalted to the highest rank in the estimation of\nthe people, higher than that of the Levitical or priestly orders; and\nrabbinical sayings were given precedence over the utterances of the\nprophets, since the latter were regarded as but messengers or spokesmen,\nwhereas the living scholars were of themselves sources of wisdom and\nauthority. Such secular powers as Roman suzerainty permitted the Jews to\nretain were vested in the hierarchy, whose members were able thus to\ngather unto themselves practically all official and professional honors.\nAs a natural result of this condition, there was practically no\ndistinction between Jewish civil and ecclesiastical law, either as to\nthe code or its administration. Rabbinism comprized as an essential\nelement the doctrine of the equal authority of oral rabbinical tradition\nwith the written word of the law. The aggrandizement implied in the\napplication of the title \"Rabbi\" and the self-pride manifest in\nwelcoming such adulation were especially forbidden by the Lord, who\nproclaimed Himself the one Master; and, as touching the interpretation\nof the title held by some as \"father\", Jesus proclaimed but one Father\nand He in heaven: \"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,\neven Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon\nthe earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye\ncalled masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.\"[171]\n\nThe scribes, whether so named or designated by the more distinguishing\nappellation, rabbis, were repeatedly denounced by Jesus, because of the\ndead literalism of their teachings, and the absence of the spirit of\nrighteousness and virile morality therefrom; and in such denunciations\nthe Pharisees are often coupled with the scribes. The judgment of the\nChrist upon them is sufficiently expressed by His withering imprecation:\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!\"[172]\n\nThe origin of the Pharisees is not fixed by undisputed authority as to\neither time or circumstance; though it is probable that the sect or\nparty had a beginning in connection with the return of the Jews from the\nBabylonian captivity. New ideas and added conceptions of the meaning of\nthe law were promulgated by Jews who had imbibed of the spirit of\nBabylon; and the resulting innovations were accepted by some and\nrejected by others. The name \"Pharisee\" does not occur in the Old\nTestament, nor in the Apocrypha, though it is probable that the\nAssideans mentioned in the books of the Maccabees[173] were the original\nPharisees. By derivation the name expresses the thought of separatism;\nthe Pharisee, in the estimation of his class, was distinctively set\napart from the common people, to whom he considered himself as truly\nsuperior as the Jews regarded themselves in contrast with other nations.\nPharisees and scribes were one in all essentials of profession, and\nrabbinism was specifically their doctrine.\n\nIn the New Testament the Pharisees are often mentioned as in opposition\nto the Sadducees; and such were the relations of the two parties that it\nbecomes a simpler matter to contrast one with the other than to consider\neach separately. The Sadducees came into existence as a reactionary\norganization during the second century B.C., in connection with an\ninsurgent movement against the Maccabean party. Their platform was that\nof opposition to the ever-increasing mass of traditional lore, with\nwhich the law was not merely being fenced or hedged about for safety,\nbut under which it was being buried. The Sadducees stood for the\nsanctity of the law as written and preserved, while they rejected the\nwhole mass of rabbinical precept both as orally transmitted and as\ncollated and codified in the records of the scribes. The Pharisees\nformed the more popular party; the Sadducees figured as the aristocratic\nminority. At the time of Christ's birth the Pharisees existed as an\norganized body numbering over six thousand men, with Jewish women very\ngenerally on their side in sympathy and effort;[174] while the Sadducees\nwere so small a faction and of such limited power that, when they were\nplaced in official positions, they generally followed the policy of the\nPharisees as a matter of incumbent expediency. The Pharisees were the\nPuritans of the time, unflinching in their demand for compliance with\nthe traditional rules as well as the original law of Moses. In this\nconnection note Paul's confession of faith and practise when arraigned\nbefore Agrippa--\"That after the most straitest sect of our religion I\nlived a Pharisee.\"[175] The Sadducees prided themselves on strict\ncompliance with the law, as they construed it, irrespective of all\nscribes or rabbis. The Sadducees stood for the temple and its prescribed\nordinances, the Pharisees for the synagog and its rabbinical teachings.\nIt is difficult to decide which were the more technical if we judge each\nparty by the standard of its own profession. By way of illustration: the\nSadducees held to the literal and full exaction of the Mosaic\npenalty--an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth[176]--while the\nPharisees contended on the authority of rabbinical dictum, that the\nwording was figurative, and that therefore the penalty could be met by a\nfine in money or goods.\n\nPharisees and Sadducees differed on many important if not fundamental\nmatters of belief and practise, including the preexistence of spirits,\nthe reality of a future state involving reward and punishment, the\nnecessity for individual self-denial, the immortality of the soul, and\nthe resurrection from the dead; in each of which the Pharisees stood for\nthe affirmative while the Sadducees denied.[177] Josephus avers--the\ndoctrine of the Sadducees is that the soul and body perish together; the\nlaw is all that they are concerned to observe.[178] They were \"a\nskeptical school of aristocratic traditionalists; adhering only to the\nMosaic law.\"[179]\n\nAmong the many other sects and parties established on the ground of\nreligious or political differences, or both, are the Essenes, the\nNazarites, the Herodians and the Galileans. The Essenes were\ncharacterized by professions of ultra-piety; they considered even the\nstrictness of Pharisaic profession as weak and insufficient; they\nguarded membership in their order by severe exactions extending through\na first and a second novitiate; they were forbidden even to touch food\nprepared by strangers; they practised strict temperance and rigid\nself-denial, indulged in hard labor--preferably that of agriculture, and\nwere forbidden to trade as merchants, to take part in war, or to own or\nemploy slaves.[180] Nazarites are not named in the New Testament, though\nof specific record in the earlier scriptures;[181] and from sources\nother than scriptural we learn of their existence at and after the time\nof Christ. The Nazarite was one of either sex who was bound to\nabstinence and sacrifice by a voluntary vow for special service to God;\nthe period of the vow might be limited or for life. While the Essenes\ncultivated an ascetic brotherhood, the Nazarites were devoted to\nsolitary discipline.\n\nThe Herodians constituted a politico-religious party who favored the\nplans of the Herods under the professed belief that through that dynasty\nalone could the status of the Jewish people be maintained and a\nreestablishment of the nation be secured. We find mention of the\nHerodians laying aside their partisan antipathies and acting in concert\nwith the Pharisees in the effort to convict the Lord Jesus and bring Him\nto death.[182] The Galileans or people of Galilee were distinguished\nfrom their fellow Israelites of Judea by greater simplicity and less\nostentatious devotion in matters pertaining to the law. They were\nopposed to innovations, yet were generally more liberal or less bigoted\nthan some of the professedly devout Judeans. They were prominent as able\ndefenders in the wars of the people, and won for themselves a reputation\nfor bravery and patriotism. They are mentioned in connection with\ncertain tragical occurrences during our Lord's lifetime.[183]\n\nThe authority of the priesthood was outwardly acknowledged by the Jews\nat the time of Christ; and the appointed order of service for priest and\nLevite was duly observed. During the reign of David, the descendants of\nAaron, who were the hereditary priests in Israel, had been divided into\ntwenty-four courses,[184] and to each course the labors of the sanctuary\nwere alloted in turn. Representatives of but four of these courses\nreturned from the captivity, but from these the orders were\nreconstructed on the original plan. In the days of Herod the Great the\ntemple ceremonies were conducted with great display and outward\nelaborateness, as an essential matter of consistency with the splendor\nof the structure, which surpassed in magnificence all earlier\nsanctuaries.[185] Priests and Levites, therefore, were in demand for\ncontinuous service, though the individuals were changed at short\nintervals according to the established system. In the regard of the\npeople the priests were inferior to the rabbis, and the scholarly\nattainments of a scribe transcended in honor that pertaining to\nordination in the priesthood. The religion of the time was a matter of\nceremony and formality, of ritual and performance; it had lost the very\nspirit of worship, and the true conception of the relationship between\nIsrael and Israel's God was but a dream of the past.\n\nSuch in brief were the principal features of the world's condition, and\nparticularly as concerns the Jewish people, when Jesus the Christ was\nborn in the meridian of time.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 6.\n\n1. The Sanhedrin.--This, the chief court or high council of the Jews,\nderives its name from the Greek _sunedrion_, signifying \"a council.\" In\nEnglish it is sometimes though inaccurately, written \"Sanhedrim.\" The\nTalmud traces the origin of this body to the calling of the seventy\nelders whom Moses associated with himself, making seventy-one in all, to\nadminister as judges in Israel (Numb. 11:16, 17). The Sanhedrin in the\ntime of Christ, as also long before, comprized seventy-one members,\nincluding the high-priest who presided in the assembly. It appears to\nhave been known in its earlier period as the Senate, and was\noccasionally so designated even after Christ's death (Josephus,\nAntiquities xii, 3:3; compare Acts 5:21); the name \"Sanhedrin\" came into\ngeneral use during the reign of Herod the Great; but the term is not of\nBiblical usage; its equivalent in the New Testament is \"council\" (Matt.\n5:22; 10:17; 26:59) though it must be remembered that the same term is\napplied to courts of lesser jurisdiction than that of the Sanhedrin, and\nto local tribunals. (Matt 5:22; 10:17; 26:59; Mark 13:9; see also Acts\n25:12.)\n\nThe following, from the _Standard Bible Dictionary_, is instructive:\n\"Those qualified to be members were in general of the priestly house and\nespecially of the Sadducean nobility. But from the days of Queen\nAlexandra (69-68 B.C.) onward, there were with these chief priests also\nmany Pharisees in it under the name of scribes and elders. These three\nclasses are found combined in Matt. 27:41; Mark 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1.\nHow such members were appointed is not entirely clear. The aristocratic\ncharacter of the body and the history of its origin forbid the belief\nthat it was by election. Its nucleus probably consisted of the members\nof certain ancient families, to which, however, from time to time others\nwere added by the secular rulers. The presiding officer was the high\npriest, who at first exercized in it more than the authority of a\nmember, claiming a voice equal to that of the rest of the body. But\nafter the reduction of the high priesthood from a hereditary office to\none bestowed by the political ruler according to his pleasure, and the\nfrequent changes in the office introduced by the new system, the high\npriest naturally lost his prestige. Instead of holding in his hands the\n'government of the nation,' he came to be but one of many to share this\npower; those who had served as high priests being still in esteem among\ntheir nation, and having lost their office not for any reason that could\nbe considered valid by the religious sense of the community, exerted a\nlarge influence over the decisions of the assembly. In the New Testament\nthey are regarded as the rulers (Matt. 26:59; 27:41; Acts 4:5, 8; Luke\n23:13, 35; John 7:26), and Josephus' testimony supports this view. The\nfunctions of the Sanhedrin were religious and moral, and also political.\nIn the latter capacity they further exercized administrative as well as\njudicial functions. As a religious tribunal, the Sanhedrin wielded a\npotent influence over the whole of the Jewish world (Acts 9:2); but as a\ncourt of justice, after the division of the country upon the death of\nHerod, its jurisdiction was limited to Judea. Here, however, its power\nwas absolute even to the passing of sentence of death (Josephus, Ant.\nxiv, 9:3, 4; Matt. 26:3; Acts 4:5; 6:12; 22:30), although it had no\nauthority to carry the sentence into execution except as approved and\nordered by the representative of the Roman government. The law by which\nthe Sanhedrin governed was naturally the Jewish, and in the execution of\nit this tribunal had a police of its own, and made arrests at its\ndiscretion (Matt 26:47).... While the general authority of the Sanhedrin\nextended over the whole of Judea, the towns in the country had local\ncouncils of their own (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; Mark 13:9; Josephus, B. J. ii,\n14:1), for the administration of local affairs. These were constituted\nof elders (Luke 7:3), at least seven in number, (Josephus, Ant. iv,\n8:14; B. J. ii, 20:5), and in some of the largest towns as many as\ntwenty-three. What the relation of these to the central council in\nJerusalem was does not appear clearly.... Some sort of mutual\nrecognition existed among them; for whenever the judges of the local\ncourt could not agree it seems that they were in the habit of referring\ntheir cases to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (Josephus, Ant. iv, 8:14;\nMishna, Sanh. 11:2).\"\n\n2. Talmud.--\"The body of Jewish civil and religious law (and discussion\ndirectly or remotely relating thereto) not comprized in the Pentateuch,\ncommonly including the _Mishna_ and the _Gemara_, but sometimes limited\nto the latter; written in Aramaic. It exists in two great collections,\nthe _Palestinian Talmud_, or _Talmud of the Land of Israel_, or _Talmud\nof the West_, or, more popularly, _Jerusalem Talmud_, embodying the\ndiscussions on the Mishna of the Palestinian doctors from the 2d to the\nmiddle of the 5th century; and the _Babylonian_, embodying those of the\nJewish doctors in Babylonia, from about 190 to the 7th century.\"--_New\nStandard Dict._ The Mishna comprizes the earlier portions of the Talmud;\nthe Gemara is made up of later writings and is largely an exposition of\nthe Mishna. An edition of the Babylonian Talmud alone (issued at Vienna\nin 1682) comprized twenty-four tomes. (Geikie.)\n\n3. Rabbis.--The title Rabbi is equivalent to our distinctive\nappellations Doctor, Master, or Teacher. By derivation it means Master\nor my Master, thus connoting dignity and rank associated with politeness\nof address. A definite explanation of the term is given by John (1:38),\nand the same meaning attaches by implication to its use as recorded by\nMatthew (23:8). It was applied as a title of respect to Jesus on several\noccasions (Matt. 23:7, 8; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 1:38,\n49; 3:2, 26; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). The title was of comparatively\nrecent usage in the time of Christ, as it appears to have first come\ninto general use during the reign of Herod the Great, though the earlier\nteachers, of the class without the name of Rabbis, were generally\nreverenced, and the title was carried back to them by later usage. Rab\nwas an inferior title and Rabban a superior one to Rabbi. Rabboni was\nexpressive of most profound respect, love and honor (see John 20:16). At\nthe time of our Lord's ministry the Rabbis were held in high esteem, and\nrejoiced in the afflations of precedence and honor among men. They were\nalmost exclusively of the powerful Pharisaic party.\n\nThe following is from Geikie's _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I, chap.\n6: \"If the most important figures in the society of Christ's day were\nthe Pharisees, it was because they were the Rabbis or teachers of the\nLaw. As such they received superstitious honor, which was, indeed, the\ngreat motive, with many, to court the title or join the party. The\nRabbis were classed with Moses, the patriarchs, and the prophets, and\nclaimed equal reverence. Jacob and Joseph were both said to have been\nRabbis. The Targum of Jonathan substitutes Rabbis, or Scribes, for the\nword 'prophets' where it occurs. Josephus speaks of the prophets of\nSaul's day as Rabbis. In the Jerusalem Targum all the patriarchs are\nlearned Rabbis.... They were to be dearer to Israel than father or\nmother--because parents avail only in this world [as was then taught]\nbut the Rabbi forever. They were set above kings, for is it not written\n'Through me kings reign'? Their entrance into a house brought a\nblessing; to live or to eat with them was the highest good fortune....\nThe Rabbis went even further than this in exalting their order. The\nMishna declares that it is a greater crime to speak anything to their\ndiscredit, than to speak against the words of the Law.... Yet in form,\nthe Law received boundless honor. Every saying of the Rabbis had to be\nbased on some words of it, which were, however, explained in their own\nway. The spirit of the times, the wild fanaticism of the people, and\ntheir own bias, tended alike to make them set value only on ceremonies\nand worthless externalisms, to the utter neglect of the spirit of the\nsacred writings. Still it was held that the Law needed no confirmation,\nwhile the words of the Rabbis did. So far as the Roman authority under\nwhich they lived left them free, the Jews willingly put all power in the\nhands of the Rabbis. They or their nominees filled every office, from\nthe highest in the priesthood to the lowest in the community. They were\nthe casuists, the teachers, the priests, the judges, the magistrates,\nand the physicians of the nation.... The central and dominant\ncharacteristic of the teaching of the Rabbis was the certain advent of a\ngreat national Deliverer--the Messiah or Anointed of God or in the Greek\ntranslation of the title, the Christ. In no other nation than the Jews\nhas such a conception ever taken such root or shown such vitality.... It\nwas agreed among the Rabbis that His birthplace must be Bethlehem, and\nthat He must rise from the tribe of Judah.\"\n\nIndividual rabbis gathered disciples about them, and, inevitably,\nrivalry became manifest. Rabbinical schools and academies were\nestablished, each depending for its popularity on the greatness of some\nrabbi. The most famous of these institutions in the time of Herod I.\nwere the school of Hillel and that of his rival Shammai. Later,\ntradition invested these with the title \"the fathers of old.\" It appears\nfrom the trifling matters over which the followers of these two\ndisagreed, that only by opposition could either maintain a\ndistinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel,\nthe rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterward\nPaul the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3). So far as\nwe have historic record of the views, principles or beliefs advocated by\nthe rival schools of Hillel and Shammai, it appears that the former\nstood for a greater degree of liberality and tolerance, while the later\nemphasized a strict and possibly narrow interpretation of the law and\nits associated traditions. The dependence of the rabbinical schools on\nthe authority of tradition is illustrated by an incident of record to\nthe effect that even the prestige of the great Hillel did not insure him\nagainst uproar when once he spoke without citing precedent; only when he\nadded that so had his masters Abtalion and Shemajah spoken did the\ntumult subside.\n\n4. Sadducean Denial of the Resurrection.--As set forth in the text, the\nSadducees formed an association numerically small as compared with the\nmore popular and influential Pharisees. In the Gospels the Pharisees are\nof frequent mention, and very commonly in connection with the scribes,\nwhile the Sadducees are less frequently named. In the Acts of the\nApostles, the Sadducees appear frequently as opponents of the Church.\nThis condition was doubtless due to the prominence given the\nresurrection from the dead among the themes of the apostolic preaching,\nthe Twelve continually bearing testimony to the actual resurrection of\nChrist. Sadducean doctrine denied the actuality and possibility of a\nbodily resurrection, the contention resting mainly on the ground that\nMoses, who was regarded as the supreme mortal lawgiver in Israel, and\nthe chief mouthpiece of Jehovah, had written nothing concerning life\nafter death. The following is taken from Smith's _Dictionary of the\nBible_, article \"Sadducees,\" as touching this matter: \"The denial of\nman's resurrection after death followed in the conception of the\nSadducees as a logical conclusion from their denial that Moses had\nrevealed to the Israelites the Oral Law. For on a point so momentous as\na second life beyond the grave, no religious party among the Jews would\nhave deemed themselves bound to accept any doctrine as an article of\nfaith, unless it had been proclaimed by Moses, their great legislator;\nand it is certain that in the written Law of the Pentateuch there is a\ntotal absence of any assertion by Moses of the resurrection of the dead.\nThis fact is presented to Christians in a striking manner by the\nwell-known words of the Pentateuch which are quoted by Christ in\nargument with the Sadducees on this subject (Exo. 3:6, 16; Mark 12:26,\n27; Matt. 22:31, 32; Luke 20:37). It cannot be doubted that in such a\ncase Christ would quote to His powerful adversaries the most cogent text\nin the Law; and yet the text actually quoted does not do more than\nsuggest an inference on this great doctrine. It is true that passages in\nother parts of the Old Testament express a belief in the resurrection\n(Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:26; and in some of the Psalms); and it\nmay at first sight be a subject of surprize that the Sadducees were not\nconvinced by the authority of those passages. But although the Sadducees\nregarded the books which contained these passages as sacred, it is more\nthan doubtful whether any of the Jews regarded them as sacred in\nprecisely the same sense as the written Law. To the Jews Moses was and\nis a colossal form, preeminent in authority above all subsequent\nprophets.\"\n\n5. The Temple of Herod.--\"Herod's purpose in the great undertaking [that\nof restoring the temple, and of enlarging it on a plan of unprecedented\nmagnificence] was that of aggrandizing himself and the nation, rather\nthan the rendering of homage to Jehovah. His proposition to rebuild or\nrestore the temple on a scale of increased magnificence was regarded\nwith suspicion and received with disfavor by the Jews, who feared that\nwere the ancient edifice demolished, the arbitrary monarch might abandon\nhis plan and the people would be left without a temple. To allay these\nfears the king proceeded to reconstruct and restore the old edifice,\npart by part, directing the work so that at no time was the temple\nservice seriously interrupted. So little of the ancient structure was\nallowed to stand, however, that the temple of Herod must be regarded as\na new creation. The work was begun about sixteen years before the birth\nof Christ; and while the Holy House itself was practically completed\nwithin a year and a half, this part of the labor having been performed\nby a body of one thousand priests specially trained for the purpose, the\ntemple area was a scene of uninterrupted building operations down to the\nyear 63 A.D. We read that in the time of Christ's ministry the temple\nhad been forty-six years in building; and at that time it was\nunfinished.\n\n\"The Biblical record gives us little information regarding this the last\nand the greatest of ancient temples; for what we know concerning it we\nare indebted, mainly to Josephus, with some corroborative testimony\nfound in the Talmud. In all essentials the Holy House, or Temple proper,\nwas similar to the two earlier houses of sanctuary, though externally\nfar more elaborate and imposing than either; but in the matter of\nsurrounding courts and associated buildings, the Temple of Herod\npreeminently excelled.... Yet its beauty and grandeur lay in\narchitectural excellence rather than in the sanctity of its worship or\nin the manifestation of the Divine Presence within its walls. Its ritual\nand service were largely man-prescribed; for while the letter of the\nMosaic Law was professedly observed, the law had been supplemented and\nin many features supplanted by rule and priestly prescription. The Jews\nprofessed to consider it holy, and by them it was proclaimed as the\nHouse of the Lord. Devoid though it was of the divine accompaniments of\nearlier shrines accepted of God, and defiled as it was by priestly\narrogance and usurpation, as also by the selfish interest of traffic and\ntrade, it was nevertheless recognized even by our Lord the Christ as His\nFather's House. (Matt. 21:12; compare Mark 11:15; Luke 19:45.).... For\nthirty or more years after the death of Christ, the Jews continued the\nwork of adding to and embellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate\ndesign conceived and projected by Herod had been practically completed;\nthe temple was well-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was\nready for destruction. Its fate had been definitely foretold by the\nSavior Himself.\"--From the author's _House of the Lord_, pp. 54-61.\n\n6. State of the World at the Time of the Savior's Birth.--At the\nbeginning of the Christian era, the Jews, in common with most other\nnations, were subjects of the Roman empire. They were allowed a\nconsiderable degree of liberty in maintaining their religious\nobservances and national customs generally, but their status was far\nfrom that of a free and independent people. The period was one of\ncomparative peace--a time marked by fewer wars and less dissension than\nthe empire had known for many years. These conditions were favorable for\nthe mission of the Christ, and for the founding of His Church on earth.\nThe religious systems extant at the time of Christ's earthly ministry\nmay be classified in a general way as Jewish and Pagan, with a minor\nsystem--the Samaritan--which was essentially a mixture of the other two.\nThe children of Israel alone proclaimed the existence of the true and\nliving God; they alone looked forward to the advent of the Messiah, whom\nmistakenly they awaited as a prospective conqueror coming to crush the\nenemies of their nation. All other nations, tongues, and peoples, bowed\nto pagan deities, and their worship comprized nought but the sensual\nrites of heathen idolatry. Paganism was a religion of form and ceremony,\nbased on polytheism--a belief in the existence of a multitude of gods,\nwhich deities were subject to all the vices and passions of humanity,\nwhile distinguished by immunity from death. Morality and virtue were\nunknown as elements of heathen service; and the dominant idea in pagan\nworship was that of propitiating the gods, in the hope of averting their\nanger and purchasing their favor.--See the author's _The Great\nApostasy_, 1:2-4, and notes following the chapter cited.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[144] Exo. 33:11; see also Numb. 12:8; Deut. 34:10; compare P. of G.P.,\nMoses 1:2, 11, 31.\n\n[145] P. of G.P., Moses 5:57; for later mention of the \"meridian of\ntime,\" see 6:56-62; and 7:46; and compare Doc. and Cov. 20:26; 39:3.\n\n[146] \"Meridian: ... figuratively, the highest point or\nculminating-point of anything; the zenith; as the meridian of\nlife.\"--\"New Stand. Dict.\"\n\n[147] B. of M., 3 Nephi 2:8; compare 4 Nephi 1:1, 21; Mormon 8:6; Moroni\n10:1.\n\n[148] Gen. 32:28; 35:10.\n\n[149] Exo. 1:1, 7; 9:6, 7; 12:3, etc.\n\n[150] Exo. 12:35, 40; 13:19; 15:1; Numb. 20:1, 19, 24, etc.\n\n[151] See mention throughout the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and\n2 Kings, and references therein.\n\n[152] Isa. 11:13; 17:3; Ezek, 37:16-22; Hos. 4:17.\n\n[153] Jer. 25:11, 12; see also 29:10.\n\n[154] Ezra 1:1-4; the author, \"House of the Lord,\" pp. 47-53; also\n\"Articles of Faith\" xvii:1-22.\n\n[155] Ezra 2:64-67.\n\n[156] \"House of the Lord,\" pp. 51-53.\n\n[157] Josephus, Ant. xii:6 and 7; 2 Maccabees 2:19; 10:1-8; also John\n10:22.\n\n[158] Luke 2:1.\n\n[159] Matt. 2:1. Page 106.\n\n[160] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[161] Deut. 7:6; see also 10:15; Exo. 19:5, 6; Psa. 135:4; Isa. 41:8;\n45:4; compare 1 Peter 2:9.\n\n[162] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[163] 2 Kings 17:24.\n\n[164] John 4:9; Luke 9:51-53. Pages 172, 183 herein.\n\n[165] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[166] Bab. Talmud, Sanhedrin, 90.\n\n[167] Josephus, Ant. xx, 11:2.\n\n[168] Note the emphasis given to this distinction in John 7:45-49; see\nalso 9:34.\n\n[169] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[170] Ezra 7:11; see also verses 6, 10, 12.\n\n[171] Matt. 23:8-10; see also John 1:38; 3:2.\n\n[172] Matt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23. etc., read the entire chapter; compare\nMark 12:38-40; Luke 20:46; see also as instances of special denunciation\nof the Pharisees Luke 11:37-44. Note also that the lawyers, who were\nprofessionally associated with the scribes, are included in the sweeping\ncriticism: verses 45-54. See pages 552-560 herein.\n\n[173] 1 Maccabees 2:42; 7:13-17; 2 Maccabees 14:6.\n\n[174] Josephus, Antiquities, xvii, 2:4.\n\n[175] Acts 26:5; see also 23:6; Philip. 3:5.\n\n[176] Exo. 21:23-35; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; contrast Matt 5:38-44.\n\n[177] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[178] Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:4.\n\n[179] \"New Stand. Dict.,\" under \"Sadducees.\"\n\n[180] Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:5.\n\n[181] Numb. 6:2-21; Judges 13:5, 7; 16:17; Amos. 2:11, 12. Page 87.\n\n[182] Matt. 22:15, 16; Mark 12:13.\n\n[183] Luke 13:1, 2; see also John 4:45; Mark 14:70; Acts 2:7.\n\n[184] 1 Chron. 24:1-18.\n\n[185] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 7.\n\nGABRIEL'S ANNUNCIATION OF JOHN AND OF JESUS.\n\n\nJOHN THE FORERUNNER.\n\n\nAssociated with the prophecies of the birth of Christ are predictions\nconcerning one who should precede Him, going before to prepare the way.\nIt is not surprizing that the annunciation of the immediate advent of\nthe forerunner was speedily followed by that of the Messiah; nor that\nthe proclamations were made by the same heavenly embassador--Gabriel,\nsent from the presence of God.[186]\n\nAbout fifteen months prior to the Savior's birth, Zacharias, a priest of\nthe Aaronic order, was officiating in the functions of his office in the\ntemple at Jerusalem. His wife, Elisabeth, was also of a priestly family,\nbeing numbered among the descendants of Aaron. The couple had never been\nblessed with children; and at the time of which we speak they were both\nwell stricken in years and had sorrowfully given up hope of posterity.\nZacharias belonged to the course of priests named after Abijah, and\nknown in later time as the course of Abia. This was the eighth in the\norder of the twenty-four courses established by David the king, each\ncourse being appointed to serve in turn a week at the sanctuary.[187] It\nwill be remembered that on the return of the people from Babylon only\nfour of the courses were represented; but of these four each averaged\nover fourteen hundred men.[188]\n\nDuring his week of service each priest was required to maintain\nscrupulously a state of ceremonial cleanliness of person; he had to\nabstain from wine, and from food except that specifically prescribed; he\nhad to bathe frequently; he lived within the temple precincts and thus\nwas cut off from family association; he was not allowed to come near the\ndead, nor to mourn in the formal manner if death should rob him of even\nhis nearest and dearest of kin. We learn that the daily selection of the\npriest who should enter the Holy Place, and there burn incense on the\ngolden altar, was determined by lot;[189] and furthermore we gather,\nfrom non-scriptural history, that because of the great number of priests\nthe honor of so officiating seldom fell twice to the same person.\n\nOn this day the lot had fallen to Zacharias. It was a very solemn\noccasion in the life of the humble Judean priest--this one day in his\nlife on which the special and particularly sacred service was required\nof him. Within the Holy Place he was separated by the veil of the temple\nonly from the Oracle or Holy of Holies--the inner sanctuary into which\nnone but the high priest might enter, and he only on the Day of\nAtonement, after long ceremonial preparation.[190] The place and the\ntime were conducive to the highest and most reverential feelings. As\nZacharias ministered within the Holy Place, the people without bowed\nthemselves in prayer, watching for the clouds of incense smoke to appear\nabove the great partition which formed the barrier between the place of\ngeneral assembly and the Holy Place, and awaiting the reappearance of\nthe priest and his pronouncement of the benediction.\n\nBefore the astonished gaze of Zacharias, at this supreme moment of his\npriestly service, there appeared, standing on the right of the golden\naltar of incense, an angel of the Lord. Many generations had passed in\nJewry since any visible presence other than mortal had been manifest\nwithin the temple, either in the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies; the\npeople regarded personal visitations of heavenly beings as occurrences\nof the past; they had come almost to believe that there were no longer\nprophets in Israel. Nevertheless, there was always a feeling of anxiety,\nakin to that of troubled expectancy, whenever a priest approached the\ninner sanctuary, which was regarded as the particular abode of Jehovah\nshould He ever again condescend to visit His people. In view of these\nconditions we read without surprize that this angelic presence troubled\nZacharias and caused fear to fall upon him. The words of the heavenly\nvisitant, however, were comforting though of startling import, embodying\nas they did the unqualified assurance that the man's prayers had been\nheard, and that his wife should bear him a son, who must be named\nJohn.[191] The promise went even further, specifying that the child to\nbe born of Elisabeth would be a blessing to the people; many would\nrejoice at his birth; he would be great in the sight of the Lord, and\nmust be guarded against wine and strong drink;[192] he would be filled\nwith the Holy Ghost, would be the means of turning many souls to God,\nand would go before to make ready a people prepared to receive the\nMessiah.\n\nDoubtless Zacharias recognised in the predicted future of the yet unborn\nchild the great forerunner, of whom the prophets had told and the\npsalmist had sung; but that such a one should be offspring of himself\nand his aged wife seemed impossible despite the angel's promise. The man\ndoubted, and asked whereby he should know that what his visitant had\nspoken was true: \"And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel,\nthat stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and\nto show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and\nnot able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed,\nbecause thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their\nseason.\"[193] When the highly blessed though sorely smitten priest at\nlength came from within and appeared before the expectant congregation,\nalready made anxious by his delayed return, he could but mutely dismiss\nthe assembly and by signs indicate that he had seen a vision. The\npenalty for doubt was already operative; Zacharias was dumb.\n\nIn due time the child was born, there in the hill country of Judea[194]\nwhere Zacharias and Elisabeth had their home; and, on the eighth day\nfollowing the birth the family assembled in accordance with custom and\nMosaic requirement, to name the babe in connection with the rite of\ncircumcision.[195] All suggestions that he be called after his father\nwere overruled by Zacharias, who wrote with decisive finality: \"His name\nis John.\" Thereupon the dumb[196] priest's tongue was loosed, and being\nfilled with the Holy Ghost he burst forth in prophecy, praise and song;\nhis inspired utterances have been set to music and are sung in worship\nby many Christian congregations as the Benedictus:\n\n    \"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and\n    redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for\n    us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth\n    of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:\n    that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of\n    all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,\n    and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to\n    our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being\n    delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without\n    fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of\n    our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the\n    Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to\n    prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people\n    by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our\n    God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give\n    light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,\n    to guide our feet into the way of peace.\"[197]\n\nThe last words Zacharias had uttered prior to the infliction of dumbness\nwere words of doubt and unbelief, words in which he had called for a\nsign as proof of authority of one who came from the presence of the\nAlmighty; the words with which he broke his long silence were words of\npraise unto God in whom he had all assurance, words that were as a sign\nto all who heard, and the fame whereof spread throughout the region.\n\nThe unusual circumstances attending the birth of John, notably the\nmonths of dumbness passed by the father and his sudden recovery of\nspeech on the bestowal of the fore-appointed name, caused many to marvel\nand some to fear, as they asked: \"What manner of child shall this be?\"\nWhen, a man grown, John raised his voice in the wilderness, again in\nfulfillment of prophecy, the people questioned as to whether he was not\nthe Messiah.[198] Of his life between infancy and the beginning of his\npublic ministry, a period of approximately thirty years, we have of\nrecord but a single sentence: \"And the child grew, and waxed strong in\nspirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto\nIsrael.\"[199]\n\n\nTHE ANNUNCIATION TO THE VIRGIN.\n\nSix months after the visitation of Gabriel to Zacharias, and three\nmonths prior to the birth of John, the same heavenly messenger was sent\nto a young woman named Mary, who lived at Nazareth, a town in Galilee.\nShe was of the lineage of David; and though unmarried was betrothed or\nespoused to a man named Joseph, who also was of royal descent through\nthe Davidic line. The angel's salutation, while full of honor and\nblessing, caused Mary to wonder and to feel troubled. \"Hail, thou that\nart highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among\nwomen\";[200] thus did Gabriel greet the virgin.\n\nIn common with other daughters of Israel, specifically those of the\ntribe of Judah and of known descent from David, Mary had doubtless\ncontemplated, with holy joy and ecstasy, the coming of the Messiah\nthrough the royal line; she knew that some Jewish maiden was yet to\nbecome the mother of the Christ. Was it possible that the angel's words\nto her had reference to this supreme expectation and hope of the nation?\nShe had little time to turn these things in her mind, for the angel\ncontinued: \"Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And,\nbehold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and\nshalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the\nSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of\nhis father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;\nand of his kingdom there shall be no end.\"[201]\n\nEven yet she comprehended but in part the import of this momentous\nvisitation. Not in the spirit of doubt such as had prompted Zacharias to\nask for a sign, but through an earnest desire for information and\nexplanation, Mary, conscious of her unmarried status and sure of her\nvirgin condition, asked: \"How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?\"\nThe answer to her natural and simple inquiry was the announcement of a\nmiracle such as the world had never known--not a miracle in the sense of\na happening contrary to nature's law, nevertheless a miracle through the\noperation of higher law, such as the human mind ordinarily fails to\ncomprehend or regard as possible. Mary was informed that she would\nconceive and in time bring forth a Son, of whom no mortal man would be\nthe father:--\"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost\nshall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow\nthee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall\nbe called the Son of God.\"[202]\n\nThen the angel told her of the blessed condition of her cousin\nElisabeth, who had been barren; and by way of sufficient and final\nexplanation added: \"For with God nothing shall be impossible.\" With\ngentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virgin\nreplied: \"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to\nthy word.\"\n\nHis message delivered, Gabriel departed, leaving the chosen Virgin of\nNazareth to ponder over her wondrous experience. Mary's promised Son was\nto be \"The Only Begotten\" of the Father in the flesh; so it had been\nboth positively and abundantly predicted. True, the event was\nunprecedented; true also it has never been paralleled; but that the\nvirgin birth would be unique was as truly essential to the fulfilment of\nprophecy as that it should occur at all. That Child to be born of Mary\nwas begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural\nlaw but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, the\noffspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship,\nand pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the \"Son of\nthe Highest.\" In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with\nthe capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the\nordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God,\ndemonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings\nshall propagate--after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the\nphysical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that\ncharacterized His parents--one immortal and glorified--God, the other\nhuman--woman.\n\nJesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly the\noffspring of mortal man, except so far as His mother was the daughter of\nboth man and woman. In our Lord alone has been fulfilled the word of God\nspoken in relation to the fall of Adam, that the _seed of the woman_\nshould have power to overcome Satan by bruising the serpent's head.[203]\n\nIn respect to place, condition, and general environment, Gabriel's\nannunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of his\nmessage to Mary. The prospective forerunner of the Lord was announced to\nhis father within the magnificent temple, and in a place the most\nexclusively sacred save one other in the Holy House, under the light\nshed from the golden candlestick, and further illumined by the glow of\nliving coals on the altar of gold; the Messiah was announced to His\nmother in a small town far from the capital and the temple, most\nprobably within the walls of a simple Galilean cottage.\n\n\nMARY'S VISIT TO HER COUSIN ELISABETH.\n\nIt was natural that Mary, left now to herself with a secret in her soul,\nholier, greater, and more thrilling than any ever borne before or since,\nshould seek companionship, and that of some one of her own sex, in whom\nshe could confide, from whom she might hope to derive comfort and\nsupport, and to whom it would be not wrong to tell what at that time was\nprobably known to no mortal save herself. Her heavenly visitant had\nindeed suggested all this in his mention of Elisabeth, Mary's cousin,\nherself a subject of unusual blessing, and a woman through whom another\nmiracle of God had been wrought. Mary set out with haste from Nazareth\nfor the hill country of Judea, on a journey of about a hundred miles if\nthe traditional account be true that the little town of Juttah was the\nhome of Zacharias. There was mutual joy in the meeting between Mary the\nyouthful virgin, and Elisabeth, already well advanced in life. From what\nof Gabriel's words her husband had communicated, Elisabeth must have\nknown that the approaching birth of her son would soon be followed by\nthat of the Messiah, and that therefore the day for which Israel had\nwaited and prayed through the long dark centuries was about to dawn.\nWhen Mary's salutation fell upon her ears, the Holy Ghost bore witness\nthat the chosen mother of the Lord stood before her in the person of her\ncousin; and as she experienced the physical thrill incident to the\nquickening spirit of her own blessed conception, she returned the\ngreeting of her visitor with reverence: \"Blessed art thou among women,\nand blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the\nmother of my Lord should come to me?\"[204] Mary responded with that\nglorious hymn of praise, since adopted in the musical ritual of churches\nas the Magnificat:\n\n    \"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in\n    God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his\n    handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall\n    call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great\n    things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear\n    him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with\n    his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their\n    hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and\n    exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good\n    things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his\n    servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our\n    fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.\"[205]\n\n\nMARY AND JOSEPH.\n\nThe visit lasted about three months, after which time Mary returned to\nNazareth. The real embarrassment of her position she had now to meet. At\nthe home of her cousin she had been understood; her condition had served\nto confirm the testimony of Zacharias and Elisabeth; but how would her\nword be received at her own home? And especially, how would she be\nregarded by her espoused husband?[206] Betrothal, or espousal, in that\ntime was in some respects as binding as the marriage vow, and could only\nbe set aside by a ceremonial separation akin to divorce; yet an espousal\nwas but an engagement to marry, not a marriage. When Joseph greeted his\npromised bride after her three months' absence, he was greatly\ndistressed over the indications of her prospective maternity. Now the\nJewish law provided for the annulment of a betrothal in either of two\nways--by public trial and judgment, or by private agreement attested by\na written document signed in the presence of witnesses. Joseph was a\njust man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist; moreover\nhe loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatever\nmight be his own sorrow and suffering. For Mary's sake he dreaded the\nthought of publicity; and therefore determined to have the espousal\nannulled with such privacy the law allowed. He was troubled and thought\nmuch of his duty in the matter, when, \"behold, the angel of the Lord\nappeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear\nnot to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her\nis of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt\ncall his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.\"[207]\n\nGreat was Joseph's relief of mind; and great his joy in the realization\nthat the long predicted coming of the Messiah was at hand; the words of\nthe prophets would be fulfilled; a virgin, and she the one in the world\nmost dear to him, had conceived, and in due time would bring forth that\nblessed Son, Emmanuel, which name by interpretation means \"God with\nus.\"[208] The angel's salutation was significant; \"Joseph, thou son of\nDavid,\" was the form of address; and the use of that royal title must\nhave meant to Joseph that, though he was of kingly lineage, marriage\nwith Mary would cast no shadow upon his family status. Joseph waited\nnot; to insure Mary all possible protection and establish his full legal\nright as her lawful guardian he hastened the solemnization of the\nmarriage, and \"did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took\nunto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her\nfirstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.\"[209]\n\nThe national hope of a Messiah based on promise and prophecy had become\nconfused in the Jewish mind, through the influence of rabbinism with its\nmany vagaries, and its \"private interpretation\"[210] made to appear\nauthoritative by the artificially sustained prestige of the expositors;\nyet certain conditions had been emphasized as essential, even by the\nrabbis, and by these essentials would be judged the claim of any Jew who\nmight declare himself to be the long expected One. It was beyond\nquestion that the Messiah was to be born within the tribe of Judah and\nthrough the line of descent from David, and, being of David He must of\nnecessity be of the lineage of Abraham, through whose posterity,\naccording to the covenant, all nations of the earth were to be\nblessed.[211]\n\nTwo genealogical records, purporting to give the lineage of Jesus are\nfound in the New Testament, one in the first chapter of Matthew, the\nother in the third chapter of Luke. These records present several\napparent discrepancies, but such have been satisfactorily reconciled by\nthe research of specialists in Jewish genealogy. No detailed analysis of\nthe matter will be attempted here; but it should be borne in mind that\nthe consensus of judgment on the part of investigators is that Matthew's\naccount is that of the royal lineage, establishing the order of sequence\namong the legal successors to the throne of David, while the account\ngiven by Luke is a personal pedigree, demonstrating descent from David\nwithout adherence to the line of legal succession to the throne through\nprimogeniture or nearness of kin.[212] Luke's record is regarded by\nmany, however, as the pedigree of Mary, while Matthew's is accepted as\nthat of Joseph. The all important fact to be remembered is that the\nChild promised by Gabriel to Mary, the virginal bride of Joseph, would\nbe born in the royal line. A personal genealogy of Joseph was\nessentially that of Mary also, for they were cousins. Joseph is named as\nson of Jacob by Matthew, and as son of Heli by Luke; but Jacob and Heli\nwere brothers, and it appears that one of the two was the father of\nJoseph and the other the father of Mary and therefore father-in-law to\nJoseph. That Mary was of Davidic descent is plainly set forth in many\nscriptures; for since Jesus was to be born of Mary, yet was not begotten\nby Joseph, who was the reputed, and, according to the law of the Jews,\nthe legal, father, the blood of David's posterity was given to the body\nof Jesus through Mary alone. Our Lord, though repeatedly addressed as\nSon of David, never repudiated the title but accepted it as rightly\napplied to Himself.[213] Apostolic testimony stands in positive\nassertion of the royal heirship of Christ through earthly lineage, as\nwitness the affirmation of Paul, the scholarly Pharisee: \"Concerning his\nSon Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according\nto the flesh;\" and again: \"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of\nDavid was raised from the dead.\"[214]\n\nIn all the persecutions waged by His implacable haters, in all the false\naccusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilege\nand blasphemy based on His acknowledgment of the Messiahship as His own,\nno mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be the\nChrist through any ineligibility based on lineage. Genealogy was\nassiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time of\nChrist; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record;\nand any possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descent\nwould have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee,\nlearned scribe, haughty rabbi, and aristocratic Sadducee.\n\nAt the time of the Savior's birth, Israel was ruled by alien monarchs.\nThe rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the ruler\nof the Jews was an appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free and\nindependent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the\ncarpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to\nthe throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.\n\nGabriel's annunciation to Mary was that of the Son of David, on whose\ncoming the hope of Israel rested as on a sure foundation. The One, thus\nannounced, was Emmanuel, even God who was to dwell in flesh with His\npeople,[215] the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 7.\n\n1. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite.--The instruction of the\nangel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to \"drink\nneither wine nor strong drink,\" and the adult life of John as a dweller\nin the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have led\ncommentators and Biblical specialists to assume that he was a \"Nazarite\nfor life.\" It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere in scripture\nextant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite, the\nname signifying _consecrated_ or _separated_, was one, who by personal\nvow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some\nspecial labor or course of life involving self denial. (See page 67).\nSmith's _Comp. Dict, of the Bible_ says: \"There is no notice in the\nPentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regulations for the vow of a\nNazarite of days are given (Numb. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the term\nof his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every\nproduction of the vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. He\nwas forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body,\neven that of his nearest relation.\" The sole instance of a Nazarite for\nlife named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother was\nrequired to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth,\nand the child was to be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judges 13:3-7,\n14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited\nwith all the personal discipline required of Nazarites whether he was\nunder voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound.\n\n2. Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitish\npractise, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of God\nto Abraham, as the sign of the covenant between Jehovah and the\npatriarch. (Gen. 17:9-14.) This covenant was made to include the\nestablishment of Abraham's posterity as a great nation, and provided\nthat through his descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed\n(Gen. 22:18)--a promise which has been proved to mean that through that\nlineage should the Messiah be born. Circumcision was a binding\ncondition; and its practise therefore became a national characteristic.\nEvery male was to be circumcized eight days after birth (Gen. 17:12;\nLev. 12:3). This requirement as to age came to be so rigidly enforced,\nthat even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath the rite had to be\nperformed on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to be\ncircumcized (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with the\nHebrews and desired to partake of the Passover with them had to submit\nto the requirement (Exo. 12:48). From the _Standard Bible Dictionary_ we\ntake the following: \"The ceremony indicated the casting off of\nuncleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges of\nmembership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer of\nemphasis from the external and formal to the inner and spiritual side of\nthings, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to the\ngospel to be circumcized (Acts 15:28), and afterward the rite was set\naside even by Jewish Christians.\" It became customary to name a child at\nthe time it was circumcized, as is instanced in the case of John, son of\nZacharias (Luke 1:59).\n\n3. Zacharias' Affliction.--The sign for which Zacharias asked was thus\ngiven by the angel: \"Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,\nuntil the day that these things shall be performed, because thou\nbelievest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.\" (Luke\n1:20.) From the account of the circumcision and naming of the boy, John,\nit is held by some that the afflicted father was also deaf, as the\ncompany \"made signs\" to him as to how he would have his son named (verse\n62).\n\n4. Jewish Betrothal.--The vow of espousal, or betrothal, has always been\nregarded as sacred and binding in Jewish law. In a manner it was as\nbinding as a marriage ceremony, though it carried none of the particular\nrights of marriage. The following succinct statements are taken from\nGeikie's _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. I. p. 99: \"Among the Jews of\nMary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later came\nto be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the house of\nthe bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It was\ncalled the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to her\nhusband in the strictest sense. To make it legal, the bridegroom gave\nhis betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses,\nwith the words, 'Lo, thou art betrothed unto me,' or by a formal writing\nin which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in the\nsame way was handed to her before witnesses.\"\n\n5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary.--\"It is now almost certain that the\ngenealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we may\nrely on early traditions of their consanguinity involve genealogies of\nMary also. The Davidic descent of Mary is implied in Acts 2:30; 13:23;\nRom. 1:3; Luke 1:32, etc. St. Matthew gives the legal descent of Joseph\nthrough the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David; St.\nLuke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel was\nheir of the house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) was\nthe last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission of\nsome obscure names and the symmetrical arrangement, into tesseradecads\nwere common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after the\nlabors of Mill (_On the Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels_, pp.\n147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (_On the Genealogies of Our Lord_, 1853)\nscarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparent\ndivergencies. And thus in this as in so many other instances, the very\ndiscrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal to\nthe historic accuracy of the four evangelists, turn out, on closer and\nmore patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not only\nentirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy.\"--Farrar, _Life of\nChrist_, p. 27, note.\n\nThe writer of the article \"Genealogy of Jesus Christ\" in Smith's _Bible\nDict_, says: \"The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one\nperson, our Savior (Matt. 1; Luke 3).... The following propositions will\nexplain the true construction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C.\nHervey): 1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e. of Jesus\nChrist, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The\ngenealogy of Matthew is, as Grotius asserted, Joseph's genealogy as\nlegal successor to the throne of David. That of Luke is Joseph's private\ngenealogy, exhibiting his real birth, as David's son, and thus showing\nwhy he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple principle that one\nevangelist exhibits that genealogy which contained the successive heirs\nto David's and Solomon's throne, while the other exhibits the paternal\nstem of him who was the heir, explains all the anomalies of the two\npedigrees, their agreements as well as their discrepancies, and the\ncircumstance of there being two at all. 3. Mary, the mother of Jesus,\nwas probably the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph her\nhusband.\"\n\nA valuable contribution to the literature of this subject appears in the\n_Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical\nSociety of Great Britain_, 1912, vol. 44, pp. 9-36, as an article, \"The\nGenealogies of our Lord,\" by Mrs. A. S. Lewis, and discussion thereof by\nmany scholars of acknowledged ability. The author, Mrs. Lewis, is an\nauthority on Syriac manuscripts, and is one of the two women who, in\n1892, discovered in the library of St. Catherine's monastery on Mount\nSinai, the Syriac palimpsest MS. of the four Gospels. The gifted author\nholds that Matthew's account attests the royal pedigree of Joseph, and\nthat Luke's genealogical table proves the equally royal descent of Mary.\nMrs. Lewis says: \"The Sinai Palimpsest also tells us that Joseph and\nMary went to Bethlehem, to be enrolled there, because they were both of\nthe house and lineage of David.\"\n\nCanon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis\nof Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from\nDavid: \"When the angel was foretelling to Mary the birth of the Holy\nChild, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father\nDavid.' Now if Joseph, her betrothed, had alone been descended from\nDavid, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,'\nwhereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly\nimplies--if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could\ninfuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I\nam a virgin?'\"\n\nAfter brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein it\nis provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a man\nteach his adopted son a handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in all\nthe rights of heirship, Canon Girdlestone adds: \"If the crown of David\nhad been assigned to his successor in the days of Herod it would have\nbeen placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legal\nsuccessor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King of\nthe Jews, and the title on the cross spoke the truth. God had raised Him\nup to the house of David.\"\n\n6. The Inner Sanctuary of the Temple.--The Holy of Holies in the Temple\nof Herod retained the form and dimensions of the Oracle in the Temple of\nSolomon; it was therefore a cube, twenty cubits in each principal\nmeasurement. Between this and the Holy Place hung a double veil, of\nfinest material, elaborately embroidered. The outer of the two veils was\nopen at the north end, the inner at the south; so that the high priest\nwho entered at the appointed time once a year could pass between the\nveils without exposing the Holy of Holies. The sacred chamber was empty\nsave for a large stone upon which the high priest sprinkled the\nsacrificial blood on the Day of Atonement; this stone occupied the place\nof the Ark and its Mercy Seat. Outside the veil, in the Holy Place,\nstood the altar of incense, the seven-branched candlestick, and the\ntable of shewbread.--_The House of the Lord_, p. 59.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[186] Luke 1:19, 26; see also Dan. 8:16; 9:21-23.\n\n[187] Luke 1:5; compare 1 Chron. 24:10.\n\n[188] Ezra 2:36-39.\n\n[189] Luke 1:8, 9; read the entire chapter.\n\n[190] Lev. chap. 16; Heb. 9:1-7; see also \"House of the Lord,\" p. 59,\nand compare pp. 24 and 39. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[191] Page 45. For other instances of children promised in spite of\nbarrenness due to age or other causes, see Isaac (Gen. 17:16, 17 and\n21:1-3); Samson, (Judges, chap. 13); Samuel (1 Sam. chap. 1); son of the\nShunammite (2 Kings 4:14-17).\n\n[192] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[193] Luke 1:19, 20.\n\n[194] Luke 1:57; compare verse 39.\n\n[195] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[196] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[197] Luke 1:68-79.\n\n[198] Luke 1:65, 66; see also 3:15.\n\n[199] Luke 1:80.\n\n[200] Luke 1:28.\n\n[201] Luke 1:30-33.\n\n[202] Luke 1:35; see also preceding verses, 31-33.\n\n[203] Page 43; and Gen. 3:15.\n\n[204] Luke 1:42; read verses 39-56.\n\n[205] Luke 1:46-55.\n\n[206] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[207] Matt. 1:20, 21; read 18-25.\n\n[208] Matt. 1:22-23; compare Isa. 7:14; see also 9:6.\n\n[209] Matt. 1:24, 25.\n\n[210] 2 Peter 1:20.\n\n[211] Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.\n\n[212] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[213] For instances see Matt. 9:27; 15:22; 21:9; 20:30, 31, with which\ncompare Luke 18:38, 39.\n\n[214] Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; see also Acts 2:30; 13:23; compare Psa.\n132:11; see also Luke 1:32.\n\n[215] Matt. 1:23.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 8.\n\nTHE BABE OF BETHLEHEM.\n\n\nTHE BIRTH OF JESUS.\n\nEqually definite with the prophecies declaring that the Messiah would be\nborn in the lineage of David are the predictions that fix the place of\nHis birth at Bethlehem, a small town in Judea. There seems to have been\nno difference of opinion among priests, scribes, or rabbis on the\nmatter, either before or since the great event. Bethlehem, though small\nand of little importance in trade or commerce, was doubly endeared to\nthe Jewish heart as the birthplace of David and as that of the\nprospective Messiah. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth of Galilee, far\nremoved from Bethlehem of Judea; and, at the time of which we speak, the\nmaternity of the Virgin was fast approaching.\n\nAt that time a decree went out from Rome ordering a taxing of the people\nin all kingdoms and provinces tributary to the empire; the call was of\ngeneral scope, it provided \"that all the world should be taxed.\"[216]\nThe taxing herein referred to may properly be understood as an\nenrolment,[217] or a registration, whereby a census of Roman subjects\nwould be secured, upon which as a basis the taxation of the different\npeoples would be determined. This particular census was the second of\nthree such general registrations recorded by historians as occurring at\nintervals of about twenty years. Had the census been taken by the usual\nRoman method, each person would have been enrolled at the town of his\nresidence; but the Jewish custom, for which the Roman law had respect,\nnecessitated registration at the cities or towns claimed by the\nrespective families as their ancestral homes. As to whether the\nrequirement was strictly mandatory that every family should thus\nregister at the city of its ancestors, we need not be specially\nconcerned; certain it is that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, the\ncity of David, to be inscribed under the imperial decree.[218]\n\nThe little town was crowded at the time, most likely by the multitude\nthat had come in obedience to the same summons; and, in consequence,\nJoseph and Mary failed to find the most desirable accommodations and had\nto be content with the conditions of an improvised camp, as travelers\nunnumbered had done before, and as uncounted others have done since, in\nthat region and elsewhere. We cannot reasonably regard this circumstance\nas evidence of extreme destitution; doubtless it entailed inconvenience,\nbut it gives us no assurance of great distress or suffering.[219] It was\nwhile she was in this situation that Mary the Virgin gave birth to her\nfirstborn, the Son of the Highest, the Only Begotten of the Eternal\nFather, Jesus the Christ.\n\nBut few details of attendant circumstances are furnished us. We are not\ntold how soon the birth occurred after the arrival of Mary and her\nhusband at Bethlehem. It may have been the purpose of the evangelist who\nmade the record to touch upon matters of purely human interest as\nlightly as was consistent with the narration of fact, in order that the\ncentral truth might neither be hidden nor overshadowed by unimportant\nincident. We read in Holy Writ this only of the actual birth: \"And so it\nwas, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she\nshould be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and\nwrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there\nwas no room for them at the inn.\"[220]\n\nIn vivid contrast with the simplicity and brevity of the scriptural\naccount and of its paucity of incidental details, is the mass of\ncircumstance supplied by the imagination of men, much of which is wholly\nunsupported by authoritative record and in many respects is plainly\ninconsistent and untrue. It is the part of prudence and wisdom to\nsegregate and keep distinctly separate the authenticated statements of\nfact, in so momentous a matter, from the fanciful commentaries of\nhistorians, theologians, and writers of fiction, as also from the\nemotional rhapsodies of poets and artistic extravaganzas wrought by\nchisel or brush.\n\nFrom the period of its beginning, Bethlehem had been the home of people\nengaged mostly in pastoral and agricultural pursuits. It is quite in\nline with what is known of the town and its environs to find at the\nseason of Messiah's birth, which was in the springtime of the year, that\nflocks were in the field both night and day under the watchful care of\ntheir keepers. Unto certain of these humble shepherds came the first\nproclamation that the Savior had been born. Thus runs the simple record:\n\"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,\nkeeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord\ncame upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and\nthey were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,\nbehold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all\npeople. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,\nwhich is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall\nfind the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And\nsuddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host\npraising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth\npeace, good will toward men.\"[221]\n\nTidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel or\nreceived by man--good tidings of great joy, given to but few and those\namong the humblest of earth, but destined to spread to all people. There\nis sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is divine authorship in the\nmessage, and the climax is such as the mind of man could never have\nconceived--the sudden appearance of a multitude of the heavenly host,\nsinging audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and most\ntruly complete of all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal or\nspirit choir. What a consummation to be wished--Peace on earth! But how\ncan such come except through the maintenance of good will toward men?\nAnd through what means could glory to God in the highest be more\neffectively rendered?\n\nThe trustful and unsophisticated keepers of sheep had not asked for sign\nor confirmation; their faith was in unison with the heavenly\ncommunication; nevertheless the angel had given them what he called a\nsign, to guide them in their search. They waited not, but went in haste,\nfor in their hearts they believed, yea, more than believed, they knew,\nand this was the tenor of their resolve: \"Let us now go even unto\nBethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath\nmade known unto us.\"[222] They found the Babe in the manger, with the\nmother and Joseph near by; and, having seen, they went out and testified\nto the truth concerning the Child. They returned to their flocks,\nglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.\n\nThere is meaning as deep as the pathos that all must feel in the\nseemingly parenthetical remark by Luke. \"But Mary kept all these things,\nand pondered them in her heart.\"[223] It is apparent that the great\ntruth as to the personality and mission of her divine Son had not yet\nunfolded itself in its fulness to her mind. The whole course of events,\nfrom the salutation of Gabriel to the reverent testimony of the\nshepherds concerning the announcing angel and the heavenly hosts, was\nlargely a mystery to that stainless mother and wife.\n\n\nREQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW STRICTLY OBSERVED.\n\nThe Child was born a Jew; the mother was a Jewess, and the reputed and\nlegal father, Joseph, was a Jew. The true paternity of the Child was\nknown to but few, perhaps at that time to none save Mary, Joseph, and\npossibly Elisabeth and Zacharias; as He grew He was regarded by the\npeople as Joseph's son.[224] The requirements of the law were carried\nout with exactitude in all matters pertaining to the Child. When eight\ndays old He was circumcized, as was required of every male born in\nIsrael;[225] and at the same time He received as an earthly bestowal the\nname that had been prescribed at the annunciation. He was called JESUS,\nwhich, being interpreted is Savior; the name was rightfully His for He\ncame to save the people from their sins.[226]\n\nPart of the law given through Moses to the Israelites in the wilderness\nand continued in force down through the centuries, related to the\nprocedure prescribed for women after childbirth.[227] In compliance\ntherewith, Mary remained in retirement forty days following the birth of\nher Son; then she and her husband brought the Boy for presentation\nbefore the Lord as prescribed for the male firstborn of every family. It\nis manifestly impossible that all such presentations could have taken\nplace in the temple, for many Jews lived at great distances from\nJerusalem; it was the rule, however, that parents should present their\nchildren in the temple when possible. Jesus was born within five or six\nmiles from Jerusalem; He was accordingly taken to the temple for the\nceremonial of redemption from the requirement applying to the firstborn\nof all Israelites except Levites. It will be remembered that the\nchildren of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt with the\naccompaniment of signs and wonders. Because of Pharaoh's repeated\nrefusals to let the people go, plagues had been brought upon the\nEgyptians, one of which was the death of the firstborn throughout the\nland, excepting only the people of Israel. In remembrance of this\nmanifestation of power, the Israelites were required to dedicate their\nfirstborn sons to the service of the sanctuary.[228] Subsequently the\nLord directed that all males belonging to the tribe of Levi should be\ndevoted to this special labor instead of the firstborn in every tribe;\nnevertheless the eldest son was still claimed as particularly the Lord's\nown, and had to be formally exempted from the earlier requirement of\nservice by the paying of a ransom.[229]\n\nIn connection with the ceremony of purification, every mother was\nrequired to furnish a yearling lamb for a burnt offering, and a young\npigeon or dove for a sin offering; but in the case of any woman who was\nunable to provide a lamb, a pair of doves or pigeons might be offered.\nWe learn of the humble circumstances of Joseph and Mary from the fact\nthat they brought the less costly offering, two doves or pigeons,\ninstead of one bird and a lamb.\n\nAmong the righteous and devout Israelites were some who, in spite of\ntraditionalism, rabbinism, and priestly corruption, still lived in\nrighteous expectation of inspired confidence, awaiting patiently the\nconsolation of Israel.[230] One of these was Simeon, then living in\nJerusalem. Through the power of the Holy Ghost he had gained the promise\nthat he should not see death until he had looked upon the Lord's Christ\nin the flesh. Prompted by the Spirit he repaired to the temple on the\nday of the presentation of Jesus, and recognized in the Babe the\npromised Messiah. In the moment of realization that the hope of his life\nhad found glorious consummation, Simeon raised the Child reverently in\nhis arms, and, with the simple but undying eloquence that comes of God\nuttered this splendid supplication, in which thanksgiving, resignation\nand praise are so richly blended:\n\n    \"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according\n    to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou\n    hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten\n    the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.\"[231]\n\nThen under the spirit of prophecy, Simeon told of the greatness of the\nChild's mission, and of the anguish that the mother would be called to\nendure because of Him, which would be even like unto that of a sword\npiercing her soul. The Spirit's witness to the divinity of Jesus was not\nto be confined to a man. There was at that time in the temple a godly\nwoman of great age, Anna, a prophetess who devoted herself exclusively\nto temple service; and she, being inspired of God, recognized her\nRedeemer, and testified of Him to all about her. Both Joseph and Mary\nmarveled at the things that were spoken of the Child; seemingly they\nwere not yet able to comprehend the majesty of Him who had come to them\nthrough so miraculous a conception and so marvelous a birth.\n\n\nWISE MEN SEARCH FOR THE KING.\n\nSome time after the presentation of Jesus in the temple, though how long\nwe are not told, possibly but a few days, possibly weeks or even months,\nHerod, king of Judea, was greatly troubled, as were the people of\nJerusalem in general, over the report that a Child of Prophecy--one\ndestined to become King of the Jews--had been born. Herod was\nprofessedly an adherent of the religion of Judah, though by birth an\nIdumean, by descent an Edomite or one of the posterity of Esau, all of\nwhom the Jews hated; and of all Edomites not one was more bitterly\ndetested than was Herod the king. He was tyrannical and merciless,\nsparing neither foe nor friend who came under suspicion of being a\npossible hindrance to his ambitious designs. He had his wife and several\nof his sons, as well as others of his blood kindred, cruelly murdered;\nand he put to death nearly all of the great national council, the\nSanhedrin. His reign was one of revolting cruelty and unbridled\noppression. Only when in danger of inciting a national revolt or in fear\nof incurring the displeasure of his imperial master, the Roman emperor,\ndid he stay his hand in any undertaking.[232]\n\nRumors of the birth of Jesus reached Herod's ears in this way. There\ncame to Jerusalem certain men from afar, wise men they were called, and\nthey asked, \"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen\nhis star in the east, and are come to worship him.\"[233] Herod summoned\n\"all the chief priests and scribes of the people,\" and demanded of them\nwhere, according to the prophets, Christ should be born. They answered\nhim: \"In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And\nthou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes\nof Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my\npeople Israel.\"[234]\n\nHerod sent secretly for the wise men, and inquired of them as to the\nsource of their information, and particularly as to the time at which\nthe star, to which they attached such significance, had appeared. Then\nhe directed them to Bethlehem, saying: \"Go and search diligently for the\nyoung child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may\ncome and worship him also.\" As the men set out from Jerusalem on the\nlast stage of their journey of inquiry and search, they rejoiced\nexceedingly, for the new star they had seen in the east was again\nvisible. They found the house wherein Mary was living with her husband\nand the Babe, and as they recognized the royal Child they \"fell down,\nand worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they\npresented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.\"[235]\nHaving thus gloriously accomplished the purpose of their pilgrimage,\nthese devout and learned travelers prepared to return home, and would\nhave stopped at Jerusalem to report to the king as he had requested, but\n\"being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod,\nthey departed into their own country another way.\"[236]\n\nMuch has been written, beyond all possible warrant of scriptural\nauthority, concerning the visit of the magi, or wise men, who thus\nsought and found the infant Christ. As a matter of fact, we are left\nwithout information as to their country, nation, or tribal relationship;\nwe are not even told how many they were, though unauthenticated\ntradition has designated them as \"the three wise men,\" and has even\ngiven them names; whereas they are left unnamed in the scriptures, the\nonly true record of them extant, and may have numbered but two or many.\nAttempts have been made to identify the star whose appearance in their\neastern sky had assured the magi that the King was born; but astronomy\nfurnishes no satisfactory confirmation. The recorded appearance of the\nstar has been associated by both ancient and modern interpreters with\nthe prophecy of Balaam, who, though not an Israelite had blessed Israel,\nand under divine inspiration had predicted: \"there shall come a Star out\nof Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.\"[237] Moreover, as\nalready shown, the appearance of a new star was a predicted sign\nrecognized and acknowledged among the people of the western world as\nwitness of Messiah's birth.[238]\n\n\nTHE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.\n\nHerod's perfidy in directing the magi to return and report to him where\nthe royal Infant was to be found, falsely professing that he wished to\nworship Him also, while in his heart he purposed taking the Child's\nlife, was thwarted by the divine warning given to the wise men as\nalready noted. Following their departure, the angel of the Lord appeared\nto Joseph, saying: \"Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and\nflee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod\nwill seek the young child to destroy him.\"[239] In obedience to this\ncommand, Joseph took Mary and her Child, and set out by night on the\njourney to Egypt; and there the family remained until divinely directed\nto return. When it was apparent to the king that the wise men had\nignored his instructions, he was exceedingly angry; and, estimating the\nearliest time at which the birth could have occurred according to the\nmagis' statement of the star's appearing, he ruthlessly ordered the\nslaughter of \"all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the\ncoasts thereof, from two years old and under.\"[240] In this massacre of\nthe innocents, the evangelist found a fulfilment of Jeremiah's fateful\nvoicing of the word of the Lord, spoken six centuries earlier and\nexpressed in the forceful past tense as though then already\naccomplished: \"In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and\nweeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would\nnot be comforted, because they are not.\"[241]\n\n\nBIRTH OF JESUS MADE KNOWN TO THE NEPHITES.\n\nAs heretofore shown, the prophets of the western hemisphere had foretold\nin great plainness the earthly advent of the Lord, and had specifically\nset forth the time, place, and circumstances of His birth.[242] As the\ntime drew near the people were divided by conflicting opinions\nconcerning the reliability of these prophecies; and intolerant\nunbelievers cruelly persecuted those, who, like Zacharias, Simeon, Anna,\nand other righteous ones in Palestine, had maintained in faith and trust\ntheir unwavering expectation of the coming of the Lord. Samuel, a\nrighteous Lamanite, who, because of his faithfulness and sacrificing\ndevotion had been blessed with the spirit and power of prophecy,\nfearlessly proclaimed the birth of Christ as near: \"And behold, he said\nunto them, Behold I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh,\nand behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall\nbelieve on his name.\"[243] The prophet told of many signs and wonders,\nwhich were to mark the great event. As the five years ran their course,\nthe believers grew more steadfast, the unbelievers more violent, until\nthe last day of the specified period dawned; and this was the \"day set\napart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those\ntraditions should be put to death, except the sign should come to pass\nwhich had been given by Samuel the prophet.\"[244]\n\nNephi, a prophet of the time, cried unto the Lord in anguish of soul\nbecause of the persecution of which his people were the victims; \"and\nbehold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, Lift up your head\nand be of good cheer, for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night\nshall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to\nshew unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to\nbe spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own,\nto fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men,\nfrom the foundation of the world, and do the will, both of the Father,\nand of the Son; of the Father, because of me, and of the Son, because of\nmy flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign\nbe given.\"[245]\n\nThe words of the prophet were fulfilled that night; for though the sun\nset in its usual course there was no darkness; and on the morrow the sun\nrose on a land already illumined; a day and a night and another day had\nbeen as one day; and this was but one of the signs. A new star appeared\nin the firmament of the west, even as was seen by the magi in the east;\nand there were many other marvelous manifestations as the prophets had\npredicted. All these things occurred on what is now known as the\nAmerican continent, six hundred years after Lehi and his little company\nhad left Jerusalem to come hither.\n\n\nTHE TIME OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS.\n\nThe time of Messiah's birth is a subject upon which specialists in\ntheology and history, and those who are designated in literature \"the\nlearned,\" fail to agree. Numerous lines of investigation have been\nfollowed, only to reach divergent conclusions, both as to the year and\nas to the month and day within the year at which the \"Christian era\" in\nreality began. The establishment of the birth of Christ as an event\nmarking a time from which chronological data should be calculated, was\nfirst effected about 532 A.D. by Dionysius Exiguus; and as a basis for\nthe reckoning of time this method has come to be known as the Dionysian\nsystem, and takes for its fundamental datum A.U.C. 753, that is to say\n753 years after the founding of Rome, as the year of our Lord's birth.\nSo far as there exists any consensus of opinion among later scholars who\nhave investigated the subject, it is to the effect that the Dionysian\ncalculation is wrong, in that it places the birth of Christ between\nthree and four years too late; and that therefore our Lord was born in\nthe third or fourth year before the beginning of what is designated by\nthe scholars of Oxford and Cambridge, \"the Common Account called Anno\nDomini.\"[246]\n\nWithout attempting to analyze the mass of calculation data relating to\nthis subject, we accept the Dionysian basis as correct with respect to\nthe year, which is to say that we believe Christ to have been born in\nthe year known to us as B.C. 1, and, as shall be shown, in an early\nmonth of that year. In support of this belief we cite the inspired\nrecord known as the \"Revelation on Church Government, given through\nJoseph the Prophet, in April, 1830,\" which opens with these words: \"The\nrise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand\neight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Saviour\nJesus Christ in the flesh.\"[247]\n\nAnother evidence of the correctness of our commonly accepted chronology\nis furnished by the Book of Mormon record. Therein we read that \"in the\ncommencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,\"\nthe word of the Lord came to Lehi at Jerusalem, directing him to take\nhis family and depart into the wilderness.[248] In the early stages of\ntheir journey toward the sea, Lehi prophesied, as had been shown him of\nthe Lord, concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the\ncaptivity of the Jews. Furthermore, he predicted the eventual return of\nthe people of Judah from their exile in Babylon, and the birth of the\nMessiah, which latter event he definitely declared would take place six\nhundred years from the time he and his people had left Jerusalem.[249]\nThis specification of time was repeated by later prophecy;[250] and the\nsigns of the actual fulfilment are recorded as having been realized \"six\nhundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.\"[251] These\nscriptures fix the time of the beginning of Zedekiah's reign as six\nhundred years before the birth of Christ. According to the commonly\naccepted reckoning, Zedekiah was made king in the year 597 B.C.[252]\nThis shows a discrepancy of about three years between the commonly\naccepted date of Zedekiah's inauguration as king and that given in the\nBook of Mormon statement; and, as already seen, there is a difference of\nbetween three and four years between the Dionysian reckoning and the\nnearest approach to an agreement among scholars concerning the beginning\nof the current era. Book of Mormon chronology therefore sustains in\ngeneral the correctness of the common or Dionysian system.\n\nAs to the season of the year in which Christ was born, there is among\nthe learned as great a diversity of opinion as that relating to the year\nitself. It is claimed by many Biblical scholars that December 25th, the\nday celebrated in Christendom as Christmas, cannot be the correct date.\nWe believe April 6th to be the birthday of Jesus Christ as indicated in\na revelation of the present dispensation already cited,[253] in which\nthat day is made without qualification the completion of the one\nthousand eight hundred and thirtieth year since the coming of the Lord\nin the flesh. This acceptance is admittedly based on faith in modern\nrevelation, and in no wise is set forth as the result of chronological\nresearch or analysis. We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem\nof Judea, April 6, B.C. 1.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 8.\n\n1. The \"Taxing.\"--Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary in\nBethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree by\ncompliance with which they were led there, the following notes are\nworthy of consideration. Farrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 24, note), says:\n\"It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary with her husband\nwas obligatory or voluntary.... Women were liable to a capitation tax,\nif this enrolment also involved taxation. But, apart from any legal\nnecessity, it may easily be imagined that at such a moment Mary would\ndesire not to be left alone. The cruel suspicion of which she had been\nthe subject, and which had almost led to the breaking off of her\nbetrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to the\nprotection of her husband.\" The following excerpt is from Geikie's _Life\nand Words of Christ_, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: \"The Jewish nation had\npaid tribute to Rome through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; and\nthe methodical Augustus, who now reigned, and had to restore order and\nsoundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion and\nexhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this obligation should\nneither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a census\nto be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, that\nhe might know the number of soldiers he could levy in each, and the\namount of taxes due to the treasury.... In an empire embracing the then\nknown world, such a census could hardly have been made simultaneously,\nor in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years,\nin successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or later, however, even the\ndominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statistics\ndemanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing of\na subject, and grew more entirely dependent on Augustus as years passed,\nasking his sanction at every turn for steps he proposed to take. He\nwould, thus, be only too ready to meet his wish, by obtaining the\nstatistics he sought, as may be judged from the fact that in one of the\nlast years of his life, just before Christ's birth, he made the whole\nJewish nation take a solemn oath of allegiance to the emperor as well as\nto himself.\n\n\"It is quite probable that the mode of taking the required statistics\nwas left very much to Herod, at once to show respect to him before his\npeople, and from the known opposition of the Jews to anything like a\ngeneral numeration, even apart from the taxation to which it was\ndesigned to lead. At the time to which the narrative refers, a simple\nregistration seems to have been made, on the old Hebrew plan of\nenrolling by families in their ancestral districts, of course for future\nuse; and thus it passed over quietly.... The proclamation having been\nmade through the land, Joseph had no choice but to go to Bethlehem, the\ncity of David, the place in which his family descent, from the house and\nlineage of David, required him to be inscribed.\"\n\n2. Jesus Born Amidst Poor Surroundings.--Undoubtedly the accommodations\nfor physical comfort amidst which Jesus was born were few and poor. But\nthe environment, considered in the light of the customs of the country\nand time, was far from the state of abject deprivation which modern and\nwestern ways would make it appear. \"Camping out\" was no unusual exigency\namong travelers in Palestine at the time of our Lord's birth; nor is it\nconsidered such to-day. It is, however, beyond question that Jesus was\nborn into a comparatively poor family, amidst humble surroundings\nassociated with the inconveniences incident to travel. Cunningham\nGeikie, _Life and Words of Christ_, chap. 9, pp. 112, 113, says: \"It was\nto Bethlehem that Joseph and Mary were coming, the town of Ruth and\nBoaz, and the early home of their own great forefather David. As they\napproached it from Jerusalem they would pass, at the last mile, a spot\nsacred to Jewish memory, where the light of Jacob's life went out, when\nhis first love, Rachel, died, and was buried, as her tomb still shows,\n'in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.' ... Traveling in the East\nhas always been very different from Western ideas. As in all\nthinly-settled countries, private hospitality, in early times, supplied\nthe want of inns, but it was the peculiarity of the East that this\nfriendly custom continued through a long series of ages. On the great\nroads through barren or uninhabited parts, the need of shelter led, very\nearly, to the erection of rude and simple buildings, of varying size,\nknown as khans, which offered the wayfarer the protection of walls and a\nroof, and water, but little more. The smaller structures consisted of\nsometimes only a single empty room, on the floor of which the traveler\nmight spread his carpet for sleep; the larger ones, always built in a\nhollow square, enclosing a court for the beasts, with water in it for\nthem and their masters. From immemorial antiquity it has been a favorite\nmode of benevolence to raise such places of shelter, as we see so far\nback as the times of David, when Chimham built a great khan near\nBethlehem, on the caravan road to Egypt.\"\n\nCanon Farrar (_Life of Christ_, chap, 1) accepts the traditional belief\nthat the shelter within which Jesus was born was that of one of the\nnumerous limestone caves which abound in the region, and which are still\nused by travelers as resting places. He says: \"In Palestine it not\ninfrequently happens that the entire khan, or at any rate the portion of\nit in which the animals are housed, is one of those innumerable caves\nwhich abound in the limestone rocks of its central hills. Such seems to\nhave been in the case at the little town of Bethlehem-Ephratah, in the\nland of Judah. Justin Martyr, the Apologist, who, from his birth at\nShechem, was familiar with Palestine, and who lived less than a century\nafter the time of our Lord, places the scene of the nativity in a cave.\nThis is, indeed, the ancient and constant tradition both of the Eastern\nand the Western Churches, and it is one of the few to which, though\nunrecorded in the Gospel history, we may attach a reasonable\nprobability.\"\n\n3. Herod the Great.--The history of Herod I, otherwise known as Herod\nthe Great, must be sought in special works, in which the subject is\ntreated at length. Some of the principal facts should be considered in\nour present study, and for the assistance of the student a few extracts\nfrom works regarded as reliable are presented herewith.\n\nCondensed from part of article in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_,\nedited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos; published by Funk and Wagnalls\nCo., 1909:--Herod I, the son of Antipater, was early given office by his\nfather, who had been made procurator of Judea. The first office which\nHerod held was that of governor of Galilee. He was then a young man of\nabout twenty-five, energetic and athletic. Immediately he set about the\neradication of the robber bands that infested his district, and soon was\nable to execute the robber chief Hezekiah and several of his followers.\nFor this he was summoned to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin, tried and\ncondemned, but with the connivance of Hyrcanus II [the high priest and\nethnarch] he escaped by night.--He went to Rome where he was appointed\nKing of Judea by Antony and Octavius.--For the next two years he was\nengaged in fighting the forces of Antigonus, whom he finally defeated,\nand in 37 B.C. gained possession of Jerusalem.--As king, Herod\nconfronted serious difficulties. The Jews objected to him because of his\nbirth and reputation. The Asmonean family regarded him as a usurper,\nnotwithstanding the fact that he had married Mariamne. The Pharisees\nwere shocked at his Hellenistic sympathies, as well as at his severe\nmethods of government. On the other hand the Romans held him responsible\nfor the order of his kingdom, and the protection of the eastern frontier\nof the Republic. Herod met these various difficulties with\ncharacteristic energy and even cruelty, and generally with cold\nsagacity. Although he taxed the people severely, in times of famine he\nremitted their dues and even sold his plate to get means to buy them\nfood. While he never became actually friendly with the Pharisees, they\nprofited by his hostility to the party of the Asmoneans, which led at\nthe beginning of his reign to the execution of a number of Sadducees who\nwere members of the Sanhedrin.\n\nFrom Smith's _Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible_: The latter part\n\"of the reign of Herod was undisturbed by external troubles, but his\ndomestic life was embittered by an almost uninterrupted series of\ninjuries and cruel acts of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshed\nwhich Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied by others\namong his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims to\nthem. According to the well-known story, he ordered the nobles whom he\nhad called to him in his last moments to be executed immediately after\nhis decease, that so at least his death might be attended by universal\nmourning. It was at the time of his fatal illness that he must have\ncaused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem\" (Matt. 2:16-18).\n\nThe mortal end of the tyrant and multi-murderer is thus treated by\nFarrar in his _Life of Christ_, pp. 54, 55:--\"It must have been very\nshortly after the murder of the innocents that Herod died. Only five\ndays before his death he had made a frantic attempt at suicide, and had\nordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His death-bed, which\nonce more reminds us of Henry VIII., was accompanied by circumstances of\npeculiar horror; and it has been asserted that he died of a loathsome\ndisease, which is hardly mentioned in history, except in the case of men\nwho have been rendered infamous by an atrocity of persecuting zeal. On\nhis bed of intolerable anguish, in that splendid and luxurious palace\nwhich he had built for himself, under the palms of Jericho, swollen with\ndisease and scorched by thirst, ulcerated externally and glowing\ninwardly with a 'soft slow fire,' surrounded by plotting sons and\nplundering slaves, detesting all and detested by all, longing for death\nas a release from his tortures yet dreading it as the beginning of worse\nterrors, stung by remorse yet still unslaked with murder, a horror to\nall around him yet in his guilty conscience a worse terror to himself,\ndevoured by the premature corruption of an anticipated grave, eaten of\nworms as though visibly smitten by the finger of God's wrath after\nseventy years of successful villainy, the wretched old man, whom men had\ncalled the Great, lay in savage frenzy awaiting his last hour. As he\nknew that none would shed one tear for him, he determined that they\nshould shed many for themselves, and issued an order that, under pain of\ndeath, the principal families of the kingdom and the chiefs of the\ntribes should come to Jericho. They came, and then, shutting them in the\nhippodrome, he secretly commanded his sister Salome that at the moment\nof his death they should all be massacred. And so, choking as it were\nwith blood, devising massacres in its very delirium, the soul of Herod\npassed forth into the night.\"\n\nFor mention of the Temple of Herod see Note 5, following Chapter 6.\n\n4. Gifts from the Wise Men to the Child Jesus.--The scriptural account\nof the visit of the wise men to Jesus and His mother states that they\n\"fell down and worshipped him,\" and furthermore that \"when they had\nopened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and\nfrankincense, and myrrh.\" The offering of gifts to a superior in rank,\neither as to worldly status or recognized spiritual endowment, was a\ncustom of early days and still prevails in many oriental lands. It is\nworthy of note that we have no record of these men from the east\noffering gifts to Herod in his palace; they did, however, impart of\ntheir treasure to the lowly Infant, in whom they recognized the King\nthey had come to seek. The tendency to ascribe occult significance to\neven trifling details mentioned in scripture, and particularly as\nregards the life of Christ, has led to many fanciful suggestions\nconcerning the gold and frankincense and myrrh specified in this\nincident. Some have supposed a half-hidden symbolism therein--gold a\ntribute to His royal estate, frankincense an offering in recognition of\nHis priesthood, and myrrh for His burial. The sacred record offers no\nbasis for such conjecture. Myrrh and frankincense are aromatic resins\nderived from plants indigenous to eastern lands, and they have been used\nfrom very early times in medicine and in the preparation of perfumes and\nincense mixtures. They were presumably among the natural productions of\nthe lands from which the magi came, though probably even there they were\ncostly and highly esteemed. Such, together with gold, which is of value\namong all nations, were most appropriate as gifts for a king. Any\nmystical significance one may choose to attach to the presents must be\nremembered as his own supposition or fancy, and not as based on\nscriptural warrant.\n\n5. Testimonies from Shepherds and Magi.--The following instructive note\non the testimonies relating to Messiah's birth, is taken from the _Young\nMen's Mutual Improvement Association Manual_ for 1897-8: \"It will be\nobserved that the testimonies concerning the birth of the Messiah are\nfrom two extremes, the lowly shepherds in the Judean field, and the\nlearned magi from the far east. We cannot think this is the result of\nmere chance, but that in it may be discerned the purpose and wisdom of\nGod. All Israel was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, and in\nthe birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, the hope of Israel--though unknown to\nIsrael--is fulfilled. Messiah, of whom the prophet spake, is born. But\nthere must be those who can testify of that truth, and hence to the\nshepherds who watched their flocks by night an angel was sent to say:\n'Fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be\nto all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a\nSaviour, which is Christ, the Lord.' And for a sign of the truth of the\nmessage, they were to find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying\nin a manger in Bethlehem. And they went with haste and found Mary and\nJoseph, and the babe lying in a manger; and when they had seen it, they\nmade known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.\nGod had raised up to Himself witnesses among the people to testify that\nMessiah was born, that the hope of Israel was fulfilled. But there were\nclasses of people among the Jews whom these lowly shepherd witnesses\ncould not reach, and had they been able to reach them, the story of the\nangel's visit, and the concourse of angels singing the magnificent song\nof 'Peace on earth, good will to men,' would doubtless have been\naccounted an idle tale of superstitious folk, deceived by their own\nover-wrought imaginations or idle dreams. Hence God raised up another\nclass of witnesses--the 'wise men from the east'--witnesses that could\nenter the royal palace of proud King Herod and boldly ask: 'Where is he\nthat is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east,\nand are come to worship him'; a testimony that startled Herod and\ntroubled all Jerusalem. So that indeed God raised up witnesses for\nHimself to meet all classes and conditions of men--the testimony of\nangels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for the\nhaughty king and proud priests of Judea. So that of the things\nconcerning the birth of Messiah, no less than of the things of His death\nand resurrection from the dead, His disciples could say, 'these things\nwere not done in a corner.'\"\n\n6. The Year of Christ's Birth.--In treating this topic Dr. Charles F.\nDeems (_The Light of the Nations_, p. 28), after giving careful\nconsideration of the estimates, calculations, and assumptions of men who\nhave employed many means in their investigation and reach only\ndiscordant results says: \"It is annoying to see learned men use the same\napparatus of calculation and reach the most diverse results. It is\nbewildering to attempt a reconciliation of these varying calculations.\"\nIn an appended note the same author states: \"For example: the birth of\nour Lord is placed in B.C. 1 by Pearson and Hug; B.C. 2 by Scalinger;\nB.C. 3 by Baronius and Paulus; B.C. 4 by Bengel, Wieseler, and Greswell;\nB.C. 5 by Usher and Petavius; B.C. 6 by Strong, Luvin, and Clark; B.C. 7\nby Ideler and Sanclemente.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[216] Luke 2:1; see also verses 2-4. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[217] Note marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles.\n\n[218] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[219] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[220] Luke 2:6, 7.\n\n[221] Luke 2:8-14.\n\n[222] Luke 2:15.\n\n[223] Luke 2:19.\n\n[224] Luke 4:22; Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3.\n\n[225] Gen. 17:12, 13; Lev. 12:3; compare John 7:22. Page 88.\n\n[226] Luke 2:21; compare 1:31; Matt. 1:21, 25.\n\n[227] Lev. chap. 12.\n\n[228] Exo. 12:29; 13:2, 12; 22:29, 30.\n\n[229] Numb. 8:15-18; 18:15, 16.\n\n[230] Luke 2:25; see also verse 38; Mark 15:43; compare Psa. 40:1.\n\n[231] Luke 2:29-32. These verses are known in Christian hymnology as the\nNunc Dimittis; the name has reference to the first two words of the\nLatin version.\n\n[232] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[233] Matt. 2:2; read 1-10.\n\n[234] Matt. 2:5, 6; compare Micah 5:2; John 7:42.\n\n[235] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[236] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[237] Numb. 24:17.\n\n[238] B. of M., Helaman 14:5; 3 Nephi 1:21. Pp. 52, 101 and 721 herein.\n\n[239] Matt. 2:13.\n\n[240] Matt. 2:16.\n\n[241] Matt. 2:17, 18; compare Jer. 31:15.\n\n[242] Page 49.\n\n[243] B. of M., Helaman 14:2; read 1-9.\n\n[244] B. of M., 3 Nephi 1:9; read verses 4-21.\n\n[245] B. of M., 3 Nephi 1:12-21.\n\n[246] Marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles, Matt. 2:1.\n\n[247] Doc. and Cov. 20:1; compare 21:3. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[248] B. of M., 1 Nephi 1:4; 2:2-4.\n\n[249] B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:4.\n\n[250] B. of M., 1 Nephi 19:8; 2 Nephi 25:19.\n\n[251] B. of M., 3 Nephi 1:1.\n\n[252] \"Standard Bible Dictionary,\" edited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos,\npub. by Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York and London, 1909, p. 915, article\n\"Zedekiah.\"\n\n[253] Doc. and Cov. 20:1; compare 21:2\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 9.\n\nTHE BOY OF NAZARETH.\n\n\nJoseph, Mary, and her Son remained in Egypt until after the death of\nHerod the Great, which event was made known by another angelic\nvisitation. Their stay in the foreign land was probably brief, for Herod\ndid not long survive the babes he had slain in Bethlehem. In the return\nof the family from Egypt the evangelist finds a fulfilment of Hosea's\nprophetic vision of what should be: \"Out of Egypt have I called my\nson.\"[254]\n\nIt appears to have been Joseph's intention to make a home for the family\nin Judea, possibly at Bethlehem--the city of his ancestors and a place\nnow even more endeared to him as the birthplace of Mary's Child--but,\nlearning on the way that Herod's son Archelaus ruled in the place of his\nwicked father, Joseph modified his purpose; and, \"being warned of God in\na dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and\ndwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was\nspoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.\"[255]\n\nWhile Archelaus, who appears to have been a natural heir to his infamous\nfather's wickedness and cruelty, ruled in Judea,[256] for a short time\nas king, then with the less exalted title of ethnarch, which had been\ndecreed to him by the emperor, his brother Antipas governed as tetrarch\nin Galilee. Herod Antipas was well nigh as vicious and reprobate as\nothers of his unprincipled family, but he was less aggressive in\nvindictiveness, and in that period of his reign was comparatively\ntolerant.[257]\n\nConcerning the home life of Joseph and his family in Nazareth, the\nscriptural record makes but brief mention. The silence with which the\nearly period of the life of Jesus is treated by the inspired historians\nis impressive; while the fanciful accounts written in later years by\nunauthorized hands are full of fictitious detail, much of which is\npositively revolting in its puerile inconsistency. None but Joseph,\nMary, and the other members of the immediate family or close associates\nof the household could have furnished the facts of daily life in the\nhumble home at Nazareth; and from these qualified informants Matthew and\nLuke probably derived the knowledge of which they wrote. The record made\nby those who knew is marked by impressive brevity. In this absence of\ndetail we may see evidence of the genuineness of the scriptural account.\nInventive writers would have supplied, as, later, such did supply, what\nwe seek in vain within the chapters of the Gospels. With hallowed\nsilence do the inspired scribes honor the boyhood of their Lord; he who\nseeks to invent circumstances and to invest the life of Christ with\nfictitious additions, dishonors Him. Read thoughtfully the attested\ntruth concerning the childhood of the Christ: \"And the child grew, and\nwaxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was\nupon him.\"[258]\n\nIn such simplicity is the normal, natural development of the Boy Jesus\nmade clear. He came among men to experience all the natural conditions\nof mortality; He was born as truly a dependent, helpless babe as is any\nother child; His infancy was in all common features as the infancy of\nothers; His boyhood was actual boyhood, His development was as necessary\nand as real as that of all children. Over His mind had fallen the veil\nof forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the\nremembrance of primeval existence is shut off. The Child grew, and with\ngrowth there came to Him expansion of mind, development of faculties,\nand progression in power and understanding. His advancement was from one\ngrace to another, not from gracelessness to grace; from good to greater\ngood, not from evil to good; from favor with God to greater favor, not\nfrom estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentance\nand propitiation.[259]\n\nOur knowledge of Jewish life in that age justifies the inference that\nthe Boy was well taught in the law and the scriptures, for such was the\nrule. He garnered knowledge by study, and gained wisdom by prayer,\nthought, and effort. Beyond question He was trained to labor, for\nidleness was abhorred then as it is now; and every Jewish boy, whether\ncarpenter's son, peasant's child, or rabbi's heir, was required to learn\nand follow a practical and productive vocation. Jesus was all that a boy\nshould be, for His development was unretarded by the dragging weight of\nsin; He loved and obeyed the truth and therefore was free.[260]\n\nJoseph and Mary, devout and faithful in all observances of the law, went\nup to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. This religious\nfestival, it should be remembered, was one of the most solemn and sacred\namong the many ceremonial commemorations of the Jews; it had been\nestablished at the time of the peoples' exodus from Egypt, in\nremembrance of the outstretched arm of power by which God had delivered\nIsrael after the angel of destruction had slain the firstborn in every\nEgyptian home and had mercifully passed over the houses of the children\nof Jacob.[261] It was of such importance that its annual recurrence was\nmade the beginning of the new year. The law required all males to\npresent themselves before the Lord at the feast. The rule was that women\nshould likewise attend if not lawfully detained; and Mary appears to\nhave followed both the spirit of the law and the letter of the rule, for\nshe habitually accompanied her husband to the annual gathering at\nJerusalem.\n\nWhen Jesus had attained the age of twelve years He was taken by His\nmother and Joseph to the feast as the law required; whether the Boy had\never before been present on such an occasion we are not told: At twelve\nyears of age a Jewish boy was recognized as a member of his home\ncommunity; he was required then to enter with definite purpose upon his\nchosen vocation; he attained an advanced status as an individual in that\nthereafter he could not be arbitrarily disposed of as a bond-servant by\nhis parents; he was appointed to higher studies in school and home; and,\nwhen accepted by the priests, he became a \"son of the law.\" It was the\ncommon and very natural desire of parents to have their sons attend the\nfeast of the Passover and be present at the temple ceremonies as\nrecognized members of the congregation when of the prescribed age. Thus\ncame the Boy Jesus to the temple.\n\nThe feast proper lasted seven days, and in the time of Christ was\nannually attended by great concourses of Jews; Josephus speaks of such a\nPassover gathering as \"an innumerable multitude.\"[262] The people came\nfrom distant provinces in large companies and caravans, as a matter of\nconvenience and as a means of common protection against the marauding\nbands which are known to have infested the country. As members of such a\ncompany Joseph and his family traveled.\n\nWhen, following the conclusion of the Passover, the Galilean company had\ngone a day's journey toward home, Joseph and Mary discovered to their\nsurprize and deep concern that Jesus was not with their company. After a\nfruitless search among their friends and acquaintances, they turned back\ntoward Jerusalem seeking the Boy. Their inquiries brought little comfort\nor assistance until three days had passed; then \"they, found him in the\ntemple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and\nasking them questions.\"[263] It was no unusual thing for a twelve year\nold boy to be questioned by priests, scribes, or rabbis, nor to be\npermitted to ask questions of these professional expounders of the law,\nfor such procedure was part of the educational training of Jewish\nyouths; nor was there anything surprizing in such a meeting of students\nand teachers within the temple courts, for the rabbis of that time were\naccustomed to give instruction there; and people, young and old,\ngathered about them, sitting at their feet to learn; but there was much\nthat was extraordinary in this interview as the demeanor of the learned\ndoctors showed, for never before had such a student been found, inasmuch\nas \"all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and\nanswers.\" The incident furnishes evidence of a wellspent boyhood and\nproof of unusual attainments.[264]\n\nThe amazement of Mary and her husband on finding the Boy in such\ndistinguished company, and so plainly the object of deference and\nrespect, and the joy of seeing again the beloved One who to them had\nbeen lost, did not entirely banish the memory of the anguish His absence\nhad caused them. In words of gentle yet unmistakable reproof the mother\nsaid: \"Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I\nhave sought thee sorrowing.\" The Boy's reply astonished them, in that it\nrevealed, to an extent they had not before realized, His rapidly\nmaturing powers of judgment and understanding. Said He: \"How is it that\nye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?\"\n\nLet us not say that there was unkind rebuke or unfilial reproof in the\nanswer of this most dutiful of sons to His mother. His reply was to Mary\na reminder of what she seems to have forgotten for the moment--the facts\nin the matter of her Son's paternity. She had used the words \"thy father\nand I;\" and her Son's response had brought anew to her mind the truth\nthat Joseph was not the Boy's father. She appears to have been\nastonished that One so young should so thoroughly understand His\nposition with respect to herself. He had made plain to her the\ninadvertent inaccuracy of her words; His Father had not been seeking\nHim; for was He not even at that moment in His Father's house, and\nparticularly engaged in His Father's business, the very work to which\nHis Father had appointed Him?\n\nHe had in no wise intimated a doubt as to Mary's maternal relationship\nto Himself; though He had indisputably shown that He recognized as His\nFather, not Joseph of Nazareth, but the God of Heaven. Both Mary and\nJoseph failed to comprehend the full import of His words. Though He\nunderstood the superior claim of duty based on His divine Sonship, and\nhad shown to Mary that her authority as earthly mother was subordinate\nto that of His immortal and divine Father, nevertheless He obeyed her.\nInterested as were the doctors in this remarkable Boy, much as He had\ngiven them to ponder over through His searching questions and wise\nanswers, they could not detain Him, for the very law they professed to\nuphold enjoined strict obedience to parental authority. \"And he went\ndown with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his\nmother kept all these sayings in her heart.\"\n\nWhat marvelous and sacred secrets were treasured in that mother's heart;\nand what new surprizes and grave problems were added day after day in\nthe manifestations of unfolding wisdom displayed by her more than mortal\nSon! Though she could never have wholly forgotten, at times she\nseemingly lost sight of her Son's exalted personality. That such\nconditions should exist was perhaps divinely appointed. There could\nscarcely have been a full measure of truly human experience in the\nrelationship between Jesus and His mother, or between Him and Joseph,\nhad the fact of His divinity been always dominant or even prominently\napparent. Mary appears never to have fully understood her Son; at every\nnew evidence of His uniqueness she marveled and pondered anew. He was\nhers, and yet in a very real sense not wholly hers. There was about\ntheir relation to each other a mystery, awful yet sublime, a holy secret\nwhich that chosen and blessed mother hesitated even to tell over to\nherself. Fear must have contended with joy within her soul because of\nHim. The memory of Gabriel's glorious promises, the testimony of the\nrejoicing shepherds, and the adoration of the magi must have struggled\nwith that of Simeon's portentous prophecy, directed to herself in\nperson: \"Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.\"[265]\n\nAs to the events of the eighteen years following the return of Jesus\nfrom Jerusalem to Nazareth, the scriptures are silent save for one rich\nsentence of greatest import: \"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,\nand in favor with God and man.\"[266] Plainly this Son of the Highest was\nnot endowed with a fulness of knowledge, nor with the complete\ninvestiture of wisdom, from the cradle.[267] Slowly the assurance of His\nappointed mission as the Messiah, of whose coming He read in the law,\nthe prophets, and the psalms, developed within His soul; and in devoted\npreparation for the ministry that should find culmination on the cross\nHe passed the years of youth and early manhood. From the chronicles of\nlater years we learn that He was reputed without question to be the son\nof Joseph and Mary, and was regarded as the brother of other and younger\nchildren of the family. He was spoken of both as a carpenter and a\ncarpenter's son; and, until the beginning of His public ministry He\nappears to have been of little prominence even in the small home\ncommunity.[268]\n\nHe lived the simple life, at peace with His fellows, in communion with\nHis Father, thus increasing in favor with God and men. As shown by His\npublic utterances after He had become a man, these years of seclusion\nwere spent in active effort, both physical and mental. Jesus was a close\nobserver of nature and men. He was able to draw illustrations with which\nto point His teachings from the varied occupations, trades and\nprofessions; the ways of the lawyer and the physician, the manners of\nthe scribe, the Pharisee and the rabbi, the habits of the poor, the\ncustoms of the rich, the life of the shepherd, the farmer, the\nvinedresser and the fisherman--were all known to Him. He considered the\nlilies of the field, and the grass in meadow and upland, the birds which\nsowed not nor gathered into barns but lived on the bounty of their\nMaker, the foxes in their holes, the petted house dog and the vagrant\ncur, the hen sheltering her brood beneath protecting wings--all these\nhad contributed to the wisdom in which He grew, as had also the moods of\nthe weather, the recurrence of the seasons, and all the phenomena of\nnatural change and order.\n\nNazareth was the abode of Jesus until He was about thirty years of age;\nand, in accordance with the custom of designating individuals by the\nnames of their home towns as additions to their personal names,[269] our\nLord came to be generally known as Jesus of Nazareth.[270] He is also\nreferred to as a Nazarene, or a native of Nazareth, and this fact is\ncited by Matthew as a fulfilment of earlier prediction, though our\ncurrent compilation of scriptures constituting the Old Testament\ncontains no record of such prophecy. It is practically certain that this\nprediction was contained in some one of the many scriptures extant in\nearlier days but since lost.[271] That Nazareth was an obscure village,\nof little honor or renown, is evidenced by the almost contemptuous\nquestion of Nathanael, who, on being informed that the Messiah had been\nfound in Jesus of Nazareth, asked: \"Can there any good thing come out of\nNazareth?\"[272] The incredulous query has passed into a proverb current\neven today as expressive of any unpopular or unpromising source of good.\nNathanael lived in Cana, but a few miles from Nazareth, and his surprize\nat the tidings brought by Philip concerning the Messiah incidentally\naffords evidence of the seclusion in which Jesus had lived.\n\nSo passed the boyhood, youth, and early manhood of the Savior of\nmankind.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 9.\n\n1. Archelaus Reigned in Herod's Stead.--\"At his death Herod [the Great]\nleft a will according to which his kingdom was to be divided among his\nthree sons. Archelaus was to have Judea, Idumea, and Samaria, with the\ntitle of king (Matt 2:22). Herod Antipas was to receive Galilee and\nPerea, with the title of tetrarch; Philip was to come into possession of\nthe trans-Jordan territory with the title of tetrarch (Luke 3:1). This\nwill was ratified by Augustus with the exception of the title given to\nArchelaus. Archelaus, after the ratification of Herod's will by\nAugustus, succeeded to the rule of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, having\nthe title of ethnarch, with the understanding that, if he ruled well, he\nwas to become king. He was, however, highly unpopular with the people,\nand his reign was marked by disturbances and acts of oppression. The\nsituation became finally so intolerable that the Jews appealed to\nAugustus, and Archelaus was removed and sent into exile. This accounts\nfor the statement in Matt. 2:22, and possibly also suggested the point\nof the parable (Luke 19:12, etc.).\"--_Standard Bible Dictionary_, Funk\nand Wagnalls Co., article \"Herod.\" Early in his reign he wreaked summary\nvengeance on the people who ventured to protest against a continuation\nof his father's violence, by slaughtering three thousand or more; and\nthe awful deed of carnage was perpetrated in part within the precincts\nof the temple. (Josephus, Antiquities xvii, 9:1-3.)\n\n2. Herod Antipas.--Son of Herod I (the Great) by a Samaritan woman, and\nfull brother to Archelaus. By the will of his father he became tetrarch\nof Galilee and Perea (Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1; compare\nLuke 3:1). He repudiated his wife, a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia\nPetrea, and entered into an unlawful union with Herodias, the wife of\nhis half-brother Herod Philip I (not the tetrarch Philip). John the\nBaptist was imprisoned and finally put to death, through the anger of\nHerodias over his denunciation of her union with Herod Antipas. Herodias\nurged Antipas to go to Rome and petition C\u00e6sar for the title of king\n(compare Mark 6:14, etc.). Antipas is the Herod most frequently\nmentioned in the New Testament (Mark 6:17; 8:15; Luke 3:1; 9:7; 13:31;\nActs 4:27; 13:1). He was the Herod to whom Pilate sent Jesus for\nexamination, taking advantage of Christ being known as a Galilean, and\nof the coincident fact of Herod's presence in Jerusalem at the time in\nattendance at the Passover (Luke 23:6, etc.). For further details see\nSmith's, Cassell's, or the Standard Bible Dictionary.\n\n3. Testimony of John the Apostle Concerning Christ's Development in\nKnowledge and Grace.--In a modern revelation, Jesus the Christ has\nconfirmed the record of John the apostle, which record appears but in\npart in our compilation of ancient scriptures. John thus attests the\nactuality of natural development in the growth of Jesus from childhood\nto maturity: \"And I, John, saw that he received not of the fullness at\nthe first, but received grace for grace; and he received not of the\nfullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received\na fullness; and thus he was called the Son of God, because he received\nnot of the fullness at the first.\" (Doc. and Cov. 93:12-14).\nNotwithstanding this graded course of growth and development after His\nbirth in the flesh, Jesus Christ had been associated with the Father\nfrom the beginning, as is set forth in the revelation cited. We read\ntherein: \"And he [John] bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was\nin the beginning before the world was; therefore in the beginning the\nWord was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, the\nlight and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into\nthe world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of\nmen and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made by\nhim: all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I,\nJohn, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only\nBegotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of\ntruth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us\" (verses\n7-11).\n\n4. Missing Scripture.--Matthew's commentary on the abode of Joseph, Mary\nand Jesus at Nazareth, \"and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:\nthat it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be\ncalled a Nazarene\" (2:23), with the fact that no such saying of the\nprophets is found in any of the books contained in the Bible, suggests\nthe certainty of lost scripture. Those who oppose the doctrine of\ncontinual revelation between God and His Church, on the ground that the\nBible is complete as a collection of sacred scriptures, and that alleged\nrevelation not found therein must therefore be spurious, may profitably\ntake note of the many books not included in the Bible, yet mentioned\ntherein, generally in such a way as to leave no doubt that they were\nonce regarded as authentic. Among these extra-Biblical scriptures, the\nfollowing may be named; some of them are in existence to-day, and are\nclassed with the Apocrypha; but the greater number are unknown. We read\nof the Book of the Covenant (Exo. 24:7); Book of the Wars of the Lord\n(Numb. 21:14); Book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13); Book of the Statutes (1\nSam. 10:25); Book of Enoch (Jude 14); Book of the Acts of Solomon (1\nKings 11:41); Book of Nathan the Prophet, and that of Gad the Seer (1\nChron. 29:29); Book of Ahijah the Shilonite, and visions of Iddo the\nSeer (2 Chron. 9:29); Book of Shemaiah (2 Chron. 12:15); Story of the\nProphet Iddo (2 Chron. 13:22); Book of Jehu (2 Chron. 20:34); the Acts\nof Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz (2 Chron. 26:22); Sayings of the\nSeers (2 Chron. 33:19); a missing epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (1\nCor. 5:9); a missing epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:3); missing\nepistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea (Col. 4:16); a missing\nepistle of Jude (Jude 3).\n\n5. Nazareth.--A town or \"city\" in Galilee, of which Biblical mention is\nfound in the New Testament only. Josephus says nothing concerning the\nplace. The name of the existing village, or the Nazareth of to-day, is\n_En-Nazirah_. This occupies an upland site on the southerly ridge of\nLebanon, and \"commands a splendid view of the Plain of Esdraelon and\nMount Carmel, and is very picturesque in general\" (Zenos). The author of\nthe article \"Nazareth\" in Smith's _Bible Dict._ identifies the modern\nEn-Nazirah, with the Nazareth of old on the following grounds: \"It is on\nthe lower declivities of a hill or mountain (Luke 4:29); it is within\nthe limits of the province of Galilee (Mark 1:9); it is near Cana (John\n2:1, 2, 11); a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luke 4:29); and a\nseries of testimonials reaching back to Eusebius represent the place as\nhaving occupied the same position.\" The same writer adds: \"Its\npopulation is 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and\nGreek Christians. Most of the houses are well built of stone, and appear\nneat and comfortable. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and\nafter rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost impassable.\" At\nthe time of Christ's life the town was not only regarded as unimportant\nby the Judeans who professed but little respect for Galilee or the\nGalileans, but as without honor by the Galileans themselves, as appears\nfrom the fact that the seemingly contemptuous question, \"Can there any\ngood thing come out of Nazareth?\" was uttered by Nathanael (John 1:46),\nwho was a Galilean and a native of Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth\n(John 21:2). Nazareth owes its celebrity to its association with events\nin the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke\n1:26; 2:4; 4:23,34; John 1:45,46; 19:19; Acts 2:22).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[254] Matt. 2:15; compare Hos. 11:1.\n\n[255] Matt. 2:19-23. Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[256] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[257] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[258] Luke 2:40.\n\n[259] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[260] Compare His teachings after He had reached manhood, e.g. John\n8:32.\n\n[261] Deut. 16:1-6; compare Exo. 12:2.\n\n[262] Josephus; Wars of the Jews, ii, 1:3.\n\n[263] Luke 2:46; read 41-52.\n\n[264] Compare Matt. 7:28, 29; 13:54; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:22.\n\n[265] Luke 2:35.\n\n[266] Luke 2:52.\n\n[267] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[268] Matt. 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 12:46, 47;\nGal. 1:19.\n\n[269] For illustrative examples see Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43);\nMary Magdalene, so known from her native town of Magdala (Matt. 27:56);\nJudas Iscariot, possibly named after his home in Kerioth (Matt. 10:4;\nsee page 225 herein.)\n\n[270] Matt. 21:11; John 18:5; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; see also Luke 4:16.\n\n[271] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[272] John 1:45, 46.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 10.\n\nIN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA.\n\n\nTHE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.\n\nAt a time definitely stated as the fifteenth year of the reign of\nTiberius C\u00e6sar, emperor of Rome, the people of Judea were greatly\naroused over the strange preaching of a man theretofore unknown. He was\nof priestly descent, but untrained in the schools; and, without\nauthorization of the rabbis or license from the chief priests, he\nproclaimed himself as one sent of God with a message to Israel. He\nappeared not in the synagogs nor within the temple courts, where scribes\nand doctors taught, but cried aloud in the wilderness. The people of\nJerusalem and of adjacent rural parts went out in great multitudes to\nhear him. He disdained the soft garments and flowing robes of comfort,\nand preached in his rough desert garb, consisting of a garment of\ncamel's hair held in place by a leathern girdle. The coarseness of his\nattire was regarded as significant. Elijah the Tishbite, that fearless\nprophet whose home had been the desert, was known in his day as \"an\nhairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins;\"[273] and\nrough garments had come to be thought of as a distinguishing\ncharacteristic of prophets.[274] Nor did this strange preacher eat the\nfood of luxury and ease, but fed on what the desert supplied, locusts\nand wild honey.[275]\n\nThe man was John, son of Zacharias, soon to be known as the Baptist. He\nhad spent many years in the desert, apart from the abodes of men, years\nof preparation for his particular mission. He had been a student under\nthe tutelage of divine teachers; and there in the wilderness of Judea\nthe word of the Lord reached him;[276] as in similar environment it had\nreached Moses[277] and Elijah[278] of old. Then was heard \"The voice of\none crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his\npaths straight.\"[279] It was the voice of the herald, the messenger who,\nas the prophets had said, should go before the Lord to prepare His\nway.[280] The burden of his message was \"Repent ye, for the kingdom of\nheaven is at hand.\" And to such as had faith in his words and professed\nrepentance, confessing their sins, he administered baptism by immersion\nin water--proclaiming the while, \"I indeed baptize you with water unto\nrepentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes\nI am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and\nwith fire.\"[281]\n\nNeither the man nor his message could be ignored; his preaching was\nspecific in promise to the repentant soul, and scathingly denunciatory\nto the hypocrite and the hardened sinner. When Pharisees and Sadducees\ncame to his baptism, prating of the law, the spirit of which they ceased\nnot to transgress, and of the prophets, whom they dishonored, he\ndenounced them as a generation of vipers, and demanded of them: \"Who\nhath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?\" He brushed aside their\noft-repeated boasts that they were the children of Abraham, saying,\n\"Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say\nwithin yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,\nthat God is able of these stones to raise up children unto\nAbraham.\"[282] The ignoring of their claims to preferment as the\nchildren of Abraham was a strong rebuke, and a cause of sore affront\nalike to aristocratic Sadducee and rule-bound Pharisee. Judaism held\nthat the posterity of Abraham had an assured place in the kingdom of the\nexpected Messiah, and that no proselyte from among the Gentiles could\npossibly attain the rank and distinction of which the \"children\" were\nsure. John's forceful assertion that God could raise up, from the stones\non the river bank, children to Abraham, meant to those who heard that\neven the lowest of the human family might be preferred before themselves\nunless they repented and reformed.[283] Their time of wordy profession\nhad passed; fruits were demanded, not barren though leafy profusion; the\nax was ready, aye, at the very root of the tree; and every tree that\nproduced not good fruit was to be hewn down and cast into the fire.\n\nThe people were astonished; and many, seeing themselves in their actual\ncondition of dereliction and sin, as John, with burning words laid bare\ntheir faults, cried out: \"What shall we do then?\"[284] His reply was\ndirected against ceremonialism, which had caused spirituality to wither\nalmost to death in the hearts of the people. Unselfish charity was\ndemanded--\"He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;\nand he that hath meat, let him do likewise.\" The publicans or\ntax-farmers and collectors, under whose unjust and unlawful exactions\nthe people had suffered so long, came asking: \"Master, what shall we do?\nAnd he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.\"\nTo the soldiers who asked what to do he replied: \"Do violence to no man,\nneither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.\"[285]\n\nThe spirit of his demands was that of a practical religion, the only\nreligion of any possible worth--the religion of right living. With all\nhis vigor, in spite of his brusqueness, notwithstanding his forceful\nassaults on the degenerate customs of the times, this John was no\nagitator against established institutions, no inciter of riot, no\nadvocate of revolt, no promoter of rebellion. He did not assail the tax\nsystem but the extortions of the corrupt and avaricious publicans; he\ndid not denounce the army, but the iniquities of the soldiers, many of\nwhom had taken advantage of their position to bear false witness for the\nsake of gain and to enrich themselves by forcible seizure. He preached,\nwhat in the now current dispensation we call the first or fundamental\nprinciples of the gospel--\"the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,\nthe Son of God,\"[286] comprizing faith, which is vitalized belief, in\nGod; genuine repentance, which comprizes contrition for past offenses\nand a resolute determination to turn from sin; baptism by immersion in\nwater at his hands as the hands of one having authority; and the higher\nbaptism by fire or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost by an authority\ngreater than that possessed by himself. His preaching was positive, and\nin many respects opposed to the conventions of the times; he made no\nappeal to the people through the medium of miraculous\nmanifestations;[287] and though many of his hearers attached themselves\nto him as disciples,[288] he established no formal organization, nor did\nhe attempt to form a cult. His demand for repentance was an individual\ncall, as unto each acceptable applicant the rite of baptism was\nindividually administered.\n\nTo the Jews, who were living in a state of expectancy, waiting for the\nlong-predicted Messiah, the words of this strange prophet in the\nwilderness were fraught with deep portent. Could it be that he was the\nChrist? He spoke of One yet to come, mightier than himself, whose\nshoe-latchet he was not worthy to loosen,[289] One who would separate\nthe people as the thresher, fan in hand, blew the chaff from the wheat;\nand, he added, that mightier One \"will gather the wheat into his garner;\nbut the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.\"[290]\n\nIn such wise did the predicted herald of the Lord deliver his message.\nHimself he would not exalt; his office, however, was sacred to him, and\nwith its functions he brooked no interference from priest, Levite, or\nrabbi. He was no respecter of persons; sin he denounced, sinners he\nexcoriated, whether in priestly vestments, peasant garb, or royal robes.\nAll the claims the Baptist had made for himself and his mission were\nlater confirmed and vindicated by the specific testimony of Christ.[291]\nJohn was the harbinger not alone of the kingdom but of the King; and to\nhim the King in person came.\n\n\nTHE BAPTISM OF JESUS--TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\nWhen Jesus \"began to be about thirty years of age,\" He journeyed from\nHis home in Galilee \"to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But\nJohn forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest\nthou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now;\nfor thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered\nhim.\"[292]\n\nJohn and Jesus were second cousins; as to whether there had existed any\nclose companionship between the two as boys or men we are not told. It\nis certain, however, that when Jesus presented Himself for baptism, John\nrecognized in Him a sinless Man who stood in no need of repentance; and,\nas the Baptist had been commissioned to baptize for the remission of\nsins, he saw no necessity of administering the ordinance to Jesus. He\nwho had received the confessions of multitudes now reverently confessed\nto One whom he knew was more righteous than himself. In the light of\nlater events it appears that at this time John did not know that Jesus\nwas the Christ, the Mightier One for whom he waited and whose forerunner\nhe knew himself to be. When John expressed his conviction that Jesus\nneeded no baptismal cleansing, our Lord, conscious of His own\nsinlessness, did not deny the Baptist's imputation, but nevertheless\npressed His application for baptism with the significant explanation:\n\"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.\" If John was able to\ncomprehend the deeper meaning of this utterance, he must have found\ntherein the truth that water baptism is not alone the means provided for\ngaining remission of sins, but is also an indispensable ordinance\nestablished in righteousness and required of all mankind as an essential\ncondition for membership in the kingdom of God.[293]\n\nJesus Christ thus humbly complied with the will of the Father, and was\nbaptized of John by immersion in water. That His baptism was accepted as\na pleasing and necessary act of submission was attested by what\nimmediately ensued: \"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up\nstraightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him,\nand he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon\nhim: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom\nI am well pleased.\"[294] Then John knew his Redeemer.\n\nThe four Gospel-writers record the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the\nbaptized Jesus as accompanied by a visible manifestation \"like a dove;\"\nand this sign had been indicated to John as the foreappointed means by\nwhich the Messiah should be made known to him; and to that sign, before\nspecified, was now added the supreme testimony of the Father as to the\nliteral Sonship of Jesus. Matthew records the Father's acknowledgment as\ngiven in the third person, \"This is my beloved Son;\" while both Mark and\nLuke give the more direct address, \"Thou art my beloved Son.\" The\nvariation, slight and essentially unimportant as it is though bearing on\nso momentous a subject, affords evidence of independent authorship and\ndiscredits any insinuation of collusion among the writers.\n\nThe incidents attending the emergence of Jesus from the baptismal grave\ndemonstrate the distinct individuality of the three Personages of the\nGodhead. On that solemn occasion Jesus the Son was present in the flesh;\nthe presence of the Holy Ghost was manifest through the accompanying\nsign of the dove, and the voice of the Eternal Father was heard from\nheaven. Had we no other evidence of the separate personality of each\nmember of the Holy Trinity, this instance should be conclusive; but\nother scriptures confirm the great truth.[295]\n\n\nTHE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST.\n\nSoon after His baptism, immediately thereafter as Mark asserts, Jesus\nwas constrained by the promptings of the Spirit to withdraw from men and\nthe distractions of community life, by retiring into the wilderness\nwhere He would be free to commune with His God. So strong was the\ninfluence of the impelling force that He was led thereby, or, as stated\nby the evangelist, driven, into solitary seclusion, in which He remained\nduring forty days, \"with the wild beasts\" of the desert. This remarkable\nepisode in our Lord's life is described, though not with equal fulness,\nin three of the Gospels;[296] John is silent thereon.\n\nThe circumstances attending this time of exile and test must have been\nrelated by Jesus Himself, for of other human witnesses there were none.\nThe recorded narratives deal principally with events marking the close\nof the forty-day period, but considered in their entirety they place\nbeyond doubt the fact that the season was one of fasting and prayer.\nChrist's realization that He was the chosen and foreordained Messiah\ncame to Him gradually. As shown by His words to His mother on the\noccasion of the memorable interview with the doctors in the temple\ncourts, He knew, when but a Boy of twelve years, that in a particular\nand personal sense He was the Son of God; yet it is evident that a\ncomprehension of the full purport of His earthly mission developed\nwithin Him only as He progressed step by step in wisdom. His\nacknowledgment by the Father, and the continued companionship of the\nHoly Ghost, opened His soul to the glorious fact of His divinity. He had\nmuch to think about, much that demanded prayer and the communion with\nGod that prayer alone could insure. Throughout the period of retirement,\nhe ate not, but chose to fast, that His mortal body might the more\ncompletely be subjected to His divine spirit.\n\nThen, when He was hungry and physically weak, the tempter came with the\ninsidious suggestion that He use His extraordinary powers to provide\nfood. Satan had chosen the most propitious time for his evil purpose.\nWhat will mortals not do, to what lengths have men not gone, to assuage\nthe pangs of hunger? Esau bartered his birthright for a meal. Men have\nfought like brutes for food. Women have slain and eaten their own babes\nrather than endure the gnawing pangs of starvation. All this Satan knew\nwhen he came to the Christ in the hour of extreme physical need, and\nsaid unto Him: \"If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be\nmade bread.\" During the long weeks of seclusion, our Lord had been\nsustained by the exaltation of spirit that would naturally attend such\nall-absorbing concentration of mind as His protracted meditation and\ncommunion with the heavens undoubtedly produced; in such profound\ndevotion of spirit, bodily appetites were subdued and superseded; but\nthe reaction of the flesh was inevitable.\n\nHungry as Jesus was, there was a temptation in Satan's words even\ngreater than that embodied in the suggestion that He provide food for\nHis famishing body--the temptation to put to proof the possible doubt\nimplied in the tempter's \"If.\" The Eternal Father had proclaimed Jesus\nas His Son; the devil tried to make the Son doubt that divine\nrelationship. Why not prove the Father's interest in His Son at this\nmoment of dire necessity? Was it proper that the Son of God should go\nhungry? Had the Father so soon forgotten as to leave His Beloved Son\nthus to suffer? Was it not reasonable that Jesus, faint from long\nabstinence, should provide for Himself, and particularly so since He\ncould provide, and that by a word of command, _if_ the voice heard at\nHis baptism was that of the Eternal Father. _If_ thou be in reality the\nSon of God, demonstrate thy power, and at the same time satisfy thy\nhunger--such was the purport of the diabolical suggestion. To have\nyielded would have been to manifest positive doubt of the Father's\nacknowledgment.\n\nMoreover, the superior power that Jesus possessed had not been given to\nHim for personal gratification, but for service to others. He was to\nexperience all the trials of mortality; another man, as hungry as He,\ncould not provide for himself by a miracle; and though by miracle such a\none might be fed, the miraculous supply would have to be given, not\nprovided by himself. It was a necessary result of our Lord's dual\nnature, comprizing the attributes of both God and man, that He should\nendure and suffer as a mortal while possessing at all times the ability\nto invoke the power of His own Godhood by which all bodily needs could\nbe supplied or overcome. His reply to the tempter was sublime and\npositively final: \"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but\nby every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.\"[297] The word\nthat had proceeded from the mouth of God, upon which Satan would have\ncast mistrust, was that Jesus was the Beloved Son with whom the Father\nwas well pleased. The devil was foiled; Christ was triumphant.\n\nRealizing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to induce Jesus to\nuse His inherent power for personal service, and to trust in Himself\nrather than rely upon the Father's providence, Satan went to the other\nextreme and tempted Jesus to wantonly throw Himself upon the Father's\nprotection.[298] Jesus was standing upon one of the high parts of the\ntemple, a pinnacle or battlement, overlooking the spacious courts, when\nthe devil said unto Him: \"If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:\nfor it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and\nin their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy\nfoot against a stone.\" Again appears the implication of doubt.[299] _If_\nJesus was in fact the Son of God, could He not trust His Father to save\nHim, and particularly so as it was written[300] that angels would guard\nHim and bear Him up? Christ's reply to the tempter in the wilderness had\nembodied a scriptural citation, and this He had introduced with the\nimpressive formula common to expounders of sacred writ--\"It is written.\"\nIn the second attempt, the devil tried to support his suggestion by\nscripture, and employed a similar expression--\"for it is written.\" Our\nLord met and answered the devil's quotation with another, saying: \"It is\nwritten again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.\"[301]\n\nBeside the provocation to sin by wantonly placing Himself in danger, so\nthat the Father's love might be manifested in a miraculous rescue, or by\nrefusing so to challenge the Father's interposition demonstrate that He\ndoubted His status as the Beloved Son, there lurked an appeal to the\nhuman side of Christ's nature, in thought of the fame which an\nastounding exploit, such as that of leaping from the dizzy height of the\ntemple turrets and alighting unhurt, would surely bring. We cannot\nresist the thought, though we be not justified in saying that any such\nhad even momentary place in the Savior's mind, that to act upon Satan's\nsuggestion, provided of course the outcome proved to be such as he had\nindicated, would have been to insure public recognition of Jesus as a\nBeing superior to mortals. It would have been a sign and a wonder\nindeed, the fame of which would have spread as fire in the dry grass;\nand all Jewry would have been aflame with excitement and interest in the\nChrist.\n\nThe glaring sophistry of Satan's citation of scripture was unworthy a\ncategorical reply; his doctrine deserved neither logic nor argument; his\nmisapplication of the written word was nullified by scripture that was\ngermane; the lines of the psalmist were met by the binding fiat of the\nprophet of the exodus, in which he had commanded Israel that they should\nnot provoke nor tempt the Lord to work miracles among them. Satan\ntempted Jesus to tempt the Father. It is as truly a blasphemous\ninterference with the prerogatives of Deity to set limitations or make\nfixations of time or place at which the divine power shall be made\nmanifest as it is to attempt to usurp that power. God alone must decide\nwhen and how His wonders shall be wrought. Once more the purposes of\nSatan were thwarted and Christ again was victor.\n\nIn the third temptation the devil refrained from further appeal to Jesus\nto put either His own power or that of the Father to the test. Twice\ncompletely foiled, the tempter abandoned that plan of assault; and,\ndiscarding all disguise of purpose, submitted a definite proposition.\nFrom the top of a high mountain Jesus looked over the land with its\nwealth of city and field, of vineyard and orchard, of flocks and of\nherds; and in vision He saw the kingdoms of the world and contemplated\nthe wealth, the splendor, the earthly glory of them all. Then saith\nSatan unto Him: \"All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall\ndown and worship me.\" So wrote Matthew; the more extended version by\nLuke follows: \"And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give\nthee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to\nwhomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all\nshall be thine.\" We need not concern ourselves with conjecture as to\nwhether Satan could have made good his promise in the event of Christ's\ndoing him homage; certain it is Christ could have reached out, and have\ngathered to Himself the wealth and glory of the world had He willed so\nto do, and thereby have failed in His Messianic mission. This fact Satan\nknew full well. Many men have sold themselves to the devil for a kingdom\nand for less, aye, even for a few paltry pence.\n\nThe effrontery of his offer was of itself diabolical. Christ, the\nCreator of heaven and earth, tabernacled as He then was in mortal flesh,\nmay not have remembered His preexistent state, nor the part He had taken\nin the great council of the Gods,[302] while Satan, an unembodied\nspirit--he the disinherited, the rebellious and rejected son--seeking to\ntempt the Being through whom the world was created by promising Him part\nof what was wholly His, still may have had, as indeed he may yet have, a\nremembrance of those primeval scenes. In that distant past, antedating\nthe creation of the earth, Satan, then Lucifer, a son of the morning,\nhad been rejected; and the Firstborn Son had been chosen. Now that the\nChosen One was subject to the trials incident to mortality, Satan\nthought to thwart the divine purpose by making the Son of God subject to\nhimself. He who had been vanquished by Michael and his hosts and cast\ndown as a defeated rebel, asked the embodied Jehovah to worship him.\n\"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan for it is written,\nThou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then\nthe devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto\nhim.\"[303]\n\nIt is not to be supposed that Christ's victorious emergence from the\ndark clouds of the three specified temptations exempted Him from further\nassaults by Satan, or insured Him against later trials of faith, trust,\nand endurance. Luke closes his account of the temptations following the\nforty-day fast as follows: \"And when the devil had ended all the\ntemptation, he departed from him for a season.\"[304] This victory over\nthe devil and his wiles, this triumph over the cravings of the flesh,\nthe harassing doubts of the mind, the suggested reaching out for fame\nand material wealth, were great but not final successes in the struggle\nbetween Jesus, the embodied God, and Satan, the fallen angel of light.\nThat Christ was subject to temptation during the period of His\nassociation with the apostles He expressly affirmed.[305] That His\ntemptations extended even to the agony in Gethsemane will appear as we\nproceed with this study. It is not given to the rest of us, nor was it\ngiven to Jesus, to meet the foe, to fight and overcome in a single\nencounter, once for all time. The strife between the immortal spirit and\nthe flesh, between the offspring of God on the one hand, the world and\nthe devil on the other, is persistent through life.\n\nFew events in the evangelical history of Jesus of Nazareth have given\nrise to more discussion, fanciful theory, and barren speculation, than\nhave the temptations. All such surmizes we may with propriety ignore. To\nany believer in the holy scriptures, the account of the temptations\ntherein given is sufficiently explicit to put beyond doubt or question\nthe essential facts; to the unbeliever neither the Christ nor His\ntriumph appeals. What shall it profit us to speculate as to whether\nSatan appeared to Jesus in visible form, or was present only as an\nunseen spirit; whether he spoke in audible voice, or aroused in the mind\nof his intended victim the thoughts later expressed by the written\nlines; whether the three temptations occurred in immediate sequence or\nwere experienced at longer intervals? With safety we may reject all\ntheories of myth or parable in the scriptural account, and accept the\nrecord as it stands; and with equal assurance may we affirm that the\ntemptations were real, and that the trials to which our Lord was put\nconstituted an actual and crucial test. To believe otherwise, one must\nregard the scriptures as but fiction.\n\nA question deserving some attention in this connection is that of the\npeccability or impeccability of Christ--the question as to whether He\nwas capable of sinning. Had there been no possibility of His yielding to\nthe lures of Satan, there would have been no real test in the\ntemptations, no genuine victory in the result. Our Lord was sinless yet\npeccable; He had the capacity, the ability to sin had He willed so to\ndo. Had He been bereft of the faculty to sin, He would have been shorn\nof His free agency; and it was to safeguard and insure the agency of man\nthat He had offered Himself, before the world was, as a redeeming\nsacrifice. To say that He could not sin because He was the embodiment of\nrighteousness is no denial of His agency of choice between evil and\ngood. A thoroughly truthful man cannot culpably lie; nevertheless his\ninsurance against falsehood is not that of external compulsion, but of\ninternal restraint due to his cultivated companionship of the spirit of\ntruth. A really honest man will neither take nor covet his neighbor's\ngoods, indeed it may be said that he cannot steal; yet he is capable of\nstealing should he so elect. His honesty is an armor against temptation;\nbut the coat of mail, the helmet, the breastplate, and the greaves, are\nbut an outward covering; the man within may be vulnerable if he can be\nreached.\n\nBut why proceed with labored reasoning, which can lead to but one\nconclusion, when our Lord's own words and other scriptures confirm the\nfact? Shortly before His betrayal, when admonishing the Twelve to\nhumility, He said: \"Ye are they which have continued with me in my\ntemptations.\"[306] While here we find no exclusive reference to the\ntemptations immediately following His baptism, the exposition is plain\nthat He had endured temptations, and by implication, these had continued\nthroughout the period of His ministry. The writer of the epistle to the\nHebrews expressly taught that Christ was peccable, in that He was\ntempted \"in all points\" as are the rest of mankind. Consider the\nunambiguous declaration: \"Seeing then that we have a great high priest,\nthat is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast\nour profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched\nwith the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like\nas we are, yet without sin.\"[307] And further: \"Though he were a Son,\nyet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.\"[308]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 10.\n\n1. Raiment of Camel's Hair.--Through the prophet Zechariah (13:4) a time\nwas foretold in which professing prophets would no longer \"wear a rough\ngarment to deceive.\" Of the raiment of camel's hair worn by John the\nBaptist, the Oxford and other marginal readings render the expression \"a\ngarment of hair\" as more literal than the Bible text. Deems (_Light of\nthe Nations_, p. 74, note) says: \"The garment of camel's hair was not\nthe camel's skin with the hair on, which would be too heavy to wear, but\nraiment woven of camel's hair, such as Josephus speaks of (B. J. i,\n24:3).\"\n\n2. Locusts and Wild Honey.--Insects of the locust or grasshopper kind\nwere specifically declared clean and suitable for food in the law given\nto Israel in the wilderness. \"Yet these may ye eat of every flying\ncreeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their\nfeet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; the\nlocust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the\nbeetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.\" (Lev. 11:21,\n22.) At the present time locusts are used as food by many oriental\npeoples, though usually by the poorer classes only. Of the passage\nreferring to locusts as part of the Baptist's food while he lived as a\nrecluse in the desert, Farrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 97, note,) says:\n\"The fancy that it means the pods of the so-called locust tree (carob)\nis a mistake. Locusts are sold as articles of food in regular shops for\nthe purpose at Medina; they are plunged into salt boiling water, dried\nin the sun, and eaten with butter, but only by the poorest beggars.\"\nGeikie (_Life and Words of Christ_, vol. 1, pp. 354, 355) gives place to\nthe following as applied to the Baptist's life: \"His only food was the\nlocusts which leaped or flew on the bare hills, and the honey of wild\nbees which he found, here and there, in the clifts of the rocks, and his\nonly drink a draught of water from some rocky hollow. Locusts are still\nthe food of the poor in many parts of the East. 'All the Bedouins of\nArabia, and the inhabitants of towns in Nedj and Hedjaz, are accustomed\nto eat them,' says Burckhardt. 'I have seen at Medina and Tayi, locust\nshops, where they are sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are eaten\nonly by the poorest beggars. The Arabs, in preparing them for eating,\nthrow them alive into boiling water, with which a good deal of salt has\nbeen mixed, taking them out after a few minutes, and drying them in the\nsun. The head, feet, and wings, are then torn off, the bodies cleansed\nfrom the salt, and perfectly dried. They are sometimes eaten boiled in\nbutter, or spread on unleavened bread mixed with butter.' In Palestine,\nthey are eaten only by the Arabs on the extreme frontiers; elsewhere\nthey are looked on with disgust and loathing, and only the very poorest\nuse them. Tristram, however, speaks of them as 'very palatable.' 'I\nfound them very good,' says he, 'when eaten after the Arab fashion,\nstewed with butter. They tasted somewhat like shrimps, but with less\nflavour.' In the wilderness of Judea, various kinds abound at all\nseasons, and spring up with a drumming sound, at every step, suddenly\nspreading their bright hind wings, of scarlet, crimson, blue, yellow,\nwhite, green, or brown, according to the species. They were 'clean,'\nunder the Mosaic Law, and hence could be eaten by John without offence.\"\n\nConcerning the mention of wild honey as food used by John, the author\nlast quoted says in a continuation of the same paragraph: \"The wild bees\nin Palestine are far more numerous than those kept in hives, and the\ngreater part of the honey sold in the southern districts is obtained\nfrom wild swarms. Few countries, indeed, are better adapted for bees.\nThe dry climate, and the stunted but varied flora, consisting largely of\naromatic thymes, mints, and other similar plants, with crocuses in the\nspring, are very favourable to them, while the dry recesses of the\nlimestone rocks everywhere afford them shelter and protection for their\ncombs. In the wilderness of Judea, bees are far more numerous than in\nany other part of Palestine, and it is, to this day, part of the homely\ndiet of the Bedouins, who squeeze it from the combs and store it in\nskins.\"\n\n3. John's Inferiority to the Mightier One He Proclaimed.--\"One mightier\nthan I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose\"\n(Luke 3:16), or \"whose shoes I am not worthy to bear\" (Matt. 3:11); this\nwas the way by which the Baptist declared his inferiority to the\nMightier One, who was to succeed and supersede him; and a more effective\nillustration would be difficult to frame. To loosen the shoe latchet or\nsandal thong, or to carry the shoes of another, \"was a menial office\nbetokening great inferiority on the part of the person performing it.\"\n(Smith's _Dict. of the Bible_.) A passage in the Talmud (_Tract.\nKidduschin xxii:2_) requires a disciple to do for his teacher whatever a\nservant might be required to do for his master, except the loosing of\nhis sandal thong. Some teachers urged that a disciple should carry his\nhumility even to the extreme of carrying his master's shoes. The\nhumility of the Baptist, in view of the widespread interest his call\naroused, is impressive.\n\n4. The Order in which the Temptations Were Presented.--But two of the\nGospel-writers specify the temptations to which Christ was subjected\nimmediately after His baptism; Mark merely mentions the fact that Jesus\nwas tempted. Matthew and Luke place first the temptation that Jesus\nprovide for Himself by miraculously creating bread; the sequence of the\nlater trials is not the same in the two records. The order followed in\nthe text is that of Matthew.\n\n5. The Devil's \"If.\"--Note the later taunting use of that diabolical\n_if_ as the Christ hung upon the cross. The rulers of the Jews, mocking\nthe crucified Jesus in His agony said, \"Let him save himself _if_ he be\nthe Christ.\" And the soldier, reading the inscription at the head of the\ncross derided the dying God, saying: \"_If_ thou be the king of the Jews,\nsave thyself.\" And yet again, the unrepentant malefactor by His side\ncried but, \"_If_ thou be Christ, save thyself and us.\" (Luke 23:35-39.)\nHow literally did those railers and mockers quote the very words of\ntheir father the devil (see John 8:44). See further, page 658 herein.\n\n6. Baptism Required of All.--Baptism is required of all persons who live\nto the age of accountability in the flesh. None are exempt. Jesus\nChrist, who lived as a Man without sin in the midst of a sinful world,\nwas baptized \"to fulfil all righteousness.\" Six centuries before this\nevent, Nephi, prophesying to the people on the western continent,\nforetold the baptism of the Savior, and thus drew therefrom the\nnecessity of baptism as a universal requirement: \"And now, if the Lamb\nof God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to\nfulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being\nunholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water.... Know ye not that he was\nholy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he sheweth unto the children of\nmen, that according to the flesh, he humbleth himself before the Father,\nand witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in\nkeeping his commandments\" (B. of M., 2 Nephi 31:5, 7). See _The Articles\nof Faith_, vi:18-29.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[273] 2 Kings 1:8.\n\n[274] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[275] Matt. 3:1-5; compare Lev. 11:22; see also Mark 1:1-8. Note 2, end\nof chapter.\n\n[276] Luke 3:2.\n\n[277] Exo. 3:1, 2.\n\n[278] 1 Kings 17:2-7.\n\n[279] Mark 1:3.\n\n[280] Mark 1:2; compare Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:27.\n\n[281] Matt. 3:11.\n\n[282] Matt. 3:7-10; see also Luke 3:3-9.\n\n[283] Compare a later instance, in which Christ similarly taught (John\n8:33-59).\n\n[284] Luke 3:10; compare Acts 2:37.\n\n[285] Luke 3:10-15.\n\n[286] Mark 1:1.\n\n[287] John 10:41.\n\n[288] John 1:35, 37; Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:18.\n\n[289] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[290] Luke 3:17; see also Matt. 3:12; compare Mal. 3:2.\n\n[291] Matt. 11:11-14; 17:12; Luke 7:24-30.\n\n[292] Luke 3:23.\n\n[293] For treatment of Baptism as a universal requirement, see the\nauthor's \"Articles of Faith\" vi:18-29. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[294] Matt. 3:16, 17; compare Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22.\n\n[295] Shortly before His death, the Savior promised the apostles that\nthe Father would send unto them the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost\n(John 14:26, and 15:26). See the author's \"Articles of Faith\" ii:20-24.\n\n[296] Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13.\n\n[297] Matt. 4:4; compare Deut. 8:3.\n\n[298] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[299] Note 5, end of chapter. Page 658 herein.\n\n[300] Matt. 4:6; Psalm 91:11, 12.\n\n[301] Matt. 4:5-7; compare Deut. 6:16.\n\n[302] Pages 6-9.\n\n[303] Matt. 4:10, 11; compare Exo. 20:3; Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Josh. 24:14;\n1 Sam. 7:3.\n\n[304] Luke 4:13.\n\n[305] Luke 22:28.\n\n[306] Luke 22:28.\n\n[307] Heb. 4:14, 15.\n\n[308] Heb. 5:8.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 11.\n\nFROM JUDEA TO GALILEE.\n\n\nTHE BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY OF JESUS.\n\nDuring the period of our Lord's retirement in the wilderness the Baptist\ncontinued his ministry, crying repentance to all who would pause to\nhear, and administering baptism to such as came duly prepared and asking\nwith right intent. The people generally were greatly concerned over the\nidentity of John; and as the real import of the voice[309] dawned upon\nthem, their concern deepened into fear. The ever recurring question was,\nWho is this new prophet? Then the Jews, by which expression we may\nunderstand the rulers of the people, sent a delegation of priests and\nLevites of the Pharisaic party to personally question him. He answered\nwithout evasion, \"I am not the Christ,\" and with equal decisiveness\ndenied that he was Elias, or more accurately, Elijah, the prophet who,\nthe rabbis said through a misinterpretation of Malachi's prediction, was\nto return to earth as the immediate precursor of the Messiah.[310]\nFurthermore, he declared that he was not \"that prophet,\" by which was\nmeant the Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold,[311] and who was not\nuniversally identified in the Jewish mind with the expected Messiah.\n\"Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to\nthem that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice\nof one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as\nsaid the prophet Esaias.\"[312] The Pharisaic envoys then demanded of him\nhis authority for baptizing; in reply he affirmed that the validity of\nhis baptisms would be attested by One who even then was amongst them,\nthough they knew Him not, and averred: \"He it is, who coming after me is\npreferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to\nunloose.\"[313]\n\nJohn's testimony, that Jesus was the Redeemer of the world, was declared\nas boldly as had been his message of the imminent coming of the Lord.\n\"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,\" he\nproclaimed; and, that none might fail to comprehend his identification\nof the Christ, he added: \"This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a\nman which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him\nnot: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come\nbaptizing with water.\"[314] That the attestation of the ministering\npresence of the Holy Ghost through the material appearance \"like a dove\"\nwas convincing to John is shown by his further testimony: \"And John bare\nrecord saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and\nit abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize\nwith water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit\ndescending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with\nthe Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of\nGod.\"[315] On the day following that of the utterance last quoted, John\nrepeated his testimony to two of his disciples, or followers, as, Jesus\npassed, saying again: \"Behold the Lamb of God.\"[316]\n\n\nTHE FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS.[317]\n\nTwo of the Baptist's followers, specifically called disciples, were with\nhim when for the second time he expressly designated Jesus as the Lamb\nof God. These were Andrew and John; the latter came to be known in after\nyears as the author of the fourth Gospel. The first is mentioned by\nname, while the narrator suppresses his own name as that of the second\ndisciple. Andrew and John were so impressed by the Baptist's testimony\nthat they immediately followed Jesus; and He, turning toward them asked:\n\"What seek ye?\" Possibly somewhat embarrassed by the question, or with a\nreal desire to learn where He might be found later, they replied by\nanother inquiry: \"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?\" Their use of the title\nRabbi was a mark of honor and respect, to which Jesus did not demur. His\ncourteous reply to their question assured them that their presence was\nno unwelcome intrusion. \"Come and see,\" said He.[318] The two young men\naccompanied Him, and remained with Him to learn more. Andrew, filled\nwith wonder and joy over the interview so graciously accorded, and\nthrilled with the spirit of testimony that had been enkindled within his\nsoul, hastened to seek his brother Simon, to whom he said: \"We have\nfound the Messias.\" He brought Simon to see and hear for himself; and\nJesus, looking upon Andrew's brother, called him by name and added an\nappellation of distinction by which he was destined to be known\nthroughout all later history: \"Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou\nshalt be called Cephas.\" The new name thus bestowed is the Aramaic or\nSyro-Chaldaic equivalent of the Greek \"Petros,\" and of the present\nEnglish \"Peter,\" meaning \"a stone.\"[319]\n\nOn the following day Jesus set out for Galilee, possibly accompanied by\nsome or all of his newly-made disciples; and on the way He found a man\nnamed Philip, in whom He recognized another choice son of Israel. Unto\nPhilip He said: \"Follow me.\" It was customary with rabbis and other\nteachers of that time to strive for popularity, that many might be drawn\nto them to sit at their feet and be known as their disciples. Jesus,\nhowever, selected His own immediate associates; and, as He found them\nand discerned in them the spirits who, in their preexistent state had\nbeen chosen for the earthly mission of the apostleship, He summoned\nthem. They were the servants; He was the Master.[320]\n\nPhilip soon found his friend Nathanael, to whom he testified that He of\nwhom Moses and the prophets had written had at last been found; and that\nHe was none other than Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael, as his later\nhistory demonstrates, was a righteous man, earnest in his hope and\nexpectation of the Messiah, yet seemingly imbued with the belief common\nthroughout Jewry--that the Christ was to come in royal state as seemed\nbefitting the Son of David. The mention of such a One coming from\nNazareth, the reputed son of a humble carpenter, provoked wonder if not\nincredulity in the guileless mind of Nathanael, and he exclaimed: \"Can\nthere any good thing come out of Nazareth?\" Philip's answer was a\nrepetition of Christ's words to Andrew and John--\"Come and see.\"\nNathanael left his seat under the fig tree,[321] where Philip had found\nhim, and went to see for himself. As he approached, Jesus said: \"Behold\nan Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.\" Nathanael saw that Jesus\ncould read his mind, and asked in surprize: \"Whence knowest thou me?\" In\nreply Jesus showed even greater powers of penetration and perception\nunder conditions that made ordinary observation unlikely if not\nimpossible: \"Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the\nfig tree, I saw thee.\" Nathanael replied with conviction: \"Rabbi, thou\nart the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.\" Earnest as the man's\ntestimony was, it rested mainly on his recognition of what he took to be\na supernatural power in Jesus; our Lord assured him that he should see\nyet greater things: \"And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto\nyou, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending\nand descending upon the Son of man.\"\n\n\n\"THE SON OF MAN.\"\n\nIn the promise and prediction made by Christ to Nathanael, we find the\nsignificant title--The Son of Man--appearing for the first time,\nchronologically speaking, in the New Testament. It recurs, however,\nabout forty times, excluding repetitions in parallel accounts in the\nseveral Gospels. In each of these passages it is used by the Savior\ndistinctively to designate Himself. In three other instances the title\nappears in the New Testament, outside the Gospels; and in each case it\nis applied to the Christ with specific reference to His exalted\nattributes as Lord and God.[322]\n\nIn the Old Testament, the phrase \"son of man\" occurs in ordinary usage,\ndenoting any human son[323] and it appears over ninety times as an\nappellation by which Jehovah addressed Ezekiel, though it is never\napplied by the prophet to himself.[324] The context of the passages in\nwhich Ezekiel is addressed as \"son of man\" indicates the divine\nintention of emphasizing the human status of the prophet as contrasted\nwith the divinity of Jehovah.\n\nThe title is used in connection with the record of Daniel's vision,[325]\nin which was revealed the consummation, yet future, when Adam--the\nAncient of Days--shall sit to judge his posterity;[326] on which great\noccasion, the Son of Man is to appear and receive a dominion that shall\nbe everlasting, transcendently superior to that of the Ancient of Days,\nand embracing every people and nation, all of whom shall serve the Lord,\nJesus Christ, the Son of Man.[327]\n\nIn applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses the\ndefinite article. \"_The_ Son of Man\" was and is, specifically and\nexclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a matter of solemn certainty He was\nthe only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortal\nman, He used the title in a way to conclusively demonstrate that it was\npeculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expression\nis fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in common\nusage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many to\nindicate our Lord's humble station as a mortal, and to connote that He\nstood as the type of humanity, holding a particular and unique\nrelationship to the entire human family. There is, however, a more\nprofound significance attaching to the Lord's use of the title \"The Son\nof Man\"; and this lies in the fact that He knew His Father to be the one\nand only supremely exalted Man,[328] whose Son Jesus was both in spirit\nand in body--the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father,\nthe Only Begotten in the flesh--and therefore in sense applicable to\nHimself alone, He was and is the Son of the \"Man of Holiness,\"\nElohim,[329] the Eternal Father. In His distinctive titles of Sonship,\nJesus expressed His spiritual and bodily descent from, and His filial\nsubmission to, that exalted Father.\n\nAs revealed to Enoch the Seer, \"Man of Holiness\" is one of the names by\nwhich God the Eternal Father is known; \"and the name of his Only\nBegotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ.\" We learn further that\nthe Father of Jesus Christ thus proclaimed Himself to Enoch: \"Behold, I\nam God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and\nEndless and Eternal is my name, also.\"[330] \"The Son of Man\" is in great\nmeasure synonymous with \"The Son of God,\" as a title denoting divinity,\nglory, and exaltation; for the \"Man of Holiness,\" whose Son Jesus Christ\nreverently acknowledges Himself to be, is God the Eternal Father.\n\n\nTHE MIRACLE AT CANA IN GALILEE.\n\nSoon after the arrival of Jesus in Galilee we find Him and His little\ncompany of disciples at a marriage party in Cana, a neighboring town to\nNazareth. The mother of Jesus was at the feast; and for some reason not\nexplained in John's narrative,[331] she manifested concern and personal\nresponsibility in the matter of providing for the guests. Evidently her\nposition was different from that of one present by ordinary invitation.\nWhether this circumstance indicates the marriage to have been that of\none of her own immediate family, or some more distant relative, we are\nnot informed.\n\nIt was customary to provide at wedding feasts a sufficiency of wine, the\npure though weak product of the local vineyards, which was the ordinary\ntable beverage of the time. On this occasion the supply of wine was\nexhausted, and Mary told Jesus of the deficiency. Said He: \"Woman, what\nhave I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.\" The noun of address,\n\"Woman,\" as applied by a son to his mother may sound to our ears\nsomewhat harsh, if not disrespectful; but its use was really an\nexpression of opposite import.[332] To every son, the mother ought to be\npreeminently the woman of women; she is the one woman in the world to\nwhom the son owes his earthly existence; and though the title \"Mother\"\nbelongs to every woman who has earned the honors of maternity, yet to no\nchild is there more than one woman whom by natural right he can address\nby that title of respectful acknowledgment. When, in the last dread\nscenes of His mortal experience, Christ hung in dying agony upon the\ncross, He looked, down upon the weeping Mary, His mother, and commended\nher to the care of the beloved apostle John, with the words: \"Woman,\nbehold thy son!\"[333] Can it be thought that in this supreme moment, our\nLord's concern for the mother from whom He was about to be separated by\ndeath was associated with any emotion other than that of honor,\ntenderness and love?[334]\n\nNevertheless, His words to Mary at the marriage feast may have conveyed\na gentle reminder of her position as the mother of a Being superior to\nherself; even as on that earlier occasion when she had found her Boy,\nJesus, in the temple, He had brought home to her the fact that her\njurisdiction over Him was not supreme. The manner in which she told Him\nof the insufficiency of wine probably suggested an intimation that He\nuse His more than human power, and by such means supply the need. It was\nnot her function to direct or even to suggest the exercize of the power\ninherent in Him as the Son of God; such had not been inherited from her.\n\"What have I to do with thee?\" He asked; and added: \"Mine hour is not\nyet come.\" Here we find no disclaimer of the ability to do what she\napparently wanted Him to do, but the plain implication that He would act\nonly when the time was right for the purpose, and that He, not she, must\ndecide when that time had come. She understood His meaning, in part at\nleast, and contented herself by instructing the servants to do\nwhatsoever He directed. Here again is evidence of her position of\nresponsibility and domestic authority at the social gathering.\n\nThe time for His intervention soon arrived. There stood within the place\nsix water pots;[335] these He directed the servants to fill with water.\nThen, without audible command or formula of invocation, as best we know,\nHe caused to be effected a transmutation within the pots, and when the\nservants drew therefrom, it was wine, not water that issued. At a Jewish\nsocial gathering, such as was this wedding festival, some one, usually a\nrelative of the host or hostess, or some other one worthy of the honor,\nwas made governor of the feast, or, as we say in this day, chairman, or\nmaster of ceremonies. To this functionary the new wine was first served;\nand he, calling the bridegroom, who was the real host, asked him why he\nhad reserved his choice wine till the last, when the usual custom was to\nserve the best at the beginning, and the more ordinary later. The\nimmediate result of this, the first recorded of our Lord's miracles, is\nthus tersely stated by the inspired evangelist: \"This beginning of\nmiracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory;\nand his disciples believed on him.\"[336]\n\nThe circumstances incident to the miraculous act are instructive to\ncontemplate. The presence of Jesus at the marriage, and His contribution\nto the successful conduct of the feast, set the seal of His approval\nupon the matrimonial relationship and upon the propriety of social\nentertainment. He was neither a recluse nor an ascetic; He moved among\nmen, eating and drinking, as a natural, normal Being.[337] On the\noccasion of the feast He recognized and heeded the demands of the\nliberal hospitality of the times, and provided accordingly. He, who but\na few days before had revolted at the tempter's suggestion that He\nprovide bread for His impoverished body, now used His power to supply a\nluxury for others. One effect of the miracle was to confirm the trust of\nthose whose belief in Him as the Messiah was yet young and untried. \"His\ndisciples believed on him\"; surely they had believed in some measure\nbefore, otherwise they would not have followed Him; but their belief was\nnow strengthened and made to approach, if indeed it did not attain, the\ncondition of abiding faith in their Lord. The comparative privacy\nattending the manifestation is impressive; the moral and spiritual\neffect was for the few, the inauguration of the Lord's ministry was not\nto be marked by public display.\n\n\nMIRACLES IN GENERAL\n\nThe act of transmutation whereby water became wine was plainly a\nmiracle, a phenomenon not susceptible of explanation, far less of\ndemonstration, by what we consider the ordinary operation of natural\nlaw. This was the beginning of His miracles, or as expressed in the\nrevized version of the New Testament, \"his signs.\" In many scriptures\nmiracles are called signs, as also wonders, powers, works, wonderful\nworks, mighty works,[338] etc. The spiritual effect of miracles would be\nunattained were the witnesses not caused to inwardly wonder, marvel,\nponder and inquire; mere surprize or amazement may be produced by\ndeception and artful trickery. Any miraculous manifestation of divine\npower would be futile as a means of spiritual effect were it\nunimpressive. Moreover, every miracle is a sign of God's power; and\nsigns in this sense have been demanded of prophets who professed to\nspeak by divine authority, though such signs have not been given in all\ncases. The Baptist was credited with no miracle, though he was\npronounced by the Christ as more than a prophet;[339] and the chronicles\nof some earlier prophets[340] are devoid of all mention of miracles. On\nthe other hand, Moses, when commissioned to deliver Israel from Egypt,\nwas made, to understand that the Egyptians would look for the testimony\nof miracles, and he was abundantly empowered therefore.[341]\n\nMiracles cannot be in contravention of natural law, but are wrought\nthrough the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized.\nGravitation is everywhere operative, but the local and special\napplication of other agencies may appear to nullify it--as by muscular\neffort or mechanical impulse a stone is lifted from the ground, poised\naloft, or sent hurtling through space. At every stage of the process,\nhowever, gravity is in full play, though its effect is modified by that\nof other and locally superior energy. The human sense of the miraculous\nwanes as comprehension of the operative process increases. Achievements\nmade possible by modern invention of telegraph and telephone with or\nwithout wires, the transmutation of mechanical power into electricity\nwith its manifold present applications and yet future possibilities, the\ndevelopment of the gasoline motor, the present accomplishments in aerial\nnavigation--these are no longer miracles in man's estimation, because\nthey are all in some degree understood, are controlled by human agency,\nand, moreover, are continuous in their operation and not phenomenal. We\narbitrarily classify as miracles only such phenomena as are unusual,\nspecial, transitory, and wrought by an agency beyond the power of man's\ncontrol.\n\nIn a broader sense, all nature is miracle. Man has learned that by\nplanting the seed of the grape in suitable soil, and by due cultivation,\nhe may conduce to the growth of what shall be a mature and fruitful\nvine; but is there no miracle, even in the sense of inscrutable\nprocesses, in that development? Is there less of real miracle in the\nso-called natural course of plant development--the growth of root, stem,\nleaves, and fruit, with the final elaboration of the rich nectar of the\nvine--than there was in what appears supernatural in the transmutation\nof water into wine at Cana?\n\nIn the contemplation of the miracles wrought by Christ, we must of\nnecessity recognize the operation of a power transcending our present\nhuman understanding. In this field, science has not yet advanced far\nenough to analyze and explain. To deny the actuality of miracles on the\nground that, because we cannot comprehend the means, the reported\nresults are fictitious, is to arrogate to the human mind the attribute\nof omniscience, by implying that what man cannot comprehend cannot be,\nand that therefore he is able to comprehend all that is. The miracles of\nrecord in the Gospels are as fully supported by evidence as are many of\nthe historical events which call forth neither protest nor demand for\nfurther proof. To the believer in the divinity of Christ, the miracles\nare sufficiently attested; to the unbeliever they appear but as myths\nand fables.[342]\n\nTo comprehend the works of Christ, one must know Him as the Son of God;\nto the man who has not yet learned to know, to the honest soul who would\ninquire after the Lord, the invitation is ready; let him \"Come and see.\"\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 11.\n\n1. Misunderstanding of Malachi's Prediction.--In the closing chapter of\nthe compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, the\nprophet Malachi thus describes a condition incident to the last days,\nimmediately preceding the second coming of Christ: \"For, behold, the day\ncometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that\ndo wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them\nup, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor\nbranch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness\narise with healing in his wings.\" The fateful prophecy concludes with\nthe following blessed and far-reaching promise: \"Behold, I will send you\nElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of\nthe Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,\nand the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite\nthe earth with a curse.\" (Malachi 4:1, 2, 5, 6.) It has been held by\ntheologians and Bible commentators that this prediction had reference to\nthe birth and ministry of John the Baptist, (compare Matt. 11:14; 17:11;\nMark 9:11; Luke 1:17), upon whom rested the spirit and power of Elias\n(Luke 1:17). However, we have no record of Elijah having ministered unto\nthe Baptist, and furthermore, the latter's ministry, glorious though it\nwas, justifies no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its full\nrealization. In addition, it should be remembered, that the Lord's\ndeclaration through Malachi, relative to the day of burning in which the\nwicked would be destroyed as stubble, yet awaits fulfilment. It is\nevident, therefore, that the commonly accepted interpretation is at\nfault, and that we must look to a later date than the time of John for\nthe fulfilment of Malachi's prediction. The later occasion has come; it\nbelongs to the present dispensation, and marks the inauguration of a\nwork specially reserved for the Church in these latter days. In the\ncourse of a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,\nin the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, April 3d, 1836, there appeared unto\nthem Elijah, the prophet of old, who had been taken from earth while\nstill in the body. He declared unto them: \"Behold, the time has fully\ncome, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he\n(Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord\ncome, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the\nchildren to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.\nTherefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands,\nand by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is\nnear, even at the doors.\" (Doc. and Cov. 110:13-16.) See also _The House\nof the Lord_, pp. 82-83.\n\n2. The Sign of the Dove.--\"John the Baptist ... had the privilege of\nbeholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the\n_sign_ of the dove, in witness of that administration. The sign of the\ndove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the\nHoly Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy\nGhost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not\nconfine itself to the _form_ of the dove, but in _sign_ of the dove. The\nHoly Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was\ngiven to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem\nor token of truth and innocence.\"--From Sermon by Joseph Smith, _History\nof the Church_, vol. 5, pp. 260-261.\n\n3. The Testimony of John the Baptist.--Observe that the Baptist's\ntestimony to the divinity of Christ's mission is recorded as having been\ngiven after the period of our Lord's forty-day fast and temptations, and\ntherefore approximately six weeks subsequent to the baptism of Jesus. To\nthe deputation of priests and Levites of the Pharisaic party, who\nvisited him by direction of the rulers, probably by appointment from the\nSanhedrin, John, after disavowing that he was the Christ or any one of\nthe prophets specified in the inquiry, said: \"There standeth one among\nyou whom ye know not; he it is who coming after me is preferred before\nme.\" On the next day, and again on the day following that, he bore\npublic testimony to Jesus as the Lamb of God; and on the third day after\nthe visit of the priests and Levites to John, Jesus started on the\njourney to Galilee (John 1:19-43).\n\nJohn's use of the designation \"Lamb of God\" implied his conception of\nthe Messiah as One appointed for sacrifice, and his use of the term is\nthe earliest mention found in the Bible. For later Biblical\napplications, direct or implied, see Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. 5:6,\n8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 17; etc.\n\n4. \"Come and See.\"--The spirit of our Lord's invitation to the young\ntruth seekers, Andrew and John, is manifest in a similar privilege\nextended to all. The man who would know Christ must come to Him, to see\nand hear, to feel and know. Missionaries may carry the good tidings, the\nmessage of the gospel, but the response must be an individual one. Are\nyou in doubt as to what that message means to-day? Then come and see for\nyourself. Would you know where Christ is to be found? Come and see.\n\n5. The Eternal Father a Resurrected, Exalted Being.--\"As the Father hath\npower in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his life\nand take it again, so he has a body of his own. The Son doeth what he\nhath seen the Father do: then the Father hath some day laid down his\nlife and taken it again; so he has a body of his own; each one will be\nin his own body.\"--Joseph Smith; see _Hist, of the Church_, vol. 5, p.\n426.\n\n\"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits\nenthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil was\nrent to-day, and the Great God who holds this world in its orbit, and\nwho upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself\nvisible,--I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a\nman in form--like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as\na man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and likeness of\nGod, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed\nwith him, as one man talks and communes with another.\"--Joseph Smith;\nsee _Compendium_, p. 190.\n\n6. Waterpots for Ceremonial Cleansing.--In the house at Cana there stood\nin a place specially reserved, six waterpots of stone \"after the manner\nof the purifying of the Jews.\" Vessels of water were provided as a\nmatter of prescribed order in Jewish homes, to facilitate the ceremonial\nwashings enjoined by the law. From these pots or jars the water was\ndrawn off as required; they were reservoirs holding the supply, not\nvessels used in the actual ablution.\n\n7. \"The Attitude of Science Towards Miracles\" is the subject of a\nvaluable article by Prof. H. L. Orchard, published in _Journal of the\nTransactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of\nGreat Britain_, 1910, Vol. 42, pp. 81-122. This article was the Gunning\nPrize Essay for 1909. After a lengthy analytical treatment of his\nsubject, the author presents the following summation, which was\nconcurred in by those who took part in the ensuing discussions: \"We here\ncomplete our scientific investigation of Bible Miracles. It has embraced\n(1) the _nature_ of the phenomenon; (2) the _conditions_ under which it\nis alleged to have occurred; (3) the character of the _testimony_ to its\noccurrence. To the inquiry--Were the Bible miracles probable? science\nanswers in the affirmative. To the further inquiry--Did they actually\noccur? the answer of science is again, and very emphatically, in the\naffirmative. If we liken them to gold, she has made her assay and says\nthe gold is pure. Or the Bible miracles may be compared to a string of\npearls. If science seeks to know whether the pearls are genuine, she may\napply chemical and other tests to the examination of their _character_;\nshe may search into the _conditions and circumstances_ in which the\nalleged pearls were found. Were they first found in an oyster, or in\nsome manufacturing laboratory? And she may investigate the _testimony_\nof experts. Should the result of any one of these examinations affirm\nthe genuineness of the pearls, science will be slow to believe that they\nare 'paste'; if all the results declare their genuineness, science will\nnot hesitate to say that they are true pearls. This, as we have seen, is\nthe case of the Bible miracles. Science, therefore, affirms _their\nactual occurrence_.\"\n\n8. The Testimony of Miracles.--The Savior's promise in a former day\n(Mark 16:17-18), as in the present dispensation (Doc. and Cov.\n84:65-73), is definite, to the effect that specified gifts of the Spirit\nare to follow the believer as signs of divine favor. The possession and\nexercize of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features of\nthe Church of Christ. Nevertheless we are not justified in regarding the\nevidence of miracles as infallible testimony of authority from heaven;\non the other hand, the scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritual\npowers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so to\ndo, to the deceiving of many who lack discernment. If miracles be\naccepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt,\nthrough the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the\nordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our\nrespect as has Moses (Exo. 7:11). John the Revelator saw in vision a\nwicked power working miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing great\nwonders, even bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:11-18). Again, he saw\nthree unclean spirits, whom he knew to be \"the spirits of devils working\nmiracles\" (Rev. 16:13-14). Consider, in connection with this, the\nprediction made by the Savior:--There shall arise false Christs, and\nfalse prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that,\nif it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matt. 24:24).\nThe invalidity of miracles as a proof of righteousness is indicated in\nan utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the great\njudgment:--\"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not\nprophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy\nname done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I\nnever knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity\" (Matt. 7:22-23).\nThe Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonders\ncould be wrought by evil powers; for they charged Christ with working\nmiracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils (Matt.\n12:22-30; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15).--From the author's _The Articles of\nFaith_, xii:25, 26.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[309] Luke 3:4.\n\n[310] John 1:21; compare Mal. 4:5. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[311] Deut. 18:15, 18; see page 45 herein.\n\n[312] John 1:22, 23; compare Isa. 40:3.\n\n[313] John 1:25-27.\n\n[314] John 1:29-31.\n\n[315] John 1:32, 34; also verses 35, 36. Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[316] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[317] John 1:35-51.\n\n[318] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[319] The name thus given was afterward confirmed, with accompaniments\nof promise; Matt. 16:18.\n\n[320] To the apostles the Lord said on a subsequent occasion: \"Ye have\nnot chosen me, but I have chosen you\" (John 15:16; see also 6:70).\n\n[321] A favorite situation for rest, meditation, and study; 1 Kings\n4:25; Micah 4:4.\n\n[322] Acts 7:56; Rev. 1:13; 14:14.\n\n[323] Job 25:6; Psalms 144:3; 146:3; see also 8:4 and compare Heb.\n2:6-9.\n\n[324] Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4; 4:1; etc.\n\n[325] Dan. 7:13.\n\n[326] Doc. and Cov. 27:11; 78:15, 16; 107:54-57; 116.\n\n[327] Doc. and Cov. 49:6; 58:65; 65:5; 122:8. Observe that in modern\nrevelation the title is used only as applying to the Christ in His\nresurrected and glorified state.\n\n[328] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[329] Page 38.\n\n[330] P. of G.P., Moses 6:57; 7:35; see also 7:24, 47, 54, 56, 59, 65.\nObserve that Satan addressed Moses as \"son of man\" in a blasphemous\nattempt to coerce Moses into worshiping him by emphasizing the mortal\nweakness and inferiority of the man in contrast with his own false\npretension of godship. (Moses 1:12.)\n\n[331] John 2:1-11.\n\n[332] \"The address 'Woman' was so respectful that it might be and was,\naddressed to the queenliest.\"--(Farrar, \"The Life of Christ,\" p. 134.)\n\n[333] John 19:26.\n\n[334] On a few occasions Jesus used the address \"Woman\" in a general\nway: Matt. 15:28; Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; etc.\n\n[335] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[336] John 2:11.\n\n[337] The absence of all false austerity and outward show of abnormal\nabstinence in His life furnished an imagined excuse for unfounded\ncharges of excess, through which He was said to be a glutton and a\nwinebibber. (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34.)\n\n[338] Matt. 7:22; 11:20; 12:38; 16:1; 24:24; Mark 6:14; Luke 10:13; John\n2:18; 7:21; 10:25; 14:11; Acts 6:8; 8:6; 14:3; 19:11; Rom. 15:19; Rev.\n13:13; etc.\n\n[339] John 10:41; Matt. 11:9.\n\n[340] For example Zechariah and Malachi.\n\n[341] Exo. 3:20; 4:1-9. Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[342] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 12.\n\nEARLY INCIDENTS IN OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\n\nFIRST CLEARING OF THE TEMPLE.\n\nSoon after the marriage festivities in Cana, Jesus, accompanied by His\ndisciples, as also by His mother and other members of the family, went\nto Capernaum, a town pleasantly situated near the northerly end of the\nSea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret[343] and the scene of many of our\nLord's miraculous works; indeed it came to be known as His own\ncity.[344] Because of the unbelief of its people it became a subject of\nlamentation to Jesus when in sorrow He prefigured the judgment that\nwould befall the place.[345] The exact site of the city is at present\nunknown. On this occasion Jesus tarried but a few days at Capernaum; for\nthe time of the annual Passover was near, and in compliance with Jewish\nlaw and custom He went up to Jerusalem.\n\nThe synoptic Gospels,[346] which are primarily devoted to the labors of\nChrist in Galilee, contain no mention of His attendance at the paschal\nfestival between His twelfth year and the time of His death; to John\nalone are we indebted for the record of this visit at the beginning of\nChrist's public ministry. It is not improbable that Jesus had been\npresent at other Passovers during the eighteen years over which the\nevangelists pass in complete and reverent silence; but at any or all\nsuch earlier visits, He, not being thirty years old, could not have\nassumed the right or privilege of a teacher without contravening\nestablished customs.[347] It is worth our attention to note that on\nthis, the first recorded appearance of Jesus in the temple subsequent to\nHis visit as a Boy, He should resume His \"Father's business\" where He\nhad before been engaged. It was in His Father's service that He had been\nfound in discussion with the doctors of the law,[348] and in His\nFather's cause He was impelled to action on this later occasion.\n\nThe multitudinous and mixed attendance at the Passover celebration has\nalready received passing mention;[349] some of the unseemly customs that\nprevailed are to be held in mind. The law of Moses had been supplemented\nby a cumulative array of rules, and the rigidly enforced requirements as\nto sacrifices and tribute had given rise to a system of sale and barter\nwithin the sacred precincts of the House of the Lord. In the outer\ncourts were stalls of oxen, pens of sheep, cages of doves and pigeons;\nand the ceremonial fitness of these sacrificial victims was cried aloud\nby the sellers, and charged for in full measure. It was the custom also\nto pay the yearly poll tribute of the sanctuary at this season--the\nransom offering required of every male in Israel, and amounting to half\na shekel[350] for each, irrespective of his relative poverty or wealth.\nThis was to be paid \"after the shekel of the sanctuary,\" which\nlimitation, as rabbis had ruled, meant payment in temple coin. Ordinary\nmoney, varieties of which bore effigies and inscriptions of heathen\nimport, was not acceptable, and as a result, money-changers plied a\nthriving trade on the temple grounds.\n\nRighteously indignant at what He beheld, zealous for the sanctity of His\nFather's House, Jesus essayed to clear the place;[351] and, pausing not\nfor argument in words, He promptly applied physical force almost\napproaching violence--the one form of figurative language that those\ncorrupt barterers for pelf could best understand. Hastily improvizing a\nwhip of small cords, He laid about Him on every side, liberating and\ndriving out sheep, oxen, and human traffickers, upsetting the tables of\nthe exchangers and pouring out their heterogeneous accumulations of\ncoin. With tender regard for the imprisoned and helpless birds He\nrefrained from assaulting their cages; but to their owners He said:\n\"Take these things hence;\" and to all the greedy traders He thundered\nforth a command that made them quail: \"Make not my Father's house an\nhouse of merchandise.\" His disciples saw in the incident a realization\nof the psalmist's line: \"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.\"[352]\n\nThe Jews, by which term we mean the priestly officials and rulers of the\npeople, dared not protest this vigorous action on the ground of\nunrighteousness; they, learned in the law, stood self-convicted of\ncorruption, avarice, and of personal responsibility for the temple's\ndefilement. That the sacred premises were in sore need of a cleansing\nthey all knew; the one point upon which they dared to question the\nCleanser was as to why He should thus take to Himself the doing of what\nwas their duty. They practically submitted to His sweeping intervention,\nas that of one whose possible investiture of authority they might be yet\ncompelled to acknowledge. Their tentative submission was based on fear,\nand that in turn upon their sin-convicted consciences. Christ prevailed\nover those haggling Jews by virtue of the eternal principle that right\nis mightier than wrong, and of the psychological fact that consciousness\nof guilt robs the culprit of valor when the imminence of just\nretribution is apparent to his soul.[353] Yet, fearful lest He should\nprove to be a prophet with power, such as no living priest or rabbi even\nprofessed to be, they timidly asked for credentials of His\nauthority--\"What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these\nthings?\" Curtly, and with scant respect for this demand, so common to\nwicked and adulterous men,[354] Jesus replied: \"Destroy this temple and\nin three days I will raise it up.\"[355]\n\nBlinded by their own craft, unwilling to acknowledge the Lord's\nauthority, yet fearful of the possibility that they were opposing one\nwho had the right to act, the perturbed officials found in the words of\nJesus reference to the imposing temple of masonry within whose walls\nthey stood. They took courage; this strange Galilean, who openly flouted\ntheir authority, spoke irreverently of their temple, the visible\nexpression of the profession they so proudly flaunted in words--that\nthey were children of the covenant, worshipers of the true and living\nGod, and hence superior to all heathen and pagan peoples. With seeming\nindignation they rejoined: \"Forty and six years was this temple in\nbuilding, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?\"[356] Though\nfrustrated in their desire to arouse popular indignation against Jesus\nat this time, the Jews refused to forget or forgive His words. When\nafterward He stood an undefended prisoner, undergoing an illegal\npretense of trial before a sin-impeached court, the blackest perjury\nuttered against Him was that of the false witnesses who testified: \"We\nheard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and\nwithin three days I will build another made without hands.\"[357] And\nwhile He hung in mortal suffering, the scoffers who passed by the cross\nwagged their heads and taunted the dying Christ with \"Ah, thou that\ndestroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and\ncome down from the cross.\"[358] Yet His words to the Jews who had\ndemanded the credentials of a sign had no reference to the colossal\nTemple of Herod, but to the sanctuary of His own body, in which, more\nliterally than in the man-built Holy of Holies, dwelt the ever living\nSpirit of the Eternal God. \"The Father is in me\" was His doctrine.[359]\n\n\"He spake of the temple of His body,\" the real tabernacle of the Most\nHigh.[360] This reference to the destruction of the temple of His body,\nand the renewal thereof after three days, is His first recorded\nprediction relating to His appointed death and resurrection. Even the\ndisciples did not comprehend the profound meaning of His words until\nafter His resurrection from the dead; then they remembered and\nunderstood. The priestly Jews were not as dense as they appeared to be,\nfor we find them coming to Pilate while the body of the crucified Christ\nlay in the tomb, saying: \"Sir, we remember that that deceiver said,\nwhile he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.\"[361] Though\nwe have many records of Christ having said that He would die and on the\nthird day would rise again, the plainest of such declarations were made\nto the apostles rather than openly to the public. The Jews who waited\nupon Pilate almost certainly had in mind the utterance of Jesus when\nthey had stood, nonplussed before Him, at the clearing of the temple\ncourts.[362]\n\nSuch an accomplishment as that of defying priestly usage and clearing\nthe temple purlieus by force could not fail to impress, with varied\neffect, the people in attendance at the feast; and they, returning to\ntheir homes in distant and widely separated provinces, would spread the\nfame of the courageous Galilean Prophet. Many in Jerusalem believed on\nHim at the time, mainly because they were attracted by the miracles He\nwrought; but He refused to \"commit himself unto them,\" realizing the\ninsecure foundation of their professions. Popular adulation was foreign\nto His purpose; He wanted no motley following, but would gather around\nHim such as received the testimony of His Messiahship from the Father.\n\"He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he\nknew what was in man.\"[363]\n\nThe incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is a\ncontradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentle\nand unassertive in demeanor as to appear unmanly. Gentle He was, and\npatient under affliction, merciful and long-suffering in dealing with\ncontrite sinners, yet stern and inflexible in the presence of hypocrisy,\nand unsparing in His denunciation of persistent evil-doers. His mood was\nadapted to the conditions to which He addressed Himself; tender words of\nencouragement or burning expletives of righteous indignation issued with\nequal fluency from His lips. His nature was no poetic conception of\ncherubic sweetness ever present, but that of a Man, with the emotions\nand passions essential to manhood and manliness. He, who often wept with\ncompassion, at other times evinced in word and action the righteous\nanger of a God. But of all His passions, however gently they rippled or\nstrongly surged, He was ever master. Contrast the gentle Jesus moved to\nhospitable service by the needs of a festal party in Cana, with the\nindignant Christ plying His whip, and amidst commotion and turmoil of\nHis own making, driving cattle and men before Him as an unclean herd.\n\n\nJESUS AND NICODEMUS.[364]\n\nThat the wonderful deeds wrought by Christ at and about the time of this\nmemorable Passover had led some of the learned, in addition to many of\nthe common people, to believe in Him, is evidenced by the fact that\nNicodemus, who was a Pharisee in profession and who occupied a high\nplace as one of the rulers of the Jews, came to Him on an errand of\ninquiry. There is significance in the circumstance that this visit was\nmade at night. Apparently the man was impelled by a genuine desire to\nlearn more of the Galilean, whose works could not be ignored; though\npride of office and fear of possible suspicion that he had become\nattached to the new Prophet led him to veil his undertaking with\nprivacy.[365] Addressing Jesus by the title he himself bore, and which\nhe regarded as one of honor and respect, he said: \"Rabbi, we know that\nthou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that\nthou doest, except God be with him.\"[366] Whether his use of the plural\npronoun \"we\" indicates that he was sent by the Sanhedrin, or by the\nsociety of Pharisees--the members of which were accustomed to so speak,\nas representatives of the order--or was employed in the rhetorical sense\nas indicating himself alone, is of little importance. He acknowledged\nJesus as a \"teacher come from God,\" and gave reasons for so regarding\nHim. Whatever of feeble faith might have been stirring in the heart of\nthe man, such was founded on the evidence of miracles, supported mainly\nby the psychological effect of signs and wonders. We must accord him\ncredit for sincerity and honesty of purpose.\n\nWithout waiting for specific questions, \"Jesus answered and said unto\nhim, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he\ncannot see the kingdom of God.\" Nicodemus appears to have been puzzled;\nhe asked how such a rejuvenation was possible. \"How can a man be born\nwhen he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and\nbe born?\" We do Nicodemus no injustice in assuming that he as a rabbi, a\nman learned in the scriptures, ought to have known that there was other\nmeaning in the words of Jesus than that of a mortal, literal birth.\nMoreover, were it possible that a man could be born a second time\nliterally and in the flesh, how could such a birth profit him in\nspiritual growth? It would be but a reentrance on the stage of physical\nexistence, not an advancement. The man knew that the figure of a new\nbirth was common in the teachings of his day. Every proselyte to Judaism\nwas spoken of at the time of his conversion as one new-born.\n\nThe surprize manifested by Nicodemus was probably due, in part at least,\nto the universality of the requirement as announced by Christ. Were the\nchildren of Abraham included? The traditionalism of centuries was\nopposed to any such view. Pagans had to be born again through a formal\nacceptance of Judaism, if they would become even small sharers of the\nblessings that belonged as a heritage to the house of Israel; but Jesus\nseemed to treat all alike, Jews and Gentiles, heathen idolaters and the\npeople who with their lips at least called Jehovah, God.\n\nJesus repeated the declaration, and with precision, emphasizing by the\nimpressive \"Verily, verily,\" the greatest lesson that had ever saluted\nthe ears of this ruler in Israel: \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee,\nExcept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into\nthe kingdom of God.\" That the new birth thus declared to be absolutely\nessential as a condition of entrance into the kingdom of God, applicable\nto every man, without limitation or qualification, was a spiritual\nregeneration, was next explained to the wondering rabbi: \"That which is\nborn of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is\nspirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.\" Still\nthe learned Jew pondered yet failed to comprehend. Possibly the sound of\nthe night breeze was heard at that moment; if so, Jesus was but\nutilizing the incident as a skilful teacher would do to impress a lesson\nwhen He continued: \"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest\nthe sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it\ngoeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.\" Plainly stated,\nNicodemus was given to understand that his worldly learning and official\nstatus availed him nothing in any effort to understand the things of\nGod; through the physical sense of hearing he knew that the wind blew;\nby sight he could be informed of its passage: yet what did he know of\nthe ultimate cause of even this simple phenomenon? If Nicodemus would\nreally be instructed in spiritual matters, he had to divest himself of\nthe bias due to his professed knowledge of lesser things.\n\nRabbi and eminent Sanhedrist though he was, there at the humble lodging\nof the Teacher from Galilee, he was in the presence of a Master. In the\nbewilderment of ignorance he asked, \"How can these things be?\" The reply\nmust have been humbling if not humiliating to the man: \"Art thou a\nmaster of Israel, and knowest not these things?\" Plainly a knowledge of\nsome of the fundamental principles of the gospel had been before\naccessible; Nicodemus was held in reproach for his lack of knowledge,\nparticularly as he was a teacher of the people. Then our Lord graciously\nexpounded at greater length, testifying that He spoke from sure\nknowledge, based upon what He had seen, while Nicodemus and his fellows\nwere unwilling to accept the witness of His words. Furthermore, Jesus\naverred His mission to be that of the Messiah, and specifically foretold\nHis death and the manner thereof--that He, the Son of Man, must be\nlifted up, even as Moses had lifted the serpent in the wilderness as a\nprototype, whereby Israel might escape the fatal plague.[367]\n\nThe purpose of the foreappointed death of the Son of Man was: \"That\nwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life\";\nfor to this end, and out of His boundless love to man had the Father\ndevoted His Only Begotten Son. And further, while it was true that in\nHis mortal advent the Son had not come to sit as a judge, but to teach,\npersuade and save, nevertheless condemnation would surely follow\nrejection of that Savior, for light had come, and wicked men avoided the\nlight, hating it in their preference for the darkness in which they\nhoped to hide their evil deeds. Here again, perhaps, Nicodemus\nexperienced a twinge of conscience, for had not he been afraid to come\nin the light, and had he not chosen the dark hours for his visit? Our\nLord's concluding words combined both instruction and reproof: \"But he\nthat doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made\nmanifest, that they are wrought in God.\"\n\nThe narrative of this interview between Nicodemus and the Christ\nconstitutes one of our most instructive and precious scriptures relating\nto the absolute necessity of unreserved compliance with the laws and\nordinances of the gospel, as the means indispensable to salvation. Faith\nin Jesus Christ as the Son of God, through whom alone men may gain\neternal life; the forsaking of sin by resolute turning away from the\ngross darkness of evil to the saving light of righteousness; the\nunqualified requirement of a new birth through baptism in water, and\nthis of necessity by the mode of immersion, since otherwise the figure\nof a birth would be meaningless; and the completion of the new birth\nthrough baptism by the Spirit--all these principles are taught herein in\nsuch simplicity and plainness as to make plausible no man's excuse for\nignorance.\n\nIf Jesus and Nicodemus were the only persons present at the interview,\nJohn, the writer, must have been informed thereof by one of the two. As\nJohn was one of the early disciples, afterward one of the apostles, and\nas he was distinguished in the apostolic company by his close personal\ncompanionship with the Lord, it is highly probable that he heard the\naccount from the lips of Jesus. It was evidently John's purpose to\nrecord the great lesson of the occasion rather than to tell the\ncircumstantial story. The record begins and ends with equal abruptness;\nunimportant incidents are omitted; every line is of significance; the\nwriter fully realized the deep import of his subject and treated it\naccordingly. Later mention of Nicodemus tends to confirm the estimate of\nthe man as he appears in this meeting with Jesus--that of one who was\nconscious of a belief in the Christ, but whose belief was never\ndeveloped into such genuine and virile faith as would impel to\nacceptance and compliance irrespective of cost or consequence.[368]\n\n\nFROM CITY TO COUNTRY.\n\nLeaving Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went into the rural parts of\nJudea, and there tarried, doubtless preaching as opportunity was found\nor made; and those who believed on Him were baptized.[369] The prominent\nnote of His early public utterances was that of His forerunner in the\nwilderness: \"Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\"[370] The\nBaptist continued his labors; though doubtless, since his recognition of\nthe Greater One for whose coming he had been sent to prepare, he\nconsidered the baptism he administered as of somewhat different\nsignificance. He had at first baptized in preparation for One who was to\ncome; now he baptized repentant believers unto Him who had come.\n\nDisputation had arisen between some of John's zealous adherents and one\nor more Jews[371] concerning the doctrine of purifying. The context[372]\nleaves little room for doubt that a question was involved as to the\nrelative merits of John's baptism and that administered by the disciples\nof Jesus. With excusable ardor and well-intended zeal for their master,\nthe disciples of John, who had been embroiled in the dispute, came to\nhim saying: \"Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou\nbearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.\"\nJohn's supporters were concerned at the success of One whom they\nregarded in some measure as a rival to their beloved teacher. Had not\nJohn given to Jesus His first attestation? \"He to whom thou bearest\nwitness\" said they, not deigning even to designate Jesus by name.\nFollowing the example of Andrew, and of John the future apostle, the\npeople were leaving the Baptist and gathering about the Christ. John's\nreply to his ardent followers constitutes a sublime instance of\nself-abnegation. His answer was to this effect: A man receives only as\nGod gives unto him. It is not given to me to do the work of Christ. Ye\nyourselves are witnesses that I disclaimed being the Christ, and that I\nsaid I was one sent before Him. He is as the Bridegroom; I am only as\nthe friend of the bridegroom,[373] His servant; and I rejoice greatly in\nbeing thus near Him; His voice gives me happiness; and thus my joy is\nfulfilled. He of whom you speak stands at the beginning of His ministry;\nI near the end of mine. He must increase but I must decrease. He came\nfrom heaven and therefore is superior to all things of earth;\nnevertheless men refuse to receive His testimony. To such a One, the\nSpirit of God is not apportioned; it is His in full measure. The Father\nloveth Him, the Son, and hath given all things into His hand, and: \"He\nthat believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth\nnot the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on\nhim.\"[374]\n\nIn such a reply, under the existent conditions, is to be found the\nspirit of true greatness, and of a humility that could rest only on a\nconviction of divine assurance to the Baptist as to himself and the\nChrist. In more than one sense was John great among all who are born of\nwomen.[375] He had entered upon his work when sent of God so to do;[376]\nhe realized that his work had been in a measure superseded, and he\npatiently awaited his release, in the meantime continuing in the\nministry, directing souls to his Master. The beginning of the end was\nnear. He was soon seized and thrown into a dungeon; where, as shall be\nshown, he was beheaded to sate the vengeance of a corrupt woman whose\nsins he had boldly denounced.[377]\n\nThe Pharisees observed with increasing apprehension the growing\npopularity of Jesus, evidenced by the fact that even more followed after\nHim and accepted baptism at the hands of His disciples than had\nresponded to the Baptist's call. Open opposition was threatened; and as\nJesus desired to avert the hindrance to His work which such persecution\nat that time would entail, He withdrew from Judea and retired to\nGalilee, journeying by way of Samaria. This return to the northern\nprovince was effected after the Baptist had been cast into prison.[378]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 12.\n\n1. Sea of Galilee.--This, the largest body of fresh water in Palestine,\nis somewhat pear-shape in outline and measures approximately thirteen\nmiles in extreme length on a northerly-southerly line and between six\nand seven miles in greatest width. The river Jordan enters it at the\nnortheast extremity and flows out at the south-west; the lake may be\nregarded, therefore, as a great expansion of the river, though the\nwater-filled depression is about two hundred feet in depth. The\noutflowing Jordan connects the sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea, the\nlatter a body of intensely saline water, which in its abundance of\ndissolved salts and in the consequent density of its brine is comparable\nto the Great Salt Lake in Utah, though the chemical composition of the\nwaters is materially different. The sea of Galilee is referred to by\nLuke, in accordance with its more appropriate classification as a lake\n(Luke 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23, 33). Adjoining the lake on the north-west is a\nplain, which in earlier times was highly cultivated: this was known as\nthe land of Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:53); and the water body came\nto be known as the sea or lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). From the\nprominence of one of the cities on its western shore, it was known also\nas the sea of Tiberias (John 6:1,23; 21:1). In the Old Testament it is\ncalled the sea of Chinnereth (Numb. 34:11) or Chinneroth (Josh. 12:3)\nafter the name of a contiguous city (Josh. 19:35). The surface of the\nlake or sea is several hundred feet below normal sea-level, 681 feet\nlower than the Mediterranean according to Zenos, or 700 feet as stated\nby some others. This low-lying position gives to the region a\nsemi-tropical climate. Zenos, in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_, says:\n\"The waters of the lake are noted for abundant fish. The industry of\nfishing was accordingly one of the most stable resources of the country\nround about.... Another feature of the sea of Galilee is its\nsusceptibility to sudden storms. These are occasioned partly by its\nlying so much lower than the surrounding tableland (a fact that creates\na difference of temperature and consequent disturbances in the\natmosphere), and partly by the rushing of gusts of wind down the Jordan\nvalley from the heights of Hermon. The event recorded in Matt. 8:24 is\nno extraordinary case. Those who ply boats on the lake are obliged to\nexercize great care to avoid peril from such storms. The shores of the\nsea of Galilee as well as the lake itself were the scenes of many of the\nmost remarkable events recorded in the Gospels.\"\n\n2. The Four Gospels.--All careful students of the New Testament must\nhave observed that the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, treat the\nevents of the Savior's sayings and doings in Galilee with greater\nfulness than they accord to His work in Judea; the book or Gospel of\nJohn, on the other hand, treats particularly the incidents of our Lord's\nJudean ministry, without excluding, however, important events that\noccurred in Galilee. In style of writing and method of treatment, the\nauthors of the first three Gospels (evangelists as they and John are\ncollectively styled in theologic literature) differ more markedly from\nthe author of the fourth Gospel than among themselves. The events\nrecorded by the first three can be more readily classified, collated, or\narranged, and in consequence the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, and\nLuke are now commonly known as the Synoptics, or Synoptic Gospels.\n\n3. Thirty Years of Age.--According to Luke (3:23) Jesus was about thirty\nyears of age at the time of His baptism, and we find that soon\nthereafter, He entered publicly upon the work of His ministry. The law\nprovided that at the age of thirty years the Levites were required to\nenter upon their special service (Numb. 4:3). Clarke, _Bible\nCommentary_, treating the passage in Luke 3:23, says: \"This was the age\nrequired by the law to which the priests must arrive before they could\nbe installed in their office.\" Jesus may possibly have had regard for\nwhat had become a custom of the time, in waiting until He had attained\nthat age before entering publicly on the labors of a Teacher among the\npeople. Not being of Levitical descent He was not eligible to priestly\nordination in the Aaronic order, and therefore, certainly did not wait\nfor such before beginning His ministry. To have taught in public at an\nearlier age would have been to arouse criticism, and objection, which\nmight have resulted in serious handicap or hindrance at the outset.\n\n4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival.--While it is\nadmittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of the\nJewish people could be present at the annual Passover gatherings at\nJerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance of\nthe feast, the usual attendance at the temple celebration in the days of\nJesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs \"an\ninnumerable multitude\" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars, vi,\n9:3) states that the attendance reached the enormous aggregate of three\nmillions of souls; such is the record, though many modern writers treat\nthe statement as an exaggeration. Josephus says that for the purpose of\ngiving the emperor Nero information as to the numerical strength of the\nJewish people, particularly in Palestine, the chief priests were asked\nby Cestius to count the number of lambs slain at the feast, and the\nnumber reported was 256,500, which on the basis of between ten and\neleven persons to each paschal table would indicate the presence, he\nsays, of at least 2,700,200, not including visitors other than Jews, and\nsuch of the people of Israel as were debarred from participation in the\npaschal meal because of ceremonial unfitness.\n\nThe scenes of confusion, inevitable under the conditions then\nprevailing, are admirably summarized by Geikie (_Life and Words of\nChrist_, chap. 30), who cites many earlier authorities for his\nstatements: \"The streets were blocked by the crowds from all parts, who\nhad to make their way to the Temple, past flocks of sheep, and droves of\ncattle, pressing on in the sunken middle part of each street reserved\nfor them, to prevent contact and defilement. Sellers of all possible\nwares beset the pilgrims, for the great feasts were, as has been said,\nthe harvest time of all trades at Jerusalem, just as, at Mecca, even at\nthis day, the time of the great concourse of worshippers at the tomb of\nthe Prophet, is that of the busiest trade among the merchant pilgrims,\nwho form the caravans from all parts of the Mohammedan world.\n\n\"Inside the Temple space, the noise and pressure were, if possible,\nworse. Directions were posted up to keep to the right or the left, as in\nthe densest thoroughfares of London. The outer court, which others than\nJews might enter, and which was, therefore, known as the Court of the\nHeathen, was in part, covered with pens for sheep, goats, and cattle,\nfor the feast and the thank-offerings. Sellers shouted the merits of\ntheir beasts, sheep bleated, and oxen lowed. It was, in fact, the great\nyearly fair of Jerusalem, and the crowds added to the din and tumult,\ntill the services in the neighboring courts were sadly disturbed.\nSellers of doves, for poor women coming for purification from all parts\nof the country, and for others, had a space set apart for them. Indeed,\nthe sale of doves was, in great measure, secretly, in the hands of the\npriests themselves: Hannas, the high priest, especially, gaining great\nprofits from his dove cotes on Mount Olivet. The rents of the sheep and\ncattle pens, and the profits on the doves, had led the priests to\nsanction the incongruity of thus turning the Temple itself into a noisy\nmarket. Nor was this all. Potters pressed on the pilgrims their clay\ndishes and ovens for the Passover lamb; hundreds of traders recommended\ntheir wares aloud; shops for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed for\nsacrifices, invited customers; and, in addition, persons going across\nthe city, with all kinds of burdens, shortened their journey by crossing\nthe Temple grounds. The provision for paying the tribute, levied on all,\nfor the support of the Temple, added to the distraction. On both sides\nof the east Temple gate, stalls had for generations been permitted for\nchanging foreign money. From the fifteenth of the preceding month\nmoney-changers had been allowed to set up their tables in the city, and\nfrom the twenty-first,--or twenty days before the Passover,--to ply\ntheir trade in the Temple itself. Purchasers of materials for offerings\npaid the amount at special stalls, to an officer of the Temple, and\nreceived a leaden cheque for which they got what they had bought, from\nthe seller. Large sums, moreover, were changed, to be cast, as free\nofferings, into one of the thirteen chests which formed the Temple\ntreasury. Every Jew, no matter how poor, was, in addition, required to\npay yearly a half-shekel--about eighteen pence--as atonement money for\nhis soul, and for the support of the Temple. As this would not be\nreceived except in a native coin, called the Temple shekel, which was\nnot generally current, strangers had to change their Roman, Greek, or\nEastern money, at the stalls of the money-changers, to get the coin\nrequired. The trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only too\ncommon. Five per cent. exchange was charged, but this was indefinitely\nincreased by tricks and chicanery, for which the class had everywhere\nearned so bad a name, that like the publicans, their witness would not\nbe taken before a court.\"\n\nTouching the matter of the defilement to which the temple courts had\nbeen subjected by traffickers acting under priestly license, Farrar,\n(_Life of Christ_, p. 152), gives us the following: \"And this was the\nentrance-court to the Temple of the Most High! The court which was a\nwitness that that house should be a House of Prayer for all nations had\nbeen degraded into a place which, for foulness, was more like shambles,\nand for bustling commerce more like a densely-crowded bazaar; while the\nlowing of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the Babel of many languages, the\nhuckstering and wrangling, and the clinking of money and of balances\n(perhaps not always just), might be heard in the adjoining courts,\ndisturbing the chant of the Levites and the prayers of priests!\"\n\n5. The Servility of the Jews in the Presence of Jesus.--The record of\nthe achievement of Jesus, in ridding the temple courts of those who had\nmade the House of the Lord a market place, contains nothing to suggest\nthe inference that He exercized superhuman strength or more than manly\nvigor. He employed a whip of His own making, and drove all before Him.\nThey fled helter-skelter. None are said to have voiced an objection\nuntil the expulsion had been made complete. Why did not some among the\nmultitude object? The submission appears to have been abject and servile\nin the extreme. Farrar, (_Life of Christ_, pp. 151, 152) raises the\nquestion and answers it with excellent reasoning and in eloquent lines:\n\"Why did not this multitude of ignorant pilgrims resist? Why did these\ngreedy chafferers content themselves with dark scowls and muttered\nmaledictions, while they suffered their oxen and sheep to be chased into\nthe streets and themselves ejected, and their money flung rolling on the\nfloor, by one who was then young and unknown, and in the garb of\ndespised Galilee? Why, in the same way we might ask, did Saul suffer\nSamuel to beard him in the very presence of his army? Why did David\nabjectly obey the orders of Joab? Why did Ahab not dare to arrest Elijah\nat the door of Naboth's vineyard? Because sin is weakness; because there\nis in the world nothing so abject as a guilty conscience, nothing so\ninvincible as the sweeping tide of a Godlike indignation against all\nthat is base and wrong. How could these paltry sacrilegious buyers and\nsellers, conscious of wrongdoing, oppose that scathing rebuke, or face\nthe lightnings of those eyes that were enkindled by an outraged\nholiness? When Phinehas the priest was zealous for the Lord of Hosts,\nand drove through the bodies of the prince of Simeon and the Midianitish\nwoman with one glorious thrust of his indignant spear, why did not\nguilty Israel avenge that splendid murder? Why did not every man of the\ntribe of Simeon become a Goel to the dauntless assassin? Because Vice\ncannot stand for one moment before Virtue's uplifted arm. Base and\ngrovelling as they were, these money-mongering Jews felt, in all that\nremnant of their souls which was not yet eaten away by infidelity and\navarice, that the Son of Man was right.\n\n\"Nay, even the Priests and Pharisees, and Scribes and Levites, devoured\nas they were by pride and formalism, could not condemn an act which\nmight have been performed by a Nehemiah or a Judas Maccabaeus, and which\nagreed with all that was purest and best in their traditions. But when\nthey had heard of this deed, or witnessed it, and had time to recover\nfrom the breathless mixture of admiration, disgust, and astonishment\nwhich it inspired, they came to Jesus, and though they did not dare to\ncondemn what He had done, yet half indignantly asked Him for some sign\nthat He had a right to act thus.\"\n\n6. Jewish Regard for the Temple.--The Jews professed high regard for the\ntemple. \"An utterance of the Savior, construed by the dark-minded as an\naspersion upon the temple, was used against Him as one of the chief\naccusations on which His death was demanded. When the Jews clamored for\na sign of His authority He predicted His own death and subsequent\nresurrection, saying, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will\nraise it up,' (John 2:19-22; see also Matt. 26:61; 27:40; Mark 14:58;\n15:29). They blindly regarded this remark as a disrespectful allusion to\ntheir temple, a structure built by human hands, and they refused to\nforget or forgive. That this veneration continued after the crucifixion\nof our Lord is evident from accusations brought against Stephen, and\nstill later against Paul. In their murderous rage the people accused\nStephen of disrespect for the temple, and brought false witnesses who\nuttered perjured testimony saying, 'This man ceaseth not to speak\nblasphemous words against this holy place.' (Acts 6:13.) And Stephen was\nnumbered with the martyrs. When it was claimed that Paul had brought\nwith him into the temple precincts, a Gentile, the whole city was\naroused, and the infuriated mob dragged Paul from the place and sought\nto kill him. (Acts 21:26-31.)\"--The author; _House of the Lord_, pp. 60,\n61.\n\n7. Some of the \"Chief Rulers\" Believed.--Nicodemus was not the only one\namong the ruling classes who believed in Jesus; but of most of these we\nlearn nothing to indicate that they had sufficient courage to come even\nby night to make independent and personal inquiry. They feared the\nresult in loss of popularity and standing. We read in John 12:42, 43:\n\"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but\nbecause of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be\nput out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the\npraise of God.\" Note also the instance of the scribe who proffered to\nbecome a professed disciple, but, probably because of some degree of\ninsincerity or unfitness, was rather discouraged than approved by Jesus.\n(Matt. 8:19, 20.)\n\n8. Nicodemus.--The course followed by this man evidences at once that he\nreally believed in Jesus as one sent of God, and that his belief failed\nof development into a condition of true faith, which, had it but been\nrealized, might have led to a life of devoted service in the Master's\ncause. When at a later stage than that of his interview with Christ the\nchief priests and Pharisees upbraided the officers whom they had sent to\ntake Jesus into custody and who returned to report their failure,\nNicodemus, one of the council, ventured to mildly expostulate against\nthe murderous determination of the rulers, by stating a general\nproposition in interrogative form: \"Doth our law judge any man before it\nhear him and know what he doeth?\" He was answered by his colleagues with\ncontempt, and appears to have abandoned his well-intended effort (John\n7:50-53; read preceding verses 30-49). We next hear of him bringing a\ncostly contribution of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-weight, to be\nused in the burial of Christ's then crucified body; but even in this\ndeed of liberality and devotion, in which his sincerity of purpose\ncannot well be questioned, he had been preceded by Joseph of Arimathea,\na man of rank, who had boldly asked for and secured the body for\nreverent burial (John 19:38-42). Nevertheless Nicodemus did more than\ndid most of his believing associates among the noble and great ones; and\nto him let all due credit be given; he will not fail of his reward.\n\n9. \"The Jews\" or \"A Jew.\"--We read that \"there arose a question between\nsome of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying\" (John 3:25).\nBearing in mind that the expression \"the Jews\" is very commonly used by\nthe author of the fourth Gospel to designate the officials or rulers\namong the people, the passage quoted may be understood to mean that the\nBaptist's disciples were engaged in disputation with the priestly\nrulers. It is held, however, by Biblical scholars generally, that \"the\nJews\" in this passage is a mistranslation, and that the true rendering\nis \"a Jew.\" The disputation concerning purifying appears to have arisen\nbetween some of the Baptist's followers and a single opponent; and the\npassage as it appears in the King James version of the Bible is an\ninstance of scripture not translated correctly.\n\n10. Friend of the Bridegroom.--Judean marriage customs in the days of\nChrist required the appointing of a chief grooms-man, who attended to\nall the preliminaries and made arrangements for the marriage feast, in\nbehalf of the bridegroom. He was distinctively known as the friend of\nthe bridegroom. When the ceremonial requirements had been complied with,\nand the bride had been legally and formally given unto her spouse, the\njoy of the bridegroom's friend was fulfilled inasmuch as his appointed\nduties had been successfully discharged. (John 3:29.) According to\nEdersheim, (_Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_, vol. 1, p. 148), by\nthe simpler customs prevalent in Galilee a \"friend of the bridegroom\"\nwas not often chosen; and (pp. 663-4) the expression \"children of the\nbridechamber\" (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34, in all of which\ncitations the expression is used by Jesus), was applied collectively to\nall the invited guests at a wedding festival. He says: \"As the\ninstitution of 'friends of the bridegroom' prevailed in Judea, but not\nin Galilee, this marked distinction of the 'friend of the bridegroom' in\nthe mouth of the Judean John, and 'sons (children) of the bridechamber'\nin that of the Galilean Jesus, is itself evidential of historic\naccuracy.\"\n\n11. The Atonement Money.--In the course of the exodus, the Lord required\nof every male in Israel who was twenty years old or older at the time of\na census the payment of a ransom, amounting to half a shekel (Exo.\n30:12-16). See pages 383 and 396 herein. As to the use to which this\nmoney was to be put, the Lord thus directed Moses: \"And thou shalt take\nthe atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for\nthe service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a\nmemorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an\natonement for your souls\" (Exo. 30:16; see also 38:25-31). In time, the\ntax of half a shekel, equivalent to a bekah (Exo. 38:26), was collected\nannually, though for this exaction no scriptural authority is of record.\nThis tax must not be confused with the redemption money, amounting to\nfive shekels for every firstborn male, the payment of which exempted the\nindividual from service in the labors of the sanctuary. In place of the\nfirstborn sons in all the tribes, the Lord designated the Levites for\nthis special ministry; nevertheless He continued to hold the firstborn\nmales as peculiarly His own, and required the payment of a ransom as a\nmark of their redemption from the duties of exclusive service. See Exo.\n13:12, 13-15; Numb. 3:13, 40-51; 8:15-18; 18:15, 16; also pages 95, 96\nherein.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[343] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[344] John 2:12; compare Matt. 4:13; 9:1.\n\n[345] Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15.\n\n[346] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[347] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[348] Page 114; Luke 2:46-49.\n\n[349] Page 113. Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[350] Exo. 30:11-16. Note 11, end of chapter.\n\n[351] John 2:14-17.\n\n[352] Compare Psalm 69:9.\n\n[353] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[354] Matt. 12:38, 39; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; John 6:30; 1 Cor. 1:22.\n\n[355] John 2:19; read verses 18-22.\n\n[356] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[357] Mark 14:58. Page 624 herein.\n\n[358] Mark 15:29, 30.\n\n[359] John 10:38; 17:21.\n\n[360] John 2:19-22; compare 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; see\nfurther Col. 2:9; Heb. 8:2.\n\n[361] Matt. 27:63. Page 665.\n\n[362] As Canon Farrar has tersely written, \"Unless the 'we remember' was\na distinct falsehood, they could have been referring to no other\noccasion than this.\" (\"Life of Christ,\" p. 155.)\n\n[363] John 2:23-25.\n\n[364] John 3:1-21.\n\n[365] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[366] John 3:2; read verses 1-21.\n\n[367] Numb. 21:7-9.\n\n[368] Note 8, end of chapter. See \"Articles of Faith,\" v:1-5.\n\n[369] John 3:22; compare 4:2.\n\n[370] Matt. 4:17; compare Mark 1:15.\n\n[371] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[372] John 3:25-36.\n\n[373] Note 10, end of chapter.\n\n[374] John 3:27-36.\n\n[375] Matt. 11:11.\n\n[376] Luke 3:2,3.\n\n[377] Matt. 14:3-12.\n\n[378] Matt. 4:12.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 13.\n\nHONORED BY STRANGERS, REJECTED BY HIS OWN.\n\n\nJESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN.\n\nThe direct route from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria; but many\nJews, particularly Galileans, chose to follow an indirect though longer\nway rather than traverse the country of a people so despized by them as\nwere the Samaritans. The ill-feeling between Jews and Samaritans had\nbeen growing for centuries, and at the time of our Lord's earthly\nministry had developed into most intense hatred.[379] The inhabitants of\nSamaria were a mixed people, in whom the blood of Israel was mingled\nwith that of the Assyrians and other nations; and one cause of the\nanimosity existing between them and their neighbors both on the north\nand the south was the Samaritans' claim for recognition as Israelites;\nit was their boast that Jacob was their father; but this the Jews\ndenied. The Samaritans had a version of the Pentateuch, which they\nrevered as the law, but they rejected all the prophetical writings of\nwhat is now the Old Testament, because they considered themselves\ntreated with insufficient respect therein.\n\nTo the orthodox Jew of the time a Samaritan was more unclean than a\nGentile of any other nationality. It is interesting to note the extreme\nand even absurd restrictions then in force in the matter of regulating\nunavoidable relations between the two peoples. The testimony of a\nSamaritan could not be heard before a Jewish tribunal. For a Jew to eat\nfood prepared by a Samaritan was at one time regarded by rabbinical\nauthority as an offense as great as that of eating the flesh of swine.\nWhile it was admitted that produce from a field in Samaria was not\nunclean, inasmuch as it sprang directly from the soil, such produce\nbecame unclean if subjected to any treatment at Samaritan hands. Thus,\ngrapes and grain might be purchased from Samaritans, but neither wine\nnor flour manufactured therefrom by Samaritan labor. On one occasion the\nepithet \"Samaritan\" was hurled at Christ as an intended insult. \"Say we\nnot well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?\"[380] The\nSamaritan conception of the mission of the expected Messiah was somewhat\nbetter founded than was that of the Jews, for the Samaritans gave\ngreater prominence to the spiritual kingdom the Messiah would establish,\nand were less exclusive in their views as to whom the Messianic\nblessings would be extended.\n\nIn His journey to Galilee Jesus took the shorter course, through\nSamaria; and doubtless His choice was guided by purpose, for we read\nthat \"He must needs go\" that way.[381] The road led through or by the\ntown called Sychar,[382] \"near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave\nto his son Joseph.\"[383] There was Jacob's well, which was held in high\nesteem, not only for its intrinsic worth as an unfailing source of\nwater, but also because of its association with the great patriarch's\nlife. Jesus, travel-warn and weary, rested at the well, while His\ndisciples went to the town to buy food. A woman came to fill her\nwater-jar, and Jesus said to her: \"Give me to drink.\" By the rules of\noriental hospitality then prevailing, a request for water was one that\nshould never be denied if possible to grant; yet the woman hesitated,\nfor she was amazed that a Jew should ask a favor of a Samaritan,\nhowever, great the need. She expressed her surprize in the question \"How\nis it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of\nSamaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.\" Jesus,\nseemingly forgetful of thirst in His desire to teach, answered her by\nsaving: \"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to\nthee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would\nhave given thee living water.\" The woman reminded Him that He had no\nbucket or cord with which to draw from the deep well, and inquired\nfurther as to His meaning, adding: \"Art thou greater than our father\nJacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his\nchildren, and his cattle?\"\n\nJesus found in the woman's words a spirit similar to that with which the\nscholarly Nicodemus had received His teachings; each failed alike to\nperceive the spiritual lesson He would impart. He explained to her that\nwater from the well would be of but temporary benefit; to one who drank\nof it thirst would return. \"But,\" he added, \"whosoever drinketh of the\nwater that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I\nshall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into\neverlasting life.\" The woman's interest was keenly aroused, either from\ncuriosity or as an emotion of deeper concern, for she now became the\npetitioner, and, addressing Him by a title of respect, said: \"Sir, give\nme this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.\" She\ncould see nothing beyond the material advantage attaching to water that\nwould once and for all quench thirst. The result of the draught she had\nin mind would be to give her immunity from one bodily need, and save her\nthe labor of coming to draw from the well.\n\nThe subject of the conversation was abruptly changed by Jesus bidding\nher to go, call her husband, and return. To her reply that she had no\nhusband Jesus revealed to her His superhuman powers of discernment, by\ntelling her she had spoken truthfully, inasmuch as she had had five\nhusbands, while the man with whom she was then living was not her\nhusband. Surely no ordinary being could have so read the unpleasing\nstory of her life; she impulsively confessed her conviction, saying:\n\"Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.\" She desired to turn the\nconversation, and, pointing to Mount Gerizim, upon which the\nsacrilegious priest Manasseh had erected a Samaritan temple, she\nremarked with little pertinence to what had been said before: \"Our\nfathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is\nthe place where men ought to worship.\" Jesus replied in yet deeper vein,\ntelling her that the time was near when neither that mountain nor\nJerusalem would be preeminently a place of worship; and He clearly\nrebuked her presumption that the traditional belief of the Samaritans\nwas equally good with that of the Jews; for, said He: \"Ye worship ye\nknow not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.\"\nChanged and corrupted as the Jewish religion had become, it was better\nthan that of her people; for the Jews did accept the prophets, and\nthrough Judah the Messiah had come. But, as Jesus expounded the matter\nto her, the place of worship was of lesser importance than the spirit of\nthe worshiper. \"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship\nhim in spirit and in truth.\"\n\nUnable or unwilling to understand Christ's meaning, the woman sought to\nterminate the lesson by a remark that probably was to her but casual: \"I\nknow that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he\nwill tell us all things.\" Then, to her profound amazement, Jesus\nrejoined with the awe-inspiring declaration: \"I that speak unto thee am\nhe.\" The language was unequivocal, the assertion one that required no\nelucidation. The woman must regard Him thereafter as either an imposter\nor the Messiah. She left her pitcher at the well, and hastening to the\ntown told of her experience, saying: \"Come, see a man, which told me all\nthings that ever I did: is not this the Christ?\"\n\nNear the conclusion of the interview between Jesus and the woman, the\nreturning disciples arrived with the provisions they had gone to\nprocure. They marveled at finding the Master in conversation with a\nwoman, and a Samaritan woman at that, yet none of them asked of Him an\nexplanation. His manner must have impressed them with the seriousness\nand solemnity of the occasion. When they urged Him to eat He said: \"I\nhave meat to eat that ye know not of.\" To them His words had no\nsignificance beyond the literal sense, and they queried among themselves\nas to whether some one had brought Him food during their absence; but He\nenlightened them in this way: \"My meat is to do the will of him that\nsent me, and to finish his work.\"\n\nA crowd of Samaritans appeared, coming from the city. Looking upon them\nand upon the grain fields nearby, Jesus continued: \"Say not ye, There\nare yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you,\nLift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to\nharvest.\" The import of the saying seems to be that while months would\nelapse before the wheat and the barley were ready for the sickle, the\nharvest of souls, exemplified by the approaching crowd, was even then\nready; and that from what He had sown the disciples might reap, to their\ninestimable advantage, since they would have wages for their hire and\nwould gather the fruits of other labor than their own.\n\nMany of the Samaritans believed on Christ, at first on the strength of\nthe woman's testimony, then because of their own conviction; and they\nsaid to the woman at whose behest they had at first gone to meet Him:\n\"Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him\nourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the\nworld.\" Graciously He acceded to their request to remain, and tarried\nwith them two days. It is beyond question that Jesus did not share in\nthe national prejudice of the Jews against the people of Samaria; an\nhonest soul was acceptable to Him come whence he may. Probably the seed\nsown during this brief stay of our Lord among the despized people of\nSamaria was that from which so rich a harvest was reaped by the apostles\nin after years.[384]\n\n\nJESUS AGAIN IN GALILEE: AT CANA AND NAZARETH.\n\nFollowing the two days' sojourn among the Samaritans, Jesus, accompanied\nby the disciples who had traveled with Him from Judea, resumed the\njourney northward into Galilee, from which province He had been absent\nseveral months. Realizing that the people of Nazareth, the town in which\nHe had been brought up, would be probably loath to acknowledge Him as\nother than the carpenter, or, as He stated, knowing that \"a prophet hath\nno honour in his own country,\"[385] He went first to Cana. The people of\nthat section, and indeed the Galileans generally, received Him gladly;\nfor many of them had attended the last Passover and probably had been\npersonal witnesses of the wonders He had wrought in Judea. While at Cana\nHe was visited by a nobleman, most likely a high official of the\nprovince, who entreated Him to proceed to Capernaum and heal his son,\nwho was then lying at the point of death. With the probable design of\nshowing the man the true condition of his mind, for we cannot doubt that\nJesus could read his thoughts, our Lord said to him: \"Except ye see\nsigns and wonders, ye will not believe.\"[386] As observed in earlier\ninstances, notably in the refusal of Jesus to commit Himself to the\nprofessing believers at Jerusalem, whose belief rested solely on their\nwonder at the things He did,[387] our Lord would not regard miracles,\nthough wrought by Himself, as a sufficient and secure foundation for\nfaith. The entreating nobleman, in anguish over the precarious state of\nhis son, in no way resented the rebuke such as a captious mind may have\nfound in the Lord's reply; but with sincere humility, which showed his\nbelief that Jesus could heal the boy, he renewed and emphasized his\nplea: \"Sir, come down ere my child die.\"\n\nProbably the man had never paused to reason as to the direct means or\nprocess by which death might be averted and healing be insured through\nthe words of any being; but in his heart he believed in Christ's power,\nand with pathetic earnestness besought our Lord to intervene in behalf\nof his dying son. He seemed to consider it necessary that the Healer be\npresent, and his great fear was that the boy would not live until Jesus\ncould arrive. \"Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the\nman believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his\nway.\" The genuineness of the man's trust is shown by his grateful\nacceptance of the Lord's assurance, and by the contentment that he\nforthwith manifested. Capernaum, where his son lay, was about twenty\nmiles away; had he been still solicitous and doubtful he would probably\nhave tried to return home that day, for it was one o'clock in the\nafternoon when Jesus spoke the words that had given to him such relief;\nbut he journeyed leisurely, for on the following day he was still on the\nroad, and was met by some of his servants who had been sent to cheer him\nwith the glad word of his son's recovery. He inquired when the boy had\nbegun to amend, and was told that at the seventh hour on the yesterday\nthe fever had left him. That was the time at which Christ had said, \"Thy\nson liveth.\" The man's belief ripened fast, and both he and his\nhousehold accepted the gospel.[388] This was the second miracle wrought\nby Jesus when in Cana, though in this instance the subject of the\nblessing was in Capernaum.\n\nOur Lord's fame spread through all the region round about. During a\nperiod not definitely stated, He taught in the synagogs of the towns and\nwas received with favor, being glorified of all.[389] He then returned\nto Nazareth, His former home, and as was his custom, attended the\nsynagog on the Sabbath day. Many times as boy and man He had sat in that\nhouse of worship, listening to the reading of the law and the prophets\nand to the commentaries or Targums[390] relating thereto, as delivered\nby appointed readers; but now, as a recognized teacher of legal age He\nwas eligible to take the reader's place. On this occasion He stood up to\nread, when the service had reached the stage at which extracts from the\nprophetical books were to be read to the congregation. The minister in\ncharge handed Him the roll, or book, of Isaiah; He turned to the part\nknown to us as the beginning of the sixty-first chapter, and read: \"The\nSpirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the\ngospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to\npreach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the\nblind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable\nyear of the Lord.\"[391] Handing the book to the minister, He sat down.\nIt was allowable for the reader in the service of the Jewish synagog to\nmake comments in explanation of what had been read; but to do so he must\nsit. When Jesus took His seat the people knew that He was about to\nexpound the text, and \"the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue\nwere fastened on him.\" The scripture He had quoted was one recognized by\nall classes as specifically referring to the Messiah, for whose coming\nthe nation waited. The first sentence of our Lord's commentary was\nstartling; it involved no labored analysis, no scholastic\ninterpretation, but a direct and unambiguous application: \"This day is\nthis scripture fulfilled in your ears.\" There was such graciousness in\nHis words that all wondered, and they said, \"Is not this Joseph's\nson?\"[392]\n\nJesus knew their thoughts even if He heard not their words, and,\nforestalling their criticism, He said: \"Ye will surely say unto me this\nproverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in\nCapernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto\nyou, No prophet is accepted in his own country.\" In their hearts the\npeople were eager for a sign, a wonder, a miracle. They knew that Jesus\nhad wrought such in Cana, and a boy in Capernaum had been healed by His\nword; at Jerusalem too He had astonished the people with mighty works.\nWere they, His townsmen, to be slighted? Why would He not treat them to\nsome entertaining exhibition of His powers? He continued His address,\nreminding them that in the days of Elijah, when for three years and a\nhalf no rain had fallen, and famine had reigned, the prophet had been\nsent to but one of the many widows, and she a woman of Sarepta in Sidon,\na Gentile, not a daughter of Israel. And again, though there had been\nmany lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha, but one leper, and he a\nSyrian, not an Israelite, had been cleansed through the prophet's\nministration, for Naaman alone had manifested the requisite faith.\n\nThen great was their wrath. Did He dare to class them with Gentiles and\nlepers? Were they to be likened unto despized unbelievers, and that too\nby the son of the village carpenter, who had grown from childhood in\ntheir community? Victims of diabolical rage, they seized the Lord and\ntook Him to the brow of the hill on the slopes of which the town was\nbuilt, determined to avenge their wounded feelings by hurling Him from\nthe rocky cliffs. Thus early in His ministry did the forces of\nopposition attain murderous intensity. But our Lord's time to die had\nnot yet come. The infuriated mob was powerless to go one step farther\nthan their supposed victim would permit. \"But he passing through the\nmidst of them went his way.\" Whether they were overawed by the grace of\nHis presence, silenced by the power of His words, or stayed by some more\nappalling intervention, we are not informed. He departed from the\nunbelieving Nazarenes, and thenceforth Nazareth was no longer His home.\n\n\nIN CAPERNAUM.\n\nJesus wended His way to Capernaum,[393] which became to Him as nearly a\nplace of abode as any He had in Galilee. There He taught, particularly\non Sabbath days; and the people were astonished at His doctrine, for He\nspoke with authority and power.[394] In the synagog, on one of these\noccasions, was a man who was a victim of possession, and subject to the\nravages of an evil spirit, or, as the text so forcefully states, one who\n\"had a spirit of an unclean devil.\" It is significant that this wicked\nspirit, which had gained such power over the man as to control his\nactions and utterances, was terrified before our Lord and cried out with\na loud voice, though pleadingly: \"Let us alone; what have we to do with\nthee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee\nwho thou art; the Holy One of God.\" Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit,\ncommanding him to be silent, and to leave the man; the demon obeyed the\nMaster, and after throwing the victim into violent though harmless\nparoxysm, left him. Such a miracle caused the beholders to wonder the\nmore, and they exclaimed: \"What a word is this! for with authority and\npower he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame\nof him went out into every place of the country round about.\"[395]\n\nIn the evening of the same day, when the sun had set, and therefore\nafter the Sabbath had passed[396], the people flocked about Him,\nbringing their afflicted friends and kindred; and these Jesus healed of\ntheir divers maladies whether of body or of mind. Among those so\nrelieved were many who had been possessed of devils, and these cried\nout, testifying perforce of the Master's divine authority: \"Thou art\nChrist the Son of God.\"[397]\n\nOn these as on other occasions, we find evil spirits voicing through the\nmouths of their victims their knowledge that Jesus was the Christ; and\nin all such instances the Lord silenced them with a word; for He wanted\nno such testimony as theirs to attest the fact of His Godship. Those\nspirits were of the devil's following, members of the rebellious and\ndefeated hosts that had been cast down through the power of the very\nBeing whose authority and power they now acknowledged in their demoniac\nfrenzy. Together with Satan himself, their vanquished chief, they\nremained unembodied, for to all of them the privileges of the second or\nmortal estate had been denied;[398] their remembrance of the scenes that\nhad culminated in their expulsion from heaven was quickened by the\npresence of the Christ, though He stood in a body of flesh.\n\nMany modern writers have attempted to explain the phenomenon of\ndemoniacal possession; and beside these there are not a few who deny the\npossibility of actual domination of the victim by spirit personages. Yet\nthe scriptures are explicit in showing the contrary. Our Lord\ndistinguished between this form of affliction and that of simple bodily\ndisease in His instructions to the Twelve: \"Heal the sick, cleanse the\nlepers, raise the dead, cast out devils.\"[399] In the account of the\nincidents under consideration, the evangelist Mark observes the same\ndistinction, thus: \"They brought unto him all that were diseased, and\nthem that were possessed with devils.\" In several instances, Christ, in\nrebuking demons, addressed them as individuals distinct from the human\nbeing afflicted,[400] and in one such instance commanded the demon to\n\"come out of him, and enter no more into him.\"[401]\n\nIn this matter as in others the simplest explanation is the pertinent\ntruth; theory raised on other than scriptural foundation is unstable.\nChrist unequivocally associated demons with Satan, specifically in His\ncomment on the report of the Seventy whom He authorized and sent forth,\nand who testified with joy on their return that even the devils had been\nsubject unto them through His name; and to those faithful servants He\nsaid: \"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.\"[402] The demons\nthat take possession of men, overruling their agency and compelling them\nto obey Satanic bidding, are the unembodied angels of the devil, whose\ntriumph it is to afflict mortals, and if possible to impel them to sin.\nTo gain for themselves the transitory gratification of tenanting a body\nof flesh, these demons are eager to enter even into the bodies of\nbeasts.[403]\n\nPossibly it was during the interval between the rebuking of the evil\nspirit in the synagog and the miracles of healing and casting out devils\nin the evening of that Sabbath, that Jesus went to the house of Simon,\nwhom He had before named Peter, and there found the mother-in-law of His\ndisciple lying ill of fever. Acceding to the request of faith He rebuked\nthe disease; the woman was healed forthwith, rose from her bed, and\nministered the hospitality of her home unto Jesus and those who were\nwith Him.[404]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 13.\n\n1. Animosity Between Jews and Samaritans.--In any consideration of the\nSamaritans, it must be kept in mind that a certain city and the district\nor province in which it was situated were both known as Samaria. The\nprincipal facts pertaining to the origin of the Samaritans and the\nexplanation of the mutual animosity existing between that people and the\nJews in the time of Christ, have been admirably summarized by Geikie\n(_Life and Words of Christ_, vol. i, pp. 495-6). Omitting his citation\nof authorities, we quote: \"After the deportation of the Ten Tribes to\nAssyria, Samaria had been repeopled by heathen colonists from various\nprovinces of the Assyrian empire, by fugitives from the authorities of\nJudea, and by stragglers of one or other of the Ten Tribes, who found\ntheir way home again. The first heathen settlers, terrified at the\nincrease of wild animals, especially lions, and attributing it to their\nnot knowing the proper worship of the God of the country, sent for one\nof the exiled priests, and, under his instructions, added the worship of\nJehovah to that of their idols--an incident in their history from which\nlater Jewish hatred and derision taunted them as 'proselytes of the\nlions,' as it branded them, from their Assyrian origin, with the name of\nCuthites. Ultimately, however, they became even more rigidly attached to\nthe Law of Moses than the Jews themselves. Anxious to be recognized as\nIsraelites, they set their hearts on joining the Two Tribes, on their\nreturn from captivity, but the stern Puritanism of Ezra and Nehemiah\nadmitted no alliance between the pure blood of Jerusalem and the tainted\nrace of the north. Resentment at this affront was natural, and excited\nresentment in return, till, in Christ's day, centuries of strife and\nmutual injury, intensified by theological hatred on both sides, had made\nthem implacable enemies. The Samaritans had built a temple on Mount\nGerizim, to rival that of Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed by John\nHyrcanus, who had also levelled Samaria to the ground. They claimed for\ntheir mountain a greater holiness than that of Moriah; accused the Jews\nof adding to the word of God, by receiving the writings of the prophets,\nand prided themselves on owning only the Pentateuch as inspired;\nfavoured Herod because the Jews hated him, and were loyal to him and the\nequally hated Romans; had kindled false lights on the hills, to vitiate\nthe Jewish reckoning by the new moons, and thus throw their feasts into\nconfusion, and, in the early youth of Jesus, had even defiled the very\nTemple itself, by strewing human bones in it, at the Passover.\n\n\"Nor had hatred slumbered on the side of the Jews. They knew the\nSamaritans only as Cuthites, or heathens from Cuth. 'The race that I\nhate is no race,' says the son of Sirach. It was held that a people who\nonce had worshipped five gods could have no part in Jehovah. The claim\nof the Samaritans that Moses had buried the Tabernacle and its vessels\non the top of Gerizim, was laughed to scorn. It was said that they had\ndedicated their temple, under Antiochus Epiphanes, to the Greek Jupiter.\nTheir keeping the commands of Moses even more strictly than the Jews,\nthat it might seem they were really of Israel, was not denied; but their\nheathenism, it was said, had been proved by the discovery of a brazen\ndove, which they worshipped, on the top of Gerizim. It would have been\nenough that they boasted of Herod as their good king, who had married a\ndaughter of their people; that he had been free to follow, in their\ncountry, his Roman tastes, so hated in Judea; that they had remained\nquiet, after his death, when Judea and Galilee were in uproar, and that\nfor their peacefulness a fourth of their taxes had been remitted and\nadded to the burdens of Judea. Their friendliness to the Romans was an\nadditional provocation. While the Jews were kept quiet only by the\nsternest severity, and strove to the utmost against the introduction of\nanything foreign, the Samaritans rejoiced in the new importance which\ntheir loyalty to the empire had given them. Shechem flourished: close\nby, in C\u00e6sarea, the procurator held his court: a division of cavalry, in\nbarracks at Sebaste--the old Samaria--had been raised in the territory.\nThe Roman strangers were more than welcome to while away the summer in\ntheir umbrageous valleys.\n\n\"The illimitable hatred, rising from so many sources, found vent in the\ntradition that a special curse had been uttered against the Samaritans,\nby Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Joshua. It was said that these great ones\nassembled the whole congregation of Israel in the Temple, and that three\nhundred priests, with three hundred trumpets, and three hundred books of\nthe Law, and three hundred scholars of the Law, had been employed to\nrepeat, amidst the most solemn ceremonial, all the curses of the Law\nagainst the Samaritans. They had been subjected to every form of\nexcommunication; by the incommunicable name of Jehovah; by the Tables of\nthe Law, and by the heavenly and earthly synagogues. The very name\nbecame a reproach. 'We know that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a\ndevil,' said the Jews, to Jesus, in Jerusalem.... A Samaritan egg, as\nthe hen laid it, could not be unclean, but what of a boiled egg? Yet\ninterest and convenience strove, by subtle casuistry, to invent excuses\nfor what intercourse was unavoidable. The country of the Cuthites was\nclean, so that a Jew might, without scruple, gather and eat its produce.\nThe waters of Samaria were clean, so that a Jew might drink them or wash\nin them. Their dwellings were clean, so that he might enter them, and\neat or lodge in them. Their roads were clean, so that the dust of them\ndid not defile a Jew's feet. The Rabbis even went so far in their\ncontradictory utterances, as to say that the victuals of the Cuthites\nwere allowed, if none of their wine or vinegar were mixed with them, and\neven their unleavened bread was to be reckoned fit for use at the\nPassover. Opinions thus wavered, but, as a rule, harsher feeling\nprevailed.\"\n\nThat the hostile sentiment has continued unto this day, at least on the\npart of the Jews, is affirmed by Frankl and others. Thus, as quoted by\nFarrar (p. 166 note): \"'Are you a Jew?' asked Salameh Cohen, the\nSamaritan high priest, of Dr. Frankl; 'and do you come to us, the\nSamaritans, who are despised by the Jews?' (_Jews in the East_, ii,\n329). He added that they would willingly live in friendship with the\nJews, but that the Jews avoided all intercourse with them. Soon after,\nvisiting Sepharedish Jews of Nablous, Dr. Frankl asked one of that sect,\n'if he had any intercourse with the Samaritans?' The women retreated\nwith a cry of horror, and one of them said, 'Have you been among the\nworshipers of the pigeons?' I said that I had. The women again fell back\nwith the same expression of repugnance and one of them said, 'Take a\npurifying bath!'\" (idem, p. 334). Canon Farrar adds, \"I had the pleasure\nof spending a day among the Samaritans encamped on Mount Gerizim, for\ntheir annual passover, and neither in their habits nor apparent\ncharacter could I see any cause for all this horror and hatred.\"\n\n2. Sychar.--The town where dwelt the Samaritan woman with whom Jesus\nconversed at Jacob's well, is named Sychar in John 4:5; the name occurs\nnowhere else in the Bible. Attempts have been made to identify the place\nwith Shechem, a city dear to the Jewish heart because of its prominence\nin connection with the lives of the early patriarchs. It is now\ngenerally admitted, however, that Sychar was a small village on the site\nof the present Askar, which is, says Zenos, \"a village with a spring and\nsome ancient rock-hewn tombs, about five eighths of a mile north of\nJacob's well.\"\n\n3. The Nobleman of Capernaum.--The name of the nobleman whose son was\nhealed by the word of Jesus is not given. Attempts to identify him with\nChuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, are based on unreliable tradition.\nThe family of the nobleman accepted the teachings of Christ. \"Joanna the\nwife of Chuza Herod's steward\" (Luke 8:3) was among the grateful and\nhonorable women who had been recipients of our Lord's healing ministry,\nand who contributed of their substance for the furtherance of His work.\nUnconfirmed tradition should not be confounded with authentic history.\n\n4. The Targums are ancient Jewish paraphrases on the scriptures, which\nwere delivered in the synagogs in the languages of the common people. In\nthe time of Christ the language spoken by the Jews was not Hebrew, but\nan Aramaic dialect. Edersheim states that pure Hebrew was the language\nof scholars and of the synagog, and that the public readings from the\nscriptures had to be rendered by an interpreter. \"In earliest times\nindeed,\" says he, \"it was forbidden to the Methurgeman [interpreter] to\nread his translation, or to write down a Targum, lest the paraphrase\nshould be regarded as of equal authority with the original.\" The use of\nwritten targums was \"authoritatively sanctioned before the end of the\nsecond century after Christ. This is the origin of our two oldest extant\nTargumim--that of Onkelos (as it is called) on the Pentateuch; and that\non the Prophets, attributed to Jonathan the son of Uzziel. These names\ndo not indeed, accurately represent the authorship of the oldest\nTargumim, which may more correctly be regarded as later and\nauthoritative recensions of what, in some form, had existed before. But\nalthough these works had their origin in Palestine, it is noteworthy\nthat in the form in which at present we possess them, they are the\noutcome of the schools of Babylon.\" (_Life and Times of Jesus the\nMessiah_, vol. i, pp. 10, 11.)\n\n5. Capernaum.--\"The name Capernaum signifies, according to some\nauthorities, 'the Village of Nahum,' according to others, 'the Village\nof Consolation.' As we follow the history of Jesus we shall discover\nthat many of His mighty works were wrought, and many of His most\nimpressive words were spoken in Capernaum. The infidelity of the\ninhabitants, after all the discourses and wonderful works which He had\ndone among them, brought out the saying of Jesus, 'And thou, Capernaum,\nwhich art exalted unto heaven, shalt be cast down to hell.' (Matt.\n11:23.) So thoroughly has this prediction been fulfilled that no trace\nof the city remains, and the very site which it occupied is now a matter\nof conjecture, there being even no ecclesiastical tradition of the\nlocality. At the present day two spots have claims which are urged, each\nwith such arguments of probability as to make the whole question the\nmost difficult in sacred topography.... We shall probably never be able\nto know the exact fact. Jesus damned it to oblivion, and there it lies.\nWe shall content ourselves with the New Testament notices as bearing on\nthe work of Jesus.\n\n\"We learn that it was somewhere on the borders of Zabulun and Nephtali,\non the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, (compare Matt 4:13, with\nJohn 6:24). It was near or in 'the land of Gennesaret' (compare Matt\n14:34, with John 6:17, 21, 24), a plain about three miles long and one\nmile wide, which we learn from Josephus was one of the most prosperous\nand crowded districts of Palestine. It was probably on the great road\nleading from Damascus to the south, 'by the way of the sea,' (Matt.\n4:15.) There was great wisdom in selecting this as a place to open a\ngreat public ministry. It was full of a busy population. The exceeding\nrichness of the wonderful plain of Gennesaret supported the mass of\ninhabitants it attracted. Josephus (B. J., iii, 10:8) gives a glowing\ndescription of this land.\"--Deems _Light of the Nations_, pp. 167, 168.\n\n6. Knowledge Does Not Insure Salvation.--James of old chided his\nbrethren for certain empty professions (James 2:19). Said he in effect:\nYou take pride and satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; you\nboast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen because\nyou accept one God; you do well to so profess, and so believe; but,\nremember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and, we may add,\nso firmly that they tremble at thought of the fate which that belief\nmakes sure. Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of\nGod, were founded on knowledge; yet their knowledge of the great truth\ndid not change their evil natures. How different was their\nacknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master's\nquestion \"Whom say ye that I am?\" replied in practically the words used\nby the unclean spirits before cited, \"Thou art the Christ, the Son of\nthe living God\" (Matt. 16:15-16; see also Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Peter's\nfaith had already shown its vital power; it had caused him to forsake\nmuch that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and\nsuffering, and to put away worldliness with all its fascinations, for\nthe sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His\nknowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was\nperhaps no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them\nthat knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation, to him it was a\nmeans of salvation.--Abridged from _The Articles of Faith_.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[379] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[380] John 8:48.\n\n[381] John 4:4; for incidents following see verses 5-43.\n\n[382] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[383] Gen. 33:19; and Josh. 24:32.\n\n[384] Acts 8:5; 9:31; 15:3.\n\n[385] John 4:44; compare Matt. 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24.\n\n[386] John 4:48; read verses 46-54.\n\n[387] John 2:23, 24.\n\n[388] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[389] Luke 4:14, 15; read verses 16-32.\n\n[390] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[391] Luke 4:18, 19; compare Isa. 61:1, 2.\n\n[392] Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 13:55-57; Mark 6:3; John 6:42.\n\n[393] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[394] Luke 4:32; compare Matt. 7:28, 29; 13:54; Mark 1:22.\n\n[395] Luke 4:33-37; and Mark 1:23-28. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[396] The Jews' Sabbath began at sunset Friday and ended with the\nsetting of the sun on Saturday.\n\n[397] Luke 4:41; compare Mark 1:34; 3:11, 12; 5:1-18; Matt. 8:28-34.\n\n[398] Pages 6, 7.\n\n[399] Matt. 10:8; see verse 1; compare 4:24; Mark 1:32; 16:17, 18; Luke\n9:1\n\n[400] Matt. 8:32; Mark 1:25; Luke 4:35.\n\n[401] Mark 9:25.\n\n[402] Luke 10:17, 18; compare Rev. 12:7-9.\n\n[403] Matt. 8:29-33; Mark 5:11-14; Luke 8:32-34.\n\n[404] Matt. 8:14, 15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38, 39.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 14.\n\nCONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN GALILEE.\n\n\nA LEPER MADE CLEAN.\n\nEarly in the morning following that eventful Sabbath in Capernaum, our\nLord arose \"a great while before day\" and went in quest of seclusion\nbeyond the town. In a solitary place He gave Himself to prayer, thus\ndemonstrating the fact that, Messiah though He was, He was profoundly\nconscious of His dependence upon the Father, whose work He had come to\ndo. Simon Peter and other disciples found the place of His retirement,\nand told Him of the eager crowds who sought Him. Soon the people\ngathered about Him, and urged that He remain with them; but \"he said\nunto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for\ntherefore am I sent.\"[405] And to the disciples He said: \"Let us go into\nthe next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I\nforth.\"[406] Thence He departed, accompanied by the few whom He had\nalready closely associated with Himself, and ministered in many towns of\nGalilee, preaching in the synagogs, healing the sick, and casting out\ndevils.\n\nAmong the afflicted seeking the aid that He alone could give came a\nleper,[407] who knelt before Him, or bowed with his face to the ground,\nand humbly professed his faith, saying: \"If thou wilt, thou canst make\nme clean.\" The petition implied in the words of this poor creature was\npathetic; the confidence he expressed is inspiring. The question in his\nmind was not--Can Jesus heal me? but--Will He heal me? In compassionate\nmercy Jesus laid His hand upon the sufferer, unclean though he was, both\nceremonially and physically, for leprosy is a loathsome affliction, and\nwe know that this man was far advanced in the disease since we are told\nthat he was \"full of leprosy.\" Then the Lord said: \"I will: be thou\nclean.\" The leper was immediately healed. Jesus instructed him to show\nhimself to the priest, and make the offerings prescribed in the law of\nMoses for such cases as his.[408]\n\nIn this instruction we see that Christ had not come to destroy the law,\nbut, as He affirmed at another time, to fulfil it;[409] and at this\nstage of His work the fulfilment was incomplete. Moreover, had the legal\nrequirements been disregarded in as serious a matter as that of\nrestoring an outcast leper to the society of the community from which he\nhad been debarred, priestly opposition, already waxing strong and\nthreatening against Jesus, would have been augmented, and further\nhindrance to the Lord's work might have resulted. There was to be no\ndelay in the man's compliance with the Master's instruction; Jesus\n\"straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away.\" Furthermore He\nexplicitly directed the man to tell nobody of the manner of his healing.\nThere was perhaps good reason for this injunction of silence, aside from\nthe very general course of our Lord in discountenancing undesirable\nnotoriety; for, had word of the miracle preceded the man's appearing\nbefore the priest, obstacles might have been thrown in the way of his\nLevitical recognition as one who was clean. The man, however, could not\nkeep the good word to himself, but went about \"and began to publish it\nmuch, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more\nopenly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they\ncame to him from every quarter.\"[410]\n\n\nA PALSIED MAN HEALED AND FORGIVEN.\n\nIt must be borne in mind that no one of the evangelists attempts to give\na detailed history of all the doings of Jesus, nor do all follow the\nsame order in relating the incidents with which they associate the great\nlessons of the Master's teachings. There is much uncertainty as to the\nactual sequence of events.\n\n\"Some days\" after the healing of the leper, Jesus was again in\nCapernaum. The details of His employment during the interval are not\nspecified; but, we may be sure that His work continued, for His\ncharacteristic occupation was that of going about doing good.[411] His\nplace of abode in Capernaum was well known, and word was soon noised\nabout that He was in the house.[412] A great throng gathered, so that\nthere was no room to receive them; even the doorway was crowded, and\nlater comers could not get near the Master. To all who were within\nhearing Jesus preached the gospel. A little party of four approached the\nhouse bearing a litter or pallet on which lay a man afflicted with\npalsy, a species of paralysis which deprived the subject of the power of\nvoluntary motion and usually of speech; the man was helpless. His\nfriends, disappointed at finding themselves unable to reach Jesus\nbecause of the press, resorted to an unusual expedient, which exhibited\nin an unmistakable way their faith in the Lord as One who could rebuke\nand stay disease, and their determination to seek the desired blessing\nat His hands.\n\nBy some means they carried the afflicted man to the flat roof of the\nhouse, probably by an outside stairway or by the use of a ladder,\npossibly by entering an adjoining house, ascending the stairs to its\nroof and crossing therefrom to the house within which Jesus was\nteaching. They broke away part of the roof, making an opening, or\nenlarging that of the trapdoor such as the houses of that place and time\nwere usually provided with; and, to the surprize of the assembled crowd,\nthey then let down through the tiling the portable couch upon which the\npalsied sufferer lay. Jesus was deeply impressed by the faith and\nworks[413] of those who had thus labored to place a helpless paralytic\nbefore Him; doubtless, too, He knew of the trusting faith in the heart\nof the sufferer; and, looking compassionately upon the man, He said:\n\"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.\"\n\nAmong the people there assembled were scribes, Pharisees, and doctors of\nthe law, not only representatives of the local synagog but some who had\ncome from distant towns in Galilee, and some from Judea, and even from\nJerusalem. The official class had opposed our Lord and His works on\nearlier occasions, and their presence in the house at this time boded\nfurther unfriendly criticism and possible obstruction. They heard the\nwords spoken to the paralytic, and were angered thereat. In their hearts\nthey accused Jesus of the awful offense of blasphemy, which consists\nessentially in claiming for human or demon power the prerogatives of\nGod, or in dishonoring God by ascribing to Him attributes short of\nperfection.[414] These unbelieving scholars, who incessantly wrote and\ntalked of the coming of the Messiah, yet rejected Him when He was there\npresent, murmured in silence, saying to themselves: \"Who can forgive\nsins but God only?\" Jesus knew their inmost thoughts,[415] and made\nreply thereto, saying: \"Why reason ye these things in your hearts?\nWhether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be\nforgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?\" And\nthen to emphasize, and to put beyond question His possession of divine\nauthority, He added: \"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath\npower on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I\nsay unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine\nhouse.\" The man arose, fully restored; and, taking up the mattress upon\nwhich he had been brought, walked out before them. The amazement of the\npeople was mingled with reverence, and many glorified God, of whose\npower they were witnesses.\n\nThe incident demands our further study. According to one of the\naccounts, the Lord's first words to the afflicted one were: \"Son, be of\ngood cheer;\" followed directly by the comforting and authoritative\nassurance: \"Thy sins be given thee.\"[416] The man was probably in a\nstate of fear; he may have known that his ailment was the result of\nwicked indulgences; nevertheless, though he may have considered the\npossibility of hearing only condemnation for his transgression, he had\nfaith to be brought. In this man's condition there was plainly a close\nconnection between his past sins and his present affliction; and in this\nparticular his case is not unique, for we read that Christ admonished\nanother, whom He healed, to sin no more lest a worse thing befall\nhim.[417] We are not warranted, however, in assuming that all bodily\nills are the result of culpable sin; and against such a conception\nstands the Lord's combined instruction and rebuke to those who, in the\ncase of a man born blind, asked who had sinned, the man or his parents\nto bring so grievous an affliction upon him, to which inquiry our Lord\nreplied that the man's blindness was due neither to his own sin nor to\nthat of his parents.[418]\n\nIn many instances, however, disease is the direct result of individual\nsin. Whatever may have been the measure of past offense on the part of\nthe man suffering from palsy, Christ recognized his repentance together\nwith the faith that accompanied it, and it was the Lord's rightful\nprerogative to decide upon the man's fitness to receive remission of his\nsins and relief from his bodily affliction. The interrogative response\nof Jesus to the muttered criticism of the scribes, Pharisees, and\ndoctors, has been interpreted in many ways. He inquired which was\neasier, to say, \"Thy sins be forgiven thee,\" or to say, \"Arise, and take\nup thy bed, and walk.\" Is it not a rational explanation that, when\nspoken authoritatively by Him, the two expressions were of allied\nmeaning? The circumstance should have been a sufficient demonstration to\nall who heard, that He, the Son of Man, claimed and possessed the right\nand the power to remit both physical and spiritual penalties, to heal\nthe body of visible disease, and to purge the spirit of the no less real\nmalady of sin. In the presence of people of all classes Jesus thus\nopenly asserted His divinity, and affirmed the same by a miraculous\nmanifestation of power.\n\nThe charge of blasphemy, which the rabbinical critics formulated in\ntheir minds against the Christ, was not to end as a mental conception of\ntheirs, nor to be nullified by our Lord's later remarks. It was through\nperjured testimony that He finally received unrighteous condemnation and\nwas sent to His death.[419] Already, in that house at Capernaum, the\nshadow of the cross had fallen athwart the course of His life.\n\n\nPUBLICANS AND SINNERS.\n\nFrom the house Jesus repaired to the seaside, whither the people\nfollowed Him; there He taught them again. At the close of His discourse\nHe walked farther and saw a man named Levi, one of the publicans[420] or\nofficial collectors of taxes, sitting at the custom-house where the\ntariff levied under Roman law had to be paid. This man was known also as\nMatthew, a name less distinctively Jewish than is Levi.[421] He\nafterward became one of the Twelve and the author of the first of the\nevangelical Gospels. To him Jesus said, \"Follow me.\" Matthew left his\nplace and followed the Lord. Some time later the new disciple provided a\ngreat feast at his house, in honor of the Master; and other disciples\nwere present. So obnoxious to the Jews was the power of Rome to which\nthey were subject, that they regarded with aversion all officials in\nRoman employ. Particularly humiliating to them was the system of\ncompulsory taxation, by which they, the people of Israel, had to pay\ntribute to an alien nation, which in their estimation was wholly pagan\nand heathen.\n\nNaturally, the collectors of these taxes were abhorred; and they, known\nas publicans, probably resented the discourteous treatment by\ninconsiderate enforcement of the tax requirements, and, as affirmed by\nhistorians, often inflicted unlawful extortion upon the people. If\npublicans in general were detested, we can readily understand how bitter\nwould be the contempt in which the Jews would hold one of their own\nnation who had accepted appointment as such an official. In this\nunenviable status was Matthew when Jesus called him. The publicans\nformed a distinct social class, for from the community in general they\nwere practically ostracized. All who associated with them were made to\nshare in the popular odium, and \"publicans and sinners\" became a common\ndesignation for the degraded caste. To Matthew's feast many of his\nfriends and some of his fellow officials were invited, so that the\ngathering was largely made up of these despized \"publicans and sinners.\"\nAnd to such an assemblage went Jesus with His disciples.\n\nThe scribes and Pharisees could not let pass such an opportunity for\nfaultfinding and caustic criticism. They hesitated to address themselves\ndirectly to Jesus, but of the disciples they asked in disdain: \"Why\neateth your Master with publicans and sinners?\" The Master heard, and\nreplied with edifying incisiveness mingled with splendid irony. Citing\none of the common aphorisms of the day, He said: \"They that be whole\nneed not a physician, but they that are sick.\" To this He added: \"I am\nnot come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.\" The\nhypercritical Pharisees were left to make their own application of the\nrejoinder, which some may have understood to mean that their\nself-righteousness was arraigned and their claims to superiority\nderided. Aside from the veiled sarcasm in the Master's words, they ought\nto have perceived the wisdom enshrined in His answer and to have\nprofited thereby. Is not the physician's place among the afflicted ones?\nWould he be justified in keeping aloof from the sick and the suffering?\nHis profession is that of combating disease, preventing when possible,\ncuring when necessary, to the full extent of his ability. If the festive\nassembly at Matthew's house really did comprize a number of sinners, was\nnot the occasion one of rare opportunity for the ministrations of the\nPhysician of Souls? The righteous need no call to repentance; but are\nthe sinners to be left in sin, because those who profess to be spiritual\nteachers will not condescend to extend a helping hand?\n\n\nTHE OLD AND THE NEW.\n\nShortly after the entertainment provided by Matthew, the Pharisees were\nready with another criticism, and in this they were associated with some\nof the Baptist's adherents. John was in prison; but many of those who\nhad been drawn to his baptism, and had professed discipleship to him,\nstill clung to his teachings, and failed to see that the Greater One of\nwhom he had testified was then ministering amongst them. The Baptist had\nbeen a scrupulous observer of the law; his strict asceticism vied with\nthe rigor of Pharisaic profession. His non-progressive disciples, now\nleft without a leader, naturally fell in with the Pharisees. Some of\nJohn's disciples came to Jesus, and questioned Him concerning His\nseeming indifference in the matter of fasting. They propounded a plain\nquestion: \"Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but\nthy disciples fast not?\"[422] To the friends of the now imprisoned\nBaptist our Lord's reply must have brought memories of their beloved\nleader's words, when he had compared himself to the Bridegroom's friend,\nand had plainly told them who was the real Bridegroom.[423] \"Jesus said\nunto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the\nbridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them,\nthey cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be\ntaken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.\"[424]\n\nIf the questioners were able to comprehend the true import of this\nreply, they could not fail to find therein an implied abrogation of\npurely ceremonial observances comprized in the code of rabbinical rules\nand the numerous traditions associated with the law. But to make the\nsubject clearer to their biased minds, Jesus gave them illustrations,\nwhich may be classed as parabolic. \"No man also,\" said He, \"seweth a\npiece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it\nup taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man\nputteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the\nbottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but\nnew wine must be put into new bottles.\"[425]\n\nIn such wise did our Lord proclaim the newness and completeness of His\ngospel. It was in no sense a patching up of Judaism. He had not come to\nmend old and torn garments; the cloth He provided was new, and to sew it\non the old would be but to tear afresh the threadbare fabric and leave a\nmore unsightly rent than at first. Or to change the figure, new wine\ncould not safely be entrusted to old bottles. The bottles here referred\nto were really bags, made of the skins of animals, and of course they\ndeteriorated with age. Just as old leather splits or tears under even\nslight strain, so the old bottle-skins would burst from the pressure of\nfermenting juice, and the good wine would be lost. The gospel taught by\nChrist was a new revelation, superseding the past, and marking the\nfulfilment of the law; it was no mere addendum, nor was it a reenactment\nof past requirements; it embodied a new and an everlasting covenant.\nAttempts to patch the Judaistic robe of traditionalism with the new\nfabric of the covenant could result in nothing more sightly than a\nrending of the fabric. The new wine of the gospel could not be held in\nthe old time-worn containers of Mosaic libations. Judaism would be\nbelittled and Christianity perverted by any such incongruous\nassociation.[426]\n\n\nFISHERS OF MEN.\n\nIt is improbable that the disciples who followed Jesus in the early\nmonths of His ministry had remained with Him continuously down to the\ntime now under consideration. We find that some of those who were later\ncalled to the apostleship were following their vocation as fishermen\neven while Jesus was actively engaged as a Teacher in their own\nneighborhood. One day, as the Lord stood by the lake or sea of Galilee,\nthe people pressed about Him in great numbers, eager to hear more of the\nwondrous words He was wont to speak.[427] Near the place were two\nfishing boats drawn in upon the beach; the owners were close by, washing\nand mending their nets. One of the boats belonged to Simon Peter, who\nhad already become identified with the Master's work; this boat Jesus\nentered, and then asked Simon to thrust out a little from the land.\nSeating Himself, as teachers of that time usually did in delivering\ndiscourses, the Lord preached from this floating pulpit to the multitude\non shore. The subject of the address is not given us.\n\nWhen the sermon was ended, Jesus directed Simon to launch out into deep\nwater and then let down the nets for a draught. Presumably Andrew was\nwith his brother and possibly other assistants were in the boat. Simon\nreplied to Jesus: \"Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken\nnothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.\" It was soon\nfilled with fishes; so great was the haul that the net began to break,\nand the busy fishermen signalled to those in the other boat to come to\ntheir assistance. The catch filled both boats so that they appeared to\nbe in danger of sinking. Simon Peter was overcome with this new evidence\nof the Master's power, and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he exclaimed:\n\"Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.\" Jesus answered\ngraciously and with promise: \"Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch\nmen.\"[428] The occupants of the second boat were Zebedee and his two\nsons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had left\nthe Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan.[429] Zebedee and his sons\nwere partners with Simon in the fishing business. When the two boats\nwere brought to land, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's two\nsons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus.\n\nThe foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record; the briefer and less\ncircumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident of\nthe miraculous draught of fishes, and emphasize the calling of the\nfishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: \"Come ye after me, and I will\nmake you to become fishers of men.\" The contrast thus presented between\ntheir former vocation and their new calling is strikingly forceful.\nTheretofore they had caught fish, and the fate of the fish was death;\nthereafter they were to draw men--to a life eternal. To James and John\nthe call was no less definite; and they too left their all to follow the\nMaster.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 14.\n\n1. Leprosy.--In Biblical usage this name is applied to several diseases,\nall, however having some symptoms in common, at least in the earlier\nstages of the malady. The real leprosy is a scourge and a plague in many\noriental lands to-day. Zenos, in _Standard Bible Dict._, says: \"True\nleprosy, as known in modern times, is an affection characterized by the\nappearance of nodules in the eye-brows, the cheeks, the nose, and the\nlobes of the ears, also in the hands and feet, where the disease eats\ninto the joints, causing the falling off of fingers and toes. If nodules\ndo not appear, their place is taken by spots of blanched or discolored\nskin (Mascular leprosy). Both forms are based upon a functional\ndegeneration of the nerves of the skin. Its cause was discovered by\nHansen in 1871 to be a specific bacillus. Defective diet, however, seems\nto serve as a favorable condition for the culture of the bacillus.\nLeprosy was one of the few abnormal conditions of the body which the\nLevitical law declared unclean. Elaborate provision was therefore made\nfor testing its existence and for the purification of those who were\ncured of it.\"\n\nDeems, _Light of the Nations_, p. 185, summing up the conditions\nincident to the advanced stages of the dread disease, writes: \"The\nsymptoms and the effects of this disease are very loathsome. There comes\na white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair on the\npart from its natural hue to yellow; then the appearance of a taint\ngoing deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. Then\nit spreads and attacks the cartilaginous portions of the body. The nails\nloosen and drop off, the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fall\nout; the breath is a stench, the nose decays; fingers, hands, feet, may\nbe lost, or the eyes eaten out. The human beauty has gone into\ncorruption, and the patient feels that he is being eaten as by a fiend,\nwho consumes him slowly in a long remorseless meal that will not end\nuntil he be destroyed. He is shut out from his fellows. As they approach\nhe must cry, 'Unclean! unclean!' that all humanity may be warned from\nhis precincts. He must abandon wife and child. He must go to live with\nother lepers, in disheartening view of miseries similar to his own. He\nmust dwell in dismantled houses or in the tombs. He is, as Trench says,\na dreadful parable of death. By the laws of Moses (Lev. 13:45; Numb.\n6:9; Ezek. 24:17) he was compelled, as if he were mourning for his own\ndecease, to bear about him the emblems of death, the rent garments; he\nwas to keep his head bare and his lip covered, as was the custom with\nthose who were in communion with the dead. When the Crusaders brought\nthe leprosy from the East, it was usual to clothe the leper in a shroud,\nand to say for him the masses for the dead.... In all ages this\nindescribably horrible malady has been considered incurable. The Jews\nbelieved that it was inflicted by Jehovah directly, as a punishment for\nsome extraordinary perversity or some transcendent act of sinfulness,\nand that only God could heal it. When Naaman was cured, and his flesh\ncame back like that of a little child, he said, 'Now I know that there\nis no God in all the earth but in Israel,' (2 Kings 5:14, 15.)\"\n\nThe fact that leprosy is not ordinarily communicable by mere outward\ncontact is accentuated by Trench, _Notes on the Miracles_, pp. 165-168,\nand the isolation of lepers required by the Mosaic law is regarded by\nhim as an intended object lesson and figure to illustrate spiritual\nuncleanness. He says: \"I refer to the mistaken assumption that leprosy\nwas catching from one person to another; and that the lepers were so\ncarefully secluded from their fellowmen lest they might communicate the\ndisease to others, as in like manner that the torn garment, the covered\nlip, the cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev. 13:45) were warnings to all that\nthey should keep aloof, lest unawares touching a leper, or drawing unto\ntoo great a nearness, they should become partakers of this disease. So\nfar from any danger of the kind existing, nearly all who have looked\nclosest into the matter agree that the sickness was incommunicable by\nordinary contact from one person to another. A leper might transmit it\nto his children, or the mother of a leper's children might take it from\nhim; but it was by no ordinary contact communicable from one person to\nanother. All the notices in the Old Testament, as well as in other\nJewish books, confirm the statement that we have here something very\nmuch higher than a mere sanitary regulation. Thus, when the law of Moses\nwas not observed, no such exclusion necessarily found place; Naaman the\nleper commanded the armies of Syria (2 Kings 5:1); Gehazi, with his\nleprosy that never should be cleansed, (2 Kings 5:27) talked familiarly\nwith the king of apostate Israel (2 Kings 8:5).... How, moreover, should\nthe Levitical priests, had the disease been this creeping infection,\nhave ever themselves escaped it, obliged as they were by their very\noffice to submit the leper to actual handling and closest\nexamination?... Leprosy was nothing short of a living death, a\ncorrupting of all the humors, a poisoning of the very springs, of life;\na dissolution, little by little, of the whole body, so that one limb\nafter another actually decayed and fell away. Aaron exactly describes\nthe appearance which the leper presented to the eyes of the beholders,\nwhen, pleading for Miriam, he says, 'Let her not be as one dead, of whom\nthe flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.'\n(Numb. 12:12.) The disease, moreover, was incurable by the art and skill\nof man; not that the leper might not return to health; for, however\nrare, such cases are contemplated in the Levitical law.... The leper,\nthus fearfully bearing about the body the outward and visible tokens of\nsin in the soul, was treated throughout as a sinner, as one in whom sin\nhad reached its climax, as one dead in trespasses and sins. He was\nhimself a dreadful parable of death. He bore about him the emblems of\ndeath (Lev. 13:45); the rent garments, mourning for himself as one dead;\nthe head bare as they were wont to have it who were defiled by communion\nwith the dead (Numb. 6:9; Ezek. 24:27); and the lip covered (Ezek.\n24:17).... But the leper was as one dead, and as such was shut out of\nthe camp (Lev. 13:46; Numb. 5:2-4). and the city (2 Kings 7:3), this law\nbeing so strictly enforced that even the sister of Moses might not be\nexempted from it (Numb. 12:14, 15); and kings themselves, as Uzziah (2\nChron. 26:21; 2 Kings 15:5) must submit to it; men being by this\nexclusion taught that what here took place in a figure, should take\nplace in the reality with every one who was found in the death of sin.\"\n\nFor the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recovered\nleper see Lev. chap. 14.\n\n2. Blasphemy.--The essence of the deep sin of blasphemy lies not, as\nmany suppose, in profanity alone, but as Dr. Kelso, _Stand. Bible\nDict._, summarizes: \"Every improper use of the divine name (Lev. 24:11),\nspeech derogatory to the Majesty of God (Matt. 26:65), and sins with a\nhigh hand--i.e. premeditated transgressions of the basal principles of\nthe theocracy (Numb. 9:13; 15:30; Exo. 31:14)--were regarded as\nblasphemy; the penalty was death by stoning (Lev. 24:16).\" _Smith's\nBible Dict._ states: \"Blasphemy, in its technical English sense,\nsignifies the speaking evil of God, and in this sense it is found in\nPsalm 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24, etc.... On this charge both our Lord\nand Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. When a person heard\nblasphemy he laid his hand on the head of the offender, to symbolize his\nsole responsibility for the guilt, and rising on his feet, tore his\nrobe, which might never again be mended.\" (See Matt. 26:65.)\n\n3. Publican.--\"A word originally meaning a contractor for public works\nor supplies, or a farmer of public lands, but later applied to Romans\nwho bought from the government the right to collect taxes in a given\nterritory. These buyers, always knights (senators were excluded by their\nrank), became capitalists and formed powerful stock companies, whose\nmembers received a percentage on the capital invested. Provincial\ncapitalists could not buy taxes, which were sold in Rome to the highest\nbidders, who to recoup themselves sublet their territory (at a great\nadvance on the price paid the government) to the native (local)\npublicans, who in their turn had to make a profit on their purchase\nmoney, and being assessors of property as well as collectors of taxes,\nhad abundant opportunities for oppressing the people, who hated them\nboth for that reason and also because the tax itself was the mark of\ntheir subjection to foreigners.\"--J. R. Sterrett in _Stand. Bible Dict._\n\n4. Fishers of Men.--\"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,\"\nsaid Jesus to fishermen who afterward became His apostles (Matt. 4:19).\nMark's version is nearly the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10)\nreads: \"From henceforth thou shalt catch men.\" The correct translation\nis, as commentators practically agree, \"From henceforth thou shalt take\nmen alive.\" This reading emphasizes the contrast given in the text--that\nbetween capturing fish to kill them and winning men to save them.\nConsider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah\n(16:16), that in reaching scattered Israel, \"Behold, I will send for\nmany fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them;\" etc.\n\n5. \"Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee.\"--The following commentary by Edersheim\n(_Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_, vol. i, pp. 505, 506) on the\nincident under consideration is instructive: \"In this forgiveness of\nsins He presented His person and authority as divine, and He proved it\nsuch by the miracle of healing which immediately followed. Had the two\nbeen inverted, [i.e. had Christ first healed the man and afterward told\nhim that his sins were forgiven] there would have been evidence, indeed,\nof His power, but not of His divine personality, nor of His having\nauthority to forgive sins; and this, not the doing of miracles, was the\nobject of His teaching and mission, of which the miracles were only\nsecondary evidence. Thus the inward reasoning of the scribes, which was\nopen and known to Him who readeth all thoughts, issued in quite the\nopposite of what they could have expected. Most unwarranted, indeed, was\nthe feeling of contempt which we trace in their unspoken words, whether\nwe read them: 'Why does this one thus speak blasphemies?' or, according\nto a more correct transcript of them: 'Why does this one speak thus? He\nblasphemeth!' Yet from their point of view they were right, for God\nalone can forgive sins; nor has that power ever been given or delegated\nto man. But was He a mere man, like even the most honored of God's\nservants? Man, indeed; but 'the Son of Man.' ... It seemed easy to say:\n'Thy sins have been forgiven.' But to Him, who had authority to do so on\nearth, it was neither more easy nor more difficult than to say: 'Rise,\ntake up thy bed, and walk.' Yet this latter, assuredly, proved the\nformer, and gave it in the sight of all men unquestioned reality. And so\nit was the thoughts of these scribes, which, as applied to Christ, were\n'evil'--since they imputed to Him blasphemy--that gave occasion for\noffering real evidence of what they would have impugned and denied. In\nno other manner could the object alike of miracles and of this special\nmiracle have been so attained as by the 'evil thoughts' of these\nscribes, when, miraculously brought to light, they spoke out the inmost\npossible doubt, and pointed to the highest of all questions concerning\nthe Christ. And so it was once more the wrath of man which praised Him.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[405] Luke 4:42-44.\n\n[406] Mark 1:38.\n\n[407] Mark 1:40-45; Matt. 8:2-4; Luke 5:12-15.\n\n[408] Lev. 14:2-10. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[409] Matt. 5:17.\n\n[410] Mark 1:45.\n\n[411] Acts 10:38.\n\n[412] Mark 2:1-12; compare Matt. 9:2-8; Luke 5:17-24.\n\n[413] Compare James 2:14-18.\n\n[414] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[415] See another instance of our Lord reading unuttered thoughts. Luke\n7:39-50.\n\n[416] Matt. 9:2. Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[417] John 5:14. Page 208.\n\n[418] John 9:1-3.\n\n[419] Compare John 10:33, and 5:18; Matt. 26:65, 66.\n\n[420] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[421] Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32.\n\n[422] Mark 2:18-22; Matt. 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39.\n\n[423] Page 164.\n\n[424] Mark 2:19, 20.\n\n[425] Mark 2:21, 22.\n\n[426] See \"The Great Apostasy\" 7:5.\n\n[427] Luke 5:1-11; compare Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20.\n\n[428] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[429] Page 140.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 15.\n\nLORD OF THE SABBATH.\n\n\nTHE SABBATH DISTINCTIVELY SACRED TO ISRAEL.\n\nThe observance of the Sabbath as a holy day was prominent among the\nLord's requirements of His people, Israel, from a very early period in\ntheir history as a nation. Indeed, the keeping of the Sabbath as a day\nof surcease from ordinary toil was a national characteristic, by which\nthe Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples, and rightly so,\nfor the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant between\nthe chosen people and their God. The sanctity of the Sabbath had been\nprefigured in the account of the creation, antedating the placing of man\nupon the earth, as shown by the fact that God rested after the six\nperiods or days of creative work, and blessed the seventh day and\nhallowed it.[430] In the course of Israel's exodus, the seventh day was\nset apart as one of rest, upon which it was not allowed to bake, seethe,\nor otherwise cook food. A double supply of manna had to be gathered on\nthe sixth day, while on other days the laying-by of a surplus of this\ndaily bread sent from heaven was expressly forbidden. The Lord observed\nthe sacredness of the holy day by giving no manna thereon.[431]\n\nThe commandment to celebrate the Sabbath in strictness was made definite\nand explicit in the decalog, written by the hand of God amidst the awful\nglory of Sinai; and the injunction was kept before the people through\nfrequent proclamation.[432] It was unlawful to kindle a fire on that\nday; and record is made of a man who was put to death for gathering\nsticks on the seventh day.[433] Under the administration of later\nprophets, the holiness of the Sabbath, the blessings promised to those\nwho sanctified the day unto themselves, and the sin of Sabbath\ndesecration were reiterated in words of inspired forcefulness.[434]\nNehemiah admonished and reproved in the matter, and attributed the\naffliction of the nation to the forfeiture of Jehovah's favor through\nSabbath violation.[435] By the mouth of Ezekiel the Lord affirmed that\nthe institution of the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between\nHimself and the people of Israel; and with stern severity He upbraided\nthose who heeded not the day.[436] To the separate branch of the\nIsraelitish nation that had been colonized on the western hemisphere,\nregard for the sanctity of the Sabbath was no less an imperative\nrequirement.[437]\n\nThe observance demanded, however, was the very opposite of affliction\nand burden; the Sabbath was consecrated to rest and righteous enjoyment,\nand was to be a day of spiritual feasting before the Lord. It was not\nestablished as a day of abstinence; all might eat, but both mistress and\nmaid were to be relieved from the work of preparing food; neither master\nnor man was to plow, dig or otherwise toil; and the Weekly day of rest\nwas as much the boon of the cattle as of their owners.\n\nIn addition to the weekly Sabbath, the Lord in mercy prescribed also a\nsabbatic year; in every seventh year the land was to rest, and thereby\nits fertility was enhanced.[438] After seven times seven years had\npassed, the fiftieth was to be celebrated throughout as a year of\njubilee, during which the people should live on the accumulated increase\nof the preceding seasons of plenty, and rejoice in liberality by\ngranting to one another redemption from mortgage and bond, forgiveness\nof debt, and general relief from burdens--all of which had to be done in\nmercy and justice.[439] The Sabbaths established by the Lord, whether of\ndays, of years, or of weeks of years, were to be times of refreshing,\nrelief, blessing, bounty, and worship.\n\nTo the many who profess to regard the necessity of toil as a part of the\ncurse evoked through Adam's fall, the Sabbath should appeal as a day of\ntemporary reprieve, a time of exemption from labor, and as affording\nblessed opportunity of closer approach to the Presence from which\nmankind has been shut out through sin. And to those who take the higher\nview of life, and find in work both happiness and material blessing, the\nperiodical relief brings refreshment and gives renewed zest for the days\nthat follow.\n\nBut long before the advent of Christ, the original purpose of the\nSabbath had come to be largely ignored in Israel; and the spirit of its\nobservance had been smothered under the weight of rabbinical injunction\nand the formalism of restraint. In the time of the Lord's ministry, the\ntechnicalities prescribed as rules appended to the law were almost\ninnumerable; and the burden thus forced upon the people had become well\nnigh unbearable. Among the many wholesome requirements of the Mosaic\nlaw, which the teachers and spiritual rulers of the Jews had made thus\nburdensome, that of Sabbath observance was especially prominent. The\n\"hedge,\" which by unwarranted assumption they professedly set about the\nlaw,[440] was particularly thorny in the sections devoted to the Jewish\nSabbath. Even trifling infractions of traditional rules were severely\npunished, and the capital penalty was held before the eyes of the people\nas a supreme threat for extreme desecration.[441]\n\n\nTHE HEALING OF A CRIPPLE ON THE SABBATH.\n\nIn view of these conditions, we are not surprized to find our Lord\nconfronted with charges of Sabbath violation relatively early in the\ncourse of His public work. An instance attended with many great\ndevelopments is recorded by John,[442] whose narrative covers the\nincident of a very impressive miracle. Jesus was again in Jerusalem at\nthe time of one of the Jewish festivals.[443] There was a pool of water,\ncalled Bethesda, near the sheep market in the city. From the recorded\ndescription, we may understand this to have been a natural spring;\npossibly the water was rich in dissolved solids or gases, or both,\nmaking it such as we would call today a mineral spring; for we find that\nthe water was reputed to possess curative virtues, and many afflicted\nfolk came to bathe therein. The spring was of the pulsating variety; at\nintervals its waters rose with bubbling disturbance, and then receded to\nthe normal level. Mineral springs of this kind are known today in many\nparts of the world. Some believed that the periodical upwelling of the\nBethesda waters was the result of supernatural agency; and it was said\nthat \"whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in\nwas made whole of whatsoever disease he had.\" The Bethesda pool was\nwholly or partly enclosed; and five porches had been built for the\nshelter of those who waited at the spring for the intermittent bubbling\nup of the water.\n\nOn a certain Sabbath day, Jesus visited the pool and saw many afflicted\nfolk thus waiting. Among them lay a man who for thirty-eight years had\nbeen grievously afflicted. From the man's statement of his helplessness\nwe may infer that his malady was paralysis, or possibly an extreme form\nof rheumatism; whatever his affliction, it was so disabling as to give\nhim little chance of getting into the pool at the critical time, for\nothers less crippled crowded him away; and, according to the legends\nregarding the curative properties of the spring, only the first to enter\nthe pool after the agitation of the water might expect to be healed.\n\nJesus recognized in the man a fit subject for blessing, and said to him:\n\"Wilt thou be made whole?\" The question was so simple as almost to\nappear superfluous. Of course the man wanted to be made well, and on the\nsmall chance of being able to reach the water at the right moment was\npatiently yet eagerly waiting. There was purpose, however, in these as\nin all other words of the Master. The man's attention was drawn to Him,\nfixed upon Him; the question aroused in the sufferer's heart renewed\nyearning for the health and strength of which he had been bereft since\nthe days of his youth. His answer was pitiful, and revealed his almost\nhopeless state of mind; he thought only of the rumored virtues of\nBethesda pool as he said: \"Sir, I have no man, when the water is\ntroubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another\nsteppeth down before me.\" Then spake Jesus: \"Rise, take up thy bed, and\nwalk.\" Immediately strength returned to the man, who for nearly four\ndecades had been a helpless invalid; he obeyed the Master, and, taking\nup the little mattress or pallet on which he had rested, walked away.\n\nHe had not gone far, before the Jews, that is to say, some of the\nofficial class, for so the evangelist John employs the term, saw him\ncarrying his bed; and it was the Sabbath day. To their peremptory\nreprimand he replied out of the gratitude and honest simplicity of his\nheart, that He who had healed him had told him to take up his bed and\nwalk. The interest of the inquisitors was instantly turned from the man\ntoward Him who had wrought the miracle; but the erstwhile cripple could\nnot name his Benefactor, as he had lost sight of Jesus in the crowd\nbefore he had found opportunity for question or thanks. The man who had\nbeen healed went to the temple, possibly impelled by a desire to express\nin prayer his gratitude and joy. There Jesus found him, and said unto\nhim: \"Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come\nunto thee.\"[444] The man had probably brought about his affliction\nthrough his own sinful habits. The Lord decided that he had suffered\nenough in body, and terminated his physical suffering with the\nsubsequent admonition to sin no more.\n\nThe man went and told the rulers who it was that had healed him. This he\nmay have done with a desire to honor and glorify the Giver of his boon;\nwe are not justified in ascribing to him any unworthy purpose, though by\nhis act he was instrumental in augmenting the persecution of his Lord.\nSo intense was the hatred of the priestly faction that the rulers sought\na means of putting Jesus to death, under the specious pretense of His\nbeing a Sabbath-breaker. We may well ask of what act they could possibly\nhave hoped to convict Him, even under the strictest application of their\nrules. There was no proscription against speaking on the Sabbath; and\nJesus had but spoken to heal. He had not carried the man's bed, nor had\nHe attempted even the lightest physical labor. By their own\ninterpretation of the law they had no case against Him.\n\n\nOUR LORD'S REPLY TO THE ACCUSING JEWS.\n\nNevertheless, the Jewish officials confronted Jesus with accusations.\nWhether the interview took place within the temple walls, on the open\nstreet, at the market place, or in the judgment hall, matters not. His\nreply to their charges is not confined to the question of Sabbath\nobservance; it stands as the most comprehensive sermon in scripture on\nthe vital subject of the relationship between the Eternal Father and His\nSon, Jesus Christ.\n\nHis first sentence added to the already intense anger of the Jews.\nReferring to the work He had done on the holy day, He said: \"My Father\nworketh hitherto, and I work.\" This remark they construed to be a\nblasphemy.[445] \"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because\nhe not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his\nFather, making himself equal with God.\" To their spoken or unuttered\nprotest, Jesus replied, that He, the Son, was not acting independently,\nand in fact could do nothing except what was in accordance with the\nFather's will, and what He had seen the Father do; that the Father so\nloved the Son as to show unto Him the Father's works.\n\nBe it observed that Jesus in no way attempted to explain away their\nconstruction of His words; on the contrary He confirmed their deductions\nas correct. He did associate Himself with the Father, even in a closer\nand more exalted relationship than they had conceived. The authority\ngiven to Him by the Father was not limited to the healing of bodily\ninfirmities; He had power even to raise the dead--\"For as the Father\nraiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth\nwhom he will.\" Moreover, the judgment of men had been committed unto\nHim; and no one could honor the Father except by honoring the Son. Then\nfollowed this incisive declaration: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He\nthat heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath\neverlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed\nfrom death unto life.\"\n\nChrist's realm was not bounded by the grave; even the dead were wholly\ndependent upon Him for their salvation; and to the terrified ears of His\ndumbfounded accusers He proclaimed the solemn truth, that even then the\nhour was near in which the dead should hear the voice of the Son of God.\nPonder His profound affirmation: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The\nhour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the\nSon of God: and they that hear shall live.\" The murderous rage of the\nJews was rebuffed by the declaration that without His submission they\ncould not take His life: \"For as the Father hath life in himself; so\nhath he given to the Son to have life in himself.\" Another utterance was\nequally portentous: \"And hath given him authority to execute judgment\nalso, because he is the Son of man.\" He, the Son of the exalted and\nglorified Man of Holiness and now Himself a mortal Man,[446] was to be\nthe judge of men.\n\nNo wonder they marveled; such doctrine they had never before heard nor\nread; it was not of the scribes nor of the rabbis, of neither the\nPharisaic nor Sadducean schools. But He reproved their amazement,\nsaying: \"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all\nthat are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they\nthat have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have\ndone evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.\"[447]\n\nThis enunciation of the resurrection, so plainly made that the most\nunlettered could understand, must have offended any Sadducees present,\nfor they emphatically denied the actuality of the resurrection. The\nuniversality of a resurrection is here unquestionably affirmed; not only\nthe righteous but even those who merit condemnation are to come forth\nfrom their graves in their bodies of flesh and bones.[448]\n\nThen, renewing His solemn asseveration of the unity of His Father's will\nand His own, Christ discussed the matter of witnesses to His work. He\nadmitted what was a recognized tenet of the time, that no man's\nunsupported witness of himself was sufficient; but, He added: \"There is\nanother that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he\nwitnesseth of me is true.\" He cites John the Baptist, and reminds them\nthat they had sent a delegation to him, and that John had answered them\nby bearing testimony of the Messiah; and John had been a burning and a\nshining light, in whose illuminating ministry many had temporarily\nrejoiced. The hostile Jews were left to see that the witness of John was\nvalid under their strictest construction of the rules of evidence;\n\"But,\" He continued, \"I receive not testimony from man ... But I have\ngreater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath\ngiven me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that\nthe Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me,\nhath borne witness of me.\"\n\nThen in terms of unqualified condemnation, He told them they were devoid\nof the Father's word, for they refused to accept Himself whom the Father\nhad sent. With humiliating directness He admonished these learned men of\nthe law, these interpreters of the prophets, these professional\nexpounders of sacred writ, to betake themselves to reading and study.\n\"Search the scriptures,\" said He, \"for in them ye think ye have eternal\nlife: and they are they which testify of me.\" Convictingly He\ncontinued--that they who admitted and taught that in the scriptures lay\nthe way to eternal life, refused to come to Him, of whom those same\nscriptures testified, though by coming they might obtain eternal life.\n\"I receive not honour from men,\" He added, \"But I know you, that ye have\nnot the love of God in you.\" They knew that they sought for honor among\nmen, received honors from one another, were made rabbis and doctors,\nscribes and teachers, by the bestowal of titles and degrees--all of men;\nbut they rejected Him who came in the name of One infinitely greater\nthan all their schools or societies--He had come in the supreme name of\nthe Father. The cause of their spiritual ignorance was pointed out--they\nrelied upon the honors of men, and sought not the honor of real service\nin the cause of God.\n\nHe had spoken of the authority of judgment that had been committed to\nHimself; now He explained that they should not think He would accuse\nthem before the Father; a lesser one than He would accuse, even Moses,\nanother of His witnesses in whom they professed such trust--Moses whom\nthey all were said to believe--and, driving home the full effect of His\npowerful arraignment, the Lord continued: \"For had ye believed Moses, ye\nwould have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his\nwritings, how shall ye believe my words?\" Such was the illuminating\ninstruction combined with burning denunciation that these men had called\nforth by their futile attempt to convict Jesus on the charge of Sabbath\ndesecration. This was but one of many evil machinations by which they so\ndeterminedly plotted, and strove to attach the stigma and invoke the\npenalty of Sabbath-breaking upon the very One who had ordained the\nSabbath and was in truth and verity the one and only Lord thereof.\n\n\nTHE DISCIPLES CHARGED WITH SABBATH-BREAKING.\n\nWe may profitably consider in this connection other instances of good\nwork done by our Lord on Sabbath days; and this we may do without undue\nregard to the order of the events in time. We again find Jesus in\nGalilee, whether prior to or after His visit to Jerusalem at the time of\nthe unidentified feast, on which occasion He wrought the miracle of\nhealing at the Bethesda pool, matters not. On a certain Sabbath, He and\nthe disciples walked through a field of grain,[449] and, being hungry,\nthe disciples began to pluck some of the ripening ears; rubbing out the\nkernels between their hands, they ate. There was no element of theft in\nwhat they did, for the Mosaic law provided that in passing through\nanother's vineyard or corn field one might pluck grapes or corn to\nrelieve hunger; but it was forbidden to use a sickle in the field, or to\ncarry away any of the grapes in a vessel.[450] The permission extended\nonly to the relief of present need. When the disciples of Jesus availed\nthemselves of this lawful privilege, there were Pharisees on the watch,\nand these came at once to the Master, saying: \"Behold, thy disciples do\nthat which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.\" The accusers\ndoubtless had in mind the rabbinical dictum that rubbing out an ear of\ngrain in the hands was a species of threshing; that blowing away the\nchaff was winnowing; and that it was unlawful to thresh or winnow on the\nSabbath. Indeed, some learned rabbis had held it to be a sin to walk on\ngrass during the Sabbath, inasmuch as the grass might be in seed, and\nthe treading out of the seed would be as the threshing of grain.\n\nJesus defended the disciples by citing a precedent applicable to the\ncase, and of much greater import. The instance was that of David, who\nwith a small company of men had asked bread of the priest Ahimelech; for\nthey were hungry and in haste. The priest had none but consecrated\nbread, the loaves of shewbread which were placed in the sanctuary at\nintervals, and which none but the priests were allowed to eat. In view\nof the condition of urgent need the priest had given the shewbread to\nthe hungry men.[451] Jesus also reminded the critical Pharisees that the\npriests in the temple regularly did much work on the Sabbath in the\nslaughtering of sacrificial victims and in altar service generally, yet\nwere held blameless because of the higher requirements of worship which\nrendered such labor necessary; and added with solemn emphasis: \"But I\nsay unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.\" He\ncited the word of God spoken through Hosea, \"I will have mercy, and not\nsacrifice,\"[452] and reproved at once their ignorance and their\nunrighteous zeal by telling them that had they known what that scripture\nmeant they would not have condemned the guiltless. Be it remembered,\n\"The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.\"[453]\n\nHis reproof was followed by the affirmation of His personal supremacy:\n\"_For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day!_\" What can we\ngather from that declaration but that He, Jesus, there present in the\nflesh, was the Being through whom the Sabbath had been ordained, that it\nwas He who had given and written in stone the decalog, including\n\"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,\" and, \"the seventh day is\nthe sabbath of the Lord thy God\"?\n\n\nA PHARISAICAL PLOT.\n\nAgain on a Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagog, and saw in the\ncongregation a man whose right hand was withered.[454] There were\nPharisees present, and they watched to see whether Jesus would heal the\nman, their purpose being to accuse Him if He did so. The Pharisees\nasked: \"Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?\" Our Lord countered\ntheir poorly veiled purpose by asking: \"Is it lawful to do good on the\nsabbath days?\" and extended the question, \"or to do evil? to save life,\nor to kill?\" They held their peace, for the question was double-edged.\nTo reply in the affirmative would have been to justify the work of\nhealing; a negative answer would have stultified them. He put another\nquestion: \"What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep,\nand if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on\nit, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?\"\n\nAs the Pharisees could not or would not reply, He summed up the whole\nmatter thus: \"Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.\" He\ncalled upon the man with the withered hand to stand forth before the\ncongregation. Grief and anger were mingled in His penetrating and\nsweeping glance; but, turning with compassion toward the afflicted one,\nHe commanded him to stretch forth his hand; the man obeyed, and lo! the\nhand \"was restored whole, like as the other.\"\n\nThe discomfited Pharisees were furious, \"filled with madness\" Luke says;\nand they went out to plot anew against the Lord. So bitter was their\nhatred that they allied themselves with the Herodians, a political party\ngenerally unpopular among the Jews.[455] The rulers of the people were\nready to enter into any intrigue or alliance to accomplish their avowed\npurpose of bringing about the death of the Lord Jesus. Aware of the\nwicked determination against Him, Jesus withdrew Himself from the\nlocality. Other accusations of Sabbath-breaking, brought against Christ\nby Jewish casuists, will be considered later.[456]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 15.\n\n1. Rabbinical Requirements Concerning Sabbath Observance.--\"No feature\nof the Jewish system was so marked as their extraordinary strictness in\nthe outward observance of the Sabbath, as a day of entire rest. The\nScribes had elaborated from the command of Moses, a vast array of\nprohibitions and injunctions, covering the whole of social, individual,\nand public life, and carried it to the extreme of ridiculous caricature.\nLengthened rules were prescribed as to the kinds of knots which might\nlegally be tied on the Sabbath. The camel-driver's knot and the sailor's\nwere unlawful, and it was equally illegal to tie or to loose them. A\nknot which could be untied with one hand might be undone. A shoe or\nsandal, a woman's cup, a wine or oil-skin, or a flesh-pot might be tied.\nA pitcher at a spring might be tied to the body-sash, but not with a\ncord.... To kindle or extinguish a fire on the Sabbath was a great\ndesecration of the day, nor was even sickness allowed to violate\nRabbinical rules. It was forbidden to give an emetic on the Sabbath--to\nset a broken bone, or put back a dislocated joint, though some Rabbis,\nmore liberal, held that whatever endangered life made the Sabbath law\nvoid, 'for the commands were given to Israel only that they might live\nby them.' One who was buried under ruins on the Sabbath, might be dug\nfor and taken out, if alive, but, if dead, he was to be left where he\nwas, till the Sabbath was over.\"--Geikie, _Life and Words of Christ_,\nchap. 38.\n\n2. The Unnamed Feast.--There has been no little discussion as to the\nparticular festival referred to in John 5:1, at the time of which Jesus\nhealed the cripple at the pool of Bethesda. Many writers hold that it\nwas the Passover, others that it was the feast of Purim, or some other\nJewish celebration. The only semblance of importance attaching to the\nquestion is the possibility of learning from the fact, if it could be\nproved, something of the chronological order of events at this period of\nour Lord's life. We are not told which feast this was, neither the year\nnor the time of the year when it occurred. The miracle wrought on the\noccasion, and the doctrinal discourse delivered as a result thereof,\ndepend for their value in no degree on the determination of date.\n\n3. Shewbread.--The name means \"bread of the presence,\" signifying that\nit was placed in the presence of Jehovah. The bread so sanctified\nconsisted of twelve loaves, made without leaven. They were to be\ndeposited in the Holy Place in two columns of six loaves each. Zenos, in\n_Stand. Bible Dict._ writes: \"They were allowed to remain there for a\nwhole week, at the end of which period they were removed, and eaten by\nthe priest upon holy ground, i.e. within the precincts of the sanctuary.\nFor other persons than priests to eat of the loaves of the shewbread was\nregarded as sacrilegious, for they were 'holy.'\" See Exo. 25:30; Lev.\n24:5-9; 1 Sam. 21:1-6.\n\n4. The Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the Sabbath.--Edersheim\n(vol. i, pp. 57, 58) says: \"When on his flight from Saul, David had,\n'when an hungered,' eaten of the shewbread and given it to his\nfollowers, although, by the letter of the Levitical law, it was only to\nbe eaten by the priests. Jewish tradition vindicated his conduct on the\nplea that 'danger to life superseded the Sabbath law,' and hence, all\nlaws connected with it.... In truth, the reason why David was blameless\nin eating the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath\nlabor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath law was not one merely of rest,\nbut of rest for worship. The service of the Lord was the object in view.\nThe priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object\nof the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of the shewbread, not\n[solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but because\nhe pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and needed this\nprovision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly on the\nservice of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the\ntemple, for He was greater than the temple. If the Pharisees had\nbelieved this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so\ndoing have themselves infringed that higher law which enjoined mercy,\nnot sacrifice.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[430] Gen. 2:3.\n\n[431] Exo. 16:16-31.\n\n[432] Exo. 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-15; 34:21; Lev. 19:3; 23:3; Deut.\n5:12-14.\n\n[433] Exo. 35:3; Numb. 15:32-36.\n\n[434] Isa. 56:2; 58:13; Jer. 17:21-24.\n\n[435] Neh. 8:9-12; 13:15-22.\n\n[436] Ezek. 20:12-24.\n\n[437] B. of M., Jarom 1:5; Mosiah 13:16-19; 18:23.\n\n[438] Lev. 25:1-8; compare 26:34, 35.\n\n[439] Lev. 25:10-55.\n\n[440] Page 64.\n\n[441] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[442] John, chapter 5.\n\n[443] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[444] See another instance, pages 190-192.\n\n[445] Pages 191 and 201. For further justification of this act of\nhealing on the Sabbath, see John 7:21-24.\n\n[446] Page 142.\n\n[447] Compare Doc. and Cov. 76:16, 17. See page 24 herein.\n\n[448] Page 25.\n\n[449] Matt. 12:1-8; compare Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.\n\n[450] Deut. 23:24, 25.\n\n[451] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[452] Hos. 6:6; compare Micah 6:6-9.\n\n[453] Mark 2:27. Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[454] Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-8.\n\n[455] Page 68.\n\n[456] For instances, see Luke 13:14-16; 14:3-6; John 9:14-16.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 16.\n\nTHE CHOSEN TWELVE.\n\n\nTHEIR CALL AND ORDINATION.[457]\n\nThe night preceding the morn on which the Twelve Apostles were called\nand ordained was spent by the Lord in solitary seclusion; He had\n\"continued all night in prayer to God.\"[458] Then, when day had come,\nand while many people were gathering to hear more of the new and\nwonderful gospel of the kingdom, He called to come closer some who had\ntheretofore been devotedly associated together as His disciples or\nfollowers, and from among them He chose twelve, whom he ordained and\nnamed apostles.[459] Prior to that time none of these had been\ndistinguished by any special delegation of authority or appointment;\nthey had been numbered with the disciples in general, though, as we have\nseen, seven had received a preliminary call, and had promptly responded\nthereto by abandoning wholly or in part their business affairs, and had\nfollowed the Master. These were Andrew, John, Simon Peter, Philip,\nNathanael, James, and Levi Matthew. Prior to this eventful day, however,\nnone of the Twelve had been ordained or set apart to their sacred\noffice.\n\nThe three Gospel-writers who make record of the organization of the\nTwelve place Simon Peter first and Judas Iscariot last in the category;\nthey agree also in the relative position of some but not of all the\nothers. Following the order given by Mark, and this may be the most\nconvenient since he names as the first three those who later became most\nprominent, we have the following list: Simon Peter, James (son of\nZebedee), John (brother of the last-named), Andrew (brother of Simon\nPeter), Philip, Bartholomew (or Nathanael), Matthew, Thomas, James (son\nof Alpheus), Judas (also known as Lebbeus or Thaddeus), Simon\n(distinguished by his surname Zelotes, also known as the Canaanite), and\nJudas Iscariot.\n\n\nTWELVE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY.\n\n_Simon_, named as the first apostle, is more commonly known as\n_Peter_--the appellation given him by the Lord on the occasion of their\nfirst meeting, and afterward confirmed.[460] He was the son of Jona, or\nJonas, and by vocation was a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew were\npartners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently the\nfishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their\nboats and gave employment to other men.[461] Peter's early home had been\nat the little fishery town of Bethsaida,[462] on the west shore of the\nSea of Galilee; but about the time of his first association with Jesus,\nor soon thereafter, he, with others of his family, removed to Capernaum,\nwhere he appears to have become an independent householder.[463] Simon\nPeter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well to\ndo in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to\nfollow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporal\npossessions was as great as had been implied. We are not justified in\nregarding him as unlettered or ignorant. True, both he and John were\ndesignated by the council of rulers as \"unlearned and ignorant\nmen,\"[464] but this was spoken of them as indicating their lack of\ntraining in the schools of the rabbis; and it is worthy of note, that\nthe members of that same council were amazed at the wisdom and power\nmanifested by the two apostles, whom they professed to despize.\n\nIn temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained by\nsevere experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many human\nweaknesses, yet in spite of them all he eventually overcame the\ntemptations of Satan and the frailties of the flesh, and served his Lord\nas the appointed and acknowledged leader of the Twelve. Of the time and\nplace of his death the scriptures do not speak; but the manner thereof\nwas prefigured by the resurrected Lord,[465] and in part was foreseen by\nPeter himself.[466] Tradition, originating in the writings of the early\nChristian historians other than the apostles, states that Peter met\ndeath by crucifixion as a martyr during the persecution incident to the\nreign of Nero, probably between A.D. 64 and 68. Origen states that the\napostle was crucified with his head downward. Peter, with James and\nJohn, his associates in the presidency of the Twelve, has ministered as\na resurrected being in the present dispensation, in restoring to earth\nthe Melchizedek Priesthood, including the Holy Apostleship, which had\nbeen taken away because of the apostasy and unbelief of men.[467]\n\n_James_ and _John_, brothers by birth, partners in business as\nfishermen, brethren in the ministry, were associated together and with\nPeter in the apostolic calling. The Lord bestowed upon the pair a title\nin common--Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder[468]--possibly with reference\nto the zeal they developed in His service, which, indeed, at times had\nto be restrained, as when they would have had fire called from heaven to\ndestroy the Samaritan villagers who had refused hospitality to the\nMaster.[469] They and their mother aspired to the highest honors of the\nkingdom, and asked that the two be given places, one on the right the\nother on the left of Christ in His glory. This ambition was gently\nreproved by the Lord, and the request gave offense to the other\napostles.[470] With Peter these two brothers were witnesses of many of\nthe most important incidents in the life of Jesus; thus, the three were\nthe only apostles admitted to witness the raising of the daughter of\nJairus from death to life;[471] they were the only members of the Twelve\npresent at the transfiguration of Christ;[472] they were nearest the\nLord during the period of His mortal agony in Gethsemane;[473] and, as\nheretofore told, they have ministered in these modern days in the\nrestoration of the Holy Apostleship with all its ancient authority and\npower of blessing.[474] James is commonly designated in theological\nliterature as James I, to distinguish him from the other apostle bearing\nthe same name. James, the son of Zebedee, was the first of the apostles\nto meet a martyr's violent death; he was beheaded by order of the king,\nHerod Agrippa.[475] John had been a disciple of the Baptist, and had\ndemonstrated his confidence in the latter's testimony of Jesus by\npromptly turning from the forerunner and following the Lord.[476] He\nbecame a devoted servant, and repeatedly refers to himself as the\ndisciple \"whom Jesus loved.\"[477] At the last supper John sat next to\nJesus leaning his head upon the Master's breast;[478] and next day as he\nstood beneath the cross he received from the dying Christ the special\ncharge to care for the Lord's mother;[479] and to this he promptly\nresponded by conducting the weeping Mary to his own house. He was the\nfirst to recognize the risen Lord on the shores of Galilee, and received\nfrom His immortal lips encouragement of his hope that his life would be\ncontinued in the body, in order that he might minister among men until\nthe Christ shall come in His glory.[480] The realization of that hope\nhas been attested by revelation in modern days.[481]\n\n_Andrew_, son of Jona and brother of Simon Peter, is mentioned less\nfrequently than the three already considered. He had been one of the\nBaptist's followers, and with John, the son of Zebedee, left the Baptist\nto learn from Jesus; and having learned he went in search of Peter,\nsolemnly averred to him that the Messiah had been found, and brought his\nbrother to the Savior's feet.[482] He shared with Peter in the honor of\nthe call of the Lord on the sea shore, and in the promise \"I will make\nyou fishers of men.\"[483] In one instance we read of Andrew as present\nwith Peter, James and John, in a private interview with the Lord;[484]\nand he is mentioned in connection with the miraculous feeding of the\nfive thousand,[485] and as associated with Philip in arranging an\ninterview between certain inquiring Greeks and Jesus.[486] He is named\nwith others in connection with our Lord's ascension.[487] Tradition is\nrife with stories about this man, but of the extent of his ministry, the\nduration of his life, and the circumstances of his death, we have no\nauthentic record.\n\n_Philip_ may have been the first to receive the authoritative call\n\"Follow me\" from the lips of Jesus, and we find him immediately\ntestifying that Jesus was the long expected Messiah. His home was in\nBethsaida, the town of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. It is said that\nJesus found him,[488] whereas the others concerned in that early\naffiliation seem to have come of themselves severally to Christ.\nWe find brief mention of him at the time the five thousand were\nfed, on which occasion Jesus asked him \"Whence shall we buy bread, that\nthese may eat?\" This was done to test and prove him, for Jesus knew what\nwould be done. Philip's reply was based on a statement of the small\namount of money at hand, and showed no expectation of miraculous\nintervention.[489] It was to him the Greeks applied when they sought a\nmeeting with Jesus as noted in connection with Andrew. He was mildly\nreproved for his misunderstanding when he asked Jesus to show to him and\nthe others the Father--\"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast\nthou not known me, Philip?\"[490] Aside from incidental mention of his\npresence as one of the Eleven after the ascension, the scriptures tell\nus nothing more concerning him.\n\n_Bartholomew_ is mentioned in scripture by this name only in connection\nwith his ordination to the apostleship, and as one of the Eleven after\nthe ascension. The name means son of Tolmai. It is practically certain,\nhowever, that he is the man called Nathanael in John's Gospel--the one\nwhom Christ designated as \"an Israelite indeed, in whom is no\nguile.\"[491] He is named again as among those who went fishing with\nPeter after the resurrection of Christ.[492] His home was in Cana of\nGalilee. The reasons for assuming that Bartholomew and Nathanael are the\nsame persons are these: Bartholomew is named in each of the three\nsynoptic Gospels as an apostle, but Nathanael is not mentioned.\nNathanael is named twice in John's Gospel, and Bartholomew not at all;\nBartholomew and Philip, or Nathanael and Philip, are mentioned together.\n\n_Matthew_, or _Levi_, son of Alpheus, was one of the seven who received\na call to follow Christ before the ordination of the Twelve. He it was\nwho gave a feast, for attending which Jesus and the disciples were\nseverely criticized by the Pharisees,[493] on the charge that it was\nunseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners. Matthew was a\npublican; he so designates himself in the Gospel he wrote;[494] but the\nother evangelists omit the mention when including him with the Twelve.\nHis Hebrew name, Levi, is understood by many as an indication of\npriestly lineage. Of his ministry we have no detailed account; though he\nis the author of the first Gospel, he refrains from special mention of\nhimself except in connection with his call and ordination. He is spoken\nof by other than scriptural writers as one of the most active of the\napostles after Christ's death, and as operating in lands far from\nPalestine.\n\n_Thomas_, also known as Didymus, the Greek equivalent of his Hebrew\nname, meaning \"a twin,\" is mentioned as a witness of the raising of\nLazarus. His devotion to Jesus is shown by his desire to accompany the\nLord to Bethany, though persecution in that region was almost certain.\nTo his fellow apostles Thomas said: \"Let us also go, that we may die\nwith him.\"[495] Even as late in his experience as the night before the\ncrucifixion, Thomas had failed to comprehend the impending necessity of\nthe Savior's sacrifice; and when Jesus referred to going away and\nleaving the others to follow, Thomas asked how they could know the way.\nFor his lack of understanding he stood reproved.[496] He was absent when\nthe resurrected Christ appeared to the assembled disciples in the\nevening of the day of His rising; and on being informed by the others\nthat they had seen the Lord, he forcefully expressed his doubt, and\ndeclared he would not believe unless he could see and feel for himself\nthe wounds in the crucified body. Eight days later the Lord visited the\napostles again, when, as on the earlier occasion, they were within\nclosed doors; and to Thomas the Lord said: \"Reach hither thy finger, and\nbehold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side.\"\nThen Thomas, no longer doubting but with love and reverence filling his\nsoul, exclaimed \"My Lord and my God.\" The Lord said unto him: \"Thomas,\nbecause thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that\nhave not seen, and yet have believed.\"[497] Of Thomas no further record\nappears in the New Testament aside from that of his presence with his\nfellows after the ascension.\n\n_James_, son of Alpheus, is mentioned in the Gospels only in the matter\nof his ordination to the apostleship; and but once elsewhere in the New\nTestament by the appellation \"son of Alpheus.\"[498] In writings other\nthan scriptural he is sometimes designated as James II to avoid\nconfusing him with James the son of Zebedee. There is acknowledged\nuncertainty concerning the identity of James the son of Alpheus as the\nJames or one of the James's referred to in the Acts and the\nEpistles;[499] and a plenitude of controversial literature on the\nsubject is extant.[500]\n\n_Judas_ is called _Lebbeus Thaddeus_ by Matthew, _Thaddeus_ by Mark, and\n_Judas the brother of James_ by Luke.[501] The only other specific\nreference to this apostle is made by John, and is incident to the last\nlong interview between Jesus and the apostles, when this Judas, \"not\nIscariot,\" asked how or why Jesus would manifest Himself to His chosen\nservants and not to the world at large. The man's question shows that\nthe really distinguishing character of the apostleship was not fully\ncomprehended by him at that time.\n\n_Simon Zelotes_, so designated in Acts,[502] and as _Simon called\nZelotes_ in Luke's Gospel, is distinguished by both Matthew and Mark as\nthe _Canaanite_. The last designation has no reference to the town of\nCana, nor to the land of Canaan, neither is it in any sense of\ngeographical signification; it is the Syro-Chaldaic equivalent of the\nGreek word which is rendered in the English translation \"Zelotes.\" The\ntwo names, therefore, have the same fundamental meaning, and each refers\nto the Zealots, a Jewish sect or faction, known for its zeal in\nmaintaining the Mosaic ritual. Doubtless Simon had learned moderation\nand toleration from the teachings of Christ; otherwise he would scarcely\nhave been suited to the apostolic ministry. His zealous earnestness,\nproperly directed, may have developed into a most serviceable trait of\ncharacter. This apostle is nowhere in the scriptures named apart from\nhis colleagues.\n\n_Judas Iscariot_ is the only Judean named among the Twelve; all the\nothers were Galileans. He is generally understood to have been a\nresident of Kerioth, a small town in the southerly part of Judea, but a\nfew miles west from the Dead Sea, though for this tradition, as also for\nthe signification of his surname, we lack direct authority. So too we\nare uninformed as to his lineage, except that his father's name was\nSimon.[503] He served as treasurer or agent of the apostolic company,\nreceiving and disbursing such offerings as were made by disciples and\nfriends, and purchasing supplies as required.[504] That he was\nunprincipled and dishonest in the discharge of this trust is attested by\nJohn. His avaricious and complaining nature revealed itself in his\nmurmuring against what he called a waste of costly spikenard, in the\nanointing of the Lord by Mary but a few days before the crucifixion; he\nhypocritically suggested that the precious ointment could have been sold\nand the proceeds given to the poor.[505] The crowning deed of perfidy in\nthe career of Iscariot was his deliberate betrayal of his Master to\ndeath; and this the infamous creature did for a price, and accomplished\nthe foul deed with a kiss. He brought his guilty life to a close by a\nrevolting suicide and his spirit went to the awful fate reserved for the\nsons of perdition.[506]\n\n\nGENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWELVE.\n\nA survey of the general characteristics and qualifications of this body\nof twelve men reveals some interesting facts. Before their selection as\napostles they had all become close disciples of the Lord; they believed\nin Him; several of them, possibly all, had openly confessed that He was\nthe Son of God; and yet it is doubtful that any one of them fully\nunderstood the real significance of the Savior's work. It is evident by\nthe later remarks of many of them, and by the instructions and rebuke\nthey called forth from the Master, that the common Jewish expectation of\na Messiah who would reign in splendor as an earthly sovereign after He\nhad subdued all other nations, had a place even in the hearts of these\nchosen ones. After long experience, Peter's concern was: \"Behold, we\nhave forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have\ntherefore?\"[507] They were as children to be trained and taught; but\nthey were mostly willing pupils, receptive of soul, and imbued with a\nsincere eagerness to serve. To Jesus they were His little ones, His\nchildren, His servants, and His friends, as they merited.[508] They were\nall of the common people, not rabbis, scholars, nor priestly officials.\nTheir inner natures, not their outward accomplishments, were taken into\nprime account in the Lord's choosing. The Master chose them; they did\nnot choose themselves; by Him they were ordained,[509] and they could in\nconsequence rely the more implicitly upon His guidance and support. To\nthem much was given; much of them was required. With the one black\nexception they all became shining lights in the kingdom of God, and\nvindicated the Master's selection. He recognized in each the\ncharacteristics of fitness developed in the primeval world of\nspirits.[510]\n\n\nDISCIPLES AND APOSTLES.\n\nDiscipleship is general; any follower of a man or devotee to a principle\nmay be called a disciple. The Holy Apostleship is an office and calling\nbelonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, at once exalted and\nspecific, comprizing as a distinguishing function that of personal and\nspecial witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the one and only\nRedeemer and Savior of mankind.[511] The apostleship is an individual\nbestowal, and as such is conferred only through ordination. That the\nTwelve did constitute a council or \"quorum\" having authority in the\nChurch established by Jesus Christ, is shown by their ministrations\nafter the Lord's resurrection and ascension. Their first official act\nwas that of filling the vacancy in their organization occasioned by the\napostasy and death of Judas Iscariot; and in connection with this\nprocedure, the presiding apostle, Peter, set forth the essential\nqualifications of the one who would be chosen and ordained, which\ncomprized such knowledge of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection, as\nwould make the new apostle one with the Eleven as special witnesses of\nthe Lord's work.[512]\n\nThe ordination of the Twelve Apostles marked the inauguration of an\nadvanced epoch in the earthly ministry of Jesus, an epoch characterized\nby the organization of a body of men invested with the authority of the\nHoly Priesthood, upon whom would rest, more particularly after the\nLord's departure, the duty and responsibility of continuing the work He\nhad begun, and of building up the Church established by Him.\n\nThe word \"apostle\" is an Anglicized form derived from the Greek\n_apostolos_, meaning literally \"one who is sent,\" and connoting an envoy\nor official messenger, who speaks and acts by the authority of one\nsuperior to himself. In this sense Paul afterward applied the title to\nChrist as one specially sent and commissioned of the Father.[513]\n\nThe Lord's purpose in choosing and ordaining the Twelve is thus\nenunciated by Mark: \"And he ordained twelve, that they should be with\nhim, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to\nheal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.\"[514] For a season following\ntheir ordination the apostles remained with Jesus, being specially\ntrained and instructed by Him for the work then before them; afterward\nthey were specifically charged and sent forth to preach and to\nadminister in the authority of their priesthood, as shall be hereafter\nconsidered.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 16.\n\n1. Judas Lebbeus Thaddeus.--This Judas (not Iscariot) is designated in\nthe authorized version of Luke 6:16, and Acts 1:13, as \"_the brother_ of\nJames.\" That the words \"the brother\" are an addition to the original\ntext is indicated by italics. The revised version of these passages\nreads in each instance \"_the son_ of James,\" with italics of\ncorresponding significance. The original reads \"Judas of James.\" We are\nuninformed as to which James is referred to, and as to whether the Judas\nhere mentioned was the son, the brother, or some other relative of the\nunidentified James.\n\n2. The Meaning of \"Apostle.\"--\"The title 'Apostle' is likewise one of\nspecial significance and sanctity; it has been given of God, and belongs\nonly to those who have been called and ordained as 'special witnesses of\nthe name of Christ in all the world, thus differing from other officers\nin the Church in the duties of their calling' (Doc. and Cov. 107:23). By\nderivation the word 'apostle' is the English equivalent of the Greek\n_apostolos_, indicating a messenger, an ambassador, or literally 'one\nwho is sent'. It signifies that he who is rightly so called, speaks and\nacts not of himself, but as the representative of a higher power whence\nhis commission issued; and in this sense the title is that of a servant,\nrather than that of a superior. Even the Christ, however, is called an\nApostle with reference to His ministry in the flesh (Hebrews 3:1), and\nthis appellation is justified by His repeated declaration that He came\nto earth to do not His own will but that of the Father by whom _He was\nsent_.\n\n\"Though an apostle is thus seen to be essentially an envoy, or\nambassador, his authority is great, as is also the responsibility\nassociated therewith, for he speaks in the name of a power greater than\nhis own--the name of Him whose special witness he is. When one of the\nTwelve is sent to minister in any stake, mission or other division of\nthe Church, or to labor in regions where no Church organization has been\neffected, he acts as the representative of the First Presidency, and has\nthe right to use his authority in doing whatever is requisite for the\nfurtherance of the work of God. His duty is to preach the Gospel,\nadminister the ordinances thereof, and set in order the affairs of the\nChurch, wherever he is sent. So great is the sanctity of this special\ncalling, that the title 'Apostle' should not be used lightly as the\ncommon or ordinary form of address applied to living men called to this\noffice. The quorum or council of the Twelve Apostles as existent in the\nChurch to-day may better be spoken of as the 'Quorum of the Twelve,' the\n'Council of the Twelve,' or simply as the 'Twelve,' than as the 'Twelve\nApostles,' except as particular occasion may warrant the use of the more\nsacred term. It is advized that the title 'Apostle' be not applied as a\nprefix to the name of any member of the Council of the Twelve; but that\nsuch a one be addressed or spoken of as 'Brother ----,' or 'Elder ----,'\nand when necessary or desirable, as in announcing his presence in a\npublic assembly, an explanatory clause may be added, thus, 'Elder ----,\none of the Council of the Twelve,'\"--From \"The Honor and Dignity of\nPriesthood,\" by the author, _Improvement Era_, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp.\n409-410.\n\n3. \"Of Alpheus;\" or \"Son of Alpheus.\"--In all Bible passages specifying\n\"James son of Alpheus\" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) the\nword _son_ has been supplied by the translators, and therefore properly\nappears in _Italics_. The phrase in the Greek reads \"James of Alpheus.\"\nThis fact must not be given undue weight in support of the thought that\nthe James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word _son_ has\nbeen similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all of\nwhich _Italics_ are used to indicate the words supplied, e.g. \"James\n_the son_ of Zebedee\" (Matt. 10:2; see also Mark 3:17). Read in this\nconnection Note 1 on the opposite page.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[457] Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16.\n\n[458] Luke 6:12.\n\n[459] Luke 3:13; compare John 15:16; see also Acts 1:22.\n\n[460] John 1:42; compare Matt. 16:18.\n\n[461] Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:10.\n\n[462] John 1:44; 12:21.\n\n[463] Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38.\n\n[464] Acts 4:13.\n\n[465] John 21:18, 19.\n\n[466] 2 Peter 1:14.\n\n[467] Doc. and Cov. 27:12. Page 768 herein.\n\n[468] Mark 3:17.\n\n[469] Luke 9:54. See also Mark 9:38, for instance of John's impulsive\nzeal.\n\n[470] Mark 10:35-41; compare Matt. 20:20-24.\n\n[471] Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51.\n\n[472] Matt. 17:1-2; Luke 9:28-29.\n\n[473] Matt. 26:36, 37.\n\n[474] Doc. and Cov. 27:12. Page 768 herein.\n\n[475] Acts 12:1, 2.\n\n[476] John 1:35-40; see page 140.\n\n[477] John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2.\n\n[478] John 13:23, 25.\n\n[479] John 19:25-27.\n\n[480] John 21:7, 21-23.\n\n[481] Doc. and Cov. Sec. 7; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:1-12.\n\n[482] John 1:35-40.\n\n[483] Matt. 4:18, 19.\n\n[484] Mark 13:3.\n\n[485] John 6:8.\n\n[486] John 12:20-22.\n\n[487] Acts 1:13.\n\n[488] John 1:43-45.\n\n[489] John 6:5-7.\n\n[490] John 14:8, 9.\n\n[491] John 1:45-51; see page 141.\n\n[492] John 21:2, 3.\n\n[493] Page 194.\n\n[494] Matt. 10:3.\n\n[495] John 11:16.\n\n[496] John 14:1-7.\n\n[497] John 20:24-29. Page 689 herein.\n\n[498] Acts 1:13. Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[499] Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; and\nthe Epistle of James.\n\n[500] Concerning the James's mentioned in the New Testament, the opinion\nof Bible scholars is divided, the question being as to whether two or\nthree individuals are indicated. Those who hold that there were three\nmen of this name distinguish them as follows: (1) James the son of\nZebedee and brother of John the apostle; all scriptural references to\nhim are explicit; (2) James the son of Alpheus; and (3) James the\nbrother of the Lord (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19). If we accept\nthis classification, the references given in the previous footnote on\nthis page apply to James the Lord's brother. Both the Oxford and Bagster\nBible \"Helps\" treat James the son of Alpheus and James the Lord's\nbrother as one person, the expression \"son of\" being understood in its\ngeneral sense only (see page 280). The Bagster designation is: \"James\nII, apostle, son of Alpheus, brother or cousin to Jesus.\" (See Note 3,\nend of chapter.) The Nave \"Student's Bible\" states (page 1327) that the\nquestion as to whether James the Lord's brother \"is identical with James\nthe son of Alpheus is one of the most difficult questions in the\nbiographical history of the Gospels.\" Faussett (in his \"Cyclopedia\nCritical and Expository\") supports the contention that but one James is\nmeant; and other acknowledged authorities treat the two as one. For\ndetailed consideration of the subject the reader is referred to special\nworks.\n\n[501] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[502] Acts 1:13; compare Luke 6:15.\n\n[503] John 6:71; 12:4; 13:26.\n\n[504] John 12:6; 13:29.\n\n[505] John 12:1-7; compare Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9.\n\n[506] Matt. 27:5; compare Acts 1:18; see also John 17:12; Doc. and Cov.\n76; 31-48; 132:27.\n\n[507] Matt. 19:27.\n\n[508] Matt. 10:42; John 21:5; 13:16. compare verse 13; 15:14, 15.\n\n[509] John 15:16.\n\n[510] Pages 8 and 17.\n\n[511] Doc. and Cov. 18:27-33; 20:38-44; 107:1-9, 23, 24, 39.\n\n[512] Acts 1:15-26.\n\n[513] Heb. 3:1; see Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[514] Mark 3:14, 15.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 17.\n\nTHE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n\n\nAt some time very near that of the ordination of the Twelve, Jesus\ndelivered a remarkable discourse, which, in reference to the place where\nit was given, has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew\npresents an extended account occupying three chapters of the first\nGospel; Luke gives a briefer synopsis.[515] Circumstantial variations\nappearing in the two records are of minor importance;[516] it is the\nsermon itself to which we may profitably devote attention. Luke\nintroduces in different parts of his writings many of the precious\nprecepts given as parts of the sermon recorded as a continuous discourse\nin the Gospel written by Matthew. In our present study we shall be\nguided principally by Matthew's account. Some portions of this\ncomprehensive address were expressly directed to the disciples, who had\nbeen or would be called to the apostleship and in consequence be\nrequired to renounce all their worldly interests for the labors of the\nministry; other parts were and are of general application. Jesus had\nascended the mountain side, probably to escape the crowds that thronged\nHim in or near the towns.[517] The disciples gathered about Him, and\nthere He sat and taught them.[518]\n\n\nTHE BEATITUDES.[519]\n\nThe opening sentences are rich in blessing, and the first section of the\ndiscourse is devoted to an explanation of what constitutes genuine\nblessedness; the lesson, moreover, was made simple and unambiguous by\nspecific application, each of the blessed being assured of recompense\nand reward in the enjoyment of conditions directly opposite to those\nunder which he had suffered. The blessings particularized by the Lord on\nthis occasion have been designated in literature of later time as the\nBeatitudes. The poor in spirit are to be made rich as rightful heirs to\nthe kingdom of heaven; the mourner shall be comforted for he shall see\nthe divine purpose in his grief, and shall again associate with the\nbeloved ones of whom he has been bereft; the meek, who suffer spoliation\nrather than jeopardize their souls in contention, shall inherit the\nearth; those that hunger and thirst for the truth shall be fed in rich\nabundance; they that show mercy shall be judged mercifully; the pure in\nheart shall be admitted to the very presence of God; the peacemakers,\nwho try to save themselves and their fellows from strife, shall be\nnumbered among the children of God; they that suffer persecution for the\nsake of righteousness shall inherit the riches of the eternal kingdom.\nTo the disciples the Lord spake directly, saying: \"Blessed are ye, when\nmen shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of\nevil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:\nfor great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets\nwhich were before you.\"[520]\n\nIt is evident that the specified blessings and the happiness comprized\ntherein are to be realized in their fulness only beyond the grave;\nthough the joy that comes from the consciousness of right living brings,\neven in this world, a rich return. An important element in this splendid\nelucidation of the truly blessed state is the implied distinction\nbetween pleasure and happiness.[521] Mere pleasure is at best but\nfleeting; happiness is abiding, for in the recollection thereof is joy\nrenewed. Supreme happiness is not an earthly attainment; the promised\n\"fulness of joy\" lies beyond death and the resurrection.[522] While man\nexists in this mortal state he needs some of the things of the world; he\nmust have food and clothing and provision for shelter; and beside these\nbare necessities he may righteously desire the facilities of education,\nthe incidentals of advancing civilization, and the things that are\nconducive to refinement and culture; yet all of these are but aids to\nachievement, not the end to attain which man was made mortal.\n\nThe Beatitudes are directed to the duties of mortal life as a\npreparation for a greater existence yet future. In the kingdom of\nheaven, twice named in this part of the Lord's discourse, are true\nriches and unfailing happiness to be found. The kingdom of heaven was\nthe all-comprizing text of this wonderful sermon; the means of reaching\nthe kingdom and the glories of eternal citizenship therein are the main\ndivisions of the treatise.\n\n\nDIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MINISTRY.[523]\n\nThe Master next proceeded to instruct with particular directness those\nupon whom would devolve the responsibility of the ministry as His\ncommissioned representatives. \"Ye are the salt of the earth,\" said He.\nSalt is the great preservative; as such it has had practical use since\nvery ancient times. Salt was prescribed as an essential addition to\nevery meat offering under the Mosaic law.[524] Long before the time of\nChrist, the use of salt had been accorded a symbolism of fidelity,\nhospitality, and covenant.[525] To be of use salt must be pure; to be of\nany saving virtue as salt, it must be salt indeed, and not the product\nof chemical alteration or of earthy admixture, whereby its saltiness or\n\"savor\" would be lost;[526] and, as worthless stuff, it would be fit\nonly to be thrown away. Against such change of faith, against such\nadmixture with the sophistries, so-called philosophies, and heresies of\nthe times, the disciples were especially warned. Then, changing the\nfigure, Jesus likened them to the light of the world, and enjoined upon\nthem the duty of keeping their light before the people, as prominently\nas stands a city built upon a hill, to be seen from all directions, a\ncity that cannot be hid. Of what service would a lighted candle be if\nhidden under a tub or a box? \"Let your light so shine before men,\" said\nHe, \"that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is\nin heaven.\"\n\nThat they should make no error as to the relationship of the ancient law\nand the gospel of the kingdom which He was elucidating, Jesus assured\nthem that He had not come to destroy the law nor to nullify the\nteachings and predictions of the prophets, but to fulfil such and to\nestablish that for which the developments of the centuries gone had been\nbut preparatory. The gospel may be said to have destroyed the Mosaic law\nonly as the seed is destroyed in the growth of the new plant, only as\nthe bud is destroyed by the bursting forth of the rich, full, and\nfragrant flowers, only as infancy and youth pass forever as the maturity\nof years develops. Not a jot or a tittle of the law was to be void. A\nmore effective analogy than the last could scarcely have been conceived;\nthe jot or yod, and the tittle, were small literary marks in the Hebrew\nscript; for present purposes we may regard them as equivalent to the dot\nof an \"i\" or the cross of a \"t\"; with the first, the jot, our English\nword \"iota,\" signifying a trifle, is related. Not even the least\ncommandment could be violated without penalty; but the disciples were\nadmonished to take heed that their keeping of the commandments was not\nafter the manner of the scribes and Pharisees, whose observance was that\nof ceremonial externalism, lacking the essentials of genuine devotion;\nfor they were assured that by such an insincere course they could \"in no\ncase enter into the kingdom of heaven.\"\n\n\nTHE LAW SUPERSEDED BY THE GOSPEL.[527]\n\nThe next section of the sermon deals with the superiority of the gospel\nof Christ over the law of Moses, and contrasts the requirements of the\ntwo in particular instances. Whereas the law forbade murder, and\nprovided a just penalty for the crime, Christ taught that one's giving\nway to anger, which might possibly lead to violence or even murder, was\nof itself a sin. To maliciously use an offensive epithet such as \"Raca\"\nlaid one liable to punishment under the decree of the council, and to\ncall another a fool placed one \"in danger of hell fire.\" These\nobjectionable designations were regarded at that time as especially\nopprobrious and were therefore expressive of hateful intent. The\nmurderer's hand is impelled by the hatred in his heart. The law provided\npenalty for the deed; the gospel rebuked the evil passion in its\nincipiency. To emphasize this principle, the Master showed that hatred\nwas not to be atoned by a material sacrifice; and that if one came to\nmake an offering at the altar, and remembered that he was at enmity with\nhis brother, he should first go to that brother and be reconciled, even\nthough such a course involved the interruption of the ceremonial, which\nwas a particularly grievous incident according to the judgment of the\npriests. Differences and contentions were to be adjusted without delay.\n\nThe law forbade the awful sin of adultery; Christ said that the sin\nbegan in the lustful glance, the sensual thought; and He added that it\nwas better to become blind than to look with evil eye; better to lose a\nhand than to work iniquity therewith. Touching the matter of\ndivorcement, in which great laxity prevailed in that day, Jesus declared\nthat except for the most serious offense of infidelity to marriage vows,\nno man could divorce his wife without becoming himself an offender, in\nthat she, marrying again while still a wife not righteously divorced,\nwould be guilty of sin, and so would be the man to whom she was so\nmarried.\n\nOf old it had been forbidden to swear or take oaths except in solemn\ncovenant before the Lord; but in the gospel dispensation the Lord\nforbade that men swear at all; and the heinousness of wanton oaths was\nexpounded. Grievously sinful indeed it was and is to swear by heaven,\nwhich is the abode of God; or by earth, which is His creation and by Him\ncalled His footstool; or by Jerusalem, which was regarded by those who\nswore as the city of the great King; or by one's own head, which is part\nof the body God has created. Moderation in speech, decision and\nsimplicity were enjoined, to the exclusion of expletives, profanity and\noaths.\n\nOf old the principle of retaliation had been tolerated, by which one who\nhad suffered injury could exact or inflict a penalty of the same nature\nas the offense. Thus an eye was demanded for the loss of an eye, a tooth\nfor a tooth, a life for a life.[528] In contrast, Christ taught that men\nshould rather suffer than do evil, even to the extent of submission\nwithout resistance under certain implied conditions. His forceful\nillustrations--that if one were smitten on one cheek he should turn the\nother to the smiter; that if a man took another's coat by process of\nlaw, the loser should allow his cloak to be taken also; that if one was\npressed into service to carry another's burden a mile, he should\nwillingly go two miles; that one should readily give or lend as\nasked--are not to be construed as commanding abject subserviency to\nunjust demands, nor as an abrogation of the principle of\nself-protection. These instructions were directed primarily to the\napostles, who would be professedly devoted to the work of the kingdom to\nthe exclusion of all other interests. In their ministry it would be\nbetter to suffer material loss or personal indignity and imposition at\nthe hands of wicked oppressors, than to bring about an impairment of\nefficiency and a hindrance in work through resistance and contention. To\nsuch as these the Beatitudes were particularly applicable--Blessed are\nthe meek, the peace-makers, and they that are persecuted for\nrighteousness' sake.\n\nOf old it had been said: \"Love thy neighbour, and hate thine\nenemy\";[529] but the Lord now taught: \"Love your enemies, bless them\nthat curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which\ndespitefully use you, and persecute you.\" This was a new doctrine. Never\nbefore had Israel been required to love their foes. Friendship for\nenemies had found no place in the Mosaic code: indeed the people had\ngrown to look upon Israel's enemies as God's enemies; and now Jesus\nrequired that tolerance, mercy, and even love be meted out to such! He\nsupplemented the requirement by an explanation--through the course\nindicated by Him men may become children of God, like unto their\nHeavenly Father to the extent of their obedience; for the Father is\nkind, long-suffering and tolerant, causing His sun to shine on the evil\nand on the good, and sending rain for the sustenance of both just and\nunjust.[530] And further, what excellence has the man who gives only as\nhe receives, acknowledges only those who salute him with respect, loves\nonly as he is loved? Even the publicans[531] did that much. Of the\ndisciples of Christ much more was expected. The admonition closing this\ndivision of the discourse is an effective and comprehensive summary of\nall that had preceded: \"_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father\nwhich is in heaven is perfect._\"[532]\n\n\nSINCERITY OF PURPOSE.[533]\n\nIn the matter of alms-giving the Master warned against, and\ninferentially denounced, ostentation and hypocritical display. To give\nto the needy is praiseworthy; but to give for the purpose of winning the\npraise of men is rank hypocrisy. The tossing of alms to a beggar, the\npouring of offerings into the temple treasure chests, to be seen of\nmen,[534] and similar displays of affected liberality, were fashionable\namong certain classes in the time of Christ; and the same spirit is\nmanifest today. Some there be now who cause a trumpet to be sounded,\nthrough the columns of the press perchance, or by other means of\npublicity, to call attention to their giving, that they may have glory\nof men--to win political favor, to increase their trade or influence, to\nget what in their estimation is worth more than that from which they\npart. With logical incisiveness the Master demonstrated that such givers\nhave their reward. They have received what they bid for; what more can\nsuch men demand or consistently expect? _\"But\" said the Lord, \"when thou\ndoest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That\nthine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret\nhimself shall reward thee openly!\"_\n\nIn the same spirit did the Preacher denounce hypocritical prayers--the\nsaying of prayers in place of praying. There were many who sought places\nof public resort, in the synagogs, and even on the street-corners, that\nthey might be seen and heard of men when saying their prayers. They\nsecured the publicity they sought; what more could they ask? \"Verily I\nsay unto you, They have their reward,\" He who would really pray--pray as\nnearly as possible as Christ prayed, pray in actual communion with God\nto whom the prayer is addressed--will seek privacy, seclusion,\nisolation; if opportunity permits he will retire to his chamber, and\nwill shut the door, that none may intrude; there he may pray indeed, if\nthe spirit of prayer be in his heart; and this course was commended by\nthe Lord. Wordy supplications, made up largely of iterations and\nrepetitions such as the heathen use, thinking that their idol deities\nwill be pleased with their much speaking, were forbidden.\n\nIt is well to know that prayer is not compounded of words, words that\nmay fail to express what one desires to say, words that so often cloak\ninconsistencies, words that may have no deeper source than the physical\norgans of speech, words that may be spoken to impress mortal ears. The\ndumb may pray, and that too with the eloquence that prevails in heaven.\nPrayer is made up of heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of the\nsoul, of supplication based on the realization of need, of contrition\nand pure desire. If there lives a man who has never really prayed, that\nman is a being apart from the order of the divine in human nature, a\nstranger in the family of God's children. Prayer is for the uplifting of\nthe suppliant. God without our prayers would be God; but we without\nprayer cannot be admitted to the kingdom of God. So did Christ instruct:\n\"your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.\"\n\nThen gave He unto those who sought wisdom at His feet, a model prayer,\nsaying: \"After this manner therefore pray ye:\n\n_\"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name.\"_ In this we\nacknowledge the relation we bear to our Heavenly Father, and while\nreverencing His great and holy Name, we avail ourselves of the\ninestimable privilege of approaching Him, less with the thought of His\ninfinite glory as the Creator of all that is, the Supreme Being above\nall creation, than with the loving realization that He is Father, and\nthat we are His children. This is the earliest Biblical scripture giving\ninstruction, permission, or warrant, for addressing God directly as \"Our\nFather\". Therein is expressed the reconciliation which the human family,\nestranged through sin, may attain by the means provided through the well\nbeloved Son. This instruction is equally definite in demonstrating the\nbrotherhood between Christ and humanity. As He prayed so pray we to the\nsame Father, we as brethren and Christ as our Elder Brother.\n\n_\"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.\"_ The\nkingdom of God is to be a kingdom of order, in which toleration and the\nrecognition of individual rights shall prevail. One who really prays\nthat this kingdom come will strive to hasten its coming by living\naccording to the law of God. His effort will be to keep himself in\nharmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to the\nspirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things that\nGod loves. To make the will of God supreme on earth as it is in heaven\nis to be allied with God in the affairs of life. There are many who\nprofess belief that as God is omnipotent, all that is is according to\nHis will. Such a supposition is unscriptural, unreasonable, and\nuntrue.[535] Wickedness is not in harmony with His will; falsehood,\nhypocrisy, vice and crime are not God's gifts to man. By His will these\nmonstrosities that have developed as hideous deformities in human nature\nand life shall be abolished, and this blessed consummation shall be\nreached when by choice, without surrender or abrogation of their free\nagency, men shall do the will of God.\n\n_\"Give us this day our daily bread.\"_ Food is indispensable to life. As\nwe need it we should ask for it. True, the Father knows our need before\nwe ask, but by asking we acknowledge Him as the Giver, and are made\nhumble, grateful, contrite, and reliant by the request. Though the sun\nshines and the rain falls alike upon the just and the unjust, the\nrighteous man is grateful for these blessings; the ungodly man receives\nthe benefits as a matter of course with a soul incapable of gratitude.\nThe capacity to be grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which\nwe should be further grateful. We are taught to pray day by day for the\nfood we need, not for a great store to be laid by for the distant\nfuture. Israel in the desert received manna as a daily supply[536] and\nwere kept in mind of their reliance upon Him who gave. The man with much\nfinds it easier to forget his dependence than he who must ask with each\nsucceeding day of need.\n\n_\"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.\"_ He who can thus\npray with full intent and unmixed purpose merits forgiveness. In this\nspecification of personal supplication we are taught to expect only as\nwe deserve. The selfish and sinful would rejoice in exemption from their\nlawful debts, but being selfish and sinful would exact the last farthing\nfrom those who owe them.[537] Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to be\ncast at the feet of the unforgiving;[538] and, without the sincerity\nthat springs from a contrite heart, no man may justly claim mercy. If\nothers owe us, either in actual money or goods as suggested by debts and\ndebtors, or through some infringement upon our rights included under the\nbroader designation as a trespass, our mode of dealing with them will be\ntaken into righteous account in the judgment of our own offenses.\n\n_\"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:\"_ The first\npart of this petition has occasioned comment and question. We are not to\nunderstand that God would ever lead a man into temptation except,\nperhaps, by way of wise permission, to test and prove him, thereby\naffording him opportunity of overcoming and so of gaining spiritual\nstrength, which is the only true advancement in man's eternal course of\nprogress. The one purpose of providing bodies for the preexistent\nspirits of the race, and of advancing them to the mortal state, was to\n\"prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the\nLord their God shall command them.\"[539] The plan of mortality involved\nthe certainty of temptation. The intent of the supplication appears to\nbe that we be preserved from temptation beyond our weak powers to\nwithstand; that we be not abandoned to temptation without the divine\nsupport that shall be as full a measure of protection as our exercize of\nchoice will allow.\n\nHow inconsistent then to go, as many do, into the places where the\ntemptations to which we are most susceptible are strongest; for the man\nbeset with a passion for strong drink to so pray and then resort to the\ndramshop; for the man whose desires are lustful to voice such a prayer\nand then go where lust is kindled; for the dishonest man, though he say\nthe prayer, to then place himself where he knows the opportunity to\nsteal will be found! Can such souls as these be other than hypocrites in\nasking God to deliver them from the evils they have sought? Temptation\nwill fall in our way without our seeking, and evil will present itself\neven when we desire most to do right; for deliverance from such we may\npray with righteous expectation and assurance.\n\n_\"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.\nAmen.\"_ Herein we acknowledge the supremacy of the Being whom we\naddressed at the beginning as Father. He is the Almighty in whom and\nthrough whose provision we live and move and have our existence.[540] To\nassert independence of God is both sacrilege and blasphemy; to\nacknowledge Him is a filial duty and a just confession of His majesty\nand dominion. The Lord's Prayer is closed with a solemn \"Amen,\" set as a\nseal to the document of the supplication, attesting its genuineness as\nthe true expression of the suppliant's soul; gathering within the\ncompass of a word the meaning of all that has been uttered or thought.\n_So let it be_ is the literal signification of _Amen_.\n\nFrom the subject of prayer the Master turned to that of fasting, and\nemphasized the important truth that to be of avail fasting must be a\nmatter between the man and his God, not between man and his kind. It was\na common thing in the Master's day to see men parading the fact of their\nabstinence as an advertisement of their assumed piety.[541] That they\nmight appear haggard and faint, this class of hypocrites disfigured\ntheir faces, went with unkempt hair, gazed about with sad countenances.\nOf these also the Lord said, \"Verily I say unto you, They have their\nreward.\" Believers were admonished to fast secretly, with no outward\ndisplay, and to fast unto God, who could see in secret and would heed\ntheir sacrifice and prayer.\n\n\nTREASURES OF EARTH AND OF HEAVEN.[542]\n\nThe transitory character of worldly wealth was next contrasted with the\nenduring riches of eternity. Many there were and many there are whose\nprincipal effort in life has been that of amassing treasures of earth,\nthe mere possession of which entails responsibility, care, and\ndisturbing anxiety. Some kinds of wealth are endangered by the ravages\nof moths, such as silks and velvets, satins and furs; some are destroyed\nby corrosion and rust--silver and copper and steel; while these and\nothers are not infrequently made the booty of thieves. Infinitely more\nprecious are the treasures of a life well spent, the wealth of good\ndeeds, the account of which is kept in heaven, where the riches of\nrighteous achievement are safe from moth, rust, and robbers. Then\nfollowed the trenchant lesson: _\"For where your treasure is, there will\nyour heart be also.\"_\n\nSpiritual light is shown to be greater than any product of physical\nilluminants. What does the brightest light avail the man who is blind?\nIt is the bodily eye that discerns the light of the candle, the lamp, or\nthe sun; and the spiritual eye sees by spiritual light; if then man's\nspiritual eye be single, that is, pure and undimmed by sin, he is filled\nwith the light that shall show him the way to God; whereas if his soul's\neye be evil, he will be as one full of darkness. Solemn caution is\nexpressed in the summary, \"If therefore the light that is in thee be\ndarkness, how great is that darkness!\" Those whom the Master was\naddressing had received of the light of God; the degree of belief they\nhad already professed was proof of that. Should they turn from the great\nemprise on which they had embarked, the light would be lost, and the\nsucceeding darkness would be denser than that from which they had been\nrelieved.[543] There was to be no indecision among the disciples. No one\nof them could serve two masters; if he professed so to do he would be an\nuntrue servant to the one or the other. Then followed another profound\ngeneralization: _\"Ye cannot serve God and mammon.\"_[544]\n\nThey were told to trust the Father for what they needed, taking no\nthought of food, drink, clothing, or even of life itself, for all these\nwere to be supplied by means above their power to control. With the\nwisdom of a Teacher of teachers, the Master appealed to their hearts and\ntheir understanding by citing the lessons of nature, in language of such\nsimple yet forceful eloquence that to amplify or condense it is but to\nmar:\n\n\"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they\nreap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are\nye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one\ncubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider\nthe lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they\nspin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not\narrayed like one of these.\"\n\nThe weakness of faith was reproved in the reminder that the Father who\ncared even for the grass of the field, which one day flourishes and on\nthe next is gathered up to be burned, would not fail to remember His\nown. Therefore the Master added: _\"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and\nhis righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.\"_\n\n\nHYPOCRISY FURTHER CONDEMNED.[545]\n\nMen are prone to judge their fellows and to praise or censure without\ndue consideration of fact or circumstance. On prejudiced or unsupported\njudgment the Master set His disapproval. \"Judge not, that ye be not\njudged,\" He admonished, for, according to one's own standard of judging\nothers, shall he himself be judged. The man who is always ready to\ncorrect his brother's faults, to remove the mote from his neighbor's eye\nso that that neighbor may see things as the interested and interfering\nfriend would have him see, was denounced as a hypocrite. What was the\nspeck in his neighbor's vision to the obscuring beam in his own eye?\nHave the centuries between the days of Christ and our own time made us\nless eager to cure the defective vision of those who cannot or will not\nassume our point of view, and see things as we see them?\n\nThese disciples, some of whom were soon to minister in the authority of\nthe Holy Apostleship, were cautioned against the indiscreet and\nindiscriminate scattering of the sacred truths and precepts committed to\nthem. Their duty would be to discern the spirits of those whom they\nessayed to teach, and to impart unto them in wisdom. The words of the\nMaster were strong: \"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither\ncast ye your pearls before, swine, lest they trample them under their\nfeet, and turn again and rend you.\"[546]\n\n\nPROMISE AND REASSURANCE[547]\n\nThat their supplications would be heard and answered followed as a rich\npromise. They were to ask and they would receive; they were to knock and\nthe door would be opened. Surely the Heavenly Father would not be less\nconsiderate than a human parent; and what father would answer his son's\nplea for bread by giving him a stone, or who would give a serpent when a\nfish was desired? With greater certainty would God bestow good gifts\nupon those who asked according to their need, in faith. \"_Therefore all\nthings whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to\nthem: for this is the law and the prophets.\"_\n\nThe straight and narrow way by which man may walk in Godliness was\ncompared with the broad highway leading to destruction. False prophets\nwere to be shunned, such as were then among the people, comparable in\ntheir pretense to sheep, and in their reality to ravening wolves. These\nwere to be recognized by their works and the results thereof, even as a\ntree to be judged as good or bad according to its fruit. A thorn bush\ndoes not produce grapes, nor can thistles bear figs. Conversely, it is\nas truly impossible for a good tree to produce evil fruit as for a\nuseless and corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit.\n\nReligion is more than the confession and profession of the lips. Jesus\naverred that in the day of judgment many would pretend allegiance to\nHim, saying: \"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy\nname have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?\nAnd then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye\nthat work iniquity.\" Only by doing the will of the Father is the saving\ngrace of the Son obtainable. To assume to speak and act in the name of\nthe Lord without the bestowal of authority, such as the Lord alone can\ngive, is to add sacrilege to hypocrisy. Even miracles wrought will be no\nvindication of the claims of those who pretend to minister in the\nordinances of the gospel while devoid of the authority of the Holy\nPriesthood.[548]\n\n\nHEARING AND DOING.[549]\n\nThe Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since its\ndelivery without another to be compared with it. No mortal man has ever\nsince preached a discourse of its kind. The spirit of the address is\nthroughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty profession\nand neglect. In the closing sentences the Lord showed the uselessness of\nhearing alone, as contrasted with the efficacy of doing. The man who\nhears and acts is likened unto the wise builder who set the foundation\nof his house upon a rock; and in spite of rain and hurricane and flood,\nthe house stood. He that hears and obeys not is likened unto the foolish\nman who built his house upon the sand; and when rain fell, or winds\nblew, or floods came, behold it fell, and great was the fall thereof.\n\nSuch doctrines as these astonished the people. For His distinctive\nteachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own. His address\nwas free from any array of rabbinical precedents; the law was superseded\nby the gospel: _\"For he taught them as one having authority, and not as\nthe scribes!\"_\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 17.\n\n1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount.--Matthew gives the address\nearly mention, placing it even before the record of his own call from\nthe seat of custom--which call certainly preceded the ordination of the\nTwelve as a body--and before his account of many sayings and doings of\nthe Lord already considered in these pages. Luke's partial summary of\nthe sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthew\ntells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that He sat while\nspeaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and the\nTwelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where they\nwere met by the multitude, and that Jesus preached unto them, standing.\nCritics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightier\nmatters, have tried to make much of these seeming variations. Is it not\nprobable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to the\ndisciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and that\nafter finishing His discourse to them He descended with them to the\nplain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeated\nparts of what He had before spoken? The relative fulness of Matthew's\nreport may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was present\nat the first and more extended delivery.\n\n2. Pleasure Versus Happiness.--\"The present is an age of\npleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for\nsensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of\ncounterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier\nthan he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture\nof pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most\nattractive fashion, falsely labeled, _Happiness_. In this\nsoul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has had centuries of\nexperience and practise, and by his skill he controls the market. He has\nlearned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and\narouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in\nbright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds\nflock to his bargain counters, hustling and crushing one another in\ntheir frenzy to buy.\n\n\"Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudy\npacket, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gilded\nwrapping? He has expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only an\ninferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.\n\n\"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in\npleasure, and much beside. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but\ngilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into\npoisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough\nor polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the\npaste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness\nis as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure,\nas stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.\n\n\"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up\nthe body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and\nspiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spirituous\ndrink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him\nfancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.\n\n\"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing\nreaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no\nremorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and\nsuffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and\ndestruction.\n\n\"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a\nrenewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a\nbarbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present\nsource of anguish.\n\n\"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded\nmirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not\ninfrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that you\nhave had to weep? I have.\" From an article by the author, _Improvement\nEra_, vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 172, 173.\n\n3. Salt of the Earth.--Dummelow's _Commentary_, on Matt. 5:13, states:\n\"Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoes\nchemical changes by which its flavor is destroyed while its appearance\nremains.\" Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, \"if the\nsalt have lost his savor,\" may be suggested by the fact that salt mixed\nwith insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving the\ninsoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord's\nillustration is that spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. The\ncorresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephites\nafter His resurrection reads: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give\nunto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its\nsavor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be\nthenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden\nunder foot of men.\" (3 Nephi 12:13.)\n\n4. Reference to Publicans.--Observe that Matthew, who had been a\npublican, frankly records this reference (5:46, 47) to his despized\nclass. Luke writes \"sinners\" instead of \"publicans\" (6:32-34). Of\ncourse, if the accounts of the two writers refer to separate addresses\n(see Note 1, above), both may be accurate. But we find Matthew's\ndesignation of himself as a publican in his list of the apostles (10:3)\nand the considerate omission of the unenviable title by the other\nevangelists (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15).\n\n5. Relative Perfection.--Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect,\neven as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be\nconstrued otherwise than as implying the possibility of such\nachievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in\nthe sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being. It is\npossible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a sense\nanalogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in their\nseveral spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitely\ninferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman or\nsophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore; his record may\npossibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency and\nachievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and\nthe attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assured\npossibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[515] Matt. chaps. 5, 6, 7; Luke 6:20-49. See also the version of the\nSermon as delivered by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to the\nNephites on the western continent; B. of M., 3 Nephi, chaps. 12, 13, 14.\nSee also chapter 39 herein.\n\n[516] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[517] Matt. 4:23-25; read these verses in connection with 5:1; see also\nLuke 6:17-19.\n\n[518] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[519] Matt. 5:3-12; compare Luke 6:20-26; and B. of M., 3 Nephi 12:1-12.\n\n[520] Matt. 5:11,12; compare Luke 6:26; B. of M., 3 Nephi 12:11,12.\n\n[521] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[522] Doc. and Cov. 93:33.\n\n[523] Matt. 5:13-20; compare Luke 14:34-35; B. of M., 3 Nephi 12:13-20.\n\n[524] Lev. 2:13; compare Ezra 6:9; Ezek. 43:24.\n\n[525] Note the expression \"covenant of salt,\" indicating the covenant\nbetween Jehovah and Israel, Lev. 2:13; Numb. 18:19; compare 2 Chron.\n13:5.\n\n[526] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[527] Matt. 5:21-48; Luke 6:27-36; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 12:21-48.\n\n[528] Exo. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:17-22; Deut. 19:21.\n\n[529] Compare Lev. 19:18; Deut. 23:6; and Psa. 41:10.\n\n[530] Compare the lesson taught in the Parable of the Tares, Matt.\n13:24-30.\n\n[531] Note 4, end of chapter; see also pages 193 and 201.\n\n[532] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[533] Matt. 6:1-18; compare Luke 11:2-4; B. of M., 3 Nephi 13:1-18.\n\n[534] Consider the incident of the gifts of the rich and the widow's\nmite, Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4.\n\n[535] Page 18.\n\n[536] Exo. 16:16-21.\n\n[537] Note the lesson of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Matt.\n18:33-25.\n\n[538] Compare Matt. 7:6.\n\n[539] P. of G.P., Abraham 3:25; see pages 14, 15, herein.\n\n[540] Acts 17:28.\n\n[541] Compare the instance connected with the parable of the Pharisee\nand the Publican, Luke 18:10-14.\n\n[542] Matt. 6:19-34; compare Luke 12:24-34; 16:13; 18:22; B. of M., 3\nNephi 13:19-34.\n\n[543] Luke 11:34-36.\n\n[544] Compare Gal. 1:10; 1 Tim. 6:17; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15.\n\n[545] Matt. 7:1-5; Luke 6:37, 38, 41, 42; compare B, of M., 3 Nephi\n14:1-5.\n\n[546] Matt. 7:6; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 14:6.\n\n[547] Matt. 7:7-23; Luke 6:43-44, 46; 11:9-13; 13:24-30; compare B. of\nM., 3 Nephi 14:7-23.\n\n[548] \"Articles of Faith,\" x:1-20; and xii:1-30.\n\n[549] Matt. 7:24-29; Luke 6:46-49; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 14:24-27.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 18.\n\nAS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY.\n\n\nMatthew's account of the invaluable address, known to us as the Sermon\non the Mount, is closed with a forceful sentence of his own, referring\nto the effect of the Master's words upon the people: \"For he taught them\nas one having authority, and not as the scribes.\"[550] A striking\ncharacteristic of Christ's ministry was the entire absence of any claim\nof human authority for His words or deeds; the commission He professed\nto have was that of the Father who sent Him. His addresses, whether\ndelivered to multitudes or spoken in relative privacy to few, were free\nfrom the labored citations in which the teachers of the day delighted.\nHis authoritative \"I say unto you\" took the place of invocation of\nauthority and exceeded any possible array of precedent commandment or\ndeduction. In this His words differed essentially from the erudite\nutterances of scribes, Pharisees and rabbis. Throughout His ministry,\ninherent power and authority were manifest over matter and the forces of\nnature, over men and demons, over life and death. It now becomes our\npurpose to consider a number of instances in which the Lord's power was\ndemonstrated in divers mighty works.\n\n\nTHE CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED.[551]\n\nFrom the Mount of Beatitudes Jesus returned to Capernaum, whether\ndirectly or by a longer way marked by other works of power and mercy is\nof little importance. There was at that time a Roman garrison in the\ncity. A military officer, a centurion or captain of a hundred men, was\nstationed there. Attached to the household of this officer was an\nesteemed servant, who was ill, \"and ready to die.\" The centurion had\nfaith that Christ could heal his servant, and invoked the intercession\nof the Jewish elders to beg of the Master the boon desired. These elders\nimplored Jesus most earnestly, and urged the worthiness of the man, who,\nthough a Gentile, loved the people of Israel and out of his munificence\nhad built for them a synagog in the town. Jesus went with the elders,\nbut the centurion, probably learning of the approach of the little\ncompany, hastily sent other envoys to say that he did not consider\nhimself worthy to have Jesus enter his home, from which sense of\nunworthiness he had not ventured to make his request in person.[552]\n\"But,\" ran the message of supplication, \"say in a word, and my servant\nshall be healed.\" We may well contrast this man's conception of Christ's\npower with that of the nobleman of the same town, who had requested\nJesus to hasten in person to the side of his dying son.[553]\n\nThe centurion seems to have reasoned in this way: He himself was a man\nof authority, though under the direction of superior officers. To his\nsubordinates he gave orders which were obeyed. He did not find it\nnecessary to personally attend to the carrying out of his instructions.\nSurely One who had such power as Jesus possessed could command and be\nobeyed. Moreover, the man may have heard of the marvelous restoration of\nthe nobleman's dying son, in accomplishing which the Lord spoke the\neffective word when miles away from the sufferer's bed. That the\ncenturion's trust and confidence, his belief and faith, were genuine, is\nnot to be doubted, since Jesus expressly commended the same. The\nafflicted one was healed. Jesus is said to have marveled[554] at the\ncenturion's manifestation of faith, and, turning to the people who\nfollowed, He thus spake: \"I say unto you, I have not found so great\nfaith, no, not in Israel.\" This remark may have caused some of the\nlisteners to wonder; the Jews were unaccustomed to hear the faith of a\nGentile so extolled, for, according to the traditionalism of the day, a\nGentile, even though an earnest proselyte to Judaism, was accounted\nessentially inferior to even the least worthy of the chosen people. Our\nLord's comment plainly indicated that Gentiles would be preferred in the\nkingdom of God if they excelled in worthiness. Turning to Matthew's\nrecord we find this additional teaching, introduced as usual with \"I say\nunto you\"--\"That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit\ndown with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But\nthe children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there\nshall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\"[555] This lesson, that the\nsupremacy of Israel can be attained only through excellence in\nrighteousness, is reiterated and enlarged upon in the Lord's teachings,\nas we shall see.\n\n\nA YOUNG MAN OF NAIN RAISED FROM THE DEAD.[556]\n\nOn the day after that of the miracle last considered, Jesus went to the\nlittle town of Nain, and, as usual, many people accompanied Him. This\nday witnessed what in human estimation was a wonder greater than any\nbefore wrought by Him. He had already healed many, sometimes by a word\nspoken to afflicted ones present, and again when He was far from the\nsubject of His beneficent power; bodily diseases had been overcome, and\ndemons had been rebuked at His command; but, though the sick who were\nnigh unto death had been saved from the grave, we have no earlier record\nof our Lord having commanded dread death itself to give back one it had\nclaimed.[557] As Jesus and His followers approached the town, they met a\nfuneral cortege of many people; the only son of a widow was being borne\nto the tomb; the body was carried according to the custom of the day on\nan open bier. Our Lord looked with compassion upon the sorrowing mother,\nnow bereft of both husband and son; and, feeling in Himself[558] the\npain of her grief, He said in gentle tone, \"Weep not.\" He touched the\nstretcher upon which the dead man lay, and the bearers stood still. Then\naddressing the corpse He said: \"Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.\" And\nthe dead heard the voice of Him who is Lord of all,[559] and immediately\nsat up and spoke. Graciously Jesus delivered the young man to his\nmother. We read without wonder that there came a fear on all who were\npresent, and that they glorified God, testifying that a great prophet\nwas amongst them and that God has visited His people. Reports of this\nmiracle were carried throughout the land, and even reached the ears of\nJohn the Baptist, who was confined in the prison of Herod. The effect of\nthe information conveyed to John concerning this and other mighty works\nof Christ, now claims our attention.\n\n\nJOHN BAPTIST'S MESSAGE TO JESUS.\n\nEven before Jesus had returned to Galilee after His baptism and the\nforty days of solitude in the wilderness, John the Baptist had been\nimprisoned by order of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and\nPerea.[560] During the subsequent months of our Lord's activities, in\npreaching the gospel, teaching the true significance of the kingdom,\nreproving sin, healing the afflicted, rebuking evil spirits and even\nraising the dead to life, His forerunner, the God-fearing, valiant John,\nhad lain a prisoner in the dungeons of Mach\u00e6rus, one of the strongest of\nHerod's citadels.[561]\n\nThe tetrarch had some regard for John, having found him to be a holy\nman; and many things had Herod done on the direct advice of the Baptist\nor because of the influence of the latter's general teaching. Indeed,\nHerod had listened to John gladly, and had imprisoned him through a\nreluctant yielding to the importunities of Herodias, whom Herod claimed\nas a wife under cover of an illegal marriage. Herodias had been and\nlegally was still the wife of Herod's brother Philip, from whom she had\nnever been lawfully divorced; and her pretended marriage to Herod\nAntipas was both adulterous and incestuous under Jewish law. The Baptist\nhad fearlessly denounced this sinful association; to Herod he had said:\n\"It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.\" Though Herod\nmight possibly have ignored this stern rebuke, or at least might have\nallowed it to pass without punishment, Herodias would not condone. It\nwas she, not the tetrarch, who most hated John; she \"had a quarrel\nagainst him,\" and succeeded in inducing Herod to have the Baptist seized\nand incarcerated as a step toward the consummation of her vengeful plan\nof having him put to death.[562] Moreover, Herod feared an uprising of\nthe people in the event of John being slain by his order.[563]\n\nIn the course of his long imprisonment John had heard much of the\nmarvelous preaching and works of Christ; these things must have been\nreported to him by some of his disciples and friends who were allowed to\nvisit him.[564] Particularly was he informed of the miraculous raising\nof the young man at Nain;[565] and forthwith he commissioned two of his\ndisciples to bear a message of inquiry to Jesus.[566] These came to\nChrist and reported the purpose of their visit thus: \"John Baptist hath\nsent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for\nanother?\" The messengers found Jesus engaged in beneficent\nministrations; and, instead of giving an immediate reply in words, He\ncontinued His labor, relieving in that same hour many who were afflicted\nby blindness or infirmities, or who were troubled by evil spirits. Then,\nturning to the two who had communicated the Baptist's question, Jesus\nsaid: \"Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard;\nhow that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf\nhear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And\nblessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.\"\n\nThe words of John's inquiring disciples were answered by wondrous deeds\nof beneficence and mercy. When the reply was reported to John, the\nimprisoned prophet could scarcely have failed to remember the\npredictions of Isaiah, that by those very tokens of miracle and blessing\nshould the Messiah be known;[567] and the reproof must have been\nconvincing and convicting as he called to mind his own citations of\nIsaiah's prophecies, when he had proclaimed in fiery, withering\neloquence the fulfilment of those earlier predictions in his own mission\nand in that of the Mightier One to whom he had borne personal\ntestimony.[568]\n\nThe concluding sentence of our Lord's answer to John was the climax of\nwhat had preceded, and a further though yet gentle rebuke of the\nBaptist's defective comprehension of the Messiah's mission. \"Blessed is\nhe, whosoever shall not be offended in me,\" said the Lord.\nMisunderstanding is the prelude to offense. Gaged by the standard of the\nthen current conception of what the Messiah would be, the work of Christ\nmust have appeared to many as failure; and those who were looking for\nsome sudden manifestation of His power in the conquest of Israel's\noppressors and the rehabilitation of the house of David in worldly\nsplendor, grew impatient, then doubtful; afterward they took offense and\nwere in danger of turning in open rebellion against their Lord. Christ\nhas been an offender to many because they, being out of harmony with His\nwords and works, have of themselves taken offense.[569]\n\nJohn's situation must be righteously considered by all who assume to\nrender judgment as to his purpose in sending to inquire of Christ, \"Art\nthou he that should come?\" John thoroughly understood that his own work\nwas that of preparation; he had so testified and had openly borne\nwitness that Jesus was the One for whom he had been sent to prepare.\nWith the inauguration of Christ's ministry, John's influence had waned,\nand for many months he had been shut up in a cell, chafing under his\nenforced inactivity, doubtless yearning for the freedom of the open, and\nfor the locusts and wild honey of the desert. Jesus was increasing while\nhe decreased in popularity, influence, and opportunity; and he had\naffirmed that such condition was inevitable.[570]\n\nBut, left in prison, he may have become despondent, and may have\npermitted himself to wonder whether that Mightier One had forgotten him.\nHe knew that were Jesus to speak the word of command the prison of\nMach\u00e6rus could no longer hold him; nevertheless Jesus seemed to have\nabandoned him to his fate, which comprized not only confinement but\nother indignities, and physical torture.[571] It may have been a part of\nJohn's purpose to call Christ's attention to his pitiable plight; and in\nthis respect his message was rather a reminder than a plain inquiry\nbased on actual doubt. Indeed, we have good grounds for inference that\nJohn's purpose in sending disciples to inquire of Christ was partly, and\nperhaps largely, designed to confirm in these disciples an abiding faith\nin the Christ. The commission with which they were charged brought them\ninto direct communication with the Lord, whose supremacy they could not\nwell fail to comprehend. They were personal witnesses of His power and\nauthority.\n\nOur Lord's commentary on John's message indicated that the Baptist had\nno full understanding of what the spiritual kingdom of God comprized.\nAfter the envoys had departed, Jesus addressed Himself to the people who\nhad witnessed the interview. He would not have them underrate the\nimportance of the Baptist's service.[572] He reminded them of the time\nof John's popularity, when some of those then present, and multitudes of\nothers, had gone into the wilderness to hear the prophet's stern\nadmonition; and they had found him to be no reed, shaken by the wind,\nbut a firm and unbending oak. They had not gone to see a man in\nfashionable attire; those who wore soft raiment were to be looked for in\nthe court of the king, not in the wilderness, nor in the dungeon where\nJohn now lay. They had found in John a prophet indeed, yea, more than a\nprophet; \"For,\" affirmed the Lord, \"I say unto you, Among those that are\nborn of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but\nhe that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.\"[573] What\nstronger testimony of the Baptist's integrity is needed? Other prophets\nhad told of the Messiah's coming, but John had seen Him, had baptized\nHim, and had been to Jesus as a body servant to his master. Nevertheless\nfrom the day of John's preaching to the time at which Christ then spoke,\nthe kingdom of heaven had been rejected with violence, and this even\nthough all the prophets and even the fundamental law had told of its\ncoming, and though both John and Christ had been abundantly predicted.\n\nConcerning John, the Lord continued: \"And if ye will receive it, this is\nElias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him\nhear.\"[574] It is important to know that the designation, Elias, here\napplied by Jesus to the Baptist, is a title rather than a personal name,\nand that it has no reference to Elijah, the ancient prophet called the\nTishbite.[575] Many of those who heard the Lord's eulogy on the Baptist\nrejoiced, for they had accepted John, and had turned from him to Jesus\nas from the lesser to the Greater; as from the priest to the great High\nPriest, as from the herald to the King. But Pharisees and lawyers were\npresent, those of the class that John had so vehemently denounced as of\na generation of vipers, and those who had rejected the counsel of God in\nrefusing to heed the Baptist's call to repentance.[576]\n\nAt this point the Master resorted to analogy to make His meaning\nclearer. He compared the unbelieving and dissatisfied generation to\nfickle children at play, disagreeing among themselves. Some wanted to\nenact the pageantry of a mock wedding, and though they piped the rest\nwould not dance; then they changed to a funeral procession and essayed\nthe part of mourners, but the others would not weep as the rules of the\ngame required. Ever critical, ever skeptical, by nature fault-finders\nand defamers, hard of hearing and of heart, they grumbled. John the\nBaptist had come amongst them like the eremitic prophets of old, as\nstrict as any Nazarite, refusing to eat with the merry-makers or drink\nwith the convivial, and they had said \"He hath a devil.\" Now came the\nSon of Man,[577] without austerity or hermit ways, eating and drinking\nas a normal man would do, a guest at the houses of the people, a\nparticipant in the festivities of a marriage party, mingling alike with\nthe publicans and the Pharisees--and they complained again, saying:\n\"Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and\nsinners!\" The Master explained that such inconsistency, such wicked\ntrifling with matters most sacred, such determined opposition to truth,\nwould surely be revealed in their true light, and the worthlessness of\nboasted learning would appear. \"But,\" said He, \"wisdom is justified of\nall her children.\"\n\nFrom reproof for unbelieving individuals He turned to unappreciative\ncommunities, and upbraided the cities in which He had wrought so many\nmighty works, and wherein the people repented not: \"Woe unto thee,\nChorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were\ndone in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented\nlong ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more\ntolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And\nthou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to\nhell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been\ndone in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto\nyou, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of\njudgment, than for thee.\"[578]\n\nSeemingly faint at heart over the unbelief of the people, Jesus sought\nstrength in prayer.[579] With the eloquence of soul for which one looks\nin vain save in the anguish-laden communion of Christ with His Father,\nHe voiced His reverent gratitude that God had imparted a testimony of\nthe truth to the humble and simple rather than to the learned and great;\nthough misunderstood by men He was known for what He really was by the\nFather. Turning again to the people, He urged anew their acceptance of\nHim and His gospel, and His invitation is one of the grandest\noutpourings of spiritual emotion known to man: \"Come unto me, all ye\nthat labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke\nupon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye\nshall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is\nlight.\"[580] He invited them from drudgery to pleasant service; from the\nwell-nigh unbearable burdens of ecclesiastical exactions and traditional\nformalism, to the liberty of truly spiritual worship; from slavery to\nfreedom; but they would not. The gospel He offered them was the\nembodiment of liberty, but not of license; it entailed obedience and\nsubmission; but even if such could be likened unto a yoke, what was its\nburden in comparison with the incubus under which they groaned?\n\n\nDEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.\n\nReverting to John Baptist in his dungeon solitude, we are left without\ninformation as to how he received and understood the reply to his\ninquiry, as brought by his messengers. His captivity was destined soon\nto end, though not by restoration to liberty on earth. The hatred of\nHerodias increased against him. An opportunity for carrying into effect\nher fiendish plots against his life soon appeared.[581] The king\ncelebrated his birthday by a great feast, to which his lords, high\ncaptains, and the principal officials of Galilee were bidden. To grace\nthe occasion, Salome, daughter of Herodias though not of Herod, came in\nand danced before the company. So enchanted were Herod and his guests\nthat the king bade the damsel ask whatever she would, and he swore he\nwould give it unto her, even though the gift were half of his kingdom.\n\nShe retired to consult her mother as to what she should ask, and, being\ninstructed, returned with the appalling demand: \"I will that thou give\nme by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.\" The king was\nastounded; his amazement was followed by sorrow and regret;\nnevertheless, he dreaded the humiliation that would follow a violation\nof the oath he had sworn in the presence of his court; so, summoning an\nexecutioner, he immediately gave the fatal order; and John was forthwith\nbeheaded in the dungeon. The headsman returned, carrying a dish in which\nlay the ghastly trophy of the corrupt queen's vengeance. The bloody gift\nwas delivered to Salome, who carried it with inhuman triumph to her\nmother. Some of John's disciples came, secured the corpse, laid it in a\ntomb; and bore the tidings of his death to Jesus. Herod was sorely\ntroubled over the murder he had ordered; and when, later, the marvels\nwrought by Jesus were reported to him, he was afraid, and said: \"That\nJohn the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do\nshew forth themselves in him.\" To those who dissented, the terrified\nking replied: \"It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the\ndead.\"[582]\n\nSo ended the life of the prophet-priest, the direct precursor of the\nChrist; thus was stilled the mortal voice of him who had cried so\nmightily in the wilderness: \"Prepare ye the way of the Lord.\" After many\ncenturies his voice has been heard again, as the voice of one redeemed\nand resurrected; and the touch of his hand has again been felt, in this\nthe dispensation of restoration and fulness. In May, 1829, a resurrected\npersonage appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, announced himself\nas John, known of old as the Baptist, laid his hands upon the two young\nmen, and conferred upon them the priesthood of Aaron, which comprizes\nauthority to preach and minister the gospel of repentance and of baptism\nby immersion for the remission of sins.[583]\n\n\nIN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE.\n\n\"And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he\nwent into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.\"[584]\n\nFrom the place of this incident in Luke's narration of events, it\nappears that it may have occurred on the day of the visit of John's\nmessengers. Jesus accepted the Pharisee's invitation, as He had accepted\nthe invitations of others, including even publicans, and those called by\nthe rabbis, sinners. His reception at Simon's house appears to have been\nsomewhat lacking in warmth, hospitality and honorable attendance. The\nnarrative suggests an attitude of condescension on the part of the host.\nIt was the custom of the times to treat a distinguished guest with\nmarked attention; to receive him with a kiss of welcome, to provide\nwater for washing the dust from his feet, and oil for anointing the hair\nof the head and the beard. All these courteous attentions were omitted\nby Simon. Jesus took His place, probably on one of the divans or couches\non which it was usual to partly sit, partly recline, while eating.[585]\nSuch an attitude would place the feet of the person outward from the\ntable. In addition to these facts relating to the usages of the time it\nshould be further remembered that dwellings were not protected against\nintrusion by such amenities of privacy as now prevail. It was not\nunusual at that time in Palestine for visitors and even strangers,\nusually men however, to enter a house at meal time, observe the\nprocedure and even speak to the guests, all without bidding or\ninvitation.\n\nAmong those who entered Simon's house while the meal was in progress,\nwas a woman; and the presence of a woman, though somewhat unusual, was\nnot strictly a social impropriety and could not well be forbidden on\nsuch an occasion. But this woman was one of the fallen class, a woman\nwho had been unvirtuous, and who had to bear, as part of the penalty for\nher sins, outward scorn and practical ostracism from those who professed\nto be morally superior. She approached Jesus from behind, and bent low\nto kiss His feet as a mark of humility on her part and of respectful\nhomage to Him. She may have been one of those who had heard His gracious\nwords, spoken possibly that day: \"Come unto me, all ye that labour and\nare heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\" Whatever her motive in\ncoming, she had certainly come in a repentant and deeply contrite state.\nAs she leaned over the feet of Jesus her tears rained upon them.\nSeemingly oblivious of her surroundings and of disapproving eyes\nwatching her movements, she shook out her tresses and wiped the Lord's\nfeet with her hair. Then, opening an alabaster box of ointment, she\nanointed them, as a slave might do to his master. Jesus graciously\npermitted the woman to proceed unrebuked and uninterrupted in her humble\nservice inspired by contrition and reverent love.\n\nSimon had observed the whole proceeding; by some means he had knowledge\nas to the class to which this woman belonged; and though not aloud,\nwithin himself he said: \"This man, if he were a prophet, would have\nknown who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is\na sinner.\" Jesus read the man's thoughts, and thus spake: \"Simon, I have\nsomewhat to say unto thee,\" to which the Pharisee replied, \"Master, say\non.\" Jesus continued, \"There was a certain creditor which had two\ndebtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when\nthey had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me\ntherefore, which of them will love him most?\" But one answer could be\ngiven with reason, and that Simon gave, though apparently with some\nhesitation or reserve. He possibly feared that he might involve himself.\n\"I suppose\" he ventured, \"that he, to whom he forgave most.\" Jesus said,\n\"Thou hast rightly judged,\" and proceeded: \"Seest thou this woman? I\nentered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she\nhath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her\nhead. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in\nhath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint:\nbut this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.\"\n\nThe Pharisee could not fail to note so direct a reminder of his having\nomitted the ordinary rites of respect to a specially invited guest. The\nlesson of the story had found its application in him, even as Nathan's\nparable had drawn from David the king a self-convicting answer.[586]\n\"Wherefore,\" Jesus continued, \"I say unto thee, her sins, which are\nmany, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven,\nthe same loveth little.\" Then to the woman He spake the words of blessed\nrelief: \"Thy sins are forgiven.\" Simon and the others at table murmured\nwithin themselves, \"Who is this that forgiveth sins also?\" Understanding\ntheir unspoken protest, Christ addressed the woman again, saying, \"Thy\nfaith hath saved thee; go in peace.\"\n\nThe latter part of the narrative brings to mind another occasion on\nwhich Christ granted remission of sins, and because of opposition in the\nminds of some hearers, opposition none the less real because unvoiced,\nhad supplemented His authoritative utterance by another\npronouncement.[587]\n\nThe name of the woman who thus came to Christ, and whose repentance was\nso sincere as to bring to her grateful and contrite soul the assurance\nof remission, is not recorded. There is no evidence that she figures in\nany other incident recorded in scripture. By certain writers she has\nbeen represented as the Mary of Bethany who, shortly before Christ's\nbetrayal, anointed the head of Jesus with spikenard;[588] but the\nassumption of identity is wholly unfounded,[589] and constitutes an\nunjustifiable reflection upon the earlier life of Mary, the devoted and\nloving sister of Martha and Lazarus. Equally wrong is the attempt made\nby others to identify this repentant and forgiven sinner with Mary\nMagdalene, no period of whose life was marked by the sin of unchastity\nso far as the scriptures aver. The importance of guarding against\nmistakes in the identity of these women renders advisable the following\naddition to the foregoing treatment.\n\nIn the chapter following that in which are recorded the incidents last\nconsidered, Luke[590] states that Jesus went throughout the region,\nvisiting every city and village, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and\nshowing the glad tidings thereof. With Him on this tour were the Twelve,\nand also \"certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and\ninfirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and\nJoanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others,\nwhich ministered unto him of their substance.\" Further reference is made\nto some or all of these honorable women in connection with the death,\nburial, and resurrection of our Lord, and of Mary Magdalene particular\nmention appears.[591] Mary Magdalene, whose second name is probably\nderived from her home town, Magdala, had been healed through the\nministrations of Jesus from both physical and mental maladies, the\nlatter having been associated with possession by evil spirits. Out of\nher we are told Christ had cast seven devils,[592] but even such\ngrievous affliction affords no warrant for the assertion that the woman\nwas unvirtuous or unchaste.\n\nMary Magdalene became one of the closest friends Christ had among women;\nher devotion to Him as her Healer and as the One whom she adored as the\nChrist, was unswerving; she stood close by the cross while other women\ntarried afar off in the time of His mortal agony; she was among the\nfirst at the sepulchre on the resurrection morning, and was the first\nmortal to look upon and recognize a resurrected Being--the Lord whom she\nhad loved with all the fervor of spiritual adoration. To say that this\nwoman, chosen from among women as deserving of such distinctive honors,\nwas once a fallen creature, her soul seared by the heat of unhallowed\nlust, is to contribute to the perpetuating of an error for which there\nis no excuse. Nevertheless the false tradition, arising from early and\nunjustifiable assumption, that this noble woman, distinctively a friend\nof the Lord, is the same who, admittedly a sinner, washed and anointed\nthe Savior's feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee and gained the boon\nof forgiveness through contrition, has so tenaciously held its place in\nthe popular mind through the centuries, that the name, Magdalene, has\ncome to be a generic designation for women who fall from virtue and\nafterward repent. We are not considering whether the mercy of Christ\ncould have been extended to such a sinner as Mary of Magdala is wrongly\nreputed to have been; man cannot measure the bounds nor fathom the\ndepths of divine forgiveness; and if it were so that this Mary and the\nrepentant sinner who ministered to Jesus as He sat at the Pharisee's\ntable were one and the same, the question would stand affirmatively\nanswered, for that woman who had been a sinner was forgiven. We are\ndealing with the scriptural record as a history, and nothing said\ntherein warrants the really repellent though common imputation of\nunchastity to the devoted soul of Mary Magdalene.\n\n\nCHRIST'S AUTHORITY ASCRIBED TO BEELZEBUB.[593]\n\nAt the time of our Lord's earthly ministry, the curing of the blind,\ndeaf, or dumb was regarded as among the greatest possible achievements\nof medical science or spiritual treatment; and the subjection or casting\nout of demons was ranked among the attainments impossible to rabbinical\nexorcism. Demonstrations of the Lord's power to heal and restore, even\nin cases universally considered as incurable, had the effect of\nintensifying the hostility of the sacerdotal classes; and they,\nrepresented by the Pharisaic party, evolved the wholly inconsistent and\nridiculous suggestion that miracles were wrought by Jesus through the\npower of the prince of devils, with whom He was in league.[594]\n\nWhile the Lord was making His second missionary tour through Galilee,\ngoing about through \"all the cities and villages, teaching in their\nsynagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every\nsickness and every disease among the people,\"[595] the absurd theory\nthat Christ was Himself a victim of demoniacal possession, and that He\noperated by the power of the devil, was urged and enlarged upon until it\nbecame the generally accepted explanation among the Pharisees and their\nkind. Jesus had withdrawn Himself for a time from the more populous\ncenters, where He was constantly watched by emissaries, whom the ruling\nclasses had sent from Jerusalem into Galilee; for the Pharisees were in\nconspiracy against Him, seeking excuse and opportunity to take His life;\nbut even in the smaller towns and rural districts He was followed and\nbeset by great multitudes, to whom He ministered for both physical and\nspiritual ailments.[596]\n\nHe urged the people to refrain from spreading His fame; and this He may\nhave done for the reason that at that stage of His work an open rupture\nwith the Jewish hierarchy would have been a serious hindrance; or\npossibly He desired to leave the rulers, who were plotting against Him,\ntime and opportunity to brew their bitter enmity and fill to the brim\nthe flagons of their determined iniquity. Matthew sees in the Lord's\ninjunctions against publicity a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy that the\nchosen Messiah would not strive nor cry out on the street to attract\nattention, nor would He use His mighty power to crush even a bruised\nreed, or to quench even the smoking flax; He would not fail nor be\ndiscouraged, but would victoriously establish just judgment upon the\nearth for the Gentiles, as well as, by implication, for Israel.[597] The\nfigure of the bruised reed and the smoking flax is strikingly expressive\nof the tender care with which Christ treated even the weakest\nmanifestation of faith and genuine desire to learn the truth, whether\nexhibited by Jew or Gentile.\n\nSoon after His return from the missionary tour referred to, an excuse\nfor the Pharisees to assail Him was found in His healing of a man who\nwas under the influence of a demon, and was both blind and dumb. This\ncombination of sore afflictions, affecting body, mind, and spirit, was\nrebuked, and the sightless, speechless demoniac was relieved of his\nthree-fold burden.[598] At this triumph over the powers of evil the\npeople were the more amazed and said: \"Is not this the son of David?\" in\nother words, Can this be any other than the Christ we have been so long\nexpecting? The popular judgment so voiced maddened the Pharisees, and\nthey told the almost adoring people: \"This fellow doth not cast out\ndevils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils.\" Jesus took up the\nmalicious charge and replied thereto, not in anger but in terms of calm\nreason and sound logic. He laid the foundation of His defense by stating\nthe evident truth that a kingdom divided against itself cannot endure\nbut must surely suffer disruption. If their assumption were in the least\ndegree founded on truth, Satan through Jesus would be opposing Satan.\nThen, referring to the superstitious practises and exorcisms of the\ntime, by which some such effects as we class today under mind cures were\nobtained, He asked: \"If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your\nchildren cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.\" And to\nmake the demonstration plainer by contrast, He continued: \"But if I cast\nout devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come upon\nyou.\" By the acceptance of either proposition, and surely one was true,\nfor the fact that Jesus did cast out devils was known throughout the\nland and was conceded in the very terms of the charge now brought\nagainst Him, the accusing Pharisees stood defeated and condemned.\n\nBut the illustration went further. Jesus continued: \"Or else how can one\nenter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first\nbind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.\" Christ had\nattacked the stronghold of Satan, had driven his evil spirits from the\nhuman tabernacles of which they had unwarrantably taken possession; how\ncould Christ have done this had He not first subdued the \"strong man,\"\nthe master of devils, Satan himself? And yet those ignorant scholars\ndared to say in the face of such self-evident refutation of their own\npremises, that the powers of Satan were subdued by Satanic agency. There\ncould be no agreement, no truce nor armistice between the contending\npowers of Christ and Satan. Offering a suggestion of self-judgment to\nHis accusers, that they might severally decide on which side they were\naligned, Jesus added: \"He that is not with me is against me; and he that\ngathereth not with me scattereth abroad.\"\n\nThen, the demonstration being complete, and the absurdity of His\nopponents' assumption proved, Christ directed their thoughts to the\nheinous sin of condemning the power and authority by which Satan was\novercome. He had proved to them on the basis of their own proposition\nthat He, having subdued Satan, was the embodiment of the Spirit of God,\nand that through Him the kingdom of God was brought to them. They\nrejected the Spirit of God, and sought to destroy the Christ through\nwhom that Spirit was made manifest. What blasphemy could be greater?\nSpeaking as one having authority, with the solemn affirmation \"I say\nunto you,\" He continued: \"All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be\nforgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be\nforgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,\nit shall be forgiven him: but whosover speaketh against the Holy Ghost,\nit shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the\nworld to come.\"\n\nWho among men can word a more solemn and awful warning against the\ndanger of committing the dread unpardonable sin?[599] Jesus was merciful\nin His assurance that words spoken against Himself as a Man, might be\nforgiven; but to speak against the authority He possessed, and\nparticularly to ascribe that power and authority to Satan, was very near\nto blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, for which sin there could be no\nforgiveness. Then, in stronger terms, which developed into cutting\ninvective, He told them to be consistent--if they admitted that the\nresult of His labors was good, as the casting out of devils surely was,\nto be likened unto good fruit--why did they not acknowledge that the\npower by which such results were attained, in other words that the tree\nitself, was good? \"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or\nelse make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known\nby his fruit.\" With burning words of certain conviction He continued: \"O\ngeneration of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out\nof the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.\" By the truths He had\nmade so plain it was evident that their accusing words were drawn from\nhearts stored with evil treasure. Moreover their words were shown to be\nnot only malicious but foolish, idle and vain, and therefore doubly\nsaturated with sin. Another authoritative declaration followed: \"But I\nsay unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give\naccount thereof in the day of judgment.\"\n\n\nSEEKERS AFTER SIGNS?[600]\n\nThe Master's lesson, enforced though it was by illustration and analogy,\nby direct application, and by authoritative avowal, fell on ears that\nwere practically deaf to spiritual truth, and found no place in hearts\nalready stuffed with great stores of evil. To the profound wisdom and\nsaving instruction of the word of God to which they had listened, they\nresponded with a flippant request: \"Master, we would see a sign from\nthee.\" Had they not already seen signs in profusion? Had not the blind\nand the deaf, the dumb and the infirm, the palsied and the dropsical,\nand people afflicted with all manner of diseases, been healed in their\nhouses, on their streets, and in their synagogs; had not devils been\ncast out and their foul utterances been silenced by His word; and had\nnot the dead been raised, and all by Him whom they now importuned for a\nsign? They would have some surpassing wonder wrought, to satisfy\ncuriosity, or perhaps to afford them further excuse for action against\nHim--they wanted signs to waste on their lust.[601] Small wonder, that\n\"he sighed deeply in his spirit\" when such demands were made.[602] To\nthe scribes and Pharisees who had shown such inattention to His words,\nHe replied: \"An evil and adulterous generation[603] seeketh after a\nsign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the\nprophet Jonas.\"\n\nThe sign of Jonas (or Jonah) was that for three days he had been in the\nbelly of the fish and then had been restored to liberty; so would the\nSon of Man be immured in the tomb, after which He would rise again. That\nwas the only sign He would give them, and by that would they stand\ncondemned. Against them and their generation would the men of Nineveh\nrise in judgment, for they, wicked as they were, had repented at the\npreaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas was among them.[604]\nThe queen of Sheba would rise in judgment against them, for she had\njourneyed far to avail herself of Solomon's wisdom; and behold a greater\nthan Solomon stood before them.[605]\n\nThen, reverting to the matter of unclean and evil spirits, in connection\nwith which they had spread the accusation that He was one of the devil's\nown, He told them, that when a demon is cast out, he tries after a\nseason of loneliness to return to the house or body from which he had\nbeen expelled; and, finding that house in order, sweet and clean since\nhis filthy self had been forced to vacate it, he calls other spirits\nmore wicked than himself, and they take possession of the man, and make\nhis state worse than it was at first.[606] In this weird example is\ntypified the condition of those who have received the truth, and thereby\nhave been freed from the unclean influences of error and sin, so that in\nmind and spirit and body they are as a house swept and garnished and set\nin cleanly order, but who afterward renounce the good, open their souls\nto the demons of falsehood and deceit, and become more corrupt than\nbefore. \"Even so,\" declared the Lord, \"shall it be also unto this wicked\ngeneration.\"\n\nThough the scribes and Pharisees were mostly unconvinced, if at all\nreally impressed by His teachings, our Lord was not entirely without\nappreciative listeners. A woman in the company raised her voice in an\ninvocation of blessing on the mother who had given birth to such a Son,\nand on the breasts that had suckled Him. While not rejecting this\ntribute of reverence, which applied to both mother and Son, Jesus\nanswered: \"Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and\nkeep it.\"[607]\n\n\nCHRIST'S MOTHER AND BRETHREN COME TO SEE HIM.[608]\n\nWhile Jesus was engaged with the scribes and Pharisees, and a great\nnumber of others, possibly at or near the conclusion of the teachings\nlast considered, word was passed to Him that His mother and His brethren\nwere present and desired to speak with Him. On account of the press of\npeople they had been unable to reach His side. Making use of the\ncircumstance to impress upon all the fact that His work took precedence\nover the claims of family and kinship, and thereby explaining that He\ncould not meet His relatives at that moment, He asked, \"Who is my\nmother? and who are my brethren?\" Answering His own question and\nexpressing in the answer the deeper thought in His mind, He said,\npointing toward His disciples: \"Behold my mother and my brethren! For\nwhosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is\nmy brother, and sister, and mother.\"\n\nThe incident reminds one of the answer He made to His mother, when she\nand Joseph had found Him in the temple after their long and anxious\nsearch: \"How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about\nmy Father's business?\"[609] In that business He was engaged when His\nmother and brethren desired to speak with Him as He sat amidst the\ncrowd. The superior claims of His Father's work caused Him to let all\nminor matters wait. We are not justified in construing these remarks as\nevidence of disrespect, far less of filial and family disloyalty.\nDevotion, similar in kind at least, was expected by Him of the apostles,\nwho were called to devote without reserve their time and talents to the\nministry.[610] The purpose on which the relatives of Jesus had come to\nsee Him is not made known; we may infer, therefore, that it was of no\ngreat importance beyond the family circle.[611]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 18.\n\n1. The Two Accounts of the Miracle.--In the commentary on the miraculous\nhealing of the centurion's servant, as given in the text, we have\nfollowed in the main Luke's more circumstantial account. Matthew's\nbriefer statement of the officer's petition, and the Lord's gracious\ncompliance therewith, represents the man as coming in person to Jesus;\nwhile Luke refers to the elders of the local synagog as presenting the\nrequest. There is here no real discrepancy. It was then allowable, as in\nour time it is, to speak of one who causes something to be done as doing\nthat thing himself. One may properly be said to notify another, when he\nsends the notification by a third party. A man may say he has built a\nhouse, when in reality others did the work of building though at his\ninstance. An architect may with propriety be said to have constructed a\nbuilding, when as a matter of fact he made the design, and directed\nothers who actually reared the structure.\n\n2. Jesus Marveled.--Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus marveled at\nthe faith shown by the centurion, who begged that his beloved servant be\nhealed (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9). Some have queried how Christ, whom they\nconsider to have been omniscient during His life in the flesh, could\nhave marveled at anything. The meaning of the passage is evident in the\nsense that when the fact of the centurion's faith was brought to His\nattention, He pondered over it, and contemplated it, probably as a\nrefreshing contrast to the absence of faith He so generally encountered.\nIn similar way, though with sorrow in place of joy, He is said to have\nmarveled at the peoples' unbelief (Mark 6:6).\n\n3. Sequence of the Miracles of Raising the Dead.--As stated and\nreiterated in the text the chronology of the events in our Lord's\nministry, as recorded by the Gospel-writers, is uncertain. Literature on\nthe subject embodies much disputation and demonstrates absence of any\nnear approach to agreement among Biblical scholars. We have record of\nthree instances of miraculous restoration of the dead to life at the\nword of Jesus--the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, the raising\nof the daughter of Jairus, and the raising of Lazarus; and on the\nsequence of two of these there is difference of opinion. Of course the\nplacing of the raising of Lazarus as the latest of the three is based on\ncertainty. Dr. Richard C. Trench, in his scholarly and very valuable\n_Notes on the Miracles of our Lord_ definitely asserts that the raising\nof the daughter of Jairus is the first of the three works of restoration\nto life. Dr. John Laidlaw, in _The Miracles of our Lord_, treats this\nfirst among the miracles of its class though without affirming its\nchronological precedence; many other writers make it the second of the\nthree. The incentive to arrange the three miracles of this group in the\nsequence indicated may, perhaps, be found in the desire to present them\nin the increasing order of apparent greatness--the raising of the damsel\nbeing an instance of recalling to life one who had but just died,\n(\"hardly dead\" as some wrongly describe her condition), the raising of\nthe young man of Nain being the restoration of one on the way to the\ntomb, and the raising of Lazarus an instance of recalling to life one\nwho had lain four days in the sepulchre. We cannot consistently conceive\nof these cases as offering grades of greater or lesser difficulty to the\npower of Christ; in each case His word of authority was sufficient to\nreunite the spirit and body of the dead person. Luke, the sole recorder\nof the miracle at Nain, places the event before that of the raising of\nthe daughter of Jairus, with many incidents between. The great\npreponderance of evidence is in favor of considering the three miracles\nin the order followed herein, (1) the raising of the young man of Nain,\n(2) that of the daughter of Jairus, and (3) that of Lazarus.\n\n4. Tetrarch.--This title by derivation of the term and as originally\nused was applied to the ruler of a fourth part, or one of four divisions\nof a region that had formerly been one country. Later it came to be the\ndesignation of any ruler or governor over a part of a divided country,\nirrespective of the number or extent of the fractions. Herod Antipas is\ndistinctively called the tetrarch in Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:1, 19; 9:7; and\nActs 13:1; and is referred to as king in Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:14, 22, 25,\n26.\n\n5. Mach\u00e6rus.--According to the historian Josephus (Antiquities xviii;\n5:2), the prison to which John the Baptist was consigned by Herod\nAntipas was the strong fortress Mach\u00e6rus.\n\n6. Christ an Offender to Many.--The concluding part of our Lord's\nmessage to the imprisoned Baptist, in answer to the latter's inquiry,\nwas, \"Blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me.\" In passing it may\nbe well to observe that whatever of reproof or rebuke these words may\nconnote, the lesson was given in the gentlest way and in the form most\neasy to understand. As Deems has written, \"Instead of saying 'Woe to him\nwho is offended in me,' He puts it in the softer way 'Blessed is he who\nis not offended.'\" In our English version of the Holy Bible the word\n\"offend\" and its cognates, are used in place of several different\nexpressions which occur in the original Greek. Thus, actual infractions\nof the law, sin, and wickedness in general are all called offenses, and\nthe perpetrators of such are guilty offenders who deserve punishment. In\nother instances even the works of righteousness are construed as causes\nof offense to the wicked; but this is so, not because the good works\nwere in any way offenses against law or right, but because the\nlaw-breaker takes offense thereat. The convicted felon, if unrepentant\nand still of evil mind, is offended and angry at the law by which he has\nbeen brought to justice; to him the law is a cause of offense. In a very\nsignificant sense Jesus Christ stands as the greatest offender in\nhistory; for all who reject His gospel, take offense thereat. On the\nnight of His betrayal Jesus told the apostles that they would be\noffended because of Him (Matt. 26:31; see also verse 33). The Lord's\npersonal ministry gave offense not alone to Pharisees and priestly\nopponents, but to many who had professed belief in Him (John 6:61;\ncompare 16:1). The gospel of Jesus Christ is designated by Peter as \"a\nstone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at\nthe word, being disobedient\" (1 Peter 2:8; compare Paul's words, Romans\n9:33). Indeed blessed is he to whom the gospel is welcome, and who finds\ntherein no cause for offense.\n\n7. The Greatness of the Baptist's Mission.--The exalted nature of the\nmission of John the Baptist was thus testified to by Jesus: \"Verily I\nsay unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a\ngreater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the\nkingdom of heaven is greater than he\" (Matt. 11:11; compare Luke 7:28).\nIn elucidation of the first part of this testimony, the prophet Joseph\nSmith said, in the course of a sermon delivered May 24, 1843, (_Hist. of\nthe Church_, under date named): \"It could not have been on account of\nthe miracles John performed, for he did no miracles; but it was--First,\nbecause he was trusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before\nthe face of the Lord. Who was trusted with such a mission before or\nsince? No man. Second, he was trusted and it was required at his hands,\nto baptise the Son of Man. Who ever did that? Who ever had so great a\nprivilege or glory? Who ever led the Son of God into the waters of\nbaptism, beholding the Holy Ghost descend upon Him in the sign of a\ndove? No man. Third, John at that time was the only legal administrator\nholding the keys of power there was on earth. The keys, the kingdom, the\npower, the glory had departed from the Jews; and John, the son of\nZacharias, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, held the keys of\npower at that time.\"\n\nThe latter part of our Lord's statement--\"notwithstanding he that is\nleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he\" (John), has given\nrise to diverse interpretations and comment. The true meaning may be,\nthat surpassingly great as was John's distinction among the prophets, he\nhad not learned, at the time of the incident under consideration, the\nfull purpose of the Messiah's mission, and such he would surely have to\nlearn before he became eligible for admission into the kingdom of\nheaven; therefore, the least of those who through knowledge gained and\nobedience rendered, would be prepared for a place in the kingdom of\nwhich Jesus taught, was greater than was John the Baptist at that time.\nThrough latter-day inspiration we learn that \"it is impossible for a man\nto be saved in ignorance\" (Doc. and Cov. 131:6), and that \"The glory of\nGod in intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth\" (Doc. and Cov.\n93:36). The Baptist's inquiry showed that he was then lacking in\nknowledge, imperfectly enlightened and unable to comprehend the whole\ntruth of the Savior's appointed death and subsequent resurrection as the\nRedeemer of the world. But we must not lose sight of the fact, that\nJesus in no wise intimated that John would remain less than the least in\nthe kingdom of heaven. As he increased in knowledge of the vital truths\nof the kingdom, and rendered obedience thereto, he would surely advance,\nand become great in the kingdom of heaven as he was great among the\nprophets of earth.\n\n8. John the Baptist the Elias that was to Come.--In the days of Christ\nthe people clung to the traditional belief that the ancient prophet\nElijah was to return in person. Concerning this tradition the Dummelow\n_Commentary_ says, on Matt. 11:14: \"It was supposed that his [Elijah's]\npeculiar activity would consist in settling ceremonial and ritual\nquestions, doubts and difficulties and that he would restore to Israel\n(1) the golden pot of manna, (2) the vessel containing the anointing\noil, (3) the vessel containing the waters of purification, (4) Aaron's\nrod that budded and bore fruit.\" For this belief there was no scriptural\naffirmation. That John was to go before the Messiah in the spirit and\npower of Elias was declared by the angel Gabriel in his announcement to\nZacharias (Luke 1:17); and our Lord made plain the fact that John was\nthat predicted Elias. \"Elias\" is both a name and a title of office.\nThrough revelation in the present dispensation we learn of the separate\nindividuality of Elias and Elijah, each of whom appeared in person and\ncommitted to modern prophets the particular powers pertaining to his\nrespective office (Doc. and Cov. 110:12, 13). We learn that the office\nof Elias is that of restoration (Doc. and Cov. 27:6, 7; 76:100; 77:9,\n14). Under date of March 10, 1844, the following is recorded (_Hist. of\nChurch_) as the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith:--\n\n\"The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation of\nGod, which is the Priesthood of Elias, or the Priesthood that Aaron was\nordained unto. And when God sends a man into the world to prepare for a\ngreater work, holding the keys of the power of Elias, it was called the\ndoctrine of Elias, even from the early ages of the world.\n\n\"John's mission was limited to preaching and baptizing; but what he did\nwas legal; and when Jesus Christ came to any of John's disciples, He\nbaptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost.\n\n\"We find the apostles endowed with greater power than John: their office\nwas more under the spirit and power of Elijah than Elias.\n\n\"In the case of Philip, when he went down to Samaria, when he was under\nthe spirit of Elias, he baptized both men and women. When Peter and John\nheard of it, they went down and laid hands upon them, and they received\nthe Holy Ghost. This shows the distinction between the two powers.\n\n\"When Paul came to certain disciples, he asked if they had received the\nHoly Ghost? They said, No. Who baptized you, then? We were baptized unto\nJohn's baptism. No, you were not baptized unto John's baptism, or you\nwould have been baptized by John. And so Paul went and baptized them,\nfor he knew what the true doctrine was, and he knew that John had not\nbaptized them. And these principles are strange to me, that men who have\nread the Scriptures of the New Testament are so far from it.\n\n\"What I want to impress upon your minds is the difference of power in\nthe different parts of the Priesthood, so that when any man comes among\nyou, saying, 'I have the spirit of Elias,' you can know whether he be\ntrue or false; for any man that comes having the spirit and power of\nElias, he will not transcend his bounds.\n\n\"John did not transcend his bounds, but faithfully performed that part\nbelonging to his office; and every portion of the great building should\nbe prepared right and assigned to its proper place; and it is necessary\nto know who holds the keys of power, and who does not, or we may be\nlikely to be deceived.\n\n\"That person who holds the keys of Elias hath a preparatory work.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"This is the Elias spoken of in the last days, and here is the rock upon\nwhich many split, thinking the time was past in the days of John and\nChrist, and no more to be. But the spirit of Elias was revealed to me,\nand I know it is true; therefore I speak with boldness, for I know\nverily my doctrine is true.\"\n\n9. At the Pharisee's Table.--The expression \"sat at meat,\" as in Luke\n7:37 and in other instances, is stated by good authority to be a\nmistranslation; it should be rendered \"lay\" or \"reclined\" (see Smith's\n_Comp. Dict. of the Bible_, article \"Meals\"). That sitting was the early\nHebrew posture at meals is not questioned (Gen. 27:19; Judges 19:6; 1\nSam. 16:11; 20:5, 18, 24; 1 Kings 13:20); but the custom of reclining on\ncouches set around the table seems to date back long before the days of\nJesus (Amos 3:12; 6:4). The Roman usage of arranging the tables and\nadjoining couches along three sides of a square, leaving the fourth side\nopen for the passage of the attendants who served the diners was common\nin Palestine. Tables and couches so placed constituted the _triclinium_.\nIn reference to the ceremonial of the Pharisees in the matter of\nprescribed washing of articles used in eating, Mark (7:4) specifies\n\"tables\"; this mention is conceded to be a mistranslation, as couches or\nliterally beds, are meant by the Greek expression. (See marginal\nreading, \"beds\" in Oxford Bible, and others.) A person reclining at\ntable would have the feet directed outward. Thus it was a simple matter\nfor the contrite woman to approach Jesus from behind and anoint His feet\nwithout causing disturbance to others at the table.\n\n10. The Woman's Identity not Specified.--The attempt to identify the\ncontrite sinner who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the\nPharisee with Mary of Bethany is thus strongly condemned by Farrar (p.\n228, note): \"Those who identify this feast at the house of Simon the\nPharisee, in Galilee, with the long-subsequent feast at the house of\nSimon the leper, at Bethany, and the anointing of the feet by 'a woman\nthat was a sinner' in the city, with the anointing of the head by Mary\nthe sister of Martha, adopt principles of criticism so reckless and\narbitrary that their general acceptance would rob the Gospels of all\ncredibility, and make them hardly worth study as truthful narratives. As\nfor the names Simon and Judas, which have led to so many identifications\nof different persons and different incidents, they were at least as\ncommon among the Jews of that day as Smith and Jones among ourselves.\nThere are five or six Judes and nine Simons mentioned in the New\nTestament, and two Judes and two Simons among the Apostles alone;\nJosephus speaks of some ten Judes and twenty Simons in his writings, and\nthere must, therefore, have been thousands of others who at this period\nhad one of these two names. The incident (of anointing with ointment) is\none quite in accordance with the customs of the time and country, and\nthere is not the least improbability in its repetition under different\ncircumstances. (Eccles. 9:8; Cant. 4:10; Amos 6:6.) The custom still\ncontinues.\"\n\nThe learned canon is fully justified in his vigorous criticism;\nnevertheless he endorses the commonly-accepted identification of the\nwoman mentioned in connection with the meal in the house of Simon the\nPharisee with Mary Magdalene, although he admits that the foundation of\nthe assumed identification is \"an ancient tradition,--especially\nprevalent in the Western Church, and followed by the translation of our\nEnglish version\" (p. 233). As stated in our text, there is an entire\nabsence of trustworthy evidence that Mary Magdalene was ever tainted\nwith the sin for which the repentant woman in the Pharisee's house was\nso graciously pardoned by our Lord.\n\n11. The Unpardonable Sin.--The nature of the awful sin against the Holy\nGhost, against which the Lord warned the Pharisaic accusers who sought\nto ascribe His divine power to Satan, is more fully explained, and its\ndread results are more explicitly set forth in modern revelation.\nConcerning them and their dreadful fate, the Almighty has said:--\"I say\nthat it had been better for them never to have been born, for they are\nvessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and\nhis angels in eternity; concerning whom I have said there is no\nforgiveness in this world nor in the world to come.... They shall go\naway into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is\neternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity,\nwhere their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their\ntorment; and the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their\ntorment, no man knows, neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will\nbe revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof:\nnevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway\nshut it up again; wherefore the end, the width, the height, the depth,\nand the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except them\nwho are ordained unto this condemnation.\" (Doc. and Cov. 76:31-48; see\nalso Heb. 6:4-6; B. of M., Alma 39:6.)\n\n12. An Adulterous Generation Seeking after Signs.--Our Lord's reply to\nthose who clamored for a sign, that \"An evil and adulterous generation\nseeketh after a sign\" (Matt. 12:39; see also 16:4; Mark 8:38) could only\nbe interpreted by the Jews as a supreme reproof. That the descriptive\ndesignation \"adulterous\" was literally applicable to the widespread\nimmorality of the time, they all knew. Adam Clarke in his commentary on\nMatt. 12:39, says of this phase of our topic: \"There is the utmost proof\nfrom their [the Jews'] own writings, that in the time of our Lord, they\nwere most literally an adulterous race of people; for at this very time\nRabbi Jachanan ben Zacchi abrogated the trial by the bitter waters of\njealousy, because so many were found to be thus criminal.\" For the\ninformation concerning the trial of the accused by the bitter waters,\nsee Numb. 5:11-31. Although Jesus designated the generation in which He\nlived as adulterous, we find no record that the Jewish rulers, who by\ntheir demand for a sign had given occasion for the accusation, ventured\nto deny or attempt to repel the charge. The sin of adultery was included\namong capital offenses (Deut. 22:22-25). The severity of the accusation\nas applied by Jesus, however, was intensified by the fact that the older\nscriptures represented the covenant between Jehovah and Israel as a\nmarriage bond (Isa. 54:5-7; Jer. 3:14; 31:32; Hos. 2:19, 20); even as\nthe later scriptures typify the Church as a bride, and Christ as the\nhusband (2 Cor. 11:2; compare Rev. 21:2). To be spiritually adulterous,\nas the rabbis construed the utterances of the prophets, was to be false\nto the covenant by which the Jewish nations claimed distinction, as the\nworshipers of Jehovah, and to be wholly recreant and reprobate.\nConvicted on such a charge those sign-seeking Pharisees and scribes\nunderstood that Jesus classed them as worse than the idolatrous heathen.\nThe words \"adultery\" and \"idolatry\" are of related origin, each\nconnoting the act of unfaithfulness and the turning away after false\nobjects of affection or worship.\n\n13. The Mother and the Brethren of Jesus.--The attempt of Mary and some\nmembers of her family to speak with Jesus on the occasion referred to in\nthe text has been construed by many writers to mean that the mother and\nsons had come to protest against the energy and zeal with which Jesus\nwas pursuing His work. Some indeed have gone so far as to say that the\nvisiting members of the family had come to put Him under restraint, and\nto stem, if they could, the tide of popular interest, criticism, and\noffense, which surged about Him. The scriptural record furnishes no\nfoundation for even a tentative conception of the kind. The purpose of\nthe desired visit is not intimated. It is a fact as will be shown in\npages to follow, that some members of Mary's household had failed to\nunderstand the great import of the work in which Jesus was so\nassiduously engaged; and we are told that some of His friends (marginal\nrendering, \"kinsmen,\") on one occasion set out with the purpose of\nlaying hold on Him and stopping His public activities by physical force,\nfor they said \"He is beside himself.\" (Mark 3:21); furthermore we learn\nthat His brethren did not believe on Him (John 7:5). These facts,\nhowever, scarcely warrant the assumption that the desire of Mary and her\nsons to speak with Him on the occasion referred to was other than\npeaceful. And to assume that Mary, His mother, had so far forgotten the\nwondrous scenes of the angelic annunciation, the miraculous conception,\nthe heavenly accompaniments of the birth, the more than human wisdom and\npower exhibited in youth and manhood, as to believe her divine Son an\nunbalanced enthusiast, whom she ought to restrain, is to assume\nresponsibility for injustice to the character of one whom the angel\nGabriel declared was blessed among women, and highly favored of the\nLord.\n\nThe statement that the brethren of Jesus did not believe on Him at the\ntime referred to by the recorder (John 7:5) is no proof that some or\neven all of those same brethren did not later believe on their divine\nBrother. Immediately after the Lord's ascension, Mary, the mother of\nJesus, and His brethren were engaged in worship and supplication with\nthe Eleven and other disciples (Acts 1:14). The attested fact of\nChrist's resurrection converted many who had before declined to accept\nHim as the Son of God. Paul records a special manifestation of the\nresurrected Christ to James (1 Cor. 15:7) and the James here referred to\nmay be the same person elsewhere designated as \"the Lord's brother\"\n(Gal. 1:19); compare Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3. It appears that \"brethren of\nthe Lord\" were engaged in the work of the ministry in the days of Paul's\nactive service (1 Cor. 9:5). The specific family relationship of our\nLord to James, Joses, Simon, Judas and the sisters referred to by\nMatthew (13:55, 56), and Mark (6:3), has been questioned; and several\ntheories have been invented in support of divergent views. Thus, the\nEastern or Epiphanian hypothesis holds, on no firmer basis than\nassumption, that the brethren of Jesus were children of Joseph of\nNazareth by a former wife, and not the children of Mary the Lord's\nmother. The Levirate theory assumes that Joseph of Nazareth and Clopas\n(the latter name, it is interesting to note, is regarded as the\nequivalent of Alpheus, see footnote page 224) were brothers; and that,\nafter the death of Clopas or Alpheus, Joseph married his brother's widow\naccording to the levirate law (page 548). The Hieronymian hypothesis is\nbased on the belief that the persons referred to as brethren and sisters\nof Jesus were children of Clopas (Alpheus) and Mary the sister of the\nLord's mother, and therefore cousins to Jesus. (See Matt. 27:56; Mark\n15:40; John 19:25.) It is beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus was\nregarded by those, who were acquainted with the family of Joseph and\nMary as a close blood relative of other sons and daughters belonging to\nthe household. If these others were children of Joseph and Mary, they\nwere all juniors to Jesus, for He was undoubtedly His mother's firstborn\nchild. The acceptance of this relationship between Jesus and His\n\"brethren\" and \"sisters\" mentioned by the synoptists constitutes what is\nknown in theological literature as the Helvidian view.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[550] Matt. 7:29; compare Luke 4:32; John 7:46.\n\n[551] Luke 7:1-10; compare Matt. 8:5-13.\n\n[552] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[553] John 4:46-53; see page 177.\n\n[554] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[555] Matt. 8:11, 12; see also Luke 13:28, 29; compare Acts 10:45.\n\n[556] Luke 7:11-17.\n\n[557] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[558] Matt. 8:17; compare Isa. 53:4.\n\n[559] Luke 20:36, 38; compare Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; Rom.\n14:9.\n\n[560] Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19, 20; see Note 2, chap. 9, page\n119, and Note 4, end of this chapter.\n\n[561] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[562] Mark 6:17-20.\n\n[563] Matt. 14:5.\n\n[564] Matt. 11:2. Note a similar liberty allowed to Paul when in\ndurance, Acts 24:23.\n\n[565] Luke 7:18; Matt. 11:2.\n\n[566] Matt. 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23.\n\n[567] Isa. 35:5, 6.\n\n[568] Matt. 3:3; compare Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:7; compare Isa. 59:5; Luke\n3:6; compare Isa. 52:10.\n\n[569] Matt. 13:57; 24:10; 26:31; Mark 6:3; 14:27; John 6:61. Note 6, end\nof chapter.\n\n[570] John 3:30.\n\n[571] Note that Jesus compared the sufferings of John while in prison as\nin part comparable to those He would Himself have to endure, in that\nthey did unto John \"whatsoever they listed\" (Matt. 17:12; Mark 9:13).\n\n[572] Luke 7:24-30; see also Matt. 11:7-14; compare Christ's testimony\nof John Baptist delivered at Jerusalem, John 5:33-35.\n\n[573] Luke 7:28; see Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[574] Matt. 11:12-15; compare 17:12; Luke 1:17.\n\n[575] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[576] Matt. 3:7; Luke 7:30.\n\n[577] Page 142.\n\n[578] Matt. 11:20-24; compare Luke 10:13-15.\n\n[579] Matt. 11:25-27; compare Luke 10:21, 22.\n\n[580] Matt. 11:28-30.\n\n[581] Mark 6:21-29.\n\n[582] Mark 6:14-16.\n\n[583] \"Articles of Faith,\" x:18; also chapter 41, herein.\n\n[584] Luke 7:36; see further, verses 37-50.\n\n[585] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[586] 2 Sam. 12:1-7.\n\n[587] Matt. 9:2-6; Mark 2:5-7; page 191 herein.\n\n[588] Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3; John 11:2.\n\n[589] Note 10, end of chapter.\n\n[590] Luke 8:1-3.\n\n[591] Matt. 27:55, 56, 61; 28:1, 5; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Luke 23:49,\n55; 24:10, 22; John 19:25; 20:1, 13, 18.\n\n[592] Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2.\n\n[593] Matt. 12:24-45; compare 9:33, 34: see also Mark 3:22-30; Luke\n11:14-26.\n\n[594] Matt. 9:34.\n\n[595] Matt. 9:35.\n\n[596] Matt. 12:14-15.\n\n[597] Matt. 12:17-20; compare Isa. 42:1.\n\n[598] Matt. 12:22, 23.\n\n[599] Note 11, end of chapter.\n\n[600] Matt. 12:38-45; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16, 29; John\n2:18; 1 Cor. 1:22.\n\n[601] Doc. and Cov. 46:9; compare 63:7-12.\n\n[602] Mark 8:12.\n\n[603] Note 12, end of chapter.\n\n[604] Jonah chaps. 1-4.\n\n[605] Kings 10:1; 2 Chron. 9:1; compare Luke 11:31.\n\n[606] Matt. 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26.\n\n[607] Luke 11:27, 28.\n\n[608] Matt. 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21.\n\n[609] Luke 2:49. Page 114 herein.\n\n[610] Matt. 10:37; compare Luke 14:26.\n\n[611] Note 13, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 19.\n\n\"HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES.\"\n\n\nThroughout the period of Christ's ministry with which we have thus far\ndealt, His fame had continuously increased, because of the authority\nwith which He spoke and of the many mighty works He did; His popularity\nhad become such that whenever He moved abroad great multitudes followed\nHim. At times the people so thronged as to impede His movements, some\nwith a desire to hear more of the new doctrine, others to plead at His\nfeet for relief from physical or other ills; and many there were who had\nfaith that could they but reach Him, or even touch the border of His\nrobe, they would be healed.[612] One effect of the people's eagerness,\nwhich led them to press and crowd around Him, was to render difficult if\nnot impossible at times the effective delivery of any discourse. His\nusual place for open-air teaching while He tarried in the vicinity of\nthe sea, or lake, of Galilee was the shore; and thither flocked the\ncrowds to hear Him. At His request, the disciples had provided a \"small\nship,\" which was kept in readiness on the beach;[613] and it was usual\nwith Him to sit in the boat a short distance off shore, and preach to\nthe people, as He had done when in the earlier days He called the chosen\nfishermen to leave their nets and follow Him.[614]\n\nOn one such occasion He employed a means of instruction, which, prior to\nthat time, had not been characteristic of His teaching; this consisted\nin the use of parables,[615] simple stories to illustrate His doctrines.\nSome of these we shall here consider briefly, in the order most\nadvantageous for treatment, and as best we know, in what may have been\nthe sequence in which they were given.\n\n\n\"A SOWER WENT FORTH TO SOW.\"\n\nFirst in the order of delivery is the Parable of the Sower. It is a\nsplendid type of our Lord's parables in general, and is particularly\nvaluable for its great intrinsic worth and because we possess a\ncomprehensive interpretation of it by the divine Author. This is the\nstory:\n\n    \"Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some\n    seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them\n    up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth:\n    and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of\n    earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because\n    they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among\n    thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other\n    fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an\n    hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to\n    hear, let him hear.\"[616]\n\nThis new way of teaching, this departure from the Master's earlier\nmethod of doctrinal exposition, caused even the most devoted of the\ndisciples to marvel. The Twelve and a few others came to Jesus when He\nwas apart from the multitude, and asked why He had spoken to the people\nin this manner, and what was the meaning of this particular parable. Our\nLord's reply to the first part of the inquiry we shall consider\npresently; concerning the second, He asked \"Know ye not the parable? and\nhow then will ye know all parables?\"[617] Thus did He indicate the\nsimplicity of this the first of His parables, together with its typical\nand fundamental character, and at the same time intimate that other\nparables would follow in the course of His teaching. Then He gave the\ninterpretation:\n\n    \"Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When anyone heareth\n    the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh\n    the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his\n    heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he\n    that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that\n    heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he\n    not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when\n    tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and\n    by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns\n    is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the\n    deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh\n    unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he\n    that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth\n    fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some\n    thirty.\"[618]\n\nFurther exposition may appear superfluous; some suggestion as to the\nindividual application of the contained lessons may be in place,\nhowever. Observe that the prominent feature of the story is that of the\nprepared or unprepared condition of the soil. The seed was the same\nwhether it fell on good ground or bad, on mellow mold or among stones\nand thistles. The primitive method of sowing still followed in many\ncountries, consists in the sower throwing the grain by handfuls against\nthe wind, thus securing a widespread scattering. Running through the\nGalilean fields, were pathways, hard trodden by feet of men and beasts.\nThough seed should fall on such tracts, it could not grow; birds would\npick up the living kernels lying unrooted and uncovered and some of the\ngrains would be crushed and trodden down. So with the seed of truth\nfalling upon the hardened heart; ordinarily it cannot take root, and\nSatan, as a marauding crow, steals it away, lest a grain of it perchance\nfind a crack in the trampled ground, send down its rootlet, and possibly\ndevelop.\n\nSeed falling in shallow soil, underlain by a floor of unbroken stone or\nhard-pan, may strike root and flourish for a brief season; but as the\ndescending rootlets reach the impenetrable stratum they shrivel, and the\nplant withers and dies, for the nutritive juices are insufficient where\nthere is no depth of earth.[619] So with the man whose earnestness is\nbut superficial, whose energy ceases when obstacles are encountered or\nopposition met; though he manifest enthusiasm for a time persecution\ndeters him; he is offended,[620] and endures not. Grain sown where\nthorns and thistles abound is soon killed out by their smothering\ngrowth; even so with a human heart set on riches and the allurements of\npleasure--though it receive the living seed of the gospel it will\nproduce no harvest of good grain, but instead, a rank tangle of noxious\nweeds. The abundant yield of thorny thistles demonstrates the fitness of\nthe soil for a better crop, were it only free from the cumbering weeds.\nThe seed that falls in good deep soil, free from weeds and prepared for\nthe sowing, strikes root and grows; the sun's heat scorches it not, but\ngives it thrift; it matures and yields to the harvester according to the\nrichness of the soil, some fields producing thirty, others sixty, and a\nfew even a hundred times as much grain as was sown.\n\nEven according to literary canons, and as judged by the recognized\nstandards of rhetorical construction and logical arrangement of its\nparts, this parable holds first place among productions of its class.\nThough commonly known to us as the Parable of the Sower, the story could\nbe expressively designated as the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil. It\nis the ground upon which the seed is cast, to which the story most\nstrongly directs our attention, and which so aptly is made to symbolize\nthe softened or the hardened heart, the clean or the thorn-infested\nsoil. Observe the grades of soil, given in the increasing order of their\nfertility: (A) the compacted highway, the wayside path, on which, save\nby a combination of fortuitous circumstances practically amounting to a\nmiracle, no seed can possibly strike root or grow; (B) the thin layer of\nsoil covering an impenetrable bed-rock, wherein seed may sprout yet can\nnever mature; (C) the weed-encumbered field, capable of producing a rich\ncrop but for the jungle of thistles and thorns; and (D) the clean rich\nmold receptive and fertile. Yet even soils classed as good are of\nvarying degrees of productiveness, yielding an increase of thirty,\nsixty, or even a hundred fold, with many inter-gradations.\n\nSome Bible expositors have professed to find in this splendid parable\nevidence of decisive fatalism in the lives of individuals, so that those\nwhose spiritual state is comparable to the hardened pathway or wayside\nground, to the shallow soil on stony floor, or to the neglected,\nthorn-ridden tract, are hopelessly and irredeemably bad; while the souls\nwho may be likened unto good soil are safe against deterioration and\nwill be inevitably productive of good fruit. Let it not be forgotten\nthat a parable is but a sketch, not a picture finished in detail; and\nthat the expressed or implied similitude in parabolic teaching cannot\nlogically and consistently be carried beyond the limits of the\nillustrative story. In the parable we are considering, the Teacher\ndepicted the varied grades of spiritual receptivity existing among men,\nand characterized with incisive brevity each of the specified grades. He\nneither said nor intimated that the hard-baked soil of the wayside might\nbe plowed, harrowed, fertilized, and so be rendered productive; nor that\nthe stony impediment to growth might not be broken up and removed, or an\nincrease of good soil be made by actual addition; nor that the thorns\ncould never be uprooted and their former habitat be rendered fit to\nsupport good plants. The parable is to be studied in the spirit of its\npurpose; and strained inferences or extensions are unwarranted. A strong\nmetaphor, a striking simile, or any other expressive figure of speech,\nis of service only when rationally applied; if carried beyond the bounds\nof reasonable intent, the best of such may become meaningless or even\nabsurd.\n\n\nTHE WHEAT AND THE TARES.\n\nAnother parable, somewhat closely related to the foregoing as to the\nactual story, dealing again with seed and sowing, and, like the first,\naccompanied by an interpretation, was delivered by the Master as\nfollows:\n\n    \"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good\n    seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed\n    tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was\n    sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares\n    also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him,\n    Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then\n    hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The\n    servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather\n    them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye\n    root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until\n    the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the\n    reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in\n    bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.\"[621]\n\nWhen Jesus had retired to the house in which He lodged, the disciples\ncame, saying: \"Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.\"\n\n\"He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son\nof man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the\nkingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy\nthat sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and\nthe reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and\nburned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of\nman shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his\nkingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall\ncast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of\nteeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of\ntheir Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.\"[622]\n\nBy the Author's explication, the sower was Himself, the Son of Man; and,\nas the condition of wheat and tares growing together was one that shall\ncontinue until \"the end of the world,\" those who were ordained to carry\non the ministry after Him are by direct implication also sowers. The\nseed as here represented is not, as in the last parable, the gospel\nitself, but the children of men, the good seed typifying the honest in\nheart, righteous-minded children of the kingdom; while the tares are\nthose souls who have given themselves up to evil and are counted as\nchildren of the wicked one. Inspired by zeal for their Master's profit,\nthe servants would have forcibly rooted up the tares, but were\nrestrained, for their unwise though well-intended course would have\nendangered the wheat while yet tender, since in the early stages of\ngrowth it would have been difficult to distinguish the one from the\nother, and the intertwining of the roots would have caused much\ndestruction of the precious grain.\n\nOne cardinal lesson of the parable, apart from the representation of\nactual conditions present and future, is that of patience,\nlong-suffering, and toleration--each an attribute of Deity and a trait\nof character that all men should cultivate. The tares mentioned in the\nstory may be considered as any kind of noxious weed, particularly such\nas in early growth resembles the wholesome grain.[623] Over-sowing with\nthe seed of weeds in a field already sown with grain is a species of\nmalignant outrage not unknown even in the present day.[624] The\ncertainty of a time of separation, when the wheat shall be garnered in\nthe store-house of the Lord, and the tares be burned, that their\npoisonous seed may reproduce no more, is placed beyond question by the\nLord's own exposition.\n\nSo important is the lesson embodied in this parable, and so assured is\nthe literal fulfilment of its contained predictions, that the Lord has\ngiven a further explication through revelation in the current\ndispensation, a period in which the application is direct and immediate.\nSpeaking through Joseph Smith the Prophet in 1832, Jesus Christ said:\n\n    \"But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is\n    beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up\n    and is yet tender. Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are\n    crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to\n    be sent forth to reap down the fields; but the Lord saith unto\n    them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender, (for\n    verily your faith is weak,) lest you destroy the wheat also.\n    Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the\n    harvest is fully ripe, then ye shall first gather out the wheat\n    from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat,\n    behold and lo! the tares are bound in bundles, and the field\n    remaineth to be burned.\"[625]\n\n\nTHE SEED GROWING SECRETLY.\n\nMatthew records the Parable of the Tares as immediately following that\nof the Sower; Mark places in the same position of sequence a parable\nfound in his writings alone. It is presented in outline form, and by\ncritical expositors would be classed rather as a simple analogy than a\ntypical parable. Read it:\n\n    \"And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast\n    seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day,\n    and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For\n    the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then\n    the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit\n    is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because\n    the harvest is come.\"[626]\n\nWe have no record of the disciples asking nor of the Master giving any\ninterpretation of this, or of any later parable.[627] In this story we\nfind effectively illustrated the fact of the vitality of the seed of\ntruth, though the secret processes of its growth be a mystery to all\nsave God alone. A man having planted seed must needs leave it alone. He\nmay tend the field, removing weeds, protecting the plants as best he\nmay, but the growth itself is dependent upon conditions and forces\nbeyond his power to ultimately control. Though it were Paul who planted\nand Apollos who watered, none but God could insure the increase.[628]\nThe one who sowed may go about his other affairs, for the field does not\ndemand continuous or exclusive attention; nevertheless, under the\ninfluences of sunshine and shower, of breeze and dew, the blade\ndevelops, then the ear, and in due time the full corn in the ear. When\nthe grain is ripe the man gladly harvests his crop.\n\nThe sower in this story is the authorized preacher of the word of God;\nhe implants the seed of the gospel in the hearts of men, knowing not\nwhat the issue shall be. Passing on to similar or other ministry\nelsewhere, attending to his appointed duties in other fields, he, with\nfaith and hope, leaves with God the result of his planting. In the\nharvest of souls converted through his labor, he is enriched and made to\nrejoice.[629] This parable was probably directed more particularly to\nthe apostles and the most devoted of the other disciples, rather than to\nthe multitude at large; the lesson is one for teachers, for workers in\nthe Lord's fields, for the chosen sowers and reapers. It is of perennial\nvalue, as truly applicable today as when first spoken. Let the seed be\nsown, even though the sower be straightway called to other fields or\nother duties; in the gladsome harvest he shall find his recompense.\n\n\nTHE MUSTARD SEED.\n\n    \"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of\n    heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and\n    sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but\n    when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a\n    tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the\n    branches thereof.\"[630]\n\nThis little story, addressed to the assembled multitude, must have set\nmany thinking, because of the simplicity of the incident related and the\nthoroughly un-Jewish application made of it. To the mind taught by\nteachers of the time the kingdom was to be great and glorious from its\nbeginning; it was to be ushered in by blare of trumpets and tramp of\narmies, with King Messiah at the head; yet this new Teacher spoke of it\nas having so small a beginning as to be comparable to a mustard seed. To\nmake the illustration more effective He specified that the seed spoken\nof was \"the least of all seeds.\" This superlative expression was made in\na relative sense; for there were and are smaller seeds than the mustard,\neven among garden plants, among which rue and poppy have been named; but\neach of these plants is very small in maturity, while the\nwell-cultivated mustard plant is one of the greatest among common herbs,\nand presents a strong contrast of growth from tiny seed to spreading\nshrub.\n\nMoreover, the comparison \"as small as a mustard seed\" was in every-day\nuse among Jews of the time. The comparison employed by Jesus on another\noccasion evidences the common usage, as when He said: \"If ye have faith\nas a grain of mustard seed ... nothing shall be impossible unto\nyou.\"[631] It should be known that the mustard plant attains in\nPalestine a larger growth than in more northerly climes.[632] The lesson\nof the parable is easy to read. The seed is a living entity. When\nrightly planted it absorbs and assimilates the nutritive matters of soil\nand atmosphere, grows, and in time is capable of affording lodgment and\nfood to the birds. So the seed of truth is vital, living, and capable of\nsuch development as to furnish spiritual food and shelter to all who\ncome seeking. In both conceptions, the plant at maturity produces seed\nin abundance, and so from a single grain a whole field may be covered.\n\n\nTHE LEAVEN.\n\n    \"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is\n    like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures\n    of meal, till the whole was leavened.\"[633]\n\nPoints of both similarity and contrast between this parable and the last\nare easily discerned. In each the inherent vitality and capacity for\ndevelopment, so essentially characteristic of the kingdom of God, are\nillustrated. The mustard seed however, typifies the effect of vital\ngrowth in gathering the substance of value from without; while the\nleaven or yeast disseminates and diffuses outward its influence\nthroughout the mass of otherwise dense and sodden dough. Each of these\nprocesses represents a means whereby the Spirit of Truth is made\neffective. Yeast is no less truly a living organism than a mustard seed.\nAs the microscopic yeast plant develops and multiplies within the dough,\nits myriad living cells permeate the lump, and every bit of the leavened\nmass is capable of affecting likewise another batch of properly prepared\nmeal. The process of leavening, or causing dough \"to rise,\" by the\nfermentation of the yeast placed in the mass, is a slow one, and\nmoreover as quiet and seemingly secret as that of the planted seed\ngrowing without the sower's further attention or concern.[634]\n\n\nTHE HIDDEN TREASURE.\n\n    \"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a\n    field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy\n    thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that\n    field.\"[635]\n\nThis and the two parables following are recorded by Matthew only; and\nthe place assigned them in his narrative indicates that they were spoken\nto the disciples alone, in the house, after the multitude had departed.\nThe quest for treasure-trove is always fascinating. Instances of finding\nburied valuables were not uncommon in the time of which we speak, since\nthe practise of so concealing treasure was usual with people exposed to\nbandit incursions and hostile invasion. Observe that the fortunate and\nhappy man is represented as finding the treasure seemingly by accident\nrather than as a result of diligent search. He gladly sold all that he\npossessed to make possible his purchase of the field. The hidden\ntreasure is the kingdom of heaven; when a man finds that, he ought to be\nready to sacrifice all that he has, if by so doing he may gain\npossession. His joy in the new acquisition will be unbounded; and, if he\nbut remain a worthy holder, the riches thereof shall be his beyond the\ngrave.[636]\n\nCasuists have raised the question of propriety as to the man's course of\naction in the story, inasmuch as he concealed the fact of his discovery\nfrom the owner of the field, to whom the treasure, they say, rightly\nbelonged. Whatever opinion one may hold as to the ethics of the man's\nprocedure, his act was not illegal, since there was an express provision\nin Jewish law that the purchaser of land became the legal owner of\neverything the ground contained.[637] Assuredly Jesus commended no\ndishonest course; and had not the story been in every detail probable,\nits effect as a parable would have been lost. The Master taught by this\nillustration that when once the treasure of the kingdom is found, the\nfinder should lose no time nor shrink from any sacrifice needful to\ninsure his title thereto.\n\n\nTHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE.\n\n    \"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,\n    seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great\n    price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.\"[638]\n\nPearls have always held high place among gems, and long before, as\nindeed ever since, the time of Christ, pearl-merchants have been active\nand diligent in seeking the largest and richest to be had. Unlike the\nman in the last parable, who found a hidden treasure with little or no\nsearch, the merchant in this story devoted his whole energy to the quest\nfor goodly pearls, to find and secure which was his business. When at\nlast he beheld the pearl that excelled all others, though it was, as of\nright it ought to have been, held at high cost, he gladly sold all his\nother gems; indeed he sacrificed \"all that he had\"--gems and other\npossessions--and purchased the pearl of great price. Seekers after truth\nmay acquire much that is good and desirable, and not find the greatest\ntruth of all, the truth that shall save them. Yet, if they seek\npersistently and with right intent, if they are really in quest of\npearls and not of imitations, they shall find. Men who by search and\nresearch discover the truths of the kingdom of heaven may have to\nabandon many of their cherished traditions, and even their theories of\nimperfect philosophy and \"science falsely so called,\"[639] if they would\npossess themselves of the pearl of great price. Observe that in this\nparable as in that of the hidden treasure, the price of possession is\none's all. No man can become a citizen of the kingdom by partial\nsurrender of his earlier allegiances; he must renounce everything\nforeign to the kingdom or he can never be numbered therein. If he\nwillingly sacrifices all that he has, he shall find that he has enough.\nThe cost of the hidden treasure, and of the pearl, is not a fixed\namount, alike for all; it is all one has. Even the poorest may come into\nenduring possession; his all is a sufficient purchase price.\n\n\nTHE GOSPEL NET.\n\n    \"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast\n    into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was\n    full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good\n    into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end\n    of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked\n    from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of\n    fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.\"[640]\n\nMen of many minds, men good and bad, all nationalities and races, are\naffected by the gospel of the kingdom. The \"fishers of men\"[641] are\nskilful, active, and comprehensive in their haul. The sorting takes\nplace after the net is brought to shore; and, as the fisherman discards\nevery bad fish while he saves the good, so shall the angels who do the\nbidding of the Son of Man separate the just and the wicked, preserving\nthe one kind to life eternal; consigning the other to destruction.\nUnwise efforts to carry the application of the parable beyond the\nAuthor's intent have suggested the criticism that whether the fish be\ngood or bad they die. The good, however, die to usefulness, the bad to\nutter waste. Though all men die, they die not alike; some pass to rest,\nand shall come forth in the resurrection of the just; others go to a\nstate of sorrow and disquiet there to anxiously and with dread await the\nresurrection of the wicked.[642] Similarity of application in the\npresent parable as in that of the tares, is apparent in the emphasis\ngiven to the decreed separation of the just from the unjust, and in the\nawful fate of those who are fit subjects for condemnation. A further\nparallelism is noticed in the postponement of the judgment until the\n\"end of the world,\" by which expression we may understand the\nconsummation of the Redeemer's work, subsequent to the Millennium and\nthe final resurrection of all who have had existence on earth.[643]\n\nFollowing His delivery of this, the last of the group of parables\nrecorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus asked the\ndisciples, \"Have ye understood all these things?\" They answered, \"Yea,\nLord.\" He impressed upon them that they should be ready, like\nwell-taught teachers, to bring, from the store-house of their souls,\ntreasures of truth both old and new, for the edification of the\nworld.[644]\n\n\nCHRIST'S PURPOSE IN USING PARABLES.\n\nAs before stated, the Twelve and other disciples were surprized at the\nLord's innovation of parabolic instruction. Prior to that time His\ndoctrines had been set forth in unveiled plainness, as witness the\nexplicit teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. It is noticeable that the\nintroduction of parables occurred when opposition to Jesus was strong,\nand when scribes, Pharisees, and rabbis were alert in maintaining a\nclose watch upon His movements and His works, ever ready to make Him an\noffender for a word. The use of parables was common among Jewish\nteachers; and in adopting this mode of instruction Jesus was really\nfollowing a custom of the time; though between the parables He spake and\nthose of the scholars there is possible no comparison except that of\nmost pronounced contrast.[645]\n\nTo the chosen and devoted followers who came asking the Master why He\nhad changed from direct exposition to parables, He explained[646] that\nwhile it was their privilege to receive and understand the deeper truths\nof the gospel, \"the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven\" as He expressed\nit, with people in general, who were unreceptive and unprepared, such\nfulness of understanding was impossible. To the disciples who had\nalready gladly accepted the first principles of the gospel of Christ,\nmore should be given; while from those who had rejected the proffered\nboon, even what they had theretofore possessed should be taken\naway.[647] \"Therefore,\" said He, \"speak I to them in parables: because\nthey seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they\nunderstand.\" That the state of spiritual darkness then existing among\nthe Jews had been foreseen was instanced by a citation of Isaiah's\nwords, in which the ancient prophet had told of the people becoming\nblind, deaf, and hard of heart respecting the things of God, whereby\nthough they would both hear and see in a physical sense yet should they\nnot understand.[648]\n\nThere is plainly shown an element of mercy in the parabolic mode of\ninstruction adopted by our Lord under the conditions prevailing at the\ntime. Had He always taught in explicit declaration, such as required no\ninterpretation, many among His hearers would have come under\ncondemnation, inasmuch as they were too weak in faith and unprepared in\nheart to break the bonds of traditionalism and the prejudice engendered\nby sin, so as to accept and obey the saving word. Their inability to\ncomprehend the requirements of the gospel would in righteous measure\ngive Mercy some claim upon them, while had they rejected the truth with\nfull understanding, stern Justice would surely demand their\ncondemnation.[649]\n\nThat the lesson of the parables was comprehensible through study, prayer\nand search was intimated in the Teacher's admonishment: \"Who hath ears\nto hear, let him hear.\"[650] To the more studious inquirers, the Master\nadded: \"Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be\nmeasured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that\nhath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be\ntaken even that which he hath.\"[651] Two men may hear the same words;\none of them listens in indolence and indifference, the other with active\nmind intent on learning all that the words can possibly convey; and,\nhaving heard, the diligent man goes straightway to do the things\ncommended to him, while the careless one neglects and forgets. The one\nis wise, the other foolish; the one has heard to his eternal profit, the\nother to his everlasting condemnation.[652]\n\nAnother example of the merciful adaptation of the word of truth to the\nvaried capacities of the people who heard the parables is found in the\npsychological fact, that the incidents of an impressive though simple\nstory will live, even in minds which for the time being are incapable of\ncomprehending any meaning beyond that of the common-place story itself.\nMany a peasant who had heard the little incident of the sower and the\nfour kinds of soil, of the tares sown by an enemy at night, of the seed\nthat grew though the planter had temporarily forgotten it, would be\nreminded by the recurring circumstances of his daily work; the gardener\nwould recollect the story of the mustard seed whenever he planted\nafresh, or when he looked upon the umbrageous plant with birds nesting\nin its branches; the housewife would be impressed anew by the story of\nthe leaven as she mixed and kneaded and baked; the fisherman at his nets\nwould think again of the good fish and the bad and compare the sorting\nof his catch with the judgment to come. And then, when time and\nexperience, including suffering perhaps, had prepared them for deeper\nthought, they would find the living kernel of gospel truth within the\nhusk of the simple tale.\n\n\nPARABLES IN GENERAL.\n\nThe essential feature of a parable is that of comparison or similitude,\nby which some ordinary, well-understood incident is used to illustrate a\nfact or principle not directly expressed in the story. The popular\nthought that a parable necessarily rests on a fictitious incident is\nincorrect; for, inasmuch as the story or circumstance of the parable\nmust be simple and indeed common-place, it may be real. There is no\nfiction in the parables we have thus far studied; the fundamental\nstories are true to life and the given circumstances are facts of\nexperience. The narrative or incident upon which a parable is\nconstructed may be an actual occurrence or fiction; but, if fictitious,\nthe story must be consistent and probable, with no admixture of the\nunusual or miraculous. In this respect the parable differs from the\nfable, the latter being imaginative, exaggerated and improbable as to\nfact; moreover, the intent is unlike in the two, since the parable is\ndesigned to convey some great spiritual truth, while the so-called moral\nof the fable is at best suggestive only of worldly achievement and\npersonal advantage. Stories of trees, animals and inanimate things\ntalking together or with men are wholly fanciful; they are fables or\napologues whether the outcome be depicted as good or bad; to the parable\nthese show contrast, not similarity. The avowed purpose of the fable is\nrather to amuse than to teach. The parable may embody a narrative as in\nthe instances of the sower and the tares, or merely an isolated\nincident, as in those of the mustard seed and the leaven.\n\nAllegories are distinguished from parables by greater length and detail\nof the story, and by the intimate admixture of the narrative with the\nlesson it is designed to teach; these are kept distinctly separate in\nthe parable. Myths are fictitious stories, sometimes with historic basis\nof fact, but without symbolism of spiritual worth. A proverb is a short,\nsententious saying, in the nature of a maxim, connoting a definite truth\nor suggestion by comparison. Proverbs and parables are closely related,\nand in the Bible the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.[653] The\nOld Testament contains two parables, a few fables and allegories, and\nnumerous proverbs; of the last-named we possess an entire book.[654]\nNathan the prophet reproved King David by the parable of the poor man's\newe lamb, and so effective was the story that the king decreed\npunishment for the wealthy offender, and was overcome by sorrow and\ncontrition when the prophet made application of his parable by the\nfateful words, \"Thou art the man.\"[655] The story of the vineyard, which\nthough fenced and well-tended yet brought forth only wild, useless\nfruit, was used by Isaiah to portray the sinful state of Israel in his\nattempt to awaken the people to lives of righteousness.[656]\n\nThe parables of the New Testament, spoken by the Teacher of teachers,\nare of such beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness, as to stand\nunparalleled in literature.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 19.\n\n1. The First Group of Parables.--Many Bible scholars hold that the seven\nparables recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew were spoken at\ndifferent times and to different people, and that the writer of the\nfirst Gospel grouped them for convenience in recording and with prime\nconsideration of their subjective interest. Some color is found for this\nclaim in Luke's mention of some of these parables in different relations\nof both time and place; thus, the parables of the Mustard Seed and the\nLeaven are given (Luke 13:18, 21) as directly following the healing of\nthe infirm woman in the synagog, and the rebuke to the hypocritical\nruler. While we must admit that Matthew may have grouped with the\nparables spoken on that particular day some of other dates, it is\nprobable that Jesus repeated some of His parables, as He certainly did\nother teachings, and thus presented the same lesson on more occasions\nthan one. As a matter of fact each parable is a lesson in itself, and\nholds its high intrinsic value whether considered as an isolated story\nor in connection with related teachings. Let us give heed to the lesson\nof each whatever opinions men may promulgate as to the circumstances of\nits first delivery.\n\n2. Local Setting for the Parable of the Sower.--Dr. R. C. Trench, in his\nexcellent work _Notes on the Parables of our Lord_ (p. 57, note), quotes\nDean Stanley's description of existing conditions in the place where the\nParable of the Sower was given by Jesus; and as there is reason to\nbelieve that the environment has changed but little since the days of\nChrist, the account is here reproduced: \"A slight recess in the hillside\nclose upon the plain disclosed at once in detail, and with a conjunction\nwhich I remember nowhere else in Palestine, every feature of the great\nparable. There was the undulating corn-field descending to the water's\nedge. There was the trodden pathway running through the midst of it,\nwith no fence or hedge to prevent the seed falling here or there on\neither side of it, or upon it--itself hard with the constant tramp of\nhorse and mule and human feet. There was the 'good' rich soil, which\ndistinguishes the whole of that plain and its neighborhood from the bare\nhills elsewhere, descending into the lake, and which, where there is no\ninterruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the rocky ground\nof the hillside protruding here and there through the corn-fields, as\nelsewhere, through the grassy slopes. There were the large bushes of\nthorn, the 'nabk' ... springing up, like the fruit-trees of the more\ninland parts, in the very midst of the waving wheat.\"\n\n3. Tares.--This term occurs nowhere within the Bible except in this\ninstance of the parable. Plainly any kind of weed, particularly a\npoisonous sort, such as would seriously depreciate the garnered crop,\nwould serve the Master's purpose in the illustration. The traditional\nbelief commonly held is that the plant referred to in the parable is the\ndarnel weed, known to botanists as _Lolium temulenium_, a species of\nbearded rye-grass. This plant closely resembles wheat in the early\nperiod of growth, and exists as a pest to the farmers in Palestine\nto-day; it is called by the Arabians \"Zowan\" or \"Zawan\" which name, says\nArnot, citing Thompson, \"bears some resemblance to the original word in\nthe Greek text.\" The writer of the article \"Tares\" in Smith's Dictionary\nsays: \"Critics and expositors are agreed that the Greek plural\n_zizania_, A.V. 'tares,' of the parable (Matt 13:25) denotes the weed\ncalled 'bearded darnel' (_Lolium temulentum_), a widely-distributed\ngrass, and the only species of the order that has deleterious\nproperties. The bearded darnel before it comes into ear is very similar\nin appearance to wheat, and the roots of the two are often intertwined;\nhence the command that the 'tares' should be left till the harvest, lest\nwhile men plucked up the tares 'they should root up also the wheat with\nthem.' This darnel is easily distinguishable from the wheat and barley\nwhen headed out, but when both are less developed, 'the closest scrutiny\nwill often fail to detect it. Even the farmers, who in this country\ngenerally weed their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from the\nother ... The taste is bitter, and, when eaten separately, or even when\ndiffused in ordinary bread, it causes dizziness, and often acts as a\nviolent emetic.'\" The secondary quotation is from Thompson's _The Land\nand the Book_, ii, 111, 112. It has been asserted that the darnel is a\ndegenerated kind of wheat; and attempts have been made to give\nadditional significance to our Lord's instructive parable by injecting\nthis thought; there is no scientific warrant for the strained\nconception, however, and earnest students will not be misled thereby.\n\n4. The Wickedness of the Sower of Tares.--Attempts have been made to\ndisparage the Parable of the Tares on the ground that it rests on an\nunusual if not unknown practise. Trench thus meets the criticism (_Notes\non the Parables_, pp. 72, 73): \"Our Lord did not imagine here a form of\nmalice without example, but adduced one which may have been familiar\nenough to His hearers, one so easy of execution, involving so little\nrisk, and yet effecting so great and lasting a mischief, that it is not\nstrange, where cowardice and malice meet, that this should have been\noften the shape in which they displayed themselves. We meet traces of it\nin many quarters. In Roman law the possibility of this form of injury is\ncontemplated; and a modern writer, illustrating Scripture from the\nmanners and habits of the East, with which he had become familiar\nthrough a sojourn there, affirms the same to be now practised in India.\"\nIn a subjoined note the author adds: \"We are not without this form of\nmalice nearer home. Thus in Ireland I have known an outgoing tenant, in\nspite at his eviction, to sow wild oats in the fields which he was\nleaving. These, like the tares in the parable, ripening and seeding\nthemselves before the crops in which they were mingled, it became next\nto impossible to extirpate.\";\n\n5. The Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly.--This parable has given\nrise to much discussion among expositors, the question being as to who\nis meant by the man who cast seed into the ground. If, as in the\nparables of the Sower and the Tares, the Lord Jesus be the planter,\nthen, some ask, how can it be said \"that the seed should spring and grow\nup, he knoweth not how,\" when all things are known unto Him? If on the\nother hand the planter represents the authorized teacher or preacher of\nthe gospel, how can it be said that at the harvest time \"he putteth in\nthe sickle,\" since the final harvesting of souls is the prerogative of\nGod? The perplexities of the critics arise from their attempt to find in\nthe parable a literalism never intended by the Author. Whether the seed\nbe planted by the Lord Himself, as when He taught in Person, or by any\none of His authorized servants, the seed is alive and will grow. Time is\nrequired; the blade appears first and is followed by the ear, and the\near ripens in season, without the constant attention which a shaping of\nthe several parts by hand would require. The man who figures in the\nparable is presented as an ordinary farmer, who plants, and waits, and\nin due time reaps. The lesson imparted is the vitality of the seed as a\nliving thing, endowed by its Creator with the capacity to both grow and\ndevelop.\n\n6. The Mustard Plant.--The wild mustard, which in the temperate zone\nseldom attains a height of more than three or four feet, reaches in\nsemitropical lands the height of a horse and its rider (Thompson, _The\nLand and the Book_ ii, 100). Those who heard the parable evidently\nunderstood the contrast between size of seed and that of the fully\ndeveloped plant. Arnot, (_The Parables_, p. 102), aptly says: \"This\nplant obviously was chosen by the Lord, not on account of its absolute\nmagnitude, but because it was, and was recognized to be, a striking\ninstance of increase from very small to very great. It seems to have\nbeen in Palestine, at that time, the smallest seed from which so large a\nplant was known to grow. There were, perhaps, smaller seeds, but the\nplants which sprung from them were not so great; and there were greater\nplants, but the seeds from which they sprung were not so small.\"\nEdersheim (i, p. 593) states that the diminutive size of the mustard\nseed was commonly used in comparison by the rabbis, \"to indicate the\nsmallest amount such as the least drop of blood, the least defilement,\netc.\" The same author continues, in speaking of the grown plant:\n\"Indeed, it looks no longer like a large garden-herb or shrub, but\n'becomes' or rather appears like 'a tree'--as St. Luke puts it, 'a great\ntree,' of course, not in comparison with other trees, but with\ngarden-shrubs. Such growth of mustard seed was also a fact well known at\nthe time, and, indeed, still observed in the East.... And the general\nmeaning would the more easily be apprehended, that a tree, whose\nwide-spreading branches afforded lodgment to the birds of heaven, was a\nfamiliar Old Testament figure for a mighty kingdom that gave shelter to\nthe nations (Ezek. 31:6, 12; Dan. 4:12, 14, 21, 22). Indeed, it is\nspecifically used as an illustration of the Messianic Kingdom (Ezek.\n17:23).\"\n\n7. The Symbolism of Leaven.--In the parable, the kingdom of heaven is\nlikened unto leaven. In other scriptures, leaven is figuratively\nmentioned as representing evil, thus, \"the leaven of the Pharisees and\nof the Sadducees\" (Matt. 16:6, see also Luke 12:1), \"the leaven of\nHerod\" (Mark 8:15). These instances, and others (1 Cor. 5:7, 8) are\nillustrative of the contagion of evil. In the incident of the woman\nusing leaven in the ordinary process of bread-making, the spreading,\npenetrating vital effect of truth is symbolized by the leaven. The same\nthing in different aspects may very properly be used to represent good\nin one instance and evil in another.\n\n8. Treasure Belonging to the Finder.--As to the justification of the man\nwho found a treasure hidden in another's field and then, concealing the\nfact of his discovery, bought the field that he might possess the\ntreasure, Edersheim (i, p. 595-6) says: \"Some difficulty has been\nexpressed in regard to the morality of such a transaction. In reply it\nmay be observed, that it was, at least, in entire accordance with Jewish\nlaw. If a man had found a treasure in loose coins among the corn it\nwould certainly be his if he bought the corn. If he had found it on the\nground, or in the soil, it would equally certainly belong to him if he\ncould claim ownership of the soil, and even if the field were not his\nown, unless others could prove their right to it. The law went so far as\nto adjudge to the purchaser of fruits anything found among these fruits.\nThis will suffice to vindicate a question of detail, which, in any case,\nshould not be too closely pressed in a parabolic history.\"\n\n9. Superiority of our Lord's Parables.--\"Perhaps no other mode of\nteaching was so common among the Jews as that by parables. Only in their\ncase, they were almost entirely illustrations of what had been said or\ntaught; while in the case of Christ, they served as the foundation for\nHis teaching.... In the one case it was intended to make spiritual\nteaching appear Jewish and national, in the other to convey spiritual\nteaching in a form adapted to the stand-point of the hearers. This\ndistinction will be found to hold true, even in instances where there\nseems the closest parallelism between a Rabbinic and an Evangelic\nparable.... It need scarcely be said that comparison between such\nparables, as regards their spirit, is scarcely possible, except by way\nof contrast\" (Edersheim, i, pp. 580-1). Geikie tersely says: \"Others\nhave uttered parables, but Jesus so far transcends them, that He may\njustly be called the creator of this mode of instruction\" (ii, p. 145).\n\n10. Parables and Other Forms of Analogy.--\"The parable is also clearly\ndistinguishable from the proverb, though it is true that, in a certain\ndegree, the words are used interchangeably in the New Testament, and as\nequivalent the one to the other. Thus 'Physician, heal thyself' (Luke\n4:23) is termed a parable, being more strictly a proverb; so again, when\nthe Lord had used that proverb, probably already familiar to His hearers\n'If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch'; Peter\nsaid 'Declare unto us this parable' (Matt. 15:14, 15); and Luke 5:36 is\na proverb or proverbial expression, rather than a parable, which name it\nbears.... So, upon the other hand, those are called 'proverbs' in St.\nJohn, which if not strictly parables, yet claim much closer affinity to\nthe parable than to the proverb, being in fact allegories; thus Christ's\nsetting forth of His relations to His people under those of a shepherd\nto his sheep is termed a 'proverb,' though our translators, holding fast\nto the sense rather than to the letter, have rendered it a 'parable'\n(John 10:6; compare 16:25, 29). It is easy to account for this\ninterchange of words. Partly it arose from one word in Hebrew signifying\nboth parable and proverb.\"--Trench, _Notes on the Parables_, pp. 9, 10.\n\nFor the convenience of readers who may not have a dictionary at hand as\nthey read, the following definitions are given:\n\n_Allegory._--The setting forth of a subject under the guise of some\nother subject or aptly suggestive likeness.\n\n_Apologue._--A fable or moral tale, especially one in which animals or\ninanimate things speak or act, and by which a useful lesson is suggested\nor taught.\n\n_Fable._--A brief story or tale feigned or invented to embody a moral,\nand introducing animals and sometimes even inanimate things as rational\nspeakers and actors; a legend or myth.\n\n_Myth._--A fictitious or conjectural narrative presented as historical,\nbut without any basis of fact.\n\n_Parable._--A brief narrative or descriptive allegory founded on real\nscenes or events such as occur in nature and human life, and usually\nwith a moral or religious application.\n\n_Proverb._--A brief, pithy saying, condensing in witty or striking form\nthe wisdom of experience; a familiar and widely known popular saying in\nepigrammatic form.\n\n11. Old Testament Parables, Etc.--\"Of parables in the strictest sense\nthe Old Testament contains only two\" (2 Sam. 12:1-; and Isa. 5:1-).\n\"Other stories, such as that of the trees assembled to elect a king\n(Judges 9:8), and of the thistle and cedar (2 Kings 14:9), are more\nstrictly fables. Still others, such as Ezekiel's account of the two\neagles and the vine (17:2-), and of the caldron (24:3-) are allegories.\nThe small number of parabolic narratives to be found in the Old\nTestament must not, however, be taken as an indication of indifference\ntoward this literary form as suitable for moral instruction. The number\nis only apparently small. In reality, similitudes, which, though not\nexplicitly couched in the terms of fictitious narrative, suggest and\nfurnish the materials for such narrative, are abundant.\"--Zenos, _Stand.\nBible Dict._, article \"Parables.\"\n\nBy applying the term \"parable\" in its broadest sense, to include all\nordinary forms of analogy, we may list the following as the most\nimpressive parables of the Old Testament. Trees electing a king (Judges\n9:7-); the poor man's ewe lamb (2 Sam. 12:1-); the contending brothers\nand the avengers (2 Sam. 14:1-); story of the escaped captive (1 Kings\n20:35-); the thistle and the cedar (2 Kings 14:9); the vineyard and its\nwild grapes (Isa. 5:1-); the eagles and the vine (Ezek. 17:3-); the\nlion's whelps (Ezek. 19:2-); the seething pot (Ezek. 24:3-).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[612] Mark 3:10; compare Matt. 9:20, 21; 14:36; Mark 6:56; Luke 6:19\n\n[613] Mark 3:9.\n\n[614] Luke 5:10; page 197 herein.\n\n[615] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[616] Matt. 13:3-9; compare Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8.\n\n[617] Mark 4:13.\n\n[618] Matt. 13:18-23; compare Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15.\n\n[619] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[620] Pages 254 and 274.\n\n[621] Matt. 13:24-30.\n\n[622] Verses 36-43.\n\n[623] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[624] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[625] Doc. and Cov. 86:4-7; read the entire section.\n\n[626] Mark 4:26-29.\n\n[627] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[628] 1 Cor. 3:6.\n\n[629] Read the Lord's early promise of souls as the hire of the\nappointed harvesters: John 4:35-38; see also Matt. 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2.\n\n[630] Matt. 13:31, 32; compare Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19.\n\n[631] Matt. 17:20; compare Luke 17:6.\n\n[632] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[633] Matt. 13:33; compare Luke 13:20, 21.\n\n[634] Page 288. Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[635] Matt. 13:44.\n\n[636] Compare Matt. 6:19, 20.\n\n[637] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[638] Matt. 13:45, 48.\n\n[639] 1 Tim. 6:20.\n\n[640] Matt. 13:47-50.\n\n[641] Matt. 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10.\n\n[642] John 5:29; see also B. of M., Alma 40:11-14; and the author,\n\"Articles of Faith,\" xxi:24-39.\n\n[643] See chapter 42.\n\n[644] Matt. 13:51, 52.\n\n[645] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[646] Matt. 13:10-17; compare Mark 4:10-13; Luke 8:9, 10.\n\n[647] Matt. 13:12; compare 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26.\n\n[648] Isa. 6:9; see also 42:20; 43:8; Ezek. 12:2; John 12:40; Acts\n28:26, 27.\n\n[649] See the author's \"Articles of Faith,\" iii:12, 13; B. of M., 2\nNephi 9:25-27; Rom. 2:12; Doc. and Cov. 45:54; 76:72.\n\n[650] Matt. 13:9, 43; see also 11:15; Mark 4:9.\n\n[651] Mark 4:24, 25.\n\n[652] Read again Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49.\n\n[653] Note 10, end of chapter.\n\n[654] Note 11, end of chapter.\n\n[655] 2 Sam. 12:1-7, 13.\n\n[656] Isa. 5:1-7.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 20.\n\n\"PEACE, BE STILL.\"\n\n\nINCIDENTS PRELIMINARY TO THE VOYAGE.\n\nNear the close of the day on which Jesus had taught the multitudes for\nthe first time by parables, He said to the disciples, \"Let us pass over\nunto the other side.\"[657] The destination so indicated is the east side\nof the sea of Galilee. While the boat was being made ready, a certain\nscribe came to Jesus and said: \"Master, I will follow thee whithersoever\nthou goest.\" Prior to that time, few men belonging to the titled or\nruling class had offered to openly ally themselves with Jesus. Had the\nMaster been mindful of policy and desirous of securing official\nrecognition, this opportunity to attach to Himself as influential a\nperson as a scribe would have received careful consideration if not\nimmediate acceptance; but He, who could read the minds and know the\nhearts of men, chose rather than accepted. He had called men who were to\nbe thenceforth His own, from their fishing boats and nets, and had\nnumbered one of the ostracized publicans among the Twelve; but He knew\nthem, every one, and chose accordingly. The gospel was offered freely to\nall; but authority to officiate as a minister thereof was not to be had\nfor the asking; for that sacred labor, one must be called of God.[658]\n\nIn this instance, Christ knew the character of the man, and, without\nwounding his feelings by curt rejection, pointed out the sacrifice\nrequired of one who would follow whithersoever the Lord went, saying:\n\"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son\nof man hath not where to lay his head.\" As Jesus had no fixed place of\nabode, but went wherever His duty called Him, so was it necessary that\nthey who represented Him, men ordained or set apart to His service, be\nready to deny themselves the enjoyment of their homes and the comfort of\nfamily associations, if the duties of their calling so demanded. We do\nnot read that the aspiring scribe pressed his offer.\n\nAnother man indicated his willingness to follow the Lord, but asked\nfirst for time to go and bury his father; to him Jesus said: \"Follow me;\nand let the dead bury their dead.\" Some readers have felt that this\ninjunction was harsh, though such an inference is scarcely justified.\nWhile it would be manifestly unfilial for a son to absent himself from\nhis father's funeral under ordinary conditions, nevertheless, if that\nson had been set apart to service of importance transcending all\npersonal or family obligations, his ministerial duty would of right take\nprecedence. Moreover, the requirement expressed by Jesus was no greater\nthan that made of every priest during his term of active service, nor\nwas it more afflicting than the obligation of the Nazarite vow,[659]\nunder which many voluntarily placed themselves. The duties of ministry\nin the kingdom pertained to spiritual life; one dedicated thereto might\nwell allow those who were negligent of spiritual things, and\nfiguratively speaking, spiritually dead, to bury their dead.\n\nA third instance is presented; a man who wanted to be a disciple of the\nLord asked that, before entering upon his duties, he be permitted to go\nhome and bid farewell to his family and friends. The reply of Jesus has\nbecome an aphorism in life and literature: \"No man, having put his hand\nto the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.\"[660]\n\nFrom Matthew's record we draw the inference that the first two of these\ncandidates for discipleship offered themselves to our Lord as He stood\non the shore or in the boat ready to begin the evening voyage across the\nlake. Luke places the instances in a different connection, and adds to\nthe offers of the scribe and the man who would first bury his father,\nthat of the one who wished to go home and then return to Christ. The\nthree incidents may be profitably considered together, whether all\noccurred in the evening of that same eventful day or at different times.\n\n\nSTILLING THE STORM.[661]\n\nThe instruction to launch forth and cross to the opposite side of the\nlake was given by Jesus, who probably desired a respite after the\narduous labors of the day. No time had been lost in unnecessary\npreparation; \"they took him, even as he was, into the ship,\" and set out\nwithout delay. Even on the water some of the eager people tried to\nfollow; for a number of small boats, \"little ships\" as Mark styles them,\naccompanied the vessel on which Jesus was embarked; but these lesser\ncraft may have turned back, possibly on account of the approaching\nstorm; anyway, we do not hear of them further.\n\nJesus found a resting place near the stern of the ship and soon fell\nasleep. A great storm arose,[662] and still He slept. The circumstance\nis instructive as it evidences at once the reality of the physical\nattributes of Christ, and the healthy, normal condition of His body. He\nwas subject to fatigue and bodily exhaustion from other causes, as are\nall men; without food He grew hungry; without drink He thirsted; by\nlabor He became weary. The fact that after a day of strenuous effort He\ncould calmly sleep, even amidst the turmoil of a tempest, indicates an\nunimpaired nervous system and a good state of health. Nowhere do we find\nrecord of Jesus having been ill. He lived according to the laws of\nhealth, yet never allowed the body to rule the spirit; and His daily\nactivities, which were of a kind to make heavy demands on both physical\nand mental energy, were met with no symptoms of nervous collapse nor of\nfunctional disturbance. Sleep after toil is natural and necessary. The\nday's work done, Jesus slept.\n\nMeanwhile the storm increased in fury; the wind rendered the boat\nunmanageable; waves beat over the side; so much water was shipped that\nthe vessel seemed about to founder. The disciples were terror-stricken;\nyet through it all Jesus rested peacefully. In their extremity of fear,\nthe disciples awakened Him, crying out, according to the several\nindependent accounts, \"Master, Master, we perish\"; \"Lord, save us: we\nperish\"; and, \"Master, carest thou not that we perish?\" They were\nabjectly frightened, and at least partly forgetful that there was with\nthem One whose voice even death had to obey. Their terrified appeal was\nnot wholly devoid of hope nor barren of faith: \"Lord, save us\" they\ncried. Calmly He replied to their piteous call, \"Why are ye fearful, O\nye of little faith?\"\n\nThen He arose; and out through the darkness of that fearsome night, into\nthe roaring wind, over the storm-lashed sea, went the voice of the Lord\nas He \"rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the\nwind ceased, and there was a great calm.\" Turning to the disciples, He\nasked in tones of gentle yet unmistakable reproof: \"Where is your\nfaith?\" and \"How is it that ye have no faith?\" Gratitude for rescue from\nwhat but a moment before had seemed impending death was superseded by\namazement and fear. \"What manner of man is this,\" they asked one of\nanother, \"that even the wind and the sea obey him?\"\n\nAmong the recorded miracles of Christ, none has elicited greater\ndiversity in comment and in attempt at elucidation than has this\nmarvelous instance of control over the forces of nature. Science\nventures no explanation. The Lord of earth, air, and sea spoke and was\nobeyed. He it was who, amidst the black chaos of creation's earliest\nstages, had commanded with immediate effect--Let there be light; Let\nthere be a firmament in the midst of the waters; Let the dry land\nappear--and, as He had decreed, so it was. The dominion of the Creator\nover the created is real and absolute. A small part of that dominion has\nbeen committed to man[663] as the offspring of God, tabernacled in the\nvery image of his divine Father. But man exercizes that delegated\ncontrol through secondary agencies, and by means of complicated\nmechanism. Man's power over the objects of his own devizing is limited.\nIt is according to the curse evoked by Adam's fall, which came through\ntransgression, that by the strain of his muscles, by the sweat of his\nbrow, and by stress of his mind, shall he achieve. His word of command\nis but a sound-wave in air, except as it is followed by labor. Through\nthe Spirit that emanates from the very Person of Deity, and which\npervades all space, the command of God is immediately operative.\n\nNot man alone, but also the earth and all the elemental forces\npertaining thereto came under the Adamic curse[664] and as the soil no\nlonger brought forth only good and useful fruits, but gave of its\nsubstance to nurture thorns and thistles, so the several forces of\nnature ceased to be obedient to man as agents subject to his direct\ncontrol. What we call natural forces--heat, light, electricity, chemical\naffinity--are but a few of the manifestations of eternal energy through\nwhich the Creator's purposes are subserved; and these few, man is able\nto direct and utilize only through mechanical contrivance and physical\nadjustment. But the earth shall yet be \"renewed and receive its\nparadisaical glory\"; then soil, water, air, and the forces acting upon\nthem, shall directly respond to the command of glorified man, as now\nthey obey the word of the Creator.[665]\n\n\nQUIETING THE DEMONS.[666]\n\nJesus and the disciples with Him landed on the eastern or Perean side of\nthe lake, in a region known as the country of the Gadarenes or\nGergesenes. The precise spot has not been identified, but it was\nevidently a country district apart from the towns.[667] As the party\nleft the boat, two maniacs, who were sorely tormented by evil spirits,\napproached. Matthew states there were two; the other writers speak of\nbut one; it is possible that one of the afflicted pair was in a\ncondition so much worse than that of his companion that to him is\naccorded greater prominence in the narrative; or, one may have run away\nwhile the other remained. The demoniac was in a pitiful plight. His\nfrenzy had become so violent and the physical strength incident to his\nmania so great that all attempts to hold him in captivity had failed. He\nhad been bound in chains and fetters, but these he had broken asunder by\nthe aid of demon power; and he had fled to the mountains, to the caverns\nthat served as tombs, and there he had lived more like a wild beast than\na man. Night and day his weird, terrifying shrieks had been heard, and\nthrough dread of meeting him people traveled by other ways rather than\npass near his haunts. He wandered about naked, and in his madness often\ngashed his flesh with sharp stones.\n\nSeeing Jesus, the poor creature ran toward Him, and, impelled by the\npower of his demon control, prostrated himself before Christ, the while\ncrying out with a loud voice: \"What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou\nSon of the most high God?\" As Jesus commanded the evil spirits to\nleave, one or more of them, through the voice of the man, pleaded to be\nleft alone, and with blasphemous presumption exclaimed: \"I adjure thee\nby God, that thou torment me not.\" Matthew records the further question\naddressed to Jesus: \"Art thou come hither to torment us before the\ntime?\" The demons, by whom the man was possessed and controlled,\nrecognized the Master, whom they knew they had to obey; but they pleaded\nto be left alone until the decreed time of their final punishment would\ncome.[668]\n\nJesus asked, \"What is thy name?\" and the demons within the man answered,\n\"My name is Legion, for we are many.\" The fact of the man's dual\nconsciousness or multi-personality is here apparent. So complete was his\npossession by wicked spirits that he could no longer distinguish between\nhis individual personality and theirs. The devils implored that Jesus\nwould not banish them from that country; or as Luke records in words of\nawful import, \"that he would not command them to go out into the\ndeep.\"[669] In their wretched plight, and out of diabolical eagerness to\nfind abode in bodies of flesh even though of beasts, they begged that,\nbeing compelled to leave the man they be allowed to enter a herd of hogs\nfeeding nearby. Jesus gave permission; the unclean demons entered the\nswine; and the whole herd, numbering about two thousand, went wild,\nstampeded in terror, ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and\nwere drowned. The swineherds were frightened, and, hastening to the\ntown, told what had happened to the hogs. People came out in crowds to\nsee for themselves; and all were astounded to behold the once wild man\nof whom they had all been afraid, now clothed, and restored to a normal\nstate of mind, sitting quietly and reverently at the feet of Jesus. They\nwere afraid of One who could work such wonders, and, conscious of their\nsinful unworthiness, begged Him to leave their country.[670]\n\nThe man who had been rid of the demons feared not; in his heart love and\ngratitude superseded all other feelings; and as Jesus returned to the\nboat he prayed that he might go also. But Jesus forbade, saying: \"Go\nhome to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done\nfor thee, and hath had compassion on thee.\" The man became a missionary,\nnot alone in his home town but throughout Decapolis, the region of the\nten cities; wherever he went he told of the marvelous change Jesus had\nwrought on him.\n\nThe testimony of wicked and unclean spirits to the divinity of Christ as\nthe Son of God is not confined to this instance. We have already\nconsidered the case of the demoniac in the synagog at Capernaum;[671]\nand another instance appeared, when Jesus, withdrawing from the towns in\nGalilee, betook Himself to the sea shore, and was followed by a great\nmultitude comprizing Galileans and Judeans, and people from Jerusalem\nand Idumea, and from beyond Jordan (i.e. from Perea), and inhabitants of\nTyre and Sidon, amongst whom He had healed many of divers diseases; and\nthose who were in bondage to unclean spirits had fallen down and\nworshiped Him; while the demons cried out: \"Thou art the Son of\nGod.\"[672]\n\nIn the course of the short journey considered in this chapter, the power\nof Jesus as Master of earth, men and devils, was manifest in miraculous\nworks of the most impressive kind. We cannot classify the Lord's\nmiracles as small and great, nor as easy and difficult of\naccomplishment; what one may consider the least is to another of\nprofound import. The Lord's word was sufficient in every instance. To\nthe wind and the waves, and to the demon-ridden mind of the man\npossessed, He had but to speak and be obeyed. \"Peace, be still.\"\n\n\nTHE RAISING OF THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS.[673]\n\nJesus and His attendants recrossed the lake from the land of Gadara to\nthe vicinity of Capernaum, where He was received with acclamation by a\nmultitude of people, \"for they were all waiting for him.\" Immediately\nafter landing, Jesus was approached by Jairus, one of the rulers of the\nlocal synagog, who \"besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter\nlieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her,\nthat she may be healed; and she shall live.\"\n\nThe fact of this man's coming to Jesus, with the spirit of faith and\nsupplication, is an evidence of the deep impression the ministry of\nChrist had made even in priestly and ecclesiastical circles. Many of the\nJews, rulers and officials as well as the people in common, believed in\nJesus;[674] though few belonging to the upper classes were willing to\nsacrifice prestige and popularity by acknowledging their discipleship.\nThat Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagog, came only when impelled\nby grief over the impending death of his only daughter, a girl of twelve\nyears, is no evidence that he had not before become a believer;\ncertainly at this time his faith was genuine and his trust sincere, as\nthe circumstances of the narrative prove. He approached Jesus with the\nreverence due One whom he considered able to grant what he asked, and\nfell at the Lord's feet, or as Matthew says, worshiped Him. When the man\nhad started from his home to seek aid of Jesus, the maiden was at the\npoint of death; he feared lest she had died in the interval. In the very\nbrief account given in the first Gospel, he is reported as saying to\nJesus: \"My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her\nand she shall live.\"[675] Jesus went with the imploring father, and many\nfollowed.\n\nOn the way to the house an incident occurred to hinder progress. A\nsorely afflicted woman was healed, under circumstances of peculiar\ninterest; this occurrence we shall consider presently. No intimation is\ngiven that Jairus showed impatience or displeasure over the delay; he\nhad placed trust in the Master and awaited His time and pleasure; and\nwhile Christ was engaged in the matter of the suffering woman,\nmessengers came from the ruler's house with the saddening word that the\ngirl was dead. We may infer that even these dread tidings of certainty\nfailed to destroy the man's faith; he seems to have still looked to the\nLord for help, and those who had brought the message asked, \"Why\ntroublest thou the Master any further?\" Jesus heard what was said, and\nsustained the man's sorely-taxed faith by the encouraging behest: \"Be\nnot afraid, only believe.\" Jesus permitted none of His followers save\nthree of the apostles to enter the house with Himself and the bereaved\nbut trusting father. Peter and the two brothers James and John were\nadmitted.\n\nThe house was no place of such respectful silence or subdued quiet as we\nnow consider appropriate to the time and place of death; on the contrary\nit was a scene of tumult, but that condition was customary in the\northodox observances of mourning at the time.[676] Professional\nmourners, including singers of weird dirges, and minstrels who made\ngreat noise with flutes and other instruments, had already been summoned\nto the house. To all such Jesus said, on entering: \"Why make ye this\nado, and weep? the damsel is not dead but sleepeth.\" It was in effect a\nrepetition of His command uttered on a then recent occasion--Peace, be\nstill. His words drew scorn and ridicule from those who were paid for\nthe noise they made, and who, if what He said proved true, would lose\nthis opportunity of professional service. Moreover, they knew the maid\nwas dead; preparations for the funeral, which custom required should\nfollow death as speedily as possible, were already in progress. Jesus\nordered these people out, and restored peace to the house.[677] He then\nentered the death chamber, accompanied only by the three apostles and\nthe parents of the girl. Taking the dead maiden by the hand He \"said\nunto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto\nthee, arise.\" To the astonishment of all but the Lord, the girl arose,\nleft her bed, and walked. Jesus directed that food be given her, as\nbodily needs, suspended by death, had returned with the girl's renewal\nof life.\n\nThe Lord imposed an obligation of secrecy, charging all present to\nrefrain from telling what they had seen. The reasons for this injunction\nare not stated. In some other instances a similar instruction was given\nto those who had been blessed by Christ's ministrations; while on many\noccasions of healing no such instructions are recorded, and in one case\nat least the man who had been relieved of demons was told to go and tell\nhow great a thing had been done for him.[678] In His own wisdom Christ\nknew when to prudently forbid and when to permit publication of His\ndoings. Though the grateful parents, the girl herself, and the three\napostles who had been witnesses of the restoration, may all have been\nloyal to the Lord's injunction of silence, the fact that the maiden had\nbeen raised to life could not be kept secret, and the means by which so\ngreat a wonder had been wrought would certainly be inquired into. The\nminstrels and the wailers who had been expelled from the place while it\nwas yet a house of mourning, and who had scornfully laughed at the\nMaster's assertion that the maiden was asleep and not dead as they\nthought, would undoubtedly, spread reports. It is not surprizing,\ntherefore, to read in Matthew's short version of the history, that the\nfame of the miracle \"went abroad into all that land.\"\n\n\nRESTORATION TO LIFE AND RESURRECTION.\n\nThe vital distinction between a restoration of the dead to a resumption\nof mortal life, and the resurrection of the body from death to a state\nof immortality, must be thoughtfully heeded. In each of the instances\nthus far considered--that of the raising of the dead man of Nain,[679]\nand that of the daughter of Jairus, as also the raising of Lazarus to be\nstudied later--the miracle consisted in reuniting the spirit and the\nbody in a continuation of the interrupted course of mortal existence.\nThat the subject of each of these miracles had to subsequently die is\ncertain. Jesus Christ was the first of all men who have lived on earth\nto come forth from the tomb an immortalized Being; He is therefore\nproperly designated as \"the first fruits of them that slept.\"[680]\n\nThough both Elijah and Elisha, many centuries prior to the time of\nChrist, were instrumental in restoring life to the dead, the former to\nthe widow's son in Zareptha, the latter to the child of the Shunammite\nwoman,[681] in these earlier miracles the restoration was to mortal\nexistence, not to immortality. It is instructive to observe the\ndifference in the procedure of each of the Old Testament prophets\nmentioned as compared with that of Christ in analogous miracles. By both\nElijah and Elisha the wonderful change was brought about only after long\nand labored ministrations, and earnest invocation of the power and\nintervention of Jehovah; but Jehovah, embodied in flesh as Jesus Christ,\ndid nothing outwardly but command, and the bonds of death were\nimmediately broken. He spoke in His own name and by inherent authority,\nfor by the power with which He was invested He held control of both life\nand death.\n\n\nA REMARKABLE HEALING BY THE WAY.[682]\n\nWhile Jesus was walking to the house of Jairus with a great crowd of\npeople thronging about Him, the progress of the company was arrested by\nanother case of suffering. In the throng was a woman who for twelve\nyears had been afflicted with a serious ailment involving frequent\nhemorrhage. She had spent in medical treatment all she had owned, and\n\"had suffered many things of many physicians,\" but had steadily grown\nworse. She worked her way through the crowd, and, approaching Jesus from\nbehind, touched His robe; \"For she said, If I may touch but his clothes\nI shall be whole.\" The effect was more than magical; immediately she\nfelt the thrill of health throughout her body, and knew that she had\nbeen healed of her affliction. Her object attained, the blessing she\nsought being now secured, she tried to escape notice, by hastily\ndropping back into the crowd. But her touch was not unheeded by the\nLord. He turned to look over the throng and asked, \"Who touched my\nclothes?\" or as Luke puts it, \"Who touched me?\" As the people denied,\nthe impetuous Peter speaking for himself and the others said: \"Master,\nthe multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched\nme?\" But Jesus answered: \"Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that\nvirtue is gone out of me.\"\n\nThe woman, finding that she could not escape identification, came\ntremblingly forward, and, kneeling before the Lord, confessed what she\nhad done, her reason for so doing, and the beneficent result. If she had\nexpected censure her fears were promptly set at rest, for Jesus,\naddressing her by a term of respect and kindness, said: \"Daughter, be of\ngood comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace,\" and as Mark\nadds, \"be whole of thy plague.\"\n\nThis woman's faith was sincere and free from guile, nevertheless it was\nin a sense defective. She believed that the influence of Christ's\nperson, and even that attaching to His raiment, was a remedial agency,\nample to cure her malady; but she did not realize that the power to heal\nwas an inherent attribute to be exercized at His will, and as the\ninfluence of faith might call it forth. True, her faith had already been\nin part rewarded, but of greater worth to her than the physical cure of\nher illness would be the assurance that the divine Healer had granted\nthe desire of her heart, and that the faith she had manifested was\naccepted by Him. To correct her misapprehension and to confirm her\nfaith, Jesus gently subjected her to the necessary ordeal of confession,\nwhich must have been made easier through her consciousness of the great\nrelief already experienced. He confirmed the healing and let her depart\nwith the comforting assurance that her recovery was permanent.\n\nIn contrast with the many cases of healing in connection with which the\nLord charged the beneficiaries that they should tell none how or by whom\nthey had been relieved, we see here that publicity was made sure by His\nown action, and that too, when secrecy was desired by the recipient of\nthe blessing. The purposes and motives of Jesus may be but poorly\nunderstood by man; but in this woman's case we see the possibility of\nstories strange and untrue getting afloat, and it appears to have been\nthe wiser course to make plain the truth then and there. Moreover the\nspiritual worth of the miracle was greatly enhanced by the woman's\nconfession and by the Lord's gracious assurance.\n\nObserve the significant assertion, \"Thy faith hath made thee whole.\"\nFaith is of itself a principle of power;[683] and by its presence or\nabsence, by its fulness or paucity, even the Lord was and is influenced,\nand in great measure controlled, in the bestowal or withholding of\nblessings; for He ministers according to law, and not with caprice or\nuncertainty. We read that at a certain time and place Jesus \"could there\ndo no mighty work\" because of the people's unbelief.[684] Modern\nrevelation specifies that faith to be healed is one of the gifts of the\nSpirit, analogous to the manifestations of faith in the work of healing\nothers through the exercize of the power of the Holy Priesthood.[685]\n\nOur Lord's inquiry as to who had touched Him in the throng affords us\nanother example of His asking questions in pursuance of a purpose, when\nHe could readily have determined the facts directly and without aid from\nothers. There was a special purpose in the question, as every teacher\nfinds a means of instruction in questioning his pupils.[686] But there\nis in Christ's question, \"Who touched me?\" a deeper significance than\ncould inhere in a simple inquiry as to the identity of an individual;\nand this is implied in the Lord's further words: \"Somebody hath touched\nme: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.\" The usual external\nact by which His miracles were wrought was a word or a command,\nsometimes accompanied by the laying on of hands, or by some other\nphysical ministration as in anointing the eyes of a blind man.[687] That\nthere was an actual giving of His own strength to the afflicted whom He\nhealed is evident from the present instance. Passive belief on the part\nof a would-be recipient of blessing is insufficient; only when it is\nvitalized into active faith is it a power; so also of one who ministers\nin the authority given of God, mental and spiritual energy must be\noperative if the service is to be effective.\n\n\nTHE BLIND SEE AND THE DUMB SPEAK.[688]\n\nTwo other instances of miraculous healing are chronicled by Matthew as\nclosely following the raising of the daughter of Jairus. As Jesus passed\ndown the streets of Capernaum, presumably on His departure from the\nhouse of the ruler of the synagog, two blind men followed Him, crying\nout: \"Thou son of David, have mercy on us.\" This title of address was\nvoiced by others at sundry times, and in no case do we find record of\nour Lord disclaiming it or objecting to its use.[689] Jesus paused not\nto heed this call of the blind, and the two sightless men followed Him,\neven entering the house after Him. Then He spoke to them, asking:\n\"Believe ye that I am able to do this?\" And they replied, \"Yea, Lord.\"\nTheir persistency in following the Lord was evidence of their belief\nthat in some way, though to them unknown and mysterious, He could help\nthem; and they promptly and openly confessed that belief. Our Lord\ntouched their eyes, saying: \"According to your faith be it unto you.\"\nThe effect was immediate; their eyes were opened. They were explicitly\ninstructed to say nothing of the matter to others; but, rejoicing in the\ninestimable blessing of sight, they \"spread abroad his fame in all that\ncountry.\" So far as we can unravel the uncertain threads of sequence in\nthe works of Christ, this is the earliest instance, recorded with\nattendant details, of His giving sight to the blind. Many remarkable\ncases follow.[690]\n\nIt is worthy of note that in blessing the sightless by the exercize of\nHis healing power, Jesus usually ministered by some physical contact in\naddition to uttering the authoritative words of command or assurance. In\nthis instance, as also in that of two blind men who sat by the wayside,\nHe touched the sightless eyes; in the giving of sight to the blind\nindigent in Jerusalem He anointed the man's eyes with clay; to the eyes\nof another He applied saliva.[691] An analogous circumstance is found in\nthe healing of one who was deaf and defective of speech, in which\ninstance the Lord put His fingers into the man's ears and touched his\ntongue.[692] In no case can such treatment be regarded as medicinal or\ntherapeutic. Christ was not a physician who relied upon curative\nsubstances, nor a surgeon to perform physical operations; His healings\nwere the natural results of the application of a power of His own. It is\nconceivable that confidence, which is a stepping-stone to belief, as\nthat in turn is to faith, may have been encouraged by these physical\nministrations, strengthened, and advanced to a higher and more abiding\ntrust in Christ, on the part of the afflicted who had not sight to look\nupon the Master's face and derive inspiration therefrom, nor hearing to\nhear His uplifting words. There is apparent not alone an entire absence\nof formula and formalism in His ministration, but a lack of uniformity\nof procedure quite as impressive.\n\nAs the two men, once sightless but now seeing, departed, others came,\nbringing a dumb friend whose affliction seems to have been primarily due\nto the malignant influence of an evil spirit rather than to any organic\ndefect. Jesus rebuked the wicked spirit--cast out the demon that had\nobsessed the afflicted one and held him in the tyranny of\nspeechlessness. The man's tongue was loosened, he was freed from the\nevil incubus, and was no longer dumb.[693]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 20.\n\n1. Storms on the Lake of Galilee.--It is a matter of record that sudden\nand violent storms are common on the lake or sea of Galilee; and the\ntempest that was quieted by the Lord's word of command was of itself no\nunusual phenomenon, except perhaps in its intensity. Another incident\nconnected with a storm on this small body of water is of scriptural\nrecord, and will be considered later in the text (Matt. 14:22-26; Mark\n6:45-56; John 6:15-21). Dr. Thompson (_The Land and the Book_ ii:32)\ngives a description founded on his personal experience on the shores of\nthe lake: \"I spent a night in that Wady Shukaiyif, some three miles up\nit, to the left of us. The sun had scarcely set when the wind began to\nrush down toward the lake, and it continued all night long with\nconstantly increasing violence, so that when we reached the shore next\nmorning the face of the lake was a huge boiling caldron. The wind howled\ndown every wady from the north-east and east with such fury that no\nefforts of rowers could have brought a boat to shore at any point along\nthat coast.... To understand the causes of these sudden and violent\ntempests, we must remember that the lake lies low--six hundred feet\nlower than the ocean; that the vast and naked plateaus of the Jaulan\nrise to a great height, spreading backward to the wilds of the Hauran,\nand upward to snowy Hermon; and the water-courses have cut out profound\nravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of this lake, and that\nthese act like gigantic funnels to draw down the cold winds from the\nmountains.\"\n\n2. The Earth Before and After Its Regeneration.--That the earth itself\nfell under the curse incident to the fall of the first parents of the\nrace, and that even as man shall be redeemed so shall the earth be\nregenerated, is implied in Paul's words: \"Because the creature itself\nalso shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious\nliberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole Creation\ngroaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they,\nbut ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we\nourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the\nredemption of our body\" (Rom. 8:21-23). The present author has written\nelsewhere: \"According to the scriptures, the earth has to undergo a\nchange analogous to death, and to be regenerated in a manner comparable\nto a resurrection. References to the elements melting with heat, and to\nthe earth being consumed and passing away, such as occur in many\nscriptures already cited, are suggestive of death; and the new earth,\nreally the renewed or regenerated planet, which is to result, may be\ncompared with a resurrected organism. The change has been likened unto a\ntransfiguration (Doc. and Cov. 63:20, 21). Every created thing has been\nmade for a purpose; and everything that fills the measure of its\ncreation is to be advanced in the scale of progression, be it an atom or\na world, an animalcule, or man--the direct and literal offspring of\nDeity. In speaking of the degrees of glory provided for His creations,\nand of the laws of regeneration and sanctification, the Lord, in a\nrevelation dated 1832, speaks plainly of the approaching death and\nsubsequent quickening of the earth. These are his words:--'And again,\nverily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom,\nfor it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the\nlaw. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall\ndie, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it\nis quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.' (Doc. and Cov.\n88:25-26.)\"\n\nThe vital Spirit that emanates from God and is coextensive with space,\nmay operate directly and with as positive effect upon inanimate things,\nand upon energy in its diverse manifestations known to us as the forces\nof nature, as upon organized intelligences, whether yet unembodied, in\nthe flesh, or disembodied. Thus, the Lord may speak directly to the\nearth, the air, the sea, and be heard and obeyed, for the divine\naffluence, which is the sum of all energy and power may and does operate\nthroughout the universe. In the course of a revelation from God to\nEnoch, the earth is personified, and her groans and lamentations over\nthe wickedness of men were heard by the prophet: \"And it came to pass\nthat Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels\nthereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am\nweary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and\nbe cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will\nmy Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season\nabide upon my face?\" Enoch pleaded: \"O Lord, wilt thou not have\ncompassion upon the earth?\" Following further revelation as to the then\nfuture course of mankind in sin and in the rejection of the Messiah who\nwas to be sent, the prophet wept with anguish, and asked of God \"When\nshall the earth rest?\" It was then shown unto him that the crucified\nChrist shall return to earth and establish a millennial reign of peace:\n\"And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the\nlast days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath\nwhich I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah; and the day\nshall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens\nshall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the\nheavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be\namong the children of men.\" And the glorious assurance followed \"that\nfor the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.\" (P. of G.P.,\nMoses 7:48, 49, 58, 60, 61, 64.)\n\nA partial description of the earth in its regenerated state has been\ngiven through the prophet Joseph Smith in the present dispensation:\n\"This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like\nunto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell\nthereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all\nkingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it;\nand this earth will be Christ's.\" (Doc. and Cov. 130:9).\n\nThat Jesus Christ, in the exercize of His powers of Godship, should\nspeak directly to the wind or the sea and be obeyed, is no less truly in\naccord with the natural law of heaven, than that He should effectively\ncommand a man or an unembodied spirit. That through faith even mortal\nman may set in operation the forces that act upon matter and with\nassurance of stupendous results has been explicitly declared by Jesus\nChrist: \"For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of\nmustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder\nplace; and it shill remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you\"\n(Matt. 17:20; compare Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6).\n\n3. The Land of the Gergesenes.--Attempts have been made to discredit the\naccount of Christ's healing the demoniac in \"the country of the\nGadarenes\" (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) on the claim that the ancient town of\nGadara the capital of the district (see Josephus, Wars, iii, 7:1), was\ntoo far inland to make possible the precipitous dash of the swine into\nthe sea from that place. Others lay stress on the fact that Matthew\ndiffers from the two other Gospel-historians, in specifying \"the country\nof the Gergesenes\" (8:28). As stated in the text, a whole region or\nsection is referred to, not a town. The keepers of the swine ran off to\nthe towns to report the disaster that had befallen their herd. In that\ndistrict of Perea there were at the time towns named respectively\nGadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa; the region in general, therefore, could\nproperly be called the land of the Gadarenes or of the Gergesenes.\nFarrar (_Life of Christ_, p. 254 note) says: \"After the researches of\nDr. Thompson (_The Land and the Book_, ii:25), there can be no doubt\nthat Gergesa ... was the name of a little town nearly opposite\nCapernaum, the ruined site of which is still called Kerza or Gersa by\nthe Bedawin. The existence of this little town was apparently known both\nto Origen, who first introduced the reading, and to Eusebius and Jerome;\nand in their day a steep declivity near it, where the hills approach to\nwithin a little distance from the lake, was pointed out as the scene of\nthe miracle.\"\n\n4. Jesus Entreated to Leave the Country.--The people were frightened\nover the power possessed by Jesus, as demonstrated in the cure of the\ndemoniac, and in the destruction of the swine, which latter occurrence,\nhowever, was not in pursuance of His command. It was the fear that\nsinful men feel in the presence of the Righteous. They were not prepared\nfor other manifestations of divine power, and they dreaded to think who\namong them might be directly affected thereby should it be exerted. We\nmust judge the people mercifully, however, if at all. They were in part\nheathen, and had but superstitious conceptions of Deity. Their prayer\nthat Jesus leave them brings to mind the ejaculation of Simon Peter in\nhis witnessing one of Christ's miracles: \"Depart from me: for I am a\nsinful man, O Lord\" (Luke 5:8).\n\n5. \"Dead,\" or \"At the Point of Death.\"--According to Luke (8:42) the\ndaughter of Jairus \"lay a dying\" when the grief-stricken father sought\nhelp of the Lord; Mark (5:23) reports the man as stating that the girl\nlay \"at the point of death.\" These two accounts agree; but Matthew\n(9:18) represents the father as saying: \"My daughter is even now dead.\"\nUnbelieving critics have dwelt at length on what they designate an\ninconsistency if not a contradiction in these versions; and yet both\naccounts embodied in the three records are plainly true. The maid was\nseemingly breathing her last, she was in the very throes of death, when\nthe father hurried away. Before he met Jesus he felt that the end had\nprobably come; nevertheless his faith endured. His words attest his\ntrust, that even had his daughter actually died since he left her side,\nthe Master could recall her to life. He was in a state of frenzied\ngrief, and still his faith held true.\n\n6. Mourning Customs Among Orientals.--Observances that to us seem\nstrange, weird, and out of place, prevailed from very early times among\noriental peoples, some of which customs were common to the Jews in the\ndays of Christ. Noise and tumult, including screeching lamentations by\nmembers of the bereaved family and by professional mourners, as also the\ndin of instruments, were usual accompaniments of mourning. Geikie,\nciting Buxtorf's quotation from the Talmud, gives place to the\nfollowing: \"Even a poor Israelite was required to have not fewer than\ntwo flute players and one mourning woman at the death of his wife; but\nif he be rich all things are to be done according to his quality.\" In\nSmith's _Dictionary of the Bible_, we read: \"The number of words (about\neleven Hebrew and as many Greek) employed in scripture to express the\nvarious actions characteristic of mourning, shows in a great degree the\nnature of Jewish customs in this respect. They appear to have consisted\nchiefly in the following particulars: (1) Beating upon the breast or\nother parts of the body. (2) Weeping and screaming in an excessive\ndegree. (3) Wearing sad-colored garments. (4) Songs of lamentation. (5)\nFuneral feasts. (6) Employment of persons, especially women, to lament.\nOne marked feature of oriental mourning is what may be called its\nstudied publicity, and the careful observance of prescribed ceremonies\n(Gen. 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:8; Isa. 15:3; etc.).\"\n\n7. \"Not Dead, but Sleepeth.\"--That the daughter of Jairus was dead is\nplaced beyond reasonable doubt by the scriptural record. Our Lord's\nstatement to the noisy mourners that \"the damsel is not dead but\nsleepeth\" told that her sleep was to be of short duration. It was a\nrabbinical and common custom of the time to speak of death as a sleep,\nand those who laughed Jesus to scorn for His statement chose to construe\nHis words in a sense of such literalism as the context scarcely\nwarrants. It is noticeable that the Lord used a strictly equivalent\nexpression with respect to the death of Lazarus. \"Our friend Lazarus\nsleepeth,\" said He, \"but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.\" The\nliteral construction placed upon these words by the apostles evoked the\nplain declaration \"Lazarus is dead\" (John 11:11, 14). In the Talmud\ndeath is repeatedly designated as sleep--hundreds of times says\nLightfoot, a recognized authority on Hebrew literature.\n\n8. Why Did Jesus Make Inquiries?--We have already considered many\ninstances of Christ's possession of what man would call superhuman\nknowledge, extending even to the reading of unuttered thoughts. Some\npeople find difficulty in reconciling this superior quality with the\nfact that Jesus often asked questions even on matters of minor\ncircumstance. We should realize that even complete knowledge may not\npreclude the propriety of making inquiries, and, moreover, that even\nomniscience does not imply ever-present consciousness of all that is.\nUndoubtedly through his paternal heritage of divine attributes, Jesus\nhad the power of ascertaining for Himself, by means not possessed by\nothers, any facts He might have desired to know; nevertheless we find\nHim repeatedly asking questions on circumstantial detail (Mark 9:21;\n8:27; Matt. 16:13; Luke 8:45); and this He did even after His\nresurrection (Luke 24:41; John 21:5; B. of M., 3 Nephi 17:7).\n\nThat catechization is one of the most effective means of mind\ndevelopment is exampled in the methods followed by the best of human\nteachers. Trench (_Notes on the Miracles_, pp. 148-9), thus\ninstructively points the lesson as illustrated by our Lord's question\nconcerning the woman who was healed of her issue of blood: With little\nforce \"can it be urged that it would have been inconsistent with\nabsolute truth for the Lord to profess ignorance, and to ask the\nquestion which He did ask, if all the while He perfectly knew what He\nthus seemed implicitly to say that He did not know. A father among his\nchildren, and demanding Who committed this fault? himself conscious,\neven while he asks, but at the same time willing to bring the culprit to\na full confession, and so to put him in a pardonable state, can he be\nsaid, in any way to violate the law of the highest truth? The same\noffense might be found in Elisha's 'Whence comest thou, Gehazi?' (2\nKings 5:25) when his heart went with his servant all the way that he had\ngone; and even in the question of God Himself to Adam, 'Where art thou?'\n(Gen. 3:9), and to Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?' (Gen. 4:9). In\nevery case there is a moral purpose in the question, an opportunity\ngiven even at the latest moment for making good at least a part of the\nerror by its unreserved confession.\"\n\n9. The Blind See.--In his treatment of the miraculous healing of the two\nblind men who had followed Jesus into the house, Trench (_Notes on the\nMiracles of our Lord_, p. 152) says: \"We have here the first of those\nmany healings of the blind recorded (Matt. 12:22; 20:30; 21:14; John 9)\nor alluded to (Matt. 11:5) in the Gospels; each of them a literal\nfulfilment of that prophetic word of Isaiah concerning the days of\nMessiah: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened' (35:5). Frequent\nas these miracles are, they yet will none of them be found without\ndistinguishing features of their own. That they should be so numerous is\nnothing wonderful, whether we regard the fact from a natural or\nspiritual point of view. Regarded naturally they need not surprize us if\nwe keep in mind how far commoner a calamity is blindness in the East\nthan with us. Regarded from a spiritual point of view we have only to\nremember how commonly sin is contemplated in Scripture as a moral\nblindness (Deut. 28:29; Isa. 59:10; Job 12:25; Zeph. 1:17), and\ndeliverance from sin as a removal of this blindness (Isa. 6:9, 10; 43:8;\nEph. 1:18; Matt. 15:14); and we shall at once perceive how fit it was\nthat He who was the 'light of the world' should often accomplish works\nwhich symbolized so well that higher work which He came into the world\nto accomplish.\"\n\n10. Imputation of Satanic Agency.--Observe that in the matter of healing\nthe dumb demoniac referred to in the text, Christ was charged with being\nin league with the devil. Although the people, impressed by the\nmanifestation of divine power in the healing, exclaimed in reverence,\n\"It was never so seen in Israel,\" the Pharisees, intent on counteracting\nthe good effect of the Lord's miraculous ministration, said \"He casteth\nout devils through the prince of the devils.\" (Matt. 9:32-34.) For\nfurther treatment of this inconsistent and, strictly speaking\nblasphemous charge, see pages 265-269.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[657] Mark 4:35.\n\n[658] \"Articles of Faith,\" x:1-20--\"Men called of God.\"\n\n[659] Page 87.\n\n[660] Luke 9:57-62; see also Matt. 8:19-22.\n\n[661] Matt 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.\n\n[662] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[663] Gen. 1:28; P. of G.P., Moses 2:26; 5:1.\n\n[664] Gen. 3:17-19.\n\n[665] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[666] Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-19; Luke 8:26-39.\n\n[667] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[668] Compare Rev. 20:3.\n\n[669] Revised version, \"abyss\" instead of \"deep.\"\n\n[670] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[671] Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34, also verse 41; see page 181 herein.\n\n[672] Mark 3:7-11; compare Luke 6:17-19. See page 187.\n\n[673] Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56; Matt. 9:18, 19, 23-26.\n\n[674] John 11:45; compare 8:30; 10:42.\n\n[675] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[676] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[677] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[678] Mark 5:19-20; Luke 8:39. Page 312.\n\n[679] Page 251.\n\n[680] 1 Cor. 15:20, 23; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5; and\n\"Articles of Faith,\" xxi:24-27.\n\n[681] 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:31-37.\n\n[682] Mark 5:25-34; Matt. 9:20-22; Luke 8:43-48.\n\n[683] \"Articles of Faith,\" v:11-13.\n\n[684] Mark 6:5, 6; compare Matt. 13:58.\n\n[685] Doc. and Cov. 46:19; compare Matt. 8:10; 9:28, 29. Acts 14:9.\n\n[686] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[687] Matt. 8:3; Luke 4:40; 13:13; John 9:6; compare Mark 6:5; 7:33;\n8:23.\n\n[688] Matt. 9:27-35.\n\n[689] Matt. 15:22; 20:30, 31; Mark 10:47, 48; Luke 18:38, 39.\n\n[690] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[691] Matt. 20:30-34; John 9:6; Mark 8:23.\n\n[692] Mark 7:32-37.\n\n[693] Matt. 9:32, 33. Note 10, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 21.\n\nTHE APOSTOLIC MISSION, AND EVENTS RELATED THERETO.\n\n\nJESUS AGAIN IN NAZARETH.[694]\n\nIt will be remembered that, in the early days of His public ministry,\nJesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth, who thrust Him out\nfrom their synagog and tried to kill Him.[695] It appears that\nsubsequent to the events noted in our last chapter, He returned to the\ntown of His youth, and again raised His voice in the synagog, thus\nmercifully affording the people another opportunity to learn and accept\nthe truth. The Nazarenes, as they had done before, now again openly\nexpressed their astonishment at the words He spoke, and at the many\nmiraculous works He had wrought; nevertheless they rejected Him anew,\nfor He came not as they expected the Messiah to come; and they refused\nto know Him save as \"the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of\nJames, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon;\" all of whom were common folk\nas were also His sisters. \"And they were offended at him.\"[696] Jesus\nreminded them of the proverb then current among the people, \"A prophet\nis not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin,\nand in his own house.\" Their unbelief was so dense as to cause Him to\nmarvel;[697] and because of their lack of faith He was unable to\naccomplish any great work except to heal a few exceptional believers\nupon whom He laid His hands. Leaving Nazareth, He entered upon His third\ntour of the Galilean towns and villages, preaching and teaching as He\nwent.[698]\n\n\nTHE TWELVE CHARGED AND SENT.[699]\n\nAbout this time, also, Jesus inaugurated a notable expansion of the\nministry of the kingdom, by sending forth the Twelve on assigned\nmissions. Since their ordination the apostles had been with their Lord,\nlearning from Him by public discourse and private exposition, and\nacquiring invaluable experience and training through that privileged and\nblessed companionship. The purpose of their ordination was\nspecified--\"that they should be with him, and that he might send them\nforth to preach.\"[700] They had been pupils under the Master's watchful\nguidance for many months; and now they were called to enter upon the\nduties of their calling as preachers of the gospel and individual\nwitnesses of the Christ. By way of final preparation they were\nspecifically and solemnly charged.[701] Some of the instructions given\nthem on this occasion had particular reference to their first mission,\nfrom which they would in due time return and report; other directions\nand admonitions were to be of effect throughout their ministry, even\nafter the Lord's ascension.\n\nThey were directed to confine their ministrations for the time being \"to\nthe lost sheep of the house of Israel,\" and not to open a propaganda\namong the Gentiles,[702] nor even in Samaritan cities. This was a\ntemporary restriction, imposed in wisdom and prudence; later, as we\nshall see, they were directed to preach among all nations, with the\nworld for their field.[703] The subject of their discourses was to be\nthat upon which they had heard the Master preach--\"the kingdom of heaven\nis at hand.\" They were to exercize the authority of the Holy Priesthood\nas conferred upon them by ordination; it was a specified part of their\nmission to \"heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out\ndevils,\" as occasion presented itself; and they were commanded to give\nfreely, even as they had freely received. Personal comfort and bodily\nneeds they were not to provide for; the people were to be proved as to\ntheir willingness to receive and assist those who came in the name of\nthe Lord; and the apostles themselves were to learn to rely upon a\nProvider more to be trusted than man; therefore money, extra clothing,\nand things of mere convenience were to be left behind. In the several\ntowns they entered they were to seek entertainment and leave their\nblessing upon every worthy family into which they were received. If they\nfound themselves rejected by a household or by a town as a whole, they\nwere to shake the dust from their feet on leaving, as a testimony\nagainst the people;[704] and it was decreed that, in the day of\njudgment, the place so denounced would fare worse than wicked Sodom and\nGomorrha upon which fire from heaven had descended.\n\nThe apostles were told to be prudent, to give no needless offense, but\nto be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves; for they were sent forth\nas sheep into the midst of wolves. They were not to recklessly entrust\nthemselves to the power of men; for wicked men would persecute them,\nseek to arraign them before councils and courts, and to afflict them in\nthe synagogs. Moreover they might expect to be brought before governors\nand kings, under which extreme conditions, they were to rely upon divine\ninspiration as to what they should say, and not depend upon their own\nwisdom in preparation and premeditation; \"For,\" said the Master, \"it is\nnot ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in\nyou.\"[705]\n\nThey were not to trust even the claims of kinship for protection, for\nfamilies would be divided over the truth, brother against brother,\nchildren against parents, and the resulting strife would be deadly.\nThese servants of Christ were told that they would be hated of all men,\nbut were assured that their sufferings were to be for His name's sake.\nThey were to withdraw from the cities that persecuted them, and go to\nothers; and the Lord would follow them, even before they would be able\nto complete the circuit of the cities of Israel. They were admonished to\nhumility, and were always to remember that they were servants, who ought\nnot to expect to escape when even their Master was assailed.\nNevertheless they were to be fearless, hesitating not to preach the\ngospel in plainness; for the most their persecutors could do was to kill\nthe body, which fate was as nothing compared to that of suffering\ndestruction of the soul in hell.\n\nAssurance of the Father's watchful care was impressed upon them by the\nsimple reminder that though sparrows were sold two for a farthing, and\nyet not a sparrow could be sacrificed without the Father's concern,\nthey, who were of more value than many sparrows, would not be forgotten.\nThey were solemnly warned that whosoever would freely confess the Christ\nbefore men would be acknowledged by Him in the Father's presence, while\nthey who denied Him before men would be denied in heaven. And again they\nwere told that the gospel would bring strife, whereby households would\nbe disrupted; for the doctrine the Lord had taught would be as a sword\nto cut and divide. The duties of their special ministry were to\nsupersede the love for kindred; they must be willing to leave father,\nmother, son, or daughter, whatever the sacrifice; for, said Jesus \"He\nthat taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.\"\n\nThe significance of this figure must have been solemnly impressive, and\nactually terrifying; for the cross was a symbol of ignominy, extreme\nsuffering, and death. However, should they lose their lives for His\nsake, they would find life eternal; while he who was not willing to die\nin the Lord's service should lose his life in a sense at once literal\nand awful. They were never to forget in whose name they were sent; and\nwere comforted with the assurance that whoever received them would be\nrewarded as one who had received the Christ and His Father; and that\nthough the gift were only that of a cup of cold water, the giver should\nin no wise lose his reward.\n\nThus charged and instructed, the twelve special witnesses of the Christ\nset out upon their mission, traveling in pairs,[706] while Jesus\ncontinued His personal ministry.\n\n\nTHE TWELVE RETURN.\n\nWe are without definite information as to the duration of the apostles'\nfirst mission, and as to the extent of the field they traversed. The\nperiod of their absence was marked by many important developments in the\nindividual labors of Jesus. It is probable that during this time our\nLord visited Jerusalem, on the occasion mentioned by John as coincident\nwith the unnamed feast of the Jews.[707] While the apostles were absent,\nJesus was visited by the Baptist's disciples, as we have already\nseen[708] and the return of the Twelve occurred near the time of the\ninfamous execution of John the Baptist in prison.[709]\n\nThe missionary labors of the apostles greatly augmented the spread of\nthe new doctrine of the kingdom, and the name and works of Jesus were\nproclaimed throughout the land. The people of Galilee were at that time\nin a state of discontent threatening open insurrection against the\ngovernment; their unrest had been aggravated by the murder of the\nBaptist. Herod Antipas, who had given the fatal order, trembled in his\npalace. He heard, with fear due to inward conviction of guilt, of the\nmarvelous works wrought by Jesus, and in terror averred that Christ\ncould be none other than John Baptist returned from the tomb. His\nfawning courtiers essayed to allay his fears by saying that Jesus was\nElijah, or some other of the prophets whose advent had been predicted;\nbut the conscience-stricken Herod said: \"It is John whom I beheaded: he\nis risen from the dead.\" Herod desired to see Jesus; perhaps through the\nfascination of fear, or with the faint hope that sight of the renowned\nProphet of Nazareth might dispel his superstitious dread that the\nmurdered John had returned to life.\n\nUpon the completion of their missionary tour, the apostles rejoined the\nMaster and reported to Him both what they had taught and what they had\ndone by way of authoritative ministration. They had preached the gospel\nof repentance in all the cities, towns, and villages to which they had\ngone; they had anointed with oil many afflicted ones, and the power of\ntheir priesthood had been attested by consequent healings; even unclean\nspirits and devils had been subject unto them.[710] They found Jesus\nattended by great multitudes; and they had little opportunity of private\nconference with Him; \"for there were many coming and going, and they had\nno leisure so much as to eat.\" The apostles must have heard in gladness\nthe Lord's invitation: \"Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place,\nand rest awhile.\" In quest of seclusion, Jesus and the Twelve withdrew\nfrom the throng, and privately entered a boat in which they crossed to a\nrural spot adjacent to the city of Bethsaida.[711] Their departure had\nnot been unobserved, however, and eager crowds hastened along the shore,\nand partly around the northerly end of the lake, to join the party at\nthe landing place. From John's account we are led to infer that, before\nthe arrival of great numbers, Jesus and His companions had ascended the\nhillside near the shore, where, for a short time they had rested. As the\nmultitude gathered on the lower slopes, our Lord looked upon them as\nupon sheep without a shepherd; and, yielding to their desire and to His\nown emotions of divine pity, He taught them many things, healed their\nafflicted ones, and comforted their hearts with compassionate\ntenderness.\n\n\nFIVE THOUSAND FED IN THE DESERT.[712]\n\nSo intent were the people on hearing the Lord's words, and so concerned\nin the miraculous relief resulting from His healing ministrations, that\nthey remained in the wilderness, oblivious to the passing of the hours,\nuntil the evening approached. It was the springtime, near the recurrence\nof the annual Passover festival, the season of grass and flowers.[713]\nJesus, realizing that the people were hungry, asked Philip, one of the\nTwelve, \"Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?\" The purpose of\nthe question was to test the apostle's faith; for the Lord had already\ndetermined as to what was to be done. Philip's reply showed surprize at\nthe question, and conveyed his thought that the suggested undertaking\nwas impossible. \"Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for\nthem, that every one of them may take a little,\" said he. Andrew added\nthat there was a lad present who had five barley loaves, and two small\nfishes, \"But,\" said he, \"what are they among so many?\"\n\nSuch is John's account; the other writers state that the apostles\nreminded Jesus of the lateness of the hour, and urged that He send the\npeople away to seek for themselves food and lodging in the nearest\ntowns. It appears most probable that the conversation between Jesus and\nPhilip occurred earlier in the afternoon;[714] and that as the hours\nsped, the Twelve became concerned and advized that the multitude be\ndismissed. The Master's reply to the apostles was: \"They need not\ndepart; give ye them to eat.\" In amazed wonder they replied: \"We have\nhere but five loaves and two fishes;\" and Andrew's despairing comment is\nimplied again--What are they among so many?\n\nJesus gave command, and the people seated themselves on the grass in\norderly array; they were grouped in fifties and hundreds; and it was\nfound that the multitude numbered about five thousand men, beside women\nand children. Taking the loaves and the fishes, Jesus looked toward\nheaven and pronounced a blessing upon the food; then, dividing the\nprovisions, He gave to the apostles severally, and they in turn\ndistributed to the multitude. The substance of both fish and bread\nincreased under the Master's touch; and the multitude feasted there in\nthe desert, until all were satisfied. To the disciples Jesus said:\n\"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost;\" and twelve\nbaskets were filled with the surplus.\n\nAs to the miracle itself, human knowledge is powerless to explain.\nThough wrought on so great a scale, it is no more nor less inexplicable\nthan any other of the Lord's miraculous works. It was a manifestation of\ncreative power, by which material elements were organized and compounded\nto serve a present and pressing need. The broken but unused portion\nexceeded in bulk and weight the whole of the original little store. Our\nLord's direction to gather up the fragments was an impressive\nobject-lesson against waste; and it may have been to afford such lesson\nthat an excess was supplied. The fare was simple, yet nourishing,\nwholesome and satisfying. Barley bread and fish constituted the usual\nfood of the poorer classes of the region. The conversion of water into\nwine at Cana was a qualitative transmutation; the feeding of the\nmultitude involved a quantitative increase; who can say that one, or\nwhich, of these miracles of provision was the more wonderful?\n\nThe multitude, now fed and filled, gave some consideration to the\nmiracle. In Jesus, by whom so great a work had been wrought, they\nrecognized One having superhuman powers. \"This is of a truth the prophet\nthat should come into the world,\" said they--the Prophet whose coming\nhad been foretold by Moses and who should be like unto himself. Even as\nIsrael had been miraculously fed during the time of Moses, so now was\nbread provided in the desert by this new Prophet. In their enthusiasm\nthe people proposed to proclaim Him king, and forcibly compel Him to\nbecome their leader. Such was their gross conception of Messianic\nsupremacy. Jesus directed His disciples to depart by boat, while He\nremained to dismiss the now excited multitude. The disciples hesitated\nto leave their Master; but He constrained them and they obeyed. His\ninsistence, that the Twelve depart from both Himself and the multitude,\nmay have been due to a desire to protect the chosen disciples against\npossible infection by the materialistic and unrighteous designs of the\nthrong to make Him king. By means that are not detailed, He caused the\npeople to disperse; and, as night came on, He found that for which He\nhad come in quest, solitude and quiet. Ascending the hill, He chose a\nsecluded place, and there remained in prayer during the greater part of\nthe night.\n\n\n\"IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID.\"[715]\n\nThe return by boat proved to be a memorable journey for the disciples.\nThey encountered a boisterous head-wind, which of course rendered\nimpossible the use of sails; and though they toiled heavily at the oars\nthe vessel became practically unmanageable and wallowed in the midst of\nthe sea.[716] Though they had labored through the night they had\nprogressed less than four miles on their course; to turn and run before\nthe wind would have been to invite disastrous wreck; their sole hope lay\nin their holding the vessel to the wind by sheer power of muscle. Jesus,\nin His place of solitary retirement, was aware of their sad plight, and\nalong in the fourth watch,[717] that is, between three and six o'clock\nin the morning, He came to their assistance, walking upon the\nstorm-tossed water as though treading solid ground. When the voyagers\ncaught sight of Him as He approached the ship in the faint light of the\nnear-spent night, they were overcome by superstitious fears, and cried\nout in terror, thinking that they saw a ghostly apparition. \"But\nstraightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be\nnot afraid.\"\n\nRelieved by these assuring words, Peter, impetuous and impulsive as\nusual, cried out: \"Lord, if[718] it be thou, bid me come unto thee on\nthe water.\" Jesus assenting, Peter descended from the ship and walked\ntoward his Master; but as the wind smote him and the waves rose about\nhim, his confidence wavered and he began to sink. Strong swimmer though\nhe was,[719] he gave way to fright, and cried, \"Lord, save me.\" Jesus\ncaught him by the hand, saying: \"O thou of little faith, wherefore didst\nthou doubt?\"\n\nFrom Peter's remarkable experience, we learn that the power by which\nChrist was able to walk the waves could be made operative in others,\nprovided only their faith was enduring. It was on Peter's own request\nthat he was permitted to attempt the feat. Had Jesus forbidden him, the\nman's faith might have suffered a check; his attempt, though attended by\npartial failure, was a demonstration of the efficacy of faith in the\nLord, such as no verbal teaching could ever have conveyed. Jesus and\nPeter entered the vessel; immediately the wind ceased, and the boat soon\nreached the shore. The amazement of the apostles, at this latest\nmanifestation of the Lord's control over the forces of nature, would\nhave been more akin to worship and less like terrified consternation had\nthey remembered the earlier wonders they had witnessed; but they had\nforgotten even the miracle of the loaves, and their hearts had\nhardened.[720] Marveling at the power of One to whom the wind-lashed sea\nwas a sustaining floor, the apostles bowed before the Lord in reverent\nworship, saying: \"Of a truth thou art the Son of God.\"[721]\n\nAside from the marvelous circumstances of its literal occurrence, the\nmiracle is rich in symbolism and suggestion. By what law or principle\nthe effect of gravitation was superseded, so that a human body could be\nsupported upon the watery surface, man is unable to affirm. The\nphenomenon is a concrete demonstration of the great truth that faith is\na principle of power, whereby natural forces may be conditioned and\ncontrolled.[722] Into every adult human life come experiences like unto\nthe battling of the storm-tossed voyagers with contrary winds and\nthreatening seas; ofttimes the night of struggle and danger is far\nadvanced before succor appears; and then, too frequently the saving aid\nis mistaken for a greater terror. As came unto Peter and his terrified\ncompanions in the midst of the turbulent waters, so comes to all who\ntoil in faith, the voice of the Deliverer--\"It is I; be not afraid.\"\n\n\nIN THE LAND OF GENNESARET.\n\nThe night voyage, in the course of which Jesus had reached the boat with\nits frightened occupants while \"in the midst of the sea,\" ended at some\npoint within the district known as the land of Gennesaret, which, as\ngenerally believed, embraced the rich and fertile region in the vicinity\nof Tiberias and Magdala. Of the natural beauties, for which the region\nwas famed much has been written.[723] Word of our Lord's presence there\nspread rapidly, and, from \"all that country round about\" the people\nflocked to Him, bringing their afflicted to receive of His beneficence\nby word or touch. In the towns through which He walked, the sick were\nlaid in the streets that the blessing of His passing might fall upon\nthem; and many \"besought him that they might touch if it were but the\nborder of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole.\"[724]\nBounteously did He impart of His healing virtue to all who came asking\nwith faith and confidence. Thus, accompanied by the Twelve, He wended\nHis way northward to Capernaum, making the pathway bright by the\nplentitude of His mercies.\n\n\nIN SEARCH OF LOAVES AND FISHES.[725]\n\nThe multitude who, on the yesterday, had partaken of His bounty on the\nother side of the lake, and who dispersed for the night after their\nineffectual attempt to force upon Him the dignity of earthly kingship,\nwere greatly surprized in the morning to discover that He had departed.\nThey had seen the disciples leave in the only boat there present, while\nJesus had remained on shore; and they knew that the night tempest had\nprecluded the possibility of other boats reaching the place.\nNevertheless their morning search for Him was futile; and they concluded\nthat He must have returned by land round the end of the lake. As the day\nadvanced some boats were sighted, bound for the western coast; these\nthey hailed, and, securing passage, crossed to Capernaum.\n\nTheir difficulty in locating Jesus was at an end, for His presence was\nknown throughout the town. Coming to Him, probably as He sat in the\nsynagog, for on this day He taught there, some of the most intrusive of\nthe crowd asked, brusquely and almost rudely, \"Rabbi, when camest thou\nhither?\" To this impertinent inquiry Jesus deigned no direct reply; in\nthe miracle of the preceding night the people had no part, and no\naccount of our Lord's movements was given them. In tone of impressive\nrebuke Jesus said unto them: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek\nme, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the\nloaves, and were filled.\" Their concern was for the bread and fishes.\nOne who could supply them with victuals as He had done must not be lost\nsight of.\n\nThe Master's rebuke was followed by admonition and instruction: \"Labour\nnot for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto\neverlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath\nGod the Father sealed.\" This contrast between material and spiritual\nfood they could not entirely fail to understand, and some of them asked\nwhat they should do to serve God as Jesus required. The answer was:\n\"This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.\"\nThat Jesus was referring to Himself, none could doubt; and straightway\nthey demanded of Him further evidence of His divine commission; they\nwould see greater signs. The miracle of the loaves and fishes was nearly\na day old; and its impressiveness as evidence of Messianic attributes\nwas waning. Moses had fed their fathers with manna in the desert, they\nsaid; and plainly they regarded a continued daily supply as a greater\ngift than a single meal of bread and fish, however much the latter may\nhave been appreciated in the exigency of hunger. Moreover, the manna was\nheavenly food;[726] whereas the bread He had given them was of earth,\nand only common barley bread at that. He must show them greater signs,\nand give them richer provender, before they would accept Him as the One\nwhom they at first had taken Him to be and whom He now declared Himself\nto be.\n\n\nCHRIST, THE BREAD OF LIFE.[727]\n\n\"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave\nyou not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread\nfrom heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,\nand giveth life unto the world.\" They were mistaken in assuming that\nMoses had given them manna; and after all, the manna had been but\nordinary food in that those who ate of it hungered again; but now the\nFather offered them bread from heaven such as would insure them life.\n\nAs the Samaritan woman at the well, on hearing the Lord speak of water\nthat would satisfy once for all, had begged impulsively and with thought\nonly of physical convenience, \"Sir, give me this water, that I thirst\nnot, neither come hither to draw,\"[728] so these people, eager to secure\nso satisfying a food as that of which Jesus spake, implored: \"Lord,\nevermore give us this bread.\" Perhaps this request was not wholly gross;\nthere may have been in the hearts of some of them at least a genuine\ndesire for spiritual nourishment. Jesus met their appeal with an\nexplanation: \"I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never\nhunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.\" He reminded\nthem that though they had seen Him they believed not His words; and\nassured them that those who really accepted Him would do as the Father\ndirected. Then, without metaphor or symbolism, He affirmed: \"I came down\nfrom heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.\"\nAnd the Father's will was that all who would accept the Son should have\neverlasting life.\n\nThere were present in the synagog some of the rulers--Pharisees,\nscribes, rabbis--and these, designated collectively as the Jews,\ncriticized Jesus, and murmured against Him because He had said, \"I am\nthe bread which came down from heaven.\" They averred that He could do\nnothing more than any man could do; He was known to them as the son of\nJoseph, and as far as they knew was of ordinary earthly parentage, and\nyet He had the temerity to declare that He had come down from heaven.\nChiefly to this class rather than to the promiscuous crowd who had\nhastened after Him, Jesus appears to have addressed the remainder of His\ndiscourse. He advized them to cease their murmurings; for it was a\ncertainty that they could not apprehend His meaning, and therefore would\nnot believe Him, unless they had been \"taught of God\" as the prophets\nhad written;[729] and none could come to Him in the sense of accepting\nHis saving gospel unless the Father drew them to the Son; and none save\nthose who were receptive, willing, and prepared, could be so drawn.[730]\nYet belief in the Son of God is an indispensable condition to salvation,\nas Jesus indicated in His affirmation: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you,\nhe that believeth on me hath everlasting life.\"\n\nThen, reverting to the symbolism of the bread, He reiterated: \"I am the\nbread of life.\" In further elucidation He explained that while their\nfathers did truly eat manna in the wilderness, yet they were dead;\nwhereas the bread of life of which He spake would insure eternal life\nunto all who partook thereof. That bread, He averred, was His flesh.\nAgainst this solemn avowal the Jews complained anew, and disputed among\nthemselves, some asking derisively: \"How can this man give us his flesh\nto eat.\" Emphasizing the doctrine, Jesus continued: \"Verily, verily, I\nsay unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his\nblood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my\nblood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For\nmy flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my\nflesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the\nliving Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth\nme, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from\nheaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth\nof this bread shall live forever.\"\n\nThere was little excuse for the Jews pretending to understand that our\nLord meant an actual eating and drinking of His material flesh and\nblood. The utterances to which they objected were far more readily\nunderstood by them than they are by us on first reading; for the\nrepresentation of the law and of truth in general as bread, and the\nacceptance thereof as a process of eating and drinking, were figures in\nevery-day use by the rabbis of that time.[731] Their failure to\ncomprehend the symbolism of Christ's doctrine was an act of will, not\nthe natural consequence of innocent ignorance. To eat the flesh and\ndrink the blood of Christ was and is to believe in and accept Him as the\nliteral Son of God and Savior of the world, and to obey His\ncommandments. By these means only may the Spirit of God become an\nabiding part of man's individual being, even as the substance of the\nfood he eats is assimilated with the tissues of his body.\n\nIt is not sufficing to accept the precepts of Christ as we may adopt the\ndoctrines of scientists, philosophers, and savants, however great the\nwisdom of these sages may be; for such acceptance is by mental assent or\ndeliberate exercize of will, and has relation to the doctrine only as\nindependent of the author. The teachings of Jesus Christ endure because\nof their intrinsic worth; and many men respect His aphorisms, proverbs,\nparables, and His profoundly philosophical precepts, who yet reject Him\nas the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh, the God-Man in whom\nwere united the attributes of Deity with those of humanity, the chosen\nand foreordained Redeemer of mankind, through whom alone may salvation\nbe attained. But the figure used by Jesus--that of eating His flesh and\ndrinking His blood as typical of unqualified and absolute acceptance of\nHimself as the Savior of men, is of superlative import; for thereby are\naffirmed the divinity of His Person, and the fact of His pre-existent\nand eternal Godship. The sacrament of the Lord's supper, established by\nthe Savior on the night of His betrayal, perpetuates the symbolism of\neating His flesh and drinking His blood, by the partaking of bread and\nwine in remembrance of Him.[732] Acceptance of Jesus as the Christ\nimplies obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel; for to\nprofess the One and refuse the other is but to convict ourselves of\ninconsistency, insincerity, and hypocrisy.\n\n\nA CRUCIAL TEST--MANY TURN AWAY.[733]\n\nThe truth respecting Himself, as taught by the Lord in this, His last,\ndiscourse in the synagog at Capernaum, proved to be a test of faith\nthrough which many fell away. Not alone critical Jews of the official\nclass, whose hostility was openly avowed, but those who had professed\nsome measure of belief in Him were affected. \"Many therefore of his\ndisciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who\ncan hear it?\" Jesus, cognizant of their disaffection, asked: \"Doth this\noffend you?\" and added: \"What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend\nup where he was before?\" His ascension, which was to follow His death\nand resurrection, is here definitely implied. The spiritual significance\nof His teachings was put beyond question by the explanation that only\nthrough the Spirit could they comprehend; \"Therefore,\" He added, \"said I\nunto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of\nmy Father.\"\n\nMany deserted Him, and from that time sought Him no more. The occasion\nwas crucial; the effect was that of sifting and separation. The\nportentous prediction of the Baptist-prophet had entered upon the stage\nof fulfilment: \"One mightier than I cometh ... Whose fan is in his hand,\nand he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the\ngarner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.\"[734] The\nfan was in operation, and much chaff was blown aside.\n\nIt appears that even the Twelve were unable to comprehend the deeper\nmeaning of these latest teachings; they were puzzled, though none\nactually deserted. Nevertheless, the state of mind of some was such as\nto evoke from Jesus the question: \"Will ye also go away?\" Peter,\nspeaking for himself and his brethren, answered with pathos and\nconviction: \"Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal\nlife.\"[735] The spirit of the Holy Apostleship was manifest in this\nconfession. Though they were unable to comprehend in fulness the\ndoctrine, they knew Jesus to be the Christ, and were faithful to Him\nwhile others turned away into the dark depths of apostasy.\n\nWhile Peter spoke for the apostolic body as a whole, there was among\nthem one who silently revolted; the treacherous Iscariot, who was in\nworse plight than an openly avowed apostate, was there. The Lord knew\nthis man's heart, and said: \"Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of\nyou is a devil?\" The historian adds: \"He spake of Judas Iscariot the son\nof Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the\ntwelve.\"\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 21.\n\n1. Jesus at Nazareth.--As no one of the Gospel-writers records two\noccasions of our Lord's ministry in Nazareth, and as the separate\naccounts appearing in the synoptic Gospels closely resemble one another\nin a few particulars, some commentators hold that our Lord preached to\nHis townsmen in Nazareth and was rejected by them but once. Luke's\naccount (4:14-30) refers to an occasion immediately following the first\nreturn of Jesus to Galilee after His baptism and temptations, and\ndirectly preceding the preliminary call of the fishermen-disciples, who\nafterward were numbered among the apostles. Matthew (13:53-58) and Mark\n(6:1-6) chronicle a visit of Jesus to Nazareth later than the occasion\nof the first teaching in parables, and the events immediately following\nthe same. We have good reason for accepting Luke's record as that of an\nearly incident, and the accounts given by Matthew and Mark as those of a\nlater visit.\n\n2. Gentiles.--In a general way the Jews designated all other peoples as\nGentiles; though the same Hebrew word is rendered in the Old Testament\nvariously, as \"Gentiles\" (Gen. 10:5; Judg. 4:2, 13, 16; Isa. 11:10;\netc.), \"nations\" (Gen. 10:5, 20, 31, 32; 14:1, 9; etc.), and \"heathen\"\n(Neh. 5:8; Psa. 2:1, 8, etc.), the essential element of designation\nbeing that of foreigners. In Smith's _Dict. of the Bible_, we read \"It\n[the name 'Gentiles'] acquired an ethnographic and also an invidious\nmeaning, as other nations were idolatrous, rude, hostile, etc., yet the\nJews were able to use it in a purely technical, geographical sense, when\nit was usually translated 'nations.'\" Dr. Edward E. Nourse, writing for\nthe _Standard Bible Dictionary_, says: \"In New Testament times, the Jew\ndivided mankind into three classes, (1) Jews, (2) Greeks (Hellenes, made\nto include Romans, thus meaning the civilized peoples of the Roman\nEmpire, often rendered 'Gentiles' in Authorized Version), and (3)\nbarbarians (the uncivilized, Acts 28:4; Rom. 1:14; 1 Cor. 14:11).\" The\ninjunction laid by Jesus upon the Twelve--\"Go not into the way of the\nGentiles\"--was to restrain them for the time being from attempting to\nmake converts among the Romans and Greeks, and to confine their ministry\nto the people of Israel.\n\n3. Shaking the Dust from the Feet.--To ceremonially shake the dust from\none's feet as a testimony against another was understood by the Jews to\nsymbolize a cessation of fellowship and a renunciation of all\nresponsibility for consequences that might follow. It became an\nordinance of accusation and testimony by the Lord's instructions to His\napostles as cited in the text. In the current dispensation, the Lord has\nsimilarly directed His authorized servants to so testify against those\nwho wilfully and maliciously oppose the truth when authoritatively\npresented (see Doc. and Cov. 24:15; 60:15; 75:20; 84:92; 99:4). The\nresponsibility of testifying before the Lord by this accusing symbol is\nso great that the means may be employed only under unusual and extreme\nconditions, as the Spirit of the Lord may direct.\n\n4. The Two Bethsaidas.--It is held by many Bible students that\nBethsaida, in the desert region adjoining which Jesus and the Twelve\nsought rest and seclusion, was the town of that name in Perea, on the\neastern side of the Jordan, and known more specifically as Bethsaida\nJulias to distinguish it from Bethsaida in Galilee, which latter was\nclose to Capernaum. The Perean village of Bethsaida had been enlarged\nand raised to the rank of a town by the tetrarch, Philip, and by him had\nbeen named Julias in honor of Julia, daughter of the reigning emperor.\nThe Gospel narratives of the voyage by which Jesus and His companions\nreached the place, and of the return therefrom, are conformable to the\nassumption that Bethsaida Julias in Perea and not Bethsaida in Galilee,\nwas the town to which the \"desert place\" referred to was an outlying\ndistrict.\n\n5. The Earlier and the Later Evening.--Matthew specifies two evenings of\nthe day on which the five thousand were fed; thus \"when it was evening\"\nthe disciples asked Jesus to send away the multitude; and later, after\nthe miraculous feeding and after the disciples had left by boat, and\nafter the crowds had departed, \"when the evening was come\" Jesus was\nalone on the mountain (Matt. 14:15, 23; compare Mark 6:35, 47). Trench\n_Notes on the Miracles_, (p. 217) says: \"St. Matthew and St. Mark with\nhim, makes two evenings to this day--one which had already commenced\nbefore the preparations for the feeding of the multitude had begun\n(verse 15), the other now, when the disciples had entered into the ship\nand set forth on their voyage (verse 23). And this was an ordinary way\nof speaking among the Jews, the first evening being very much our\nafternoon ... the second evening being the twilight, or from six o'clock\nto twilight, on which absolute darkness followed.\" See Smith's _Dict._,\narticle \"Chronology,\" from which the following excerpt is taken:\n\"'Between the two evenings' (margin of Exo. 12:6; Numb. 9:3; 28:4) is a\nnatural division between the late afternoon when the sun is low, and the\nevening when his light has not wholly disappeared, the two evenings into\nwhich the natural evening would be cut by the commencement of the civil\nday if it began at sunset.\"\n\n6. Watches of the Night.--During the greater part of Old Testament time,\nthe people of Israel divided the night into three watches, each of four\nhours, such a period being that of individual sentinel duty. Before the\nbeginning of the Christian era, however, the Jews had adopted the Roman\norder of four night-watches, each lasting three hours. These were\ndesignated numerically, e.g. the fourth watch mentioned in the text (see\nMatt. 14:25), or as even, midnight, cock-crowing, and morning (see Mark\n13:35). The fourth watch was the last of the three-hour periods between\nsunset and sunrise, or between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and therefore extended\nfrom 3 to 6 o'clock in the morning.\n\n7. The Hem of the Garment.--The faith of those who believed that if they\ncould but touch the border of the Lord's garment they would be healed,\nis in line with that of the woman who was healed of her long-standing\nmalady by so touching His robe (see Matt. 9:21; Mark 5:27, 28; Luke\n8:44). The Jews regarded the border or hem of their outer robes as of\nparticular importance, because of the requirement made of Israel in\nearlier days (Numb. 15:38, 39) that the border be fringed and supplied\nwith a band of blue, as a reminder to them of their obligations as the\ncovenant people. The desire to touch the hem of Christ's robe may have\nbeen associated with this thought of sanctity attaching to the hem or\nborder.\n\n8. Traditions Concerning Manna.--The supplying of manna to the\nIsraelites incident to the exodus and the long travel in the wilderness,\nwas rightly regarded as a work of surpassing wonder (Exo. 16:14-36;\nNumb. 11:7-9; Deut. 8:3, 16; Josh. 5:12; Psa. 78:24, 25). Many\ntraditions, some of them perniciously erroneous, gathered about the\nincident, and were transmitted with invented additions from generation\nto generation. In the time of Christ the rabbinical teaching was that\nthe manna on which the fathers had fed was literally the food of the\nangels, sent down from heaven; and that it was of diverse taste and\nflavor to suit all ages, conditions, or desires; to one it tasted like\nhoney, to another as bread, etc.; but in all Gentile mouths it was\nbitter. Moreover it was said that the Messiah would give an unfailing\nsupply of manna to Israel when He came amongst them. These erroneous\nconceptions in part explain the demand of those who had been fed on\nbarley loaves and fishes, for a sign that would surpass the giving of\nmanna in the olden days, as evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus.\n\n9. Faith a Gift of God.--\"Though within the reach of all who diligently\nstrive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a divine gift, and can be\nobtained only from God (Matt. 16:17; John 6:44, 65; Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor.\n12:9; Rom. 12:3; Moroni 10:11). As is fitting for so priceless a pearl,\nit is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they are\nworthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates. Although\nfaith is called the first principle of the Gospel of Christ, though it\nbe in fact the foundation of all religion, yet even faith is preceded by\nsincerity of disposition and humility of soul, whereby the word of God\nmay make an impression upon the heart (Rom. 10:17). No compulsion is\nused in bringing men to a knowledge of God; yet, as fast as we open our\nhearts to the influences of righteousness, the faith that leads to life\neternal will be given us of our Father.\"--_Articles of Faith_, v:16.\n\n10. Spiritual Symbolism of Eating.--\"The idea of eating, as a metaphor\nfor receiving spiritual benefit, was familiar to Christ's hearers, and\nwas as readily understood as our expressions--'devouring a book,' or\n'drinking in' instruction. In Isaiah 3:1, the words 'the whole stay of\nbread,' were explained by the rabbis as referring to their own teaching,\nand they laid it down as a rule, that wherever, in Ecclesiastes,\nallusion was made to food or drink, it meant study of the law, and the\npractise of good works. It was a saying among them--'In the time of the\nMessiah the Israelites will be fed by Him.' Nothing was more common in\nthe schools and synagogs than the phrases of eating and drinking, in a\nmetaphorical sense. 'Messiah is not likely to come to Israel,' said\nHillel, 'for they have already eaten Him'--that is, greedily received\nHis words--'in the days of Hezekiah.' A current conventionalism in the\nsynagogs was that the just would 'eat the Shekinah.' It was peculiar to\nthe Jews to be taught in such metaphorical language. Their rabbis never\nspoke in plain words, and it is expressly said that Jesus submitted to\nthe popular taste, for 'without a parable spake he not unto them' (Mark\n4:34).\"--Geikie, _Life and Words of Christ_, vol. i, p. 184.\n\n11. The Crucial Nature of the Discourse.--Commenting on the effect of\nour Lord's discourse (John 6:26-71), Edersheim (vol. ii, p. 36) says:\n\"Here then we are at the parting of the two ways; and just because it\nwas the hour of decision, did Christ so clearly set forth the highest\ntruths concerning Himself, in opposition to the views which the\nmultitude entertained about the Messiah. The result was yet another and\na sorer defection. Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walked\nno more with Him. Nay, the searching trial reached even unto the hearts\nof the Twelve. Would they also go away? It was an anticipation of\nGethsemane--its first experience. But one thing kept them true. It was\nthe experience of the past. This was the basis of their present faith\nand allegiance. They could not go back to their old past; they must\ncleave to Him. So Peter spake it in name of them all: Lord, to whom\nshall we go? Words of eternal life hast thou! Nay, and more than this,\nas the result of what they had learned: And we have believed and know\nthat thou art the Holy One of God. It is thus, also, that many of us,\nwhose thoughts may have been sorely tossed, and whose foundations\nterribly assailed, may have found our first resting-place in the\nassured, unassailable spiritual experience of the past. Whither can we\ngo for words of eternal life, if not to Christ? If He fails us, then all\nhope of the eternal is gone. But He has the words of eternal life--and\nwe believed when they first came to us; nay, we know that He is the Holy\nOne of God. And this conveys all that faith needs for further learning.\nThe rest will He show when He is transfigured in our sight. But of these\nTwelve Christ knew one to be a devil--like that angel, fallen from\nhighest height to lowest depth. The apostasy of Judas had already\ncommenced in his heart. And the greater the popular expectancy and\ndisappointment had been, the greater the reaction and the enmity that\nfollowed. The hour of decision was past, and the hand on the dial\npointed to the hour of His death.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[694] Matt. 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6.\n\n[695] Luke 4:28-30. See pages 179-181.\n\n[696] Pages 254, 274.\n\n[697] Note 2, page 273.\n\n[698] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[699] Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-5.\n\n[700] Mark 3:14.\n\n[701] Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6.\n\n[702] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[703] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15. Page 695 herein.\n\n[704] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[705] Matt. 10:18-20; compare Mark 13:9; Luke 12:10-12.\n\n[706] Mark 6:7.\n\n[707] John 5; pages 206, 216.\n\n[708] Matt. 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-34; see page 252.\n\n[709] Page 259.\n\n[710] Mark 6:12, 13; Luke 9:10. Note similar testimony of the Seventy,\nwho were sent out at a later time, and who returned rejoicing in the\npower that had been manifest in their ministry; Luke 10:17.\n\n[711] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[712] John 6:5-14; compare Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17.\n\n[713] John 6:4; Matt. 14:19; Mark 6:39.\n\n[714] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[715] Matt. 14:22-33; compare Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21.\n\n[716] Page 321.\n\n[717] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[718] That is to say, \"since\" or \"inasmuch\".\n\n[719] Compare Peter's impetuous leap into the sea to reach the\nresurrected Lord on the shore, John 21:7.\n\n[720] Mark 6:52.\n\n[721] Note that this is the first occurrence of this title in the\nSynoptic Gospels, as applied to Jesus by mortals; compare an earlier\ninstance of its application by Nathanael, John 1:49.\n\n[722] \"Articles of Faith,\" v:11-13--\"Faith a Principle of Power.\"\n\n[723] Josephus, Wars. iii, 10:7, 8.\n\n[724] Mark 6:53-56; compare Matt. 14:34-36. Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[725] John 6:22-27.\n\n[726] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[727] John 6:32-59.\n\n[728] John 4:13-15; page 174 herein.\n\n[729] Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:34; Micah 4:2; compare Heb. 8:10; 10:16.\n\n[730] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[731] Note 10, end of chapter.\n\n[732] Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19, 20. Page 596.\n\n[733] John 6:59-71.\n\n[734] Luke 3:16, 17; Matt. 3:11, 12.\n\n[735] Compare this confession (John 6:68, 69) with Peter's later\ntestimony (Matt. 16:16). Note 11, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 22.\n\nA PERIOD OF DARKENING OPPOSITION.\n\n\nOur Lord's last recorded discourse in the synagog at Capernaum, which\nfollowed close upon the miracle of feeding the five thousand and that of\nwalking upon the water, marked the beginning of another epoch in the\ndevelopment of His life's work. It was the season of an approaching\nPassover festival;[736] and at the next succeeding Passover, one year\nlater, as shall be shown, Jesus would be betrayed to His death. At the\ntime of which we now speak, therefore, He was entering upon the last\nyear of His ministry in the flesh. But the significance of the event is\nother and greater than that of a chronological datum-plane. The\ncircumstance marked the first stage of a turn in the tide of popular\nregard toward Jesus, which theretofore had been increasing, and which\nnow began to ebb. True, He had been repeatedly criticized and openly\nassailed by complaining Jews on many earlier occasions; but these crafty\nand even venomous critics were mostly of the ruling classes; the common\npeople had heard Him gladly, and indeed many of them continued so to\ndo;[737] nevertheless His popularity, in Galilee at least, had begun to\nwane. The last year of His earthly ministration was inaugurated by a\nsifting of the people who professed to believe His word, and this\nprocess of test, trial, and separation, was to continue to the end.\n\nWe are without information as to Jesus having attended this Passover\nfeast; and it is reasonable to infer that in view of the increasing\nhostility on the part of the rulers, He refrained from going to\nJerusalem on the occasion. Conjecture as to whether any of the Twelve\nwent up to the festival is profitless; we are not told. Certain it is\nthat immediately after this time, the detectives and spies, who had been\nsent from Jerusalem into Galilee to watch Jesus, became more active than\never in their critical espionage. They dogged His footsteps, noted every\nact, and every instance of omission of traditional or customary\nobservance, and were constantly on the alert to make Him out an\noffender.\n\n\nCEREMONIAL WASHINGS, \"AND MANY SUCH LIKE THINGS,\"[738]\n\nShortly after the Passover to which allusion has been made, and probably\nin accordance with a plan decided upon by the Jewish rulers, Jesus was\nvisited by a delegation of Pharisees and scribes who had come from\nJerusalem, and who made protest against the disregard of traditional\nrequirements by His followers. It appears that the disciples, and almost\ncertainly the Master Himself, had so far transgressed \"the tradition of\nthe elders\" as to omit the ceremonial washing of hands before eating;\nthe Pharisaic critics found fault, and came demanding explanation, and\njustification if such were possible. Mark tells us that the disciples\nwere charged with having eaten with \"defiled\", or, as the marginal\nreading gives it, with \"common\" hands; and he interpolates the following\nconcise and lucid note concerning the custom which the disciples were\nsaid to have ignored: \"For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they\nwash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And\nwhen they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many\nother things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing\nof cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.\"[739] It should be\nborne in mind that the offense charged against the disciples was that of\nceremonial uncleanness, not physical uncleanliness or disregard of\nsanitary propriety; they were said to have eaten with common or defiled\nhands, not specifically with dirty fingers. In all the externals of\ntheir man-made religionism, the Jews were insistent on scrupulous\nexactitude; every possibility of ceremonial defilement was to be\ncarefully guarded against, and the effects thereof had to be\ncounteracted by prescribed washings.[740]\n\nTo the question: \"Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the\nelders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread\", Jesus gave\nno direct reply; but asked as a rejoinder: \"Why do ye also transgress\nthe commandment of God by your tradition?\" To the Pharisaic mind this\nmust have been a very sharp rebuke; for rabbinism held that rigorous\ncompliance with the traditions of the elders was more important than\nobservance of the law itself; and Jesus in His counter question put\ntheir cherished traditions as in direct conflict with the commandment of\nGod. Adding to their discomfiture, He cited the prophecy of Isaiah, and\napplied to them whom He designated hypocrites, the prophet's words:\n\"Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This\npeople honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.\nHowbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the\ncommandments of men.\"[741] With deserved severity Jesus carried the\nlesson home to their consciences, declaring that they had laid aside the\ncommandments of God in order that they might follow the traditions of\nmen.\n\nThis accusing affirmation was followed by the citing of an undeniable\ninstance: Moses had voiced the direct commandment of God in saying:\n\"Honour thy father and thy mother,\" and had proclaimed the ordained\npenalty in extreme cases of unfilial conduct thus: \"Whoso curseth father\nor mother, let him die\";[742] but this law, though given of God direct\nto Israel, had been so completely superseded that any ungrateful and\nwicked son could find ready means, which their traditions had made\nlawful, of escaping all filial obligations, even though his parents were\ndestitute. If a needy father or mother craved help of a son, he had but\nto say--What you ask of me is Corban--or in other words, an intended\ngift to God; and he was held to be legally exempt from all requirements\nto contribute of that substance to the support of his parents.[743]\nOther obligations could be similarly evaded. To declare that any article\nof property real or personal, or any part or proportion of one's\npossessions was \"corban,\" was generally understood as an averment that\nthe property so characterized was dedicated to the temple, or at least\nwas intended to be devoted to ecclesiastical purposes, and would\neventually be turned over to the officials, though the donor might\ncontinue to hold possession during a specified period, extending even to\nthe end of his life. Property was often declared to be \"corban\" for\nother purposes than dedication to ecclesiastical use. The result of such\nestablished though utterly unlawful and pernicious traditions was, as\nJesus emphatically stated to the Pharisees and scribes, to make the word\nof God of none effect, and, He added, \"Many such like things do ye.\"\n\nTurning from His titled visitors, He called the people together and\nproclaimed unto them the truth, as follows: \"Hearken unto me every one\nof you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that\nentering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him,\nthose are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let\nhim hear.\" This was directly in conflict with rabbinical precept and\npractise; the Pharisees were offended, for they had said that to eat\nwith hands that had not been ritualistically cleansed was to defile the\nfood touched, and in turn to become yet more defiled from the food thus\nrendered unclean.\n\nThe apostles were not sure that they understood the Master's lesson;\nthough couched in plain, non-figurative language, it was to some of them\nvery like a parable, and Peter asked an exposition. The Lord explained\nthat the food one eats is but temporarily part of his body; having\nserved its purpose of nourishing the tissues and supplying energy to the\norganism, it is eliminated; therefore the food that enters the body\nthrough the mouth is of small and transient importance compared with the\nutterances that issue from the mouth, for these, if evil, are truly\ndefiling. As Jesus set forth: \"Those things which proceed out of the\nmouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the\nheart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,\nfalse witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man; but\nto eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.\"[744]\n\nSome of the disciples asked Jesus whether He knew that the Pharisees had\ntaken offense at His saying; His answer was a further denunciation of\nPharisaism: \"Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted,\nshall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.\nAnd if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.\" There\ncould be no compromize between His doctrine of the kingdom and the\ncorrupt Judaism of the time. The rulers were plotting against His life;\nif their emissaries chose to take offense at His words, let them be\noffended and stand the consequences; but blessed would they be if they\nwere not offended because of Him.[745] He had no conciliatory measures\nto offer those whose inability to understand His meaning was the result\nof wilful obstinacy, or darkness of mind produced by persistence in sin.\n\n\nWITHIN THE BORDERS OF TYRE AND SIDON.[746]\n\nUnable to find in Galilee rest, seclusion, or adequate opportunity of\ninstructing the Twelve as He desired to do, Jesus departed with them\nnorthward, and journeyed into the coasts or borders of Phenicia, a\ndistrict commonly known by the names of its prominent cities, Tyre and\nSidon. In one of the little towns near the border, the party took\nlodgings; but the attempt to secure privacy was futile, for the Master's\npresence \"could not be hid.\" His fame had preceded Him beyond the\nboundaries of the land of Israel. On earlier occasions, people from the\nregion of Tyre and Sidon had been among His listeners, and some of them\nhad been blessed by His healing mercies.[747]\n\nA woman, hearing of His presence within her own land, came asking a\nboon. Mark tells us she was a Greek, or more literally a Gentile[748]\nwho spoke Greek, and by nationality a Syro-Phenician; Matthew says she\nwas \"a woman of Canaan\"; these statements are in harmony, since the\nPhenicians were of Canaanite descent. The Gospel-historians make clear\nthe fact that this woman was of pagan or heathen birth; and we know that\namong the peoples so classed the Canaanites were held in particular\ndisrepute by the Jews. The woman cried aloud to Jesus, saying: \"Have\nmercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed\nwith a devil.\" Her words expressed at once faith in the Lord's power,\nand a fulness of mother-love, for she implored as though she were the\nafflicted sufferer. The fact that she addressed Jesus as Son of David\ndemonstrates her belief that He was the Messiah of Israel. At first\nJesus refrained from answering her. Undeterred, she pleaded the more,\nuntil the disciples besought the Lord saying: \"Send her away; for she\ncrieth after us.\" Their intervention was probably an intercession in her\nbehalf; she could be quieted by the granting of her request; as it was,\nshe was making an undesirable scene, probably on the street, and the\nTwelve knew well that their Master sought quietude. To them Jesus said:\n\"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,\" and the\nremark must have reminded them of the restriction under which they had\nbeen sent out.[749]\n\nThe woman, with importunate desire came near, possibly entering the\nhouse; she fell at the Lord's feet and worshiped Him, pleading\npitifully, \"Lord, help me.\" To her Jesus said, \"It is not meet to take\nthe children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.\" The words, harsh as they\nmay sound to us, were understood by her in the spirit of the Lord's\nintent. The original term here translated \"dogs\" connoted, as the\nnarrative shows, not the vagrant and despized curs elsewhere spoken of\nin the Bible as typical of a degraded state, or of positive\nbadness,[750] but literally the \"little dogs\" or domestic pets, such as\nwere allowed in the house and under the table. Certainly the woman took\nno offense at the comparison, and found therein no objectionable\nepithet. Instantly she adopted the analogy, and applied it in combined\nargument and supplication,[751] \"Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the\ncrumbs which fall from their masters' table;\" or, in the words of Mark's\nversion: \"Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's\ncrumbs.\" Her prayer was immediately granted; for Jesus said unto her, \"O\nwoman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her\ndaughter was made whole from that very hour.\" Mark emphasizes the\nspecial recognition of her final plea, and adds: \"And when she was come\nto her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon\nthe bed.\" The woman's commendable persistency was based on the faith\nthat overcomes apparent obstacles and endures even under discouragement.\nHer case reminds one of the lesson taught by the Lord on another\noccasion through the story of the importunate widow.[752]\n\nMany have queried as to why Jesus delayed the blessing. We may not be\nable to fathom His purposes; but we see that, by the course He adopted,\nthe woman's faith was demonstrated and the disciples were instructed.\nJesus impressed upon her that she was not of the chosen people, to whom\nHe had been sent; but His words prefigured the giving of the gospel to\nall, both Jew and Gentile: \"Let the children _first_ be filled\" He had\nsaid. The resurrected Christ was to be made known to every nation;[753]\nbut His personal ministry as a mortal, as also that of the apostles\nwhile He was with them in the flesh, was directed to the house of\nIsrael.[754]\n\n\nIN THE COASTS OF DECAPOLIS.[755]\n\nWe are not told how long Jesus and the Twelve tarried in the land of\nTyre and Sidon, nor which portions of the district they traversed. They\nwent thence into the region adjoining the sea of Galilee on the east,\n\"through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.\"[756] Though still among\nsemi-pagan peoples, our Lord was greeted by great crowds, amongst whom\nwere many lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and otherwise afflicted; and them\nHe healed. Great was the astonishment of these aliens, \"when they saw\nthe dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the\nblind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.\"\n\nAmong the many who were healed was one of whom special mention is made.\nHe was deaf and defective in speech. The people asked the Lord to lay\nHis hands upon the man; but Jesus led him away from the multitude, put\nHis fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue; then\nlooking upward in prayer, and sighing the while, He uttered a word of\ncommand in Aramaic, \"Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his\nears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake\nplain.\" The manner of effecting this cure was different again from the\nusual mode of our Lord's healing ministrations. It may be that by the\nfinger-touch to the closed ears and to the bound tongue, the man's faith\nwas strengthened and his confidence in the Master's power increased. The\npeople were forbidden to tell abroad what they had witnessed; but the\nmore they were charged the more they published the news. Their\nconclusion as to Jesus and His works was: \"He hath done all things well:\nhe maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.\"\n\n\nANOTHER MEAL IN THE DESERT; OVER FOUR THOUSAND FED.[757]\n\nFor three days the glad crowds remained with Jesus and the apostles.\nCamping out at that season and in that region entailed no great hardship\nincident to exposure. Their supply of food, however, had become\nexhausted; and many of them were far from home. Jesus had compassion\nupon the people, and was loath to send them away fasting, lest they\nwould faint by the way. When He spoke to the disciples on the matter\nthey intimated the impossibility of feeding so great a number, for the\nentire stock of food at hand comprized but seven loaves and a few little\nfishes. Had they forgotten the former occasion on which a greater\nmultitude had been fed and filled with but five loaves and two small\nfishes? Rather let us believe that the disciples remembered well, yet\ndeemed it beyond their duty or privilege to suggest a repetition of the\nmiracle. But the Master commanded; and the people seated themselves on\nthe ground. Blessing and dividing the small provision as before, He gave\nto the disciples and they distributed to the multitude. Four thousand\nmen, beside women and children, were abundantly fed; and of the broken\nbut uneaten food there remained enough to fill seven baskets. With no\nsemblance of the turbulent enthusiasm that had followed the feeding of\nthe five thousand, this multitude dispersed quietly and returned to\ntheir homes, grateful and doubly blessed.\n\n\nAGAIN BESET BY SIGN-SEEKERS.[758]\n\nJesus and the apostles returned by boat to the western shore of the\nlake, and landed near Magdala and Dalmanutha. These towns are understood\nto have been so close together as to virtually make the latter a suburb\nof the other. Here the party was met by the ever-vigilant Pharisees, who\non this occasion were accompanied by their usually unfriendly rivals,\nthe Sadducees. That the two parties had temporarily laid aside their\nmutual differences, and had combined their forces in the common cause of\nopposition to Christ, is a demonstration of the determined purpose of\nthe ecclesiastical authorities to find occasion against Him, and, if\npossible, destroy Him. Their immediate object was to further alienate\nthe common people, and to counteract the influence of His former\nteachings with the masses. They set anew the old-time snare of demanding\nfrom Him a supernatural sign of His Messiahship, though thrice already\nhad they or others of their kind so attempted to entrap Him, and thrice\nhad they been foiled.[759] Before them, Satan in person had similarly\ntried and failed.[760] To their present impertinent and impious demand\nHe gave a brief and definite refusal coupled with an exposure of their\nhypocrisy. This was His reply: \"When it is evening, ye say, It will be\nfair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul\nweather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can\ndiscern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the\ntimes? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and\nthere shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.\nAnd he left them, and departed.\"[761]\n\n\nTHE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES AND OF THE SADDUCEES.[762]\n\nAgain with the Twelve upon the water, since on the Galilean coast\nneither peace nor opportunity for effective teaching was found, Jesus\ndirected the vessel's course toward the north-easterly shore. When well\nout from land, He said to His companions: \"Take heed and beware of the\nleaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees,\" and, as Mark adds, \"and\nof the leaven of Herod.\" In their hasty departure the disciples had\nforgotten to take a supply of food; they had with them but a single\nloaf. They construed His words respecting leaven as a reference to\nbread, and possibly as a reproof for their neglect. Jesus chided them as\nof little faith for thinking then of material bread, and refreshed their\nrecollection of the miracles by which the multitudes had been fed, so\nthat their lack of loaves would not further trouble them. Finally they\nwere made to understand that the Master's warning was directed against\nthe false doctrines of the Pharisees and those of the Sadducees, and\nagainst the political aspirations of the scheming Herodians.[763]\n\nThe party left the boat near the site of the first miraculous feeding of\nthe multitude, and made their way to Bethsaida Julias. A blind man was\nbrought, and Jesus was asked to touch him. He took the sightless one by\nthe hand, led him outside the town, applied saliva to his eyes, laid\nhands upon him in a ministration, and asked him if he could see. The man\nanswered that he saw dimly, but was unable to distinguish men from\ntrees. Applying His hands to the man's eyes, Jesus told him to look up;\nthe man did so and saw clearly. Bidding him not to enter the town, nor\nto tell of his deliverance from blindness to any in the place, the Lord\nsent him away rejoicing. This miracle presents the unique feature of\nJesus healing a person by stages; the result of the first ministration\nwas but a partial recovery. No explanation of the exceptional\ncircumstance is given.\n\n\n\"THOU ART THE CHRIST.\"[764]\n\nAccompanied by the Twelve, Jesus continued His way northward to the\nneighborhood or \"coasts\" of C\u00e6sarea Philippi, an inland city situated\nnear the eastern and principal source of the Jordan, and near the foot\nof Mount Hermon.[765] The journey afforded opportunity for special and\nconfidential instruction to the apostles. Of them Jesus asked: \"Whom do\nmen say that I the Son of man am?\" In reply they reported the rumors and\npopular fancies that had come to their notice. Some people, sharing the\nsuperstitious fears of the conscience-stricken Herod Antipas, said that\nJesus was John the Baptist returned to life, though such a belief could\nnot have been entertained seriously by many, as John and Jesus were\nknown to have been contemporaries; others said He was Elias, or more\nexactly, Elijah; still others suggested He was Jeremiah or some other\none of the ancient prophets of Israel. It is significant that among all\nthe conceptions of the people as to the identity of Jesus there was no\nintimation of belief that He was the Messiah. Neither by word nor deed\nhad He measured up to the popular and traditional standard of the\nexpected Deliverer and King of Israel. Fleeting manifestations of\nevanescent hope that He might prove to be the looked-for Prophet, like\nunto Moses, had not been lacking; but all such incipient conceptions had\nbeen neutralized by the hostile activity of the Pharisees and their\nkind. To them it was a matter of supreme though evil determination to\nmaintain in the minds of the people the thought of a yet future, not a\npresent, Messiah.\n\nWith deep solemnity, and as a soul-searching test for which the Twelve\nhad been in unconscious preparation through many months of close and\nprivileged companionship with their Lord, Jesus asked of them: \"But whom\nsay ye that I am?\" Answering for all, but more particularly testifying\nas to his own conviction, Peter, with all the fervor of his soul, voiced\nthe great confession: \"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.\"\nThis was no avowal of mere belief, no expression of a result at which he\nhad arrived by mental process, no solution of a problem laboriously\nworked out, no verdict based on the weighing of evidence; he spoke in\nthe sure knowledge that knows no question and from which doubt and\nreservation are as far removed as is the sky from the ground.\n\n\"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:\nfor flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which\nis in heaven.\" Peter's knowledge, which was also that of his brethren,\nwas of a kind apart from all that man may find out for himself; it was a\ndivine bestowal, in comparison with which human wisdom is foolishness\nand the treasure of earth but dross, Addressing Himself further to the\nfirst of the apostles, Jesus continued: \"And I say also unto thee, That\nthou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates\nof hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys\nof the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall\nbe bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be\nloosed in heaven.\"\n\nThrough direct revelation from God Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ;\nand upon revelation, as a rock of secure foundation, the Church of\nChrist was to be built.[766] Though torrents should fall, floods roll,\nwinds rage, and all beat together upon that structure, it would not,\ncould not, fall, for it was founded upon a rock;[767] and even the\npowers of hell would be impotent to prevail against it. By revelation\nalone could or can the Church of Jesus Christ be builded and maintained;\nand revelation of necessity implies revelators, through whom the will of\nGod may be made known respecting His Church. As a gift from God comes\nthe testimony of Jesus into the heart of man. This principle was\ncomprized in the Master's teachings at Capernaum, that none could come\nto Him save such as the Father would bring.[768] The Lord's promise,\nthat unto Peter He would give \"the keys of the kingdom of heaven,\"\nembodies the principle of divine authority in the Holy Priesthood, and\nof the commission of presidency. Allusion to keys as symbolical of power\nand authority is not uncommon in Jewish literature, as was well\nunderstood in that period and is generally current today.[769] So also\nthe analogies of binding and loosing as indicative of official acts were\nthen usual, as they are now, particularly in connection with judicial\nfunctions. Peter's presidency among the apostles was abundantly manifest\nand generally recognized after the close of our Lord's mortal life.\nThus, it was he who spoke in behalf of the Eleven, in the council\nmeeting at which a successor to the traitor Iscariot was chosen; he was\nthe spokesman of his brethren on the occasion of the Pentecostal\nconversion; it was he who opened the doors of the Church to the\nGentiles;[770] and his office of leadership is apparent throughout the\napostolic period.\n\nThe confession by which the apostles avowed their acceptance of Jesus as\nthe Christ, the Son of the living God, was evidence of their actual\npossession of the spirit of the Holy Apostleship, by which they were\nmade particular witnesses of their Lord. The time for a general\nproclamation of their testimony had not arrived, however; nor did it\ncome until after Christ had emerged from the tomb a resurrected,\nimmortalized Personage. For the time being they were charged \"that they\nshould tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.\" Proclamation of Jesus\nas the Messiah, particularly if made by the apostles who were publicly\nknown as His most intimate disciples and associates, or open assumption\nof the Messianic title by Himself, would have aggravated the hostility\nof the rulers, which had already become a grave interference if not an\nactual menace to the Savior's ministry; and seditious uprisings against\nthe political government of Rome might easily have resulted. A yet\ndeeper reason for the secrecy enjoined upon the Twelve appears in the\nfact that the Jewish nation was not prepared to accept their Lord; and\nto ignore Him through lack of certain knowledge involved a lesser degree\nof culpability than would have attached to an unpalliated rejection. The\nparticular mission of the apostles at a time then future was to proclaim\nto all nations Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Christ.\n\nFrom the time of Peter's confession however, Jesus instructed the Twelve\nmore plainly and with greater intimacy concerning the future\ndevelopments of His mission, and particularly as touching His appointed\ndeath. On earlier occasions He had referred in their hearing to the\ncross, and to His approaching death, burial and ascension; but the\nmention in each case was in a measure figurative, and they had\napprehended but imperfectly if at all. Now, however, He began to show,\nand often afterward made plain unto them, \"how that he must go unto\nJerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and\nscribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.\"\n\nPeter was shocked at this unqualified declaration, and, yielding to\nimpulse, remonstrated with Jesus, or, as two of the evangelists state,\n\"began to rebuke him,\" even going so far as to say: \"This shall not be\nunto thee.\"[771] The Lord turned upon him with this sharp reproof: \"Get\nthee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest\nnot the things that be of God, but those that be of men.\" Peter's words\nconstituted an appeal to the human element in Christ's nature; and the\nsensitive feelings of Jesus were wounded by this suggestion of\nunfaithfulness to His trust, coming from the man whom He had so signally\nhonored but a few moments before. Peter saw mainly as men see,\nunderstanding but imperfectly the deeper purposes of God. Though\ndeserved, the rebuke he received was severe. The adjuration, \"Get thee\nbehind me, Satan,\" was identical with that used against the arch-tempter\nhimself, who had sought to beguile Jesus from the path upon which He had\nentered,[772] and the provocation in the two instances was in some\nrespects similar--the temptation to evade sacrifice and suffering,\nthough such was the world's ransom, and to follow a more comfortable\nway.[773] The forceful words of Jesus show the deep emotion that Peter's\nill-considered attempt to counsel if not to tempt his Lord had evoked.\n\nBeside the Twelve, who were immediately about the Lord's person, others\nwere nearby; it appears that even in those remote parts, far removed\nfrom the borders of Galilee--the habitat of a heathen population, with\nwhom, however, many Jews were intermixed--the people gathered around the\nMaster. These He now called together, and to them and the disciples\nsaid: \"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up\nhis cross, and follow me.\" Here the frightful figure of the cross was\nagain made prominent. There was left no shadow of excuse for the thought\nthat devotion to Christ would not mean denial and privation. He who\nwould save his life at the cost of duty, as Peter had just suggested\nthat Christ should do, would surely lose it in a sense worse than that\nof physical death; whereas he who stood willing to lose all, even life\nitself, should find the life that is eternal.\n\nAs evincing the soundness of His teachings, Jesus uttered what has since\nbecome an inspiring aphorism of life: \"For what is a man profited, if he\nshall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man\ngive in exchange for his soul?\" Whosoever is ashamed of Christ because\nof His lowly estate, or through offense at His teachings, shall yet find\nthat the Son of Man, when He comes in the glory of the Father, with\nattending cohorts of angels, will be ashamed of that man. The record of\nthis memorable day in the Savior's life closes with His blessed promise:\n\"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not\ntaste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his\nkingdom.\"[774]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 22.\n\n1. Passover Celebrations Comprized within the Period of Our Lord's\nPublic Ministry.--The dates on which specific acts occurred in the\nministry of Jesus are difficult if not impossible to fix, except in few\ninstances; and as heretofore stated and reiterated, even the order of\nevents is often found to be uncertain. It will be remembered that Jesus\nwas in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover soon after His baptism, and\nthat on the visit referred to He forcibly cleared the temple courts of\ntraffickers and their property. This is known as the _first_ Passover\nduring the public life of Jesus. If the unnamed \"feast of the Jews\"\nreferred to by John (5:1) was a Passover, as many Bible students hold,\nit marked the close of the year following the cleansing the temple; it\nis commonly spoken of and written about as the _second_ Passover in the\ncourse of our Lord's ministry. Then the Passover near which Jesus fed\nthe five thousand (John 6:4) would be the _third_, and would mark the\nexpiration of two years and a fraction since the baptism of Jesus; it\ncertainly marks the beginning of the last year of the Savior's life on\nearth.\n\n2. Ceremonial Ablutions.--The numerous washings required by Jewish\ncustom in the time of Christ were admittedly incident to rabbinism and\n\"the tradition of the elders\" and not in compliance with the Mosaic law.\nUnder certain conditions, successive washings were prescribed, in\nconnection with which we find mention of \"first,\" \"second\" and \"other\"\nwaters, the \"second water\" being necessary to wash away the \"first\nwater,\" which had become defiled by contact with the \"common\" hands; and\nso further with the later waters. Sometimes the hands had to be dipped\nor immersed; at other times they were to be cleansed by pouring, it\nbeing necessary that the water be allowed to run to the wrist or the\nelbow according to the degree of supposed defilement; then again, as the\ndisciples of Rabbi Shammai held, only the finger tips, or the fingers up\nto the knuckles, needed to be wetted under particular circumstances.\nRules for the cleansing of vessels and furniture were detailed and\nexacting; distinct methods applied respectively to vessels of clay,\nwood, and metal. Fear of unwittingly defiling the hands led to many\nextreme precautions. It being known that the Roll of the Law, the Roll\nof the Prophets, and other scriptures, when laid away were sometimes\ntouched, scratched, or even gnawed by mice, there was issued a\nrabbinical decree, that the Holy Scriptures, or any part thereof\ncomprizing as many as eighty-five letters (the shortest section in the\nlaw having just that number), defiled the hands by mere contact. Thus\nthe hands had to be ceremonially cleansed after touching a copy of the\nscriptures, or even a written passage therefrom.\n\nEmancipation from these and \"many such like things\" must have been\nrelief indeed. Escape from this thraldom Jesus freely offered, saying:\n\"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give\nyou rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and\nlowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is\neasy, and my burden is light.\" (Matt. 11:28-30.)\n\n3. \"Corban,\" a Gift.--The law of Moses prescribed rules relating to vows\n(Lev. 27; Numb. 30). \"Upon these rules,\" says the writer in Smith's\n_Bible Dict._, \"the traditionalists enlarged, and laid down that a man\nmight interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, but\nfrom giving to another or receiving from him, some particular object\nwhether of food or any other kind whatsoever. The thing thus interdicted\nwas considered as corban. A person might thus exempt himself from any\ninconvenient obligation under plea of corban. Our Lord denounced\npractises of this sort (Matt. 15:5; Mark 7:11), as annulling the spirit\nof the law.\"\n\nThe revised version, Matt. 15:5 is made to read \"But ye say, Whosoever\nshall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have\nbeen profited by me is given to God; he shall not honor his father (or,\nhis mother).\" The following account of this pernicious custom appears in\nthe _Commentary on The Holy Bible_ edited by Dummelow, \"'Corban,'\nmeaning originally a sacrifice or a gift to God, was used in New\nTestament times as a mere word of vowing, without implying that the\nthing vowed would actually be offered or given to God. Thus a man would\nsay 'Corban to me is wine for such a time,' meaning that he took a vow\nto abstain from wine. Or a man would say to a friend 'Corban to me for\nsuch a time is whatsoever I might be profited by thee,' meaning that for\nsuch a time he vowed that he would receive neither hospitality nor any\nother benefit from his friend. Similarly, if a son said to his father or\nmother, 'Corban is whatsoever thou mightest have profited by me' he took\na vow not to assist his father or mother in any way, however much they\nmight require it. A vow of this kind was held by the scribes to excuse a\nman from the duty of supporting his parents, and thus by their tradition\nthey made void the word of God.\"\n\n4. The \"Dogs\" that Eat of the Crumbs.--The woman's fervid rejoinder,\n\"Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their\nmasters' table,\" (Matt. 15:27), is thus commented upon and paraphrased\nby Trench (_Notes on the Miracles_, p. 271): \"The rendering of her\nanswer in our translation is not, however, altogether satisfactory. For,\nindeed, she accepts the Lord's declaration, not immediately to make\nexception against the conclusion which He draws from it, but to show how\nin that very declaration is involved the granting of her petition.\n'Saidest thou dogs? It is well; I accept the title and the place; for\nthe dogs have a portion of the meal,--not the first, not the children's\nportion, but a portion still,--the crumbs which fall from the master's\ntable. In this very putting of the case, Thou bringest us heathen, Thou\nbringest me, within the circle of the blessings which God, the Great\nHouseholder, is ever dispensing to His family. We also belong to His\nhousehold, though we occupy but the lowest place therein.'\"\n\nThe Dummelow _Commentary_, on Matt. 15:26, reads in part as follows:\n\"The rabbis often spoke of the Gentiles as dogs, e.g. 'He who eats with\nan idolater is like one who eats with a dog.' ... 'The nations of the\nworld are compared to dogs.' 'The holy convocation belongs to you, not\nto the dogs.' Yet Jesus in adopting the contemptuous expression slightly\nsoftens it. He says not 'dogs,' but 'little dogs,' i.e. household,\nfavorite, dogs; and the woman cleverly catches at the expression,\narguing that if the Gentiles are household dogs, then it is only right\nthat they should be fed with the crumbs that fall from their masters'\ntable.\" Edersheim, referring to the original text, says: \"The term means\n'little dogs,' or 'house dogs.'\"\n\n5. Decapolis.--The name means \"the ten cities,\" and was applied to a\nregion of indefinite boundaries lying mostly on the east of Jordan and\nsoutherly from the sea of Galilee. Scythopolis, which Josephus (Wars of\nthe Jews, iii, 9:7) refers to as the largest of the ten cities, was on\nthe west side of the river. There is lack of agreement among historians\nas to the cities comprized under the name. Biblical mention (Matt. 4:25;\nMark 5:20; 7:31) implies a general region rather than a definite area.\n\n6. The Coasts of C\u00e6sarea Philippi.--The term \"coast\" as it appears in\nthe Bible (authorized, or King James version), is used to connote\nboundary, limit, or border, and not distinctively a seashore. (For\nexamples see Exo. 10:4, 14, 19; Josh. 15:1, 4; Judg. 11:20; Matt. 2:16,\netc.) It is applied therefore to inland areas, and frequently occurs as\nindicating a vicinity or neighborhood.\n\nC\u00e6sarea Philippi, a town located, as stated in the text, near Mount\nHermon at the source of the Jordan, had been enlarged and beautified by\nPhilip the tetrarch, and by him was named C\u00e6sarea in honor of the Roman\nemperor. It was called C\u00e6sarea Philippi to distinguish it from the\nalready existing C\u00e6sarea, which was situated on the Mediterranean shore\nof Samaria, and which in later literature came to be known as C\u00e6sarea\nPalestina. C\u00e6sarea Philippi is believed to be identical with the ancient\nBaal Gad (Josh. 11:17) and Baal Hermon (Judg. 3:3). It was known as a\nplace of idolatrous worship, and while under Greek sovereignty was\ncalled Paneas in recognition of the mythological deity Pan. See\nJosephus, Ant. xviii, 2:1; this designation persists in the present\nArabic name of the place, Banias.\n\n7. Simon Peter and the \"Rock\" of Revelation.--Simon the son of Jonas, on\nthe occasion of his first recorded interview with Jesus had received\nfrom the Lord's lips the distinguishing name-title \"Peter,\" or in the\nAramaic tongue \"Cephas,\" the English equivalent of which is \"a rock\" or\n\"a stone\" (John 1:42; see also page 140 herein). The name was confirmed\nupon the apostle on the occasion now under consideration (Matt. 16:18).\nJesus said to him \"thou art Peter,\" adding, \"and upon this rock I will\nbuild my church.\" In the course of the general apostasy subsequent to\nthe ancient apostolic ministry, the Bishop of Rome laid claim to supreme\nauthority as the alleged lineal successor to Peter; and an erroneous\ndoctrine gained currency to the effect that Peter was the \"rock\" upon\nwhich the Church of Christ was founded. Detailed consideration of this\ninconsistent and infamous claim cannot be undertaken here; it is\nsufficient to say that a church founded or dependent upon Peter or any\nother man would be Peter's or the other man's church, and not the Church\nof Jesus Christ. (See _The Great Apostasy_, chap 9; also B. of M., 3\nNephi 27:1-8; also chapter 40 herein). That upon Peter rested the\nresponsibility of presidency in the ministry, after the ascension of the\nresurrected Christ, is not questioned; but that he was, even typically,\nthe foundation upon which the Church was built, is at once unscriptural\nand untrue. The Church of Jesus Christ must authoritatively bear His\nname, and be guided by revelation, direct and continuous, as the\nconditions of its building require. Revelation from God to His servants\ninvested with the Holy Priesthood through authorized ordination as was\nPeter, is the impregnable \"rock\" upon which the Church is built. (See\n_Articles of Faith_, xvi,--\"Revelation.\")\n\n8. Christ's Rebuke to Peter.--In addressing Peter as \"Satan,\" Jesus was\nobviously using a forceful figure of speech, and not a literal\ndesignation; for Satan is a distinct personage, Lucifer, that fallen,\nunembodied son of the morning (see page 7); and certainly Peter was not\nhe. In his remonstrance or \"rebuke\" addressed to Jesus, Peter was really\ncounseling what Satan had before attempted to induce Christ to do, or\ntempting, as Satan himself had tempted. The command, \"Get thee behind\nme, Satan,\" as directed to Peter, is rendered in English by some\nauthorities \"Get thee behind me, tempter.\" The essential meaning\nattached to both Hebrew and Greek originals for our word \"Satan\" is that\nof an adversary, or \"one who places himself in another's way and thus\nopposes him.\" (Zenos.) The expression \"Thou art an offense unto me\" is\nadmittedly a less literal translation than \"Thou art a stumbling-block\nunto me.\" The man whom Jesus had addressed as Peter--\"the rock,\" was now\nlikened to a stone in the path, over which the unwary might stumble.\n\n9. Some to Live Until Christ Returns.--The Savior's declaration to the\napostles and others in the neighborhood of C\u00e6sarea Philippi, \"Verily I\nsay unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of\ndeath, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom,\" (Matt.\n16:28; compare Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27), has occasioned great and diverse\ncomment. The event referred to, that of the Son of Man coming in the\nglory of His Father attended by the angels, is yet future. At least a\npartial fulfilment of the prediction is presented in the prolongation of\nthe life of John the apostle, who was there present, and who yet lives\nin the flesh according to his desire (John 21:20-24; see further B. of\nM., 3 Nephi 28:1-6; Doc. and Cov. Sec. 7).\n\n10. \"Thou Art the Christ.\"--Peter's solemn and soulful confession of\nJesus as the Christ is worded differently by each of the three\nsynoptists. To many the most expressive version is that of Luke: \"The\nChrist of God.\" On earlier occasions, some or all of the Twelve had\nacknowledged Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, e.g. following the\nmiracle of walking upon the sea (Matt. 14:33), and again, after the\ncrucial sermon at Capernaum (John 6:69); but it is evident that Peter's\nupwelling and reverential confession in answer to the Lord's question\n\"But whom say ye that I am?\" had a significance, greater in assurance\nand more exalted in kind, than had any prior expression of his\nconception concerning his Lord. Yet even the conviction given through\ndirect revelation (Matt. 16:17) did not at the time comprize a\ncomprehensive knowledge of the Savior's mission. Indeed, a fulness of\nunderstanding and assurance came to the apostles after the Lord's\nresurrection (compare Romans 1:4). Nevertheless, Peter's testimony in\nthe land of C\u00e6sarea Philippi evidences a very exalted attainment. At\nthat stage of the Savior's ministry, the public proclamation of His\ndivine status would have been as the casting of pearls before swine\n(Matt. 7:6); therefore the Lord instructed the apostles that at that\ntime \"they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[736] John 6:4. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[737] Mark 12:37.\n\n[738] Matt. 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13.\n\n[739] As the Oxford marginal note shows \"beds\" is a more literal\nrendering than \"tables\", the couches upon which the eaters reclined at\ntable being meant. See page 261.\n\n[740] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[741] Mark 7:6, 7; see also Matt. 15:7-9; Isa. 29:13; compare the words\nof the resurrected Christ to the prophet Joseph Smith, in the present\ndispensation, P. of G.P., Joseph Smith, 2:19.\n\n[742] Exo. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; Exo. 21:17; Lev. 20:9.\n\n[743] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[744] Matt. 15:10-20; compare Mark 7:14-23.\n\n[745] Matt. 11:6; Luke 7:23; pages 255 and 274 herein.\n\n[746] Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:21-30.\n\n[747] Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17.\n\n[748] See marginal reading in Oxford and Bagster Bibles; see also Note\n2, page 345.\n\n[749] Matt. 10:5, 6; see also page 328 herein.\n\n[750] Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8; 16:9; Job 30:1;\nMatt. 7:6; Philip 3:2; Rev. 22:15.\n\n[751] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[752] Luke 18:1-8. Page 436.\n\n[753] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15.\n\n[754] Acts 3:25, 26; 13:46-48; Rom. 15:8.\n\n[755] Mark 7:31-37; compare Matt. 15:29-31.\n\n[756] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[757] Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9.\n\n[758] Matt. 15:29; 16:1-5; Mark 8:10-13.\n\n[759] John 2:18; 6:30; Matt. 12:38.\n\n[760] Matt. 4:6, 7; Luke 4:9-12.\n\n[761] Matt. 16:2-4; compare 12:38-41; pages 155-157 herein.\n\n[762] Matt. 16:6-12; Mark 8:14-21; compare Luke 12:1.\n\n[763] Page 68.\n\n[764] Matt. 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21. Note 10, end of\nchapter.\n\n[765] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[766] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[767] Compare Matt. 7:24, 25.\n\n[768] John 6:46; compare verses 37, 39, 40.\n\n[769] See Isa. 22:22; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; compare Doc. and Cov.\n6:28; 7:7; 27:5, 6, 9; 28:7; 42:69; 84:26; etc.\n\n[770] Acts 1:15-26; 2:14-40; chap. 10, compare with 15:7.\n\n[771] Matt. 16:22, 23; Mark 8:32, 33.\n\n[772] Luke 4:8.\n\n[773] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[774] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 23.\n\nTHE TRANSFIGURATION.\n\n\nOf the week following the events last considered, no record is found in\nthe Gospels. We may safely assume that the time was devoted, in part at\nleast, to the further instruction of the Twelve respecting the rapidly\napproaching consummation of the Savior's mission on earth, the awful\ncircumstances of which the apostles were loath to believe possible. When\nthe week had passed[775] Jesus took Peter, James, and John[776] and with\nthem ascended a high mountain, where they would be reasonably safe from\nhuman intrusion.[777] There the three apostles witnessed a heavenly\nmanifestation, which stands without parallel in history; in our Bible\ncaptions it is known as the Transfiguration of Christ.[778]\n\nOne purpose of the Lord's retirement was that of prayer, and a\ntranscendent investiture of glory came upon Him as He prayed. The\napostles had fallen asleep, but were awakened by the surpassing splendor\nof the scene, and gazed with reverent awe upon their glorified Lord.\n\"The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white\nand glistering.\" His garments, though made of earth-woven fabric,\n\"became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can\nwhite them;\" \"and his face did shine as the sun.\" Thus was Jesus\ntransfigured before the three privileged witnesses.\n\nWith Him were two other personages, who also were in a state of\nglorified radiance, and who conversed with the Lord. These, as the\napostles learned by means not stated though probably as gathered from\nthe conversation in progress, were Moses and Elias, or more literally to\nus, Elijah; and the subject of their conference with Christ was \"his\ndecease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.\" As the prophet\nvisitants were about to depart, \"Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is\ngood for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee,\nand one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.\"\nUndoubtedly Peter and his fellow apostles were bewildered, \"sore afraid\"\nindeed; and this condition may explain the suggestion respecting the\nthree tabernacles. \"He wist not what to say;\" yet, though his remark\nappears confused and obscure, it becomes somewhat plainer when we\nremember that, at the annual feast of Tabernacles, it was customary to\nerect a little bower, or booth of wattled boughs, for each individual\nworshiper, into which he might retire for devotion. So far as there was\na purpose in Peter's proposition, it seems to have been that of delaying\nthe departure of the visitants.\n\nThe sublime and awful solemnity of the occasion had not yet reached its\nclimax. Even as Peter spake, \"behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them:\nand behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son,\nin whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.\" It was Elohim,[779] the Eternal\nFather, who spake; and at the sound of that voice of supreme Majesty,\nthe apostles fell prostrate. Jesus came and touched them, saying,\n\"Arise, and be not afraid.\" When they looked they saw that again they\nwere alone with Him.\n\nThe impression made upon the three apostles by this manifestation was\none never to be forgotten; but they were expressly charged to speak of\nit to no man until after the Savior had risen from the dead. They were\npuzzled as to the significance of the Lord's reference to His\nprospective rising from the dead. They had heard with great sorrow, and\nreluctantly they were being brought to understand it to be an awful\ncertainty, that their beloved Master was to \"suffer many things, and be\nrejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be\nkilled.\"[780] Such had been declared to them before, in language devoid\nof ambiguity and admitting of no figurative construction; and with equal\nplainness they had been told that Jesus would rise again; but of this\nlatter eventuality they had but dim comprehension. The present\nreiteration of these teachings seems to have left the three with no\nclearer understanding of their Lord's resurrection from the dead than\nthey had before. They seem to have had no definite conception as to what\nwas meant by a resurrection; \"And they kept that saying with themselves,\nquestioning one with another what the rising from the dead should\nmean.\"[781]\n\nThe comprehensiveness of the Lord's injunction, that until after His\nrising from the dead they tell no man of their experiences on the mount,\nprohibited them from informing even their fellows of the Twelve. Later,\nafter the Lord had ascended to His glory, Peter testified to the Church\nof the wondrous experience, in this forceful way: \"For we have not\nfollowed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power\nand coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his\nmajesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when\nthere came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my\nbeloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from\nheaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.\"[782] And\nJohn, reverently confessing before the world the divinity of the Word,\nthe Son of God who had been made flesh to dwell among men, solemnly\naffirmed: \"And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of\nthe Father, full of grace and truth.\"[783]\n\nThe divine purpose as shown forth in the Transfiguration may be as\nincomprehensible to the human mind as is a full conception of the\nattendant splendor from verbal description; some features of the results\nachieved are apparent, however. Unto Christ the manifestation was\nstrengthening and encouraging. The prospect of the experiences\nimmediately ahead must naturally have been depressing and disheartening\nin the extreme. In faithfully treading the path of His life's work, He\nhad reached the verge of the valley of the shadow of death; and the\nhuman part of His nature called for refreshing. As angels had been sent\nto minister unto Him after the trying scenes of the forty days' fast and\nthe direct temptation of Satan,[784] and as, in the agonizing hour of\nHis bloody sweat, He was to be sustained anew by angelic ministry,[785]\nso at this critical and crucial period, the beginning of the end,\nvisitants from the unseen world came to comfort and support Him. What of\nactual communication passed in the conference of Jesus with Moses and\nElijah is not of full record in the New Testament Gospels.\n\nThe voice of His Father, to whom He was the Firstborn in the\nspirit-world, and the Only Begotten in the flesh, was of supreme\nassurance; yet that voice had been addressed to the three apostles\nrather than to Jesus, who had already received the Father's\nacknowledgment and attestation on the occasion of His baptism. The\nfullest version of the Father's words to Peter, James, and John is that\nrecorded by Matthew: \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;\nhear ye him.\" Aside from the proclamation of the Son's divine nature,\nthe Father's words were otherwise decisive and portentous. Moses, the\npromulgator of the law, and Elijah the representative of the prophets\nand especially distinguished among them as the one who had not\ndied,[786] had been seen ministering unto Jesus and subservient to Him.\nThe fulfillment of the law and the superseding of the prophets by the\nMessiah was attested in the command--Hear ye _Him_. A new dispensation\nhad been established, that of the gospel, for which the law and the\nprophets had been but preparatory. The apostles were to be guided\nneither by Moses nor Elijah, but by _Him_, their Lord, Jesus the Christ.\n\nThe three selected apostles, \"the Man of Rock and the Sons of Thunder\"\nhad seen the Lord in glory; and they marveled that such a thing could be\nat that time, since as they had interpreted the scriptures, it had been\npredicted that Elijah should precede the Messiah's triumphal advent. As\nthey wended their way down the mountain-side, they asked the\nMaster:[787] \"Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?\"\nJesus confirmed the prophecy that Elias should first come, that is,\nbefore the Lord's advent in glory, which event they had in mind; \"But,\"\nHe added, \"I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him\nnot, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also\nthe Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he\nspake unto them of John the Baptist.\" That John the Baptist would\nofficiate \"in the spirit and power of Elias,\" as the forerunner of the\nChrist, had been announced by the angel Gabriel to Zacharias,[788]\nbefore the Baptist's birth; and that John was _that_ particular Elias\nhad been shown by Jesus in His memorable tribute to the Baptist's\nfidelity and greatness. That His words would not be generally accepted\nwith understanding is evidenced by the context; Jesus, on that occasion,\nhad said: \"And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to\ncome.\"[789]\n\nIt is not possible that Jesus could have meant that John was the same\nindividual as Elijah; nor could the people have so understood His words,\nsince the false doctrine of transmigration or reincarnation of spirits\nwas repudiated by the Jews.[790] The seeming difficulty is removed when\nwe consider that, as the name appears in the New Testament, \"Elias\" is\nused for \"Elijah,\"[791] with no attempt at distinction between Elijah\nthe Tishbite, and any other person known as Elias. Gabriel's declaration\nthat the then unborn John should manifest \"the spirit and power of\nElias\" indicates that \"Elias\" is a title of office; every restorer,\nforerunner, or one sent of God to prepare the way for greater\ndevelopments in the gospel plan, is an Elias. The appellative \"Elias\" is\nin fact both a personal name and a title.\n\nIn the present dispensation both the ancient Elias, who belonged to the\nAbrahamic dispensation and in the spirit of whose office many have\nofficiated in different periods, and also the prophet Elijah, have\nappeared in person and have conferred their particular and separate\nauthority upon latter-day bearers of the Holy Priesthood, and the keys\nof the powers exercized by them while on earth are today inherent in the\nrestored Church of Jesus Christ. The authority of Elias is inferior to\nthat of Elijah, the first being a function of the Lesser or Aaronic\norder of Priesthood, while the latter belongs to the Higher or\nMelchizedek Priesthood. Malachi's prediction, that before \"the great and\ndreadful day of the Lord\" Elijah the prophet would be sent to earth to\n\"turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the\nchildren to their fathers,\"[792] did not reach fulfilment in the mission\nof John the Baptist, nor in that of any other \"Elias\";[793] its complete\nrealization was inaugurated on the third day of April, 1836, when Elijah\nappeared in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, and committed to Joseph Smith\nand Oliver Cowdery the keys of the authority theretofore vested in\nhimself. \"The great and dreadful day of the Lord\" was not the meridian\nof time; that awful though blessed period of consummation is yet future,\nbut \"near, even at the doors.\"[794]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 23.\n\n1. Interval Between Time of Peter's Confession and that of the\nTransfiguration.--Both Matthew (17:1) and Mark (9:2) state that the\nTransfiguration occurred \"after six days\" following the time of Peter's\ngreat confession that Jesus was the Christ; while Luke (9:28) notes an\ninterval of \"about an eight days.\" It is probable that the six-day\nperiod was meant to be exclusive of the day on which the earlier events\nhad occurred and of that on which Jesus and the three apostles retired\nto the mountain; and that Luke's \"about an eight days\" was made to\ninclude these two days. There is here no ground for a claim of\ndiscrepancy.\n\n2. Peter, James, and John who were selected from among the Twelve as the\nonly earthly witnesses of the transfiguration of Christ, had been\nsimilarly chosen as witnesses of a special manifestation, that of the\nraising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51); and, later,\nthe same three were the sole witnesses of our Lord's night agony in\nGethsemane (Matt. 26:37; Mark 14:33).\n\n3. Place of the Transfiguration.--The mountain on which the\nTransfiguration occurred is neither named nor otherwise indicated by the\nGospel-writers in such a way as to admit of its positive identification.\nMount Tabor, in Galilee, has long been held by tradition as the site,\nand in the sixth century three churches were erected on its plateau-like\nsummit, possibly in commemoration of Peter's desire to make three\ntabernacles or booths, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Later a\nmonastery was built there. Nevertheless, Mt. Tabor is now rejected by\ninvestigators, and Mt. Hermon is generally regarded as the place. Hermon\nstands near the northerly limits of Palestine, just beyond C\u00e6sarea\nPhilippi, where Jesus is known to have been a week before the\nTransfiguration. Mark (9:30) distinctly tells us that after His descent\nfrom the mount, Jesus and the apostles departed and went through\nGalilee. Weight of evidence is in favor of Hermon as the Mount of\nTransfiguration, though nothing that may be called decisive is known in\nthe matter.\n\n4. The Names \"Elias\" and \"Elijah.\"--The following statement which\nappears in Smith's _Bible Dictionary_ is supported by authorities in\ngeneral: \"'Elias'\" is \"the Greek and Latin form of 'Elijah' given in the\nAuthorized Version of the Apocrypha and New Testament.\"\n\n5. \"The Spirit and Power of Elias.\"--That John the Baptist, in his\ncapacity as a restorer, a forerunner, or as one sent to prepare the way\nfor a work greater than his own, did officiate as an \"Elias\" is attested\nby both ancient and latter-day scripture. Through him water baptism for\nthe remission of sins was preached and administered, and the higher\nbaptism, that of the Spirit, was made possible. True to his mission, he\nhas come in the last dispensation, and has restored by ordination the\nPriesthood of Aaron, which has authority to baptize. He thus prepared\nthe way for the vicarious labor of baptism for the dead, the authority\nfor which was restored by Elijah, (see page 149 herein), and which is\npreeminently the work by which the children and the fathers shall be\nunited in an eternal bond.\n\nOn the 10th of March, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith gave the following\nexposition of the power of Elias as compared with higher authority: \"The\nspirit of Elias is first, Elijah second, and Messiah last. Elias is a\nforerunner to prepare the way, and the spirit and power of Elijah is to\ncome after, holding the keys of power, building the temple to the\ncap-stone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon the\nhouse of Israel, and making all things ready; then Messiah comes to His\ntemple, which is last of all.\"\n\n\"Messiah is above the spirit and power of Elijah, for He made the world,\nand was that spiritual rock unto Moses in the wilderness. Elijah was to\ncome and prepare the way and build up the kingdom before the coming of\nthe great day of the Lord, although the spirit of Elias might begin\nit.\"--_Hist. of the Church_, under date named.\n\n6. Mention of the Lord's Approaching \"Decease.\"--Of the three\nsynoptists, Luke alone makes even brief mention of the matter upon which\nMoses and Elijah conversed with the Lord at the Transfiguration. The\nrecord states that the visitants, who appeared in glory, \"spake of his\ndecease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem\" (Luke 9:31). It is\nsignificant that the _decease_, which the Lord should _accomplish_, not\nthe _death_ that He should _suffer_ or _die_, was the subject of that\nexalted communion. The Greek word of which \"decease\" appears as the\nEnglish equivalent in many of the MSS. of the Gospels, is one connoting\n\"exodus,\" or \"departure,\" and the word occurring in other early versions\nsignifies glory. So also the Greek original of \"accomplish,\" in the\naccount of the Transfiguration, connotes the successful filling out or\ncompletion of a specific undertaking, and not distinctively the act of\ndying. Both the letter of the record and the spirit in which the\nrecorder wrote indicate that Moses and Elijah conversed with their Lord\non the glorious consummation of His mission in mortality--a consummation\nrecognized in the law (personified in Moses) and the prophets\n(represented by Elijah)--and an event of supreme import, determining the\nfulfilment of both the law and the prophets, and the glorious\ninauguration of a new and higher order as part of the divine plan. The\n_decease_ that the Savior was then so soon to _accomplish_ was the\nvoluntary surrender of His life in fulfilment of a purpose at once\nexalted and foreordained, not a _death_ by which He would passively\n_die_ through conditions beyond His control. (See pp. 418, and 662).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[775] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[776] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[777] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[778] Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36.\n\n[779] Page 38.\n\n[780] Mark 8:31. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[781] Mark 9:10.\n\n[782] 2 Peter 1:16-18.\n\n[783] John 1:14.\n\n[784] Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13.\n\n[785] Luke 22:43; compare John 12:27-28.\n\n[786] 2 Kings 2:11.\n\n[787] Matt. 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13.\n\n[788] Luke 1:17; pages 77 and 257 herein.\n\n[789] Matt. 11:14.\n\n[790] Edersheim, \"Life and Times of Jesus,\" vol. ii, p. 79.\n\n[791] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[792] Mal. 4:5, 6; see page 149 herein.\n\n[793] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[794] Doc. and Cov. 110:13-16. See chapter 41, herein.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 24.\n\nFROM SUNSHINE TO SHADOW.\n\n\nOur Lord's descent from the holy heights[795] of the Mount of\nTransfiguration was more than a physical return from greater to lesser\naltitudes; it was a passing from sunshine into shadow, from the\neffulgent glory of heaven to the mists of worldly passions and human\nunbelief; it was the beginning of His rapid descent into the valley of\nhumiliation. From lofty converse with divinely-appointed ministers, from\nsupreme communion with His Father and God, Jesus came down to a scene of\ndisheartening confusion and a spectacle of demonized dominion before\nwhich even His apostles stood in impotent despair. To His sensitive and\nsinless soul the contrast must have brought superhuman anguish; even to\nus who read the brief account thereof it is appalling.\n\n\nHEALING OF YOUTHFUL DEMONIAC.\n\nJesus and the three apostles returned from the mount on the morrow\nfollowing the Transfiguration;[796] this fact suggests the assumption\nthat the glorious manifestation had occurred during the night. At or\nnear the base of the mountain the party found the other apostles, and\nwith them a multitude of people, including some scribes or rabbis.[797]\nThere was evidence of disputation and disturbance amongst the crowd; and\nplainly the apostles were on the defensive. At the unexpected approach\nof Jesus many of the people ran to meet Him with respectful salutations.\nOf the contentious scribes He asked: \"What question ye with them?\" thus\nassuming the burden of the dispute, whatever it might be, and so\nrelieving the distressed disciples from further active participation.\nThe scribes remained silent; their courage had vanished when the Master\nappeared. A man, \"one of the multitude,\" gave, though indirectly, the\nanswer. \"Master,\" said he, kneeling at the feet of Christ, \"I have\nbrought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he\ntaketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth,\nand pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him\nout; and they could not.\"\n\nThe disciples' failure to heal the stricken youth had evidently brought\nupon them hostile criticism, taunts and ridicule from the unbelieving\nscribes; and their discomfiture must have been intensified by the\nthought that through them doubt had been cast upon the authority and\npower of their Lord. Pained in spirit at this--another instance of\ndearth of faith and consequent lack of power among His chosen and\nordained servants--Jesus uttered an exclamation of intense sorrow: \"O\nfaithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I\nsuffer you?\" These words, in which there is evident reproof, however\nmild and pitying it may be, were addressed primarily to the apostles;\nwhether exclusively so or to them and others is of minor importance. As\nJesus directed, the afflicted lad was brought nearer; and the tormenting\ndemon, finding himself in the Master's presence, threw his youthful\nvictim into a terrible paroxysm, so that the boy fell to the ground and\nwallowed in convulsions, the while frothing and foaming at the mouth.\nWith calm deliberation, which contrasted strongly with the eager\nimpatience of the distracted parent, Jesus inquired as to when the\nmalady had first befallen the lad. \"Of a child,\" answered the father,\nadding, \"And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the\nwaters, to destroy him.\" With pathetic eagerness he implored, \"If thou\ncanst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.\" The man spoke of\nhis son's affliction as though shared by himself. \"Help us,\" was his\nprayer.\n\nTo this qualifying expression \"If thou canst do anything,\" which implied\na measure of uncertainty as to the ability of the Master to grant what\nhe asked, and this perhaps as in part a result of the failure of the\napostles, Jesus replied: \"If thou canst believe\"; and added, \"all things\nare possible to him that believeth.\" The man's understanding was\nenlightened; up to that moment he had thought that all depended upon\nJesus; he now saw that the issue rested largely with himself. It is\nnoteworthy that the Lord specified belief rather than faith as the\ncondition essential to the case. The man was evidently trustful, and\nassuredly fervent in his hope that Jesus could help; but it is doubtful\nthat he knew what faith really meant. He was receptive and eagerly\nteachable, however, and the Lord strengthened his feeble and uncertain\nbelief. The encouraging explanation of the real need stimulated him to a\nmore abounding trust. Weeping in an agony of hope he cried out: \"Lord, I\nbelieve;\" and then, realizing the darkness of error from which he was\njust beginning to emerge, he added penitently \"help thou mine unbelief\n\"[798]\n\nLooking compassionately upon the writhing sufferer at His feet, Jesus\nrebuked the demon, thus: \"Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come\nout of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent\nhim sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that\nmany said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him\nup; and he arose;\" and as Luke adds, \"and delivered him again to his\nfather.\" The permanency of the cure was assured by the express command\nthat the evil spirit enter no more into the lad;[799] it was no relief\nfrom that present attack alone; the healing was permanent.\n\nThe people were amazed at the power of God manifested in the miracle;\nand the apostles who had tried and failed to subdue the evil spirit were\ndisturbed. While on their mission, though away from their Master's\nhelpful presence, they had successfully rebuked and cast out evil\nspirits as they had received special power and commission to do,[800]\nbut now, during His absence of a day they had found themselves unable.\nWhen they had retired to the house, they asked of Jesus, \"Why could not\nwe cast him out?\" The reply was: \"Because of your unbelief;\" and in\nfurther explanation the Lord said, \"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but\nby prayer and fasting.\"[801]\n\nHereby we learn that the achievements possible to faith are limited or\nconditioned by the genuineness, the purity, the unmixed quality of that\nfaith. \"O ye of little faith;\" \"Where is your faith?\" and \"Wherefore\ndidst thou doubt?\"[802] are forms of admonitory reproof that had been\nrepeatedly addressed to the apostles by the Lord. The possibilities of\nfaith were now thus further affirmed: \"Verily I say unto you, If ye have\nfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,\nRemove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be\nimpossible unto you.\"[803] The comparison between effective faith and a\ngrain of mustard seed is one of quality rather than of quantity; it\nconnotes living, virile faith, like unto the seed, however small, from\nwhich a great plant may spring,[804] in contrast with a lifeless,\nartificial imitation, however prominent or demonstrative.\n\n\nTHE LORD'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION AGAIN PREDICTED.[805]\n\nFrom the locality whereat the last miracle was wrought, Jesus departed\nwith the Twelve, and passed through Galilee toward Capernaum. It is\nprobable that they traveled by the less frequented roads, as He desired\nthat His return should not be publicly known. He had gone into\ncomparative retirement for a season, primarily it seems in quest of\nopportunity to more thoroughly instruct the apostles in their\npreparation for the work, which within a few months they would be left\nto carry on without His bodily companionship. They had solemnly\ntestified that they knew Him to be the Christ; to them therefore He\ncould impart much that the people in general were wholly unprepared to\nreceive. The particular theme of His special and advanced instruction to\nthe Twelve was that of His approaching death and resurrection; and this\nwas dwelt upon again and again, for they were slow or unwilling to\ncomprehend.\n\n\"Let these sayings sink down into your ears\" was His forceful prelude on\nthis occasion, in Galilee. Then followed the reiterated prediction,\nspoken in part in the present tense as though already begun in\nfulfilment: \"The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they\nshall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third\nday.\" We read with some surprize that the apostles still failed to\nunderstand. Luke's comment is: \"But they understood not this saying, and\nit was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask\nhim of that saying.\" The thought of what the Lord's words might mean,\neven in its faintest outline, was terrifying to those devoted men; and\ntheir failure to comprehend was in part due to the fact that the human\nmind is loath to search deeply into anything it desires not to believe.\n\n\nTHE TRIBUTE MONEY--SUPPLIED BY A MIRACLE.[806]\n\nJesus and His followers were again in Capernaum. There Peter was\napproached by a collector of the temple tax, who asked: \"Doth not your\nMaster pay tribute?\"[807] Peter answered \"Yes.\" It is interesting to\nfind that the inquiry was made of Peter and not directly of Jesus; this\ncircumstance may be indicative of the respect in which the Lord was held\nby the people at large, and may suggest the possibility of doubt in the\ncollector's mind as to whether Jesus was amenable to the tax, since\npriests and rabbis generally claimed exemption.\n\nThe annual capitation tax here referred to amounted to half a shekel or\na didrachm, corresponding to about thirty-three cents in our money; and\nthis had been required of every male adult in Israel since the days of\nthe exodus; though, during the period of captivity the requirement had\nbeen modified.[808] This tribute, as prescribed through Moses, was\noriginally known as \"atonement money,\" and its payment was in the nature\nof a sacrifice to accompany supplication for ransom from the effects of\nindividual sin. At the time of Christ the annual contribution was\nusually collected between early March and the Passover. If Jesus was\nsubject to this tax, He was at this time several weeks in arrears.\n\nThe conversation between Peter and the tax-collector had occurred\noutside the house. When Peter entered, and was about to inform the\nMaster concerning the interview, Jesus forestalled him, saying: \"What\nthinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or\ntribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him,\nOf strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.\"\n\nPeter must have seen the inconsistency of expecting Jesus, the\nacknowledged Messiah, to pay atonement money, or a tax for temple\nmaintenance, inasmuch as the temple was the House of God, and Jesus was\nthe Son of God, and particularly since even earthly princes were\nexempted from capitation dues. Peter's embarrassment over his\ninconsiderate boldness, in pledging payment for his Master without first\nconsulting Him, was relieved however by Jesus, who said:\n\"Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and\ncast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou\nhast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and\ngive unto them for me and thee.\"\n\nThe money was to be paid, not because it could be rightfully demanded of\nJesus, but lest non-payment give offense and furnish to His opponents\nfurther excuse for complaint. The \"piece of money,\" which Jesus said\nPeter would find in the mouth of the first fish that took his bait, is\nmore correctly designated by the literal translation \"stater,\"[809]\nindicating a silver coin equivalent to a shekel, or two didrachms, and\ntherefore the exact amount of the tax for two persons. \"That take, and\ngive unto them for me and thee\" said Jesus. It is notable that He did\nnot say \"for us.\" In His associations with men, even with the Twelve,\nwho of all were nearest and dearest to Him, our Lord always maintained\nHis separate and unique status, in every instance making the fact\napparent that He was essentially different from other men. This is\nillustrated by His expressions \"My Father and your Father,\" \"My God and\nyour God,\"[810] instead of our Father and our God. He reverently\nacknowledged that He was the Son of God in a literal sense that did not\napply to any other being.\n\nWhile the circumstances of the finding of the stater in the fish are not\ndetailed, and the actual accomplishment of the miracle is not positively\nrecorded, we cannot doubt that what Jesus had promised was realized, as\notherwise there would appear no reason for introducing the incident into\nthe Gospel narrative. The miracle is without a parallel or even a\nremotely analogous instance. We need not assume that the stater was\nother than an ordinary coin that had fallen into the water, nor that it\nhad been taken by the fish in any unusual way. Nevertheless, the\nknowledge that there was in the lake a fish having a coin in its gullet,\nthat the coin was of the denomination specified, and that that\nparticular fish would rise, and be the first to rise to Peter's hook, is\nas incomprehensible to man's finite understanding as are the means by\nwhich any of Christ's miracles were wrought. The Lord Jesus held and\nholds dominion over the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, for by\nHis word and power were they made.\n\nThe Lord's purpose in so miraculously supplying the money should be\nstudiously considered. The assumption that superhuman power had to be\ninvoked because of a supposed condition of extreme poverty on the part\nof Jesus and Peter is unwarranted. Even if Jesus and His companions had\nbeen actually penniless, Peter and his fellow fishermen could easily\nhave cast their net, and, with ordinary success have obtained fish\nenough to sell for the needed amount. Moreover, we find no instance of a\nmiracle wrought by the Lord for personal gain or relief of His own need,\nhowever pressing. It appears probable, that by the means employed for\nobtaining the money, Jesus intentionally emphasized His exceptional\nreasons for redeeming Peter's pledge that the tax would be paid. The\nJews, who did not know Jesus as the Messiah, but only as a Teacher of\nsuperior ability and a Man of unusual power, might have taken offense\nhad He refused to pay the tribute required of every Jew. On the other\nhand, to the apostles and particularly to Peter who had been the\nmouth-piece of all in the great confession, the payment of the tax in\nordinary course and without explanation by Jesus might have appeared as\nan admission that He was subject to the temple, and therefore less than\nHe had claimed and less than they had confessed Him to be. His\ncatechization of Peter had clearly demonstrated that He maintained His\nright as the King's Son, and yet would condescend to voluntarily give\nwhat could not be righteously demanded. Then, in conclusive\ndemonstration of His exalted status, He provided the money by the\nutilization of knowledge such as no other man possessed.\n\n\nAS A LITTLE CHILD.[811]\n\nOn the way to Capernaum the apostles had questioned among themselves, as\nthey supposed beyond the Master's hearing; questioning had led to\nargument, and argument to disputation. The matter about which they were\nso greatly concerned was as to who among them should be the greatest in\nthe kingdom of heaven. The testimony they had received convinced them\nbeyond all doubt, that Jesus was the long-awaited Christ, and this had\nbeen supplemented and confirmed by His unqualified acknowledgment of His\nMessianic dignity. With minds still tinctured by the traditional\nexpectation of the Messiah as both spiritual Lord and temporal King, and\nremembering some of the Master's frequent references to His kingdom and\nthe blessed state of those who belonged thereto, and furthermore\nrealizing that His recent utterances indicated a near crisis or climax\nin His ministry, they surrendered themselves to the selfish\ncontemplation of their prospective stations in the new kingdom, and the\nparticular offices of trust, honor, and emolument each most desired. Who\nof them was to be prime minister; who would be chancellor, who the\ncommander of the troops? Personal ambition had already engendered\njealousy in their hearts.\n\nWhen they were together with Jesus in the house at Capernaum, the\nsubject was brought up again. Mark tells us that Jesus asked: \"What was\nit that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?\" and that they answered\nnot, because, as may be inferred, they were ashamed. From Matthew's\nrecord it may be understood that the apostles submitted the question for\nthe Master's decision. The apparent difference of circumstance is\nunimportant; both accounts are correct; Christ's question to them may\nhave eventually brought out their questions to Him. Jesus, comprehending\ntheir thoughts and knowing their unenlightened state of mind on the\nmatter that troubled them, gave them an illustrated lesson. Calling a\nlittle child, whom He lovingly took into His arm, He said: \"Verily I say\nunto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye\nshall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall\nhumble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom\nof heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name\nreceiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which\nbelieve in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about\nhis neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.\" With this\nlesson we may profitably associate a later teaching, that little\nchildren are typical of the kingdom of heaven.[812]\n\nEven the apostles were in need of conversion;[813] respecting the matter\nat issue their hearts were turned, partly at least, from God and His\nkingdom. They had to learn that genuine humility is an attribute\nessential to citizenship in the community of the blessed; and that the\ndegree of humility conditions whatsoever there is akin to rank in the\nkingdom; for therein the humblest shall be greatest.\n\nChrist would not have had His chosen representatives become childish;\nfar from it, they had to be men of courage, fortitude, and force; but He\nwould have them become childlike. The distinction is important. Those\nwho belong to Christ must become like children in obedience,\ntruthfulness, trustfulness, purity, humility and faith. The child is an\nartless, natural, trusting believer; the childish one is careless,\nfoolish, and neglectful. In contrasting these characteristics, note the\ncounsel of Paul: \"Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in\nmalice be ye children, but in understanding be men.\"[814] Children as\nsuch, and children as types of adults who are true believers, are\nclosely associated in this lesson. Whosoever shall offend, that is cause\nto stumble or go astray, one such child of Christ, incurs guilt so great\nthat it would have been better for him had he met death even by violence\nbefore he had so sinned.\n\nDwelling upon offenses, or causes of stumbling, the Lord continued: \"Woe\nunto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences\ncome; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!\" Then, repeating\nsome of the precious truths embodied in His memorable Sermon on the\nMount,[815] He urged the overcoming of evil propensities whatever the\nsacrifice. As it is better that a man undergo surgical treatment though\nhe lose thereby a hand, a foot, or an eye, than that his whole body be\ninvolved and his life forfeited, so is it commended that he cut off,\ntear away, or root out from his soul the passions of evil, which, if\nsuffered to remain shall surely bring him under condemnation. In that\nstate his conscience shall gnaw as an undying worm, and his remorse\nshall be as a fire that cannot be quenched. Every human soul shall be\ntested as by fire; and as the flesh of the altar sacrifices had to be\nseasoned with salt, as a type of preservation from corruption,[816] so\nalso the soul must receive the saving salt of the gospel; and that salt\nmust be pure and potent, not a dirty mixture of inherited prejudice and\nunauthorized tradition that has lost whatever saltness it may once have\nhad. \"Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another,\" was the\nLord's admonition to the disputing Twelve.[817]\n\nAs applicable to children of tender years, and to child-like believers\nyoung and old, the Savior gave to the apostles this solemn warning and\nprofound statement of fact: \"Take heed that ye despise not one of these\nlittle ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always\nbehold the face of my Father which is in heaven.\" The mission of the\nChrist was presented as that of saving those who are temporarily lost,\nand who, but for His aid would be lost forever. In elucidation of His\nmeaning, the Teacher presented a parable which has found place among the\nliterary treasures of the world.\n\n\nTHE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP.[818]\n\n\"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone\nastray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the\nmountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he\nfind it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of\nthe ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of\nyour Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should\nperish.\"\n\nIn this effective analogy the saving purpose of Christ's mission is made\nprominent. He is verily the Savior. The shepherd is portrayed as leaving\nthe ninety and nine, pastured or folded in safety we cannot doubt, while\nhe goes alone into the mountains to seek the one that has strayed. In\nfinding and bringing back the wayward sheep, he has more joy than that\nof knowing the others are yet safe. In a later version of this splendid\nparable, as addressed to the murmuring Pharisees and scribes at\nJerusalem, the Master said of the shepherd on his finding the lost\nsheep:\n\n\"And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.\nAnd when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours,\nsaying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was\nlost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one\nsinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons,\nwhich need no repentance.\"[819]\n\nMany have marveled that there should be greater rejoicing over the\nrecovery of one stray sheep, or the saving of a soul that had been as\none lost, than over the many who have not been in such jeopardy. In the\nsafe-folded ninety and nine the shepherd had continued joy; but to him\ncame a new accession of happiness, brighter and stronger because of his\nrecent grief, when the lost was brought back to the fold. To this\nparable in connection with others of analogous import we shall recur in\na later chapter.\n\n\n\"IN MY NAME.\"[820]\n\nIn continuation of the lesson illustrated by the little child, Jesus\nsaid: \"Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and\nwhosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is\nleast among you all, the same shall be great.\" It may have been Christ's\nreference to deeds done in His name that prompted John to interject a\nremark at this point: \"Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy\nname, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth\nnot us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall\ndo a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that\nis not against us is on our part.\" The young apostle had allowed his\nzeal for the Master's name to lead to intolerance. That the man who had\nattempted to do good in the name of Jesus was evidently sincere, and\nthat his efforts were acceptable to the Lord we cannot doubt; his act\nwas essentially different from the unrighteous assumptions for which\nsome others were afterward rebuked;[821] he was certainly a believer in\nChrist, and may have been one of the class from which the Lord was soon\nto select and commission special ministers and the Seventy.[822] In the\nstate of divided opinion then existing among the people concerning\nJesus, it was fair to say that all who were not opposed to Him were at\nleast tentatively on His side. On other occasions He asserted that those\nwho were not with Him were against Him.[823]\n\n\nMY BROTHER AND I.[824]\n\nThe proper method of adjusting differences between brethren and the\nfundamental principles of Church discipline were made subjects of\ninstruction to the Twelve. The first step is thus prescribed: \"Moreover\nif thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault\nbetween thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy\nbrother.\" The rule of the rabbis was that the offender must make the\nfirst advance; but Jesus taught that the injured one should not wait for\nhis brother to come to him, but go himself, and seek to adjust the\ndifficulty; by so doing he might be the means of saving his brother's\nsoul. If the offender proved to be obdurate, the brother who had\nsuffered the trespass was to take two or three others with him, and\nagain try to bring the transgressor to repentant acknowledgment of his\noffense; such a course provided for witnesses, by whose presence later\nmisrepresentation would be guarded against.\n\nExtreme measures were to be adopted only after all gentler means had\nfailed. Should the man persist in his obstinacy, the case was to be\nbrought before the Church, and in the event of his neglect or refusal to\nheed the decision of the Church, he was to be deprived of fellowship,\nthereby becoming in his relationship to his former associates \"as an\nheathen man and a publican.\" In such state of non-membership he would be\na fit subject for missionary effort; but, until he became repentant and\nmanifested willingness to make amends, he could claim no rights or\nprivileges of communion in the Church. Continued association with the\nunrepentant sinner may involve the spread of his disaffection, and the\ncontamination of others through his sin. Justice is not to be dethroned\nby Mercy. The revealed order of discipline in the restored Church is\nsimilar to that given to the apostles of old.[825]\n\nThe authority of the Twelve to administer the affairs of Church\ngovernment was attested by the Lord's confirming to them as a body the\npromise before addressed to Peter: \"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye\nshall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall\nloose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.\"[826] Through unity of purpose\nand unreserved sincerity they would have power with God, as witness the\nMaster's further assurance: \"Again I say unto you, That if two of you\nshall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall\nbe done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three\nare gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.\"\nPeter here broke in with a question: \"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin\nagainst me, and I forgive him? till seven times?\" He would fain have\nsome definite limit set, and he probably considered the tentative\nsuggestion of seven times as a very liberal measure, inasmuch as the\nrabbis prescribed a triple forgiveness only.[827] He may have chosen\nseven as the next number above three having a special Pharisaical\nsignificance. The Savior's answer was enlightening: \"Jesus saith unto\nhim, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times\nseven.\" This reply must have meant to Peter as it means to us, that to\nforgiveness man may set no bounds; the forgiveness, however, must be\nmerited by the recipient.[828] The instruction was made memorable by the\nfollowing story.\n\n\nPARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT.\n\n\"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which\nwould take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one\nwas brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch\nas he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife,\nand children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant\ntherefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience\nwith me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was\nmoved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the\nsame servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed\nhim an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the\nthroat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down\nat his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will\npay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till\nhe should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done,\nthey were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was\ndone. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou\nwicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:\nShouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even\nas I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the\ntormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise\nshall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts\nforgive not every one his brother their trespasses.\"[829]\n\nTen thousand talents are specified as expressive of a sum so great as to\nput the debtor beyond all reasonable possibility of paying. We may\nregard the man as a trusted official, one of the king's ministers, who\nhad been charged with the custody of the royal revenues, or one of the\nchief treasurers of taxes; that he is called a servant introduces no\ninconsistency, as in an absolute monarchy all but the sovereign are\nsubjects and servants. The selling of the debtor's wife and children and\nall that he had would not have been in violation of the law in the\nsupposed case, which implies the legal recognition of slavery.[830] The\nman was in arrears for debt. He did not come before his lord voluntarily\nbut had to be brought. So in the affairs of our individual lives\nperiodical reckonings are inevitable; and while some debtors report of\ntheir own accord, others have to be cited to appear. The messengers who\nserve the summons may be adversity, illness, the approach of death; but,\nwhatever, whoever they are, they enforce a rendering of our accounts.\n\nThe contrast between ten thousand talents and a hundred pence is\nenormous.[831] In his fellowservant's plea for time in which to pay the\nhundred pence, the greater debtor should have been reminded of the dire\nstraits from which he had just been relieved; the words, \"Have patience\nwith me, and I will pay thee all,\" were identical with those of his own\nprayer to the king. The base ingratitude of the unmerciful servant\njustified the king in revoking the pardon once granted. The man came\nunder condemnation, not primarily for defalcation and debt, but for lack\nof mercy after having received of mercy so abundantly. He, as an unjust\nplaintiff, had invoked the law; as a convicted transgressor he was to be\ndealt with according to the law. Mercy is for the merciful. As a\nheavenly jewel it is to be received with thankfulness and used with\nsanctity, not to be cast into the mire of undeservedness. Justice may\ndemand retribution and punishment: \"With what measure ye mete, it shall\nbe measured to you again.\"[832] The conditions under which we may\nconfidently implore pardon are set forth in the form of prayer\nprescribed by the Lord: \"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our\ndebtors.\"[833]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 24.\n\n1. Faith in Behalf of Others.--The supplication of the agonized father\nfor the benefit of his sorely afflicted son--\"Have compassion on us, and\nhelp us\" (Mark 9:22)--shows that he made the boy's case his own. In this\nwe are reminded of the Canaanite woman who implored Jesus to have mercy\non her, though her daughter was the afflicted one (Matt. 15:22; page 354\nherein). In these cases, faith was exercized in behalf of the sufferers\nby others; and the same is true of the centurion who pleaded for his\nservant and whose faith was specially commended by Jesus (Matt 8:5-10;\npage 249 herein); of Jairus whose daughter lay dead (Luke 8:41, 42, 49,\n50; page 313 herein), and of many who brought their helpless kindred or\nfriends to Christ and pleaded for them. As heretofore shown, faith to be\nhealed is as truly a gift of God as is faith to heal (page 318); and, as\nthe instances cited prove, faith may be exercized with effect in behalf\nof others. In connection with the ordinance of administering to the\nafflicted, by anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, as\nauthoritatively established in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the\nelders officiating should encourage the faith of all believers present,\nthat such be exerted in behalf of the sufferer. In the case of infants\nand of persons who are unconscious, it is plainly useless to look for\nactive manifestation of faith on their part, and the supporting faith of\nkindred and friends is all the more requisite.\n\n2. Power Developed by Prayer and Fasting.--The Savior's statement\nconcerning the evil spirit that the apostles were unable to\nsubdue--\"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and\nfasting\"--indicates gradation in the malignity and evil power of demons,\nand gradation also in the results of varying degrees of faith. The\napostles who failed on the occasion referred to had been able to cast\nout demons at other times. Fasting, when practised in prudence, and\ngenuine prayer are conducive to the development of faith with its\naccompanying power for good. Individual application of this principle\nmay be made with profit. Have you some besetting weakness, some sinful\nindulgence that you have vainly tried to overcome? Like the malignant\ndemon that Christ rebuked in the boy, your sin may be of a kind that\ngoeth out only through prayer and fasting.\n\n3. Nothing Impossible to Faith.--Many people have questioned the literal\ntruth of the Lord's declaration that by faith mountains may be removed\nfrom their place. Plainly there would have to be a purpose in harmony\nwith the divine mind and plan, in order that faith could be exerted at\nall in such an undertaking. Neither such a miracle nor any other is\npossible as a gratification of the yearning for curiosity, nor for\ndisplay, nor for personal gain or selfish satisfaction. Christ wrought\nno miracle with any such motive; He persistently refused to show signs\nto mere sign-seekers. But to deny the possibility of a mountain being\nremoved through faith, under conditions that would render such removal\nacceptable to God, is to deny the word of God, both as to this specific\npossibility, and as to the general assurance that \"nothing shall be\nimpossible\" to him who hath faith adequate to the end desired. It is\nworthy of note, however, that the Jews in the days of Christ and since\noften spoke of removing mountains as a figurative expression for the\novercoming of difficulties. According to Lightfoot and other authorities\na man able to solve intricate problems, or of particular power in\nargument or acumen in judgment, was referred to as a \"rooter up of\nmountains.\"\n\n4. The Temple Tribute.--That the tribute money referred to in the text\nwas a Jewish contribution to the temple and not a tax levied by the\nRoman government, is apparent from the specification of the \"didrachma,\"\nwhich in the authorized version is translated \"tribute.\" This coin was\nequivalent to the half shekel, reckoned \"after the shekel of the\nsanctuary,\" which was the fixed amount to be paid annually by every male\n\"from twenty years old and above,\" with the provision that \"the rich\nshall not give more and the poor shall not give less\" (Exo. 30:13-15). A\ntax levied by the political powers would not be designated as the\ndidrachma. Moreover, had the collector who approached Peter been one of\nthe official publicans, he probably would have demanded the tax instead\nof inquiring as to whether or not the Master was to be counted among the\ncontributors.\n\nAmong the many humiliations to which the Jews were subjected in later\nyears, after the destruction of the temple, was the compulsory payment\nof what had been their temple tribute, to the Romans, who decreed it as\na revenue to the pagan temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Of the emperor\nVespasian, Josephus (Wars of the Jews, vii, 6:6) says: That he also laid\na tribute wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bring\ntwo drachm\u00e6 every year into the capitol, as they used to pay the same to\nthe temple at Jerusalem.\n\n5. Talents and Pence.--It is evident that by specifying ten thousand\ntalents as the debt due the king, and a hundred pence as that owed by\nthe fellow-servant, the Lord intended to present a case of great\ndisparity and striking contrast. The actual amounts involved are of\nminor significance in the story. We are not told which variety of talent\nwas meant; there were Attic talents, and both silver and gold talents of\nHebrew reckoning; and each differed from the others in value. The Oxford\nmarginal explanation is: \"A talent is 750 ounces of silver, which after\nfive shillings the ounce is 187 pounds, ten shillings.\" This would be in\nAmerican money over nine and a quarter millions of dollars as the sum of\nthe ten thousand talents. The same authority gives as the value of the\npenny (Roman) sevenpence half-penny, or fifteen cents, making the second\ndebt equivalent to about fifteen dollars. Comparison with talents\nmentioned elsewhere may be allowable. Trench says: \"How vast a sum it\nwas we can most vividly realize to ourselves by comparing it with other\nsums mentioned in Scripture. In the construction of the tabernacle,\ntwenty-nine talents of gold were used (Exo. 38:24); David prepared for\nthe temple three thousand talents of gold, and the princes five thousand\n(1 Chron. 29:4-7); the queen of Sheba presented to Solomon one hundred\nand twenty talents (1 Kings 10:10); the king of Assyria laid upon\nHezekiah thirty talents of gold (2 Kings 18:14); and in the extreme\nimpoverishment to which the land was brought at the last, one talent of\ngold was laid upon it, after the death of Josiah, by the king of Egypt\n(2 Chron. 36:3).\" Farrar estimates the debt owed to the king as\n1,250,000 times that owed by the lesser to the greater debtor.\n\n6. An Assumed Approval of Slavery.--Some readers have assumed that they\nfind in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant an implied approval of the\ninstitution of slavery. The greater debtor, who figures in the story,\nwas to be sold, together with his wife and children and all that he had.\nA rational consideration of the story as a whole is likely to find at\nmost, in the particular incident of the king's command that the debtor\nand his family be sold, that the system of buying and selling\nbondservants, serfs, or slaves, was legally recognized at the time. The\npurpose of the parable was not even remotely to endorse or condemn\nslavery or any other social institution. The Mosaic law is explicit in\nmatters relating to bondservants. The \"angel of the Lord\" who brought to\nHagar a message of encouragement and blessing respected the authority of\nher mistress (Gen. 16:8, 9). In the apostolic epoch, instruction was\ndirected toward right living under the secular law, not rebellion\nagainst the system (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; 1 Tim. 6:1-3; 1 Peter 2:18).\nRecognition of established customs, institutions, and laws, and proper\nobedience thereto, do not necessarily imply individual approval. The\ngospel of Jesus Christ, which shall yet regenerate the world, is to\nprevail--not by revolutionary assaults upon existing governments, nor\nthrough anarchy and violence--but by the teaching of individual duty and\nby the spread of the spirit of love. When the love of God shall be given\na place in the hearts of mankind, when men shall unselfishly love their\nneighbors, then social systems and governments shall be formed and\noperated to the securing of the greatest good to the greatest number.\nUntil men open their hearts to the reception of the gospel of Jesus\nChrist, injustice and oppression, servitude and slavery, in some form or\nother, are sure to exist. Attempts to extirpate social conditions that\nspring from individual selfishness cannot be otherwise than futile so\nlong as selfishness is left to thrive and propagate.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[795] Compare 2 Peter 1:18.\n\n[796] Luke 9:37.\n\n[797] Matt. 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42.\n\n[798] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[799] Compare Matt. 12:40-45.\n\n[800] Mark 6:12, 13; compare verse 7; also 3:15; Matt. 10:1.\n\n[801] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[802] Matt. 14:31; 16:8; Luke 8:25.\n\n[803] Matt. 17:20; compare 21:21; Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6; see also Note\n3, end of chapter.\n\n[804] Compare Parable of the Mustard Seed, page 290.\n\n[805] Matt. 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32; Luke 9:44, 45.\n\n[806] Matt. 17:24-27.\n\n[807] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[808] Exo. 30:13; 38:26. Page 171.\n\n[809] See reading in revised version, and in margin of Oxford and\nBagster Bibles.\n\n[810] John 20:17.\n\n[811] Matt. 18:1-11; Mark 9:33-37, 42; Luke 9:46-48.\n\n[812] Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17.\n\n[813] Compare Luke 22:32.\n\n[814] 1 Cor. 14:20; compare 13:11; Matt. 11:25; Psa. 131:2.\n\n[815] Page 234.\n\n[816] Mark 9:49, 50; compare Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24.\n\n[817] Mark 9:43-50; compare Matt. 18:8, 9. Page 232 herein.\n\n[818] Matt. 18:12-14; compare Luke 15:3-7 in which occurs a repetition\nof this impressive parable, as given on a later occasion to Pharisees\nand scribes at Jerusalem with a somewhat different application.\n\n[819] Luke 15:1-7. See further page 451 herein.\n\n[820] Luke 9:48-50; Mark 9:37-41.\n\n[821] Contrast the instance of the sons of Sceva, Acts 19:13-17.\n\n[822] Compare Luke 9:52; 10:1.\n\n[823] Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23.\n\n[824] Matt. 18:15-20; compare Luke 17:3, 4.\n\n[825] Compare Doc. and Cov. 20:80; 42:88-93; 98:39-48.\n\n[826] Matt. 18:18; compare 16:19, and John 20:23.\n\n[827] They based this limitation on Amos 1:3 and Job 33:29. In the\nlatter passage, as it appears in the authorized version, the word\n\"oftentimes\" is an erroneous rendering of the original, which really\nsignified \"twice and thrice.\"\n\n[828] Compare Luke 17:3, 4.\n\n[829] Matt. 18:23-35.\n\n[830] Compare 2 Kings 4:1; Lev. 25:39.\n\n[831] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[832] Matt. 7:1; see also verse 6.\n\n[833] Matt. 6:12; compare Luke 11:4; B. of M., 3 Nephi 13:11; page 240.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 25.\n\nJESUS AGAIN IN JERUSALEM.\n\n\nDEPARTURE FROM GALILEE.[834]\n\nOf our Lord's labors during His brief sojourn in Galilee following His\nreturn from the region of C\u00e6sarea Philippi we have no record aside from\nthat of His instructions to the apostles. His Galilean ministry, so far\nas the people in general were concerned, had practically ended with the\ndiscourse at Capernaum on His return thither after the miracles of\nfeeding the five thousand and walking upon the sea. At Capernaum many of\nthe disciples had turned away from the Master,[835] and now, after\nanother short visit, He prepared to leave the land in which so great a\npart of His public work had been accomplished.\n\nIt was autumn; about six months had passed since the return of the\napostles from their missionary tour; and the Feast of Tabernacles was\nnear at hand. Some of the kinsmen of Jesus came to Him, and proposed\nthat He go to Jerusalem and take advantage of the opportunity offered by\nthe great national festival, to declare Himself more openly than He had\ntheretofore done. His brethren, as the visiting relatives are called,\nurged that He seek a broader and more prominent field than Galilee for\nthe display of His powers, arguing that it was inconsistent for any man\nto keep himself in comparative obscurity when he wanted to be widely\nknown. \"Shew thyself to the world,\" said they. Whatever their motives\nmay have been, these brethren of His did not advize more extended\npublicity through any zeal for His divine mission; indeed, we are\nexpressly told that they did not believe in Him.[836] Jesus replied to\ntheir presumptuous advice: \"My time is not yet come: but your time is\nalway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I\ntestify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this\nfeast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full\ncome.\" It was not their prerogative to direct His movements, not to say\nwhen He should do even what He intended to do eventually.[837] He made\nit plain that between their status and His there was essential\ndifference; they were of the world, which they loved as the world loved\nthem; but the world hated Him because of His testimony.\n\nThis colloquy between Jesus and His brethren took place in Galilee. They\nsoon started for Jerusalem leaving Him behind. He had not said that He\nwould not go to the feast; but only \"I go not up yet unto this feast;\nfor my time is not yet full come.\" Some time after their departure He\nfollowed, traveling \"not openly, but as it were in secret.\" Whether He\nwent alone, or accompanied by any or all of the Twelve, we are not told.\n\n\nAT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.[838]\n\nThe agitated state of the public mind respecting Jesus is shown by the\ninterest manifest in Jerusalem as to the probability of His presence at\nthe feast. His brethren, who probably were questioned, could give no\ndefinite information as to His coming. He was sought for in the crowds;\nthere was much discussion and some disputation concerning Him. Many\npeople expressed their conviction that He was a good man, while others\ncontradicted on the claim that He was a deceiver. There was little open\ndiscussion, however, for the people were afraid of incurring the\ndispleasure of the rulers.\n\nAs originally established, the Feast of Tabernacles was a seven day\nfestival, followed by a holy convocation on the eighth day. Each day was\nmarked by special and in some respects distinctive services, all\ncharacterized by ceremonies of thanksgiving and praise.[839] \"Now about\nthe midst of the feast,\" probably on the third or fourth day, \"Jesus\nwent up into the temple, and taught.\" The first part of His discourse is\nnot recorded, but its scriptural soundness is intimated in the surprize\nof the Jewish teachers, who asked among themselves: \"How knoweth this\nman letters, having never learned?\" He was no graduate of their schools;\nHe had never sat at the feet of their rabbis; He had not been officially\naccredited by them nor licensed to teach. Whence came His wisdom, before\nwhich all their academic attainments were as nothing? Jesus answered\ntheir troubled queries, saying: \"My doctrine is not mine, but his that\nsent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,\nwhether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.\" His Teacher,\ngreater even than Himself, was the Eternal Father, whose will He\nproclaimed. The test proposed to determine the truth of His doctrine was\nin every way fair, and withal simple; anyone who would earnestly seek to\ndo the will of the Father should know of himself whether Jesus spoke\ntruth or error.[840] The Master proceeded to show that a man who speaks\non his own authority alone seeks to aggrandize himself. Jesus did not\nso; He honored His Teacher, His Father, His God, not Himself; and\ntherefore was He free from the taint of selfish pride or\nunrighteousness. Moses had given them the law, and yet, as Jesus\naffirmed, none of them kept the law.\n\nThen, with startling abruptness, He challenged them with the question,\n\"Why go ye about to kill me?\" On many occasions had they held dark\ncounsel with one another as to how they could get Him into their power\nand put Him to death; but they thought that the murderous secret was\nhidden within their own circle. The people had heard the seducing\nassertions of the ruling classes, that Jesus was possessed by a demon,\nand that He wrought wonders through the power of Beelzebub; and in the\nspirit of this blasphemous slander, they cried out: \"Thou hast a devil:\nwho goeth about to kill thee?\"\n\nJesus knew that the two specifications of alleged guilt on which the\nrulers were striving most assiduously to convict Him in the popular\nmind, and so turn the people against Him, were those of Sabbath-breaking\nand blasphemy. On an earlier visit to Jerusalem He had healed an\nafflicted man on the Sabbath, and had utterly disconcerted the\nhypercritical accusers who even then had sought to compass His\ndeath.[841] To this act of mercy and power Jesus now referred, saying:\n\"I have done one work, and ye all marvel.\" Seemingly they were still of\nunsettled mind, in doubt as to accepting Him because of the miracle or\ndenouncing Him because He had done it on the Sabbath. Then He showed the\ninconsistency of charging Him with Sabbath-desecration for such a\nmerciful deed, when the law of Moses expressly allowed acts of mercy,\nand even required that the mandatory rite of circumcision should not be\ndeferred because of the Sabbath. \"Judge not according to the appearance,\nbut judge righteous judgment\" said He.\n\nThe masses were still divided in their estimate of Jesus, and were\nmoreover puzzled over the indecision of the rulers. Some of the\nJerusalem Jews knew of the plan to arrest Him, and if possible to bring\nHim to death, and the people queried why nothing was done when He was\nthere teaching publicly within reach of the officials. They wondered\nwhether the rulers had not at last come to believe that Jesus was indeed\nthe Messiah. The thought, however, was brushed aside when they\nremembered that all knew whence He came; He was a Galilean, and from\nNazareth, whereas as they had been taught, however wrongly, the advent\nof the Christ was to be mysterious so that none would know whence He\ncame. Strange it was, indeed, that men should reject Him because of a\nlack of mystery and miracle in His advent; when, had they known the\ntruth, they would have seen in His birth a miracle without precedent or\nparallel in the annals of time. Jesus directly answered their weak and\nfaulty reasoning. Crying aloud within the temple courts, He assured them\nthat while they knew whence He came as one of their number, yet they did\nnot know that He had come from God, neither did they know God who had\nsent Him: \"But,\" He added, \"I know him: for I am from him, and he hath\nsent me.\" At this reiterated testimony of His divine origin, the Jews\nwere the more enraged, and they determined anew to take Him by force;\nnevertheless none laid hands upon him \"because his hour was not yet\ncome.\"\n\nMany of the people believed in their hearts that He was of God, and\nventured to ask among themselves whether Christ would do greater works\nthan Jesus had done. The Pharisees and chief priests feared a possible\ndemonstration in favor of Jesus, and forthwith sent officers to arrest\nHim and bring him before the Sanhedrin.[842] The presence of the temple\npolice caused no interruption to the Master's discourse, though we may\nreasonably infer that He knew the purpose of their errand. He spoke on,\nsaying that He would be with the people but a little while; and that\nafter He had returned to the Father, they would seek Him vainly, for\nwhere He would then be they could not come. This remark evoked more\nbitter discussion. Some of the Jews wondered whether He intended to\nleave the borders of the land and go among the Gentiles to teach them\nand the dispersed Israelites.\n\nAs part of the temple service incident to the feast, the people went in\nprocession to the Pool of Siloam[843] where a priest filled a golden\newer, which he then carried to the altar and there poured out the water\nto the accompaniment of trumpet blasts and the acclamations of the\nassembled hosts.[844] According to authorities on Jewish customs, this\nfeature was omitted on the closing day of the feast. On this last or\n\"great day,\" which was marked by ceremonies of unusual solemnity and\nrejoicing, Jesus was again in the temple. It may have been with\nreference to the bringing of water from the pool, or to the omission of\nthe ceremony from the ritualistic procedure of the great day, that Jesus\ncried aloud, His voice resounding through the courts and arcades of the\ntemple: \"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that\nbelieveth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall\nflow rivers of living water.\"[845]\n\nJohn, the recorder, remarks parenthetically that this promise had\nreference to the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, which at that time had not\nbeen granted, nor was it to be until after the ascension of the risen\nLord.[846]\n\nAgain many of the people were so impressed that they declared Jesus\ncould be none other than the Messiah; but others objected, saying that\nthe Christ must come from Bethlehem of Judea and Jesus was known to have\ncome from Galilee.[847] So there was further dissension; and though some\nwanted Him apprehended, not a man was found who would venture to lay\nhold on Him.\n\nThe police officers returned without their intended prisoner. To the\nangry demand of the chief priests and Pharisees as to why they had not\nbrought Him, they acknowledged that they had been so affected by His\nteachings as to be unable to make the arrest. \"Never man spake like this\nman,\" they said. Their haughty masters were furious. \"Are ye also\ndeceived?\" they demanded; and further, \"Have any of the rulers or of the\nPharisees believed on him?\" What was the opinion of the common people\nworth? They had never learned the law, and were therefore accursed and\nof no concern. Yet with all this show of proud disdain, the chief\npriests and Pharisees were afraid of the common people, and were again\nhalted in their wicked course.\n\nOne voice of mild protest was heard in the assembly. Nicodemus, a member\nof the Sanhedrin, and the same who had come to Jesus by night to inquire\ninto the new teaching,[848] mustered courage enough to ask: \"Doth our\nlaw judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?\" The\nanswer was insulting. Maddened with bigotry and blood-thirsty\nfanaticism, some of his colleagues turned upon him with the savage\ndemand: \"Art thou also of Galilee?\" meaning, Art thou also a disciple of\nthis Galilean whom we hate? Nicodemus was curtly told to study the\nscriptures, and he would fail to find any prediction of a prophet\narising in Galilee. The anger of these learned bigots had blinded them\neven to their own vaunted knowledge, for several of the ancient prophets\nwere regarded as Galileans;[849] if, however they had meant to refer\nonly to that Prophet of whom Moses had spoken, the Messiah, they were\ncorrect, since all predictions pointed to Bethlehem in Judea as His\nbirthplace. It is evident that Jesus was thought of as a native of\nNazareth, and that the circumstances of His birth were not of public\nknowledge.\n\n\n\"GO, AND SIN NO MORE.\"[850]\n\nAfter the festivities were over, Jesus went to the temple one morning\nearly; and as He sat, probably in the Court of the Women, which was the\nusual place of public resort, many gathered about Him and He proceeded\nto teach them as was His custom. His discourse was interrupted by the\narrival of a party of scribes and Pharisees with a woman in charge, who,\nthey said, was guilty of adultery. To Jesus they presented this\nstatement and question: \"Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such\nshould be stoned; but what sayest thou?\" The submitting of the case to\nJesus was a prearranged snare, a deliberate attempt to find or make a\ncause for accusing Him. Though it was not unusual for Jewish officials\nto consult rabbis of recognized wisdom and experience when difficult\ncases were to be decided, the case in point involved no legal\ncomplications. The woman's guilt seems to have been unquestioned, though\nthe witnesses required by the statutes are not mentioned as appearing\nunless the accusing scribes and Pharisees are to be so considered; the\nlaw was explicit, and the custom of the times in dealing with such\noffenders was well known. While it is true that the law of Moses had\ndecreed death by stoning as the penalty for adultery, the infliction of\nthe extreme punishment had lapsed long before the time of Christ. One\nmay reasonably ask why the woman's partner in the crime was not brought\nfor sentence, since the law so zealously cited by the officious accusers\nprovided for the punishment of both parties to the offense.[851]\n\nThe question of the scribes and Pharisees, \"But what sayest thou?\" may\nhave intimated their expectation that Jesus would declare the law\nobsolete; perhaps they had heard of the Sermon on the Mount, in which\nmany requirements in advance of the Mosaic code had been\nproclaimed.[852] Had Jesus decided that the wretched woman ought to\nsuffer death, her accusers might have said that he was defying the\nexisting authorities; and possibly the charge of opposition to the Roman\ngovernment might have been formulated, since power to inflict the death\npenalty had been taken from all Jewish tribunals; and moreover, the\ncrime with which this woman was charged was not a capital offense under\nRoman law. Had He said that the woman should go unpunished or suffer\nonly minor infliction, the crafty Jews could have charged Him with\ndisrespect for the law of Moses. To these scribes and Pharisees Jesus at\nfirst gave little heed. Stooping down He traced with His finger on the\nground; but as He wrote they continued to question Him. Lifting Himself\nup He answered them, in a terse sentence that has become proverbial: \"He\nthat is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.\" Such\nwas the law; the accusers on whose testimony the death penalty was\npronounced were to be the first to begin the work of execution.[853]\n\nHaving spoken, Jesus again stooped and wrote upon the ground. The\nwoman's accusers were \"convicted by their own conscience\"; shamed and in\ndisgrace they slunk away, all of them from the eldest to the youngest.\nThey knew themselves to be unfit to appear either as accusers or\njudges.[854] What cowards doth conscience make! \"When Jesus had lifted\nup himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where\nare those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man,\nLord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no\nmore.\"[855]\n\nThe woman was repentant; she remained humbly awaiting the Master's\ndecision, even after her accusers had gone. Jesus did not expressly\ncondone; He declined to condemn; but He sent the sinner away with a\nsolemn adjuration to a better life.[856]\n\n\nTHE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.[857]\n\nSitting within the temple enclosure in the division known as the\nTreasury, which was connected with the Court of the Women,[858] our Lord\ncontinued His teaching, saying: \"I am the light of the world: he that\nfolloweth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of\nlife.\"[859] The great lamps set up in the court as a feature of the\njoyful celebration just ended gave point to our Lord's avowal of Himself\nas the Light of the World. It was another proclamation of His divinity\nas God and the Son of God. The Pharisees challenged His testimony,\ndeclaring it of no worth because He bore record of Himself. Jesus\nadmitted that He testified of Himself, but affirmed nevertheless that\nwhat He said was true, for He knew whereof He spoke, whence He came and\nwhither He would go, while they spoke in ignorance. They thought,\ntalked, and judged after the ways of men and the frailties of the flesh;\nHe was not sitting in judgment, but should He choose to judge, then His\njudgment would be just, for He was guided by the Father who sent Him.\nTheir law required the testimony of two witnesses for the legal\ndetermination of any question of fact;[860] and Jesus cited Himself and\nHis Father as witnesses in support of His affirmation. His opponents\nthen asked with contemptuous or sarcastic intent, \"Where is thy Father?\"\nThe reply was in lofty tone; \"Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye\nhad known me, ye should have known my Father also.\" Enraged at their own\ndiscomfiture, the Pharisees would have seized Him, but found themselves\nimpotent. \"No man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.\"\n\n\nTHE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.[861]\n\nAgain addressing the mixed assemblage, which probably comprized\nPharisees, scribes, rabbis, priests, Levites, and lay people, Jesus\nrepeated His former assertion that soon He would leave them, and that\nwhither He went they could not follow; and added the fateful assurance\nthat they would seek Him in vain and would die in their sins. His solemn\nportent was treated with light concern if not contempt. Some of them\nasked querulously, \"Will he kill himself?\" the implication being that in\nsuch case they surely would not follow Him; for according to their\ndogma, Gehenna was the place of suicides, and they, being of the chosen\npeople, were bound for heaven not hell. The Lord's dignified rejoinder\nwas: \"Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am\nnot of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your\nsins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.\"\n\nThis reiteration of His distinctive supremacy brought forth the\nchallenging question, \"Who art thou?\" Jesus replied, \"Even the same that\nI said unto you from the beginning.\" The many matters on which He might\nhave judged them He refrained from mentioning, but testified anew of the\nFather, saying: \"He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those\nthings which I have heard of him.\" Explicit as His earlier explanations\nhad been, the Jews in their gross prejudice \"understood not that he\nspake to them of the Father.\" To His Father Jesus ascribed all honor and\nglory, and repeatedly declared Himself as sent to do the Father's will.\n\"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then\nshall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my\nFather hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with\nme: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that\nplease him.\"\n\nThe evident earnestness and profound conviction with which Jesus spoke\ncaused many of His hearers to believe on Him; and these He addressed\nwith the promise that if they continued in that belief, and shaped their\nlives according to His word, they should be His disciples indeed. A\nfurther promise followed: \"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth\nshall make you free.\" At these words, so rich in blessing, so full of\ncomfort for the believing soul, the people were stirred to angry\ndemonstrations; their Jewish temper was immediately ablaze. To promise\nthem freedom was to imply that they were not already free. \"We be\nAbraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou,\nYe shall be made free?\" In their unbridled fanaticism they had forgotten\nthe bondage of Egypt, the captivity of Babylon, and were oblivious of\ntheir existing state of vassalage to Rome. To say that Israel had never\nbeen in bondage was not only to convict themselves of falsehood but to\nstultify themselves wretchedly.\n\nJesus made it clear that He had not referred to freedom in its physical\nor political sense alone, though to this conception their false\ndisavowal had been directed; the liberty He proclaimed was spiritual\nliberty; the grievous bondage from which He would deliver them was the\nserfdom of sin. To their vaunted boast that they were free men, not\nslaves, He replied: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever\ncommitteth sin is the servant of sin.\" As a sinner, every one of them\nwas in slavery. A bond-servant, Jesus reminded them, was allowed in the\nmaster's house by sufferance only; it was not his inherent right to\nremain there; his owner could send him away at any time, and might even\nsell him to another; but a son of the family had of his own right a\nplace in his father's home. Now, if the Son of God made them free they\nwould be free indeed. Though they were of Abrahamic lineage in the\nflesh, they were no heirs of Abraham in spirit or works. Our Lord's\nmention of His Father as distinct from their father drew forth the angry\nreiteration, \"Abraham is our father\", to which Jesus replied: \"If ye\nwere Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye\nseek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard\nof God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father.\" In their\nblind anger they apparently construed this to imply that though they\nwere children of Abraham's household some other man than Abraham was\ntheir actual progenitor, or that they were not of unmixed Israelitish\nblood. \"We be not born of fornication\" they cried, \"we have one Father,\neven God.\" Jesus said unto them, \"If God were your Father, ye would love\nme: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself,\nbut he sent me.\"\n\nThey failed to understand because of their stubborn refusal to listen\ndispassionately. With forceful accusation Jesus told them whose children\nthey actually were, as evinced by the hereditary traits manifest in\ntheir lives: \"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your\nfather ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not\nin the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie,\nhe speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.[862] And\nbecause I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.\" He challenged them to\nfind sin in Him; and then asked why, if He spake the truth, they so\npersistently refused to believe Him. Answering His own question, He told\nthem that they were not of God and therefore they understood not the\nwords of God. The Master was unimpeachable; His terse, cogent assertions\nwere unanswerable. In impotent rage the discomfited Jews resorted to\ninvective and calumny. \"Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and\nhast a devil?\" they shrieked. They had before called Him a Galilean;\nthat appellative was but mildly depreciatory, and moreover was a\ntruthful designation according to their knowledge; but the epithet\n\"Samaritan\" was inspired by hate,[863] and by its application they meant\nto disown Him as a Jew.\n\nThe charge that He was a demoniac was but a repetition of earlier\nslanders. \"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father,\nand ye do dishonour me.\" Reverting to the eternal riches offered by His\ngospel, the Master said: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep\nmy saying, he shall never see death.\" This rendered them the more\ninfuriate: \"Now we know that thou hast a devil\" they cried, and as\nevidence of what they professed to regard as His insanity, they cited\nthe fact that great as were Abraham and the prophets they were dead, yet\nJesus dared to say that all who kept His sayings should be exempt from\ndeath. Did He pretend to exalt Himself above Abraham and the prophets?\n\"Whom makest thou thyself?\" they demanded. The Lord's reply was a\ndisclaimer of all self-aggrandizement; His honor was not of His own\nseeking, but was the gift of His Father, whom He knew; and were He to\ndeny that He knew the Father He would be a liar like unto themselves.\nTouching the relationship between Himself and the great patriarch of\ntheir race, Jesus thus affirmed and emphasized His own supremacy: \"Your\nfather Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.\" Not\nonly angered but puzzled, the Jews demanded further explanation.\nConstruing the last declaration as applying to the mortal state only,\nthey said: \"Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen\nAbraham?\" Jesus answered, \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before\nAbraham was, I am.\"\n\nThis was an unequivocal and unambiguous declaration of our Lord's\neternal Godship. By the awful title I AM He had made Himself known to\nMoses and thereafter was so known in Israel.[864] As already shown, it\nis the equivalent of \"Yahveh,\" or \"Jahveh,\" now rendered \"Jehovah,\" and\nsignifies \"The Self-existent One,\" \"The Eternal,\" \"The First and the\nLast.\"[865] Jewish traditionalism forbade the utterance of the sacred\nName; yet Jesus claimed it as His own. In an orgy of self-righteous\nindignation, the Jews seized upon the stones that lay in the unfinished\ncourts, and would have crushed their Lord, but the hour of His death had\nnot yet come, and unseen of them He passed through the crowd and\ndeparted from the temple.\n\nHis seniority to Abraham plainly referred to the status of each in the\nantemortal or preexistent state; Jesus was as literally the Firstborn in\nthe spirit-world, as He was the Only Begotten in the flesh. Christ is as\ntruly the Elder Brother of Abraham and Adam as of the last-born child of\nearth.[866]\n\n\nBODILY AND SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS--SIGHT GIVEN TO A MAN ON THE\nSABBATH.[867]\n\nAt Jerusalem Jesus mercifully gave sight to a man who had been blind\nfrom his birth.[868] The miracle is an instance of Sabbath-day healing,\nof more than ordinary interest because of its attendant incidents. It is\nrecorded by John alone, and, as usual with that writer, his narrative is\ngiven with descriptive detail. Jesus and His disciples saw the sightless\none upon the street. The poor man lived by begging. The disciples, eager\nto learn, asked: \"Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he\nwas born blind?\" The Lord's reply was: \"Neither hath this man sinned,\nnor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in\nhim.\" The disciples' question implied their belief in a state of moral\nagency and choice antedating mortality; else, how could they have\nthought of the man having sinned so as to bring upon himself congenital\nblindness? We are expressly told that he was born blind. That he might\nhave been a sufferer from the sins of his parents was conceivable.[869]\nThe disciples evidently had been taught the great truth of an antemortal\nexistence. It is further to be seen that they looked upon bodily\naffliction as the result of personal sin. Their generalization was too\nbroad; for, while as shown by instances heretofore cited,[870]\nindividual wickedness may and does bring physical ills in its train, man\nis liable to err in his judgment as to the ultimate cause of affliction.\nThe Lord's reply was sufficing; the man's blindness would be turned to\naccount in bringing about a manifestation of divine power. As Jesus\nexplained respecting His own ministry, it was necessary that He do the\nFather's work in the season appointed, for His time was short. With\nimpressive pertinency as relating to the state of the man who had been\nin darkness all his days, our Lord repeated the affirmation before made\nin the temple, \"I am the light of the world.\"\n\nThe outward ministration to the blind man was different from the usual\ncourse followed by Jesus. \"He spat on the ground, and made clay of the\nspittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay\"; and\nthen directed him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash in its\nwaters.[871] The man went, washed, and came seeing. He was evidently a\nwell-known character; many had seen him in his accustomed place begging\nalms, and the fact that he had been blind from birth was also of common\nknowledge. When, therefore, it was noised about that he could see, there\nwas much excitement and comment. Some doubted that the man they\nquestioned was the once sightless beggar; but he assured them of his\nidentity, and told how he had been made to see. They brought the man to\nthe Pharisees, who questioned him rigorously; and, having heard his\naccount of the miracle, tried to undermine his faith by telling him that\nJesus who had healed him could not be a man of God since He had done the\ndeed on the Sabbath. Some of those who heard demurred to the Pharisaic\ndeduction, and asked: \"How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?\"\nThe man was questioned as to his personal opinion of Jesus, and promptly\nanswered: \"He is a prophet.\" The man knew his Benefactor to be more than\nany ordinary being; as yet, however, he had no knowledge of Him as the\nChrist.\n\nThe inquisitorial Jews were afraid of the result of such a wondrous\nhealing, in that the people would support Jesus whom the rulers were\ndetermined to destroy. They assumed it to be possible that the man had\nnot been really blind; so they summoned his parents, who answered their\ninterrogatories by affirming that he was their son, and they knew him to\nhave been born blind; but as to how he had received sight, or through\nwhose ministration, they refused to commit themselves, knowing the\nrulers had decreed that any one who confessed Jesus to be the Christ\nshould be cast out from the community of the synagog, or, as we would\nsay today, excommunicated from the Church. With pardonable astuteness\nthe parents said of their son: \"He is of age; ask him: he shall speak\nfor himself.\"\n\nCompelled to acknowledge, to themselves at least, that the fact and the\nmanner of the man's restoration to sight were supported by irrefutable\nevidence, the crafty Jews called the man again, and insinuatingly said\nunto him: \"Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.\" He\nreplied fearlessly, and with such pertinent logic as to completely\noffset their skill as cross-examiners: \"Whether he be a sinner or no, I\nknow not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.\" He\nvery properly declined to enter into a discussion with his learned\nquestioners as to what constituted sin under their construction of the\nlaw; of what he was ignorant he declined to speak; but on one matter he\nwas happily and gratefully certain, that whereas he had been blind, now\nhe could see.\n\nThe Pharisaical inquisitors next tried to get the man to repeat his\nstory of the means employed in the healing, probably with the subtle\npurpose of leading him into inconsistent or contradictory statements;\nbut he replied with emphasis, and possibly with some show of impatience,\n\"I have told you already, and ye did not hear:[872] wherefore would ye\nhear it again? will ye also be his disciples?\" They retorted with anger,\nand reviled the man; the ironical insinuation that they perchance wished\nto become disciples of Jesus was an insult they would not brook. \"Thou\nart his disciple,\" said they, \"but we are Moses' disciples. We know that\nGod spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he\nis.\" They were enraged that this unlettered mendicant should answer so\nboldly in their scholarly presence; but the man was more than a match\nfor all of them. His rejoinder was maddening because it flouted their\nvaunted wisdom, and withal was unanswerable. \"Why herein is a marvellous\nthing,\" said he, \"that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath\nopened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any\nman be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since\nthe world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one\nthat was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.\"\n\nFor such an affront from a layman there was no precedent in all the lore\nof rabbis or scribes. \"Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou\nteach us?\" was their denunciatory though weak and inadequate rejoinder.\nUnable to cope with the sometime sightless beggar in argument or\ndemonstration, they could at least exercize their official authority,\nhowever unjustly, by excommunicating him; and this they promptly did.\n\"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he\nsaid unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? he answered and\nsaid, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto\nhim, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And\nhe said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.\"\n\nIn commenting upon the matter Jesus was heard to say that one purpose of\nHis coming into the world was \"that they which see not might see; and\nthat they which see might be made blind.\" Some of the Pharisees caught\nthe remark, and asked in pride: \"Are we blind also?\" The Lord's reply\nwas a condemnation: \"If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye\nsay, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.\"\n\n\nSHEPHERD AND SHEEPHERDER.[873]\n\n\"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into\nthe sheep fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and\na robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the\nsheep.\" With these words Jesus prefaced one of His most impressive\ndiscourses. The mention of shepherd and sheep must have brought to the\nminds of His hearers many of the oft-quoted passages from prophets and\npsalms.[874] The figure is an effective one, and all the more so when we\nconsider the circumstances under which it was used by the Master.\nPastoral conditions prevailed in Palestine, and the dignity of the\nshepherd's vocation was very generally recognized. By specific prophecy\na Shepherd had been promised to Israel. David, the king of whom all\nIsraelites were proud, had been taken directly from the sheepfold, and\nhad come with a shepherd's crook in his hand to the anointing that made\nhim royal.\n\nAs the Teacher showed, a shepherd has free access to the sheep. When\nthey are folded within the enclosure of safety, he enters at the gate;\nhe neither climbs over nor creeps in.[875] He, the owner of the sheep\nloves them; they know his voice and follow him as he leads from fold to\npasture, for he goes before the flock; while the stranger, though he be\nthe herder, they know not; he must needs drive, for he cannot lead.\nContinuing the allegory, which the recorder speaks of as a parable,\nJesus designated Himself as the door to the sheepfold, and made plain\nthat only through Him could the under-shepherds rightly enter. True,\nthere were some who sought by avoiding the portal and climbing over the\nfence to reach the folded flock; but these were robbers, trying to get\nat the sheep as prey; their selfish and malignant purpose was to kill\nand carry off.\n\nChanging the figure, Christ proclaimed: \"I am the good shepherd.\" He\nthen further showed, and with eloquent exactness, the difference between\na shepherd and a hireling herder. The one has personal interest in and\nlove for his flock, and knows each sheep by name, the other knows them\nonly as a flock, the value of which is gaged by number; to the hireling\nthey are only as so many or so much. While the shepherd is ready to\nfight in defense of his own, and if necessary even imperil his life for\nhis sheep, the hireling flees when the wolf approaches, leaving the way\nopen for the ravening beast to scatter, rend, and kill.\n\nNever has been written or spoken a stronger arraignment of false\npastors, unauthorized teachers, self-seeking hirelings who teach for\npelf and divine for dollars, deceivers who pose as shepherds yet avoid\nthe door and climb over \"some other way,\" prophets in the devil's\nemploy, who to achieve their master's purpose, hesitate not to robe\nthemselves in the garments of assumed sanctity, and appear in sheep's\nclothing, while inwardly they are ravening wolves.[876]\n\nWith effective repetition Jesus continued: \"I am the good shepherd, and\nknow my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so\nknow I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.\" For this cause\nwas Jesus the Father's Beloved Son--that He was ready to lay down His\nlife for the sake of the sheep. That the sacrifice He was soon to render\nwas in fact voluntary, and not a forfeiture under compulsion, is\nsolemnly affirmed in the Savior's words: \"Therefore doth my Father love\nme, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man\ntaketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it\ndown, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I\nreceived of my Father.\" The certainty of His death and of His subsequent\nresurrection are here reiterated. A natural effect of His immortal\norigin, as the earth-born Son of an immortal Sire, was that He was\nimmune to death except as He surrendered thereto. The life of Jesus the\nChrist could not be taken save as He willed and allowed. The power to\nlay down His life was inherent in Himself, as was the power to take up\nHis slain body in an immortalized state.[877] These teachings caused\nfurther division among the Jews. Some pretended to dispose of the matter\nby voicing anew the foolish assumption that Jesus was but an insane\ndemoniac, and that therefore His words were not worthy of attention.\nOthers with consistency said \"These are not the words of him that hath a\ndevil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?\" So it was that a few\nbelieved, many doubted though partly convinced, and some condemned.\n\nAs part of this profound discourse, Jesus said: \"And other sheep I have,\nwhich are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear\nmy voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.\"[878] The\n\"other sheep\" here referred to constituted the separated flock or\nremnant of the house of Joseph, who, six centuries prior to the birth of\nChrist, had been miraculously detached from the Jewish fold in\nPalestine, and had been taken beyond the great deep to the American\ncontinent. When to them the resurrected Christ appeared He thus spake:\n\"And verily, I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said, other\nsheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and\nthey shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one\nshepherd.\"[879] The Jews had vaguely understood Christ's reference to\nother sheep as meaning in some obscure way, the Gentile nations; and\nbecause of their unbelief and consequent inability to rightly\ncomprehend, Jesus had withheld any plainer exposition of His meaning,\nfor so, He informed the Nephites, had the Father directed. \"This much\ndid the Father command me,\" He explained, \"that I should tell unto them,\nThat other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must\nbring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and\none shepherd.\" On the same occasion the Lord declared that there were\nyet other sheep, those of the Lost, or Ten, Tribes, to whom He was then\nabout to go, and who would eventually be brought forth from their place\nof exile, and become part of the one blessed fold under the governance\nof the one supreme Shepherd and King.[880]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 25.\n\n1. The Feast of Tabernacles.--In the order of yearly occurrence this was\nthe third of the great festivals, the observance of which was among the\nnational characteristics of the people of Israel; the others were the\nPassover, and the feast of Weeks or Pentecost; at each of the three all\nthe males in Israel were required to appear before the Lord in formal\ncelebration of the respective feast (Exo. 23:17). The feast of\nTabernacles was also known as the \"feast of ingathering\" (Exo. 23:16);\nit was both a memorial and a current harvest celebration. In\ncommemoration of their long journeying in the wilderness following their\ndeliverance from Egypt, in the course of which journey they had to live\nin tents and improvized booths, the people of Israel were required to\nobserve annually a festival lasting seven days, with an added day of\nholy convocation. During the week the people lived in booths, bowers, or\ntabernacles, made of the branches or \"boughs of goodly trees\" wattled\nwith willows from the brook (Lev. 23:34-43; Numb. 29:12-38; Deut.\n16:13-15; 31:10-13). The festival lasted from the 15th to the 22d of the\nmonth Tizri, the seventh in the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to parts\nof our September and October. It was made to follow soon after the\nannual Day of Atonement which was a time of penitence and affliction of\nthe soul in sorrow for sin (Lev. 23:26-32). The altar sacrifices at the\nfeast of Tabernacles exceeded those prescribed for other festivals, and\ncomprized a daily offering of two rams, fourteen lambs, and a kid as a\nsin offering, and in addition a varying number of young bullocks,\nthirteen of which were sacrificed on the first day, twelve on the\nsecond, eleven on the third, and so on to the seventh day, on which\nseven were offered, making in all seventy bullocks (Numb. 29:12-38).\nRabbinism invested this number, seventy, and the graded diminution in\nthe number of altar victims, with much symbolical significance not set\nforth in the law.\n\nAt the time of Christ, tradition had greatly embellished many of the\nprescribed observances. Thus the \"boughs of goodly trees,\" more\nliterally rendered \"fruit\" (Lev. 23:40), had come to be understood as\nthe citron fruit; and this every orthodox Jew carried in one hand, while\nin the other he bore a leafy branch or a bunch of twigs, known as the\n\"lulab,\" when he repaired to the temple for the morning sacrifice, and\nin the joyous processions of the day. The ceremonial carrying of water\nfrom the spring of Siloam to the altar of sacrifice was a prominent\nfeature of the service. This water was mingled with wine at the altar\nand the mixture was poured upon the sacrificial offering. Many\nauthorities hold that the bringing of water from the pool was omitted on\nthe last or great day of the feast, and it is inferred that Jesus had in\nmind the circumstance of the omission when He cried: \"If any man thirst,\nlet him come unto me, and drink.\" At night, during the progress of the\nfeast, great lamps were kept burning in the temple courts, and this\nincident Christ may have used as an objective illustration in his\nproclamation: \"I am the light of the world.\"\n\nFor fuller account see any reliable and comprehensive Bible Dictionary,\nand Josephus Ant. viii, 4:1; xv, 3:3, etc. The following is an excerpt\nfrom Edersheim, _Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah_, vol. ii, p.\n158-160: \"When the Temple-procession had reached the Pool of Siloam, the\npriest filled his golden pitcher from its waters. Then they went back to\nthe Temple, so timing it that they should arrive just as they were\nlaying the pieces of the sacrifice on the great altar of burnt-offering,\ntowards the close of the ordinary morning-sacrifice service. A threefold\nblast of the priests' trumpets welcomed the arrival of the priest as he\nentered through the Water Gate, which obtained its name from this\nceremony, and passed straight into the Court of the Priests....\nImmediately after the 'pouring of the water,' the great 'Hallel,'\nconsisting of Psalms 113 to 118 inclusive, was chanted antiphonally, or\nrather, with responses, to the accompaniment of the flute.... In further\nsymbolism of this Feast, as pointing to the ingathering of the heathen\nnations, the public services closed with a procession round the altar by\nthe priests.... But on 'the last, the Great Day of the Feast,' this\nprocession of priests made the circuit of the altar, not only once, but\nseven times, 'as if they were again compassing, but now with prayer, the\nGentile Jericho which barred their possession of the promised land.'\"\n\n2. The Test of our Lord's Doctrine.--Any man may know for himself\nwhether the doctrine of Christ is of God or not by simply doing the will\nof the Father (John 7:17). Surely it is a more convincing course than\nthat of relying upon another's word. The writer was once approached by\nan incredulous student in college, who stated that he could not accept\nas true the published results of a certain chemical analysis, since the\nspecified amounts of some of the ingredients were so infinitesimally\nsmall that he could not believe it possible to determine such minute\nquantities. The student was but a beginner in chemistry; and with his\nlittle knowledge he had undertaken to judge as to the possibilities of\nthe science. He was told to do the things his instructor prescribed, and\nhe should some day know for himself whether the results were true or\nfalse. In the senior year of his course, he received for laboratory\nanalysis a portion of the very substance whose composition he had once\nquestioned. With the skill attained by faithful devotion he successfully\ncompleted the analysis, and reported results similar to those, which in\nhis inexperience he had thought impossible to obtain. He was manly\nenough to acknowledge as unfounded his earlier skepticism and rejoiced\nin the fact that he had been able to demonstrate the truth for himself.\n\n3. The Pool of Siloam.--\"The names 'Shiloah' ('Shelah,' Neh. 3:15,\n'Siloah' in authorized version) and 'Siloam' are the exact equivalent in\nHebrew and Greek, respectively, of 'Silwan' in the modern Arabic name\n('Ain Silwan') of the pool at the mouth of El-Wad. All the ancient\nreferences agree with this identification (compare Neh. 3:15; Josephus,\nWars of the Jews, v, 4:1, 2; 6:1; 9:4; 12:2; ii, 16:2; vi, 7:2; 8:5). In\nspite of its modern designation as an 'ain' (spring), Siloam is not a\nspring, but is fed by a tunnel cut through the rock from the Gihon, or\nVirgin's Fountain.\"--L. B. Paton, in article \"Jerusalem,\" _Stand. Bible\nDictionary_.\n\n4. Whence was the Messiah to Come?--Many stifled their inward promptings\nto a belief in Jesus as the Messiah, by the objection that all\nprophecies relating to His coming pointed to Bethlehem as His\nbirthplace, and Jesus was of Galilee. Others rejected Him because they\nhad been taught that no man was to know whence the Messiah came and they\nall knew Jesus came from Galilee. The seeming inconsistency is thus\nexplained: The city of David, or Bethlehem in Judea, was beyond question\nthe fore-appointed place of the Messiah's birth; but the rabbis had\nerroneously taught that soon after birth the Christ Child would be\ncaught away, and after a time would appear as a Man, and that no one\nwould know whence or how He had returned. Geikie (ii, p. 274), citing\nLightfoot in part, thus states the popular criticism: \"'Do not the\nrabbis tell us' said some, 'that the Messiah will be born at Bethlehem,\nbut that He will be snatched away by spirits and tempests soon after His\nbirth, and that when He returns the second time no one will know from\nwhence He has come?' But we know this man comes from Nazareth.\"\n\n5. The Record Relating to the Woman Taken in Adultery.--Some modern\ncritics claim that the verses John 7:53 and 8:1-11 inclusive are out of\nplace as they appear in the authorized or King James version of the\nBible, on the grounds that the incident therein recorded does not appear\nin certain of the ancient manuscript copies of John's Gospel, and that\nthe style of the narrative is distinctive. In some manuscripts it\nappears at the end of the book. Other manuscripts contain the account as\nit appears in the English Bible. Canon Farrar pertinently asks (p. 404,\nnote), why, if the incident is out of place or not of John's authorship,\nso many important manuscripts give place to it as we have it?\n\n6. The Treasury, and Court of the Women.--\"Part of the space within the\ninner courts was open to Israelites of both sexes, and was known\ndistinctively as the Court of the Women. This was a colonnaded\nenclosure, and constituted the place of general assembly in the\nprescribed course of public worship. Chambers used for ceremonial\npurposes occupied the four corners of this court; and between these and\nthe houses at the gates, were other buildings, of which one series\nconstituted the Treasury wherein were set trumpet-shaped receptacles for\ngifts.\" (See Mark 12:41-44.)--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 57-58.\n\n7. The Sheepfold.--Dummelow's _Commentary_ says, on John 10:2: \"To\nunderstand the imagery, it must be remembered that Eastern folds are\nlarge open enclosures, into which several flocks are driven at the\napproach of night. There is only one door, which a single shepherd\nguards, while the others go home to rest. In the morning the shepherds\nreturn, are recognized by the doorkeeper, call their flocks round them,\nand lead them forth to pasture.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[834] John 7:1-10.\n\n[835] Page 343.\n\n[836] John 7:5; compare Mark 3:21 in which \"friends\" is an inaccurate\nrendition for \"kinsmen\".\n\n[837] Compare Christ's answer to His mother, John 2:4; see also 7:30;\n8:20.\n\n[838] John 7:11-53.\n\n[839] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[840] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[841] John 5; see pages 206-208 herein.\n\n[842] Page 69.\n\n[843] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[844] This was regarded as a literal fulfilment of Isa. 12:3.\n\n[845] John 7:37, 38; compare with the assurance respecting \"living\nwater\" given to the Samaritan woman, 4:10-15.\n\n[846] John 7:39; compare 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7; Luke 24:49; Acts\n2:4.\n\n[847] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[848] John 3; page 158 herein.\n\n[849] According to many excellent authorities, Jonah, Nahum, and Hosea\nwere all of Galilee; and it is further believed that Elijah also was of\nGalilean nativity.\n\n[850] John 8:1-11.\n\n[851] Deut. 22:22-27.\n\n[852] Matt. 5:21-48.\n\n[853] Deut. 17:6, 7; also 13:9.\n\n[854] Compare Rom. 2:1, 22; Matt. 7:1, 2; Luke 6:37; 2 Sam. 12:5-7.\n\n[855] John 8:10, 11; compare 5:11. Consider another instance of mercy\ngranted through contrition Luke 7:36-50.\n\n[856] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[857] John 8:12-20.\n\n[858] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[859] John 8:12; compare 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46. See also\nDoc. and Cov. 6:21; 10:58, 70; 11:11; 14:9; 84:45, 46; 88:6-13.\n\n[860] Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Numb. 35:30; Matt. 18:16.\n\n[861] John 8:21-59.\n\n[862] Compare P. of G.P., Moses 4:4; 5:24; B. of M., 2 Nephi 2:18; Doc.\nand Cov. 10:25; 93:25.\n\n[863] Pages 174, 183.\n\n[864] Exo. 3:14; compare 6:3.\n\n[865] Compare Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:4, 8; see also John 17:5, 24; Col. 1:17.\nPage 36 herein.\n\n[866] Page 13.\n\n[867] John 9.\n\n[868] Whether this incident occurred in immediate sequence to the events\nlast considered, or at a later time after the return of Jesus to\nJerusalem following an unrecorded departure therefrom, is not stated in\nthe scriptural record. The value of the lesson is not affected by its\nplace in the catalog of our Lord's works.\n\n[869] Exo. 20:5; 34:7; Lev. 26:39; Numb. 14:18; 1 Kings 21:29; compare\nEzek. chap. 18.\n\n[870] Pages 192 and 208.\n\n[871] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[872] That is, \"heed\" or \"believe\".\n\n[873] John 10:1-21.\n\n[874] Note the promise of a Shepherd to Israel, Isa. 40:11; 49:9, 10;\nEzek. 34:23; 37:24; compare Jer. 3:15; 23:4; Heb, 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25;\n5:4; Rev. 7:17. Read studiously Psalm 23.\n\n[875] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[876] Matt. 7:15; compare 24:4, 5, 11, 24; Mark 13:22; Rom. 16:17, 18;\nEph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; Acts 20:29.\n\n[877] Pages 22 and 81.\n\n[878] John 10:16; compare as to \"one fold and one shepherd,\" Ezek.\n37:22; Isa. 11:13; Jer. 3:18; 50:4. See \"Articles of Faith,\"\nxviii,--\"The Gathering of Israel.\"\n\n[879] B. of M., 3 Nephi 15:21; read verses 12-24; see chapter 39 herein.\n\n[880] 3 Nephi 16:1-5.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 26.\n\nOUR LORD'S MINISTRY IN PEREA AND JUDEA.\n\n\nWhen or under what attendant circumstances our Lord departed from\nJerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, in the last autumn of His\nearthly life, we are not told. The writers of the synoptic Gospels have\nrecorded numerous discourses, parables, and miracles, as incidents of a\njourney toward Jerusalem, in the course of which, Jesus, accompanied by\nthe apostles, traversed parts of Samaria and Perea, and the outlying\nsections of Judea. We read of Christ's presence in Jerusalem at the\nFeast of Dedication,[881] between two and three months after the Feast\nof Tabernacles; and it is probable that some of the events now to be\nconsidered occurred during that interval.[882] That Jesus left Jerusalem\nsoon after the Feast of Tabernacles is certain; whether He returned to\nGalilee, or went only into Perea, possibly with a short detour across\nthe border into Samaria, is not conclusively stated. We shall here as\nheretofore devote our study primarily to His words and works, with but\nminor regard to place, time, or sequence.\n\nAs the time of His foreknown betrayal and crucifixion drew near, \"he\nsteadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,\"[883] though, as we shall\nfind, He turned northward on two occasions, once when He retired to the\nregion of Bethabara, and again to Ephraim.[884]\n\n\nHIS REJECTION IN SAMARIA.[885]\n\nJesus sent messengers ahead, to announce His coming and to prepare for\nHis reception. In one of the Samaritan villages He was refused\nentertainment and a hearing, \"because his face was as though he would go\nto Jerusalem.\" Racial prejudice had superseded the obligations of\nhospitality. This repulse is in unfavorable contrast with the\ncircumstances of His earlier visit among the Samaritans, when He had\nbeen received with gladness and entreated to remain; but on that\noccasion He was journeying not toward but farther from Jerusalem.[886]\n\nThe disrespect shown by the Samaritans was more than the disciples could\nendure without protest. James and John, those Sons of Thunder, were so\nresentful as to yearn for vengeance. Said they: \"Lord, wilt thou that we\ncommand fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias\ndid?\"[887] Jesus rebuked His uncharitable servants thus: \"Ye know not\nwhat manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to\ndestroy men's lives, but to save them.\" Repulsed in this village the\nlittle company went to another, as the Twelve had been instructed to do\nunder like circumstances.[888] This was but one of the impressive\nlessons given to the apostles in the matter of tolerance, forbearance,\ncharity, patience, and long-suffering.\n\nLuke gives next place to the incident of three men who were desirous or\nwilling to become disciples of Christ; one of them seems to have been\ndiscouraged at the prospect of hardship such as the ministry entailed;\nthe others wished to be temporarily excused from service, one that he\nmight attend the burial of his father, the other that he might first bid\nhis loved ones farewell. This, or a similar occurrence, is recorded by\nMatthew in another connection, and has already received attention in\nthese pages.[889]\n\n\nTHE SEVENTY CHARGED AND SENT.\n\nThe supreme importance of our Lord's ministry, and the shortness of the\ntime remaining to Him in the flesh, demanded more missionary laborers.\nThe Twelve were to remain with Him to the end; every hour of possible\ninstruction and training had to be utilized in their further preparation\nfor the great responsibilities that would rest upon them after the\nMaster's departure. As assistants in the ministry, He called and\ncommissioned the Seventy, and straightway sent them forth,[890] \"two and\ntwo before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would\ncome.\" The need of their service was explained in the introduction to\nthe impressive charge by which they were instructed in the duties of\ntheir calling. \"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great,\nbut the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,\nthat he would send forth labourers into his harvest.\"[891]\n\nMany matters on which the Twelve had been instructed prior to their\nmissionary tour were now repeated to the Seventy. They were told that\nthey must expect unfriendly and even hostile treatment; their situation\nwould be as that of lambs among wolves. They were to travel without\npurse or scrip, and thus necessarily to depend upon the provision that\nGod would make through those to whom they came. As their mission was\nurgent, they were not to stop on the way to make or renew personal\nacquaintanceships. On entering a house they were to invoke peace upon\nit; if the household deserved the gift peace would rest therein, but\notherwise the Lord's servants would feel that their invocation was\nvoid.[892] To any family by whom they were received they were to impart\nblessing--healing the afflicted, and proclaiming that the kingdom of God\nhad come nigh unto that house. They were not to go from one house to\nanother seeking better entertainment, nor should they expect or desire\nto be feasted, but they should accept what was offered, eating that\nwhich was set before them, thus sharing with the family. If rejected in\nany city, they were to depart therefrom, leaving, however, their solemn\ntestimony that the city had turned away from the kingdom of God, which\nhad been brought to its doors, and attesting the same by ridding\nthemselves of the dust of that place.[893] It was not for them to\npronounce anathema or curse, but the Lord assured them that such a city\nwould bring upon itself a fate worse than the doom of Sodom.[894] He\nreminded them that they were His servants, and therefore whoever heard\nor refused to hear them would be judged as having so treated Him.\n\nThey were not restrained, as the Twelve had been, from entering\nSamaritan towns or the lands of the Gentiles. This difference is\nconsistent with the changed conditions, for now the prospective\nitinerary of Jesus would take Him into non-Jewish territory, where His\nfame had already spread; and furthermore, His plan provided for an\nextension of the gospel propaganda, which was to be ultimately\nworld-wide. The narrow Jewish prejudice against Gentiles in general and\nSamaritans in particular was to be discountenanced; and proof of this\nintent could not be better given than by sending authorized ministers\namong those peoples. We must keep in mind the progressiveness of the\nLord's work. At first the field of gospel preaching was confined to the\nland of Israel,[895] but the beginning of its extension was inaugurated\nduring our Lord's life, and was expressly enjoined upon the apostles\nafter His resurrection.[896] Duly instructed, the Seventy set out upon\ntheir mission.[897]\n\nMention of the condemnation that would follow wilful rejection of the\nauthorized servants of God aroused in our Lord's mind sad memories of\nthe repulses He had suffered, and of the many unrepentant souls, in the\ncities wherein He had accomplished so many mighty works. In profound\nsorrow He predicted the woes then impending over Chorazin, Bethsaida,\nand Capernaum.[898]\n\n\nTHE SEVENTY RETURN.\n\nConsiderable time may have elapsed, weeks or possibly months, between\nthe departure of the Seventy and their return. We are not told when or\nwhere they rejoined the Master; but this we know, that the authority and\npower of Christ had been abundantly manifest in their ministry; and that\nthey had rejoiced in the realization. \"Lord,\" said they, \"even the\ndevils are subject unto us through thy name.\"[899] This testimony was\nfollowed by the Lord's solemn statement: \"I beheld Satan as lightning\nfall from heaven.\" This was said with reference to the expulsion of the\nrebellious son of the morning, after his defeat by Michael and the\nheavenly hosts.[900] Commending the Seventy for their faithful labors,\nthe Lord gave them assurance of further power, on the implied condition\nof their continued worthiness: \"I give unto you power to tread on\nserpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing\nshall by any means hurt you.\"[901] The promise that they should tread on\nserpents and scorpions included immunity from injury by venomous\ncreatures if encountered in the path of duty[902] and power to prevail\nover the wicked spirits that serve the devil, who is elsewhere expressly\ncalled the serpent.[903] Great as was the power and authority thus\nimparted, these disciples were told not to rejoice in such, nor\nprimarily in the fact that evil spirits were subject unto them, but\nrather because they were accepted of the Lord, and that their names were\nwritten in heaven.[904]\n\nThe righteous joy of His servants and His contemplation of their\nfaithfulness caused Jesus to rejoice. His happiness found its most\nappropriate expression in prayer, and thus He prayed: \"I thank thee, O\nFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from\nthe wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so,\nFather; for so it seemed good in thy sight.\" Compared with the learned\nmen of the time, such as the rabbis and scribes, whose knowledge served\nbut to harden their hearts against the truth, these devoted servants\nwere as babes in humility, trust, and faith. Such children were and are\namong the nobles of the kingdom. As in the hours of darkest sorrow, so\nin this moment of righteous exultation over the faithfulness of His\nfollowers, Jesus communed with the Father, to do whose will was His sole\npurpose.\n\nOur Lord's joy on this occasion is comparable to that which He\nexperienced when Peter had burst forth with the confession of his soul:\n\"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.\" In solemn discourse\nJesus said: \"All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man\nknoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the\nSon, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.\" Then in more intimate\ncommunion with the disciples He added: \"Blessed are the eyes which see\nthe things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings\nhave desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them;\nand to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.\"\n\n\nWHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?\n\nWe have seen that the Pharisees and their kind were constantly on the\nalert to annoy and if possible disconcert Jesus on questions of law and\ndoctrine, and to provoke Him to some overt utterance or deed.[905] It\nmay be such an attempt that is recorded by Luke in immediate sequence to\nhis account of the joyous return of the Seventy,[906] for he tells us\nthat the \"certain lawyer,\" of whom he speaks, put a question to tempt\nJesus. Viewing the questioner's motive with all possible charity, for\nthe basal meaning of the verb which appears in our version of the Bible\nas \"to tempt\" is that of putting to test or trial and not necessarily\nand solely to allure into evil,[907] though the element of entrapping or\nensnaring is connoted, we may assume that he wished to test the\nknowledge and wisdom of the famous Teacher, probably for the purpose of\nembarrassing Him. Certainly his purpose was not that of sincere search\nfor truth.\n\nThis lawyer, standing up among the people who had gathered to hear\nJesus, asked: \"Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?\"[908]\nJesus replied by a counter question, in which was plainly intimated that\nif this man, who was professedly learned in the law, had read and\nstudied properly, he should know without asking what he ought to do.\n\"What is written in the law? how readest thou?\" The man replied with an\nadmirable summary of the commandments: \"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God\nwith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength,\nand with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself\"[909] The answer was\napproved. \"This do, and thou shalt live\" said Jesus. These simple words\nconveyed a rebuke, as the lawyer must have realized; they indicated the\ncontrast between knowing and doing. Having thus failed in his plan to\nconfound the Master, and probably realizing that he, a lawyer, had made\nno creditable display of his erudition by asking so simple a question\nand then answering it himself, he tamely sought to justify himself by\ninquiring further; \"And who is my neighbour?\" We may well be grateful\nfor the lawyer's question; for it served to draw from the Master's\ninexhaustible store of wisdom one of His most appreciated parables.\n\nThe story is known as the _Parable of the Good Samaritan_; it runs as\nfollows:\n\n    \"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell\n    among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded\n    him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there\n    came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he\n    passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was\n    at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other\n    side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he\n    was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to\n    him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set\n    him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care\n    of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two\n    pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care\n    of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I\n    will repay thee.\"\n\nThen of the lawyer Jesus asked: \"Which now of these three, thinkest\nthou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He\nthat shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou\nlikewise.\"[910]\n\nWhatever of motive there may have been in the lawyer's query, \"Who is my\nneighbour?\" aside from that of self-justification and a desire to\nretreat in the best form possible from an embarrassing situation, we may\nconceive to lie in the wish to find a limitation in the application of\nthe law, beyond which he would not be bound to go. If he had to love his\nneighbors as he loved himself, he wanted to have as few neighbors as\npossible. His desire may have been somewhat akin to that of Peter, who\nwas eager to learn just how many times he was required to forgive an\noffending brother.[911]\n\nThe parable with which our Lord replied to the lawyer's question is rich\nin interest as a story alone, and particularly so as an embodiment of\nprecious lessons. It was withal so true to existing conditions, that,\nlike the story of the sower who went forth to sow, and other parables\ngiven by the Lord Jesus, it may be true history as well as parable. The\nroad between Jerusalem and Jericho was known to be infested by highway\nrobbers; indeed a section of the thoroughfare was called the Red Path or\nBloody Way because of the frequent atrocities committed thereon. Jericho\nwas prominent as a residence place for priests and Levites. A priest,\nwho, out of respect to his office, if for none other cause, should have\nbeen willing and prompt in acts of mercy, caught sight of the wounded\ntraveler and passed by on the far side of the road. A Levite followed;\nhe paused to look, then passed on. These ought to have remembered the\nspecified requirement of the law--that if one saw an ass or an ox fall\ndown by the way, he should not hide himself, but should surely help the\nowner to lift the creature up again.[912] If such was their duty toward\na brother's beast, much greater was their obligation when a brother\nhimself was in so extreme a plight.\n\nDoubtless priest as well as Levite salved his conscience with ample\nexcuse for his inhumane conduct; he may have been in a hurry, or was\nfearful, perhaps, that the robbers would return and make him also a\nvictim of their outrage. Excuses are easy to find; they spring up as\nreadily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside. When the Samaritan came\nalong and saw the wretched state of the wounded man, he had no excuse\nfor he wanted none. Having done what he could by way of emergency\ntreatment as recognized in the medical practise of the day, he placed\nthe injured one upon his own beast, probably a mule or an ass, and took\nhim to the nearest inn, where he tended him personally and made\narrangements for his further care. The essential difference between the\nSamaritan and the others was that the one had a compassionate heart,\nwhile they were unloving and selfish. Though not definitely stated, the\nvictim of the robbers was almost certainly a Jew; the point of the\nparable requires it to be so. That the merciful one was a Samaritan,\nshowed that the people called heretic and despized by the Jews could\nexcel in good works. To a Jew, none but Jews were neighbors. We are not\njustified in regarding priest, Levite, or Samaritan as the type of his\nclass; doubtless there were many kind and charitable Jews, and many\nheartless Samaritans; but the Master's lesson was admirably illustrated\nby the characters in the parable; and the words of His application were\npungent in their simplicity and appropriateness.\n\n\nMARTHA AND MARY.[913]\n\nOn one of His visits to Bethany, a small town about two miles from\nJerusalem, Jesus was received at the home where dwelt two sisters,\nMartha and Mary. Martha was housekeeper, and therefore she assumed\nresponsibility for the proper treatment of the distinguished Guest.\nWhile she busied herself with preparations and \"was cumbered about much\nserving,\" well intended for the comfort and entertainment of Jesus, Mary\nsat at the Master's feet, listening with reverent attention to His\nwords. Martha grew fretful in her bustling anxiety, and came in, saying:\n\"Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?\nbid her therefore that she help me.\" She was talking to Jesus but really\nat Mary. For the moment she had lost her calmness in undue worry over\nincidental details. It is reasonable to infer that Jesus was on terms of\nfamiliarity in the household, else the good woman would scarcely have\nappealed to Him in a little matter of domestic concern. He replied to\nher complaining words with marked tenderness: \"Martha, Martha, thou art\ncareful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and\nMary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from\nher.\"\n\nThere was no reproof of Martha's desire to provide well; nor any\nsanction of possible neglect on Mary's part. We must suppose that Mary\nhad been a willing helper before the Master's arrival; but now that He\nhad come, she chose to remain with Him. Had she been culpably neglectful\nof her duty, Jesus would not have commended her course. He desired not\nwell-served meals and material comforts only, but the company of the\nsisters, and above all their receptive attention to what He had to say.\nHe had more to give them than they could possibly provide for Him. Jesus\nloved the two sisters and their brother as well.[914] Both these women\nwere devoted to Jesus, and each expressed herself in her own way. Martha\nwas of a practical turn, concerned in material service; she was by\nnature hospitable and self-denying. Mary, contemplative and more\nspiritually inclined, showed her devotion through the service of\ncompanionship and appreciation.[915]\n\nBy inattention to household duties, the little touches that make or mar\nthe family peace, many a woman has reduced her home to a comfortless\nhouse; and many another has eliminated the essential elements of home by\nher self-assumed and persistent drudgery, in which she denies to her\ndear ones the cheer of her loving companionship. One-sided service,\nhowever devoted, may become neglect. There is a time for labor inside\nthe home as in the open; in every family time should be found for\ncultivating that better part, that one thing needful--true, spiritual\ndevelopment.\n\n\nASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU.[916]\n\n\"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when\nhe ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray.\"\nOur Lord's example and the spirit of prayer manifest in His daily life\nmoved the disciples to ask for instruction as to how they should pray.\nNo form of private prayer was given in the law, but formal prayers had\nbeen prescribed by the Jewish authorities, and John the Baptist had\ninstructed his followers in the mode or manner of prayer. Responding to\nthe disciples' request, Jesus repeated that brief epitome of soulful\nadoration and supplication which we call the Lord's Prayer. This He had\nbefore given in connection with the Sermon on the Mount.[917] On this\noccasion of its repetition, the Lord supplemented the prayer by\nexplaining the imperative necessity of earnestness and enduring\npersistency in praying.\n\nThe lesson was made plain by the _Parable of the Friend at Midnight_:\n\n    \"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and\n    shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me\n    three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me,\n    and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall\n    answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my\n    children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say\n    unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is\n    his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give\n    him as many as he needeth.\"\n\nThe man to whose home a friend had come at midnight could not let his\nbelated and weary guest go hungry, yet there was no bread in the house.\nHe made his visitor's wants his own, and pleaded at his neighbor's door\nas though asking for himself. The neighbor was loath to leave his\ncomfortable bed and disturb his household to accommodate another; but,\nfinding that the man at the door was importunate, he at last arose and\ngave him what he asked, so as to get rid of him and be able to sleep in\npeace. The Master added by way of comment and instruction: \"_Ask, and it\nshall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be\nopened unto you._\"\n\nThe hospitable man in the parable had refused to be repulsed; he kept on\nknocking until the door was opened; and as a result received what he\nwanted, found what he had set out to obtain. The parable is regarded by\nsome as a difficult one to apply, since it deals with the selfish and\ncomfort-loving element of human nature, and apparently uses this to\nsymbolize God's deliberate delay. The explanation, however, is clear\nwhen the context is duly considered. The Lord's lesson was, that if man,\nwith all his selfishness and disinclination to give, will nevertheless\ngrant what his neighbor with proper purpose asks and continues to ask in\nspite of objection and temporary refusal, with assured certainty will\nGod grant what is persistently asked in faith and with righteous intent.\nNo parallelism lies between man's selfish refusal and God's wise and\nbeneficent waiting. There must be a consciousness of real need for\nprayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer effective; and in mercy\nthe Father sometimes delays the granting that the asking may be more\nfervent. But in the words of Jesus: \"If ye then, being evil, know how to\ngive good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly\nFather give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?\"\n\nSometime later Jesus spake another parable, the moral of which is so\nclosely akin to that of the story of the midnight visitor, as to suggest\nthe study of the later lesson here. It is known as the _Parable of the\nUnjust Judge_, or of the _Importunate Widow_:\n\n    \"There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither\n    regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came\n    unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not\n    for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear\n    not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I\n    will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary\n    me.\"[918]\n\nThe judge was of wicked character; he denied justice to the widow, who\ncould obtain redress from none other. He was moved to action by the\ndesire to escape the woman's importunity. Let us beware of the error of\ncomparing his selfish action with the ways of God. Jesus did not\nindicate that as the wicked judge finally yielded to supplication so\nwould God do; but He pointed out that if even such a being as this\njudge, who \"feared not God, neither regarded man,\" would at last hear\nand grant the widow's plea, no one should doubt that God, the Just and\nMerciful, will hear and answer. The judge's obduracy, though wholly\nwicked on his part, may have been ultimately advantageous to the widow.\nHad she easily obtained redress she might have become again unwary, and\nperchance a worse adversary than the first might have oppressed her. The\nLord's purpose in giving the parable is specifically stated; it was \"to\nthis end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.\"[919]\n\n\nCRITICISM ON PHARISEES AND LAWYERS.[920]\n\nVaried comment as to the source of our Lord's superhuman powers was\naroused afresh by His merciful act of expelling a demon from a man, who,\nin consequence of this evil possession had been dumb. The old Pharisaic\ntheory, that He cast out devils through the power of \"Beelzebub, the\nchief of the devils,\" was revived. The utter foolishness of such a\nconception was demonstrated, as it had been on an earlier occasion to\nwhich we have given attention.[921] The spiritual darkness, in which\nevil men grope for signs, the disappointment and condemnation that await\nthem, and other precious precepts, Jesus elucidated in further\ndiscourse.[922]\n\nThen, by invitation He went to the house of a certain Pharisee to dine.\nOther Pharisees, as also lawyers and scribes, were present. Jesus\nintentionally omitted the ceremonial washing of hands, which all others\nin the company scrupulously performed before taking their places at\ntable. This omission caused a murmur of disapproval if not an open\nexpression of fault-finding. Jesus utilized the occasion by voicing a\npungent criticism of Pharisaic externalism, which He likened to the\ncleansing of cups and platters on the outside, while the inside is left\nfilthy. \"Fools\" said He, \"did not he that made that which is without\nmake that which is within also?\" In another form we may ask, Did not God\nwho established the outward observances of the law, ordain the inward\nand spiritual requirements of the gospel also? In response to a question\nby one of the lawyers, Jesus included them in His sweeping reproof.\nPharisees and scribes resented the censure to which they had been\nsubjected, and \"began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to\nspeak of many things: laying wait for him, and seeking to catch\nsomething out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.\" As our Lord's\nrecorded utterances on this occasion appear also in His final\ndenunciation of Pharisaism, later delivered at the temple, we may well\ndefer further consideration of the matter until we take up in order that\nnotable occurrence.[923]\n\n\nTHE DISCIPLES ADMONISHED AND ENCOURAGED.[924]\n\nPopular interest in our Lord's movements was strong in the region beyond\nJordan, as it had been in Galilee. We read of Him surrounded by \"an\ninnumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon\nanother.\" Addressing the multitude, and more particularly His disciples,\nJesus warned them of the leaven of the Pharisees, which He characterized\nas hypocrisy.[925] The recent scene at the table of a Pharisee gave\nspecial significance to the warning. Some of the precepts recorded in\nconnection with His Galilean ministry were here repeated, and particular\nstress was laid upon the superiority of the soul to the body, and of\neternal life as contrasted with the brief duration of mortal existence.\n\nOne man in the company, intent on selfish interests and unable to see\nbeyond the material affairs of life, spoke out saying, \"Master, speak to\nmy brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.\" Jesus promptly\nrefused to act as mediator or judge in the matter. \"Man, who made me a\njudge or a divider over you?\" was the Master's rejoinder. The wisdom\nunderlying His refusal to interfere is apparent. As in the case of the\nguilty woman who had been brought before Him for judgment,[926] so in\nthis instance, He refrained from intervention in matters of legal\nadministration. An opposite course would have probably involved Him in\nuseless disputation, and might have given color to a complaint that He\nwas arrogating to Himself the functions of the legally established\ntribunals. The man's appeal, however, was made the nucleus of valuable\ninstruction; his clamor for a share in the family inheritance caused\nJesus to say: \"Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life\nconsisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.\"\n\nThis combined admonition and profound statement of truth was emphasized\nby the _Parable of the Foolish Rich Man_. Thus runs the story:\n\n    \"The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And\n    he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I\n    have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I\n    do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will\n    I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,\n    Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine\n    ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou\n    fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose\n    shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that\n    layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward\n    God.\"[927]\n\nThe man's abundance had been accumulated through labor and thrift;\nneglected or poorly-tilled fields do not yield plentifully. He is not\nrepresented as one in possession of wealth not rightfully his own. His\nplans for the proper care of his fruits and goods were not of themselves\nevil, though he might have considered better ways of distributing his\nsurplus, as for the relief of the needy. His sin was twofold; first, he\nregarded his great store chiefly as the means of securing personal ease\nand sensuous indulgence; secondly, in his material prosperity he failed\nto acknowledge God, and even counted the years as his own. In the hour\nof his selfish jubilation he was smitten. Whether the voice of God came\nto him as a fearsome presentiment of impending death, or by angel\nmessenger, or how otherwise, we are not informed; but the voice spoke\nhis doom: \"Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of\nthee.\"[928] He had used his time and his powers of body and mind to sow,\nreap and garner--all for himself. And what came of it all? Whose should\nbe the wealth, to amass which he had jeopardized his soul? Had he been\nother than a fool he might have realized as Solomon had done, the vanity\nof hoarding wealth for another, and he perhaps of uncertain character,\nto possess.[929]\n\nTurning to the disciples Jesus reiterated some of the glorious truths He\nhad uttered when preaching on the mount,[930] and pointed to the birds\nof the air, the lilies and grass of the field, as examples of the\nFather's watchful care; He admonished His hearers to seek the kingdom of\nGod, and, doing so, they should find all needful things added. \"Fear\nnot, little flock,\" He added in tone of affectionate and paternal\nregard, \"for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.\"\nThey were urged to store their wealth in bags that wax not old,[931]\ncontainers suited to the heavenly treasure which, unlike the goods of\nthe foolish rich man, shall not be left behind when the soul is\nsummoned. The man whose treasure is of earth leaves it all at death; he\nwhose wealth is in heaven goes to his own, and death is but the portal\nto his treasury.\n\nThe disciples were admonished to be ever ready, waiting as servants wait\nat night with lights burning, for their master's return; and, inasmuch\nas the lord of the household comes at his will, in the early or later\nwatches, if when he comes he finds his faithful servants ready to open\nimmediately to his knock he will honor them as they deserve. So is the\nSon of Man to come, perhaps when least expected. To a question\ninterjected by Peter as to whether \"this parable\" was spoken to the\nTwelve only or to all, Jesus made no direct reply; the answer, however,\nwas conveyed in the continuation of the allegory of contrast between\nfaithful and wicked servants.[932] \"Who then is that faithful and wise\nsteward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them\ntheir portion of meat in due season?\" The faithful steward is a good\ntype of the apostles, individually or as a body. As stewards they were\ncharged with the care of the other servants, and of the household; and\nas to them more had been given than to the others, so of them more would\nbe required; and they would be held to strict accountability for their\nstewardship.\n\nThe Lord then referred feelingly to His own mission, and especially to\nthe dreadful experiences then soon to befall Him, saying: \"I have a\nbaptism to be baptised with; and how am I straitened till it be\naccomplished!\" He told again of the strife and dissension that would\nfollow the preaching of His gospel, and dwelt upon the significance of\nthen current events. To those who, ever ready to interpret the signs of\nthe weather, yet remained wilfully blind to the important developments\nof the times, He applied the caustic epithet, hypocrites![933]\n\n\n\"EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH.\"[934]\n\nSome of the people who had been listening to our Lord's discourse\nreported to Him the circumstances of a tragical event that had taken\nplace, probably but a short time before, inside the temple walls. A\nnumber of Galileans had been slain by Roman soldiers, at the base of the\naltar, so that their blood had mingled with that of the sacrificial\nvictims. It is probable that the slaughter of these Galileans was\nincident to some violent demonstration of Jewish resentment against\nRoman authority, which the procurator, Pilate, construed as an incipient\ninsurrection, to be promptly and forcibly quelled. Such outbursts were\nnot uncommon, and the Roman tower or fortress of Antonia had been\nerected in a commanding position overlooking the temple grounds, and\nconnected therewith by a wide flight of steps, so that soldiers could\nhave ready access to the enclosure at the first indication of turmoil.\nThe purpose of the informants who brought this matter to the attention\nof Jesus is not stated; but we find probability in the thought that His\nreference to the signs of the times had reminded them of the tragedy,\nand that they were inclined to speculate as to the deeper significance\nof the occurrence. Some may have wondered as to whether the fate of the\nGalilean victims had befallen them as a merited retribution. Anyway, to\nsome such conception as this Jesus directed His reply. By question and\nanswer He assured them that those who had so been slain were not to be\nconsidered as sinners above other Galileans; \"But,\" said He, \"except ye\nrepent, ye shall all likewise perish.\"\n\nThen, referring on His own initiative to another catastrophe, He cited\nthe instance of eighteen persons who had been killed by the fall of a\ntower at Siloam, and affirmed that these were not to be counted greater\nsinners than other Jerusalemites. \"But,\" came the reiteration, \"except\nye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.\" There were perhaps some who\nbelieved that the men upon whom the tower had fallen had deserved their\nfate; and this conception is the more probable if the generally accepted\nassumption be correct, that the calamity came upon the men while they\nwere engaged under Roman employ in work on the aqueduct, for the\nconstruction of which Pilate had used the \"corban\" or sacred treasure,\ngiven by vow to the temple.[935]\n\nIt is not man's prerogative to pass upon the purposes and designs of\nGod, nor to judge by human reason alone that this person or that suffers\ndisaster as a direct result of individual sin.[936] Nevertheless men\nhave ever been prone to so judge. There are many inheritors of the\nspirit of Job's friends, who assumed his guilt as certain because of the\ngreat misfortunes and sufferings that had come upon him.[937] Even while\nJesus spake, calamity dark and dire was impending over temple, city and\nnation; and unless the people would repent and accept the Messiah then\nin their midst, the decree of destruction would be carried to its dread\nfulfilment. Hence, as Jesus said, except the people repented they should\nperish. The imperative need of reformation was illustrated by the\n_Parable of the Barren Fig Tree_.\n\n    \"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he\n    came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto\n    the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come\n    seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why\n    cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord,\n    let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung\n    it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou\n    shalt cut it down.\"[938]\n\nIn Jewish literature, particularly in rabbinical lore, the fig tree is\nof frequent mention as a symbol of the nation. The warning conveyed in\nthe parable is plain; the element of possible escape is no less evident.\nIf the fig tree represents the covenant people, then the vineyard is\nnaturally the world at large, and the dresser of the vineyard is the Son\nof God, who by personal ministry and solicitous care makes intercession\nfor the barren tree, in the hope that it may yet bear fruit. The parable\nis of universal application; but so far as it had special bearing upon\nthe Jewish \"fig tree\" of that time, it was attended by an awful sequel.\nThe Baptist had cried out in warning that the ax was even then in\nreadiness, and every unfruitful tree would be hewn down.[939]\n\n\nA WOMAN HEALED ON THE SABBATH.[940]\n\nOn a certain Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagog, of what place we\nare not told, though it was probably in one of the towns of Perea. There\nwas present a woman who for eighteen years had been suffering from an\ninfirmity that had so drawn and atrophied the muscles as to bend her\nbody so that she could in no wise straighten herself. Jesus called her\nto Him, and without waiting for petition or request, said simply,\n\"Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.\" These words He\naccompanied by the laying-on of hands, a feature of His healing\nministrations not always performed. She was healed forthwith and stood\nerect; and, acknowledging the source of the power by which she had been\nreleased from her bonds, glorified God in a fervent prayer of\nthanksgiving. Doubtless many of the beholders rejoiced with her; but\nthere was one whose soul was stirred by indignation only; and he, the\nruler of the synagog. Instead of addressing himself to Jesus, of whose\npower he may have been afraid, he vented his ill feeling upon the\npeople, by telling them there were six days in which men ought to work,\nand that on those days they who wished to be healed should come, but not\non the Sabbath. The rebuke was ostensibly directed to the people,\nespecially to the woman who had received the blessing, but in reality\nagainst Jesus; for if there were any element of work in the healing it\nhad been done by Him, not by the woman nor by others. Upon the ruler of\nthe synagog the Lord turned with direct address: \"Thou hypocrite, doth\nnot each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the\nstall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a\ndaughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be\nloosed from this bond on the sabbath day?\"\n\nIt may be inferred that the woman's affliction had been more deeply\nseated than in the muscles; for Luke who was himself a physician[941]\ntells us she \"had a spirit of infirmity,\" and records the significant\nwords of the Lord to the effect that Satan had held her bound for\neighteen years. But whatever her ailment, whether wholly physical or in\npart mental and spiritual, she was freed from her bonds. Again was the\nChrist triumphant; His adversaries were shamed into silence, while the\nbelievers rejoiced. The rebuke to the ruler of the synagog was followed\nby a brief discourse in which Jesus gave to these people some of the\nteachings before delivered in Galilee; these included the parables of\nthe mustard seed and the leaven.[942]\n\n\nWILL MANY OR FEW BE SAVED?[943]\n\nContinuing His journey toward Jerusalem, Jesus taught in many of the\ncities and towns of Perea. His coming had probably been announced by the\nSeventy, who had been sent to prepare the people for His ministry. One\nof those who had been impressed by His doctrines submitted this\nquestion: \"Lord, are there few that be saved?\" Jesus replied: \"Strive to\nenter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to\nenter in, and shall not be able.\"[944] The counsel was enlarged upon to\nshow that neglect or procrastination in obeying the requirements for\nsalvation may result in the soul's loss. When the door is shut in\njudgment many will come knocking, and some will plead that they had\nknown the Lord, having eaten and drunk in His company, and that He had\ntaught upon their streets; but to them who had failed to accept the\ntruth when offered the Lord shall say: \"I tell you, I know you not\nwhence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.\" The people\nwere warned that their Israelitish lineage would in no wise save them,\nfor many who were not of the covenant people would believe and be saved,\nwhile unworthy Israelites would be thrust out.[945] So is it that \"There\nare last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.\"\n\n\nJESUS WARNED OF HEROD'S DESIGN.[946]\n\nOn the day of the discourse last noted, certain Pharisees came to Jesus\nwith this warning and advice: \"Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod\nwill kill thee.\"[947] We have heretofore found the Pharisees in open\nhostility to the Lord, or secretly plotting against Him; and some\ncommentators regard this warning as another evidence of Pharisaic\ncunning--possibly intended to rid the province of Christ's presence, or\ndesigned to drive Him toward Jerusalem, where He would be again within\neasy reach of the supreme tribunal. Ought we not to be liberal and\ncharitable in our judgment as to the intent of others? Doubtless there\nwere good men in the fraternity of Pharisees,[948] and those who came\ninforming Christ of a plot against His life were possibly impelled by\nhumane motives, and may even have been believers at heart. That Herod\nhad designs against our Lord's liberty or life appears most probable in\nthe answer Jesus made. He received the information in all seriousness,\nand His comment thereon is one of the strongest of His utterances\nagainst an individual. \"Go ye,\" said He, \"and tell that fox, Behold, I\ncast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day\nI shall be perfected.\" The specifying of today, tomorrow, and the third\nday, was a means of expressing the present in which the Lord was then\nacting, the immediate future, in which He would continue to minister,\nsince, as He knew, the day of His death was yet several months distant,\nand the time at which his earthly work would be finished and He be\nperfected. He placed beyond doubt the fact that He did not intend to\nhasten His steps, neither cut short His journey nor cease His labors\nthrough fear of Herod Antipas, who for craft and cunning was best\ntypified by a sly and murderous fox. Nevertheless it was Christ's\nintention to go on, and soon in ordinary course He would leave Perea,\nwhich was part of Herod's domain, and enter Judea; and at the foreknown\ntime would make His final entry into Jerusalem, for in that city was He\nto accomplish his sacrifice. \"It cannot be,\" He explained, \"that a\nprophet perish out of Jerusalem.\"\n\nThe awful reality that He, the Christ, would be slain in the chief city\nof Israel wrung from Him the pathetic apostrophe over Jerusalem, which\nwas repeated when for the last time His voice was heard within the\ntemple walls.[949]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 26.\n\n1. Christ's Ministry Following His Final Withdrawal From Galilee.--John\ntells us that when Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem to attend the\nFeast of Tabernacles, He went \"not openly, but as it were in secret\"\n(7:10). It appears improbable that the numerous works recorded by the\nsynoptic writers as features of our Lord's ministry, which extended from\nGalilee through Perea, into Samaria and parts of Judea, could have\nattended that special and, as it were secret, journey, at the time of\nthe Feast of Tabernacles. The lack of agreement among writers as to the\nsequence of events in Christs' life is wide. A comparison of the\n\"Harmonies\" published in the most prominent Bible Helps (see e.g. Oxford\nand Bagster \"Helps\") exemplifies these divergent views. The\nsubject-matter of our Lord's teachings maintains its own intrinsic worth\nirrespective of merely circumstantial incidents. The following excerpt\nfrom Farrar (_Life of Christ_, chap. 42) will be of assistance to the\nstudent, who should bear in mind, however, that it is professedly but a\ntentative or possible arrangement. \"It is well known that the whole of\none great section in St. Luke--from 9:51 to 18:30--forms an episode in\nthe Gospel narrative of which many incidents are narrated by this\nEvangelist alone, and in which the few identifications of time and place\nall point to one slow and solemn progress from Galilee to Jerusalem\n(9:51; 13:22; 17:11; 10:38). Now after the Feast of Dedication our Lord\nretired into Perea, until He was summoned thence by the death of Lazarus\n(John 10:40, 42; 11:1-46); after the resurrection [raising] of Lazarus,\nHe fled to Ephraim (11:54); and He did not leave His retirement at\nEphraim until He went to Bethany, six days before His final Passover\n(12:1).\n\n\"This great journey, therefore, from Galilee to Jerusalem, so rich in\noccasions which called forth some of His most memorable utterances, must\nhave been either a journey to the Feast of Tabernacles or to the Feast\nof Dedication. That it could not have been the former may be regarded as\nsettled, not only on other grounds, but decisively because that was a\nrapid and secret journey, this an eminently public and leisurely one.\n\n\"Almost every inquirer seems to differ to a greater or less degree as to\nthe exact sequence and chronology of the events which follow. Without\nentering into minute and tedious disquisitions where absolute certainty\nis impossible, I will narrate this period of our Lord's life in the\norder which, after repeated study of the Gospels, appears to me to be\nthe most probable, and in the separate details of which I have found\nmyself again and again confirmed by the conclusions of other independent\ninquirers. And here I will only premise my conviction--\n\n\"1. That the episode of St. Luke up to 18:30, mainly refers to a single\njourney, although unity of subject, or other causes, may have led the\nsacred writer to weave into his narrative some events or utterances\nwhich belong to an earlier or later epoch.\n\n\"2. That the order of the facts narrated even by St. Luke alone is not,\nand does not in any way claim to be, strictly chronological; so that the\nplace of any event in the narrative by no means necessarily indicates\nits true position in the order of time.\n\n\"3. That this journey is identical with that which is partially recorded\nin Matt. 18:1; 20:16; Mark 10:1-31.\n\n\"4. That (as seems obvious from internal evidence) the events narrated\nin Matt. 20:17-28; Mark 10:32-45; Luke 18:31-34, belong not to this\njourney but to the last which Jesus ever took--the journey from Ephraim\nto Bethany and Jerusalem.\"\n\n2. Jesus at the Home in Bethany.--Some writers (e.g. Edersheim) place\nthis incident as having occurred in the course of our Lord's journey to\nJerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles; others (e.g. Geikie)\nassume that it took place immediately after that feast; and yet others\n(e.g. Farrar) assign it to the eve of the Feast of Dedication, nearly\nthree months later. The place given it in the text is that in which it\nappears in the scriptural record.\n\n3. Shall but Few be Saved?--Through latter-day revelation we learn that\ngraded conditions await us in the hereafter, and that beyond salvation\nare the higher glories of exaltation. The specified kingdoms or glories\nof the redeemed, excepting the sons of perdition, are the Celestial, the\nTerrestrial, and the Telestial. Those who obtain place in the Telestial,\nthe lowest of the three, are shown to be \"as innumerable as the stars in\nthe firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore.\" And these\nshall not be equal, \"For they shall be judged according to their works,\nand every man shall receive according to his own works, his own\ndominion, in the mansions which are prepared. And they shall be servants\nof the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come,\nworlds without end.\" See Doc. and Cov. 76:111, 112; read the entire\nsection; see also _The Articles of Faith_ xxii:16-27; and p. 601 herein.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[881] John 10:22.\n\n[882] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[883] Luke 9:51.\n\n[884] John 10:40; 11:54.\n\n[885] Luke 9:51-56.\n\n[886] John 4:4-42; page 176 herein.\n\n[887] Luke 9:54; compare 2 Kings 1:10, 12.\n\n[888] Matt. 10:23.\n\n[889] Luke 9:57-62; see pages 305-307 herein.\n\n[890] Luke 10:1-12.\n\n[891] Compare Matt. 9:37, 38; see also John 4:35.\n\n[892] Edersheim (vol. ii, p. 138) says: \"The expression 'if the son of\npeace be there' is a Hebraism, equivalent to 'if the house be worthy'\n(compare Matt. 10:13) and refers to the character of the head of the\nhouse and the tone of the household.\"\n\n[893] Compare Matt. 10:14; page 329 herein.\n\n[894] Compare the charge given the Seventy with that of the Twelve,\nMatt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-11; Luke 9:1-5; see page 328 herein.\n\n[895] Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24.\n\n[896] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15.\n\n[897] Doc. and Cov. 107:25; 124:137-140; see also \"Articles of Faith,\"\nxi:20, 28. The special office of the Seventy has been reestablished in\nthe restored Church; and in this, the last dispensation, many quorums of\nSeventy are maintained for the work of the ministry. The office of the\nSeventy is one belonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood.\n\n[898] Luke 10:13-15; compare Matt. 11:20-24; see page 258 herein.\n\n[899] Luke 10:17.\n\n[900] Rev. 9:1; 12:8, 9; see pages 6 and 7 herein.\n\n[901] Luke 10:19; read verses 20-24.\n\n[902] Compare Mark 16:18; Acts 28:5.\n\n[903] Rev. 12:9; 20:2; compare Gen. 3:1-4, 14, 15.\n\n[904] Compare Rev. 13:8; 20:12; 21:27.\n\n[905] Compare Mark 12:13; see also Luke 11:53, 54.\n\n[906] Luke 10:25-37.\n\n[907] Compare Gen. 22:1.\n\n[908] Compare Matt. 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18.\n\n[909] Luke 10:27; compare Deut. 6:5, and Lev. 19:18; see also Matt.\n22:35-40.\n\n[910] Luke 10:30-37.\n\n[911] Matt. 18:21, 22; compare Luke 17:4; page 392 herein.\n\n[912] Deut. 22:4; compare. Exo. 23:5.\n\n[913] Luke 10:38-42. Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[914] John 11:5.\n\n[915] Compare John 12:2, 3.\n\n[916] Luke 11:1-13.\n\n[917] Pages 238-241.\n\n[918] Luke 18:2-5; read verses 1, and 6-8. See also Doc. and Cov.\n101:81-94.\n\n[919] Luke 18:1; compare 21:36; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1\nThess. 5:17.\n\n[920] Luke 11:37-54.\n\n[921] Luke 11:14-28; see page 265 herein.\n\n[922] Luke 11:29-36; see page 270 herein.\n\n[923] Matt. 23; see chapter 31 herein.\n\n[924] Luke 12:1-12.\n\n[925] Page 359.\n\n[926] Page 404.\n\n[927] Luke 12:14-21.\n\n[928] Compare the fate that overtook Nebuchadnezzar, while the words of\nboastful pride were yet in his mouth (Dan. 4:24-33); and that of\nBelshazzar, before whose eyes appeared the hand of destiny in the midst\nof his riotous feast; in that night was the king's soul required of him.\n(Dan. 5.)\n\n[929] Eccles. 2:18, 19; compare succeeding verses; see also Psa. 39:6:\n49:6-20; Job 27: 16, 17.\n\n[930] Luke 12:22-31; compare Matt. 6:25-34.\n\n[931] Compare Matt. 6:20.\n\n[932] Luke 12:35-48.\n\n[933] Luke 12:49-57; compare Matt. 10:34-37.\n\n[934] Luke 13:1-5.\n\n[935] Josephus, Wars ii, 9:4; also page 352 herein.\n\n[936] Compare John 9:2, 3; also page 413 herein.\n\n[937] Job 4:7; 8:2-14, 20; 22:5.\n\n[938] Luke 13:6-9.\n\n[939] Luke 3:9.\n\n[940] Luke 13:11-17.\n\n[941] Colos. 4:14.\n\n[942] Luke 13:19-21; see pages 290, 291 herein.\n\n[943] Luke 13:23-30. Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[944] Compare Matt. 7:13.\n\n[945] Compare Matt. 7:23; 8:11, 12; 19:30; Mark 10:31.\n\n[946] Luke 13:31-33.\n\n[947] In the revised version the last clause reads \"for Herod would fain\nkill thee.\"\n\n[948] Paul the apostle had been a Pharisee of the most pronounced type.\n(Acts 23:6; 26:5.)\n\n[949] Luke 13:34, 35: compare Matt. 23:37-39.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 27.\n\nCONTINUATION OF THE PEREAN AND JUDEAN MINISTRY.\n\n\nIN THE HOUSE OF ONE OF THE CHIEF PHARISEES.[950]\n\nOn a certain Sabbath Jesus was a guest at the house of a prominent\nPharisee. A man afflicted with dropsy was there; he may have come with\nthe hope of receiving a blessing, or possibly his presence had been\nplanned by the host or others as a means of tempting Jesus to work a\nmiracle on the holy day. The exercize of our Lord's healing power was at\nleast thought of if not openly intimated or suggested, for we read that\n\"Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it\nlawful to heal on the Sabbath day?\"[951] No one ventured to reply. Jesus\nforthwith healed the man; then He turned to the assembled company and\nasked: \"Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and\nwill not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?\"[952] The learned\nexpositors of the law remained prudently silent.\n\nObserving the eager activity of the Pharisee's guests in securing for\nthemselves prominent places at table, Jesus instructed them in a matter\nof good manners, pointing out not only the propriety but the advantage\nof decent self-restraint. An invited guest should not select for himself\nthe seat of honor, for some one more distinguished than he may come, and\nthe host would say: \"Give this man place.\" Better is it to take a lower\nseat, then possibly the lord of the feast may say: \"Friend, go up\nhigher.\" The moral follows: \"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be\nabased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.\"[953]\n\nThis festive gathering at the house of the chief Pharisee included\npersons of prominence and note, rich men and officials, leading\nPharisees, renowned scholars, famous rabbis and the like. Looking over\nthe distinguished company, Jesus said: \"When thou makest a dinner or a\nsupper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor\nthy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be\nmade thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the\nlame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense\nthee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.\"\nThis bit of wholesome advice was construed as a reproof; and some one\nattempted to relieve the embarrassing situation by exclaiming: \"Blessed\nis he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.\"[954] The remark was\nan allusion to the great festival, which according to Jewish\ntraditionalism was to be a feature of signal importance in the Messianic\ndispensation. Jesus promptly turned the circumstance to good account by\nbasing thereon the profoundly significant _Parable of the Great Supper_:\n\n\"A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant\nat supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are\nnow ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first\nsaid unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and\nsee it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought\nfive yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.\nAnd another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So\nthat servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of\nthe house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the\nstreets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the\nmaimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is\ndone as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said\nunto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them\nto come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none\nof those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.\"[955]\n\nThe story implies that invitations had been given sufficiently early to\nthe chosen and prospective guests; then on the day of the feast a\nmessenger was sent to notify them again, as was the custom of the time.\nThough called a supper, the meal was to be a sumptuous one; moreover,\nthe principal meal of the day was commonly spoken of as supper. One man\nafter another declined to attend, one saying: \"I pray thee have me\nexcused\"; another: \"I cannot come.\" The matters that engaged the time\nand attention of those who had been bidden, or as we would say, invited,\nto the feast, were not of themselves discreditable, far less sinful; but\nto arbitrarily allow personal affairs to annul an honorable engagement\nonce accepted was to manifest discourtesy, disrespect and practical\ninsult toward the provider of the feast. The man who had bought a field\ncould have deferred the inspection; he who had just purchased cattle\ncould have waited a day to try them under the yoke; and the newly\nmarried man could have left his bride and his friends for the period of\nthe supper that he had promised to attend. Plainly none of these people\nwanted to be present. The master of the house was justly angry. His\ncommand to bring in the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind from\nthe city streets must have appealed to those who listened to our Lord's\nrecital as a reminiscence of His counsel given a few minutes before,\nconcerning the kind of guests a rich man could invite with profit to his\nsoul. The second sending out of the servant, this time into the highways\nand hedges outside the city walls, to bring in even the country poor,\nindicated boundless benevolence and firm determination on the\nhouseholder's part.\n\nExplication of the parable was left to the learned men to whom the story\nwas addressed. Surely some of them would fathom its meaning, in part at\nleast. The covenant people, Israel, were the specially invited guests.\nThey had been bidden long enough aforetime, and by their own profession\nas the Lord's own had agreed to be partakers of the feast. When all was\nready, on the appointed day, they were severally summoned by the\nMessenger who had been sent by the Father; He was even then in their\nmidst. But the cares of riches, the allurement of material things, and\nthe pleasures of social and domestic life had engrossed them; and they\nprayed to be excused or irreverently declared they could not or would\nnot come. Then the gladsome invitation was to be carried to the\nGentiles, who were looked upon as spiritually poor, maimed, halt, and\nblind. And later, even the pagans beyond the walls, strangers in the\ngates of the holy city, would be bidden to the supper. These, surprized\nat the unexpected summons, would hesitate, until by gentle urging and\neffective assurance that they were really included among the bidden\nguests, they would feel themselves constrained or compelled to come. The\npossibility of some of the discourteous ones arriving later, after they\nhad attended to their more absorbing affairs, is indicated in the Lord's\nclosing words: \"For I say unto you, That none of those men which were\nbidden shall taste of my supper.\"\n\n\nCOUNTING THE COST.[956]\n\nAs had been in Galilee, so was it in Perea and Judea--great multitudes\nattended the Master whenever He appeared in public. When once a scribe\nhas presented himself as a disciple, offering to follow wherever the\nMaster led, Jesus had indicated the self-denial, privation and suffering\nincident to devoted service, with the result that the man's enthusiasm\nwas soon spent.[957] So now to the eager multitude Jesus applied a test\nof sincerity. He would have only genuine disciples, not enthusiasts of a\nday, ready to desert His cause when effort and sacrifice were most\nneeded. Thus did He sift the people: \"If any man come to me, and hate\nnot his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and\nsisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And\nwhosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my\ndisciple.\" Literal hatred toward one's family was not specified as a\ncondition of discipleship; indeed a man who indulges hatred or any other\nevil passion is a subject for repentance and reformation. The\npreeminence of duty toward God over personal or family demands on the\npart of one who had assumed the obligations of a disciple was the\nprecept.[958]\n\nAs Jesus pointed out, it is good common-sense to count well the cost\nbefore one enters upon a great undertaking, even in ordinary affairs. A\nman who wishes to build, say a tower or a house, tries to determine,\nbefore he begins the work, what the expense will be; otherwise he may be\nable to do no more than lay the foundation; then, not only will he find\nhimself a loser, for the unfinished structure will be of no service, but\npeople may laugh at his lack of prudent forethought. So also a king,\nfinding his realm menaced by hostile invaders, does not rush into battle\nrecklessly; he first tries to ascertain the strength of the enemy's\nforces; and then, if the odds against him be too great, he sends an\nembassage to treat for peace. \"So likewise,\" said Jesus to the people\naround Him, \"whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath,\nhe cannot be my disciple.\" All who entered His service would be expected\nto maintain their self-sacrificing devotion. He wanted no disciples who\nwould become like salt that had spoiled, unsavory and useless. \"He that\nhath ears to hear, let him hear.\"[959]\n\n\nSALVATION FOR \"PUBLICANS AND SINNERS\"--ILLUSTRATIVE PARABLES.[960]\n\nThe Pharisees in Galilee had intolerantly criticized Jesus because of\nHis friendly and helpful ministry among the publicans and their\nassociates, who were disparagingly classed together as \"publicans and\nsinners.\"[961] He had replied to these uncharitable aspersions by saying\nthat a physician is most needed by them that are sick, and that He had\ncome to call sinners to repentance. The Judean Pharisees raised a\nsimilar complaint, and were particularly virulent when they saw that\n\"all the publicans and sinners\" drew near to hear Him. He met their\nmurmurs by presenting a number of parables, designed to show the\nincumbent duty of trying to recover the lost, and the joy of success in\nsuch God-like endeavor. The first of the series of parables was that of\nthe _Lost Sheep_; this we have considered in connection with its earlier\ndelivery in the course of instruction to the disciples in Galilee.[962]\nIts application in the present instance, however, is somewhat different\nfrom that of its former presentation. The lesson on this later occasion\nwas directed to the self-seeking Pharisees and scribes who personified\nthe theocracy, and whose bounden duty it should have been to care for\nthe strayed and the lost. If the \"publicans and sinners,\" whom these\necclesiasts so generally contemned, were nearly as bad as they were\nrepresented to be, if they were men who had broken through the\nclose-hedged path of the law and had become in a measure apostate, they\nwere the ones toward whom the helping hand of missionary service could\nbe best extended. In no instance of Pharisaic slur upon, or open\ndenunciation of, these \"publicans and sinners,\" do we find Jesus\ndefending their alleged evil ways; His attitude toward these spiritually\nsick folk was that of a devoted physician: His concern over these\nstrayed sheep was that of a loving shepherd whose chief desire was to\nfind them out and bring them back to the fold. This neither the\ntheocracy as a system nor its officials as individual ministers even\nattempted to do. The shepherd, on finding the sheep that was lost,\nthinks not at the time of reprimand or punishment; on the contrary,\n\"when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And\nwhen he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours,\nsaying unto them: Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was\nlost.\"\n\nA direct application of the parable appears in the Lord's concise\naddress to the Pharisees and scribes: \"I say unto you, that likewise joy\nshall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety\nand nine just persons, which need no repentance.\" Were they the ninety\nand nine, who, by self-estimation had strayed not, being \"just persons,\nwhich need no repentance?\" Some readers say they catch this note of just\nsarcasm in the Master's concluding words. In the earlier part of the\nstory, the Lord Himself appears as the solicitous Shepherd, and by plain\nimplication His example is such as the theocratic leaders ought to\nemulate. Such a conception puts the Pharisees and scribes in the\nposition of shepherds rather than of sheep. Both explications are\ntenable; and each is of value as portraying the status and duty of\nprofessing servants of the Master in all ages.\n\nWithout break in the narrative, the Lord passed from the story of the\nlost sheep to the _Parable of the Lost Coin_.\n\n\"Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece,\ndoth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till\nshe find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her\nneighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece\nwhich I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence\nof the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.\"\n\nBetween this parable and that of the lost sheep there are certain\nnotable differences, though the lesson in each is in general the same.\nThe sheep had strayed by its own volition; the coin[963] had been\ndropped, and so was lost as a result of inattention or culpable\ncarelessness on the part of its owner. The woman, discovering her loss\ninstitutes a diligent search; she sweeps the house, and perhaps learns\nof dirty corners, dusty recesses, cobwebby nooks, to which she had been\noblivious in her self-complacency as an outwardly clean and conventional\nhousewife. Her search is rewarded by the recovery of the lost piece, and\nis incidentally beneficial in the cleansing of her house. Her joy is\nlike that of the shepherd wending his way homeward with the sheep upon\nhis shoulders--once lost but now regained.\n\nThe woman who by lack of care lost the precious piece may be taken to\nrepresent the theocracy of the time, and the Church as an institution in\nany dispensational period; then the pieces of silver, every one a\ngenuine coin of the realm, bearing the image of the great King, are the\nsouls committed to the care of the Church; and the lost piece symbolizes\nthe souls that are neglected and, for a time at least, lost sight of, by\nthe authorized ministers of the Gospel of Christ. These cogent\nillustrations were followed by one yet richer in imagery and more\nimpressively elaborate in detail. It is the never to be forgotten\n_Parable of the Prodigal Son_.[964]\n\n\"And he said, A certain man had two sons; And the younger of them said\nto his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.\nAnd he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger\nson gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and\nthere wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent\nall, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in\nwant. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and\nhe sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled\nhis belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto\nhim. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my\nfather's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I\nwill arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have\nsinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be\ncalled thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and\ncame to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw\nhim, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.\nAnd the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in\nthy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father\nsaid to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and\nput a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the\nfatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son\nwas dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began\nto be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew\nnigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the\nservants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy\nbrother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he\nhath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in:\ntherefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said\nto his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither\ntransgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me\na kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy\nson was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast\nkilled for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever\nwith me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make\nmerry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;\nand was lost, and is found.\"\n\nThe demand of the younger son for a portion of the patrimony even during\nhis father's lifetime, is an instance of deliberate and unfilial\ndesertion; the duties of family cooperation had grown distasteful to\nhim, and the wholesome discipline of the home had become irksome. He was\ndetermined to break away from all home ties, forgetful of what home had\ndone for him and the debt of gratitude and duty by which he was morally\nbound. He went into a far country, and, as he thought, beyond the reach\nof the father's directing influence. He had his season of riotous\nliving, of unrestrained indulgence and evil pleasure, through it all\nwasting his strength of body and mind, and squandering his father's\nsubstance; for what he had received had been given as a concession and\nnot as the granting of any legal or just demand. Adversity came upon\nhim, and proved to be a more effective minister for good than pleasure\nhad been. He was reduced to the lowest and most menial service, that of\nherding swine, which occupation, to a Jew, was the extreme of\ndegradation. Suffering brought him to himself. He, the son of honorable\nparentage, was feeding pigs and eating with them, while even the hired\nservants at home had good food in plenty and to spare. He realized not\nalone his abject foolishness in leaving his father's well-spread table\nto batten with hogs, but the unrighteousness of his selfish desertion;\nhe was not only remorseful but repentant. He had sinned against his\nfather and against God; he would return, confess his sin, and ask, not\nto be reinstated as a son, but to be allowed to work as a hired servant.\nHaving resolved he delayed not, but immediately set out to find his long\nway back to home and father.\n\nThe father became aware of the prodigal's approach and hastened to meet\nhim. Without a word of condemnation, the loving parent embraced and\nkissed the wayward but now penitent boy, who, overcome by this\nundeserved affection, humbly acknowledged his error, and sorrowfully\nconfessed that he was not worthy to be known as his father's son. It is\nnoteworthy that in his contrite confession he did not ask to be accepted\nas a hired servant as he had resolved to do; the father's joy was too\nsacred to be thus marred, he would please his father best by placing\nhimself unreservedly at that father's disposal. The rough garb of\npoverty was discarded for the best robe; a ring was placed on his finger\nas a mark of reinstatement; shoes told of restored sonship, not of\nemployment as a hired servant. The father's glad heart could express\nitself only in acts of abundant kindness; a feast was made ready; for\nwas not the son, once counted as dead now alive? Had not the lost been\nfound again?\n\nSo far the story sustains a relation of close analogy to the two\nparables that preceded it in the same discourse; the part following\nintroduces another important symbolism. No one had complained at the\nrecovery of the stray sheep nor at the finding of the lost coin; friends\nhad rejoiced with the finder in each case. But the father's happiness at\nthe return of the prodigal was interrupted by the grumbling protest of\nthe elder son. He, on approaching the house, had observed the evidences\nof festal joy; and, instead of entering as was his right, had inquired\nof one of the servants as to the cause of the unusual rejoicing. On\nlearning that his brother had returned and that the father had prepared\na festival in honor of the event, this elder son grew angry, and\nchurlishly refused to enter the house even after his father had come out\nand entreated him. He cited his own faithfulness and devotion to the\nroutine labor of the farm, to which claim of excellence the father did\nnot demur; but the son and heir reproached his father for having failed\nto give him so much as a kid with which to make merry with his friends;\nwhile now that the wayward and spendthrift son had come back the father\nhad killed for him even the fatted calf. There is significance in the\nelder one's designation of the penitent as \"this thy son,\" rather than\n\"my brother.\" The elder son, deafened by selfish anger, refused to hear\naright the affectionate assurance; \"Son, thou art ever with me, and all\nthat I have is thine,\" and with heart hardened by unbrotherly resentment\nhe stood unmoved by the emotional and loving outburst, \"this thy brother\nwas dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.\"\n\nWe are not justified in extolling the virtue of repentance on the part\nof the prodigal above the faithful, plodding service of his brother, who\nhad remained at home, true to the duties required of him. The devoted\nson was the heir; the father did not disparage his worth, nor deny his\ndeserts. His displeasure over the rejoicing incident to the return of\nhis wayward brother was an exhibition of illiberality and narrowness;\nbut of the two brothers the elder was the more faithful, whatever his\nminor defects may have been. The particular point emphasized in the\nLord's lesson, however, had to do with his uncharitable and selfish\nweaknesses.\n\nPharisees and scribes, to whom this masterpiece of illustrative incident\nwas delivered, must have taken to themselves its personal application.\nThey were typified by the elder son, laboriously attentive to routine,\nmethodically plodding by rule and rote in the multifarious labors of the\nfield, without interest except that of self, and all unwilling to\nwelcome a repentant publican or a returned sinner. From all such they\nwere estranged; such a one might be to the indulgent and forgiving\nFather, \"this thy son,\" but never to them, a brother. They cared not who\nor how many were lost, so long as they were undisturbed in heirship and\npossession by the return of penitent prodigals. But the parable was not\nfor them alone; it is a living perennial yielding the fruit of wholesome\ndoctrine and soul-sustaining nourishment for all time. Not a word\nappears in condonation or excuse for the prodigal's sin; upon that the\nFather could not look with the least degree of allowance;[965] but over\nthat sinner's repentance and contrition of soul, God and the household\nof heaven rejoiced.\n\nThe three parables which appear in the scriptural record as parts of a\ncontinuous discourse, are as one in portraying the joy that abounds in\nheaven over the recovery of a soul once numbered among the lost, whether\nthat soul be best symbolized by a sheep that had wandered afar, a coin\nthat had dropped out of sight through the custodian's neglect, or a son\nwho would deliberately sever himself from home and heaven. There is no\njustification for the inference that a repentant sinner is to be given\nprecedence, over a righteous soul who has resisted sin; were such the\nway of God, then Christ, the one sinless Man, would be surpassed in the\nFather's esteem by regenerate offenders. Unqualifiedly offensive as is\nsin, the sinner is yet precious in the Father's eyes, because of the\npossibility of his repentance and return to righteousness. The loss of a\nsoul is a very real and a very great loss to God. He is pained and\ngrieved thereby, for it is His will that not one should perish.[966]\n\n\nDISCIPLES INSTRUCTED BY PARABLE.\n\nAddressing Himself more directly to the disciples present, who on this\noccasion probably comprized in addition to the apostles, many believers,\nincluding even some of the publicans, Jesus spake the _Parable of the\nUnrighteous Steward_.[967]\n\n    \"And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich\n    man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that\n    he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him,\n    How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy\n    stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the\n    steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh\n    away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.\n    I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the\n    stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called\n    every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the\n    first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred\n    measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit\n    down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how\n    much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And\n    he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the\n    lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely:\n    for the children of this world are in their generation wiser\n    than the children of light.\"\n\nThe three preceding parables show forth their lessons through the\nrelationship of close analogy and intimate similarities; this one\nteaches rather by its contrast of situations. The steward in the story\nwas the duly authorized agent of his employer, holding what we would\ncall the power-of-attorney to act in his master's name.[968] He was\ncalled to account because a report of his wastefulness and lack of care\nhad reached the master's ears. The steward did not deny his guilt, and\nforthwith he received notice of dismissal. Considerable time would be\nrequired for making up his accounts preparatory to turning the\nstewardship over to his successor. This interval, during which he\nremained in authority, he determined to use so far as possible to his\nown advantage, even though he wrought further injustice to his master's\ninterests. He contemplated the condition of dependence in which he would\nsoon find himself. Through unthrift and extravagance he had failed to\nlay by any store from his earnings; he had wasted his own and his lord's\nsubstance. He felt that he was unfit for hard manual labor; and he would\nbe ashamed to beg, particularly in the community in which he had been a\nlavish spender and a man of influence. With the desire to put others\nunder some obligation to himself so that when he was deposed he could\nthe more effectively appeal to them, he called his lord's debtors and\nauthorized them to change their bonds, bills of sale, or notes of hand,\nso as to show a greatly decreased indebtedness. Without doubt these acts\nwere unrighteous; he defrauded his employer, and enriched the debtors\nthrough whom he hoped to be benefited. Most of us are surprized to know\nthat the master, learning what his far-seeing though selfish and\ndishonest steward had done, condoned the offense and actually commended\nhim for his foresight, \"because he had done wisely\" as our version\nreads, or \"because he had done prudently\" as many scholars aver to be\nthe better rendering.\n\nIn pointing the moral of the parable Jesus said:[969] \"For the children\nof this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.\nAnd I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of\nunrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into\neverlasting habitations.\" Our Lord's purpose was to show the contrast\nbetween the care, thoughtfulness, and devotion of men engaged in the\nmoney-making affairs of earth, and the half hearted ways of many who are\nprofessedly striving after spiritual riches. Worldly-minded men do not\nneglect provision for their future years, and often are sinfully eager\nto amass plenty; while the \"children of light,\" or those who believe\nspiritual wealth to be above all earthly possessions, are less\nenergetic, prudent, or wise. By \"mammon of unrighteousness\" we may\nunderstand material wealth or worldly things. While far inferior to the\ntreasures of heaven, money or that which it represents may be the means\nof accomplishing good, and of furthering the purposes of God. Our Lord's\nadmonition was to utilize \"mammon\" in good works, while it lasted, for\nsome day it shall fail, and only the results achieved through its use\nshall endure.[970] If the wicked steward, when cast out from his\nmaster's house because of unworthiness, might hope to be received into\nthe homes of these whom he had favored, how much more confidently may\nthey who are genuinely devoted to the right hope to be received into the\neverlasting mansions of God! Such seems to be part of the lesson.\n\nIt was not the steward's dishonesty that was extolled; his prudence and\nforesight were commended, however; for while he misapplied his master's\nsubstance, he gave relief to the debtors; and in so doing he did not\nexceed his legal powers, for he was still steward though he was morally\nguilty of malfeasance. The lesson may be summed up in this wise: Make\nsuch use of your wealth as shall insure you friends hereafter. Be\ndiligent; for the day in which you can use your earthly riches will soon\npass. Take a lesson from even the dishonest and the evil; if they are so\nprudent as to provide for the only future they think of, how much more\nshould you, who believe in an eternal future, provide therefor! If you\nhave not learned wisdom and prudence in the use of \"unrighteous mammon,\"\nhow can you be trusted with the more enduring riches? If you have not\nlearned how to use properly the wealth of another, which has been\ncommitted to you as steward, how can you expect to be successful in the\nhandling of great wealth should such be given you as your own? Emulate\nthe unjust steward and the lovers of mammon, not in their dishonesty,\ncupidity, and miserly hoarding of the wealth that is at best but\ntransitory, but in their zeal, forethought, and provision for the\nfuture. Moreover, let not wealth become your master; keep it to its\nplace as a servant, for, \"No servant can serve two masters: for either\nhe will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the\none, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.\"\n\n\nDERISION OF THE PHARISEES MET; ANOTHER ILLUSTRATIVE PARABLES.[971]\n\nThe Pharisees, who were covetous, or more precisely stated, who were\nlovers of money,[972] overheard the foregoing instructions to the\ndisciples, and openly scoffed at the Teacher and the lesson. What did\nthis Galilean, who owned nothing but the clothes He wore, know about\nmoney or the best way of administering wealth? Our Lord's reply to their\nwords of derision was a further condemnation. They knew all the tricks\nof the business-world, and could outdo the unrighteous steward in crafty\nmanipulation; and yet so successfully could they justify themselves\nbefore men as to be outwardly honest and straightforward; furthermore,\nthey made ostentatious display of a certain type of simplicity,\nplainness, and self-denial, in which external observances they asserted\nsuperiority over the luxury-loving Sadducees; they had grown arrogantly\nproud of their humility, but God knew their hearts, and the traits and\npractises they most esteemed were an abomination in His sight. They\nposed as custodians of the law and expounders of the prophets. The \"law\nand the prophets\" had been in force until the Baptist's time, since\nwhich the gospel of the kingdom had been preached, and people were eager\nto enter it[973] though the theocracy strove mightily to prevent. The\nlaw had not been invalidated; easier were it that heaven and earth pass\naway than that one tittle of the law fail of fulfilment;[974] yet those\nPharisees and scribes had tried to nullify the law. In the matter of\ndivorce, for example, they, by their unlawful additions and false\ninterpretations, had condoned even the sin of adultery.\n\nThe Master gave as a further lesson the _Parable of the Rich Man and\nLazarus_:\n\n    \"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and\n    fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a\n    certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full\n    of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from\n    the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his\n    sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was\n    carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also\n    died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in\n    torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.\n    And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and\n    send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,\n    and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But\n    Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst\n    thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is\n    comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between\n    us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would\n    pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that\n    would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,\n    father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I\n    have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they\n    also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him,\n    They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he\n    said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the\n    dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not\n    Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though\n    one rose from the dead.\"[975]\n\nThe afflicted beggar is honored with a name; the other is designated\nsimply as \"a certain rich man.\"[976] The two are presented as the\nextremes of contrast between wealth and destitution. The rich man was\nclothed in the costliest attire, purple and fine linen; and his\nevery-day fare was a sumptuous feast. Lazarus had been brought to the\ngates of the rich man's palace, and there left, a helpless mendicant,\nhis body covered with sores. The rich man was attended by servitors\nready to gratify his slightest desire; the poor beggar at his gates had\nneither companions nor attendants except the dogs, which like himself\nwaited for the refuse from the rich man's table. Such is the picture of\nthe two in life. An abrupt change of scene brings into view the same two\non the far side of the veil that hangs between the here and the\nhereafter. Lazarus died; no mention is made of his funeral; his\nfestering body was probably thrown into a pauper's grave; but angels\nbore his immortal spirit into Paradise, the resting place of the blessed\nand commonly known in the figurative lore of the rabbis as Abraham's\nbosom. The rich man also died; his burial was doubtless an elaborate\naffair, but we read not of any angelic escort receiving his spirit. In\nhell he lifted up his eyes and saw, afar, Lazarus at peace in the abode\nof Abraham.\n\nAs a Jew the man had often boasted of having Abraham for his father; and\nnow the wretched spirit appealed to the patriarch of his race by the\npaternal address, \"Father Abraham,\" and asked only the boon of a single\ndrop of water to be placed on his parched tongue; this he prayed that\nLazarus, the erstwhile beggar, might bring. The reply throws light on\ncertain conditions existing in the spirit world, though as in the use of\nparables generally, the presentation is largely figurative. Addressing\nthe poor tormented spirit as \"Son,\" Abraham reminded him of all the good\nthings he had kept for himself on earth, whilst Lazarus had lain a\nsuffering, neglected beggar at his gates; now by the operation of divine\nlaw, Lazarus had received recompense, and he, retribution. Moreover, to\ngrant his pitiful request was impossible, for between the abode of the\nrighteous where Lazarus rested and that of the wicked where he suffered\n\"there is a great gulf fixed,\" and passage between the two is\ninterdicted. The next request of the miserable sufferer was not wholly\nselfish; in his anguish he remembered those from whom he had been\nseparated by death, fain would he save his brothers from the fate he had\nmet; and he prayed that Lazarus be sent back to earth to visit the\nancestral home, and warn those selfish, pleasure-seeking, and yet mortal\nbrothers, of the awful doom awaiting them except they would repent and\nreform. There may have been in this petition an insinuation that had he\nbeen sufficiently warned he would have done better, and would have\nescaped the torment. To the reminder that they had the words of Moses\nand the prophets, which they should obey, he replied that if one went to\nthem from the dead they would surely repent. Abraham answered that if\nthey would not heed Moses and the prophets neither would \"they be\npersuaded, though one rose from the dead.\"\n\nIn any attempt to interpret the parable as a whole or definitely apply\nany of its parts, we should bear in mind that it was addressed to the\nPharisees as an instructive rebuke for the derision and scorn with which\nthey had received the Lord's warning concerning the dangers attending\nservitude to mammon. Jesus employed Jewish metaphors, and the imagery of\nthe parable is such as would most directly appeal to the official\nexpounders of Moses and the prophets. While as a practise it would be\ncritically unfair to deduce doctrinal principles from parabolic\nincidents, we cannot admit that Christ would teach falsely even in\nparable; and therefore we accept as true the portrayal of conditions in\nthe world of the disembodied. That righteous and unrighteous dwell apart\nduring the interval between death and resurrection is clear. Paradise,\nor as the Jews like to designate that blessed abode, \"Abraham's bosom,\"\nis not the place of final glory, any more than the hell to which the\nrich man's spirit was consigned is the final habitation of the\ncondemned.[977] To that preliminary or intermediate state, however,\nmen's works do follow them;[978] and the dead shall surely find that\ntheir abode is that for which they have qualified themselves while in\nthe flesh.\n\nThe rich man's fate was not the effect of riches, nor was the rest into\nwhich Lazarus entered the resultant of poverty. Failure to use his\nwealth aright, and selfish satisfaction with the sensuous enjoyment of\nearthly things to the exclusion of all concern for the needs or\nprivations of his fellows, brought the one under condemnation; while\npatience in suffering, faith in God and such righteous life as is\nimplied though not expressed, insured happiness to the other. The proud\nself-sufficiency of the rich man, who lacked nothing that wealth could\nfurnish, and who kept aloof from the needy and suffering, was his\nbesetting sin. The aloofness of the Pharisees, on which indeed they\nprided themselves, as their very name, signifying \"separatists,\"\nexpressed, was thus condemned. The parable teaches the continuation of\nindividual existence after death, and the relation of cause to effect\nbetween the life one leads in mortality and the state awaiting him\nbeyond.\n\n\nUNPROFITABLE SERVANTS.[979]\n\nFrom the Pharisees, Jesus turned to His disciples and admonished them to\ndiligence. Having cautioned them against unguarded utterances or actions\nat which others might take offense, He proceeded to impress the absolute\nnecessity of unselfish devotion, toleration and forgiveness. The\napostles, realizing the whole-souled service required of them, implored\nthe Lord, saying: \"Increase our faith.\" They were shown that faith was\nless fitly reckoned in terms of quantity than by test of quality; and\nthe analogy of the mustard seed was again invoked. \"And the Lord said,\nIf ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this\nsycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in\nthe sea; and it should obey you.\"[980] Their faith could best be gaged\nby obedience and untiring service.\n\nThis was emphasized by the _Parable of the Unprofitable Servants_.\n\n    \"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle,\n    will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go\n    and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make\n    ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till\n    I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and\n    drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that\n    were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall\n    have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are\n    unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to\n    do.\"\n\nThe servant might well feel that after a day's work in the field he is\nentitled to rest; but on reaching the house he finds other demands made\nupon him. The master has a right to the servant's time and attention;\nsuch was among the conditions under which the servant had been engaged;\nand while his employer might thank him or give some substantial reward,\nthe servant cannot demand such recompense. So the apostles, who had\ngiven themselves entirely up to their Master's service, were not to\nhesitate nor demur, whatever the effort or sacrifice required. The best\nthey could do would be no more than their duty required; and, without\nregard to the Master's estimate of their worth, they were to account\nthemselves as unprofitable servants.[981]\n\n\nTEN LEPERS HEALED.[982]\n\nIn the course of His journey toward Jerusalem Jesus \"passed through the\nmidst of Samaria and Galilee.\" Ten men afflicted with leprosy\napproached, probably they came as near as the law permitted, yet they\nwere afar off. These men were of mixed nationality; the plague under\nwhich they suffered in common had made them companions in distress. They\ncried aloud \"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.\" The Lord answered: \"Go\nshew yourselves unto the priests.\"[983] This instruction implied their\nultimate healing; obedience would be the test of their faith. None who\nhad been leprous could be lawfully restored to community life until\npronounced clean by a priest. The stricken ten hastened to obey the\nLord's command, \"and it came to pass, that, as they went, they were\ncleansed.\"[984] One of the ten turned back, and with loud voice\nglorified God; then he prostrated himself at the feet of Christ, giving\nthanks. We are told that the grateful one was a Samaritan, from which we\ninfer that some or all of the others were Jews. Pained over the lack of\ngratitude on the part of the nine, Jesus exclaimed: \"Were there not ten\ncleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that return to\ngive glory to God, save this stranger.\" And to the cleansed Samaritan,\nstill worshiping at His feet, the Lord said: \"Arise, go thy way: thy\nfaith hath made thee whole.\" Doubtless the nine who came not back were\nobedient to the strict letter of the Lord's command; for He had told\nthem to go to the priests; but their lack of gratitude and their failure\nto acknowledge the power of God in their restoration stand in\nunfavorable contrast with the spirit of the one; and he was a Samaritan.\nThe occurrence must have impressed the apostles as another evidence of\nacceptability and possible excellence on the part of aliens, to the\ndisparagement of Jewish claims of superiority irrespective of merit.\n\n\nTHE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.[985]\n\n\"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that\nthey were righteous, and despised others:\n\n    \"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee,\n    and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus\n    with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,\n    extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I\n    fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And\n    the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as\n    his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be\n    merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his\n    house justified rather than the other: for every one that\n    exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself\n    shall be exalted.\"\n\nWe are expressly told that this parable was given for the benefit of\ncertain ones who trusted in their self-righteousness as an assurance of\njustification before God. It was not addressed to the Pharisees nor to\nthe publicans specifically. The two characters are types of widely\nseparated classes. There may have been much of the Pharisaic spirit of\nself-complacency among the disciples and some of it even among the\nTwelve. A Pharisee and a publican went up to the temple to pray. The\nPharisee prayed \"with himself\"; his words can hardly be construed as a\nprayer to God. That he stood while praying was not an impropriety, for\nthe standing attitude was usual in prayer; the publican also stood. The\nPharisee thanked God that he was so much better than other men; he was\ntrue to his class, a separatist who looked with disdain upon all who\nwere not like him. That he was not like \"this publican\" was made a point\nof special thanksgiving. His boast, that he fasted twice a week and gave\ntithes of all that he possessed, was a specification of worthiness above\nwhat was required by the law as then administered; he thus implied that\nGod was his debtor.[986] The publican, standing afar off, was so\noppressed by his consciousness of sin and his absolute need of divine\nhelp, that he cast down his eyes and smote upon his breast, craving\nmercy as a penitent sinner. The Pharisee departed, justified in his own\nconscience and before man, prouder than ever; the other went down to his\nhouse justified before God though still a despized publican. The parable\nis applicable to all men; its moral was summed up in a repetition of our\nLord's words spoken in the house of the chief Pharisee: \"For every one\nthat exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself\nshall be exalted.\"[987]\n\n\nON MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.[988]\n\nWhile wending His way by short stages toward Jerusalem, and while still\n\"beyond\" or on \"the farther side\" of Jordan, and therefore in Perean\nterritory, Jesus was met by a body of Pharisees, who had come with the\ndeliberate purpose of inciting Him to say or do something on which they\ncould base an accusation. The question they had agreed to submit related\nto marriage and divorce, and no subject had been more vehemently\ncontested in their own schools and among their own rabbis.[989] The\ncrafty questioners may have hoped that Jesus would denounce the\nadulterous state in which Herod Antipas was then living, and so bring\nupon Himself the fury of Herodias, to which the Baptist had already died\na victim. \"Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?\"\nthey asked. Jesus cited the original and eternal law of God in the\nmatter; and indicated the only rational conclusion to be drawn\ntherefrom: \"Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning\nmade them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave\nfather and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be\none flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What\ntherefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.\"[990] God\nhad provided for honorable marriage, and had made the relation between\nhusband and wife paramount even to that of children to parents; the\nsevering of such a union was an invention of man, not a command of God.\nThe Pharisees had a ready rejoinder: \"Why did Moses then command to give\na writing of divorcement, and to put her away?\" Be it remembered that\nMoses had not commanded divorce, but had required that in case a man\nshould separate from his wife he give her a bill of divorcement.[991]\nJesus made this fact plain, saying: \"Moses because of the hardness of\nyour hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning\nit was not so.\"\n\nThe higher requirement of the gospel followed: \"And I say unto you,\nWhosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and\nshall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which\nis put away doth commit adultery.\"[992] The Mosaic provision had been\nbut permissive, and was justified only because of existing\nunrighteousness. Strict compliance with the doctrine enunciated by Jesus\nChrist is the only means by which a perfect social order can be\nmaintained. It is important to note, however, that in His reply to the\ncasuistical Pharisees, Jesus announced no specific or binding rule as to\nlegal divorces; the putting away of a wife, as contemplated under the\nMosaic custom, involved no judicial investigation or action by an\nestablished court. In our Lord's day the prevailing laxity in the matter\nof marital obligation had produced a state of appalling corruption in\nIsrael; and woman, who by the law of God had been made a companion and\npartner with man, had become his slave. The world's greatest champion of\nwoman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ.[993]\n\nThe Pharisees retired foiled in purpose and convicted in conscience. The\nLord's strict construction of the marriage bond was startling even to\nsome of the disciples; these came to Him privately, saying that if a man\nwas so bound it would be better not to marry at all. Such a broad\ngeneralization the Lord disapproved except so far as it might apply in\nspecial cases. True, there were some who were physically incapacitated\nfor marriage; others voluntarily devoted themselves to a celibate life,\nand some few adopted celibacy \"for the kingdom of heaven's sake,\" that\nthereby they might be free to render all their time and energy to the\nLord's service. But the disciples' conclusion that \"it is not good to\nmarry\" was true only in the exceptional instances stated. Marriage is\nhonorable;[994] for neither man without woman nor woman without man can\nbe perfect in the Lord's sight.[995]\n\n\nJESUS AND THE LITTLE ONES.[996]\n\nThe next event of record is one of surpassing sweetness, rich in precept\nand invaluable in example. Mothers brought their little children to\nJesus, reverently desiring that the lives of those little ones be\nbrightened by a sight of the Master and be blessed by a touch of His\nhand or a word from His lips. The circumstance appears in appropriate\nsequence to that of the Lord's instructions concerning the sacredness of\nmarriage and the sanctity of the home. The disciples, zealous that their\nMaster be not troubled unnecessarily, and conscious of the continuous\ndemands on His time and attention, rebuked those who had so ventured to\ntrespass. Even the disciples seem to have been yet under the influence\nof the traditional conception that women and children were of inferior\nstatus, and that for such to seek the Lord's attention was an act of\npresumption. Jesus was displeased over the misdirected zeal of His\nfollowers, and rebuked them. Then He uttered that memorable sentence of\ninfinite tenderness and divine affection: \"_Suffer the little children\nto come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of\nGod._\" Taking the children one by one into His arms, He laid His hands\nupon them and blessed them.[997] Then said He: \"Verily I say unto you,\nWhosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he\nshall not enter therein.\"[998]\n\n\n\"ONE THING THOU LACKEST.\"[999]\n\nJesus was accosted on the way by a young man, who came running to meet\nor overtake Him, and who knelt at His feet, inquiring: \"Good Master,\nwhat shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?\" The question was asked\nin earnestness; the questioner was in very different spirit from that of\nthe lawyer who made a similar inquiry with the purpose of tempting the\nMaster.[1000] Jesus said: \"Why callest thou me good? there is none good\nbut one, that is, God.\" This remark was no denial of sinlessness on the\nSavior's part; the young man had called Him \"good\" by way of polite\ncompliment rather than in recognition of His Godship, and Jesus declined\nto acknowledge the distinction when applied in that sense. The Lord's\nremark must have deepened the young man's conception as to the\nseriousness of his question. Then said Jesus: \"If thou wilt enter into\nlife, keep the commandments.\" To the further inquiry, as to which\ncommandments were meant, Jesus cited the prohibitions against murder,\nadultery, theft, and the bearing of false witness, and the requirements\nas to honoring parents, and loving one's neighbor as one's self. In\nsimplicity and without pride or sense of self-righteousness, the young\nman said: \"All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I\nyet?\" His evident sincerity appealed to Jesus, who looked upon him\nlovingly and said: \"One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever\nthou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:\nand come, take up the cross, and follow me.\"[1001]\n\nThe young man was disappointed and saddened. He had probably expected to\nhear the great Teacher prescribe some one special observance, by which\nexcellence could be achieved. Luke tells us that the young man was a\nruler; this may mean that he was a presiding official in the local\nsynagog or possibly a Sanhedrist. He was well versed in the law, and had\nbeen strict in obedience thereto. He desired to advance in good works\nand make clear his title to an eternal heritage. But the Master\nprescribed what he had least expected; \"And he was sad at that saying,\nand went away grieved: for he had great possessions.\" In his way, he\nyearned for the kingdom of God, yet more devotedly he loved his great\npossessions. To give up wealth, social position, and official\ndistinction, was too great a sacrifice; and the necessary self-denial\nwas a cross too heavy for him to bear, even though treasure in heaven\nand life eternal were offered him. Love of worldly things was this man's\nbesetting weakness; Jesus diagnosed his case and prescribed a suitable\nremedy. We are not warranted in saying that the same treatment would be\nbest in all cases of spiritual defection; but where the symptoms\nindicate the need, it may be employed with confidence as to the cure.\n\nGazing sorrowfully upon the retreating figure of the wealthy young ruler\nJesus said to the disciples: \"Verily I say unto you, That a rich man\nshall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.\" To impress the lesson\nmore thoroughly He applied one of the figurative proverbs of the age,\nand said: \"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,\nthan for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.\"[1002] At this\nstatement the disciples were amazed. \"Who then can be saved?\" they\nwondered. Jesus understood their perplexity, and encouraged them with\nthe assurance that with God all things are possible. Thus were they\ngiven to understand that while wealth is a means of temptation to which\nmany succumb, it is no insuperable obstacle, no insurmountable barrier,\nin the way of entrance to the kingdom. Had the young ruler followed the\nadvice called forth by his inquiry, his possession of riches would have\nmade possible to him meritorious service such as few are able to render.\nWillingness to place the kingdom of God above all material possessions\nwas the one thing he lacked.[1003] Everyone of us may pertinently ask,\nWhat do I lack?\n\n\nTHE FIRST MAY BE LAST, AND THE LAST FIRST.[1004]\n\nThe sorrowful departure of the rich young ruler, whose great possessions\nwere so much a part of his life that he could not give them up at the\ntime, though we may hope that he afterward did, brought forth from Peter\nan abrupt question, which revealed the course of his thoughts and\naspirations: \"Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what\nshall we have therefore?\" Whether he spoke for himself alone, or by his\nuse of the plural \"we\" meant to include all the Twelve, is uncertain and\nunimportant. He was thinking of the home and family he had left, and a\nlonging for them was pardonable; he was thinking also of boats and nets,\nhooks and lines, and the lucrative business for which such things stood.\nAll these he had forsaken; what was to be his reward? Jesus answered:\n\"Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the\nregeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,\nye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of\nIsrael.\" It is doubtful that Peter or any other of the Twelve had ever\nconceived of so great a distinction. The day of regeneration, when the\nSon of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, as Judge and King, is\neven yet future; but in that day, those of the Lord's Twelve who endured\nto the end shall be enthroned as judges in Israel. The further assurance\nwas given that \"every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or\nsisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my\nname's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting\nlife.\" Rewards of such transcendent worth could scarcely be reckoned or\ntheir meaning comprehended. Lest those to whom they were promised might\ncount too surely upon successful attainment, to the neglect of effort,\nand become proud withal, the Lord added this profound precept of\ncaution: \"But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be\nfirst.\"\n\nIt was the text of the sermon known to us as the _Parable of the\nLaborers_.[1005] Hear it:\n\n    \"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an\n    householder, which went out early in the morning to hire\n    labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the\n    labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And\n    he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle\n    in the marketplace, and said unto them:\n\n    \"Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will\n    give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the\n    sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh\n    hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto\n    them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him,\n    Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also\n    into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye\n    receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith\n    unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire,\n    beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that\n    were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a\n    penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should\n    have received more; and they likewise received every man a\n    penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the\n    goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one\n    hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne\n    the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and\n    said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me\n    for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give\n    unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do\n    what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?\n    So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be\n    called, but few chosen.\"\n\nThe procedure of a householder going into the marketplace to hire\nlaborers was common to the time and place, and is still an ordinary\noccurrence in many lands. The first to be hired in the course of the\nstory made a definite bargain as to wages. Those who were employed at\nnine, twelve, and three o'clock respectively went willingly without\nagreement as to what they were to receive; so glad were they to find a\nchance to work that they lost no time in specifying terms. At five\no'clock in the afternoon or evening, when but a single hour of the\nworking day remained, the last band of laborers went to work, trusting\nto the master's word that whatever was right they should receive. That\nthey had not found work earlier in the day was no fault of theirs; they\nhad been ready and willing, and had waited at the place where employment\nwas most likely to be secured. At the close of the day, the laborers\ncame for their wages; this was in accordance with law and custom, for it\nhad been established by statute in Israel that the employer should pay\nthe servant, hired by the day, before the sun went down.[1006] Under\ninstructions, the steward who acted as paymaster began with those who\nhad been engaged at the eleventh hour; and to each of them he gave a\ndenarius, or Roman penny, worth about fifteen cents in our money, and\nthe usual wage for a day's work. This was the amount for which those who\nbegan earliest had severally bargained; and as these saw their\nfellow-workers, who had served but an hour, receive each a penny, they\nprobably exulted in the expectation of receiving a wage proportionately\nlarger, notwithstanding their stipulation. But each of them received a\npenny and no more. Then they complained; not because they had been\nunderpaid, but because the others had received a full day's pay for but\npart of a day's work. The master answered in all kindness, reminding\nthem of their agreement. Could he not be just to them and charitable to\nthe rest if he so chose? His money was his own, and he could give of it\nas he liked. Were those grumblers justified in their evil displeasure\nbecause their master was charitable and good? \"So,\" said Jesus, passing\ndirectly from the story to one of the lessons it was designed to teach,\n\"the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but\nfew chosen.\"[1007]\n\nThe parable was plainly intended for the edification of the Twelve. It\nwas called out by Peter's question, \"What shall we have therefore?\" It\nstands as truly in force today as when it was delivered by the Master,\nas a rebuke of the bargaining spirit in the Lord's work. God needs\nworkers, and such as will labor faithfully and effectively are welcomed\ninto the vineyard. If, before beginning they insist on the stipulation\nof a wage, and this be agreed to, each shall receive his penny provided\nhe has not lost his place through idleness or transgression. But those\nwho diligently labor, knowing that the Master will give to them whatever\nis right, and with thought for the work rather than for the wage, shall\nfind themselves more bountifully enriched. A man may work for wages and\nyet not be a hireling. Between the worthy hired servant and the hireling\nthere is the difference that distinguishes the shepherd from the sheep\nherder.[1008] Was there not a suggestion of the hireling's spirit in the\nquery of even the first of the apostles, \"What shall we have therefore?\"\nThe Twelve had been called into service early in the Savior's ministry;\nthey had responded to the call, without promise of even a penny; they\nwere yet to feel the burden and heat of the day; but they were solemnly\ncautioned against attempt or desire to fix their reward. The Master\nshall judge as to the deserts of each servant; the wage at best is a\nfree gift; for on the basis of strict accounting who of us is not in\ndebt to God? The last called is as likely as the first to prove\nunworthy. No general reversal is implied whereby all the late comers\nshall be advanced and all the early workers demoted. \"Many that are\nfirst shall be last\" was the Lord's statement, and by implication we may\nunderstand that not all the last, though some of them, may be counted\namong the first. Of the many called or permitted to labor in the\nvineyard of the Lord, few may so excel as to be chosen for exaltation\nabove their fellows. Even the call and ordination to the Holy\nApostleship is no guarantee of eventual exaltation in the celestial\nkingdom. Iscariot was so called and placed among the first; now, verily\nhe is far below the last in the kingdom of God.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 27.\n\n1. Rich Men and Their Stewards.--\"'A certain rich man had a steward,' We\nlearn here, incidentally, how evenly balanced are the various conditions\nof life in a community, and how little of substantial advantage wealth\ncan confer on its possessor. As your property increases, your personal\ncontrol over it diminishes; the more you possess the more you must\nentrust to others. Those who do their own work are not troubled with\ndisobedient servants; those who look after their own affairs, are not\ntroubled with unfaithful overseers.\"--Arnot's _Parables of our Lord_, p.\n454.\n\n2. The Mammon of Unrighteousness.--The revised version of Luke 16:9,\nreads: \"And I say unto you, Make to yourself friends by means of the\nmammon of unrighteousness, that, when it shall fail, they may receive\nyou into the eternal tabernacles.\" The Lord's counsel to the disciples\nwas to so use worldly wealth as to accomplish good thereby, that when\n\"it,\" i.e. all earthly possessions, fail, they would have friends to\nwelcome them into \"the eternal tabernacles\" or heavenly mansions. In\nstudying a parable based on contrasts, such as this one is, care must be\nexercized not to carry too far any one point of analogy. Thus, we cannot\nreasonably gather that Jesus intended even to intimate that the\nprerogative of receiving any soul into the \"eternal tabernacles\" or\nexcluding therefrom, rests with those who on earth had been benefited or\ninjured through that person's acts, except so far as their witness to\nhis deeds may be taken into account in the final judgment. The whole\nparable is full of wisdom for him who is in search of such; to the\nhypercritical mind it may appear inconsistent, as so it did appear to\nthe Pharisees who derided Jesus for the story He had told. Luke 16:14 is\nrendered in the revised version, \"And the Pharisees, who were lovers of\nmoney, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him.\"\n\n3. Lazarus and Dives.--Of all our Lord's recorded parables this is the\nonly one in which a personal name is applied to any of the characters.\nThe name \"Lazarus\" used in the parable was also the true name of a man\nwhom Jesus loved, and who, subsequent to the delivery of this parable,\nwas restored to life after he had lain for days in the tomb. The name, a\nGreek variant of Eleazar, signifies \"God is my help.\" In many\ntheological writings, the rich man of this parable is called Dives, but\nthe name is not of scriptural usage. \"Dives\" is a Latin adjective\nmeaning \"rich.\" Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary (John 11:1, 2, 5)\nis one of three men mentioned by name as subjects of our Lord's\nbeneficent miracles; the other two are Bartimeus (Mark 10:46) and\nMalchus (John 18:10). Commenting on the fact that our Lord gave a name\nto the beggar but left the rich man nameless in the parable, Augustine\n(in Sermon xli) suggestively asks: \"Seems He not to you to have been\nreading from that book where He found the name of the poor man written,\nbut found not the name of the rich; for that book is the Book of Life?\"\n\n4. Divergent Views Concerning Divorce.--In relation to the different\nopinions upon this subject among Jewish authorities in the time of\nChrist, Geikie (vol. ii, p. 347-8) says: \"Among the questions of the day\nfiercely debated between the great rival schools of Hillel and Shammai,\nno one was more so than that of divorce. The school of Hillel contended\nthat a man had a right to divorce his wife for any cause he might\nassign, if it were no more than his having ceased to love her, or his\nhaving seen one he liked better, or her having cooked a dinner badly.\nThe school of Shammai, on the contrary, held that divorce could be\nissued only for the crime of adultery, and offences against chastity. If\nit were possible to get Jesus to pronounce in favor of either school,\nthe hostility of the other would be roused, and hence, it seemed a\nfavorable chance for compromising Him.\" The following from Dummelow's\n_Commentary_, dealing with Matt. 5:32, is further illustrative: \"Rabbi\nAkiba (Hillelite) said, 'If a man sees a woman handsomer than his own\nwife he may put her [his wife] away, because it is said, If she find not\nfavor in his eyes.' The school of Hillel said 'If the wife cook her\nhusband's food ill, by over-salting or over-roasting it, she is to be\nput away.' On the other hand Rabbi Jochanan (a Shammaite) said 'The\nputting away of a wife is odious.' Both schools agreed that a divorced\nwife could not be taken back.... Rabbi Chananiah said 'God has not\nsubscribed His name to divorces, except among Israelites, as if He had\nsaid: I have conceded to the Israelites the right of dismissing their\nwives; but to the Gentiles I have not conceded it.' Jesus retorts that\nit is not the privilege but the infamy and reproach of Israel, that\nMoses found it necessary to tolerate divorce.\"\n\n5. Jesus the Ennobler of Woman.--Geikie thus paraphrases part of\nChrist's reply to the Pharisee's question concerning divorce, and\ncomments thereon. \"'I say, therefore, that whoever puts away his wife,\nexcept for fornication, which destroys the very essence of marriage by\ndissolving the oneness it had formed, and shall marry another, commits\nadultery; and whoever marries her who is put away for any other cause\ncommits adultery, because the woman is still, in God's sight, wife of\nhim who had divorced her.' This statement was of far deeper moment than\nthe mere silencing of malignant spies. It was designed to set forth for\nall ages the law of His New Kingdom in the supreme matter of family\nlife. It swept away for ever from His Society the conception of woman as\na mere toy or slave of man, and based true relations of the sexes on the\neternal foundation of truth, right, honor, and love. To ennoble the\nHouse and the Family by raising woman to her true position was essential\nto the future stability of His Kingdom, as one of purity and spiritual\nworth. By making marriage indissoluble, He proclaimed the equal rights\nof woman and man within the limits of the family, and, in this, gave\ntheir charter of nobility to the mothers of the world. For her nobler\nposition in the Christian era, compared with that granted her in\nantiquity, woman is indebted to Jesus Christ.\"--_Life and Words of\nChrist_, vol. ii, p. 349.\n\n6. The Blessing of Children.--When Christ, a resurrected Being, appeared\namong the Nephites on the western continent, He took the children, one\nby one, and blessed them; and the assembled multitude saw the little\nones encircled as with fire, while angels ministered unto them. (3 Nephi\n17:11-25.) Through modern revelation the Lord has directed that all\nchildren born in the Church be brought for blessing to those who are\nauthorized to administer this ordinance of the Holy Priesthood. The\ncommandment is as follows: \"Every member of the church of Christ having\nchildren, is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to\nlay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in\nHis name.\" (Doc. and Cov. 20:70.) Accordingly, it is now the custom in\nthe Church to bring the little ones to the Fast-day service in the\nseveral wards, at which they are received one by one into the arms of\nthe elders, and blessed, names being given them at the same time. The\nfather of the child, if he be an elder, is expected to participate in\nthe ordinance.\n\nThe blessing of children is in no sense analogous to, far less is it a\nsubstitution for, the ordinance of baptism, which is to be administered\nonly to those who have come to years of understanding, and who are\ncapable of repentance. As the author has written elsewhere, \"Some point\nto the incident of Christ blessing little children, and rebuking those\nwho would forbid the little ones coming unto Him, (Matt. 19:13; Mark\n10:13; Luke 18:15) as an evidence in favor of infant baptism; but, as\nhas been tersely said:--'From the action of Christ's blessing infants,\nto infer they are to be baptized, proves nothing so much as that there\nis a want of better argument; for the conclusion would with more\nprobability be derived thus: Christ blessed infants, and so dismissed\nthem, but baptized them not; therefore infants are not to be\nbaptized.'\"--The author, _Articles of Faith_, vi:14. See paragraphs\n11-17 in same lecture.\n\n7. The Camel and the Needle's Eye.--In comparing the difficulty of a\nrich man entering the kingdom with that of a camel passing through the\neye of a needle, Jesus used a rhetorical figure, which, strong and\nprohibitory as it appears in our translation, was of a type familiar to\nthose who heard the remark. There was a \"common Jewish proverb, that a\nman did not even in his dreams see an elephant pass through the eye of a\nneedle\" (Edersheim). Some interpreters insist that a rope, not a camel,\nwas mentioned by Jesus, and these base their contention on the fact that\nthe Greek word _kamelos_ (camel) differs in but a single letter from\n_kamilos_ (rope), and that the alleged error of substituting \"camel\" for\n\"rope\" in the scriptural text is chargeable to the early copyists.\nFarrar (p. 476) rejects this possible interpretation on the ground that\nproverbs involving comparisons of a kind with that of a camel passing\nthrough the eye of a needle are common in the Talmud.\n\nIt has been asserted that the term \"needle's eye\" was applied to a small\ndoor or wicket set in or alongside the great gates in the walls of\ncities; and the assumption has been raised that Jesus had such a wicket\nin mind when He spoke of the seeming impossibility of a camel passing\nthrough a needle's eye. It would be possible though very difficult for a\ncamel to squeeze its way through the little gate, and it could in no\nwise do so except when relieved of its load and stripped of all its\nharness. If this conception be correct, we may find additional\nsimilitude between the fact that the camel must first be unloaded and\nstripped, however costly its burden or rich its accoutrement, and the\nnecessity of the rich young ruler, and so of any man, divesting himself\nof the burden and trappings of wealth, if he would enter by the narrow\nway that leadeth into the kingdom. The Lord's exposition of His saying\nis all-sufficient for the purposes of the lesson: \"With men this is\nimpossible, but with God all things are possible.\" (Matt. 19:26.)\n\n8. Undue Concern as to Wages in the Lord's Service.--The instructive and\ninspiring Parable of the Laborers was called forth by Peter's question\nof self-interest--\"What shall we have therefore?\" In tender mercy the\nLord refrained from directly rebuking His impulsive servant for undue\nconcern as to the wage to be expected; but He turned the incident to\nexcellent purpose by making it the text of a valuable lesson. The\nfollowing treatment by Edersheim (vol. ii, p. 416) is worth\nconsideration. \"There was here deep danger to the disciples: danger of\nlapsing into feelings akin to those with which the Pharisees viewed the\npardoned publicans, or the elder son in the parable his younger brother;\ndanger of misunderstanding the right relations, and with it the very\ncharacter of the kingdom, and of work in and for it. It is to this that\nthe Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard refers. The principle which\nChrist lays down is, that, while nothing done for Him shall lose its\nreward, yet, from one reason or another, no forecast can be made, no\ninferences of self-righteousness may be drawn. It does not by any means\nfollow, that most work done--at least, to our seeing and judging--shall\nentail a greater reward. On the contrary, 'many that are first shall be\nlast; and the last shall be first.' Not _all_, nor yet always and\nnecessarily, but 'many.' And in such cases no wrong has been done; there\nexists no claim, even in view of the promises of due acknowledgment of\nwork. Spiritual pride and self assertion can only be the outcome either\nof misunderstanding God's relation to us, or else of a wrong state of\nmind towards others--that is, it betokens mental or moral unfitness. Of\nthis the Parable of the Laborers is an illustration.... But, while\nillustrating how it may come that some who were first are last, and how\nutterly mistaken or wrong is the thought that they must necessarily\nreceive more than others, who, seemingly, have done more--how, in short,\nwork for Christ is not a ponderable quantity, so much for so much, nor\nyet we be the judges of when and why a worker has come--it also conveys\nmuch that is new, and, in many respects, most comforting.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[950] Luke 14:1-24.\n\n[951] The question is identical with that asked of Jesus in the synagog\nat Capernaum preliminary to the healing of the man with the withered\nhand (Matt. 12:10).\n\n[952] Exo. 23:5; Deut. 22:4; Luke 13:15.\n\n[953] Compare Matt. 23:12; Luke 1:52; 18:14; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.\n\n[954] Compare Matt. 8:11; Rev. 19:9. The expression \"eat bread\" is a\nHebraism, signifying eating in full as at a feast rather than partaking\nof bread only.\n\n[955] Luke 14:16-24. Compare the parable relating to the marriage of the\nking's son (Matt. 22:2-10); study points of resemblance and difference\nbetween the two and the distinctive lessons of each. See page 536.\n\n[956] Luke 14:25-35.\n\n[957] Matt. 8:19, 20; compare Luke 9:57, 58; page 305 herein.\n\n[958] Compare the requirement under the Mosaic administration, Deut.\n13:6-11; and note the application of the principle to the apostles,\nMatt. 10:37-39.\n\n[959] Compare Matt. 5:13; Mark 9:50\n\n[960] Luke 15.\n\n[961] Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32. See page 193 herein.\n\n[962] Matt. 18:12-14. See page 389 herein.\n\n[963] That the lost piece of silver was a coin, and not a piece of\nunstamped bullion nor an ornament, is apparent from the original,\n\"drachma,\" a silver coin. See page 384 herein.\n\n[964] Luke 15:11-32.\n\n[965] Compare Doc. and Cov. 1:31; B. of M., Alma 45:16.\n\n[966] Compare Matt. 18:14; P. of G.P., Moses 1:39.\n\n[967] Luke 16:1-8.\n\n[968] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[969] Luke 16:9-13.\n\n[970] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[971] Luke 16:14-31.\n\n[972] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[973] Revised version, Luke 16:16: \"The law and the prophets were until\nJohn; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and\nevery man entereth violently into it.\"\n\n[974] Compare Matt. 5:18; see page 233 herein.\n\n[975] Luke 16:19-31.\n\n[976] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[977] Compare B. of M., Alma 40:11-14; see \"Articles of Faith,\" xxi,\nNote 5. \"The Intermediate State of the Soul.\"\n\n[978] Rev. 14:13.\n\n[979] Luke 17:1-10.\n\n[980] Compare Matt. 17:20; 21:21; Mark 9:23; 11:23; see page 381 herein.\n\n[981] Compare Job 22:3; 35:7.\n\n[982] Luke 17:11-19. Many writers treat this occurrence as having\nimmediately followed the repulse of Jesus and the apostles in a certain\nSamaritan village (Luke 9:52-56). We give it place in the order followed\nby Luke, the sole recorder of the two incidents.\n\n[983] Compare Lev. 13:2; 14:2; see also page 189 herein.\n\n[984] Compare case of Naaman the Syrian, 2 Kings 5:14.\n\n[985] Luke 18:9-14. Luke's narrative, the order of which we have\nfollowed in the events succeeding Christ's departure from Jerusalem\nafter the Feast of Tabernacles, includes our Lord's reply to the\nPharisee's question as to \"when the kingdom of God should come,\" and\nadditions thereto (17:20-37); these matters were afterward treated with\ngreater fulness in a discourse near Jerusalem (Matt. 24) and will be\nconsidered in connection with that later event. The Parable of the\nImportunate Widow (Luke 18:1-7) has already received attention, (page\n436).\n\n[986] Note to what blasphemous extreme the doctrine of supererogation,\nor excess of merit, was carried by the papacy in the 13th century; see\n\"The Great Apostasy,\" 913-15.\n\n[987] Compare Luke 14:11.\n\n[988] Matt. 19:3-12; see also Mark 10:2-12. This subject is introduced\nby Matthew and Mark directly preceding that of Christ blessing little\nchildren; which latter is recorded by Luke next after the Parable of the\nPharisee and the Publican. We therefore turn from Luke's record to the\naccounts given by the other synoptic writers.\n\n[989] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[990] Compare Gen. 1:27; 2:24; 5:2; Eph. 5:31.\n\n[991] Deut. 24:1-4.\n\n[992] Compare Matt. 5:32; Luke 16:18; see also 1 Cor. 7:10-13.\n\n[993] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[994] Compare Heb. 13:4.\n\n[995] Compare 1 Cor. 11:11.\n\n[996] Mark 10:13-16; compare Matt. 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17.\n\n[997] Compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 17:11-25. See Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[998] Page 386.\n\n[999] Matt. 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-30.\n\n[1000] Luke 10:25; page 429 herein.\n\n[1001] This is Mark's record, (10:21) which is the most detailed of the\nthree accounts.\n\n[1002] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1003] Consider the lessons of the parables of the Hidden Treasure, and\nthe Pearl of Great Price, pages 292-4.\n\n[1004] Matt. 19:27-30; Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30.\n\n[1005] Matt. 20:1-16. The parable is the outgrowth of the events\nimmediately preceding it. Matt. 19:27-30 should be read as part of the\nnarrative continued in chap. 20. The existing division into chapters is\nunfortunate.\n\n[1006] Deut. 24:15.\n\n[1007] The concluding clause, \"for many be called but few chosen,\" is\nomitted from the revised version. Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[1008] Page 416.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 28.\n\nTHE LAST WINTER.\n\n\nAT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.[1009]\n\nJesus returned to Jerusalem in time to attend the Feast of Dedication\nduring the last winter of His earthly life. This feast, like that of\nTabernacles, was one of national rejoicing, and was celebrated annually\nfor a period of eight days beginning on the 25th of Chislev,[1010] which\ncorresponds in part to our December. It was not one of the great feasts\nprescribed by Mosaic statute, but had been established in 164 or 163\nB.C. at the time of the rededication of the Temple of Zerubbabel\nfollowing the rehabilitation of the sacred structure after its profane\ndesecration by Antiochus Epiphanes, the pagan king of Syria.[1011] While\nthe festival was in progress, Jesus went to the temple and was seen\nwalking in the part of the enclosure known as Solomon's Porch.[1012] His\npresence soon became known to the Jews, who came crowding about Him in\nunfriendly spirit, ostensibly to ask questions. Their inquiry was: \"How\nlong dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us\nplainly,\" The mere asking of such a question evidences the deep and\ndisturbing impression which the ministry of Christ had produced among\nthe official classes and the people generally; in their estimation, the\nworks he had wrought appeared as worthy of the Messiah.\n\nThe Lord's reply was indirect in form, though in substance and effect\nincisive and unmistakable. He referred them to His former utterances and\nto His continued works. \"I told you,\" He said, \"and ye believed not: the\nworks that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye\nbelieve not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My\nsheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give\nunto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any\nman pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater\nthan all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I\nand my Father are one.\" The reference to what had been before told was a\nreminder of His teachings on the occasion of an earlier sojourn among\nthem, when He had proclaimed Himself as the I AM, who was older and\ngreater than Abraham, and of His other proclamation of Himself as the\nGood Shepherd.[1013]\n\nHe could not well answer their inquiry by a simple unqualified\naffirmation, for by such He would have been understood as meaning that\nHe claimed to be the Messiah according to their conception, the earthly\nking and conqueror for whom they professed to be looking. He was no such\nChrist as they had in mind; yet was He verily Shepherd and King to all\nwho would hear His words and do His works; and to such He renewed the\npromise of eternal life and the assurance that no man could pluck them\nout of His own or the Father's hand. To this doctrine, both exalted and\nprofound in scope, the casuistical Jews could offer no refutation, nor\ncould they find therein the much desired excuse for open accusation; our\nLord's concluding sentence, however, stirred the hostile throng to\nfrenzy. \"I and my Father are one\" was His solemn declaration.[1014] In\ntheir rage they scrambled for stones wherewith to crush Him. Owing to\nthe unfinished state of the temple buildings, there were probably many\nblocks and broken fragments of rock at hand; and this was the second\nmurderous attempt upon our Lord's life within the purlieus of His\nFather's House.[1015]\n\nFearless, and with the compelling calmness of more than human majesty,\nJesus said: \"Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which\nof those works do ye stone me?\" They angrily retorted: \"For a good work\nwe stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a\nman, makest thyself God.\"[1016] Plainly they had found no ambiguity in\nHis words. He then cited to them the scriptures, wherein even judges\nempowered by divine authority are called gods,[1017] and asked: \"Is it\nnot written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods,\nunto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken: say\nye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world,\nThou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?\" Then, reverting\nto the first avouchment that His own commission was of the Father who is\ngreater than all, He added: \"If I do not the works of my Father, believe\nme not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that\nye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.\"[1018]\nAgain the Jews sought to take Him, but were foiled by means not stated;\nHe passed from their reach and departed from the temple.\n\n\nOUR LORD'S RETIREMENT IN PEREA.[1019]\n\nThe violent hostility of the Jews in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the\ntheocracy, was such that Jesus withdrew from the city and its\nneighborhood. The day for His sacrifice had not yet come, and while His\nenemies could not kill Him until He allowed Himself to be taken into\ntheir hands, His work would be retarded by further hostile disturbances.\nHe retired to the place at which John the Baptist had begun his public\nministry, which is probably also the place of our Lord's baptism. The\nexact location is not specified; it was certainly beyond Jordan and\ntherefore in Perea. We read that Jesus abode there, and from this we\ngather that He remained in one general locality instead of traveling\nfrom town to town as had been His custom. People resorted to Him even\nthere, however, and many believed on Him. The place was endeared to\nthose who had gone to hear John and to be baptized by him;[1020] and as\nthese recalled the impassioned call to repentance, the stirring\nproclamation of the kingdom by the now murdered and lamented Baptist,\nthey remembered his affirmation of One mightier than himself, and saw in\nJesus the realization of that testimony. \"John,\" they said, \"did no\nmiracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.\"\n\nThe duration of this sojourn in Perea is nowhere recorded in our\nscriptures. It could not have lasted more than a few weeks at most.\nPossibly some of the discourses, instructions, and parables already\ntreated as following the Lord's departure from Jerusalem after the Feast\nof Tabernacles in the preceding autumn, may chronologically belong to\nthis interval. From this retreat of comparative quiet, Jesus returned to\nJudea in response to an earnest appeal from some whom He loved. He left\nthe Bethany of Perea for the Judean Bethany, where dwelt Martha and\nMary.[1021]\n\n\nLAZARUS RESTORED TO LIFE.[1022]\n\nLazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, lay ill in the family home at\nBethany of Judea. His devoted sisters sent a messenger to Jesus, with\nthe simple announcement, in which, however, we cannot fail to recognize\na pitiful appeal: \"Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.\" When\nJesus received the message, He remarked: \"This sickness is not unto\ndeath, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified\nthereby.\" This was probably the word carried back to the sisters, whom\nJesus loved. Lazarus had died in the interval; indeed he must have\nexpired soon after the messenger had started with the tidings of the\nyoung man's illness. The Lord knew that Lazarus was dead; yet He tarried\nwhere He was for two days after receiving the word; then He surprized\nthe disciples by saying: \"Let us go into Judea again.\" They sought to\ndissuade the Master by reminding Him of the recent attempt upon His life\nat Jerusalem, and asked wonderingly, \"Goest thou thither again?\" Jesus\nmade clear to them that He was not to be deterred from duty in the time\nthereof, nor should others be; for as He illustrated, the working day is\ntwelve hours long; and during that period a man may walk without\nstumbling, for he walks in the light, but if he let the hours pass and\nthen try to walk or work in darkness, he stumbles. It was then His day\nto work, and He was making no mistake in returning to Judea.\n\nHe added: \"Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him\nout of sleep.\" The simile between death and sleep was as common among\nthe Jews as with us;[1023] but the disciples construed the saying\nliterally, and remarked that if the sick man was sleeping it would be\nwell with him. Jesus set them right. \"Lazarus is dead,\" He said, and\nadded, \"And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent\nye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.\" It is evident that\nJesus had already decided to restore Lazarus to life; and, as we shall\nsee, the miracle was to be a testimony of our Lord's Messiahship,\nconvincing to all who would accept it. A return to Judea at that time\nwas viewed by at least some of the apostles with serious apprehension;\nthey feared for their Master's safety, and thought that their own lives\nwould be in peril; nevertheless they did not hesitate to go. Thomas\nboldly said to the others: \"Let us also go, that we may die with him.\"\n\nArriving on the outskirts of Bethany, Jesus found that Lazarus \"had lain\nin the grave four days already.\"[1024] The bereaved sisters were at\nhome, where had gathered, according to custom, friends to console them\nin their grief. Among these were many prominent people, some of whom had\ncome from Jerusalem. Word of the Master's approach reached Martha first,\nand she hastened to meet Him. Her first words were: \"Lord, if thou hadst\nbeen here, my brother had not died.\" It was an expression of anguish\ncombined with faith; but, lest it appear as lacking in trust, she\nhastened to add: \"But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of\nGod, God will give it thee.\" Then said Jesus in words of assuring\ntenderness: \"Thy brother shall rise again.\" Perhaps some of the Jews who\nhad come to comfort her had said as much, for they, the Sadducees\nexcepted, believed in a resurrection; and Martha failed to find in the\nLord's promise anything more than a general assurance that her departed\nbrother should be raised with the rest of the dead. In natural and\nseemingly casual assent she remarked: \"I know that he shall rise again\nin the resurrection at the last day.\" Then said Jesus: \"I am the\nresurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were\ndead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall\nnever die. Believest thou this?\"\n\nThe sorrowing woman's faith had to be lifted and centered in the Lord of\nLife with whom she was speaking. She had before confessed her conviction\nthat whatever Jesus asked of God would be granted; she had to learn that\nunto Jesus had already been committed power over life and death. She was\nhopefully expectant of some superhuman interposition by the Lord Jesus\nin her behalf, yet she knew not what that might be. Apparently at this\ntime she had no well-defined thought or even hope that He would call her\nbrother from the tomb. To the Lord's question as to whether she believed\nwhat He had just said, she answered with simple frankness; all of it she\nwas not able to understand; but she believed in the Speaker even while\nunable to fully comprehend His words. \"Yea, Lord,\" she said, \"I believe\nthat thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the\nworld.\"\n\nThen she returned to the home, and with precaution of secrecy on account\nof the presence of some whom she knew to be unfriendly to Jesus, said to\nMary: \"The Master is come, and calleth for thee.\" Mary left the house in\nhaste. The Jews who had been with her thought that she had been impelled\nby a fresh resurgence of grief to go again to the grave, and they\nfollowed her. When she reached the Master, she knelt at His feet, and\ngave expression to her consuming sorrow in the very words Martha had\nused: \"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.\" We\ncannot doubt that the conviction so voiced had been the burden of\ncomment and lamentation between the two sisters--if only Jesus had been\nwith them they would not have been bereft of their brother.\n\nThe sight of the two women so overcome by grief, and of the people\nwailing with them, caused Jesus to sorrow, so that He groaned in spirit\nand was deeply troubled. \"Where have ye laid him?\" He asked; and Jesus\nwept. As the sorrowing company went toward the tomb, some of the Jews,\nobserving the Lord's emotion and tears, said: \"Behold how he loved him!\"\nbut others, less sympathetic because of their prejudice against Christ,\nasked critically and reproachfully: \"Could not this man, which opened\nthe eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have\ndied?\" The miracle by which a man blind from birth had been made to see\nwas very generally known, largely because of the official investigation\nthat had followed the healing.[1025] The Jews had been compelled to\nadmit the actuality of the astounding occurrence; and the question now\nraised as to whether or why One who could accomplish such a wonder could\nnot have preserved from death a man stricken with an ordinary illness,\nand that man one whom He seemed to have dearly loved, was an innuendo\nthat the power possessed by Jesus was after all limited, and of\nuncertain or capricious operation. This manifestation of malignant\nunbelief caused Jesus again to groan with sorrow if not\nindignation.[1026]\n\nThe body of Lazarus had been interred in a cave, the entrance to which\nwas closed by a great block of stone. Such burial-places were common in\nthat country, natural caves or vaults hewn in the solid rock being used\nas sepulchres by the better classes of people. Jesus directed that the\ntomb be opened. Martha, still unprepared for what was to follow,\nventured to remonstrate, reminding Jesus that the corpse had been four\ndays immured, and that decomposition must have already set in.[1027]\nJesus thus met her objection: \"Said I not unto thee, that, if thou\nwouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?\" This may have\nhad reference both to His promise spoken to Martha in person--that her\nbrother should rise again--and to the message sent from Perea--that the\nillness of Lazarus was not unto final death at that time, but for the\nglory of God and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.\n\nThe stone was removed. Standing before the open portal of the tomb,\nJesus looked upward and prayed: \"Father, I thank thee that thou hast\nheard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the\npeople which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast\nsent me.\" He did not ask the Father for power or authority; such had\nalready been given Him; but He gave thanks, and in the hearing of all\nwho stood by acknowledged the Father and expressed the oneness of His\nown and the Father's purposes. Then, with a loud voice He cried:\n\"Lazarus, come forth.\" The dead man heard that voice of authoritative\ncommand; the spirit straightway reentered the tabernacle of flesh, the\nphysical processes of life were resumed; and Lazarus, again alive, came\nforth. His freedom of motion was limited, for the grave clothes hampered\nhis movements, and his face was still bound by the napkin by which the\nlifeless jaw had been held in place. To those who stood near, Jesus\nsaid: \"Loose him, and let him go.\"\n\nThe procedure throughout was characterized by deep solemnity and by the\nentire absence of every element of unnecessary display. Jesus, who when\nmiles away and without any ordinary means of receiving the information\nknew that Lazarus was dead, doubtless could have found the tomb; yet He\ninquired: \"Where have ye laid him?\" He who could still the waves of the\nsea by a word could have miraculously effected the removal of the stone\nthat sealed the mouth of the sepulchre; yet He said: \"Take ye away the\nstone.\" He who could reunite spirit and body could have loosened without\nhands the cerements by which the reanimated Lazarus was bound; yet He\nsaid: \"Loose him, and let him go.\" All that human agency could do was\nleft to man. In no instance do we find that Christ used unnecessarily\nthe superhuman powers of His Godship; the divine energy was never\nwasted; even the material creation resulting from its exercize was\nconserved, as witness His instructions regarding the gathering up of the\nfragments of bread and fish after the multitudes had been miraculously\nfed.[1028]\n\nThe raising of Lazarus stands as the third recorded instance of\nrestoration to life by Jesus.[1029] In each the miracle resulted in a\nresumption of mortal existence, and was in no sense a resurrection from\ndeath to immortality. In the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the\nspirit was recalled to its tenement within the hour of its quitting; the\nraising of the widow's son is an instance of restoration when the corpse\nwas ready for the grave; the crowning miracle of the three was the\ncalling of a spirit to reenter its body days after death, and when, by\nnatural processes the corpse would be already in the early stages of\ndecomposition. Lazarus was raised from the dead, not simply to assuage\nthe grief of mourning relatives; myriads have had to mourn over death,\nand so myriads more shall have to do. One of the Lord's purposes was\nthat of demonstrating the actuality of the power of God as shown forth\nin the works of Jesus the Christ, and Lazarus was the accepted subject\nof the manifestation; just as the man afflicted with congenital\nblindness had been chosen to be the one through whom \"the works of God\nshould be made manifest.\"[1030]\n\nThat the Lord's act of restoring Lazarus to life was of effect in\ntestifying to His Messiahship is explicitly stated.[1031] All the\ncircumstances leading up to final culmination in the miracle contributed\nto its attestation. No question as to the actual death of Lazarus could\nbe raised, for his demise had been witnessed, his body had been prepared\nand buried in the usual way, and he had lain in the grave four days. At\nthe tomb, when he was called forth, there were many witnesses, some of\nthem prominent Jews, many of whom were unfriendly to Jesus and who would\nhave readily denied the miracle had they been able. God was glorified\nand the divinity of the Son of Man was vindicated in the result.\n\n\nTHE HIERARCHY GREATLY AGITATED OVER THE MIRACLE.[1032]\n\nAs in connection with most of our Lord's public acts--while some of\nthose who heard and saw were brought to believe in Him, others rejected\nthe proffered lesson and reviled the Master--so with this mighty\nwork--some were stirred to faith and others went their ways each with\nmind darkened and spirit more malignant than ever. Some of those who had\nseen the dead man raised to life went immediately and reported the\nmatter to the rulers, whom they knew to be intensely hostile toward\nJesus. In the parable we have recently studied, the spirit of the rich\nman pleaded from his place of anguish that Lazarus, the once pitiable\nbeggar, be sent from paradise to earth, to warn others of the fate\nawaiting the wicked, to which appeal Abraham replied: \"If they hear not\nMoses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose\nfrom the dead.\"[1033] Now a Lazarus had been in reality raised from the\ndead, and many of the Jews rejected the testimony of his return and\nrefused to believe in Christ through whom alone death is overcome. The\nJews tried to get Lazarus into their power that they might kill him and,\nas they hoped, silence forever his testimony of the Lord's power over\ndeath.[1034]\n\nThe chief priests, who were mostly Sadducees, and the Pharisees with\nthem assembled in council to consider the situation created by this\nlatest of our Lord's great works. The question they discussed was: \"What\ndo we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all\nmen will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both\nour place and nation.\" As stated by themselves, there was no denying the\nfact of the many miracles wrought by Jesus; but instead of earnestly and\nprayerfully investigating as to whether these mighty works were not\namong the predicted characteristics of the Messiah, they thought only of\nthe possible effect of Christ's influence in alienating the people from\nthe established theocracy, and of the fear that the Romans, taking\nadvantage of the situation, would deprive the hierarchs of their \"place\"\nand take from the nation what little semblance of distinct autonomy it\nstill possessed. Caiaphas, the high priest,[1035] cut short the\ndiscussion by saying: \"Ye know nothing at all.\" This sweeping assertion\nof ignorance was most likely addressed to the Pharisees of the\nSanhedrin; Caiaphas was a Sadducee. His next utterance was of greater\nsignificance than he realized: \"Nor consider that it is expedient for\nus, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation\nperish not.\" John solemnly avers that Caiaphas spake not of himself, but\nby the spirit of prophecy, which, in spite of his implied unworthiness,\ncame upon him by virtue of his office, and that thus: \"He prophesied\nthat Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but\nthat also he should gather together in one the children of God that were\nscattered abroad.\" But a few years after Christ had been put to death,\nfor the salvation of the Jews and of all other nations, the very\ncalamities which Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin had hoped to avert befell in\nfull measure; the hierarchy was overthrown, the temple destroyed,\nJerusalem demolished and the nation disrupted. From the day of that\nmemorable session of the Sanhedrin, the rulers increased their efforts\nto bring about the death of Jesus, by whatever means they might find\navailable. They issued a mandate that whosoever knew of His whereabouts\nshould give the information to the officials, that they might promptly\ntake Him into custody.[1036]\n\n\nJESUS IN RETIREMENT AT EPHRAIM.[1037]\n\nThe hostility of the ecclesiastical rulers became so great that Jesus\nonce more sought retirement in a region sufficiently far from Jerusalem\nto afford Him security from the watchful and malignant eyes of His\npowerful and openly avowed enemies. But a few weeks of mortal life\nremained to Him, and the greater part of this brief period had to be\ndevoted to the further instruction of the apostles. He prudently\nwithdrew from the vicinity of Bethany and \"went thence unto a country\nnear to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued\nwith his disciples.\" Thus did our Lord spend the rest of the winter and\nprobably the early days of the succeeding spring. That His retreat was\nprivate if not practically secret is suggested by John's statement that\n\"Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews\"; and further\nindication is found in the fact that although the chief priests and\nPharisees had virtually set a price upon His head, no man gave\ninformation as to His whereabouts. The place of this last retirement is\nnot definitely known; it is generally thought to be the locality\nelsewhere called Ephrain and Ephron,[1038] which lay a little less than\ntwenty miles northerly from Jerusalem. Equally uncertain is the duration\nof our Lord's abode there. When He emerged again into public notice, it\nwas to enter upon His solemn march toward Jerusalem and the cross.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 28.\n\n1. Origin of the Feast of Dedication.--Concerning the second temple,\nknown as the Temple of Zerubbabel, the author has written elsewhere: \"Of\nthe later history of this temple the biblical record gives but few\ndetails; but from other sources we learn of its vicissitudes. In\nconnection with the Maccabean persecution the House of the Lord was\nprofaned. A Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, captured Jerusalem (168 to\n165 B.C.) and perpetrated blasphemous outrage against the religion of\nthe people. He plundered the temple and carried away its golden\ncandlestick, its golden altar of incense, its table of shewbread, and\neven tore down the sacred veils, which were of fine linen and scarlet.\nHis malignity was carried so far that he purposely desecrated the altar\nof sacrifice by offering swine thereon, and erected a heathen altar\nwithin the sacred enclosure. Not content with the violation of the\ntemple, this wicked monarch had altars erected in the towns, and ordered\nthe offering of unclean beasts upon them. The rite of circumcision was\nforbidden on pain of death, and the worship of Jehovah was declared a\ncrime. As a result of this persecution many of the Jews apostatized, and\ndeclared that they belonged to the Medes and Persians--the nations from\nwhose dominion they had been delivered by the power of God.... Then in\nthe year 163 B.C. the House was rededicated; and the occasion was\nremembered in annual festival thereafter under the name of the Feast of\nDedication.\"--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 51-53. According to Josephus\n(Ant. xii, 7:7) the festival came to be known as The Lights; and\nbrilliant illumination both of the temple and of dwellings, was a\nfeature of the celebration. Traditional accounts say that eight days had\nbeen set as the duration of the feast, in commemoration of a legendary\nmiracle by which the consecrated oil in the only jar found intact, and\nbearing the unbroken seal of the high priest, had been made to serve for\ntemple purposes through eight days, which time was required for the\nceremonial preparation of a new supply.\n\n2. Solomon's Porch.--This name had been applied to the eastern colonnade\nor row of porticoes within the temple enclosure, in recognition of a\ntradition that the porch covered and included a portion of the original\nwall belonging to the Temple of Solomon. See _The House of the Lord_,\npp. 55-57.\n\n3. The Oneness of Christ and the Father.--The revised version gives for\nJohn 10:30: \"I and the Father are one\" instead of \"I and my Father are\none.\" By \"the Father\" the Jews rightly understood the Eternal Father,\nGod. In the original Greek \"one\" appears in the neuter gender, and\ntherefore expresses oneness in attributes, power, or purpose, and not a\noneness of personality which would have required the masculine form. For\ntreatment of the unity of the Godhead, and the separate personality of\neach Member, see _Articles of Faith_, ii, 20-24.\n\n4. The Place of our Lord's Retirement.--Jesus went \"beyond Jordan into\nthe place where John at first baptized\" (John 10:40). This was probably\nBethabara (1:28), which is called Bethany in some of the earliest\nmanuscripts and is so designated in the latest revised version. Care\nmust be taken not to confuse this Perean Bethany with the Bethany in\nJudea, the home of Martha and Mary, which was within two miles of\nJerusalem.\n\n5. Lazarus in the Tomb Four Days.--On the very probable assumption that\nthe journey from Bethany in Judea to the place where Jesus was, in\nPerea, would require one day, Lazarus must have died on the day of the\nmessenger's departure; for this day and the two days that elapsed before\nJesus started toward Judea, and the day required for the return, would\nno more than cover the four days specified. It was and still is the\ncustom in Palestine as in other oriental countries to bury on the day of\ndeath.\n\nIt was the popular belief that on the fourth day after death the spirit\nhad finally departed from the vicinity of the corpse, and that\nthereafter decomposition proceeded unhindered. This may explain Martha's\nimpulsive though gentle objection to having the tomb of her brother\nopened four days after his death (John 11:39). It is possible that the\nconsent of the next of kin was required for the lawful opening of a\ngrave. Both Martha and Mary were present, and in the presence of many\nwitnesses assented to the opening of the tomb in which their brother\nlay.\n\n6. Jesus Groaned in Spirit.--The marginal readings for \"he groaned in\nthe spirit\" (John 11:33) and \"again groaning in himself\" (v. 38), as\ngiven in the revised version, are \"was moved with indignation in the\nspirit\" and \"being moved with indignation in himself.\" All philological\nauthorities agree that the words in the original Greek express sorrowful\nindignation, or as some aver, anger, and not alone a sympathetic emotion\nof grief. Any indignation the Lord may have felt, as intimated in verse\n33, may be attributed to disapproval of the customary wailing over\ndeath, which as vented by the Jews on this occasion, profaned the real\nand soulful grief of Martha and Mary; and His indignation, expressed by\ngroaning as mentioned in verse 38, may have been due to the carping\ncriticism uttered by some of the Jews as recorded in verse 37.\n\n7. Caiaphas, High Priest that Year.--John's statement that Caiaphas was\nhigh priest \"that same year\" must not be construed as meaning that the\noffice of high priest was of a single year's tenure. Under Jewish law\nthe presiding priest, who was known as the high priest, would remain in\noffice indefinitely; but the Roman government had arrogated to itself\nthe appointive power as applying to this office; and frequent changes\nwere made. This Caiaphas, whose full name was Josephus Caiaphas, was\nhigh priest under Roman appointment during a period of eleven years. To\nsuch appointments the Jews had to submit, though they often recognized\nas the high priest under their law, some other than the \"civil high\npriest\" appointed by Roman authority. Thus we find both Annas and\nCaiaphas exercizing the authority of the office at the time of our\nLord's arrest and later. (John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6; compare Luke 3:2.)\nFarrar (p. 484, note) says: \"Some have seen an open irony in the\nexpression of St. John (11:49) that Caiaphas was high priest 'that same\nyear,' as though the Jews had got into this contemptuous way of speaking\nduring the rapid succession of priests--mere phantoms set up and\ndisplaced by the Roman fiat--who had in recent years succeeded each\nother. There must have been at least five living high priests, and\nex-high priests at this council--Annas, Ismael Ben Phabi, Eleazar Ben\nHaman, Simon Ben Kamhith, and Caiaphas, who had gained his elevation by\nbribery.\"\n\n8. Divinely Appointed Judges Called \"gods.\"--In Psalm 82:6, judges\ninvested by divine appointment are called \"gods.\" To this scripture the\nSavior referred in His reply to the Jews in Solomon's Porch. Judges so\nauthorized officiated as the representatives of God and are honored by\nthe exalted title \"gods.\" Compare the similar appellation applied to\nMoses (Exo. 4:16; 7:1). Jesus Christ possessed divine authorization, not\nthrough the word of God transmitted to Him by man, but as an inherent\nattribute. The inconsistency of calling human judges \"gods,\" and of\nascribing blasphemy to the Christ who called Himself the Son of God,\nwould have been apparent to the Jews but for their sin-darkened minds.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1009] John 10:22-39.\n\n[1010] Also rendered Kislev, Chisleu, and Cisleu. See Zech. 7:1.\n\n[1011] Josephus, Antiquities, xii, 5:3-5. See Ezra 6:17, 18; also Note\n1, end of chapter.\n\n[1012] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1013] John 8:58; and 10:11; see also pages 411 and 416 herein.\n\n[1014] Revised version gives \"I and the Father.\" See Note 3, end of\nchapter.\n\n[1015] John 8:59. Page 412.\n\n[1016] Concerning blasphemy see pages 191 and 269, also page 629.\n\n[1017] Psa. 82, particularly verses 1 and 6. Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[1018] A better rendering of the last verse is: \"But if I do them [i.e.\nthe Father's works], though ye believe not me, believe the works; that\nye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the\nFather.\"--(Revised version.)\n\n[1019] John 10:40-42.\n\n[1020] Pages 121-124.\n\n[1021] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1022] John 11:1-46.\n\n[1023] Compare Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; Job 14:12; 1 Thess.\n4:14.\n\n[1024] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1025] John 9; see page 412 herein.\n\n[1026] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1027] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1028] John 6:12; Matt. 15:37; see pages 334 and 358 herein.\n\n[1029] Matt. 9:23-25; Luke 7:11-17; pages 251 and 313 herein.\n\n[1030] John 9:3.\n\n[1031] John 12:9-11, 17.\n\n[1032] John 11:46-54.\n\n[1033] Luke 16:31; page 466 herein.\n\n[1034] John 12:10.\n\n[1035] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1036] John 11:57.\n\n[1037] John 11:54.\n\n[1038] 2 Chron. 13:19; Josh. 15:9.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 29.\n\nON TO JERUSALEM.\n\n\nJESUS AGAIN FORTELLS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION.[1039]\n\nEach of the three synoptic writers has made record of this last journey\nto Jerusalem and of occurrences connected therewith. The deep solemnity\nof the developments now so near at hand, and of the fate He was setting\nout to meet so affected Jesus that even the apostles were amazed at His\nabsorption and evident sadness; they fell behind in amazement and fear.\nThen He paused, called the Twelve about Him, and in language of absolute\nplainness, without metaphor or simile, He said: \"Behold, we go up to\nJerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning\nthe Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the\nGentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:\nAnd they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he\nshall rise again.\"\n\nIt is to us an astounding fact that the Twelve failed to comprehend His\nmeaning; yet Luke unqualifiedly affirms: \"And they understood none of\nthese things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the\nthings which were spoken.\" This avouchment of the Savior's approaching\ndeath and resurrection spoken in confidential certainty to the Twelve\nwas the third of its kind; and still they could not bring themselves to\naccept the awful truth.[1040] According to Matthew's account, they were\ntold of the very manner by which the Lord should die--that the Gentiles\nshould crucify Him; yet they understood not. To them there was some\ndreadful incongruity, some dire inconsistency or inexplicable\ncontradiction in the sayings of their beloved Master. They knew Him to\nbe the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One be\nbrought into subjection and be slain? They could not fail to realize\nthat some unprecedented development in His life was impending; this they\nmay have vaguely conceived to be the crisis for which they had been\nwaiting, the open proclamation of His Messianic dignity, His\nenthronement as Lord and King. And such indeed was to be, though in a\nmanner far different from their anticipations. The culminating\nprediction--that on the third day He would rise again--seems to have\npuzzled them the most; and, at the same time, this assurance of ultimate\ntriumph may have made all intermediate occurrences appear as of but\nsecondary and transitory import. They persistently repelled the thought\nthat they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre.\n\n\nTHE QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE AGAIN.[1041]\n\nNotwithstanding all the instructions the apostles had received\nconcerning humility, and though they had before them the supreme example\nof the Master's life and conduct, in which the fact that service was the\nonly measure of true greatness was abundantly demonstrated, they\ncontinued to dream of rank and honor in the kingdom of the Messiah.\nPerhaps because of the imminence of the Master's triumph, with which\nthey all were particularly impressed at this time though ignorant of its\nreal significance, certain of the Twelve appealed to the Lord in the\ncourse of this journey with a most ambitious request. The petitioners\nwere James and John, though according to Matthew's record their\nmother[1042] was the first to ask. The request was that when Jesus came\ninto possession of His kingdom, He would so signally honor the aspiring\npair as to install them in seats of eminence, one on His right hand, the\nother on His left. Instead of sharply rebuking such presumption, Jesus\ngently but impressively asked: \"Are ye able to drink of the cup that I\nshall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized\nwith?\" The answer was full of self-confidence inspired by ignorant\nmisapprehension. \"We are able,\" they replied. Then said Jesus: \"Ye shall\ndrink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am\nbaptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine\nto give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my\nFather.\"\n\nThe ten apostles were indignant at the two brothers, possibly less\nthrough disapproval of the spirit that had prompted the petition than\nbecause the two had forestalled the others in applying for the chief\nposts of distinction. But Jesus, patiently tolerant of their human\nweaknesses, drew the Twelve around Him, and taught them as a loving\nfather might instruct and admonish his contentious children. He showed\nthem how earthly rulers, such as princes among the Gentiles, domineer\nover their subjects, manifesting lordship and arbitrarily exercizing the\nauthority of office. But it was not to be so among the Master's\nservants; whoever of them would be great must be a servant indeed,\nwillingly ministering unto his fellows; the humblest and most willing\nservant would be the chief of the servants. \"For even the Son of man\ncame not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a\nransom for many.\"[1043]\n\n\nSIGHT RESTORED TO THE BLIND NEAR JERICHO.[1044]\n\nIn the course of His journey Jesus came to Jericho, at or near which\ncity He again exerted His wondrous power in opening the eyes of the\nblind. Matthew states that two sightless men were made to see, and that\nthe miracle was enacted as Jesus was leaving Jericho; Mark mentions but\none blind man, whom he names Bartimeus or the son of Timeus, and agrees\nwith Matthew in saying that the healing was effected when Jesus was\ndeparting from the city; Luke specifies but one subject of the Lord's\nhealing mercy, \"a certain blind man,\" and chronicles the miracle as an\nincident of Christ's approach to Jericho. These slight variations attest\nthe independent authorship of each of the records, and the apparent\ndiscrepancies have no direct bearing upon the main facts, nor do they\ndetract from the instructional value of the Lord's work. As we have\nfound to be the case on an earlier occasion, two men were mentioned\nthough but one figures in the circumstantial accounts.[1045]\n\nThe man who is more particularly mentioned, Bartimeus, sat by the\nwayside, asking alms. Jesus approached, accompanied by the apostles,\nmany other disciples, and a great multitude of people, probably made up\nlargely of travelers on their way to Jerusalem to attend the Passover\nfestival, the time for which was about a week ahead. Hearing the tramp\nof so great a company the sightless beggar inquired what it all meant,\nand was answered, \"Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.\" Eager lest the\nopportunity of gaining the Master's attention be lost, he immediately\ncried in a loud voice: \"Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.\" His\nappeal, and particularly his use of the title, Son of David, show that\nhe knew of the great Teacher, had confidence in His power to heal and\nfaith in Him as the promised King and Deliverer of Israel.[1046] Those\nwho were in advance of Jesus in the company tried to silence the man,\nbut the more they rebuked him the louder and more persistently did he\ncry: \"Thou son of David, have mercy on me.\" Jesus halted in His course\nand directed that the man be brought to Him. Those who but a moment\nbefore would have stopped the blind man's yearning appeal, now that the\nMaster had noticed him were eager to be of service. To the sightless one\nthey brought the glad word: \"Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee\";\nand he, casting aside his outer garment lest it hinder, came in haste to\nChrist. To the Lord's question, \"What wilt thou that I shall do unto\nthee?\" Bartimeus answered: \"Lord, that I may receive my sight.\" Then\nJesus spake the simple words of power and blessing: \"Receive thy sight:\nthy faith hath saved thee.\" The man, full of gratitude and knowing that\nnothing short of divine interposition could have opened his eyes,\nfollowed his Benefactor, glorifying God in heartfelt prayers of\nthanksgiving, in which many of those who had witnessed the miracle\nfervently joined.\n\n\nZACCHEUS, THE CHIEF AMONG THE PUBLICANS.[1047]\n\nJericho was a city of considerable importance; among its resident\nofficials was a staff of publicans, or collectors of customs, and of\nthese the chief was Zaccheus,[1048] who had grown rich from the revenues\nof office. He had doubtless heard of the great Galilean who hesitated\nnot to mingle with publicans, detested though they were by the Jews in\ngeneral; he may have known, also, that Jesus had placed one of this\npublican class among the most prominent of the disciples. That Zaccheus\nwas a Jew is indicated by his name, which is a variant of \"Zacharias,\"\nwith a Greek or Latin termination; he must have been particularly\nobnoxious to his people on account of his advanced status among the\npublicans, all of whom were in Roman employ. He had a great desire to\nsee Jesus; the feeling was not one of mere curiosity; he had been\nimpressed and set thinking by the things he had heard about this Teacher\nfrom Nazareth. But Zaccheus was a little man, and could not ordinarily\nsee over the heads of others; so he ran ahead of the company and climbed\na tree alongside the road. When Jesus reached the place, to the great\nsurprize of the man in the tree He looked up and said: \"Zaccheus, make\nhaste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.\" Zaccheus\ncame down with haste, and joyfully received the Lord as his guest. The\nmultitude by whom Jesus had been accompanied appear to have been\ngenerally friendly toward Him; but at this turn of affairs they murmured\nand criticized, saying that the Master \"was gone to be guest with a man\nthat is a sinner\"; for all publicans were sinners in Jewish eyes, and\nZaccheus admitted that the opprobrium in his case was possibly deserved.\nBut having seen and conversed with Jesus, this chief among the publicans\nbelieved and was converted. As proof of his change of heart Zaccheus\nthen and there voluntarily vowed unto the Lord to make amends and\nrestitution if it were found that he owed such. \"Behold, Lord,\" he said,\n\"the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything\nfrom any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.\" These were\nworks meet for repentance. The man realized that he could not change his\npast; but he knew he could in part at least atone for some of his\nmisdeeds. His pledge to restore in fourfold measure whatever he had\nwrongfully acquired was in line with the Mosaic law as to restitution,\nbut far in excess of the recompense required.[1049] Jesus accepted the\nman's profession of repentance, and said: \"This day is salvation come to\nthis house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.\" Another stray\nsheep had been returned to the fold; another lost treasure had been\nfound; another wayward son had come back to the Father's house.[1050]\n\"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.\"\n\n\nUNTO EVERY ONE THAT HATH SHALL BE GIVEN.[1051]\n\nAs the multitude approached Jerusalem, Jesus being in their midst,\nexpectation ran high as to what the Lord would do when He reached the\ncapital of the nation. Many of those with Him were looking for a\nproclamation of His royal authority and \"they thought that the kingdom\nof God should immediately appear.\" Jesus told them a story; we call it\nthe _Parable of the Pounds_:\n\n\"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a\nkingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered\nthem ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his\ncitizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not\nhave this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was\nreturned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants\nto be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might\nknow how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first,\nsaying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him,\nWell, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very\nlittle, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came,\nsaying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to\nhim, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord,\nbehold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I\nfeared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou\nlayedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto\nhim, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou\nknewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and\nreaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into\nthe bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?\nAnd he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give\nit to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath\nten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be\ngiven; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away\nfrom him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign\nover them, bring hither, and slay them before me.\"\n\nBoth the circumstances of the story and the application of the parable\nwere more readily apparent to the Jewish multitude than they are to us.\nThe departure of a certain nobleman from a vassal province to the court\nof the suzerain to seek investiture of kingly authority, and the protest\nof the citizens over whom he asserted the right to reign, were incidents\nof Jewish history still fresh in the minds of the people to whom Christ\nspoke.[1052] The explication of the parable is this: The people were not\nto look for an immediate establishment of the kingdom in temporal power.\nHe who would be king was pictured as having departed for a far country\nfrom which he would assuredly return. Before leaving he had given to\neach of his servants a definite sum of money; and by their success in\nusing this he would judge of their fitness to serve in offices of trust.\nWhen he returned he called for an accounting, in the course of which the\ncases of three servants are specified as types. One had so used the\npound as to gain ten pounds; he was commended and received a reward such\nas only a sovereign could give, the governorship of ten cities. The\nsecond servant, with equal capital had increased it only five fold; he\nwas properly rewarded in proportion by appointment as governor over five\ncities. The third gave back what he had received, without increase, for\nhe had failed to use it. He had no reason and only a very poor excuse to\noffer for his dereliction. In justice he was severely reprimanded, and\nthe money was taken from him. When the king directed that the pound so\nforfeited by the unfaithful servant be given to him who already had ten,\nsome surprize was manifest amongst those who stood by; but the king\nexplained, that \"unto every one that hath shall be given,\" for such a\none uses to advantage the means entrusted to his care, while \"from him\nthat hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him\"; for he\nhas demonstrated his utter unfitness to possess and use aright. This\npart of the parable, while of general application, must have appealed to\nthe apostles as particularly apt; for each of them had received in trust\nan equal endowment through ordination, and each would be required to\naccount for his administration.\n\nThe fact is apparent that Christ was the nobleman who was to be invested\nwith the authority of kingship, and who would return to require the\naccounting at the hands of His trusted servants.[1053] But many of the\ncitizens hated Him and would protest His investiture, saying they would\nnot have Him to reign over them.[1054] When He does return in power and\nauthority, these rebellious citizens shall surely receive the punishment\nthey deserve.[1055]\n\n\nIN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE LEPER.[1056]\n\nSix days before the Feast of the Passover, that is to say before the day\non which the paschal lamb was to be eaten,[1057] Jesus arrived at\nBethany, the home town of Martha and Mary, and of Lazarus who had\nrecently died and been restored to life. The chronology of events during\nthe last week of our Lord's life supports the generally accepted belief\nthat in this year, the fourteenth day of Nisan, on which the Passover\nfestival began, fell on Thursday; and this being so, the day on which\nJesus reached Bethany was the preceding Friday, the eve of the Jewish\nSabbath. Jesus fully realized that this Sabbath was the last He would\nlive to see in mortality. The Gospel-writers have drawn a veil of\nreverent silence over the events of that day. It appears that Jesus\npassed His last Sabbath in retirement at Bethany. The journey afoot from\nJericho had been no easy walk, for the road ascended to an altitude of\nnearly three thousand feet, and was withal otherwise a toilsome way.\n\nOn Saturday,[1058] probably in the evening after the Sabbath had passed,\na supper was spread for Jesus and the Twelve in the house of Simon the\nleper. No other mention of this man, Simon, appears in scripture. If he\nwas living at the time our Lord was entertained in the house known by\nhis name, and if he was present, he must have been previously healed of\nhis leprosy, as otherwise he could not have been allowed within the\ntown, far less to be one of a festal company. It is reasonable to think\nthat the man had once been a victim of leprosy and had come to be\ncurrently known as Simon the leper, and that he was one among the many\nsufferers from this dread disease who had been healed through the Lord's\nministrations.\n\nMartha was in charge of the supper arrangements on this memorable\noccasion, and her sister Mary was with her, while Lazarus sat at table\nwith Jesus. Many have assumed that the house of Simon the leper was the\nfamily home of the two sisters and Lazarus, in which case it is possible\nthat Simon was the father of the three; but of such relationship we have\nno proof.[1059] There was no attempt to secure unusual privacy at this\nsupper. Such occasions were customarily marked by the presence of many\nuninvited lookers-on in that time; and we are not surprized to learn,\ntherefore, that many people were there and that they had come \"not for\nJesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had\nraised from the dead.\" Lazarus was a subject of much interest and\ndoubtless of curiosity among the people; and at the time of his\nprivileged and intimate association with Jesus in Bethany, the chief\npriests were plotting to put him to death, on account of the effect his\nrestoration had had upon the people, many of whom believed on Jesus\nbecause of the miracle.\n\nThat supper in Bethany was an event never to be forgotten. Mary, the\nmore contemplative and spiritually minded of the two sisters, she who\nloved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His words, and who had\nbeen commended for having so chosen the one needful thing, which her\nmore practical sister lacked,[1060] brought from among her treasures an\nalabaster cruse containing a pound of costly spikenard ointment; she\nbroke the sealed flask[1061] and poured its fragrant contents upon the\nhead and feet of her Lord, and wiped His feet with her loosened\ntresses.[1062] To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to do\nhim honor; to anoint his feet also was to show unusual and signal\nregard; but the anointing of head and feet with spikenard, and in such\nabundance, was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to\nkings.[1063] Mary's act was an expression of adoration; it was the\nfragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection.\n\nBut this splendid tribute of a devout woman's love was made the cause of\ndisagreeable protest. Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the Twelve, but\ndishonest, avaricious, and small-souled in character, vented his\ngrumbling complaint, saying: \"Why was not this ointment sold for three\nhundred pence, and given to the poor?\"[1064] His seeming solicitude for\nthe poor was all hypocrisy. He was a thief and lamented that he had not\nbeen given the precious ointment to sell, or that the price had not been\nturned into the bag of which he was the self-interested custodian.\nMary's use of the costly unguent had been so lavish that others beside\nJudas had let their surprize grow into murmuring; but to him is\nattributed the distinction of being the chief complainer. Mary's\nsensitive nature was pained by the ungracious words of disapproval; but\nJesus interposed, saying: \"Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath\nwrought a good work upon me.\" Then in further rebuke and by way of\nsolemn instruction He continued; \"For ye have the poor always with you;\nbut me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on\nmy body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever\nthis gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this,\nthat this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.\"\n\nWe are left without certain information as to whether Mary knew that\nwithin a few days her beloved Lord would be in the tomb. She may have\nbeen so informed in view of the hallowed intimacy between Jesus and the\nfamily; or she may have gathered from the remarks of Christ to the\napostles that the sacrifice of His life was impending; or perhaps by\ninspired intuition she was impelled to render the loving tribute by\nwhich her memory has been enshrined in the hearts of all who know and\nlove the Christ. John has preserved to us this remark of Jesus in the\nrebuke called forth by the grumbling Iscariot: \"Let her alone; against\nthe day of my burying hath she kept this\"; and Mark's version is\nlikewise suggestive of definite and solemn purpose on Mary's part: \"She\nis come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.\"\n\n\nCHRIST'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.[1065]\n\nWhile still in Bethany or in the neighboring village of Bethphage, and\naccording to John's account on the next day after the supper at Simon's\nhouse, Jesus directed two of His disciples to go to a certain place,\nwhere, He told them, they would find an ass tied, and with her a colt on\nwhich no man had ever sat. These they were to bring to Him. If stopped\nor questioned they were to say the Lord had need of the animals. Matthew\nalone mentions both ass and colt; the other writers specify the latter\nonly; most likely the mother followed as the foal was led away, and the\npresence of the dam probably served to keep the colt tractable. The\ndisciples found all to be as the Lord had said. They brought the colt to\nJesus, spread their coats on the gentle creature's back, and set the\nMaster thereon. The company started toward Jerusalem, Jesus riding in\ntheir midst.\n\nNow, as was usual, great numbers of people had come up to the city many\ndays before the beginning of the Passover rites, in order that they\nmight attend to matters of personal purification, and make good their\narrears in the offering of prescribed sacrifices. Though the great day,\non which the festival was to be inaugurated, was yet four days ahead,\nthe city was thronged with pilgrim crowds; and among these much\nquestioning had arisen as to whether Jesus would venture to appear\npublicly in Jerusalem during the feast, in view of the well-known plans\nof the hierarchy to take Him into custody. The common people were\ninterested in every act and movement of the Master; and word of His\ndeparture from Bethany sped ahead of Him; so that by the time He began\nthe descent from the highest part of the road on the flank of the Mount\nof Olives, great crowds had gathered about Him. The people were jubilant\nover the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city; they spread out\ntheir garments, and cast palm fronds and other foliage in His path, thus\ncarpeting the way as for the passing of a king. For the time being He\nwas their king, and they His adoring subjects. The voices of the\nmultitude sounded in reverberating harmony: \"Blessed be the King that\ncometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the\nhighest\"; and again: \"Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that\ncometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.\"[1066]\n\nBut amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of the\ngreat city wherein stood the House of the Lord; and He wept, because of\nthe wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as the\nSon of God; moreover He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction before\nwhich both city and temple were soon to fall. In anguish and tears, He\nthus apostrophized the doomed city: \"If thou hadst known, even thou, at\nleast in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now\nthey are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that\nthine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round,\nand keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground,\nand thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone\nupon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.\" The\nmultitude was increased by tributary crowds who fell in with the\nimposing procession at every crossway; and the shouts of praise and\nhomage were heard inside the city while the advancing company was yet\nfar from the walls. When the Lord rode through the massive portal and\nactually entered the capital of the Great King, the whole city was\nthrilled. To the inquiry of the uninformed, \"Who is this?\" the multitude\nshouted: \"This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.\" It may be\nthat the Galilean pilgrims were first to answer and loudest in the\ngladsome proclamation; for the proud Judeans held Galilee in low esteem,\nand on this day, Jesus of Galilee was the most prominent personage in\nJerusalem. The Pharisees, resentful of the honors thus shown to One whom\nthey had long plotted to destroy, impotently condoled with one another\nover the failure of all their nefarious schemes, saying: \"Perceive ye\nhow ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.\" Unable to\ncheck the surging enthusiasm of the multitudes, or to silence the joyous\nacclamations, some of the Pharisees made their way through the throngs\nuntil they reached Jesus, and to Him they appealed, saying: \"Master,\nrebuke thy disciples.\" But the Lord \"answered and said unto them, I tell\nyou that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately\ncry out\"[1067]\n\nDismounting, He entered afoot the temple enclosure; shouts of adulation\ngreeted Him there. Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the official\nrepresentatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, were\nincensed; there was no denying the fact that the people were rendering\nMessianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene; and that too within the\nvery purlieus of the temple of Jehovah.\n\nThe purpose of Christ in thus yielding Himself for the day to the\ndesires of the people and accepting their homage with kingly grace may\nnot be fully comprehended by us of finite mind. That the occasion was no\naccidental or fortuitous happening, of which He took advantage without\npreconceived intention, is evident. He knew beforehand what would be,\nand what He would do. It was no meaningless pageantry; but the actual\nadvent of the King into His royal city, and His entry into the temple,\nthe house of the King of kings. He came riding on an ass, in token of\npeace, acclaimed by the Hosanna shouts of multitudes; not on a\ncaparisoned steed with the panoply of combat and the accompaniment of\nbugle blasts and fanfare of trumpets. That the joyous occasion was in no\nsense suggestive of physical hostility or of seditious disturbance is\nsufficiently demonstrated by the indulgent unconcern with which it was\nviewed by the Roman officials, who were usually prompt to send their\nlegionaries swooping down from the fortress of Antonia at the first\nevidence of an outbreak; and they were particularly vigilant in\nsuppressing all Messianic pretenders, for false Messiahs had arisen\nalready, and much blood had been shed in the forcible dispelling of\ntheir delusive claims. But the Romans saw nothing to fear, perhaps much\nto smile at, in the spectacle of a King mounted upon an ass, and\nattended by subjects, who, though numerous, brandished no weapons but\nwaved instead palm branches and myrtle sprigs. The ass has been\ndesignated in literature as \"the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty,\" and\none riding upon an ass as the type of peaceful progress.\n\nSuch triumphal entry of Jesus into the chief city of the Jews would have\nbeen strikingly inconsistent with the general tenor of His ministry in\nits early stages. Even the intimation that He was the Christ had been\nmade with guarded care, if at all; and every manifestation of popular\nregard in which He might have figured as a national leader had been\nsuppressed. Now, however, the hour of the great consummation was near at\nhand; the public acceptance of the nation's homage, and the\nacknowledgment of both kingly and Messianic titles, constituted an open\nand official proclamation of His divine investiture. He had entered city\nand temple in such royal state as befitted the Prince of Peace. By the\nrulers of the nation He had been rejected and His claims derided. The\nmanner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of the\nlaw and the prophets; for Zechariah's impressive forecast, the\nfulfilment of which the evangelist, John, finds in the events of this\nmemorable Sunday,[1068] was frequently cited among them: \"Rejoice\ngreatly, O, daughter of Zion; shout, O, daughter of Jerusalem: behold,\nthy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and\nriding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.\"[1069]\n\n\nCERTAIN GREEKS VISIT CHRIST.[1070]\n\nAmong the multitudes who came to Jerusalem at the time of the annual\nPassover were people of many nations. Some of these, though not of\nJewish descent, had been converted to Judaism; they were admitted to the\ntemple precincts, but were not allowed to pass beyond the court of the\nGentiles.[1071] Sometime during our Lord's last week of mortal life,\npossibly on the day of His royal entry into the city,[1072] certain\nGreeks, who were evidently numbered among the proselytes since they had\ncome \"to worship at the feast,\" sought an interview with Jesus. Imbued\nwith a becoming sense of decorum they hesitated to directly approach the\nMaster, and applied instead to Philip, one of the apostles, saying:\n\"Sir, we would see Jesus.\" Philip consulted with Andrew, and the two\nthen informed Jesus, who, as we may reasonably infer from the context\nthough the fact is not explicitly stated, graciously received the\nforeign visitors and imparted to them precepts of the utmost worth. It\nis evident that the desire of these Greeks to meet the Master was not\ngrounded on curiosity or other unworthy impulse; they earnestly wished\nto see and hear the Teacher whose fame had reached their country, and\nwhose doctrines had impressed them.\n\nTo them Jesus testified that the hour of His death was near at hand, the\nhour in which \"the Son of man should be glorified.\" They were surprized\nand pained by the Lord's words, and possibly they inquired as to the\nnecessity of such a sacrifice. Jesus explained by citing a striking\nillustration drawn from nature: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except\na corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if\nit die, it bringeth forth much fruit;\"[1073] The simile is an apt\none,--and at once impressively simple and beautiful. A farmer who\nneglects or refuses to cast his wheat into the earth, because he wants\nto keep it, can have no increase; but if he sow the wheat in good rich\nsoil, each living grain may multiply itself many fold, though of\nnecessity the seed must be sacrificed in the process. So, said the Lord,\n\"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in\nthis world shall keep it unto life eternal.\" The Master's meaning is\nclear; he that loves his life so well that he will not imperil it, or,\nif need be, give it up, in the service of God, shall forfeit his\nopportunity to win the bounteous increase of eternal life; while he who\nesteems the call of God as so greatly superior to life that his love of\nlife is as hatred in comparison, shall find the life he freely yields or\nis willing to yield, though for the time being it disappear like the\ngrain buried in the soil; and he shall rejoice in the bounty of eternal\ndevelopment. If such be true of every man's existence, how\ntranscendently so was it of the life of Him who came to die that men may\nlive? Therefore was it necessary that He die, as He had said He was\nabout to do; but His death, far from being life lost, was to be life\nglorified.\n\n\nVOICE FROM HEAVEN.[1074]\n\nThe realization of the harrowing experiences upon which He was about to\nenter, and particularly the contemplation of the state of sin, which\nmade His sacrifice imperative, so weighed upon the Savior's mind that He\nsorrowed deeply. \"Now is my soul troubled,\" He groaned; \"and what shall\nI say?\" He exclaimed in anguish. Should He say, \"Father, save me from\nthis hour\" when as He knew \"for this cause\" had He come \"unto this\nhour?\" To His Father alone could He turn for comforting support, not to\nask relief from, but strength to endure, what was to come; and He\nprayed: \"Father, glorify thy name.\" It was the rising of a mighty Soul\nto meet a supreme issue, which for the moment had seemed to be\noverwhelming. To that prayer of renewed surrender to the Father's will,\n\"Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it,\nand will glorify it again.\"\n\nThe voice was real; it was no subjective whisper of comfort to the inner\nconsciousness of Jesus, but an external, objective reality. People who\nwere standing by heard the sound, and interpreted it variously; some\nsaid it was thunder; others, of better spiritual discernment, said: \"An\nangel spake to him\"; and some may have understood the words as had\nJesus. Now fully emerged from the passing cloud of enveloping anguish,\nthe Lord turned to the people, saying: \"This voice came not because of\nme, but for your sakes.\" And then, with the consciousness of assured\ntriumph over sin and death, He exclaimed in accents of divine\njubilation, as though the cross and the sepulchre were already of the\npast: \"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this\nworld be cast out.\" Satan, the prince of the world was doomed.[1075]\n\"And I,\" the Lord continued, \"if I be lifted up from the earth, will\ndraw all men unto me.\" John assures us that this last utterance\nsignified the manner of the Lord's death; the people so understood, and\nthey asked an explanation of what seemed to them an inconsistency, in\nthat the scriptures, as they had been taught to interpret the same,\ndeclared that the Christ was to abide forever,[1076] and now He who\nclaimed to be the Messiah, the Son of Man, averred that He must be\nlifted up. \"Who is this Son of man?\" they asked. Mindful as ever not to\ncast pearls where they would not be appreciated, the Lord refrained from\na direct avowal, but admonished them to walk in the light while the\nlight was with them, for darkness would surely follow; and as He\nreminded them, \"he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he\ngoeth.\" In conclusion the Lord admonished them thus: \"While ye have\nlight, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of\nlight.\"[1077]\n\nAt the close of this discourse Jesus departed from the people \"and did\nhide himself from them.\" The record of the first day of what has come to\nbe known as the week of our Lord's passion[1078] is thus concluded by\nMark: \"And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the\neventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.\"[1079]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 29.\n\n1. The Mother of James and John.--The mother of these two sons of\nZebedee (Matt. 20:20; compare 4:21) is generally understood to have been\nthe Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion\n(Mark 15:40; compare Matt. 27:56 in which \"the mother of Zebedee's\nchildren\" is mentioned, and the name \"Salome\" is omitted), and one of\nthose who arrived first at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection\n(Mark 16:1). From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and\n\"his mother's sister\" (19:25) and omits mention of Salome by name, some\nexpositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus;\nand therefore the Savior's aunt. This relationship would make James and\nJohn cousins to Jesus. While the scriptural record does not disprove\nthis alleged kinship, it certainly does not affirm the same.\n\n2. Jericho.--This was an ancient city, lying north-easterly from\nJerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In the\ncourse of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through a\nmiraculous interposition of divine power. (Josh. 6). The productiveness\nof the region is indicated by the descriptive appellation \"city of palm\ntrees\" (Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chron. 28:15). The name Jericho\nmeans \"place of fragrance.\" Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequence\nof its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below the\nlevel of the Mediterranean; this explains Luke's statement (19:28) that\nafter Jesus had spoken the Parable of the Pounds when on the way from\nJericho, \"he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.\" In the time of\nChrist, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of its\ncommercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to the\nmaintenance of a customs office there, over which Zaccheus seems to have\npresided.\n\n3. The Nobleman and the Kingdom.--The local setting of the part of the\nParable of the Pounds that relates to a certain nobleman going into a\nfar country to receive for himself a kingdom, had its parallel in\nhistory. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, had\nbeen named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor the\nconfirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from the\npeople. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar\n(p. 493, note) says: \"A nobleman going into a far country to receive a\nkingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately known\nthat this was done both by Archelaus and by Antipas (Jos. Ant. xvii,\n9:4). And in the case of Archelaus the Jews had actually sent to\nAugustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose his\nclaims, which, though it failed at the time, was subsequently successful\n(Josephus, Ant. xvii, 13:2). Philipus defended the property of\nArchelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the Proconsul\nSabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho\n(Jos. Ant. xvii, 13:1) would naturally recall these circumstances to the\nmind of Jesus, and the parable is another striking example of the manner\nin which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, and\nmade them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also another\nunsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of the\nGospels.\"\n\n4. \"We Will Not Have this Man to Reign Over Us.\"--On this phase of the\nparable, Trench (_Miracles_, p. 390) very aptly remarks: \"Twice before\nHe had gone to receive His kingdom, this very declaration found formal\nutterance from their lips,--once when they cried to Pilate, 'We have no\nking but C\u00e6sar'; and again when they remonstrated with him, 'Write not,\nThe King of the Jews' (John 19:15, 21; compare Acts 17:7). But the\nstricter fulfilment of these words is to be found in the demeanor of the\nJews after His ascension, their fierce hostility to Christ in His infant\nChurch (Acts 12:3; 13:45; 14:18; 17:5; 18:6; 22:22; 23:12; 1 Thes.\n2:15).\"\n\n5. The Day of the Supper at Bethany.--John places this event as having\noccurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany, for as we see\nfrom 12:12, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the next\nday after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probably\nreached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem did\nnot occur on the day following Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath.\nMatthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of the\nsupper after the record of the triumphal entry and other events, from\nwhich some have drawn the inference that these two writers place the\nsupper two days before the Passover. This inference lacks confirmation.\nIn this matter the chronological order given by John appears to be the\ntrue one.\n\n6. The Family Home at Bethany.--The home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus\nappears to have been the usual abiding place of Jesus when He was in\nBethany. Undoubtedly He was on terms of very close and affectionate\nacquaintanceship with all members of the family, even before the\nmiraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead, and, this supremely blessed\noccurrence must have intensified into worshipful reverence the esteem in\nwhich our Lord had been held in that household. As to whether this home\nwas identical with the house of Simon the leper, the scriptural record\ndoes not state. John, who gives a fairly detailed account of the supper\nserved by Martha, makes no mention of Simon or his house. It is\nnoticeable that the synoptic writers say very little about this home in\nBethany. Farrar has aptly remarked (p. 483): \"We seem to trace in the\nSynoptists a special reticence about the family at Bethany. The house in\nwhich they take a prominent position is called 'the house of Simon the\nleper'; Mary is called simply 'a woman' by St. Matthew and St. Mark\n(Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3); and St. Luke contents himself with calling\nBethany 'a certain village' (Luke 10:38), although he was perfectly\naware of the name (Luke 19:29).\"\n\n7. Spikenard Ointment.--This was among the most highly prized of\noriental unguents. That with which Mary anointed Jesus is described by\nMatthew and Mark as \"very precious,\" and by John as \"very costly.\" In\nthe original the adjective \"pistic\" appears; this is translated by some\nas meaning \"liquid,\" but by others as signifying \"genuine.\" There were\nmany inferior imitations of the real spikenard, or nard; and we are left\nwithout a doubt that Mary's precious gift was of the best. The plant\nfrom which the fragrant extract is obtained is a species of bearded\ngrass indigenous in India. Spikenard is mentioned in Song of Solomon\n1:12; 4:13, 14.\n\n8. Hosanna!--\"Hosanna\" is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for\n\"Save us now,\" or \"Save, we pray,\" which occurs in the original of Psalm\n118:25. It occurs nowhere in the English Bible except in the\nacclamations of the people at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem,\nand in the joyous shouts of children in the temple (Matt. 21:9, 15).\nNote the rendering of the \"Hosanna Shout\" in the restored Church of\nChrist in the current dispensation on occasions of particular rejoicing\nbefore the Lord (see the _House of the Lord_, pp. 120, 150, 210).\n\"Hallelujah,\" literally rendered, means \"Praise ye Jehovah.\" It occurs\nin the Greek form \"Alleluia\" in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6.\n\n9. The First Day in Passion Week.--A comparison of the accounts of the\nLord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of certain events following,\nas recorded by the three synoptists, shows at least a possibility of\ndiscrepancy as to sequence. It appears certain that Jesus visited the\ntemple grounds on the day of the royal advent into the city. From\nMatthew 21:12 and Luke 19:45 and the context preceding these passages,\nthe inference has been drawn that the second clearing of the temple\noccurred on the day of the processional entry; while others interpret\nMark 11:11 and 15 as meaning that the event took place on a later day.\nThe question is admittedly an open one; and the order of presentation\nfollowed in the text is one of convenience of treatment based on\nrational probability.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1039] Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34.\n\n[1040] The earlier predictions were: (1) that spoken shortly before the\nTransfiguration (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31), and (2) that which followed,\nin Galilee, (Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:31; compare Luke 9:44).\n\n[1041] Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45.\n\n[1042] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1043] For earlier lessons on the greatness of humility see pages 386\nand 471; for the significance of the title, Son of Man, see pages\n142-144.\n\n[1044] Matt. 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43.\n\n[1045] See account of the two demoniacs, Matt. 8:28, compare Mark 5:1,\nLuke 8:27. See also page 310 herein.\n\n[1046] Compare Matt. 9:27; 15:22; page 85 herein.\n\n[1047] Luke 19:1-10.\n\n[1048] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1049] Exo. 22:1-9.\n\n[1050] Compare pages 389 and 454 to 461.\n\n[1051] Luke 19:11-27.\n\n[1052] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1053] Compare Mark 13:34.\n\n[1054] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1055] Comparison of similarities and differences between this parable\nand that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be made in chapter 32,\npages 580-584.\n\n[1056] John 12:1-8; Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9.\n\n[1057] See Exo. 12:1-10; also page 112 herein.\n\n[1058] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1059] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1060] Luke 10:40-42; page 432 herein.\n\n[1061] The better rendering is \"cruse\" or \"flask\" instead of \"box.\" See\nrevised version.\n\n[1062] This occurrence must not be confused with that of an earlier\nanointing of Jesus by a penitent sinner in the house of Simon the\nPharisee (Luke 7:36-50) in Galilee. See page 262 herein.\n\n[1063] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1064] Three hundred pence or Roman denarii would be approximately equal\nin value to forty-five dollars.\n\n[1065] Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19.\n\n[1066] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[1067] Compare Hab. 2:11.\n\n[1068] The Sunday before Easter is annually celebrated by many Christian\nsects as Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Lord's triumphal entry\ninto Jerusalem.\n\n[1069] Zech. 9:9.\n\n[1070] John 12:20-26.\n\n[1071] See \"House of the Lord,\" pages 56, 57.\n\n[1072] John records this event in immediate sequence to the Lord's\ntriumphal entry, though without any specific indication of the time of\nits occurrence.\n\n[1073] Compare 1 Cor. 15:36.\n\n[1074] John 12:27-36.\n\n[1075] Compare John 14:30; 16:11.\n\n[1076] See e.g. Isa. 9:7; Dan. 7:14, 27; Ezek. 37:25.\n\n[1077] Compare John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; see page 407.\n\n[1078] Acts 1:3.\n\n[1079] Mark 11:11. Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 30.\n\nJESUS RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE DAILY.\n\n\nAN INSTRUCTIVE INCIDENT ON THE WAY.[1080]\n\nOn the morrow, which, as we reckon, was Monday, the second day of\nPassion week, Jesus and the Twelve returned to Jerusalem and spent the\ngreater part of the day at the temple. The start from Bethany was an\nearly one, and Jesus hungered by the way. Looking ahead He saw a fig\ntree that differed from the rest of the many fig trees of the region in\nthat it was in full leaf though the season of fruit had not yet\ncome.[1081] It is well known that the fruit-buds of a fig-tree appear\nearlier than do the leaves, and that by the time the tree is in full\nfoliage the figs are well advanced toward maturity. Moreover, certain\nspecies of figs are edible while yet green; indeed the unripe fruit is\nrelished in the Orient at the present time. It would be reasonable,\ntherefore, for one to expect to find edible figs even in early April on\na tree that was already covered with leaves. When Jesus and His party\nreached this particular tree, which had rightly been regarded as rich in\npromise of fruit, they found on it nothing but leaves; it was a showy,\nfruitless, barren tree. It was destitute even of old figs, those of the\npreceding season, some of which are often found in spring on fruitful\ntrees. Jesus pronounced upon that tree the sentence of perpetual\nbarrenness. \"No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever\" He said\naccording to Mark's account; or, as Matthew records the judgment, \"Let\nno fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.\" The latter writer tells us\nin immediate sequence that \"presently the fig tree withered away\"; but\nthe former makes it appear that the effect of the curse was not observed\nuntil the following morning, when, as Jesus and the apostles were once\nagain on the way between Bethany and Jerusalem, they saw that the fig\ntree had withered and dried from the roots up. Peter called attention to\nthe blasted tree, and, addressing Jesus, exclaimed: \"Master, behold, the\nfig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.\"\n\nApplying the lesson of the occasion, Jesus said, \"Have faith in God\";\nand then He repeated some of His former assurances as to the power of\nfaith, by which even mountains may be removed, should there be need of\nsuch miraculous accomplishment, and through which, indeed, any necessary\nthing may be done. The blighting of a tree was shown to be small in\ncomparison with the greater possibilities of achievement through faith\nand prayer. But to so achieve one must work and pray without reservation\nor doubt, as the Lord thus made plain: \"Therefore I say unto you, What\nthings soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and\nye shall have them.\" Prayer must be acceptable unto God to be effective;\nand it follows that he who desires to accomplish any work through prayer\nand faith must be fit to present himself before the Lord in\nsupplication; therefore Jesus again instructed the apostles saying: \"And\nwhen ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your\nFather also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if\nye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive\nyour trespasses.\"[1082]\n\nThe blighting of the barren fig tree is regarded by many as unique among\nthe recorded miracles of Christ, from the fact that while all the others\nwere wrought for relief, blessing, and beneficent purposes generally,\nthis one appears as an act of judgment and destructive execution,\nNevertheless in this miracle the Lord's purpose is not hidden; and the\nresult, while fatal to a tree, is of lasting blessing to all who would\nlearn and profit, by the works of God. If no more has been accomplished\nby the miracle than the presenting of so impressive an object lesson for\nthe instructions that followed, that smitten tree has proved of greater\nservice to humanity than have all the fig orchards of Bethphage.[1083]\nTo the apostles the act was another and an indisputable proof of the\nLord's power over nature, His control of natural forces and all material\nthings, His jurisdiction over life and death. He had healed multitudes;\nthe wind and the waves had obeyed His words; on three occasions He had\nrestored the dead to life; it was fitting that He should demonstrate His\npower to smite and to destroy. In manifesting His command over death, He\nhad mercifully raised a maiden from the couch on which she had died, a\nyoung man from the bier on which he was being carried to the grave,\nanother from the sepulchre in which he had been laid away a corpse; but\nin proof of His power to destroy by a word He chose a barren and\nworthless tree for His subject. Could any of the Twelve doubt, when, a\nfew days later they saw Him in the hands of vindictive priests and\nheartless pagans, that did He so will He could smite His enemies by a\nword, even unto death? Yet not until after His glorious resurrection did\neven the apostles realize how truly voluntary His sacrifice had been.\n\nBut the fate that befell the barren fig tree is instructive from another\npoint of view. The incident is as much parable as miracle. That leafy\ntree was distinguished among fig trees; the others offered no\ninvitation, gave no promise; \"the time of figs was not yet\"; they, in\ndue season would bring forth fruit and leaves; but this precocious and\nleafy pretender waved its umbrageous limbs as in boastful assertion of\nsuperiority. For those who responded to its ostentatious invitation, for\nthe hungering Christ who came seeking fruit, it had naught but leaves.\nEven for the purposes of the lesson involved, we cannot conceive of the\ntree being blighted primarily because it was fruitless, for at that\nseason the other fig trees were bare of fruit also; it was made the\nobject of the curse and the subject of the Lord's instructive discourse,\nbecause, having leaves, it was deceptively barren. Were it reasonable to\nregard the tree as possessed of moral agency, we would have to pronounce\nit a hypocrite; its utter barrenness coupled with its abundance of\nfoliage made of it a type of human hypocrisy.\n\nThe leafy, fruitless tree was a symbol of Judaism, which loudly\nproclaimed itself as the only true religion of the age, and\ncondescendingly invited all the world to come and partake of its rich\nripe fruit; when in truth it was but an unnatural growth of leaves, with\nno fruit of the season, nor even an edible bulb held over from earlier\nyears, for such as it had of former fruitage was dried to worthlessness\nand made repulsive in its worm-eaten decay. The religion of Israel had\ndegenerated into an artificial religionism, which in pretentious show\nand empty profession outclassed the abominations of heathendom. As\nalready pointed out in these pages, the fig tree was a favorite type in\nrabbinical representation of the Jewish race, and the Lord had before\nadopted the symbolism in the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, that\nworthless growth which did but cumber the ground.[1084]\n\n\nSECOND CLEARING OF THE TEMPLE.[1085]\n\nWithin the temple grounds Jesus was filled with indignation at the scene\nof tumult and desecration which the place presented. Three years before,\nat Passover time, He had been wrought up to a high state of righteous\nanger by a similar exhibition of sordid chaffering within the sacred\nprecincts, and had driven out the sheep and oxen and forcibly expelled\nthe traders and the money-changers and all who were using His Father's\nhouse as a house of merchandize.[1086] That was near the beginning of\nHis public labor, and the vigorous action was among the first of His\nworks to attract general attention; now, within four days of the cross,\nHe cleared the courts again by casting out all \"them that sold and\nbought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and\nthe seats of them that sold doves\"; nor would He suffer any to carry\ntheir buckets and baskets through the enclosure, as many were in the\nhabit of doing, and so making the way a common thoroughfare. \"Is it not\nwritten,\" He demanded of them in wrath, \"My house shall be called of all\nnations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.\" On\nthe former occasion, before He had declared or even confessed His\nMessiahship, He had designated the temple as \"My Father's house\"; now\nthat He had openly avowed Himself to be the Christ, He called it \"My\nhouse.\" The expressions are in a sense synonymous; He and the Father\nwere and are one in possession and dominion. The means by which the\nlater expulsion was accomplished are not stated; but it is plain that\nnone could withstand His authoritative command; He acted in the strength\nof righteousness, before which the forces of evil had to give way.\n\nHis wrath of indignation was followed by the calmness of gentle\nministry; there in the cleared courts of His house, blind and lame folk\ncame limping and groping about Him, and He healed them. The anger of the\nchief priests and scribes was raging against Him; but it was impotent.\nThey had decreed His death, and had made repeated efforts to take Him,\nand there He sat within the very area over which they claimed supreme\njurisdiction, and they were afraid to touch Him because of the common\npeople, whom they professed to despize yet heartily feared--\"for all the\npeople were very attentive to hear him.\"\n\nThe rage of the officials was further aggravated by a touching incident,\nwhich seems to have accompanied or to have immediately followed His\nmerciful healing of the afflicted folk at the temple. Children saw what\nHe did; with their innocent minds yet unsullied by the prejudice of\ntradition and their sight yet undarkened by sin, they perceived in Him\nthe Christ, and burst forth into praise and worship in a hymn that was\nheard by the angels: \"Hosanna to the son of David.\" With ill-concealed\nanger the temple officials demanded of Him: \"Hearest thou what these\nsay?\" They probably expected Him to disclaim the title, or possibly\nhoped that He would reassert His claim in a manner that would afford\nexcuse for legal action against Him, for to most of them the Son of\nDavid was the Messiah, the promised King. Would He clear Himself of the\nblasphemy that attached to the unjustified acknowledgment of so awful a\ndignity? Jesus answered, with an implied rebuke for their ignorance of\nthe scriptures: \"Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and\nsucklings thou hast perfected praise?\"[1087]\n\nIt was now Monday evening; Jesus left the city and retired again to\nBethany, where He lodged. This course was a prudent one, in view of the\ndetermination of the rulers to get Him into their power provided they\ncould do so without arousing the people. This they could not accomplish\nby day, for wherever He appeared He was the center of a multitude; but\nhad He remained in Jerusalem over night the vigilant emissaries of the\nhierarchy might have succeeded in taking Him, unless He withstood them\nby some miraculous action. Near as was His hour, it had not yet struck;\nand He would be made captive only as He permitted Himself, a voluntary\nvictim, to be taken into the hands of His enemies.\n\n\nCHRIST'S AUTHORITY CHALLENGED BY THE RULERS.[1088]\n\nOn the following day, that is on Tuesday, He returned to the temple with\nthe Twelve, passing the withered fig tree on the way and impressing the\nmoral of the combined miracle and parable as we have already seen. As He\ntaught in the sacred place, preaching the gospel to all who would hear,\nthe chief priests with a number of scribes and elders came upon Him in a\nbody. They had been debating about Him over night, and had resolved on\nat least one step; they would challenge His authority for what He had\ndone the day before. They were the guardians of the temple, both the\nmaterial structure and the theocratic system for which the holy edifice\nstood; and this Galilean, who permitted Himself to be called the Christ\nand defended those who so acclaimed Him, had for the second time ignored\ntheir authority within the temple walls and in the presence of the\ncommon people over whom they lorded so arrogantly. So this official\ndeputation, with plans matured, came to Him saying: \"By what authority\ndoest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?\" This action\nwas doubtless a preliminary step in a preconcerted attempt to suppress\nthe activities of Jesus, both of word and deed, within the temple\nprecincts. It will be remembered that after the first cleansing of the\ntemple, the Jews had angrily demanded of Jesus a sign by which they\nmight judge the question of His divine commission;[1089] and it is\nsignificant that on this latter occasion no sign was asked, but instead\nthereof, a specific avowal as to the authority He possessed and by whom\nit had been given Him. A three years' course of miracle and teaching was\nknown to them; on the yesterday blind and lame had been healed inside\nthe temple walls; and Lazarus, the living testimony of the Lord's power\nover death and the grave was before them. To ask a further sign would\nhave been to flagrantly expose themselves to the ridicule of the people.\n\nThey knew what authority the Lord claimed; their question was of\nsinister purpose. Jesus did not condescend to voice an answer in which\nthey could possibly find further excuse for antagonizing Him; but He\navailed Himself of a method very common among themselves--that of\ncountering one question with another. \"And Jesus answered and said unto\nthem, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise\nwill tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John,\nwhence was it? from heaven, or of men?\" They consulted among themselves\nas to what answer would best serve to extricate them from an\nembarrassing position; no mention is made of any attempt to ascertain\nthe truth and reply accordingly; they were thoroughly nonplussed. Should\nthey answer that John's baptism was of God, Jesus would probably demand\nof them why then they had not believed in the Baptist, and why they did\nnot accept John's testimony concerning Himself. On the other hand,\nshould they aver that John had no divine authority to preach and\nbaptize, the people would turn against them, for the martyred Baptist\nwas revered by the masses as a prophet. In spite of their boasted\nlearning, they answered as puzzled school-boys might do when they\nperceive hidden difficulties in what at first seemed but a simple\nproblem. \"We cannot tell\" said they. Then Jesus replied \"Neither tell I\nyou by what authority I do these things.\"\n\nChief priests, scribes, and elders of the people were outwitted and\nhumiliated. The tables were completely turned upon them; Jesus, whom\nthey had come to question, became the examiner; they a class of cowed\nand unwilling listeners. He the ready instructor, and the multitude\ninterested observers. With little likelihood of immediate interruption\nthe Master proceeded in calm deliberation to relate to them a series of\nthree splendid stories, each of which they felt applied to themselves\nwith incisive certainty. The first of the narrations we call the\n_Parable of the Two Sons_.\n\n\"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the\nfirst, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and\nsaid, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to\nthe second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and\nwent not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say\nunto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That\nthe publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For\nJohn came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not;\nbut the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen\nit, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.\"[1090]\n\nThe opening sentence, \"But what think ye?\" was a call to close\nattention. It implied a question soon to follow; and that proved to be:\nWhich of the two sons was the obedient one? There was but one consistent\nanswer, and they had to give it, however loath. The application of the\nparable followed with convicting promptness. They, the chief priests,\nscribes, Pharisees and elders of the people, were typified by the second\nson, who, when told to labor in the vineyard answered so assuringly, but\nwent not, though the vines were running to wild growth for want of\npruning, and such poor fruit as might mature would be left to fall and\nrot upon the ground. The publicans and sinners upon whom they vented\ntheir contempt, whose touch was defilement, were like unto the first\nson, who in rude though frank refusal ignored the father's call, but\nafterward relented and set to work, repentantly hoping to make amends\nfor the time he had lost and for the unfilial spirit he had shown.[1091]\nPublicans and sinners, touched in their hearts by the clarion call to\nrepentance, had flocked to the Baptist in the wilderness with the\nearnest inquiry: \"Master, what shall we do?\"[1092] John's call had been\nto no particular class; but while self-confessed sinners had repented\nand sought baptism at his hands, those very Pharisees and elders of the\npeople had rejected his testimony and had hypocritically sought to\nensnare him.[1093] Through the parable Jesus answered His own question\nas to whether the baptism of John was of God or of man. The Lord's\naffirmation, \"Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots\ngo into the kingdom of God before you,\" was condemnatory of the corrupt\nthough sanctimonious polity of the hierarchy throughout. It was not\nwholly without intimation of possible reformation, however. He did not\nsay that the repentant sinners should enter, and the priestly hypocrites\nstand forever excluded; for the latter there was hope if they would but\nrepent, though they would have to follow, not lead, in the glorious\nprocession of the redeemed. In a continuation of the same discourse the\nLord presented the _Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen_, as follows:\n\n\"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a\nvineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and\nbuilt a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far\ncountry: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants\nto the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the\nhusbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and\nstoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and\nthey did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son,\nsaying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son,\nthey said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and\nlet us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out\nof the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard\ncometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He\nwill miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard\nunto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their\nseasons.\"[1094]\n\nAgain the Jews were compelled to make answer to the great question with\nwhich the parable dealt, and again by their answer they pronounced\njudgment upon themselves. The vineyard, broadly speaking, was the human\nfamily, but more specifically the covenant people, Israel; the soil was\ngood and capable of yielding in rich abundance; the vines were choice\nand had been set out with care; and the whole vineyard was amply\nprotected with a hedge, and suitably furnished with winepress and\ntower.[1095] The husbandmen could be none other than the priests and\nteachers of Israel, including the ecclesiastical leaders who were then\nand there present in an official capacity. The Lord of the vineyard had\nsent among the people prophets authorized to speak in His name; and\nthese the wicked tenants had rejected, maltreated, and, in many\ninstances, cruelly slain.[1096] In the more detailed reports of the\nparable we read that when the first servant came, the cruel husbandmen\n\"beat him and sent him away empty\"; the next they wounded \"in the head,\nand sent him away shamefully handled\"; another they murdered and all who\ncame later were brutally mistreated, and some of them were killed. Those\nwicked men had used the vineyard of their Lord for personal gain, and\nhad rendered no part of the vintage to the lawful Owner. When the Lord\nsent other messengers, \"more than the first,\" or in other words, greater\nthan the earlier ones, the most recent example being John the Baptist,\nthe husbandmen rejected them with evil determination more pronounced\nthan ever. At last the Son had come in person; His authority they feared\nas that of the lawful heir, and with malignity almost beyond belief,\nthey determined to kill Him that they might perpetuate their unworthy\npossession of the vineyard and thenceforward hold it as their own.\n\nJesus carried the story without break from the criminal past to the yet\nmore tragic and awful future, then but three days distant; and calmly\nrelated in prophetic imagery, as though already fulfilled, how those\nevil men cast the well beloved Son out of the vineyard and slew Him.\nUnable to evade the searching question as to what the Lord of the\nvineyard would naturally and righteously do to the wicked husbandmen,\nthe Jewish rulers gave the only pertinent answer possible--that He would\nsurely destroy those wretched sinners, and let out His vineyard to\ntenants who were more honest and worthy.\n\nSuddenly changing the figure, \"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read\nin the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is\nbecome the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is\nmarvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God\nshall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits\nthereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on\nwhomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.\"[1097] There\ncould be no misapprehension as to the Lord's meaning; the rejected Stone\nwhich was eventually to have chief place, \"the head of the corner,\" in\nthe edifice of salvation, was Himself, the Messiah. To some that Stone\nwould be a cause of stumbling; wo unto them, for thereby would they be\nbroken, and only through repentance and works of righteousness could\nthey even in part recover; but upon others, those who would persist in\ntheir opposition, the Stone would fall in judgment; and wo, wo to them,\nfor beneath it they would be destroyed as though ground to powder.[1098]\nFrom them, the leaders, and from the people who followed their unholy\nprecepts and foul example, the kingdom of God was about to be taken, and\nwould in time be given to the Gentiles, who, the Lord affirmed, would\nprove more worthy than Israel had been. We gather from Luke's account\nthat in contemplation of this awful penalty, \"they,\" whether priestly\nrulers or common people we are not told, exclaimed in despair, \"God\nforbid!\"\n\nAs the chief priests and Pharisees realized the completeness of their\ndiscomfiture and the extent of the humiliation to which they had been\nsubjected in the eyes of the people, they were incensed beyond measure,\nand even attempted to lay hold on Jesus there in the temple; but the\nsympathies of the multitude were so unmistakably in His favor that the\nangry ecclesiasts desisted. The people in general, while not prepared to\nopenly proclaim Him as the Christ, knew that He was a prophet of God,\nand their dread of official displeasure and possible penalty did not\ndeter them from friendly demonstrations.\n\nJesus resumed His teaching by relating the _Parable of the Royal\nMarriage Feast_.\n\n\"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The\nkingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for\nhis son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to\nthe wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other\nservants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my\ndinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready:\ncome unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways,\none to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his\nservants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the\nking heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and\ndestroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to\nhis servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not\nworthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find,\nbid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and\ngathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the\nwedding was furnished with guests.\"[1099]\n\nThe invitation of a king to his subjects is equivalent to a command. The\nmarriage feast was no surprize event, for the selected guests had been\nbidden long aforetime; and, in accordance with oriental custom were\nnotified again on the opening day of the festivities,[1100] which,\naccording to Hebrew customs, would be understood as extending over a\nperiod of seven or fourteen days; in this case of a marriage in the\nroyal family the greater duration would be assumed. Many of the bidden\nguests refused to come when formally summoned; and of the tolerant\nking's later and more pressing message they made light and went their\nways, while the most wicked turned upon the servants who brought the\nroyal summons, mistreated them cruelly, and some of them they killed. It\nis plainly evident that the refusal to attend the king's feast was a\ndeliberate rebellion against the royal authority and a personal\nindignity against both the reigning sovereign and his son. It was as\nmuch a duty as an honor for loyal subjects to attend the marriage\nfestival of the prince, whom we cannot err in regarding as the lawful\nheir to the throne, and therefore the one who might some day reign over\nthem. The turning away by one man to his farm and by another to his\nmerchandize is in part an evidence of their engrossment in material\npursuits to the utter disregard of their sovereign's will; but it\nsignifies further an effort to deaden their troubled consciences by some\nabsorbing occupation; and possibly also a premeditated demonstration of\nthe fact that they placed their personal affairs above the call of their\nking. The monarch executed a terrible retribution upon his rebellious\nsubjects. If the parable was intended to be an allegorical presentation\nof actual events, it passes at this point from the story of the past to\nthat of the future, for the destruction of Jerusalem postdates by\nseveral decades the death of Christ. Finding the guests who had some\nclaim on the royal invitation to be utterly unworthy, the king sent out\nhis servants again, and these gathered in from the highways and\ncross-roads, from the byways and the lanes, all they could find,\nirrespective of rank or station, whether rich or poor, good or bad; \"and\nthe wedding was furnished with guests.\"\n\nThe great feast by which the Messianic reign was to be ushered in was a\nfavorite theme of jubilant exposition in both synagog and school; and\nexultation ran high in the rabbinical dictum that none but the children\nof Abraham would be among the blessed partakers. The king in the parable\nis God; the son whose marriage was the occasion of the feast is Jesus,\nthe Son of God; the guests who were bidden early, yet who refused to\ncome when the feast was ready, are the covenant people who rejected\ntheir Lord, the Christ; the later guests, who were brought in from the\nstreets and the roads, are the Gentile nations, to whom the gospel has\nbeen carried since its rejection by the Jews; the marriage feast is\nsymbolical of the glorious consummation of the Messiah's mission.[1101]\n\nAll students of the subject must have noted the points of resemblance by\nwhich this parable is related to that of the great supper;[1102] fewer\nperhaps have considered the differences between the two. The earlier\nstory was told in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, probably in\nsome town in Perea; the later one was related within the temple, after\nPharisaic opposition to Christ had reached its height. The first is of\nsimpler plot and of gentler climax. The neglect of the invited guests in\nthe first story was accompanied by excuses in which some approach to\npolite apology appears; the refusal of those bidden in the second\nparable was markedly offensive, and was coupled with outrageous abuse\nand murder. The host in one instance was a wealthy though private\ncitizen, in the other the giver of the feast was a king. In the first,\nthe occasion was one of ordinary though abundant entertainment; in the\nsecond, the determining time was that of the appointed marriage of the\nroyal heir. Retribution in the first instance was limited to exclusion\nfrom the banquet; in the latter the individual punishment was death,\nwhich was followed by the punitive example of the city's destruction.\n\nOur account of the royal marriage feast is not yet complete; the story\nalready considered is supplemented by the following:\n\n    \"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man\n    which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him,\n    Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?\n    And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind\n    him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer\n    darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many\n    are called, but few are chosen.\"\n\nThe lessons embodied in this section of the parable may be\nadvantageously considered apart from those of the first division. As was\nbefitting his dignity, the king came into the banquet hall after the\nguests had taken their places in orderly array. His immediate detection\nof one who was without the prescribed garment implies a personal\nscrutiny of the guests. One may be led to inquire, how, under the\ncircumstances of hurried summoning, the several guests could have\nsuitably attired themselves for the feast. The unity of the narrative\nrequires that some provision had been made whereby each one who properly\napplied was given the garment prescribed by the king's command, and in\nkeeping with the established custom at court. That the unrobed guest was\nguilty of neglect, intentional disrespect, or some more grievous\noffense, is plain from the context. The king at first was graciously\nconsiderate, inquiring only as to how the man had entered without a\nwedding garment. Had the guest been able to explain his exceptional\nappearance, or had he any reasonable excuse to offer, he surely would\nhave spoken; but we are told that he remained speechless. The king's\nsummons had been freely extended to all whom his servants had found; but\neach of them had to enter the royal palace by the door; and before\nreaching the banquet room, in which the king would appear in person,\neach would be properly attired; but the deficient one, by some means had\nentered by another way; and not having passed the attendant sentinels at\nthe portal, he was an intruder, of a kind with the man to whom the Lord\nhad before referred as a thief and a robber because, not entering by the\ndoor, he had climbed up some other way.[1103] The king gave a command,\nand his ministers[1104] bound the offender and cast him forth from the\npalace into outer darkness, where the anguish of remorse caused weeping\nand gnashing of teeth.\n\nAs summary and epilogue of the three great parables constituting this\nseries, the Lord spake these words of solemn import: \"For many are\ncalled, but few are chosen.\"[1105] Each of the parables has its own\nwealth of wisdom; and the three are as one in declaring the great truth\nthat even the children of the covenant will be rejected except they make\ngood their title by godly works; while to the heathen and the sinners\nthe portals of heaven shall open, if by repentance and compliance with\nthe laws and ordinances of the gospel they shall merit salvation.\n\nThe story of the royal marriage feast was the last of our Lord's\nparables delivered publicly to a mixed audience. Two others were spoken\nto the apostles, as they sat in solemn converse with the Lord on the\nMount of Olives after the public ministry of Christ had been brought to\na close.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 30.\n\n1. Fig Tree.--\"The fig tree is very common in Palestine (Deut. 8:8). Its\nfruit is a well known and highly esteemed article of food. In the East\nthis is of three kinds; (1) the early fig, ripening about the end of\nJune; (2) the summer fig, ripening in August; (3) the winter fig, larger\nand darker than No. 2, hanging and ripening late on the tree, even after\nthe leaves were shed, and sometimes gathered in the spring. The blossoms\nof the fig tree are within the receptacle or so-called fruit, and not\nvisible outwardly; and this fruit begins to develop before the leaves.\nHence the fig tree which had leaves before the usual time might\nnaturally have been expected to have also some figs on it (Mark 11:13);\nbut it was not true to its pretensions.\" (Smith's _Comp. Bible Dict_.)\n\n2. The Two Sons in the Parable.--Although this excellent parable was\naddressed to the chief priests, scribes, and elders, who had come in\nhostile spirit to demand of Christ the credentials of His authority, its\nlesson is of universal application. The two sons are yet alive in every\nhuman community--the one openly boastful of his sin, the other a\nhypocritical pretender. Jesus did not commend the rough refusal of the\nfirst son of whom the father made a righteous demand for service; it was\nhis subsequent repentance attended by works that made him superior to\nhis brother who had made fair promise but had kept it not. There are\nmany today who boast that they make no profession of religion, nor\npretense of godly life. Their frankness will not mitigate their sins; it\nsimply shows that a certain species of hypocrisy is not prominent among\ntheir numerous offenses; but that a man is innocent of one vice, say\nthat of drunkenness, in no wise diminishes his measure of guilt if he be\na liar, a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer. Both the sons in the\nparable were grievous sinners; but the one turned from his evil ways,\nwhich theretofore he had followed with flagrant openness, while the\nother continued in dark deeds of sin, which he sought to cover by a\ncloak of hypocrisy. Let no man think that because he becomes intoxicated\nat the public bar he is any the less a drunkard than is he who swallows\nthe \"beverage of hell\" in comparative privacy, though the latter be both\ndrunkard and hypocrite. For these sins, as for all others, genuine\nrepentance is the only saving antidote.\n\n3. Israel Symbolized by Vineyard and Vines.--The aptness of our Lord's\nrepresentation of Israel as a vineyard could not have escaped the\nperception of the Jews, to whom Old Testament similes of analogous form\nwere familiar figures. Notable among others is the striking picture\npresented by Isaiah (5:1-7), in which the well provided vineyard is\nshown as producing wild grapes only, for which grievous disappointment\nof his expectations the owner determined to break down the wall, remove\nthe hedge, and leave the vineyard to its fate of abandonment. The\nexplication of the parable voiced by Isaiah is thus given: \"For the\nvineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of\nJudah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold\noppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.\" The worthlessness of a\nvine save only for its fruit was set forth by the Lord through His\nprophet Ezekiel (15:2-5); and truly it is so, that the wood of the grape\nplant is fit for nothing but burning; the whole vine as wood is inferior\nto a branch from a forest tree (verse 3). And Israel is represented as\nsuch a vine, precious if but fruitful, otherwise nothing but fuel and\nthat of poor quality. The psalmist sang of the vine that Jehovah had\nbrought out of Egypt and which, planted with care and hedged about, had\nflourished even with goodly boughs; but the favor of the Lord had been\nturned from the vine, and it had been left desolate (Psalm 80:8-16). For\nfurther allusions see Isa. 27:2-6; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10-14; Hosea\n10:1.\n\n4. The Call to the Marriage Feast.--The calling of the guests who had\nbeen bidden aforetime is thus commented upon by Trench (_Parables_, pp.\n175-6): \"This summoning of those already bidden, was, and, as modern\ntravellers attest, is still, quite in accordance with Eastern manners.\nThus Esther invites Haman to a banquet on the morrow (Esth. 5:8), and\nwhen the time has actually arrived, the chamberlain comes to usher him\nto the banquet (6:14). There is, therefore, no slightest reason why we\nshould make '_them that were bidden_' to mean them that were now _to be\nbidden_; such an interpretation not merely violating all laws of\ngrammar, but the higher purpose with which the parable was spoken; for\nour Lord, assuming that the guests had been invited long ago, does thus\nremind His hearers that what He brought, if in one sense new, was in\nanother a fulfilment of the old; that He claimed to be heard, not as one\nsuddenly starting up, unconnected with aught which had gone before but\nas Himself 'the end of the law,' to which it had been ever tending, the\nbirth with which the whole Jewish dispensation had been pregnant, and\nwhich alone should give a meaning to it all. In His words, '_them that\nwere bidden_,' is involved the fact that there was nothing abrupt in the\ncoming of His kingdom, that its rudiments had a long while before been\nlaid, that all to which His adversaries clung as precious in their past\nhistory was prophetic of blessings now actually present to them in Him.\nThe original invitation, which had now come to maturity, reached back to\nthe foundation of the Jewish commonwealth, was taken up and repeated by\neach succeeding prophet, as he prophesied of the crowning grace that\nshould one day be brought to Israel (Luke 10:24; 1 Pet. 1:12), and\nsummoned the people to hold themselves in a spiritual readiness to\nwelcome their Lord and their King.\"\n\n5. Servants and Ministers.--According to good philological authority,\n\"ministers\" or \"ministering attendants\" is a more literal rendering of\nthe original than \"servants\" in Matt. 22:13. In the earlier verses 3, 4,\n6, 8, 10, of the same chapter, \"servants\" or \"servitors\" best expresses\nthe meaning of the original. The distinction is significant, as it\nimplies an important difference of station between the servants who were\nsent out to bid the people to the feast, and the ministers in immediate\nattendance upon the king. The first are typical of God's servants who\nproclaim His word in the world; the latter symbolize the angels who\nshall execute His judgments on the wicked by gathering out from His\nkingdom all things that offend. Compare Matt. 13:30, 39, 41; Doc. and\nCov. 86:5.\n\n6. The Called and the Chosen.--Edersheim's reflections upon this subject\nfollow in part (vol. ii, pp. 429, 430): \"The King entered to see His\nguests, and among them he descried one who had not on a wedding\ngarment.... As the guests had been travelers, and as the feast was in\nthe King's palace, we cannot be mistaken in supposing that such garments\nwere supplied in the palace to all who sought them. And with this agrees\nthe circumstance, that the man so addressed 'was speechless.' His\nconduct argued utter insensibility as regarded that to which he had been\ncalled--ignorance of what was due the King, and what became such a\nfeast. For, although no previous state of preparedness was required of\nthe invited guests, all being bidden, whether good or bad, yet the fact\nremained that, if they were to take part in the feast they must put on a\ngarment suited to the occasion. All are invited to the gospel feast; but\nthey who will partake of it must put on the King's wedding garment of\nevangelical holiness. And whereas it is said in the parable that only\none was descried without this garment, this is intended to teach, that\nthe King will not only generally view His guests, but that each will be\nseparately examined, and that no one--no, not a single individual--will\nbe able to escape discovery amidst the mass of guests, if he has not the\nwedding garment. In short, in that day of trial, it is not a scrutiny of\nchurches, but of individuals in the Church.... The call comes to all;\nbut it may be outwardly accepted, and a man may sit down to the feast,\nand yet he may not be chosen to partake of the feast, because he has not\nthe wedding garment of converting, sanctifying grace. And so, one may be\nthrust even from the marriage board into the darkness without, with its\nsorrow and anguish. Thus, side by side, yet wide apart, are these\ntwo--God's call and God's choice. The connecting link between them is\nthe wedding garment, freely given in the Palace. Yet, we must seek it,\nask it, put it on. And as here also, we have, side by side, God's gift\nand man's activity. And still, to all time, and to all men, alike in its\nwarning, teaching, and blessing, is it true: 'Many are called, but few\nchosen!' Many words of related meaning, both Hebrew and Greek, are\ntranslated 'garment' in our English Bible. The Greek original in the\nmention of the wedding garment is _enduma_; this does not occur in other\nBible passages as the original of 'garment.' The noun is related to the\nGreek verb _enduein_, 'to put on, as a garment.' Compare Luke 24:49,\n'until ye be endued with power from on high.'\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1080] Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-26.\n\n[1081] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1082] Page 240.\n\n[1083] \"Bethphage,\" the name of a village close to Bethany, and\ntherefore near to the Mount of Olives, means \"house of figs.\" See\nmention, Matt. 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29. \"Bethany\" signifies \"house\nof dates.\" For \"house\" in the literal translation we may read \"place.\"\n\n[1084] Luke 13:6-9; page 443 herein.\n\n[1085] Matt. 21:12, 13: Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46.\n\n[1086] John 2:14-17; pages 153-158 herein.\n\n[1087] Matt. 21:16; compare Psalm 8:2; see also Matt. 11:25; 1 Cor.\n1:27.\n\n[1088] Matt. 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8.\n\n[1089] John 2:18-21; page 156 herein.\n\n[1090] Matt. 21:28-32.\n\n[1091] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1092] Luke 3:12; compare 7:29; see page 123 herein.\n\n[1093] Matt. 3:7.\n\n[1094] Matt. 21:33-41; compare Mark 12:1-9; Luke 20:9-16.\n\n[1095] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1096] Compare Luke 11:47, 48; Matt. 23:29-33.\n\n[1097] Matt. 21:42-44; see also Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18; compare\nPsalm 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6, 7.\n\n[1098] Compare Dan. 2:44, 45; Isa. 60:12.\n\n[1099] Matt. 22:1-10.\n\n[1100] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1101] Compare Matt. 25:10; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:32; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9.\n\n[1102] Luke 14:16-24; page 450 herein.\n\n[1103] Compare page 416.\n\n[1104] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1105] Matt. 22:14; compare 20:16; see page 481. Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 31.\n\nTHE CLOSE OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.\n\n\nA CONSPIRACY OF PHARISEES AND HERODIANS.[1106]\n\nThe Jewish authorities continued unceasingly active in their determined\nefforts to tempt or beguile Jesus into some act or utterance on which\nthey could base a charge of offense, under either their own or Roman\nlaw. The Pharisees counseled together as to \"how they might entangle him\nin his talk\"; and then, laying aside their partisan prejudices, they\nconspired to this end with the Herodians, a political faction whose\nchief characteristic was the purpose of maintaining in power the family\nof the Herods,[1107] which policy of necessity entailed the upholding of\nthe Roman power, upon which the Herods depended for their delegated\nauthority. The same incongruous association had been entered into before\nin an attempt to provoke Jesus to overt speech or action in Galilee; and\nthe Lord had coupled the parties together in His warning to the\ndisciples to beware of the leaven of both.[1108] So, on the last day of\nour Lord's teaching in public, Pharisees and Herodians joined forces\nagainst Him; the one watchful for the smallest technical infringement of\nthe Mosaic law, the other alert to seize upon the slightest excuse for\ncharging Him with disloyalty to the secular powers. Their plans were\nconceived in treachery, and put into operation as the living embodiment\nof a lie. Choosing some of their number who had not before appeared in\npersonal antagonism to Jesus, and who were supposed to be unknown to\nHim, the chief conspirators sent these with instructions to \"feign\nthemselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so\nthey might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.\"\n\nThis delegation of hypocritical spies came asking a question, in\npretended sincerity, as though they were troubled in conscience and\ndesired counsel of the eminent Teacher. \"Master,\" said they with fawning\nduplicity, \"we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in\ntruth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the\nperson of men.\" This studied tribute to our Lord's courage and\nindependence of thought and action was truthful in every word; but as\nuttered by those fulsome dissemblers and in their nefarious intent, it\nwas egregiously false. The honeyed address, however, by which the\nconspirators attempted to cajole the Lord into unwariness, indicated\nthat the question they were about to submit was one requiring for its\nproper answer just such qualities of mind as they pretendingly\nattributed to Him.\n\n\"Tell us therefore,\" they continued, \"What thinkest thou? Is it lawful\nto give tribute unto C\u00e6sar, or not?\" The question had been chosen with\ndiabolic craft; for of all acts attesting compulsory allegiance to Rome\nthat of having to pay the poll-tax was most offensive to the Jews. Had\nJesus answered \"Yes,\" the guileful Pharisees might have inflamed the\nmultitude against Him as a disloyal son of Abraham; had His answer been\n\"No,\" the scheming Herodians could have denounced Him as a promoter of\nsedition against the Roman government. Moreover the question was\nunnecessary; the nation, both rulers and people had settled it, however\ngrudgingly, for they accepted and circulated among themselves the Roman\ncoinage as a common medium of exchange; and it was a criterion of\nrecognition among the Jews that to make current the coins of any\nsovereign was to acknowledge his royal authority. \"But Jesus perceived\ntheir wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?\" All their\nartful expressions of false adulation were countered by the withering\nepithet \"hypocrites.\" \"Shew me the tribute money,\" He commanded, and\nthey produced a penny--a Roman denarius bearing the effigy and name of\nTiberius C\u00e6sar, emperor of Rome. \"Whose is this image and\nsuperscription?\" He asked. They answered \"C\u00e6sar's.\" \"Then saith he unto\nthem, Render therefore unto C\u00e6sar the things which are C\u00e6sar's; and unto\nGod the things that are God's.\"[1109]\n\nThe reply was a masterly one by whatever standard we gage it; it has\nbecome an aphorism in literature and life. It swept away any lingering\nthought or expectation that in the mind of Him who had so recently\nridden into Jerusalem as King of Israel and Prince of Peace, there was\neven the semblance of aspiration for earthly power or dominion. It\nestablished for all time the one righteous basis of relationship between\nspiritual and secular duties, between church and state. The apostles in\nlater years builded upon this foundation and enjoined obedience to the\nlaws of established governments.[1110]\n\nOne may draw a lesson if he will, from the association of our Lord's\nwords with the occurrence of C\u00e6sar's image on the coin. It was that\neffigy with its accompanying superscription that gave special point to\nHis memorable instruction, \"Render therefore unto C\u00e6sar the things which\nare C\u00e6sar's.\" This was followed by the further injunction: \"and unto God\nthe things that are God's.\" Every human soul is stamped with the image\nand superscription of God, however blurred and indistinct the lines may\nhave become through the corrosion or attrition of sin;[1111] and as unto\nC\u00e6sar should be rendered the coins upon which his effigy appeared, so\nunto God should be given the souls that bear His image. Render unto the\nworld the stamped pieces that are made legally current by the insignia\nof worldly powers, and give unto God and His service, yourselves--the\ndivine mintage of His eternal realm.\n\nPharisees and Herodians were silenced by the unanswerable wisdom of the\nLord's reply to their crafty question. Try as they would, they could not\n\"take hold of his words,\" and they were put to shame before the people\nwho were witnesses to their humiliation. Marveling at His answer, and\nunwilling to take the chance of further and possibly greater\nembarrassment, they \"left him, and went their way.\" Nevertheless these\nperverted Jews persisted in their base and treacherous purpose, as\nappears nowhere more glaringly evident than in their utterly false\naccusation before Pilate--that Jesus was guilty of \"forbidding to give\ntribute to C\u00e6sar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.\"[1112]\n\n\nSADDUCEES QUESTION ABOUT THE RESURRECTION.[1113]\n\nNext, the Sadducees tried to discomfit Jesus by propounding what they\nregarded as an involved if not indeed a very difficult question. The\nSadducees held that there could be no bodily resurrection, on which\npoint of doctrine as on many others, they were the avowed opponents of\nthe Pharisees.[1114] The question submitted by the Sadducees on this\noccasion related directly to the resurrection, and was framed to\ndiscredit the doctrine by a most unfavorable and grossly exaggerated\napplication thereof. \"Master,\" said the spokesman of the party, \"Moses\nsaid, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his\nwife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven\nbrethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and,\nhaving no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second\nalso, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died\nalso. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the\nseven? for they all had her.\" It was beyond question that the Mosaic law\nauthorized and required that the living brother of a deceased and\nchildless husband should marry the widow with the purpose of rearing\nchildren to the name of the dead, whose family lineage would thus be\nlegally continued.[1115] Such a state of affairs as that presented by\nthe casuistical Sadducees, in which seven brothers in succession had as\nwife and left as childless widow the same woman, was possible under the\nMosaic code relating to levirate marriages; but it was a most improbable\ninstance.\n\nJesus stopped not, however, to question the elements of the problem as\npresented to Him; whether the case was assumed or real mattered not,\nsince the question \"Whose wife shall she be?\" was based on an utterly\nerroneous conception. \"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not\nknowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection\nthey neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of\nGod in heaven.\" The Lord's meaning was clear, that in the resurrected\nstate there can be no question among the seven brothers as to whose wife\nfor eternity the woman shall be, since all except the first had married\nher for the duration of mortal life only, and primarily for the purpose\nof perpetuating in mortality the name and family of the brother who\nfirst died. Luke records the Lord's words as follows in part: \"But they\nwhich shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the\nresurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:\nNeither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and\nare the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.\" In the\nresurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for all\nquestions of marital status must be settled before that time, under the\nauthority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in\nmarriage for both time and eternity.[1116]\n\nFrom the case presented by His treacherous questioners, Jesus turned to\nthe actuality of the resurrection, which was involved in and implied by\nthe inquiry. \"But as touching the resurrection of the dead,\" said He,\n\"have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am\nthe God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is\nnot the God of the dead, but of the living.\" This was a direct assault\nupon the Sadducean doctrine of negation concerning the literal\nresurrection of the dead. The Sadducees were distinctively the zealous\nupholders of the law, wherein Jehovah affirms Himself to be the God of\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob;[1117] yet they denied the possible\nresurrection of these patriarchs, and made the exalted title, under\nwhich the Lord had revealed Himself to Moses, valid only during the\nbrief mortal existence of the progenitors of the Israelitish nation. The\ndeclaration that Jehovah is not the God of the dead but of the living\nwas an unanswerable denunciation of the Sadducean perversion of\nscripture; and with solemn finality the Lord added: \"Ye therefore do\ngreatly err.\" Certain of the scribes present were impressed by the\nincontrovertible demonstration of the truth, and exclaimed with\napprobation: \"Master, thou hast well said.\" The proud Sadducees were\nconfuted and silenced; \"and after that they durst not ask him any\nquestion at all.\"\n\n\nTHE GREAT COMMANDMENT.[1118]\n\nThe Pharisees, covertly rejoicing over the discomfiture of their rivals,\nnow summoned courage enough to plan another attack of their own. One of\ntheir number, a lawyer, by which title we may understand one of the\nscribes who was distinctively also a professor of ecclesiastical law,\nasked: \"Which is the first commandment of all?\" or, as Matthew states\nthe question: \"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?\" The\nreply was prompt, incisive, and so comprehensive as to cover the\nrequirements of the law in their entirety. With the imperative call to\nattention with which Moses had summoned Israel to hear and heed,[1119]\nthe very words of which were written on the phylacteries[1120] which the\nPharisees wore as frontlets between their eyes, Jesus answered: \"Hear, O\nIsrael; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy\nGod with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,\nand with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second\nis like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is\nnone other commandment greater than these.\" Matthew's wording of the\nconcluding declaration is: \"On these two commandments hang all the law\nand the prophets.\"\n\nThe philosophic soundness of the Lord's profound generalization and\ncomprehensive summarizing of the \"law and the prophets\"[1121] will\nappeal to all students of human nature. It is a common tendency of man\nto reach after, or at least to inquire after and marvel about, the\nsuperlative. Who is the greatest poet, philosopher, scientist, preacher\nor statesman? Who stands first and foremost in the community, the\nnation, or even, as the apostles in their aspiring ignorance asked, in\nthe kingdom of heaven? Which mountain overtops all the rest? Which river\nis the longest or the largest? Such queries are ever current. The Jews\nhad divided and subdivided the commandments of the law, and had\nsupplemented even the minutest subdivision with rules of their own\ncontriving. Now came the Pharisee asking which of all these requirements\nwas the greatest.[1122] To love God with all one's heart and soul and\nmind is to serve Him and keep all His commandments. To love one's\nneighbor as one's self is to be a brother in the broadest and, at the\nsame time, the most exacting sense of the term. Therefore the\ncommandment to love God and man is the greatest, on the basis of the\nsimple and mathematical truth that the whole is greater than any part.\nWhat need of the decalog could there be if mankind would obey this first\nand great and all-embracing commandment? The Lord's reply to the\nquestion was convincing even to the learned scribe who had acted as\nspokesman for his Pharisaic colleagues. The man was honest enough to\nadmit the righteousness and wisdom on which the reply was grounded, and\nimpulsively he voiced acceptance, saying, \"Well, Master, thou hast said\nthe truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to\nlove him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with\nall the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as\nhimself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.\" Jesus\nwas no whit less prompt than the well-intending scribe in acknowledging\nmerit in the words of an opponent; and to the man He gave the\nencouraging assurance: \"Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.\" As to\nwhether the scribe remained firm in purpose and eventually gained\nentrance into that blessed abode, the scriptural record is silent.\n\n\nJESUS TURNS QUESTIONER.[1123]\n\nSadducees, Herodians, Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes, all had in turn\nmet discomfiture and defeat in their efforts to entangle Jesus on\nquestions of doctrine or practise, and had utterly failed to incite Him\nto any act or utterance on which they could lawfully charge Him with\noffense. Having so effectually silenced all who had ventured to\nchallenge Him to debate, either covertly or with open intent, that \"no\nman after that durst ask him any question,\" Jesus in turn became the\naggressive interrogator. Turning to the Pharisees, who had clustered\ntogether for greater facility in consultation, Jesus began a colloquy\nwhich proceeded as follows:\n\n\"What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of\nDavid. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord,\nsaying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I\nmake thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he\nhis son?\" The Lord's citation of David's jubilant and worshipful song of\npraise, which, as Mark avers, Jesus said was inspired by the Holy Ghost,\nhad reference to the Messianic psalm[1124] in which the royal singer\naffirmed his own reverent allegiance, and extolled the glorious reign of\nthe promised King of kings, who is specifically called therein \"a priest\nforever after the order of Melchizedek.\"[1125] Puzzling as was the\nunexpected question to the erudite Jews, we fail to perceive in it any\ninexplicable difficulty, since to us, less prejudiced than they who\nlived in expectation of a Messiah who would be David's son only in the\nsense of family descent and royal succession in the splendor of temporal\nrule, the eternal Godship of the Messiah is a fact demonstrated and\nundeniable. Jesus the Christ is the Son of David in the physical way of\nlineage by which both Jesus and David are sons of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham,\nand Adam. But while Jesus was born in the flesh as late in the centuries\nas the \"meridian of time\"[1126] He was Jehovah, Lord and God, before\nDavid, Abraham, or Adam was known on earth.[1127]\n\n\nWICKED SCRIBES AND PHARISEES DENOUNCED.[1128]\n\nThe humiliating defeat of the Pharisaic party was made all the more\nmemorable and bitter by the Lord's final denunciation of the system, and\nHis condemnation of its unworthy representatives. Addressing Himself\nprimarily to the disciples, yet speaking in the hearing of the\nmultitude, He directed the attention of all to the scribes and\nPharisees, who, He pointed out, occupied the seat of Moses as doctrinal\nexpounders and official administrators of the law, and who were\ntherefore to be obeyed in their authoritative rule; but against their\npernicious example the disciples were forcefully warned. \"All therefore\nwhatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do,\" said the Lord,\n\"but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.\" Distinction\nbetween due observance of official precept and the personal\nresponsibility of following evil example, though it be that of men high\nin authority, could not have been made plainer. Disobedience to law was\nnot to be excused because of corruption among the law's representatives,\nnor was wickedness in any individual to be condoned or palliated because\nof another's villainy.\n\nIn explanation of the caution He so openly blazoned against the vices of\nthe rulers, the Lord continued: \"For they bind heavy burdens and\ngrievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they\nthemselves will not move them with one of their fingers.\" Rabbinism had\npractically superseded the law in the substitution of multitudinous\nrules and exactions, with conditional penalties; the day was filled with\ntraditional observances by which even the trivial affairs of life were\nencumbered; yet from bearing these and other grievous burdens\nhypocritical officials could find excuse for personal exemption.\n\nTheir inordinate vanity and their irreverent assumption of excessive\npiety were thus stigmatized: \"But all their works they do for to be seen\nof men: they make broad their phylacteries,[1129] and enlarge the\nborders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and\nthe chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to\nbe called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.\" The high-sounding title, Rabbi,\nsignifying Master, Teacher, or Doctor, had eclipsed the divinely\nrecognized sanctity of priesthood; to be a rabbi of the Jews was\nregarded as vastly superior to being a priest of the Most High\nGod.[1130] \"But be not ye called Rabbi,\" said Jesus to the apostles and\nthe other disciples present, \"for one is your Master, even Christ; and\nall ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one\nis your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for\none is your Master, even Christ.\"[1131]\n\nThose upon whom would rest the responsibility of building the Church He\nhad founded were not to aspire to worldly titles nor the honors of men;\nfor those chosen ones were brethren, and their sole purpose should be\nthe rendering of the greatest possible service to their one and only\nMaster. As had been so strongly impressed on earlier occasions,\nexcellence or supremacy in the apostolic calling, and similarly in the\nduties of discipleship or membership in the Church of Christ, was and is\nto be achieved through humble and devoted service alone; therefore said\nthe Master again, \"he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.\nAnd whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall\nhumble himself shall be exalted.\"\n\nFrom the mixed multitude of disciples and unbelievers, comprizing many\nof the common people who listened in glad eagerness to learn,[1132]\nJesus turned to the already abashed yet angry rulers, and deluged them\nwith a veritable torrent of righteous indignation, through which flashed\nthe lightning of scorching invective, accompanied by thunder peals of\ndivine anathema.\n\n\"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the\nkingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither\nsuffer ye them that are entering to go in.\" The Pharisaic standard of\npiety was the learning of the schools; one unversed in the\ntechnicalities of the law was accounted as unacceptable to God and\nveritably accursed.[1133] By their casuistry and perverted explications\nof scripture they confused and misled the \"common people,\" and so stood\nas obstacles at the entrance to the kingdom of God, refusing to go in\nthemselves and barring the way to others.\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'\nhouses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive\nthe greater damnation.\"[1134] The avarice of the Jewish hierarchy in our\nLord's lifetime was an open scandal. By extortion and unlawful exaction\nunder cover of religious duty the priestly rulers had amassed an\nenormous treasure,[1135] of which the contributions of the poor, and the\nconfiscation of property, including even the houses of dependent widows,\nformed a considerable proportion; and the perfidy of the practise was\nmade the blacker by the outward pretense of sanctity and the\nsacrilegious accompaniment of wordy prayer.\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and\nland to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold\nmore the child of hell than yourselves.\" It is possible that this woe\nwas directed more against the effort to secure proselytes to Pharisaism\nthan that of converting aliens to Judaism; but as the latter was\nthoroughly degraded and the former disgustingly corrupt, the application\nof our Lord's denunciation to either or both is warranted. Of the Jews\nwho strove to make proselytes it has been said that \"out of a bad\nheathen they made a worse Jew.\" Many of their converts soon became\nperverts.\n\n\"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the\ntemple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the\ntemple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the\ngold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall\nswear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift\nthat is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is\ngreater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso\ntherefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things\nthereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him\nthat dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by\nthe throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.\" Thus did the Lord\ncondemn the infamous enactments of the schools and the Sanhedrin\nconcerning oaths and vows; for they had established or endorsed a code\nof rules, inconsistent and unjust, as to technical trifles by which a\nvow could be enforced or invalidated. If a man swore by the temple, the\nHouse of Jehovah, he could obtain an indulgence for breaking his oath;\nbut if he vowed by the gold and treasure of the Holy House, he was bound\nby the unbreakable bonds of priestly dictum. Though one should swear by\nthe altar of God, his oath could be annulled; but if he vowed by the\ncorban gift or by the gold upon the altar,[1136] his obligation was\nimperative. To what depths of unreason and hopeless depravity had men\nfallen, how sinfully foolish and how wilfully blind were they, who saw\nnot that the temple was greater than its gold, and the altar than the\ngift that lay upon it! In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord had said\n\"Swear not at all\";[1137] but upon such as would not live according to\nthat higher law, upon those who persisted in the use of oaths and vows,\nthe lesser and evidently just requirement of strict fidelity to the\nterms of self-assumed obligations was to be enforced, without\nunrighteous quibble or inequitable discrimination.\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of\nmint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the\nlaw, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to\nleave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and\nswallow a camel.\" The law of the tithe had been a characteristic feature\nof the theocratic requirements in Israel from the days of Moses; and the\npractise really long antedated the exodus. As literally construed, the\nlaw required the tithing of flocks and herds, fruit and grain,[1138] but\nby traditional extension all products of the soil had been included. The\nconscientious tithing of all one's possessions, even pot-herbs and other\ngarden produce, was approved by the Lord; but He denounced as rank\nhypocrisy the observance of such requirements as an excuse for\nneglecting the other duties of true religion. The reference to \"the\nweightier matters of the law\" may have been an allusion to the\nrabbinical classification of \"light\" and \"heavy\" requirements under the\nlaw; though it is certain the Lord approved no such arbitrary\ndistinctions. To omit the tithing of small things, such as mint leaves,\nand sprigs of anise and cummin, was to fall short in dutiful observance;\nbut to ignore the claims of judgment, mercy, and faith, was to forfeit\none's claim to blessing as a covenant child of God. By a strong simile,\nthe Lord stigmatized such inconsistency as comparable to one's\nscrupulous straining at a gnat while figuratively willing to gulp down a\ncamel.[1139]\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the\noutside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of\nextortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is\nwithin the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean\nalso.\"[1140] Pharisaic scrupulosity in the ceremonial cleansing of\nplatters and cups, pots and brazen vessels, has been already alluded to.\nCleanliness the Lord in no wise depreciated; His shafts of\ndisapprobation were aimed at the hypocrisy of maintaining at once\noutward spotlessness and inward corruption. Cups and platters though\ncleansed to perfection were filthy before the Lord if their contents had\nbeen bought by the gold of extortion, or were to be used in pandering to\ngluttony, drunkenness or other excess.\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto\nwhited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within\nfull of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also\noutwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy\nand iniquity.\" It was an awful figure, that of likening them to\nwhitewashed tombs, full of dead bones and rotting flesh. As the dogmas\nof the rabbis made even the slightest contact with a corpse or its\ncerements, or with the bier upon which it was borne, or the grave in\nwhich it had been lain, a cause of personal defilement, which only\nceremonial washing and the offering of sacrifices could remove, care was\ntaken to make tombs conspicuously white, so that no person need be\ndefiled through ignorance of proximity to such unclean places; and,\nmoreover, the periodical whitening of sepulchres was regarded as a\nmemorial act of honor to the dead. But even as no amount of care or\ndegree of diligence in keeping bright the outside of a tomb could stay\nthe putrescence going on within, so no externals of pretended\nrighteousness could mitigate the revolting corruption of a heart reeking\nwith iniquity. Jesus had before compared Pharisees with unmarked graves,\nover which men inadvertently walked and so became defiled though they\nknew it not;[1141] on the occasion now under consideration He denounced\nthem as whitened tombs, flauntingly prominent, but sepulchres\nnevertheless.\n\n\"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the\ntombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And\nsay, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been\npartakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be\nwitnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed\nthe prophets.\" National pride, not wholly unlike patriotism, had for\ncenturies expressed itself in formal regard for the burial crypts of the\nancient prophets, many of whom had been slain because of their righteous\nand fearless zeal. Those modern Jews were voluble to disavow all\nsympathy with the murderous deeds of their progenitors, who had martyred\nthe prophets, and ostentatiously averred that if they had lived in the\ntimes of those martyrdoms they would have been no participators therein,\nyet by such avouchment they proclaimed themselves the offspring of those\nwho had shed innocent blood.\n\nWith scorching maledictions the Lord thus consigned them to their fate:\n\"Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation\nof vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I\nsend unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye\nshall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your\nsynagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come\nall the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous\nAbel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between\nthe temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall\ncome upon this generation.\" To their sanctimonious asseverations of\nsuperiority over their fathers who had slain Jehovah's envoys, Jehovah\nHimself replied by predicting that they would dye their hands in the\nblood of prophets, wise men, and righteous scribes, whom He would send\namongst them; and thus would they prove themselves literal sons of\nmurderers, and murderers themselves, so that upon them should rest the\nburden of all the righteous blood that had been shed for a testimony of\nGod, from righteous Abel to the martyred Zacharias.[1142] That dread\nfate, outlined with such awful realism, was to be no eventuality of the\ndistant future; every one of the frightful woes the Lord had uttered was\nto be realized in that generation.\n\n\nTHE LORD'S LAMENTATION OVER JERUSALEM.[1143]\n\nConcerning scribes, Pharisees, and Pharisaism, Jesus had uttered His\nlast word. Looking from the temple heights out over the city of the\ngreat King, soon to be abandoned to destruction, the Lord was obsessed\nby emotions of profound sorrow. With the undying eloquence of anguish He\nbroke forth in such a lamentation as no mortal father ever voiced over\nthe most unfilial and recreant of sons.\n\n\"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest\nthem which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy\nchildren together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,\nand ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I\nsay unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed\nis he that cometh in the name of the Lord.\" Had Israel but received her\nKing, the world's history of post-meridian time would never have been\nwhat it is. The children of Israel had spurned the proffered safety of a\nprotecting paternal wing; soon the Roman eagle would swoop down upon\nthem and slay. The stupendous temple, which but a day before the Lord\nhad called \"My house,\" was now no longer specifically His; \"Your house,\"\nsaid He, \"is left unto you desolate.\" He was about to withdraw from both\ntemple and nation; and by the Jews His face was not again to be seen,\nuntil, through the discipline of centuries of suffering they shall be\nprepared to acclaim in accents of abiding faith, as some of them had\nshouted but the Sunday before under the impulse of an erroneous\nconception, \"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.\"\n\n\nA WIDOW'S GIFT.[1144]\n\nFrom the open courts Jesus moved over toward the colonnaded treasury of\nthe temple, and there He sat, seemingly absorbed in a revery of sorrow.\nWithin that space were thirteen chests, each provided with a\ntrumpet-shaped receptacle; and into these the people dropped their\ncontributions for the several purposes indicated by inscriptions on the\nboxes. Looking up, Jesus observed the lines of donors, of all ranks and\ndegrees of affluence and poverty, some depositing their gifts with\nevident devoutness and sincerity of purpose, others ostentatiously\ncasting in great sums of silver and gold, primarily to be seen of men.\nAmong the many was a poor widow, who with probable effort to escape\nobservation dropped into one of the treasure-chests two small bronze\ncoins known as mites; her contribution amounted to less than half a cent\nin American money. The Lord called His disciples about Him, directed\ntheir attention to the poverty-stricken widow and her deed, and said:\n\"Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all\nthey which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of\ntheir abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even\nall her living.\"\n\nIn the accounts kept by the recording angels, figured out according to\nthe arithmetic of heaven, entries are made in terms of quality rather\nthan of quantity, and values are determined termined on the basis of\ncapability and intent. The rich gave much yet kept back more; the\nwidow's gift was her all. It was not the smallness of her offering that\nmade it especially acceptable, but the spirit of sacrifice and devout\nintent with which she gave. On the books of the heavenly accountants\nthat widow's contribution was entered as a munificent gift, surpassing\nin worth the largess of kings. \"For if there be first a willing mind, it\nis accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he\nhath not.\"[1145]\n\n\nCHRIST'S FINAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE TEMPLE.\n\nOur Lord's public discourses and the open colloquies in which He had\nparticipated with professionals and priestly officials, in the course of\nHis daily visits to the temple during the first half of Passion week,\nhad caused many of the chief rulers, beside others, to believe on Him as\nthe veritable Son of God; but the fear of Pharisaic persecution and the\ndread of excommunication from the synagog[1146] deterred them from\nconfessing the allegiance they felt, and from accepting the means of\nsalvation so freely offered. \"They loved the praise of men more than the\npraise of God.\"[1147]\n\nIt may have been while Jesus directed His course for the last time\ntoward the exit portal of the one-time holy place that He uttered the\nsolemn testimony of His divinity recorded by John.[1148] Crying with a\nloud voice to priestly rulers and the multitude generally, He said: \"He\nthat believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And\nhe that seeth me seeth him that sent me.\" Allegiance to Himself was\nallegiance to God; the people were plainly told that to accept Him was\nin no degree a weakening of their adherence to Jehovah, but on the\ncontrary a confirmation thereof. Repeating precepts of earlier\nutterance, He again proclaimed Himself the light of the world, by whose\nrays alone mankind might be delivered from the enveloping darkness of\nspiritual unbelief. The testimony He left with the people would be the\nmeans of judgment and condemnation to all who wilfully rejected it.\n\"For,\" said He in solemn finality, \"I have not spoken of myself; but the\nFather which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and\nwhat I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life\neverlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto\nme, so I speak.\"\n\n\nDESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED.[1149]\n\nAs Jesus was departing from the enclosure wherein stood what once had\nbeen the House of the Lord, one or more of the disciples called His\nattention to the magnificent structures, the massive stones, the\ncolossal columns, and the lavish and costly adornment of the several\nbuildings. The Lord's answering comment was an unqualified prophecy of\nthe utter destruction of the temple and everything pertaining to it.\n\"Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon\nanother, that shall not be thrown down.\" Such was the definite and dire\nprediction. Those who heard were dumbfounded; neither by question nor\nother response did they attempt to elicit more. The literal fulfilment\nof that awful portent was but an incident in the annihilation of the\ncity less than forty years later.\n\nWith the Lord's final departure from the temple, which probably occurred\nin the afternoon of the Tuesday of that last week, His public ministry\nwas brought to its solemn ending. Whatever of discourse, parable, or\nordinance was to follow, would be directed only to the further\ninstruction and investiture of the apostles.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 31.\n\n1. The Image on the Coin.--The Jews had an aversion for images or\neffigies in general, the use of which they professed to hold as a\nviolation of the second commandment. Their scruples, however, did not\ndeter them from accepting coins bearing the effigies of kings, even\nthough these monarchs were pagans. Their own coins bore other devices,\nsuch as plants, fruits, etc., in place of a human head; and the Romans\nhad condescendingly permitted the issue of a special coinage for Jewish\nuse, each piece bearing the name but not the effigy of the monarch. The\nordinary coinage of Rome was current in Palestine, however.\n\n2. Submission to Secular Authority.--Governments are instituted of God,\nsometimes by His direct interposition, sometimes by His permission. When\nthe Jews had been brought into subjection by Nebuchadnezzar, king of\nBabylon, the Lord commanded through the prophet Jeremiah (27:4-8) that\nthe people render obedience to their conqueror, whom He called His\nservant; for verily the Lord had used the pagan king to chastize the\nrecreant and unfaithful children of the covenant. The obedience so\nenjoined included the payment of taxes and extended to complete\nsubmission. After the death of Christ the apostles taught obedience to\nthe powers that be, which powers, Paul declared \"are ordained of God.\"\nSee Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; see also 1 Peter 2:13, 14.\nThrough the medium of modern revelation, the Lord has required of His\npeople in the present dispensation, obedience to and loyal support of\nthe duly established and existing governments in all lands. See Doc. and\nCov. 58:21-22; 98:4-6; and section 134 throughout. The restored Church\nproclaims as an essential part of its belief and practise: \"We believe\nin being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in\nobeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.\" See _Articles of Faith_,\nxxiii.\n\n3. Marriage for Eternity.--Divine revelation in the dispensation of the\nfulness of times has made plain the fact, that contracts of marriage, as\nindeed all other agreements between parties in mortality, are of no\nvalidity beyond the grave, except such contracts be ratified and\nvalidated by the duly established ordinances of the Holy Priesthood.\nSealing in the marriage covenant for time and eternity, which has come\nto be known as celestial marriage, is an ordinance established by divine\nauthority in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. See the author's\ntreatment of this subject in _Articles of Faith_, xxiv, 18-24; and\n_House of the Lord_, under \"Sealing in Marriage,\" pp. 101-109.\n\n4. Divisions and Subdivisions of the Law.--\"The Rabbinical schools, in\ntheir meddling, carnal, superficial spirit of word-weaving and\nletter-worship, had spun large accumulations of worthless subtlety all\nover the Mosaic law. Among other things they had wasted their idleness\nin fantastic attempts to count, and classify, and weigh, and measure all\nthe separate commandments of the ceremonial and moral law. They had come\nto the sapient conclusion that there were 248 affirmative precepts,\nbeing as many as the members in the human body, and 365 negative\nprecepts, being as many as the arteries and veins, or the days of the\nyear: the total being 613, which was also the number of letters in the\ndecalog. They arrived at the same result from the fact that the Jews\nwere commanded (Numb. 15:38) to wear fringes (_tsitsith_) on the corners\nof their _tallith_, bound with a thread of blue; and as each fringe had\neight threads and five knots, and the letters of the word _tsitsith_\nmake 600, the total number of commandments was, as before 613. Now\nsurely, out of such a large number of precepts and prohibitions, _all_\ncould not be of quite the same value; some were 'light' (_kal_), and\nsome were 'heavy' (_kobhed_). But which? and what was the greatest\ncommandment of all? According to some Rabbis, the most important of all\nis that about the _tephillin_ and the _tsitsith_, the fringes and\nphylacteries; and 'he who diligently observes it is regarded in the same\nlight as if he had kept the whole Law.'\n\n\"Some thought the omission of ablutions as bad as homicide; some that\nthe precepts of the Mishna were all 'heavy'; those of the Law were some\n'heavy' and some 'light.' Others considered the _third_ to be the\ngreatest commandment. None of them had realized the great principle,\nthat the wilful violation of one commandment is the transgression of all\n(James 2:10), because the object of the entire Law is the spirit of\n_obedience to God_. On the question proposed by the lawyer the\nShammaites and Hillelites were in disaccord, and, as usual, both schools\nwere wrong: the Shammaites, in thinking that mere trivial external\nobservances were valuable, apart from the spirit in which they were\nperformed, and the principle which they exemplified; the Hillelites, in\nthinking that _any_ positive command could in itself be unimportant, and\nin not seeing that great principles are essential to the due performance\nof even the slightest duties.\"--Farrar, _Life of Christ_, chap. 52.\n\n5. Phylacteries and Borders.--Through a traditional interpretation of\nExo. 13:9 and Deut. 6:8, the Hebrews adopted the custom of wearing\nphylacteries, which consisted essentially of strips of parchment on\nwhich were inscribed in whole or in part the following texts: Exo.\n13:2-10 and 11-17; Deut. 6:4-9, and 11:13-21. Phylacteries were worn on\nthe head and arm. The parchment strips for the head were four, on each\nof which one of the texts cited above was written. These were placed in\na cubical box of leather measuring from 1/2 inch to 1-1/2 inches along\nthe edge; the box was divided into four compartments and one of the\nlittle parchment rolls was placed in each. Thongs held the box in place\non the forehead between the eyes of the wearer. The arm phylactery\ncomprized but a single roll of parchment on which the four prescribed\ntexts were written; this was placed in a little box which was bound by\nthongs to the inside of the left arm so as to be brought close to the\nheart when the hands were placed together in the attitude of devotion.\nThe Pharisees wore the arm phylactery above the elbow, while their\nrivals, the Sadducees, fastened it to the palm of the hand (see Exo.\n13:9). The common people wore phylacteries only at prayer time; but the\nPharisees were said to display them throughout the day. Our Lord's\nreference to the Pharisees' custom of making broad their phylacteries\nhad reference to the enlarging of the containing box, particularly the\nfrontlet. The size of the parchment strips was fixed by rigid rule.\n\nThe Lord had required of Israel through Moses (Numb. 15:38) that the\npeople attach to the border of their garment a fringe with a ribbon of\nblue. In ostentatious display of assumed piety, the scribes and\nPharisees delighted to wear enlarged borders to attract public\nattention. It was another manifestation of hypocritical\nsanctimoniousness.\n\n6. Ecclesiastical Titles.--Our Lord severely condemned the seeking after\ntitles as insignia of rank in His service. Nevertheless He named the\nTwelve whom He chose, Apostles; and in the Church founded by Himself the\noffices of Evangelist, High Priest, Pastor, Elder, Bishop, Priest,\nTeacher, and Deacon were established (see _Articles of Faith_, xi:1-4).\nIt was the empty man-made title that attached to the individual, not the\nauthorized title of office to which men were called through\nauthoritative ordination, to which the Lord affixed the seal of His\ndisapproval. Titles of office in the Holy Priesthood are of too sacred a\ncharacter to be used as marks of distinction among men. In the restored\nChurch in the current dispensation, men are ordained to the Priesthood\nand to the several offices comprized within both the Lesser or Aaronic,\nand the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood; but though one be thus made an\nElder, a Seventy, a High Priest, a Patriarch or an Apostle, he should\nnot court the usage of the title as a mere embellishment of his name.\n(See \"The Honor and Dignity of Priesthood\" by the author in _Improvement\nEra_, Salt Lake City, March, 1914.)\n\nChas. F. Deems, in _The Light of the Nations_, pp. 583-4, says in\nspeaking of the irreverent use of ecclesiastical titles: \"The Pharisees\nloved also the highest places in the synagogs, and it gratified their\nvanity to be called Teacher, Doctor, Rabbi. Against these Jesus warned\nHis disciples. They were not to love to be called Rabbi, a title which\noccurs in three forms, _Rab_, Teacher, Doctor; _Rabbi_, My Doctor or\nTeacher; _Rabboni_, My great Doctor. Nor were they to call any man\n'Father,' in the sense of granting him any infallibility of judgment or\npower over their consciences.... 'Papa,' as the simple Moravians call\ntheir great man, Count Zinzendorf: 'Founder,' as Methodists denominate\ngood John Wesley; 'Holy Father in God,' as bishops are sometimes called;\n'Pope,' which is the same as 'Papa'; 'Doctor of Divinity,' the Christian\nequivalent of the Jewish 'Rabbi,' are all dangerous titles. But it is\nnot the employment of a name which Jesus denounces, it is the spirit of\nvanity which animated the Pharisees, and the servile spirit which the\nemployment of titles is apt to engender. Paul and Peter spoke of\nthemselves as spiritual fathers. Jesus teaches that positions in the\nsocieties of his followers, such as should afterward be formed, were not\nto be regarded as dignities, but rather as services; that no man should\nseek them for the honor they might confer, but for the field of\nusefulness they might afford; and that no man should lead off a sect,\nthere being but one leader; and that the whole body of believers are\nbrethren, of whom God is the Father.\"\n\nThe writer last quoted very properly disparages aspirations, stimulated\nby vanity and self-righteous assumption, to the use of the title\n\"Reverend\" as applied to men.\n\n7. Seven or Eight Woes?--Some of the early Mss. of the Gospels omit\nverse 14 from Matt. 23. Such omission reduces the number of specific\nutterances beginning \"Woe unto you\" from eight to seven. There is no\nquestion as to the appearance in the original of the passages in Mark\n12:40 and Luke 20:47, which are one in meaning with Matt. 23:14.\n\n8. The Temple Treasure.--In connection with the incident of the widow's\nmites, Edersheim (vol. ii, pp. 387-8) writes: \"Some might come with\nappearance of self-righteousness, some even with ostentation, some as\ncheerfully performing a happy duty. 'Many that were rich cast in\nmuch'--yes, very much, for such was the tendency that a law had to be\nenacted forbidding the gift to the Temple of more than a certain\nproportion of one's possessions. And the amount of such contributions\nmay be inferred by recalling the circumstance, that at the time of\nPompey and Crassus, the Temple treasury, after having lavishly defrayed\nevery possible expenditure, contained in money nearly half a million,\nand precious vessels to the value of nearly two millions sterling.\" See\nalso Josephus, Antiquities xiv, 4:4; 7:1, 2.\n\n9. Zacharias the Martyr.--In referring to the martyrs of ante-meridian\ntime the Lord is recorded as having used the expression \"from the blood\nof righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye\nslew between the temple and the altar\" (Matt. 23:35). The Old Testament\nas at present compiled, contains no mention of a martyr named Zacharias\nson of Barachias, but does chronicle the martyrdom of Zechariah son of\nJehoiada (2 Chron. 24:20-22). \"Zechariah\" and \"Zacharias\" are equivalent\nnames. It is the opinion of most Bible scholars that the Zacharias\nreferred to in Matthew's record is Zechariah son of Jehoiada. In the\nJewish compilation of Old Testament scriptures, the murder of Zechariah\nappears as the last recorded martyrdom; and the Lord's reference to the\nrighteous men who had been slain, from Abel to Zechariah or Zacharias,\nmay have been a sweeping inclusion of all the martyrs down to that time,\nfrom first to last. However, we have a record of Zechariah son of\nBerechiah (Zech. 1:1, 7), and this Berechiah was the son of Iddo. Then\nagain, Zechariah son of Iddo is mentioned (Ezra 5:1); but, as is\nelsewhere found in the older scriptures, the grandson is called the son.\nThe Old Testament does not number this Zechariah among the martyrs, but\ntraditional accounts (Whitby's citation of the Targum) say that he was\nkilled \"in the day of propitiation.\" That the Lord referred to a late\nand probably the latest of the recorded martyrdoms is probable; and it\nis equally evident that the case was well known among the Jews. It is\nlikely that a fuller account appeared in scriptures current among the\nJews at the time of Christ but since lost. See Note 4, page 119.\n\n10. Destruction of the Temple.--\"For thirty or more years after the\ndeath of Christ, the Jews continued the work of adding to and\nembellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate design conceived and\nprojected by Herod had been practically completed; the Temple was\nwell-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was ready for\ndestruction. Its fate had been definitely foretold by the Savior\nHimself. Commenting on a remark by one of the disciples concerning the\ngreat stones and the splendid buildings on the Temple hill, Jesus had\nsaid, 'Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one\nstone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.' (Mark 13:1, 2; see\nalso Matt. 24:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6.) This dire prediction soon found its\nliteral fulfilment. In the great conflict with the Roman legions under\nTitus, many of the Jews had taken refuge within the Temple courts,\nseemingly hoping that there the Lord would again fight the battles of\nHis people and give them victory. But the protecting presence of Jehovah\nhad long since departed therefrom and Israel was left a prey to the foe.\nThough Titus would have spared the Temple, his legionaries, maddened by\nthe lust of conflict, started the conflagration and everything that\ncould be burned was burned. The slaughter of the Jews was appalling;\nthousands of men, women and children were ruthlessly butchered within\nthe walls, and the temple courts were literally flooded with human\nblood. This event occurred in the year 70 A.D.; and according to\nJosephus, in the same month and on the same day of the month as that on\nwhich the once glorious Temple of Solomon had fallen a prey to the\nflames kindled by the king of Babylon. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, vi,\n4:5, 8. For a detailed and graphic account of the destruction of the\nTemple see chapters 4 and 5 in their entirety.) Of the Temple furniture\nthe golden candlestick and the table of shewbread from the Holy Place\nwere carried by Titus to Rome as trophies of war; and representations of\nthese sacred pieces are to be seen on the arch erected to the name of\nthe victorious general. Since the destruction of the splendid Temple of\nHerod no other structure of the kind, no Temple, no House of the Lord as\nthe terms are used distinctively, has been reared on the eastern\nhemisphere.\"--_The House of the Lord_, pp. 61, 62.\n\nJosephus ascribes the destruction of the Temple of Herod to the anger of\nGod, and states that the devouring flames \"took their rise from the Jews\nthemselves, and were occasioned by them.\" The soldier who applied the\ntorch to the Holy House, which had remained intact while fire raged in\nthe courts, is regarded by the historian as an instrument of divine\nvengeance. We read (Wars, vi, 4:5): \"One of the soldiers, without\nstaying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so\ngreat an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury,\nsnatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being\nlifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through\nwhich there was a passage to the rooms that were round the Holy House,\non the north side of it. As the flames went upward the Jews made a great\nclamor, such as so mighty an affliction required.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1106] Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:19-26.\n\n[1107] Page 68.\n\n[1108] Mark 3:6; 8:15.\n\n[1109] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1110] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1111] Pages 12, 13.\n\n[1112] Luke 23:2. Page 633.\n\n[1113] Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38.\n\n[1114] Pages 65, 72.\n\n[1115] Deut. 25:5.\n\n[1116] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1117] Gen. 28:13; Exo. 3:6, 15.\n\n[1118] Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34.\n\n[1119] Deut. 6:4, 5.\n\n[1120] Note 5, page 565.\n\n[1121] Compare page 245.\n\n[1122] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1123] Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44.\n\n[1124] Psalm 110.\n\n[1125] Psalm 110:4; compare Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21.\n\n[1126] Chapter 6.\n\n[1127] Chapters 4 and 5.\n\n[1128] Matt. 23; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47; compare Luke 11:39-52.\n\n[1129] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1130] Pages 63, 71.\n\n[1131] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1132] Mark 12:37.\n\n[1133] John 7:49; compare 9:34.\n\n[1134] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1135] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[1136] Page 352.\n\n[1137] Matt. 5:33-37; page 235 herein.\n\n[1138] Lev. 27:30; Numb. 18:21; Deut. 12:6; 14:22-28. See also the\nauthor's \"The Law of the Tithe\"; 20 pp., 1914.\n\n[1139] The revised version, generally admitted the more nearly correct,\nreads \"strain out the gnat\" instead of \"strain at a gnat.\"\n\n[1140] Compare Luke 11:39, 40; Mark 7:4; page 437 herein.\n\n[1141] Luke 11:44.\n\n[1142] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n[1143] Matt. 23:37-39; compare Luke 13:34, 35.\n\n[1144] Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4.\n\n[1145] 2 Cor. 8:12.\n\n[1146] John 12:42; compare 7:13; 9:22.\n\n[1147] John 12:43; compare 5:44.\n\n[1148] John 12:44-50.\n\n[1149] Matt. 24:1, 2; Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6. Note 10, end of\nchapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 32.\n\nFURTHER INSTRUCTION TO THE APOSTLES.\n\n\nPROPHECIES RELATING TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM AND THE LORD'S\nFUTURE ADVENT.[1150]\n\nIn the course of His last walk from Jerusalem back to the beloved home\nat Bethany, Jesus rested at a convenient spot on the Mount of Olives,\nfrom which the great city and the magnificent temple were to be seen in\nfullest splendor, illumined by the declining sun in the late afternoon\nof that eventful April day. As He sat in thoughtful revery He was\napproached by Peter and James, John and Andrew, of the Twelve, and to\nthem certainly, though probably to all the apostles, He gave\ninstruction, embodying further prophecy concerning the future of\nJerusalem, Israel, and the world at large. His fateful prediction--that\nof the temple buildings not one stone would be left upon another--had\ncaused the apostles to marvel and fear; so they came privately\nrequesting explanation. \"Tell us,\" said they, \"when shall these things\nbe? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the\nworld?\" The compound character of the question indicates an\nunderstanding of the fact that the destruction of which the Lord had\nspoken was to be apart from and precedent to the signs that were to\nimmediately herald His glorious advent and the yet later ushering in of\nthe consummation commonly spoken of then and now as \"the end of the\nworld.\" An assumption that the events would follow in close succession\nis implied by the form in which the question was put.\n\nThe inquiry referred specifically to time--when were these things to be?\nThe reply dealt not with dates, but with events; and the spirit of the\nsubsequent discourse was that of warning against misapprehension, and\nadmonition to ceaseless vigilance. \"Take heed that no man deceive you\"\nwas the first and all-important caution; for within the lives of most of\nthose apostles, many blaspheming imposters would arise, each claiming to\nbe the Messiah. The return of Christ to earth as Lord and Judge was more\nremote than any of the Twelve realized. Before that glorious event, many\nwonderful and appalling developments would be witnessed, among the\nearliest of which would be wars and rumors of wars, caused by nation\nrising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, to the dread\naccompaniment of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many places;\nyet all these would be but the beginning of the sorrow or travail to\nfollow.\n\nThey, the apostles, were told to expect persecution, not only at the\nhands of irresponsible individuals, but at the instance of the officials\nsuch as they who were at that moment intent on taking the life of the\nLord Himself, and who would scourge them in the synagogs, deliver them\nup to hostile tribunals, cite them before rulers and kings, and even put\nsome of them to death--all because of their testimony of the Christ. As\nthey had been promised before, so again were they assured, that when\nthey would stand before councils, magistrates, or kings, the words they\nshould speak would be given them in the hour of their trial, and\ntherefore they were told to take no premeditative thought as to what\nthey should say or how they should meet the issues confronting them;\n\"for,\" said the Master, \"it is not ye that speak, but the Holy\nGhost.\"[1151] Even though they found themselves despized and hated of\nmen, and though they were to suffer ignominy, torture, and death, yet as\nto their eternal welfare they were promised such security that by\ncomparison they would lose not so much as a hair of their heads. In\nconsoling encouragement the Lord bade them possess their souls in\npatience.[1152] In face of all trials and even the direst persecution,\nit was incumbent upon them to persevere in their ministry, for the\ndivine plan provided and required that the gospel of the kingdom be\npreached amongst all nations. Their labors would be complicated and\nopposed by the revolutionary propaganda of many false prophets, and\ndifferences of creed would disrupt families, and engender such\nbitterness that brothers would betray one another, and children would\nrise against their parents, accusing them of heresies and delivering\nthem up to death. Even among those who had professed discipleship to\nChrist many would be offended and hatred would abound; love for the\ngospel would wax cold, and iniquity would be rampant among men; and only\nthose who would endure to the end of their lives could be saved.\n\nFrom this circumstantial forecast of conditions then directly impending,\nthe Lord passed to other developments that would immediately precede the\ndestruction of Jerusalem and the total disruption of the Jewish nation.\n\"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by\nDaniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,\" said He, according to\nMatthew's account, and virtually so also as stated by Mark, or \"when ye\nshall see Jerusalem compassed with armies\" as Luke writes, \"then know\nthat the desolation thereof is nigh.\" This was a specific sign that none\ncould misunderstand. Daniel the prophet had foreseen the desolation and\nabominations thereof, which comprized the forcible cessation of temple\nrites, and the desecration of Israel's shrine by pagan conquerors.[1153]\n\nThe realization of Daniel's prophetic vision was to be heralded by the\nencompassing of Jerusalem by armies. Then all who would escape should\nmake haste; from Judea they should flee to the mountains; he who was on\nthe housetop would have no time to take his goods, but should hasten\ndown by the outer steps and flee; he who was in the field would better\nleave without first returning to his house even for his clothes.\nTerrible, indeed, would that day be for women hampered by the conditions\nincident to approaching maternity, or the responsibility of caring for\ntheir suckling babes. All would do well to pray that their flight be not\nforced upon them in winter time; nor on the Sabbath, lest regard for the\nrestrictions as to Sabbath-day travel, or the usual closing of the city\ngates on that day, should diminish the chances of escape. The\ntribulations of the time then foreshadowed would prove to be\nunprecedented in horror and would never be paralleled in all their awful\ndetails in Israel's history; but in mercy God had decreed that the\ndreadful period should be shortened for the sake of the elect believers,\notherwise no flesh of Israel would be saved alive. Multitudes were to\nfall by the sword; other hosts were to be led away captive, and so be\nscattered amongst all nations; and Jerusalem, the pride and boast of\ndegenerate Israel, should be \"trodden down of the Gentiles, until the\ntimes of the Gentiles be fulfilled.\" In every frightful detail was the\nLord's prediction brought to pass, as history avouches.[1154]\n\nAfter the passing of those terrible times, and thence onward for a\nperiod of unspecified duration, Satan would deceive the world through\nfalse doctrines, spread by evil men masquerading as ministers of God,\nwho would continue to cry \"Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there\"; but\nagainst all such the Twelve were put on their guard, and through them\nand other teachers, whom they would call and ordain, would the world be\nwarned. Deceiving prophets, emissaries of the devil, would be active,\nsome alluring people into the deserts, and impelling them to hermit\nlives of pernicious asceticism, others insisting that Christ could be\nfound in the secret chambers of monastic seclusion; and some of them\nshowing forth through the power of Satan, such signs and wonders as \"to\nseduce, if it were possible, even the elect\"; but of all such scheming\nof the prince of evil, the Lord admonished His own: \"Believe it not\";\nand added, \"take ye heed; behold I have foretold you all things.\"[1155]\n\nIn the day of the Lord's advent in glory and vengeance, no man shall be\nin doubt; there shall be no chance of conflicting claims by contending\nsects, \"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even\nunto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.\"[1156] The\ngathering of Israel in the last days was pictured as the flocking of\neagles to the place where the body of the Church would be\nestablished.[1157]\n\nThe chronological order of the predicted occurrences so far considered\nin this wonderful discourse on things to come, is clear; first there was\nto be a period of virulent persecution of the apostles and the Church of\nwhich they would be in charge; then the destruction of Jerusalem, with\nall the horrors of merciless warfare was to follow; and this in turn was\nto be succeeded by a long period of priestcraft and apostasy with bitter\nsectarian dissension and cruel persecution of the righteous. The brief\nreference to the non-localized, universal phenomena, by which His advent\nis to be signalized, is a parenthetical demonstration of the false\nclaims as to where Christ would be found; later the Lord passed to\ndistinctive and unquestionable reference to the circumstances of His\nthen and yet future advent. Following the age of man-made creeds, and\nunauthorized ministry characteristic of the great apostasy, marvelous\noccurrences are to be manifested through the forces of nature, and the\nsign of the Son of Man shall ultimately appear, one accompanying feature\nof which shall be the completion of the gathering of the elect from all\nparts of the earth to the places appointed.\n\nThe duty that Jesus enjoined upon the apostles as of first importance\nthroughout all the coming scenes of sorrow, suffering and turmoil, was\nthat of vigilance. They were to pray, watch, and work, diligently and\nwith unwavering faith. The lesson was illustrated by a masterly analogy,\nwhich, under the broadest classification, may be called a parable.\nDirecting their attention to the fig tree and other trees which\nflourished on the sunny slopes of Olivet, the Master said: \"Behold the\nfig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know\nof your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when\nye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is\nnigh at hand.\" Of the fig tree in particular the Lord remarked: \"When\nhis branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer\nis nigh.\" This sign of events near at hand was equally applicable to the\npremonitory conditions which were to herald the fall of Jerusalem and\nthe termination of the Jewish autonomy, and to the developments by which\nthe Lord's second advent shall be immediately preceded.\n\nThe next declaration in the order of the evangelical record reads:\n\"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these\nthings be fulfilled.\" This may be understood as applying to the\ngeneration in which the portentous happenings before described would be\nrealized. So far as the predictions related to the overthrow of\nJerusalem, they were literally fulfilled within the natural lifetime of\nseveral of the apostles and of multitudes of their contemporaries; such\nof the Lord's prophecies as pertain to the heralding of His second\ncoming are to brought to pass within the duration of the generation of\nsome who witness the inauguration of their fulfilment. The certainty of\nfulfilment was emphasized by the Lord in the profound affirmation:\n\"Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass\naway.\"[1158]\n\nAll speculation concerning the time of the Lord's appearing, whether\nbased on assumption, deduction, or calculation of dates, was forestalled\nby Christ's averment: \"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no,\nnot the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the\nFather.\"[1159] That His advent in power and glory is to be sudden and\nunexpected to the unobserving and sinful world, but in immediate\nsequence to the signs which the vigilant and devout may read and\nunderstand, was made plain by comparison with the prevailing social\nconditions of Noah's time, when in spite of prophecy and warning the\npeople had continued in their feasting and merry-making, in marrying and\ngiving in marriage, until the very day of Noah's entrance into the ark,\n\"And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall\nalso the coming of the Son of man be.\"\n\nIn the last stages of the gathering of the elect, the ties of\ncompanionship shall be quickly severed; of two men laboring in the\nfield, or of two women engaged side by side in household duties, the\nfaithful one shall be taken and the sinner left. \"Watch therefore,\" was\nthe solemn behest, \"for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.\" In\nexplication of this admonishment, the Lord condescended to compare the\nsuddenness and secrecy of His coming to the movements of a\nnight-prowling thief; and pointed out, that if a householder had certain\nknowledge as to the time of a burglar's predetermined visit, he would\nremain on vigilant watch; but because of uncertainty he may be found off\nhis guard, and the thief may enter and despoil the home.\n\nAgain likening the apostles to duly appointed stewards in a great\nhousehold,[1160] the Lord spoke of Himself as the householder, saying:\n\"The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house,\nand gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and\ncommanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when\nthe master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the\ncockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you\nsleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.\" But if the\nsteward grow negligent because of his master's long absence, and give\nhimself up to feasting and unlicensed pleasure, or become autocratic and\nunjust toward his fellow-servants, his lord shall come in an hour when\nleast expected, and shall consign that wicked servant to a place among\nthe hypocrites, where he shall weep bitter tears of remorse, and gnash\nhis teeth in impotent despair.[1161]\n\n\nTHE NEED OF WATCHFULNESS AND DILIGENCE ILLUSTRATED BY PARABLES.\n\nTo more indelibly impress upon the apostles, and, through their\nsubsequent ministry, upon the world, the absolute need of unceasing\nwatchfulness and unwavering diligence in preparation for the coming of\nthe Lord in judgment, Jesus depicted in parables the prospective\ncondition of mankind in the last times. The first of these illustrative\nportrayals is the _Parable of the Ten Virgins_. The only report of it we\nhave is that given by Matthew,[1162] as follows:\n\n\"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which\ntook their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of\nthem were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their\nlamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels\nwith their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and\nslept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom\ncometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed\ntheir lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;\nfor our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest\nthere be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell,\nand buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;\nand they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door\nwas shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord,\nopen to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you\nnot. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein\nthe Son of man cometh.\"\n\nThe story itself is based on oriental marriage customs, with which the\nLord's attentive listeners were familiar. It was and yet is common in\nthose lands, particularly in connection with marriage festivities among\nthe wealthy classes, for the bridegroom to go to the home of the bride,\naccompanied by his friends in processional array, and later to conduct\nthe bride to her new home with a larger body of attendants composed of\ngroomsmen, bridesmaids, relatives and friends. As the bridal party\nprogressed, to the accompaniment of gladsome music, it was increased by\nlittle groups who had gathered in waiting at convenient places along the\nroute, and particularly near the end of the course where organized\ncompanies came forth to meet the advancing procession. Wedding\nceremonies were appointed for the evening and night hours; and the\nnecessary use of torches and lamps gave brilliancy and added beauty to\nthe scene.\n\nIn the parable ten maidens were waiting to welcome and join in with the\nbridal company, the time of whose arrival was uncertain. Each had her\nlamp attached to the end of a rod so as to be held aloft in the festal\nmarch; but of the ten virgins five had wisely carried an extra supply of\noil, while the other five, probably counting on no great delay, or\nassuming that they would be able to borrow from others, or perchance\nhaving negligently given no thought at all to the matter, had no oil\nexcept the one filling with which their lamps had been supplied at\nstarting. The bridegroom tarried, and the waiting maidens grew drowsy\nand fell asleep. At midnight, the forerunners of the marriage party\nloudly proclaimed the bridegroom's approach, and cried in haste: \"Go ye\nout to meet him.\" The ten maidens, no longer sleepy, but eagerly active,\nset to work to trim their lamps; then the wise ones found use for the\noil in their flasks, while the thoughtless five bewailed their destitute\ncondition, for their lamps were empty and they had no oil for\nreplenishment. They appealed to their wiser sisters, asking a share of\ntheir oil; but these declined; for, in a time of such exigency, to give\nof their store would have been to render themselves unfit, inasmuch as\nthere was oil enough for their own lamps only. Instead of oil they could\nimpart only advice to their unfortunate sisters, whom they directed to\ngo to the nearest shop and buy for themselves. While the foolish virgins\nwere away in quest of oil, the wedding party passed into the house\nwherein the feast was provided, and the door was shut against all tardy\ncomers. In time the unwise maidens, too late to participate in the\nprocessional entry, called from without, pleading for admittance; but\nthe bridegroom refused their request, and disclaimed all\nacquaintanceship with them, since they had not been numbered among his\nattendants or those of the bride.\n\nThe Bridegroom is the Lord Jesus; the marriage feast symbolizes His\ncoming in glory, to receive unto Himself the Church on earth as His\nbride.[1163] The virgins typify those who profess a belief in Christ,\nand who, therefore, confidently expect to be included among the blessed\nparticipants at the feast. The lighted lamp, which each of the maidens\ncarried, is the outward profession of Christian belief and practise; and\nin the oil reserves of the wiser ones we may see the spiritual strength\nand abundance which diligence and devotion in God's service alone can\ninsure. The lack of sufficient oil on the part of the unwise virgins is\nanalogous to the dearth of soil in the stony field, wherein the seed\nreadily sprouted but soon withered away.[1164] The Bridegroom's coming\nwas sudden; yet the waiting virgins were not held blamable for their\nsurprize at the abrupt announcement, but the unwise five suffered the\nnatural results of their unpreparedness. The refusal of the wise virgins\nto give of their oil at such a critical time must not be regarded as\nuncharitable; the circumstance typifies the fact that in the day of\njudgment every soul must answer for himself; there is no way by which\nthe righteousness of one can be credited to another's account; the\ndoctrine of supererogation is wholly false.[1165] The Bridegroom's\ncondemnatory disclaimer, \"I know you not,\" was equivalent to a\ndeclaration that the imploring but neglectful ones, who had been found\nunready and unprepared, did not know Him.[1166]\n\nThe application of the parable and its wealth of splendid suggestion are\nsummarized in a masterly manner by the Lord's impressive adjuration:\n\"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the\nSon of man cometh.\" The fulfilment of the predictions enshrined in this\nprecious parable is yet future, but near. In 1831 the Lord Jesus Christ\nrevealed anew the indications by which the imminence of His glorious\nadvent may be perceived. Through the mouth of His prophet Joseph Smith\nHe thus spake: \"And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall\nthe parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins: for\nthey that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy\nSpirit for their guide, and have not been deceived; verily I say unto\nyou, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide\nthe day, and the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and\nthey shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up\nwithout sin unto salvation, for the Lord shall be in their midst, and\nhis glory shall be upon them, and he will be their King and their\nLawgiver.\"[1167]\n\nStill discoursing in solemn earnestness to the apostles as the evening\nshadows gathered about the Mount of Olives, the Lord delivered the last\nof His recorded parables. We call it the _Parable of the Entrusted\nTalents_.[1168]\n\n\"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country,\nwho called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto\none he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every\nman according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.\nThen he that had received the five talents went and traded with the\nsame, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had\nreceived two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one\nwent and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long\ntime the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so\nhe that had received five talents came and brought other five talents,\nsaying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have\ngained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done,\nthou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few\nthings, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy\nof thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord,\nthou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other\ntalents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and\nfaithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make\nthee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then\nhe which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee\nthat thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and\ngathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and\nhid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord\nanswered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou\nknewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not\nstrawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers,\nand then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take\ntherefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten\ntalents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have\nabundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that\nwhich he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:\nthere shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\"\n\nSome of the resemblances between this parable and that of the\nPounds[1169] appear on even a casual reading; significant differences\nare discovered by comparison and study. The earlier parable was spoken\nto a mixed multitude in the course of our Lord's last journey from\nJericho to Jerusalem; the later one was given in privacy to the most\nintimate of His disciples in the closing hours of the last day of His\npublic preaching. The two should be studied together. In the story of\nthe Pounds, an equal amount of capital is given to each of the servants,\nand men's diverse ability to use and apply, with commensurate results in\nreward or penalty, is demonstrated; in that of the Entrusted Talents,\nthe servants receive different amounts, \"every man according to his\nseveral ability\"; and equal diligence, though shown in one instance by\ngreat gain and in the other by small but proportionate increase, is\nequally rewarded. Unfaithfulness and negligence are condemned and\npunished in both.\n\nIn the parable now under consideration, the master is presented as\ndelivering his wealth into the hands of his own servants, literally,\nbondservants;[1170] they, as well as the possessions held by them in\ntrust were his. Those servants had no rights of actual ownership, nor\ntitle of permanent proprietorship in the treasure committed to their\ncare; all they had, the time and opportunity to use their talents, and\nthey themselves, belonged to their lord. We cannot fail to perceive even\nin the early incidents of the story that the Master of the servants was\nthe Lord Jesus; the servants, therefore, were the disciples and more\nparticularly the apostles, who, while of equal authority through\nordination in the Holy Priesthood, as specifically illustrated by the\nearlier parable of the Pounds, were of varied ability, of diverse\npersonality, and unequal generally in nature and in such accomplishments\nas would be called into service throughout their ministry. The Lord was\nabout to depart; He would return only \"after a long time\"; the\nsignificance of this latter circumstance is in line with that expressed\nthrough the parable of the Ten Virgins in the statement that the\nBridegroom tarried.\n\nAt the time of reckoning, the servants who had done well, the one with\nhis five talents, the other with his two, reported gladly, conscious as\nthey were of having at least striven to do their best. The unfaithful\nservant prefaced his report with a grumbling excuse, which involved the\nimputation of unrighteousness in the Master. The honest, diligent,\nfaithful servants saw and reverenced in their Lord the perfection of the\ngood qualities which they possessed in measured degree; the lazy and\nunprofitable serf, afflicted by distorted vision, professed to see in\nthe Master his own base defects. The story in this particular, as in the\nother features relating to human acts and tendencies, is psychologically\ntrue; in a peculiar sense men are prone to conceive of the attributes of\nGod as comprizing in augmented degree the dominant traits of their own\nnature.\n\nBoth the servant who had been entrusted with five talents and he who had\nreceived but two were equally commended, and, as far as we are told,\nwere equally recompensed. The talents bestowed upon each were the gift\nof his Lord, who knew well whether that servant was capable of using to\nbetter advantage one, two, or five. Let no one conclude that good work\nof relatively small scope is less necessary or acceptable than like\nservice of wider range. Many a man who has succeeded well in business\nwith small capital would have failed in the administration of vast sums;\nso also in spiritual achievements \"there are diversities of gifts, but\nthe same Spirit.\"[1171] Of the man endowed with many talents greater\nreturns were expected; of the one-talented man relatively little was\nrequired, yet in that little he failed.[1172] At the least he could have\ndelivered the money to the bank, through which it would have been kept\nin circulation to the benefit of the community, and would have earned\ninterest meanwhile. Likewise, in the spiritual application, a man\npossessed of any good gift, such as musical ability, eloquence, skill in\nhandicraft, or the like, ought to use that gift to the full, that he or\nothers may be profited thereby: but should he be too neglectful to\nexercize his powers in independent service, he may assist others to\nprofitable effort, by encouragement if by nothing more.\n\nWho can doubt in the spirit of the Lord's teaching, that had the man\nbeen able to report the doubling of his single talent, he would have\nbeen as cordially commended and as richly recompensed as were his more\nhighly endowed and faithful fellows? It is notable that to the charge of\nunrighteousness made by the unfaithful servant, the Lord deigns no\nrefutation; the spirit of the reply was the same as that expressed in\nthe earlier parable: \"Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou\nwicked servant.\"[1173] The unworthy man sought to excuse himself by the\ndespicable but all too common subterfuge of presumptuously charging\nculpability in another, and in this instance, that other was his Lord.\nTalents are not given to be buried, and then to be dug up and offered\nback unimproved, reeking with the smell of earth and dulled by the\ncorrosion of disuse. The unused talent was justly taken from him who had\ncounted it as of so little worth, and was given to one, who, although\npossessing much, would use the additional gift to his own profit, to the\nbetterment of his fellows, and to the glory of his Lord.\n\n\nTHE INEVITABLE JUDGMENT.[1174]\n\nThe Lord had uttered His last parable. In words of plainness, though\nsuffused with the beauty of effective simile, He impressed upon the\nlistening disciples the certainty of judgment by which the world shall\nbe visited in the day of His appearing. Then shall the wheat be\nsegregated from the tares,[1175] and the sheep divided from the goats.\n\"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels\nwith him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him\nshall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from\nanother, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall\nset the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.\" Unto those\non His right hand the King shall give commendation and blessing,\nbestowing a rich recompense for their good works, as attested by the\nhungry they had fed, the thirsty to whom they had given drink, the\nstranger they had lodged, the naked they had clothed, the sick to whom\nthey had ministered, the prisoners they had visited and encouraged, all\nof which mercies are accredited to them as having been rendered to their\nLord in person. The blessed company, overwhelmed by the plenitude of the\nKing's bounty, of which they regard themselves as undeserving, will fain\ndisclaim the merit attributed to them; \"And the King shall answer and\nsay unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto\none of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.\"\n\nUnto them who wait on the left in terrified expectancy, the King shall\nrecount their several deficiencies, in that they had given Him neither\nfood nor drink, shelter nor clothing despite His need; neither had they\nvisited Him though ill, nor ministered unto His wants when He lay in a\nprison cell. In the desperation of anguish these shall ask when and\nwhere they had had such opportunity of comforting Him, and He shall\nanswer, \"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the\nleast of these, ye did it not to me.\" The righteous shall be welcomed\nwith \"Come ye blessed of my Father\"; the wicked shall hear the awful\nsentence, \"Depart from me ye cursed.\" Eternal life is the inestimable\nreward; everlasting punishment the unfathomable doom.[1176]\n\nViewing as one discourse the two parables and the teaching that directly\nfollowed, we find in it such unity of subject and thoroughness of\ntreatment as to give to the whole both beauty and worth beyond the sum\nof these qualities exhibited in the several parts. Vigilant waiting in\nthe Lord's cause, and the dangers of unreadiness are exemplified in the\nstory of the virgins; diligence in work and the calamitous results of\nsloth are prominent features of the tale of the talents. These two\nphases of service are of reciprocal and complementary import; it is as\nnecessary at times to wait as at others to work. The lapse of a long\nperiod, as while the Bridegroom tarried, and as during the Master's\nabsence in \"a far country,\"[1177] is made plain throughout as\nintervening between the Lord's departure and His return in glory. The\nabsolute certainty of the Christ coming to execute judgment upon the\nearth, in the which every soul shall receive according to his deserts,\nis the sublime summary of this unparalleled discourse.\n\n\nANOTHER SPECIFIC PREDICTION OF THE LORD'S DEATH.\n\nFollowing the instructions to the apostles at the resting place on\nOlivet, and probably in the course of the continued walk toward Bethany\nthat evening, Jesus reminded the Twelve of the awful fate awaiting Him,\nand specified the time of His betrayal and the manner of His death. \"Ye\nknow,\" He said, \"that after two days is the feast of the passover, and\nthe Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.\"[1178]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 32.\n\n1. Early Fulfilment of the Lord's Prophecies.--As to the literal\nfulfilment of the Lord's predictions relating to the times immediately\nfollowing His ascension and down to the destruction of Jerusalem, the\nstudent must be referred to scriptural and other history. Only a brief\nsummary of the most notable events can be attempted here.\n\nOn the matter of wars and rumors or threats of wars, see Josephus,\nAntiquities xviii, ch. 9, and Wars, ii, ch. 10. The latter reference is\nto the account of the decree issued by Caligula that his statue be set\nup and duly reverenced in the temple, in consequence of which the Jews\nprotested so strenuously that war was declared against them, but was\naverted by the death of the emperor. Concerning the death of Caligula,\nJosephus remarks that it \"happened most happily for our nation in\nparticular, which would have almost utterly perished, if he had not been\nsuddenly slain.\" Other threats of war against the Jews were severally\nmade by the emperors Claudius and Nero.\n\nNation rose against nation, as for example, in the assault of Greeks and\nSyrians upon the Jews, in the course of which 50,000 Jews were slain at\nSelucia on the Tigris, and 20,000 at C\u00e6sarea, 13,000 at Scythopolis, and\n2,500 at Ascalon. Famine and its attendant pestilence prevailed during\nthe reign of Claudius, (41-54 A.D.) and such had been specifically\npredicted by inspiration, through Agabus (Acts 11:28). The famine was\nvery severe in Palestine (Josephus, Antiquities, xx, ch. 2). Earthquakes\nwere of alarming frequency and of unusual severity, between the death of\nChrist and the destruction of Jerusalem, particularly in Syria,\nMacedonia, Campania, and Achia. See Tacitus, _Annals_, books xii and\nxiv; and for account of violent seismic disturbances at Rome, see\nSuetonius in his _Life of Galba_. Josephus (Wars iv, ch. 4) records a\nparticularly severe earthquake that disrupted parts of Judea, and was\naccompanied by \"amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth--a\nmanifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men.\" The\nportent of \"fearful sights and great signs\" from heaven, as recorded by\nLuke was realized in the phenomenal events chronicled by Josephus\n(Preface to \"Wars\").\n\nOf the persecution that befell the apostles and others, and of their\narraignment before rulers, Dr. Adam Clarke, in his commentary on\npassages in Matt 24, says: \"We need go no farther than the Acts of the\nApostles for the completion of these particulars. Some were delivered to\ncouncils, as Peter and John (Acts 4:5). Some were brought before rulers\nand kings, as Paul before Gallio (18:12); before Felix (ch. 24); before\nFestus and Agrippa (ch. 25). Some had utterance and wisdom which their\nadversaries were not able to resist; so Stephen (6:10), and Paul who\nmade even Felix himself tremble (24:25). Some were imprisoned, as Peter\nand John (4:3). Some were beaten, as Paul and Silas (16:23). Some were\nput to death, as Stephen (7:59); and James the brother of John (12:2).\nBut if we look beyond the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to the\nbloody persecutions under Nero, we shall find these predictions still\nmore amply fulfilled; in these, numberless Christians fell, besides\nthose two champions of the faith, Peter and Paul. And it was, as says\nTertullian, a war against the very name of Christ; for he who was called\nChristian had committed crime enough in bearing the name to be put to\ndeath. So true were our Savior's words that they should be hated of all\nmen for His Name's sake.\"\n\nAmong the false prophets, and men who claimed to be the duly accredited\nministers of Christ, were Simon Magus who drew many people after him\n(Acts 8:9, 13, 18-24; see also _The Great Apostasy_, 7:1, 2), Menander,\nDositheus, and Theudas, and the false apostles referred to by Paul (2\nCor. 11:13) and others, such as Hymeneus and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17, 18).\nDummelow's _Commentary_ applies here the record by Josephus concerning\n\"a body of wicked men, who deceived and deluded the people under\npretense of divine inspiration, who prevailed with the multitude to act\nlike madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, pretending that\nGod would there show them the signals of victory.\" Compare 2 Peter 2:1;\n1 John 2:18; 4:1. That the love of many did wax cold, both before and\nafter the destruction of Jerusalem, is attested by the facts of the\nworld-wide apostasy, which was the result of corruption within and\npersecution from without the Church (see _The Great Apostasy_, chaps.\n3-9).\n\nThe preaching of the gospel of the kingdom \"in all the world\" was no\nless truly an essential characteristic of the apostolic period than it\nis of the current or last dispensation. The rapid spread of the gospel\nand the phenomenal growth of the Church under the direction of the\napostles of old, is recorded as one of the marvels of history (_Great\nApostasy_, 1:21, and citation of Eusebius). Paul, writing about thirty\nyears after Christ's ascension, affirms that the gospel had already been\ncarried to every nation, and \"preached to every creature under heaven\"\n(Col. 1:23, compare verse 6).\n\nThe \"abomination of desolation\" cited by the Lord from the prophecy by\nDaniel was strictly fulfilled in the investment of Jerusalem by the\nRoman army (compare Luke 21:20, 21). To the Jews the ensigns and images\nof the Romans were a disgusting abomination. Josephus (Wars vi, ch. 6)\nstates that the Roman ensigns were set up inside the temple and that the\nsoldiery offered sacrifices before them.\n\nThe warning to all to flee from Jerusalem and Judea to the mountains\nwhen the armies would begin to surround the city was so generally heeded\nby members of the Church, that according to the early Church writers not\none Christian perished in the awful siege (see Eusebius, _Eccles.\nHist._, book iii, ch. 5). The first siege by Gallus was unexpectedly\nraised, and then, before the armies of Vespasian arrived at the walls,\nall Jews who had faith in the warning given by Christ to the apostles,\nand by these to the people, fled beyond Jordan, and congregated mostly\nat Pella (compare Josephus, Wars ii, ch. 19).\n\nAs to the unprecedented horrors of the siege, which culminated in the\nutter destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, see Josephus, Wars vi,\nchaps. 3 and 4. That historian estimates the number slain in Jerusalem\nalone as 1,100,000 and in other cities and rural parts a third as many\nmore. For details see Josephus, Wars ii, chaps. 18, 20; iii, 2, 7, 8, 9;\niv, 1, 2, 7, 8, 9; vii, 6, 9, 11. Many tens of thousands were taken\ncaptive, to be afterward sold into slavery, or to be slain by wild\nbeasts, or in gladiatorial combat in the arena for the amusement of\nRoman spectators.\n\nIn the course of the siege, a wall was constructed about the entire\ncity, thus fulfilling the Lord's prediction (Luke 19:43), \"thine enemies\nshall cast a trench about thee,\" in which, by the admittedly better\ntranslation, \"bank\" or \"palisade\" should appear instead of \"trench\". In\nSeptember A.D. 70 the city fell into the hands of the Romans; and its\ndestruction was afterward made so thorough that its site was plowed up.\nJerusalem was \"trodden down of the Gentiles\", and ever since has been\nunder Gentile dominion, and so shall continue to be \"until the times of\nthe Gentiles be fulfilled.\" (Luke 21:24.)\n\n2. In the Deserts and in Secret Chambers.--The 24th chapter of Matthew,\nand its parallel scriptures in Mark 13 and Luke 21, may be the more\neasily understood if we bear in mind that the Lord therein speaks of two\ndistinct events, each a consummation of long ages of preparation, and\nthe first a prototype of the second. Many of the specific predictions\nare applicable both to the time preceding or at the destruction of\nJerusalem, and to developments of succeeding time down to the second\ncoming of Christ. The passage in Matt. 24:26 may be given this two-fold\napplication. Josephus tells of men leading others away into the desert,\nsaying under pretended inspiration that there should they find God; and\nthe same historian mentions a false prophet who led many into the secret\nchambers of the temple during the Roman assault, promising them that\nthere would the Lord give them deliverance. Men, women, and children\nfollowed this fanatical leader, and were caught in the holocaust of\ndestruction, so that 6,000 of them perished in the flames (Josephus,\nWars vi, ch. 5). Concerning an application of the Lord's precepts to\nlater times and conditions, the author has elsewhere written (_The Great\nApostasy_, 7:22-25): One of the heresies of early origin and rapid\ngrowth in the Church was the doctrine of antagonism between body and\nspirit, whereby the former was regarded as an incubus and a curse. From\nwhat has been said this will be recognized as one of the perversions\nderived from the alliance of Gnosticism with Christianity. A result of\nthis grafting in of heathen doctrines was an abundant growth of hermit\npractises, by which men sought to weaken, torture, and subdue their\nbodies, that their spirits or \"souls\" might gain greater freedom. Many\nwho adopted this unnatural view of human existence retired to the\nsolitude of the desert, and there spent their time in practises of stern\nself-denial and in acts of frenzied self-torture. Others shut themselves\nup as voluntary prisoners, seeking glory in privation and self-imposed\npenance. It was this unnatural view of life that gave rise to the\nseveral orders of recluses, hermits, and monks.\n\nThink you not that the Savior had such practises in mind, when, warning\nthe disciples of the false claims to sanctity that would characterize\nthe times then soon to follow, He said: \"Wherefore if they shall say\nunto you. Behold he [Christ] is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he\nis in the secret chambers, believe it not\"?\n\n3. The Time of Christ's Advent Not Known.--The Lord's statement that the\ntime of His advent in glory was unknown to man, and that the angels knew\nit not, \"neither the Son\", but that it was known to the Father only,\nappears plain and unambiguous notwithstanding many and conflicting\ncommentaries thereon. Jesus repeatedly affirmed that His mission was to\ndo the will of the Father; and it is evident that the Father's will was\nrevealed to Him from time to time. While in the flesh He laid no claim\nto omniscience; though whatever He willed to know He learned through the\nmedium of communication with the Father. Christ had not asked to know\nwhat the Father had not intimated His readiness to reveal, which, in\nthis instance, was the day and hour of the Son's appointed return to\nearth as a glorified, resurrected Being. We need not hesitate to believe\nthat at the time Jesus delivered to the apostles the discourse under\nconsideration, He was uninformed on the matter; for He so states. In the\nlast interview between Christ and the apostles immediately before His\nascension (Acts 1:6, 7) they asked \"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore\nagain the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to\nknow the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own\npower.\" Nor has the date of the Messianic consummation been since\nrevealed to any man; though even now, the fig tree is rapidly putting\nforth its leaves, and he who hath eyes to see and a heart to understand\nknows that the summer of the Lord's purpose is near at hand.\n\n4. The False Doctrine of Supererogation.--Among the pernicious fallacies\npromulgated as authorized dogmas by the apostate church during the long\nperiod of spiritual darkness following the close of the apostolic\nministry, was the awful enormity known as the doctrine of\nsupererogation. As stated by Mosheim (_Eccl. Hist._ Cent. xii, part ii,\nch. 3:4) the dreadful doctrine was formulated in the thirteenth century\nas follows: \"That there actually existed an immense treasure of _merit_,\ncomposed of the pious deeds and virtuous actions which the saints had\nperformed _beyond what was necessary for their own salvation_, and which\nwere therefore applicable to the benefit of others; that the guardian\nand dispenser of this precious treasure was the Roman pontiff, and that\nof consequence he was empowered to assign to such as he thought proper a\nportion of this inexhaustible source of merit, suitable to their\nrespective guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from the punishment due\nto their crimes.\" Concerning the fallacy of this doctrine the author has\nwritten (_The Great Apostasy_, 9:15), in this wise: \"This doctrine of\nsupererogation is as unreasonable as it is unscriptural and untrue.\nMan's individual responsibility for his acts is as surely a fact as is\nhis agency to act for himself. He will be saved through the merits and\nby the atoning sacrifice of our Redeemer and Lord; and his claim upon\nthe salvation provided is strictly dependent on his compliance with the\nprinciples and ordinances of the gospel as established by Jesus Christ.\nRemission of sins and the eventual salvation of the human soul are\nprovided for; but these gifts of God are not to be purchased with money.\nCompare the awful fallacies of supererogation and the blasphemous\npractise of assuming to remit the sins of one man in consideration of\nthe merits of another, with the declaration of the one and only Savior\nof mankind: 'But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall\nspeak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.'\" If\nconclusions as to doctrine may be drawn from our Lord's parables, the\nparable of the Ten Virgins affords refutation of the Satanic suggestion\nthat one man's sin may be neutralized by another's righteousness. We\nknow no supererogation but that of the Lord Jesus Christ, through whose\nmerits salvation is placed within the reach of all men.\n\n5. \"This Generation.\"--Consult any reliable unabridged dictionary of the\nEnglish language for evidence of the fact that the term \"generation,\" as\nconnoting a period of time, has many meanings, among which are \"race,\nkind, class.\" The term is not confined to a body of people living at one\ntime. Fausett's _Bible Cyclopedia, Critical and Expository_, after\nciting many meanings attached to the word, says: \"In Matthew 24:34 'this\ngeneration shall not pass (viz. the Jewish race, of which the generation\nin Christ's days was a sample in character; compare Christ's address to\nthe \"generation,\" 23:35, 36, in proof that \"generation\" means at times\nthe whole Jewish race) till all these things be fulfilled'--a prophecy\nthat the Jews shall be a distinct people still when He shall come\nagain.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1150] Matt. 24:3-51; Mark 13:3-37: Luke 21:5-35. Compare P. of G.P.,\nJoseph Smith, 1.\n\n[1151] Mark 13:11; compare Matt. 10:19, 20; Luke 12:11, 12; 21:14, 15.\n\n[1152] Luke 21:19; compare Doc. and Cov. 101:38.\n\n[1153] Dan. 9:27.\n\n[1154] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1155] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1156] Matt. 24:27; compare Luke 17:22-24.\n\n[1157] The \"body,\" as that of the Church, is rendered \"carcase\" in both\nauthorized and revised versions. For the application of the figure--of\neagles gathering about a carcase--to the assembling of scattered Israel,\nsee P. of G.P., Joseph Smith, 1:27, where we read: \"so likewise shall\nmine elect be gathered from the four quarters of the earth.\" Among Bible\nscholars, a favorite interpretation of the passage, \"For wheresoever the\ncarcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together,\" is that Christ\nwas likening unto eagles (revised version \"vultures\") the angels that\nshall come with Him to execute judgment upon mankind, and unto a carcase\nthe corruption of sin. See Matt. 24:28; compare Luke 17:37.\n\n[1158] Matt. 24:35; compare 5:18; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; compare 16:17;\nsee also Heb. 1:10, 11; 2 Peter 3:7-10; Rev. 21:1. Note 5, end of\nchapter.\n\n[1159] This is Mark's version; in the parallel passage Matt. 24:36, the\nwords \"neither the Son\" are not found in the King James text, but do\nappear in the revised version. See Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1160] Page 441.\n\n[1161] Matt. 24:45-51; Mark 13:34-37; Luke 21:34-36, compare 12:35-48.\n\n[1162] Matt. 25:1-13.\n\n[1163] Compare Rev. 21:2, 9; 22:17; see also Matt. 9:15; John 3:29.\n\n[1164] See Parable of the Sower, Matt. 13:5, 6, 20, 21; page 282 herein.\n\n[1165] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1166] Compare John 10:14.\n\n[1167] Doc. and Cov. 45:56-59; see also 63:53, 54.\n\n[1168] Matt. 25:14-30.\n\n[1169] Luke 19:12-27; see also page 508 herein.\n\n[1170] Margin, revised version.\n\n[1171] 1 Cor. 12:4; study the entire chapter.\n\n[1172] Luke 12:48.\n\n[1173] Luke 19:22; compare Matt. 12:37.\n\n[1174] Matt. 25:31-46.\n\n[1175] Matt. 13:24-30; page 286 herein.\n\n[1176] Page 286.\n\n[1177] The revised version reads \"another country\" instead of \"a far\ncountry,\" in Matt. 25:14.\n\n[1178] Matt. 26:2.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 33.\n\nTHE LAST SUPPER AND THE BETRAYAL.\n\n\nPRIESTLY CONSPIRATORS AND THE TRAITOR.\n\nAs the time for the annual Feast of the Passover approached, and\nparticularly during the two days immediately preceding the beginning of\nthe festival, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people, in\nshort the Sanhedrin and the entire priestly party, conspired\npersistently together as to the best manner of taking Jesus into custody\nand putting Him to death. At one of these gatherings of evil counsel,\nwhich was held at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas,[1179] it was\ndecided that Jesus should be taken by subtlety if possible, as the\nprobable effect of an open arrest would be an uprising of the people.\nThe rulers feared especially an outbreak by the Galileans, who had a\nprovincial pride in the prominence of Jesus as one of their countrymen,\nand many of whom were then in Jerusalem. It was further concluded and\nfor the same reasons, that the Jewish custom of making impressive\nexamples of notable offenders by executing public punishment upon them\nat times of great general assemblages, be set aside in the case of\nJesus; therefore the conspirators said: \"Not on the feast day, lest\nthere be an uproar among the people.\"[1180]\n\nOn earlier occasions they had made futile attempts to get Jesus into\ntheir hands;[1181] and they were naturally dubious as to the outcome of\ntheir later machinations. At this juncture they were encouraged and\ngladdened in their wicked plots by the appearance of an unexpected ally.\nJudas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, sought an audience with these rulers\nof the Jews, and infamously offered to betray his Lord into their\nhands.[1182] Under the impulse of diabolic avarice, which, however, was\nprobably but a secondary element in the real cause of his perfidious\ntreachery, he bargained to sell his Master for money, and chaffered with\nthe priestly purchasers over the price of the Savior's blood. \"What will\nye give me?\" he asked; \"and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces\nof silver.\"[1183] This amount, approximately seventeen dollars in our\nmoney, but of many times greater purchasing power with the Jews in that\nday than now with us, was the price fixed by the law as that of a slave;\nit was also the foreseen sum of the blood-money to be paid for the\nLord's betrayal.[1184] That the silver was actually paid to Judas,\neither at this first interview or at some later meeting between the\ntraitor and the priests, is demonstrated by after events.[1185]\n\nHe had pledged himself to the blackest deed of treachery of which man is\ncapable, and from that hour he sought the opportunity of superseding his\ninfamous promise by its more villainous fulfilment. We are yet to be\nafflicted by other glimpses of the evil-hearted Iscariot in the course\nof this dread chronicle of tragedy and perdition; for the present let it\nbe said that before Judas sold Christ to the Jews, he had sold himself\nto the devil; he had become Satan's serf, and did his master's bidding.\n\n\nTHE LAST SUPPER.\n\nThe day preceding the eating of the passover lamb had come to be known\namong the Jews as the first day of the feast of unleavened bread,[1186]\nsince on that day all leaven had to be removed from their dwellings, and\nthereafter for a period of eight days the eating of anything containing\nleaven was unlawful. On the afternoon of this day, the paschal lambs\nwere slain within the temple court, by the representatives of families\nor companies who were to eat together; and a portion of the blood of\neach lamb was sprinkled at the foot of the altar of sacrifice by one of\nthe numerous priests on duty for the day. The slain lamb, then said to\nhave been sacrificed, was borne away to the appointed gathering place of\nthose by whom it was to be eaten. During the first of the days of\nunleavened bread, which in the year of our Lord's death appears to have\nfallen on Thursday,[1187] some of the Twelve inquired of Jesus where\nthey should make preparations for the paschal meal.[1188] He instructed\nPeter and John to return to Jerusalem, and added: \"Behold, when ye are\nentered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of\nwater; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say\nunto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the\nguest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he\nshall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they\nwent, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the\npassover.\"\n\nIn the evening, Thursday evening as we reckon time, but the beginning of\nFriday according to the Jewish calendar,[1189] Jesus came with the\nTwelve, and together they sat down to the last meal of which the Lord\nwould partake before His death. Under strain of profound emotion, \"He\nsaid unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you\nbefore I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof,\nuntil it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and\ngave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: for I\nsay unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the\nkingdom of God shall come.\" The pronouncing of a blessing by the host\nupon a cup of wine, which was afterward passed round the table to each\nparticipant in turn, was the customary manner of beginning the Passover\nsupper. At this solemn meal Jesus appears to have observed the\nessentials of the Passover procedure; but we have no record of His\ncompliance with the many supernumerary requirements with which the\ndivinely established memorial of Israel's deliverance from bondage had\nbeen invested by traditional custom and rabbinical prescription. As we\nshall see, the evening's proceedings in that upper room comprized much\nbeside the ordinary observance of an annual festival.\n\nThe supper proceeded under conditions of tense sadness. As they ate, the\nLord sorrowfully remarked: \"Verily I say unto you, One of you which\neateth with me shall betray me.\" Most of the apostles fell into a state\nof introspection; and one after another exclaimed: \"Is it I?\" \"Lord, is\nit I?\" It is pleasing to note that each of those who so inquired was\nmore concerned with the dread thought that possibly he was an offender,\nhowever inadvertently so, than as to whether his brother was about to\nprove himself a traitor. Jesus answered that it was one of the Twelve,\nthen and there eating with Him from the common dish, and continued with\nthe terrifying pronouncement: \"The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is\nwritten of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!\ngood were it for that man if he had never been born.\" Then Judas\nIscariot, who had already covenanted to sell his Master for money, and\nwho at this moment probably feared that silence might arouse suspicion\nagainst himself, asked with a brazen audacity that was veritably\ndevilish: \"Master, is it I?\" With cutting promptness the Lord replied:\n\"Thou hast said.\"[1190]\n\nThere was further cause of sorrow to Jesus at the supper. Some of the\nTwelve had fallen into muttering dispute among themselves over the\nmatter of individual precedence,[1191] possibly as to the order in which\nthey should take their places at table, over which triviality scribes\nand Pharisees as well as the Gentiles often quarreled;[1192] and again\nthe Lord had to remind the apostles that the greatest of them all was he\nwho most willingly served his fellows. They had been taught before; yet\nnow, at this late and solemn hour, they were suffused with vain and\nselfish ambition. In sorrowful earnestness the Lord pleaded with them,\nasking who is greater, he that sits at the table, or he that serves? And\nthe obvious reply He supplemented by the statement: \"But I am among you\nas he that serveth.\" With loving pathos He added: \"Ye are they which\nhave continued with me in my temptations;\"[1193] and then He assured\nthem that they should lack neither honor nor glory in the kingdom of\nGod, for if they proved faithful they should be appointed to thrones as\nthe judges of Israel. For those of His chosen ones who were true to Him,\nthe Lord had no feeling less than that of love, and of yearning for\ntheir victory over Satan and sin.\n\n\nTHE ORDINANCE OF THE WASHING OF FEET[1194]\n\nLeaving the table, the Lord laid aside His outer garments and girded\nHimself with a towel as an apron; then having provided Himself with a\nbasin and a supply of water, He knelt before each of the Twelve in turn,\nwashed his feet, and wiped them with the towel. When He reached Peter,\nthat impulsive apostle protested, saying: \"Lord, dost thou wash my\nfeet?\" That the proceeding was something more than mere service for\npersonal comfort, and more than an object-lesson of humility, appears in\nthe Lord's words to Peter--\"What I do thou knowest not now; but thou\nshalt know hereafter.\" Peter, failing to understand, objected yet more\nvehemently; \"Thou shalt never wash my feet,\" he exclaimed. Jesus\nanswered: \"If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.\" Then, with\neven greater impetuosity than before, Peter implored as he stretched\nforth both feet and hands, \"Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands\nand my head.\" He had gone to the other extreme, insisting, though\nignorantly and unthinkingly, that things be done his way, and failing\nyet to see that the ordinance had to be administered as the Lord willed.\nAgain correcting His well-intending though presumptuous servant, Jesus\nsaid to him: \"He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but\nis clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.\" Each of them had\nbeen immersed at baptism; the washing of feet was an ordinance\npertaining to the Holy Priesthood, the full import of which they had yet\nto learn.[1195]\n\nHaving resumed His garments and returned to His place at the table,\nJesus impressed the significance of what he had done, saying: \"Ye call\nme Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord\nand Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's\nfeet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done\nto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than\nhis lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye\nknow these things, happy are ye if ye do them.\"[1196]\n\n\nTHE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.[1197]\n\nWhile Jesus with the Twelve still sat at table, He took a loaf or cake\nof bread, and having reverently given thanks and by blessing sanctified\nit, He gave a portion to each of the apostles, saying: \"Take, eat; this\nis my body\"; or, according to the more extended account, \"This is my\nbody which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.\" Then, taking\na cup of wine, He gave thanks and blessed it, and gave it unto them with\nthe command: \"Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new\ntestament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say\nunto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until\nthat day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.\"[1198] In\nthis simple but impressive manner was instituted the ordinance, since\nknown as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The bread and wine, duly\nconsecrated by prayer, become emblems of the Lord's body and blood, to\nbe eaten and drunk reverently, and in remembrance of Him.\n\nThe proceedings at the institution of this sacred rite were afterward\nrevealed to Paul the apostle, whose recorded testimony as to its\nestablishment and sanctity is in accord with the accounts given by the\nGospel-writers.[1199] As shall be hereinafter shown, the ordinance was\ninstituted by the Lord among the Nephites, on the western continent, and\nhas been reestablished in the present dispensation.[1200] During the\ndark ages of apostasy, unauthorized changes in the administration of the\nSacrament were introduced, and many false doctrines as to its meaning\nand effect were promulgated.[1201]\n\n\nTHE BETRAYER GOES OUT INTO THE NIGHT.[1202]\n\nIn saying to the Twelve, whose feet He had washed, \"Ye are clean,\" the\nLord had specified an exception by His after remark, \"but not all.\"\nJohn, the recorder, takes care to explain that Jesus had in mind the\ntraitor, and, \"therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.\" The guilty\nIscariot had received without protest the Lord's service in the washing\nof his recreant feet, though after the ablution he was spiritually more\nfilthy than before. When Jesus had again sat down, the burden of His\nknowledge concerning the treacherous heart of Judas again found\nexpression. \"I speak not of you all,\" He said, \"I know whom I have\nchosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread\nwith me hath lifted up his heel against me.\"[1203] The Lord was intent\non impressing the fact of His foreknowledge as to what was to come, so\nthat when the terrible development was an accomplished fact, the\napostles would realize that thereby the scriptures had been fulfilled.\nTroubled in spirit, He reiterated the dreadful assertion that one of\nthose present would betray Him. Peter made signs to John, who occupied\nthe place next to Jesus and was at that moment leaning his head on the\nLord's breast, that he ask which of them was the traitor. To John's\nwhispered inquiry the Lord replied: \"He it is, to whom I shall give a\nsop, when I have dipped it.\"\n\nThere was nothing unusual for a person at table, particularly the host,\nto dip a piece of bread into the dish of gravy or savory mixture, and\nhand it to another. Such action on the part of Jesus attracted no\ngeneral attention. He dipped the morsel of bread and gave it to Judas\nIscariot, with the words: \"That thou doest, do quickly.\" The others\nunderstood the Lord's remark as an instruction to Judas to attend to\nsome duty or go upon some errand of ordinary kind, perhaps to purchase\nsomething for the further celebration of the Passover, or to carry gifts\nto some of the poor, for Judas was the treasurer of the party and \"had\nthe bag.\" But Iscariot understood. His heart was all the more hardened\nby the discovery that Jesus knew of his infamous plans, and he was\nmaddened by the humiliation he felt in the Master's presence. After the\nsop, which he had opened his mouth to receive from the Lord's hand,\n\"Satan entered into him\" and asserted malignant mastership. Judas went\nout immediately, abandoning forever the blessed company of his brethren\nand the Lord. John chronicles the traitor's departure with the terse and\nominous remark, \"and it was night.\"\n\n\nDISCOURSE FOLLOWING THE SUPPER.\n\nThe departure of Judas Iscariot appears to have dissipated to some\ndegree the cloud of utter sadness by which the little company had been\ndepressed; and our Lord Himself was visibly relieved. As soon as the\ndoor had closed upon the retreating deserter, Jesus exclaimed, as though\nHis victory over death had been already accomplished: \"Now is the Son of\nman glorified, and God is glorified in him.\" Addressing the Eleven in\nterms of parental affection, He said: \"Little children, yet a little\nwhile I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews,\nWhither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I\ngive unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye\nalso love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my\ndisciples, if ye have love one to another.\"[1204] The law of Moses\nenjoined mutual love among friends and neighbors;[1205] but the new\ncommandment, by which the apostles were to be governed, embodied love of\na higher order. They were to love one another as Christ loved them; and\ntheir brotherly affection was to be a distinguishing mark of their\napostleship, by which the world would recognize them as men set apart.\n\nThe Lord's reference to His impending separation from them troubled the\nbrethren. Peter put the question, \"Lord, whither goest thou?\" Jesus\nanswered: \"Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt\nfollow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow\nthee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.\" Peter seems to have\nrealized that his Master was going to His death; yet, undeterred, he\nasserted his readiness to follow even that dark way rather than be\nseparated from his Lord. We cannot doubt the earnestness of Peter's\npurpose nor the sincerity of his desire at that moment. In his bold\navowal, however, he had reckoned with the willingness of his spirit\nonly, and had failed to take into full account the weakness of his\nflesh. Jesus, who knew Peter better than the man knew himself, thus\ntenderly reproved his excess of self-confidence: \"Simon, Simon, behold,\nSatan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I\nhave prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art\nconverted, strengthen thy brethren.\" The first of the apostles, the Man\nof Rock, yet had to be converted, or as more precisely rendered, \"turned\nagain\";[1206] for as the Lord foresaw, Peter would soon be overcome,\neven to the extent of denying his acquaintanceship with Christ. When\nPeter stoutly declared again his readiness to go with Jesus, even into\nprison or to death, the Lord silenced him with the remark: \"I tell thee,\nPeter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice\ndeny that thou knowest me.\"\n\nThe apostles had to be prepared to meet a new order of things, new\nconditions and new exigencies; persecution awaited them, and they were\nsoon to be bereft of the Master's sustaining presence. Jesus asked of\nthem: \"When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye\nanything? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he\nthat hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that\nhath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto\nyou, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he\nwas reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have\nan end.\" The Lord was soon to be numbered among the transgressors, as\nhad been foreseen;[1207] and His disciples would be regarded as the\ndevotees of an executed criminal. In the mention of purse, scrip, shoes,\nand sword, some of the brethren caught at the literal meaning, and said,\n\"Lord, behold, here are two swords,\" Jesus answered with curt finality,\n\"It is enough,\" or as we might say, \"Enough of this.\" He had not\nintimated any immediate need of weapons, and most assuredly not for His\nown defense. Again they had failed to fathom His meaning; but experience\nwould later teach them.[1208]\n\nFor such information as we have concerning the last discourse delivered\nby Jesus to the apostles before His crucifixion, we are indebted to John\nalone among the Gospel-writers; and every reader is advized to study\nwith care the three chapters in which these sublime utterances are\npreserved for the enlightenment of mankind.[1209] Observing the\nsorrowful state of the Eleven, the Master bade them be of good cheer,\ngrounding their encouragement and hope on faith in Himself. \"Let not\nyour heart be troubled,\" He said, \"ye believe in God, believe also in\nme.\" Then, as though drawing aside the veil between the earthly and the\nheavenly state and giving His faithful servants a glimpse of conditions\nbeyond, He continued: \"In my Father's house are many mansions; if it\nwere not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And\nif I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you\nunto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye\nknow, and the way ye know.\"[1210] Thus in language simple and plain the\nLord declared the fact of graded conditions in the hereafter, of variety\nof occupation and degrees of glory, of place and station in the eternal\nworlds.[1211] He had affirmed His own inherent Godship, and through\ntheir trust in Him and obedience to His requirements would they find the\nway to follow whither He was about to precede them. Thomas, that loving,\nbrave, though somewhat skeptical soul, desiring more definite\ninformation ventured to say: \"Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and\nhow can we know the way?\" The Lord's answer was a reaffirmation of His\ndivinity; \"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the\nFather, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father\nalso: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.\"\n\nAt this point Philip interposed with the request, \"Lord, shew us the\nFather, and it sufficeth us.\" Jesus answered with pathetic and mild\nreproof: \"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known\nme, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest\nthou then, Shew us the Father?\" He was grieved by the thought that His\nnearest and dearest friends on earth, those upon whom He had conferred\nthe authority of the Holy Priesthood, should be yet ignorant of His\nabsolute oneness with the Father in purpose and action. Had the Eternal\nFather stood amongst them, in Person, under the conditions there\nexisting, He would have done as did the Well Beloved and Only Begotten\nSon, whom they knew as Jesus, their Lord and Master. So absolutely were\nthe Father and the Son of one heart and mind, that to know either was to\nknow both; nevertheless the Father could be reached only through the\nSon. So far as the apostles had faith in Christ, and did His will,\nshould they be able to do the works that Christ in the flesh had done,\nand even greater things, for His mortal mission was of but a few hours\nfurther duration, and the unfolding of the divine plan of the ages would\ncall for yet greater miracles than those wrought by Jesus in the brief\nperiod of His ministry.\n\nFor the first time the Lord directed His disciples to pray in His name\nto the Father, and assurance of success in righteous supplication was\ngiven in these words: \"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will\nI do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any\nthing in my name, I will do it.\"[1212] The name of Jesus Christ was to\nbe thenceforth the divinely established talisman by which the powers of\nheaven could be invoked to operate in any righteous undertaking.\n\nThe Holy Ghost was promised to the apostles; He would be sent through\nChrist's intercession, to be to them \"another Comforter,\" or as rendered\nin later translations, \"another Advocate\" or \"Helper,\" even the Spirit\nof Truth, who, though the world would reject Him as they had rejected\nthe Christ, should dwell with the disciples, and in them even as Christ\nthen dwelt in them and the Father in Him. \"I will not leave you\ncomfortless,\" Jesus assured the brethren, \"I will come to you. Yet a\nlittle while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I\nlive, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my\nFather, and ye in me, and I in you.\"[1213] This was followed by the\nassurance that Christ though unknown by the world would manifest Himself\nto those who loved Him and kept His commandments.\n\nJudas Thaddeus, otherwise known as Lebbeus,[1214] \"not Iscariot,\" as the\nrecorder is careful to particularize, was puzzled over the untraditional\nand un-Jewish thought of a Messiah who would be known but to the chosen\nfew and not to Israel at large; and he asked: \"Lord, how is it that thou\nwilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?\" Jesus explained\nthat His and the Father's companionship was attainable only by the\nfaithful. He further cheered the apostles by the promise that when the\nComforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father would send in the name of the\nSon, would come to them, He would teach them further, and would bring to\ntheir remembrance the teachings they had received from the Christ. The\ndistinct personality of each member of the Godhead, Father, Son, and\nHoly Ghost, is here again plainly shown.[1215] Comforting the yet\ntroubled disciples, Jesus said: \"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give\nunto you\"; and that they might realize that this meant more than the\nconventional salutation of the times, for \"Peace be with you\" was an\nevery-day greeting among the Jews, the Lord affirmed that He gave that\ninvocation in a higher sense, and \"not as the world giveth.\" Again\nbidding them put aside their grief and be not afraid, Jesus added: \"Ye\nhave heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If\nye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for\nmy Father is greater than I.\" The Lord made clear to His servants that\nHe had told them these things beforehand, so that when the predicted\nevents came to pass the apostles would be confirmed in their faith in\nHim, the Christ. He had time to say but little more, for the next hour\nwould witness the beginning of the supreme struggle; \"the prince of this\nworld cometh,\" He said, and with triumphal joy added, \"and hath nothing\nin me.\"[1216]\n\nIn superb allegory the Lord thus proceeded to illustrate the vital\nrelationship between the apostles and Himself, and between Himself and\nthe Father, by the figure of a vine-grower, a vine, and its\nbranches:[1217] \"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.\nEvery branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every\nbranch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it,[1218] that it may bring forth\nmore fruit.\" A grander analogy is not to be found in the world's\nliterature. Those ordained servants of the Lord were as helpless and\nuseless without Him as is a bough severed from the tree. As the branch\nis made fruitful only by virtue of the nourishing sap it receives from\nthe rooted trunk, and if cut away or broken off withers, dries, and\nbecomes utterly worthless except as fuel for the burning, so those men,\nthough ordained to the Holy Apostleship, would find themselves strong\nand fruitful in good works, only as they remained in steadfast communion\nwith the Lord. Without Christ what were they, but unschooled Galileans,\nsome of them fishermen, one a publican, the rest of undistinguished\nattainments, and all of them weak mortals? As branches of the Vine they\nwere at that hour clean and healthful, through the instructions and\nauthoritative ordinances with which they had been blessed, and by the\nreverent obedience they had manifested.\n\n\"Abide in me,\" was the Lord's forceful admonition, else they would\nbecome but withered boughs. \"I am the vine,\" He added in explication of\nthe allegory \"ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,\nthe same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If\na man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;\nand men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.\nIf ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,\nand it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye\nbear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples.\" Their love for one\nanother was again specified as an essential to their continued love for\nChrist.[1219] In that love would they find joy. Christ had been to them\nan exemplar of righteous love from the day of their first meeting; and\nHe was about to give the supreme proof of His affection, as foreshadowed\nin His words, \"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down\nhis life for his friends.\" And that those men were the Lord's friends\nwas thus graciously affirmed; \"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I\ncommand you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth\nnot what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things\nthat I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.\" This\nintimate relationship in no sense modified the position of Christ as\ntheir Lord and Master, for by Him they had been chosen and ordained; and\nit was His will that they should so live that whatever they asked in the\nname of the holy friendship which He acknowledged should be granted them\nof the Father.\n\nThey were again told of the persecutions that awaited them, and of their\napostolic calling as special and individual witnesses of the Lord.[1220]\nThat the world then did, and would yet more intensely hate them was a\nfact they had to face; but they were to remember that the world had\nhated their Master before them, and that they had been chosen and by\nordination had been set apart from the world; therefore they must not\nhope to escape the world's hatred. The servant was not greater than his\nmaster, nor the apostle than his Lord, as on general principles they\nknew, and as they had been specifically told. They that hated them hated\nthe Christ; and they that hated the Son hated the Father; great shall be\nthe condemnation of such. Had the wicked Jews not closed their eyes and\nstopped their ears to the mighty works and gracious words of the\nMessiah, they would have been convinced of the truth, and the truth\nwould have saved them; but they were left without cloak or excuse for\ntheir sin; and Christ affirmed that in their evil course had the\nscriptures been fulfilled in that they had hated Him without a\ncause.[1221] Then, reverting to the great and cheering promise of\nsupport through the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord said: \"But when\nthe Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even\nthe Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify\nof me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from\nthe beginning.\"\n\nThese things had Jesus declared unto them that they might not \"be\noffended,\" or in other words, taken by surprize, misled, and caused to\ndoubt and stumble by the unprecedented events then impending. The\napostles were forewarned of persecution, of their expulsion from the\nsynagogs, and of a time in which hatred against them should be so bitter\nand the Satanic darkness of mind and spirit so dense that whosoever\nsucceeded in killing one of them would profess that his foul deed had\nbeen done in God's service. In view of their overwhelming sorrow at the\nLord's departure, He sought again to cheer them, saying: \"Nevertheless I\ntell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go\nnot away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will\nsend him unto you.\"\n\nThe assured descent of the Holy Ghost, through whom they should be made\nstrong to meet every need and emergency, was the inspiring theme of this\npart of the Lord's discourse. Many things which Christ yet had to say to\nHis apostles, but which they were at that time unable to understand, the\nHoly Ghost would teach them. \"Howbeit,\" said Jesus, \"when he, the Spirit\nof truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not\nspeak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and\nhe will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall\nreceive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father\nhath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall\nshew it unto you.\"[1222]\n\nTurning again to the matter of His departure, then so near as to be\nreckoned by hours, the Lord said, in amplified form of what He had\nbefore affirmed: \"A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a\nlittle while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.\"[1223]\nThe apostles pondered and some questioned among themselves as to the\nLord's meaning, yet so deep was the solemnity of the occasion that they\nventured no open inquiry. Jesus knew of their perplexity and graciously\nexplained that they would soon weep and lament while the world rejoiced;\nthis had reference to His death; but He promised that their sorrow\nshould be turned into joy; and this was based on His resurrection to\nwhich they should be witnesses. He compared their then present and\nprospective state to that of a woman in travail, who in the after joy of\nblessed motherhood forgets her anguish. The happiness that awaited them\nwould be beyond the power of man to take away; and thenceforth they\nshould ask not of Christ alone, but of the Father in Christ's name;\n\"And,\" said the Lord, \"in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily,\nverily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,\nhe will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and\nye shall receive, that your joy may be full.\"[1224] They were to be\nadvanced to such honor and exalted recognition that they should approach\nthe Father in prayer direct, but in the name of the Son; for they were\nbeloved of the Father because they had loved Jesus, the Son, and had\naccepted Him as One sent by the Father.\n\nThe Lord again solemnly averred: \"I came forth from the Father, and am\ncome into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.\"\nThe disciples were gratified at this plain avouchment, and exclaimed:\n\"Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure\nthat thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask\nthee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.\" Their\nsatisfaction threatened danger through over-confidence; and the Lord\ncautioned them, saying, that in an hour then close they should all be\nscattered, every man to his own, leaving Jesus alone, except for the\nFather's presence. In the same connection He told them that before the\nnight had passed every one of them would be offended because of Him,\neven as it had been written: \"I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep\nof the flock shall be scattered abroad.\"[1225] Peter, the most vehement\nof all in his protestations, had been told, as we have seen, that by\ncock-crow that night he would have thrice denied his Lord; but all of\nthem had declared they would be faithful whatever the trial.[1226] In\nfurther affirmation of the material actuality of His resurrection, Jesus\npromised the apostles that after He had risen from the grave He would go\nbefore them into Galilee.[1227]\n\nIn conclusion of this last and most solemn of the discourses delivered\nby Christ in the flesh, the Lord said: \"These things I have spoken unto\nyou, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have\ntribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.\"[1228]\n\n\nTHE CONCLUDING PRAYER.\n\nThe impressive discourse to the apostles was followed by a prayer such\nas could be addressed to none but the Eternal Father, and such as none\nbut the Son of that Father could offer.[1229] It has been called, and\nnot inappropriately, the Lord's High-Priestly Prayer. In it Jesus\nacknowledged the Father as the source of His power and authority, which\nauthority extends even to the giving of eternal life to all who are\nworthy: \"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only\ntrue God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.\" By way of reverent\nreport as to the work assigned Him, the Son said: \"I have glorified thee\non the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And\nnow, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which\nI had with thee before the world was.\" With unfathomable love the Lord\npleaded for those whom the Father had given Him, the apostles then\npresent, who had been called out from the world, and who had been true\nto their testimony of Himself as the Son of God. Of them but one, the\nson of perdition, had been lost. In the fervor of devoted supplication,\nthe Lord pleaded:\n\n    \"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but\n    that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the\n    world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy\n    truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world,\n    even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their\n    sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified\n    through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them\n    also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all\n    may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they\n    also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast\n    sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;\n    that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in\n    me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may\n    know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast\n    loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given\n    me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which\n    thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of\n    the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee:\n    but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent\n    me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it:\n    that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I\n    in them.\"\n\nWhen they had sung a hymn, Jesus and the Eleven went out to the Mount of\nOlives.[1230]\n\n\nTHE LORD'S AGONY IN GETHSEMANE.[1231]\n\nJesus and the eleven apostles went forth from the house in which they\nhad eaten, passed through the city gate, which was usually left open at\nnight during a public festival, crossed the ravine of the Cedron, or\nmore accurately Kidron, brook, and entered an olive orchard known as\nGethsemane,[1232] on the slope of Mount Olivet. Eight of the apostles He\nleft at or near the entrance, with the instruction: \"Sit ye here, while\nI go and pray yonder\"; and with the earnest injunction: \"Pray that ye\nenter not into temptation.\" Accompanied by Peter, James and John, He\nwent farther; and was soon enveloped by deep sorrow, which appears to\nhave been, in a measure, surprizing to Himself, for we read that He\n\"began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy.\" He was impelled to deny\nHimself the companionship of even the chosen three; and, \"Saith he unto\nthem, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here,\nand watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face,\nand prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass\nfrom me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.\" Mark's version\nof the prayer is: \"Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take\naway this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou\nwilt.\"[1233]\n\nThis part of His impassioned supplication was heard by at least one of\nthe waiting three; but all of them soon yielded to weariness and ceased\nto watch. As on the Mount of Transfiguration, when the Lord appeared in\nglory, so now in the hour of His deepest humiliation, these three\nslumbered. Returning to them in an agony of soul Jesus found them\nsleeping; and addressing Peter, who so short a time before had loudly\nproclaimed his readiness to follow the Lord even to prison and death,\nJesus exclaimed: \"What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and\npray, that ye enter not into temptation\"; but in tenderness added, \"the\nspirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.\" The admonition to the\napostles to pray at that time lest they be led into temptation may have\nbeen prompted by the exigencies of the hour, under which, if left to\nthemselves, they would be tempted to prematurely desert their Lord.\n\nAroused from slumber the three apostles saw the Lord again retire, and\nheard Him pleading in agony: \"O my Father, if this cup may not pass away\nfrom me, except I drink it, thy will be done.\" Returning a second time\nHe found those whom He had so sorrowfully requested to watch with Him\nsleeping again, \"for their eyes were heavy\"; and when awakened they were\nembarrassed or ashamed so that they wist not what to say. A third time\nHe went to His lonely vigil and individual struggle, and was heard to\nimplore the Father with the same words of yearning entreaty. Luke tells\nus that \"there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening\nhim\"; but not even the presence of this super-earthly visitant could\ndispel the awful anguish of His soul. \"And being in an agony he prayed\nmore earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood\nfalling down to the ground.\"[1234]\n\nPeter had had a glimpse of the darksome road which he had professed\nhimself so ready to tread; and the brothers James and John knew now\nbetter than before how unprepared they were to drink of the cup which\nthe Lord would drain to its dregs.[1235]\n\nWhen for the last time Jesus came back to the disciples left on guard,\nHe said: \"Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand,\nand the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.\" There was no\nuse of further watching; already the torches of the approaching band\nconducted by Judas were observable in the distance. Jesus exclaimed:\n\"Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.\"\nStanding with the Eleven, the Lord calmly awaited the traitor's coming.\n\nChrist's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as\nto intensity and cause. The thought that He suffered through fear of\ndeath is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection and\ntriumphal return to the Father from whom He had come, and to a state of\nglory even beyond what He had before possessed; and, moreover, it was\nwithin His power to lay down His life voluntarily.[1236] He struggled\nand groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth\nmight even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental\nanguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an\nextrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such\nas only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his\npowers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his\nhuman organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced\nunconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met\nand overcame all the horrors that Satan, \"the prince of this\nworld\"[1237] could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to the\ntemptations immediately following the Lord's baptism[1238] was surpassed\nand overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil.\n\nIn some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible,\nthe Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam\nto the end of the world. Modern revelation assists us to a partial\nunderstanding of the awful experience. In March 1830, the glorified\nLord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: \"For behold, I, God, have suffered these\nthings for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if\nthey would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering\ncaused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of\npain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit:\nand would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--\nnevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my\npreparations unto the children of men.\"[1239]\n\nFrom the terrible conflict in Gethsemane, Christ emerged a victor.\nThough in the dark tribulation of that fearful hour He had pleaded that\nthe bitter cup be removed from His lips, the request, however oft\nrepeated, was always conditional; the accomplishment of the Father's\nwill was never lost sight of as the object of the Son's supreme desire.\nThe further tragedy of the night, and the cruel inflictions that awaited\nHim on the morrow, to culminate in the frightful tortures of the cross,\ncould not exceed the bitter anguish through which He had successfully\npassed.\n\n\nTHE BETRAYAL AND THE ARREST.[1240]\n\nDuring the period of the Lord's last and most loving communion with the\nEleven, Judas had been busy in his treacherous conspiracy with the\npriestly authorities. It is probable that the determination to make the\narrest that night was reached when Judas reported that Jesus was within\nthe city walls and might easily be apprehended. The Jewish rulers\nassembled a body of temple guardsmen or police, and obtained a band of\nRoman soldiers under command of a tribune; this band or cohort was\nprobably a detachment from the garrison of Antonia commissioned for the\nwork of the night on requisition of the chief priests.[1241] This\ncompany of men and officers representing a combination of ecclesiastical\nand military authority, set forth in the night with Judas at their head,\nintent on the arrest of Jesus. They were equipped with lanterns,\ntorches, and weapons. It is probable that they were first conducted to\nthe house in which Judas had left his fellow apostles and the Lord, when\nthe traitor had been dismissed; and that finding the little company had\ngone out, Judas led the multitude to Gethsemane, for he knew the place,\nand knew also that \"Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.\"\n\nWhile Jesus was yet speaking to the Eleven whom He had roused from\nslumber with the announcement that the betrayer was at hand, Judas and\nthe multitude approached. As a preconcerted sign of identification the\nrecreant Iscariot, with treacherous duplicity, came up with a\nhypocritical show of affection, saying, \"Hail, master,\" and profaned his\nLord's sacred face with a kiss.[1242] That Jesus understood the\ntreacherous significance of the act appears in His pathetic, yet\npiercing and condemning reproach: \"Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man\nwith a kiss?\" Then, applying the title with which the other apostles had\nbeen honored, the Lord said: Friend, do that for which thou art\ncome.[1243] It was a reiteration of the behest given at the supper\ntable, \"That thou doest, do quickly.\"\n\nThe armed band hesitated, though their guide had given the signal agreed\nupon. Jesus walked toward the officers, with whom stood Judas, and\nasked, \"Whom seek ye?\" To their reply, \"Jesus of Nazareth,\" the Lord\nrejoined: \"I am he.\" Instead of advancing to take Him, the crowd pressed\nbackward, and many of them fell to the ground in fright. The simple\ndignity and gentle yet compelling force of Christ's presence proved more\npotent than strong arms and weapons of violence. Again He put the\nquestion, \"Whom seek ye?\" and again they answered, \"Jesus of Nazareth.\"\nThen said Jesus: \"I have told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me,\nlet these go their way.\" The last remark had reference to the apostles,\nwho were in danger of arrest; and in this evidence of Christ's\nsolicitude for their personal safety, John saw a fulfilment of the\nLord's then recent utterance in prayer, \"Of them which thou gavest me\nhave I lost none.\"[1244] It is possible that had any of the Eleven been\napprehended with Jesus and made to share the cruel abuse and torturing\nhumiliation of the next few hours, their faith might have failed them,\nrelatively immature and untried as it then was; even as in succeeding\nyears many who took upon themselves the name of Christ yielded to\npersecution and went into apostasy.[1245]\n\nWhen the officers approached and seized Jesus, some of the apostles,\nready to fight and die for their beloved Master, asked, \"Lord, shall we\nsmite with the sword?\" Peter, waiting not for a reply, drew his sword\nand delivered a poorly aimed stroke at the head of one of the nearest of\nthe crowd, whose ear was severed by the blade. The man thus wounded was\nMalchus, a servant of the high priest. Jesus, asking liberty of His\ncaptors by the simple request, \"Suffer ye thus far,\"[1246] stepped\nforward and healed the injured man by a touch. Turning to Peter the Lord\nrebuked his rashness, and commanded him to return the sword to its\nscabbard, with the reminder that \"all they that take the sword shall\nperish with the sword.\" Then, to show the needlessness of armed\nresistance, and to emphasize the fact that He was submitting voluntarily\nand in accordance with foreseen and predicted developments, the Lord\ncontinued: \"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he\nshall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then\nshall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?\"[1247] And\nfurther, \"the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink\nit?\"[1248]\n\nBut, though surrendering Himself unresistingly, Jesus was not unmindful\nof His rights; and to the priestly officials, chief priests, captain of\nthe temple guard, and elders of the people who were present, He voiced\nthis interrogative protest against the illegal night seizure: \"Are ye\ncome out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat\ndaily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But\nall this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be\nfulfilled.\" Luke records the Lord's concluding words thus: \"but this is\nyour hour, and the power of darkness.\" Unheeding His question, and\nwithout deference to His submissive demeanor, the captain and the\nofficers of the Jews bound Jesus with cords and led Him away, a Prisoner\nat the mercy of His deadliest enemies.\n\nThe eleven apostles, seeing that resistance was useless, not only on\naccount of disparity of numbers and supply of weapons but chiefly\nbecause of Christ's determination to submit, turned and fled. Every one\nof them forsook Him, even as He had foretold. That they were really in\njeopardy is shown by an incident preserved by Mark alone. An unnamed\nyoung man, aroused from sleep by the tumult of the marching band, had\nsallied forth with no outer covering but a linen sheet. His interest in\nthe arrest of Jesus and his close approach caused some of the guardsmen\nor soldiers to seize him; but he broke loose and escaped leaving the\nsheet in their hands.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 33.\n\n1. The Day of the Passover Feast.--Controversy has been rife for many\ncenturies as to the day of the passover feast in the week of our Lord's\ndeath. That He was crucified on Friday, the day before the Jewish\nSabbath, and that He rose a resurrected Being on Sunday, the day\nfollowing the Sabbath of the Jews, are facts attested by the four\nGospel-writers. From the three synoptists we infer that the last supper\noccurred on the evening of the first day of unleavened bread, and\ntherefore at the beginning of the Jewish Friday. That the Lord's last\nsupper was regarded by Himself and the apostles as a passover meal\nappears from Matt. 26:2, 17, 18, 19 and parallel passages, Mark\n14:14-16; Luke 22:11-13; as also from Luke 22:7, 15. John, however, who\nwrote after the synoptists and who probably had their writings before\nhim, as is indicated by the supplementary character of his testimony or\n\"Gospel\", intimates that the last supper of which Jesus and the Twelve\npartook together occurred before the Feast of the Passover (John 13:1,\n2); and the same writer informs us that on the following day, Friday,\nthe Jews refrained from entering the Roman hall of judgment, lest they\nbe defiled and so become unfit to eat the Passover (18:28). It should be\nremembered that by common usage the term \"Passover\" was applied not only\nto the day or season of the observance, but to the meal itself, and\nparticularly to the slain lamb (Matt. 26:17; Mark 14:12, 14, 16; Luke\n22:8, 11, 13, 15; John 18:28; compare 1 Cor. 5:7). John also specifies\nthat the day of the crucifixion was \"the preparation of the passover\"\n(19:14), and that the next day, which was Saturday, the Sabbath, \"was an\nhigh day\" (verse 31), that is a Sabbath rendered doubly sacred because\nof its being also a feast day.\n\nMuch has been written by way of attempt to explain this seeming\ndiscrepancy. No analysis of the divergent views of Biblical scholars on\nthis subject will be attempted here; the matter is of incidental\nimportance in connection with the fundamental facts of our Lord's\nbetrayal and crucifixion; for brief summaries of opinions and concise\narguments the student may be referred to Smith's _Comprehensive Bible\nDictionary_, article \"Passover\"; Edersheim's _Life and Times of Jesus\nthe Messiah_, pp. 480-2, and 566-8; Farrar's _Life of Christ_, Appendix,\nExcursus 10; Andrews' _Life of our Lord_, and Gresswell's\n_Dissertations_. Suffice it here to say that the apparent inconsistency\nmay be explained by any of several assumptions. Thus, first, and very\nprobably, the Passover referred to by John, for the eating of which the\npriests were desirous of keeping themselves free from Levitical\ndefilement, may not have been the supper at which the paschal lamb was\neaten, but the supplementary meal, the Chagigah. This later meal, the\nflesh part of which was designated as a sacrifice, had come to be\nregarded with veneration equal to that attaching to the paschal supper.\nSecondly; it is held by many authorities on Jewish antiquities that\nbefore, at, and after the time of Christ, two nights were devoted yearly\nto the paschal observance, during either of which the lamb might be\neaten, and that this extension of time had been made in consideration of\nthe increased population, which necessitated the ceremonial slaughtering\nof more lambs than could be slain on a single day; and in this\nconnection it is interesting to note that Josephus (Wars, vi, ch. 9:3)\nrecords the number of lambs slain at a single Passover as 256,500. In\nthe same paragraph, Josephus states that the lambs had to be slain\nbetween the ninth and the eleventh hour (3 to 5 p.m.). According to this\nexplanation, Jesus and the Twelve may have partaken of the passover meal\non the first of the two evenings, and the Jews who next day feared\ndefilement may have deferred their observance until the second. Thirdly;\nthe Lord's last paschal supper may have been eaten earlier than the time\nof general observance, He knowing that night to be His last in\nmortality. Supporters of this view explain the message to the man who\nprovided the chamber for the last supper, \"My time is at hand\" (Matt.\n26:18) as indicating a special urgency for the passover observance by\nChrist and the apostles, before the regularly appointed day. Some\nauthorities assert that an error of one day had crept into the Jewish\nreckoning of time, and that Jesus ate the passover on the true date,\nwhile the Jews were a day behind. If \"the preparation of the passover\"\n(John 19:14) on Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion, means the\nslaughtering of the paschal lambs, our Lord, the real sacrifice of which\nall earlier altar victims had been but prototypes, died on the cross\nwhile the passover lambs were being slain at the temple.\n\n2. Did Judas Iscariot Partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's\nSupper?--This question cannot be definitely answered from the brief\naccounts we have of the proceedings at the last supper. At best, only\ninference, not conclusion, is possible. According to the records made by\nMatthew and Mark, the Lord's announcement that there was a traitor among\nthe Twelve was made early in the course of the meal; and the institution\nof the Sacrament occurred later. Luke records the prediction of\ntreachery as following the administering of the sacramental bread and\nwine. All the synoptists agree that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper\nwas administered before the sitting at the ordinary meal had broken up;\nthough the Sacrament was plainly made a separate and distinct feature.\nJohn (13:2-5) states that the washing of feet occurred when supper was\nended, and gives us good reason for inferring that Judas was washed with\nthe rest (verses 10, 11), and that he later (verses 26-30) went out into\nthe night for the purpose of betraying Jesus. The giving of a \"sop\" to\nJudas (verses 26, 27) even though supper was practically over, is not\ninconsistent with John's statement that the supper proper was ended\nbefore the washing of feet was performed; the act does not appear to\nhave been so unusual as to cause surprize. To many it has appeared\nplausible, that because of his utter baseness Judas would not be\npermitted to participate with the other apostles in the holy ordinance\nof the Sacrament; others infer that he was allowed to partake, as a\npossible means of moving him to abandon his evil purpose even at that\nlate hour, or of filling his cup of iniquity to overflowing. The\nwriter's personal opinion is based on the last conception.\n\n3. Washing of Feet.--The ordinance of the washing of feet was\nreestablished through revelation December 27, 1832. It was made a\nfeature of admission to the school of the prophets, and detailed\ninstructions relating to its administration were given (see Doc. and\nCov. 88:140, 141). Further direction as to the ordinances involving\nwashing were revealed January 19, 1841 (see Doc. and Cov. 124:37-39).\n\n4. Discontinuity of the Lord's Last Discourse to the Apostles.--It is\ncertain that part of the discourse following the last supper was\ndelivered in the upper room where Christ and the Twelve had eaten; it is\npossible that the latter portion was spoken and the prayer offered (John\n15, 16, 17) outdoors as Jesus and the Eleven wended their way toward the\nMount of Olives. The 14th chapter of John ends with \"Arise, let us go\nhence\"; the next chapter opens with another section of the discourse.\nFrom Matt 26:30-35, and Mark 14:26-31 we may infer that the prediction\nof Peter's denial of his Lord was made as the little company walked from\nthe city to the mount. On the other hand, John (18:1) states that \"When\nJesus had spoken these words\", namely, the whole discourse, and the\nconcluding prayer, \"he went forth with his disciples over the brook\nCedron.\" Not one of our Lord's sublime utterances on that night of\nsolemn converse with His own, and of communion between Himself and the\nFather, is affected by the circumstance of place.\n\n5. Gethsemane.--The name means \"oil-press\" and probably has reference to\na mill maintained at the place for the extraction of oil from the olives\nthere cultivated. John refers to the spot as a garden, from which\ndesignation we may regard it as an enclosed space of private ownership.\nThat it was a place frequented by Jesus when He sought retirement for\nprayer, or opportunity for confidential converse with the disciples, is\nindicated by the same writer (John 18:1, 2).\n\n6. The Bloody Sweat.--Luke, the only Gospel-writer who mentions sweat\nand blood in connection with our Lord's agony in Gethsemane, states that\n\"his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the\nground\" (22:44). Many critical expositors deny that there was an actual\nextrusion of blood, on the grounds that the evangelist does not\npositively affirm it, and that the three apostles, who were the only\nhuman witnesses, could not have distinguished blood from sweat falling\nin drops, as they watched from a distance in the night, even if the\nmoon, which at the passover season was full, had been unobscured. Modern\nscripture removes all doubt. See Doc. and Cov. 19:16-19 quoted in the\ntext (page 613), also 18:11. See further a specific prediction of the\nbloody sweat, B. of M., Mosiah 3:7.\n\n7. \"Suffer Ye thus Far.\"--Many understand these words, uttered by Jesus\nas He raised His hand to heal the wounded Malchus, to have been\naddressed to the disciples, forbidding their further interference.\nTrench (_Miracles_, 355) considers the meaning to be as follows: 'Hold\nnow; thus far ye have gone in resistance, but let it be no further; no\nmore of this.' The disputed interpretation is of little importance as to\nthe bearing of the incident on the events that followed.\n\n8. The Cup as a Symbol.--Our Lord's frequent mention of His foreseen\nsufferings as the cup of which the Father would have Him drink (Matt.\n26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 18:11; compare Matt. 20:22; Mark\n10:38; 1 Cor. 10:21) is in line with Old Testament usage of the term\n\"cup\" as a symbolic expression for a bitter or poisonous potion\ntypifying experiences of suffering. See Psa. 11:6; 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22;\nJer. 25:15, 17; 49:12. In contrast, the opposite meaning is attached to\nthe use of the term in some passages, e.g. Psa. 16:5; 23:5; 116:13; Jer.\n16:7.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1179] Matt. 26:3-5; see also Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1, 2.\n\n[1180] Revised version of Matt. 26:5 reads: \"Not during the feast, lest\nthere be a tumult among the people.\"\n\n[1181] John 7:30, 44, 45-53; 11:47-57.\n\n[1182] Matt. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10, 11; Luke 22:3-6.\n\n[1183] Matt. 26:15. The revised version reads: \"And they weighed unto\nhim thirty pieces of silver.\" Compare Zech. 11:12.\n\n[1184] Exo. 21:32; Zech. 11:12, 13.\n\n[1185] Matt. 27:3-10.\n\n[1186] Matt. 26:17.\n\n[1187] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1188] Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13.\n\n[1189] It should be remembered that the Jews counted their days as\nbeginning at sunset, not, as with us, at midnight.\n\n[1190] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1191] Luke 22:24-30.\n\n[1192] Luke 14:7-11; see page 449 herein.\n\n[1193] Luke 22:28; see page 133 herein.\n\n[1194] John 13:1-20.\n\n[1195] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1196] The Lord's expression \"neither he that is sent greater than he\nthat sent him\" (John 13:16) is more correctly rendered \"neither the\napostle than he that sent him\" (revised version, margin); see pages 228,\n229 herein.\n\n[1197] Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19, 20.\n\n[1198] In the revised version we read \"covenant\" instead of \"testament\"\nin Matt. 26:28, and in parallel passages.\n\n[1199] 1 Cor. 11:23-34.\n\n[1200] B. of M., 3 Nephi 18:6-11; Doc. and Cov. 20:75; see also the\n\"Articles of Faith,\" ix.\n\n[1201] See \"The Great Apostasy\" 8:15-19.\n\n[1202] John 13:18-30.\n\n[1203] Compare Psalm 41:9.\n\n[1204] John 13:31-34.\n\n[1205] Lev. 19:18.\n\n[1206] So reads the revised version of Luke 22:32.\n\n[1207] Isa. 53:12; compare Mark 15:28.\n\n[1208] Read John 13:36-38; Luke 22:31-38; compare Matt. 26:31-35; Mark\n14: 27-31.\n\n[1209] John, chaps. 14, 15, 16.\n\n[1210] John 14:1-4.\n\n[1211] See \"The Articles of Faith,\" iv:28, 29; and xxii:16-27.\n\n[1212] John 14:13, 14; compare 16:24.\n\n[1213] John 14:15-20; compare verse 26; and 15:26.\n\n[1214] Matt. 10:3, and Luke 6:16; also page 224 herein.\n\n[1215] See \"Articles of Faith,\" ii:20-24; page 127 herein.\n\n[1216] John 14:22-31.\n\n[1217] John 15:1-8.\n\n[1218] Revised version, \"cleanseth it.\"\n\n[1219] John 15:9-17.\n\n[1220] John 15:18-27.\n\n[1221] Verse 25; compare Psalms 35:19; 69:4; 109:3.\n\n[1222] John 16:13-15; read verses 1-15.\n\n[1223] John 16:16; compare 7:33; 13:33; 14:19.\n\n[1224] John 16:17, 23, 24; read verses 17-28.\n\n[1225] Matt. 26:31; Mark 14:27; compare Zech. 13:7; see also Matt. 11:6.\n\n[1226] Matt. 26:31-35; Mark 14:29-31.\n\n[1227] Matt. 26:32; Mark 14:28; compare 16:7.\n\n[1228] John 16:33.\n\n[1229] John 17.\n\n[1230] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1231] Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46.\n\n[1232] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1233] \"Abba\" is expressive of combined affection and honor, and\nsignifies \"Father.\" It is applied to the Eternal Father by Jesus in the\npassage above, and by Paul (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).\n\n[1234] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1235] John 13:37; Matt. 20:22; Mark 10:38, 39.\n\n[1236] John 5:26, 27; and 10:17, 18; also page 418 herein.\n\n[1237] John 14:30.\n\n[1238] Page 127.\n\n[1239] Doc. and Cov. 19:16-19; compare 18:11. See also B. of M., 2 Nephi\n9:5, 7, 21; Mosiah 3:7-14; 15:12; Alma 7:11-13; 11:40; 22:14; 34:8-15; 3\nNephi 11:11; 27:14, 15; and chapter 4 herein.\n\n[1240] Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-12.\n\n[1241] \"Cohort,\" a term descriptive of a Roman body, and \"military\ntribune\" are more literal renderings of the Greek original than \"band\"\nand \"captain\" in John 18:3, 12. See revised version, margin.\n\n[1242] The Greek text of Matt. 26:49, and Mark 14:45 clearly implies\nthat Judas \"kissed him much,\" that is many times, or effusively. See\nmargin of revised version.\n\n[1243] This is a more nearly correct translation than \"wherefore art\nthou come?\" in the common version. See revised version. Matt. 26:50.\n\n[1244] John 18:9; compare 17:12.\n\n[1245] See \"The Great Apostasy,\" chaps. 4 and 5.\n\n[1246] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1247] Compare Isa. 53:8.\n\n[1248] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 34.\n\nTHE TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION.\n\n\nTHE JEWISH TRIAL.\n\nFrom Gethsemane the bound and captive Christ was haled before the Jewish\nrulers. John alone informs us that the Lord was taken first to Annas,\nwho sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas, the high priest;[1249] the\nsynoptists record the arraignment before Caiaphas only.[1250] No details\nof the interview with Annas are of record; and the bringing of Jesus\nbefore him at all was as truly irregular and illegal, according to\nHebrew law, as were all the subsequent proceedings of that night. Annas,\nwho was father-in-law to Caiaphas, had been deposed from the\nhigh-priestly office over twenty years before; but throughout this\nperiod he had exerted a potent influence in all the affairs of the\nhierarchy.[1251] Caiaphas, as John is careful to remind us, \"was he,\nwhich gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man\nshould die for the people.\"[1252]\n\nAt the palace of Caiaphas, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the\npeople were assembled, in a meeting of the Sanhedrin, informal or\notherwise, all eagerly awaiting the result of the expedition led by\nJudas. When Jesus, the object of their bitter hatred and their\npredetermined victim, was brought in, a bound Prisoner, He was\nimmediately put upon trial in contravention of the law, both written and\ntraditional, of which those congregated rulers of the Jews professed to\nbe such zealous supporters. No legal hearing on a capital charge could\nlawfully be held except in the appointed and official courtroom of the\nSanhedrin. From the account given in the fourth Gospel we infer that the\nPrisoner was first subjected to an interrogative examination by the high\npriest in person.[1253] That functionary, whether Annas or Caiaphas is a\nmatter of inference, inquired of Jesus concerning His disciples and His\ndoctrines. Such a preliminary inquiry was utterly unlawful; for the\nHebrew code provided that the accusing witnesses in any cause before the\ncourt should define their charge against the accused, and that the\nlatter should be protected from any effort to make him testify against\nhimself. The Lord's reply should have been a sufficient protest to the\nhigh priest against further illegal procedure. \"Jesus answered him, I\nspake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the\ntemple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said\nnothing. Why askest thou me?--ask them which heard me, what I have said\nunto them: behold, they know what I said.\" This was a lawful objection\nagainst denying to a prisoner on trial his right to be confronted by his\naccusers. It was received with open disdain; and one of the officers who\nstood by, hoping perhaps to curry favor with his superiors, actually\nstruck Jesus a vicious blow,[1254] accompanied by the question,\n\"Answerest thou the high priest so?\" To this cowardly assault the Lord\nreplied with almost superhuman gentleness:[1255] \"If I have spoken evil,\nbear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?\" Combined\nwith submissiveness, however, this constituted another appeal to the\nprinciples of justice; if what Jesus had said was evil, why did not the\nassailant accuse Him; and if He had spoken well, what right had a police\nofficer to judge, condemn, and punish, and that too in the presence of\nthe high priest? Law and justice had been dethroned that night.\n\n\"Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false\nwitness against Jesus, to put him to death.\"[1256] Whether \"all the\ncouncil\" means a legal quorum, which would be twenty-three or more, or a\nfull attendance of the seventy-two Sanhedrists, is of small importance.\nAny sitting of the Sanhedrin at night, and more particularly for the\nconsideration of a capital charge, was directly in violation of Jewish\nlaw. Likewise was it unlawful for the council to consider such a charge\non a Sabbath, a feast day, or on the eve of any such day. In the\nSanhedrin, every member was a judge; the judicial body was to hear the\ntestimony, and, according to that testimony and nought else, render a\ndecision on every case duly presented. The accusers were required to\nappear in person; and they were to receive a preliminary warning against\nbearing false witness. Every defendant was to be regarded and treated as\ninnocent until convicted in due course. But in the so-called trial of\nJesus, the judges not only sought witnesses, but specifically tried to\nfind false witnesses. Though many false witnesses came, yet there was no\n\"witness\" or testimony against the Prisoner, for the suborned perjurers\nfailed to agree among themselves; and even the lawless Sanhedrists\nhesitated to openly violate the fundamental requirement that at least\ntwo concordant witnesses must testify against an accused person, for,\notherwise, the case had to be dismissed.\n\nThat Jesus was to be convicted on some charge or other, and be put to\ndeath, had been already determined by the priestly judges; their failure\nto find witnesses against Him threatened to delay the carrying out of\ntheir nefarious scheme. Haste and precipitancy characterized their\nprocedure throughout; they had unlawfully caused Jesus to be arrested at\nnight; they were illegally going through the semblance of a trial at\nnight; their purpose was to convict the Prisoner in time to have Him\nbrought before the Roman authorities as early as possible in the\nmorning--as a criminal duly tried and adjudged worthy of death. The lack\nof two hostile witnesses who would tell the same falsehoods was a\nserious hindrance. But, \"at the last came two false witnesses, and said,\nThis fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build\nit in three days.\" Others, however, testified: \"We heard him say, I will\ndestroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I\nwill build another made without hands.\"[1257] And so, as Mark observes,\neven in this particular their \"witness\" or testimony did not agree.\nSurely in a case at bar, such discrepancy as appears between \"I am able\nto\" and \"I will,\" as alleged utterances of the accused, is of vital\nimportance. Yet this semblance of formal accusation was the sole basis\nof a charge against Christ up to this stage of the trial. It will be\nremembered that in connection with the first clearing of the temple,\nnear the commencement of Christ's ministry, He had answered the\nclamorous demand of the Jews for a sign of His authority by saying\n\"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.\" He spoke\nnot at all of Himself as the one who would destroy; the Jews were to be\nthe destroyers, He the restorer. But the inspired writer is particular\nto explain that Jesus \"spake of the temple of his body,\" and not at all\nof those buildings reared by man.[1258]\n\nOne may reasonably inquire as to what serious import could be attached\nto even such a declaration as the perjured witnesses claimed to have\nheard from the lips of Christ. The veneration with which the Jews\nprofessed to regard the Holy House, however wantonly they profaned its\nprecincts, offers a partial but insufficient answer. The plan of the\nconspiring rulers appears to have been that of convicting Christ on a\ncharge of sedition, making Him out to be a dangerous disturber of the\nnation's peace, an assailant of established institutions, and\nconsequently an inciter of opposition against the vassal autonomy of the\nJewish nation, and the supreme dominion of Rome.[1259]\n\nThe vaguely defined shadow of legal accusation produced by the dark and\ninconsistent testimony of the false witnesses, was enough to embolden\nthe iniquitous court. Caiaphas, rising from his seat to give dramatic\nemphasis to his question, demanded of Jesus: \"Answerest thou nothing?\nwhat is it which these witness against thee?\" There was nothing to\nanswer. No consistent or valid testimony had been presented against Him;\ntherefore He stood in dignified silence. Then Caiaphas, in violation of\nthe legal proscription against requiring any person to testify in his\nown case except voluntarily and on his own initiative, not only demanded\nan answer from the Prisoner, but exercized the potent prerogative of the\nhigh-priestly office, to put the accused under oath, as a witness before\nthe sacerdotal court. \"And the high priest answered and said unto him, I\nadjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the\nChrist, the Son of God.\"[1260] The fact of a distinct specification of\n\"the Christ\" and \"the Son of God\" is significant, in that it implies the\nJewish expectation of a Messiah, but does not acknowledge that He was to\nbe distinctively of divine origin. Nothing that had gone before can be\nconstrued as a proper foundation for this inquiry. The charge of\nsedition was about to be superseded by one of greater enormity--that of\nblasphemy.[1261]\n\nTo the utterly unjust yet official adjuration of the high priest, Jesus\nanswered: \"Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you: Hereafter shall\nye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in\nthe clouds of heaven.\" This expression \"Thou hast said\" was equivalent\nto--I am what thou hast said.[1262] It was an unqualified avowal of\ndivine parentage, and inherent Godship. \"Then the high priest rent his\nclothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of\nwitnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They\nanswered and said, He is guilty of death.\"[1263]\n\nThus the judges in Israel, comprizing the high priest, the chief\npriests, the scribes and elders of the people, the Great Sanhedrin,\nunlawfully assembled, decreed that the Son of God was deserving of\ndeath, on no evidence save that of His own acknowledgment. By express\nprovision the Jewish code forbade the conviction, specifically on a\ncapital charge, of any person on his own confession, unless that was\namply supported by the testimony of trustworthy witnesses. As in the\nGarden of Gethsemane Jesus had voluntarily surrendered Himself, so\nbefore the judges did He personally and voluntarily furnish the evidence\nupon which they unrighteously declared Him deserving of death. There\ncould be no crime in the claim of Messiahship or divine Sonship, except\nthat claim was false. We vainly search the record for even an intimation\nthat inquiry was made or suggested as to the grounds upon which Jesus\nbased His exalted claims. The action of the high priest in rending his\ngarments was a dramatic affectation of pious horror at the blasphemy\nwith which his ears had been assailed. It was expressly forbidden in the\nlaw that the high priest rend his clothes;[1264] but from\nextra-scriptural writings we learn that the rending of garments as an\nattestation of most grievous guilt, such as that of blasphemy, was\nallowable under traditional rule.[1265] There is no indication that the\nvote of the judges was taken and recorded in the precise and orderly\nmanner required by the law.\n\nJesus stood convicted of the most heinous offense known in Jewry.\nHowever unjustly, He had been pronounced guilty of blasphemy by the\nsupreme tribunal of the nation. In strict accuracy we cannot say that\nthe Sanhedrists sentenced Christ to death, inasmuch as the power to\nauthoritatively pronounce capital sentences had been taken from the\nJewish council by Roman decree. The high-priestly court, however,\ndecided that Jesus was worthy of death, and so certified when they\nhanded Him over to Pilate. In their excess of malignant hate, Israel's\njudges abandoned their Lord to the wanton will of the attendant varlets,\nwho heaped upon Him every indignity their brutish instincts could\nsuggest. They spurted their foul spittle into His face;[1266] and then,\nhaving blindfolded Him, amused themselves by smiting Him again and\nagain, saying the while: \"Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that\nsmote thee?\" The miscreant crowd mocked Him, and railed upon Him with\njeers and taunts, and branded themselves as blasphemers in fact.[1267]\n\nThe law and the practise of the time required that any person found\nguilty of a capital offense, after due trial before a Jewish tribunal,\nshould be given a second trial on the following day; and at this later\nhearing any or all of the judges who had before voted for conviction\ncould reverse themselves; but no one who had once voted for acquittal\ncould change his ballot. A bare majority was sufficient for acquittal,\nbut more than a majority was required for conviction. By a provision\nthat must appear to us most unusual, if all the judges voted for\nconviction on a capital charge the verdict was not to stand and the\naccused had to be set at liberty; for, it was argued, a unanimous vote\nagainst a prisoner indicated that he had had no friend or defender in\ncourt, and that the judges might have been in conspiracy against Him.\nUnder this rule in Hebrew jurisprudence the verdict against Jesus,\nrendered at the illegal night session of the Sanhedrists, was void, for\nwe are specifically told that \"they all condemned him to be guilty of\ndeath.\"[1268]\n\nApparently for the purpose of establishing a shadowy pretext of legality\nin their procedure, the Sanhedrists adjourned to meet again in early\ndaylight. Thus they technically complied with the requirement--that on\nevery case in which the death sentence had been decreed the court should\nhear and judge a second time in a later session--but they completely\nignored the equally mandatory provision that the second trial must be\nconducted on the day following that of the first hearing. Between the\ntwo sittings on consecutive days the judges were required to fast and\npray, and to give the case on trial calm and earnest consideration.\n\nLuke, who records no details of the night trial of Jesus, is the only\nGospel-writer to give place to a circumstantial report of the morning\nsession. He says: \"And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people\nand the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into\ntheir council.\"[1269] Some Biblical scholars have construed the\nexpression, \"led him into their council,\" as signifying that Jesus was\ncondemned by the Sanhedrin in the appointed meeting-place of the court,\nviz. Gazith or the Hall of Hewn Stones, as the law of the time required;\nbut against this we have the statement of John that they led Jesus\ndirectly from Caiaphas to the Roman hall of judgment.[1270]\n\nIt is probable, that at this early daylight session, the irregular\nproceedings of the dark hours were approved, and the details of further\nprocedure decided upon. They \"took counsel against Jesus to put him to\ndeath\"; nevertheless they went through the form of a second trial, the\nissue of which was greatly facilitated by the Prisoner's voluntary\naffirmations. The judges stand without semblance of justification for\ncalling upon the Accused to testify; they should have examined anew the\nwitnesses against Him. The first question put to Him was, \"Art thou the\nChrist? tell us.\" The Lord made dignified reply: \"If I tell you, ye will\nnot believe: and if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me\ngo. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of\nGod.\" Neither did the question imply nor the answer furnish cause for\ncondemnation. The whole nation was looking for the Messiah; and if Jesus\nclaimed to be He, the only proper judicial action would be that of\ninquiring into the merit of the claim. The crucial question followed\nimmediately: \"Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye\nsay that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we\nourselves have heard of his own mouth.\"[1271]\n\nJehovah was convicted of blasphemy against Jehovah. The only mortal\nBeing to whom the awful crime of blasphemy, in claiming divine\nattributes and powers, was impossible, stood before the judges of Israel\ncondemned as a blasphemer. The \"whole council,\" by which expression we\nmay possibly understand a legal quorum, was concerned in the final\naction. Thus ended the miscalled \"trial\" of Jesus before the high-priest\nand elders[1272] of His people. \"And straightway in the morning the\nchief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the\nwhole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him\nto Pilate.\"[1273] During the few hours that remained to Him in\nmortality, He would be in the hands of the Gentiles, betrayed and\ndelivered up by His own.[1274]\n\n\nPETER'S DENIAL OF HIS LORD.[1275]\n\nWhen Jesus was taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane, all the\nEleven forsook Him and fled. This is not to be accounted as certain\nevidence of cowardice, for the Lord had indicated that they should\ngo.[1276] Peter and at least one other disciple followed afar off; and,\nafter the armed guard had entered the palace of the high priest with\ntheir Prisoner, Peter \"went in, and sat with the servants to see the\nend.\" He was assisted in securing admittance by the unnamed disciple,\nwho was on terms of acquaintanceship with the high priest. That other\ndisciple was in all probability John, as may be inferred from the fact\nthat he is mentioned only in the fourth Gospel, the author of which\ncharacteristically refers to himself anonymously.[1277]\n\nWhile Jesus was before the Sanhedrists, Peter remained below with the\nservants. The attendant at the door was a young woman; her feminine\nsuspicions had been aroused when she admitted Peter, and as he sat with\na crowd in the palace court she came up, and having intently observed\nhim, said: \"Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.\" But Peter denied,\naverring he did not know Jesus. Peter was restless; his conscience and\nthe fear of identification as one of the Lord's disciples troubled him.\nHe left the crowd and sought partial seclusion in the porch; but there\nanother maid spied him out, and said to those nearby: \"This fellow was\nalso with Jesus of Nazareth\"; to which accusation Peter replied with an\noath: \"I do not know the man.\"\n\nThe April night was chilly, and an open fire had been made in the hall\nor court of the palace. Peter sat with others at the fire, thinking,\nperhaps, that brazen openness was better than skulking caution as a\npossible safeguard against detection. About an hour after his former\ndenials, some of the men around the fire charged him with being a\ndisciple of Jesus, and referred to his Galilean dialect as evidence that\nhe was at least a fellow countryman with the high priest's Prisoner;\nbut, most threatening of all, a kinsman of Malchus, whose ear Peter had\nslashed with the sword, asked peremptorily: \"Did not I see thee in the\ngarden with him?\" Then Peter went so far in the course of falsehood upon\nwhich he had entered as to curse and swear, and to vehemently declare\nfor the third time, \"I know not the man.\" As the last profane falsehood\nleft his lips, the clear notes of a crowing cock broke upon his\nears,[1278] and the remembrance of his Lord's prediction welled up in\nhis mind. Trembling in wretched realization of his perfidious cowardice,\nhe turned from the crowd and met the gaze of the suffering Christ, who\nfrom the midst of the insolent mob looked into the face of His boastful,\nyet loving but weak apostle. Hastening from the palace, Peter went out\ninto the night, weeping bitterly. As his later life attests, his tears\nwere those of real contrition and true repentance.\n\n\nCHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE BEFORE PILATE.\n\nAs we have already learned, no Jewish tribunal had authority to inflict\nthe death penalty; imperial Rome had reserved this prerogative as her\nown. The united acclaim of the Sanhedrists, that Jesus was deserving of\ndeath, would be ineffective until sanctioned by the emperor's deputy,\nwho at that time was Pontius Pilate, the governor, or more properly,\nprocurator, of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. Pilate maintained his\nofficial residence at C\u00e6sarea,[1279] on the Mediterranean shore; but it\nwas his custom to be present in Jerusalem at the times of the great\nHebrew feasts, probably in the interest of preserving order, or of\npromptly quelling any disturbance amongst the vast and heterogeneous\nmultitudes by which the city was thronged on these festive occasions.\nThe governor with his attendants was in Jerusalem at this momentous\nPassover season. Early on Friday morning, the \"whole council,\" that is\nto say, the Sanhedrin, led Jesus, bound, to the judgment hall of Pontius\nPilate; but with strict scrupulosity they refrained from entering the\nhall lest they become defiled; for the judgment chamber was part of the\nhouse of a Gentile, and somewhere therein might be leavened bread, even\nto be near which would render them ceremonially unclean. Let every one\ndesignate for himself the character of men afraid of the mere proximity\nof leaven, while thirsting for innocent blood!\n\nIn deference to their scruples Pilate came out from the palace; and, as\nthey delivered up to him their Prisoner, asked: \"What accusation bring\nye against this man?\" The question, though strictly proper and\njudicially necessary, surprized and disappointed the priestly rulers,\nwho evidently had expected that the governor would simply approve their\nverdict as a matter of form and give sentence accordingly; but instead\nof doing so, Pilate was apparently about to exercize his authority of\noriginal jurisdiction. With poorly concealed chagrin, their spokesman,\nprobably Caiaphas, answered: \"If he were not a malefactor, we would not\nhave delivered him up unto thee.\" It was now Pilate's turn to feel or at\nleast to feign umbrage, and he replied in effect: Oh, very well; if you\ndon't care to present the charge in proper order, take ye him, and judge\nhim according to your law; don't trouble me with the matter. But the\nJews rejoined: \"It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.\"\n\nJohn the apostle intimates in this last remark a determination on the\npart of the Jews to have Jesus put to death not only by Roman sanction\nbut by Roman executioners;[1280] for, as we readily may see, had Pilate\napproved the death sentence and handed the Prisoner over to the Jews for\nits infliction, Jesus would have been stoned, in accordance with the\nHebrew penalty for blasphemy; whereas the Lord had plainly foretold that\nHis death would be by crucifixion, which was a Roman method of\nexecution, but one never practised by the Jews. Furthermore, if Jesus\nhad been put to death by the Jewish rulers, even with governmental\nsanction, an insurrection among the people might have resulted, for\nthere were many who believed on Him. The crafty hierarchs were\ndetermined to bring about His death under Roman condemnation.\n\n\"And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting\nthe nation, and forbidding to give tribute to C\u00e6sar, saying that he\nhimself is Christ a King.\"[1281] It is important to note that no\naccusation of blasphemy was made to Pilate; had such been presented, the\ngovernor, thoroughly pagan in heart and mind, would probably have\ndismissed the charge as utterly unworthy of a hearing; for Rome with her\nmany gods, whose number was being steadily increased by current heathen\ndeification of mortals, knew no such offense as blasphemy in the Jewish\nsense. The accusing Sanhedrists hesitated not to substitute for\nblasphemy, which was the greatest crime known to the Hebrew code, the\ncharge of high treason, which was the gravest offense listed in the\nRoman category of crimes. To the vociferous accusations of the chief\npriests and elders, the calm and dignified Christ deigned no reply. To\nthem He had spoken for the last time--until the appointed season of\nanother trial, in which He shall be the Judge, and they the prisoners at\nthe bar.\n\nPilate was surprized at the submissive yet majestic demeanor of Jesus;\nthere was certainly much that was kingly about the Man; never before had\nsuch a One stood before him. The charge, however, was a serious one; men\nwho claimed title to kingship might prove dangerous to Rome; yet to the\ncharge the Accused answered nothing. Entering the judgment hall, Pilate\nhad Jesus called.[1282] That some of the disciples, and among them\nalmost certainly John, also went in, is apparent from the detailed\naccounts of the proceedings preserved in the fourth Gospel. Anyone was\nat liberty to enter, for publicity was an actual and a widely proclaimed\nfeature of Roman trials.\n\nPilate, plainly without animosity or prejudice against Jesus, asked:\n\"Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this\nthing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?\" The Lord's\ncounter-question, as Pilate's rejoinder shows, meant, and was understood\nto mean, as we might state it: Do you ask this in the Roman and literal\nsense--as to whether I am a king of an earthly kingdom--or with the\nJewish and more spiritual meaning? A direct answer \"Yes\" would have been\ntrue in the Messianic sense, but untrue in the worldly signification;\nand \"No\" could have been inversely construed as true or untrue. \"Pilate\nanswered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have\ndelivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom\nis not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my\nservants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is\nmy kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a\nking then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was\nI born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear\nwitness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my\nvoice.\"\n\nIt was clear to the Roman governor that this wonderful Man, with His\nexalted views of a kingdom not of this world, and an empire of truth in\nwhich He was to reign, was no political insurrectionist; and that to\nconsider Him a menace to Roman institutions would be absurd. Those last\nwords--about truth--were of all the most puzzling; Pilate was restive,\nand perhaps a little frightened under their import. \"What is truth?\" he\nrather exclaimed in apprehension than inquired in expectation of an\nanswer, as he started to leave the hall. To the Jews without he\nannounced officially the acquittal of the Prisoner. \"I find in him no\nfault at all\" was the verdict.\n\nBut the chief priests and scribes and elders of the people were\nundeterred. Their thirst for the blood of the Holy One had developed\ninto mania. Wildly and fiercely they shrieked: \"He stirreth up the\npeople, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this\nplace.\" The mention of Galilee suggested to Pilate a new course of\nprocedure. Having confirmed by inquiry that Jesus was a Galilean, he\ndetermined to send the Prisoner to Herod, the vassal ruler of that\nprovince, who was in Jerusalem at the time.[1283] By this action Pilate\nhoped to rid himself of further responsibility in the case, and\nmoreover, Herod, with whom he had been at enmity, might be placated\nthereby.\n\n\nCHRIST BEFORE HEROD.[1284]\n\nHerod Antipas, the degenerate son of his infamous sire, Herod the\nGreat,[1285] was at this time tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and by\npopular usage, though without imperial sanction, was flatteringly called\nking. He it was who, in fulfilment of an unholy vow inspired by a\nwoman's voluptuous blandishments, had ordered the murder of John the\nBaptist. He ruled as a Roman vassal, and professed to be orthodox in the\nobservances of Judaism. He had come up to Jerusalem, in state, to keep\nthe feast of the Passover. Herod was pleased to have Jesus sent to him\nby Pilate; for, not only was the action a gracious one on the part of\nthe procurator, constituting as after events proved a preliminary to\nreconciliation between the two rulers,[1286] but it was a means of\ngratifying Herod's curiosity to see Jesus, of whom he had heard so much,\nwhose fame had terrified him, and by whom he now hoped to see some\ninteresting miracle wrought.[1287]\n\nWhatever fear Herod had once felt regarding Jesus, whom he had\nsuperstitiously thought to be the reincarnation of his murdered victim,\nJohn the Baptist, was replaced by amused interest when he saw the\nfar-famed Prophet of Galilee in bonds before him, attended by a Roman\nguard, and accompanied by ecclesiastical officials. Herod began to\nquestion the Prisoner; but Jesus remained silent. The chief priests and\nscribes vehemently voiced their accusations; but not a word was uttered\nby the Lord. Herod is the only character in history to whom Jesus is\nknown to have applied a personal epithet of contempt. \"Go ye and tell\nthat fox\" He once said to certain Pharisees who had come to Him with the\nstory that Herod intended to kill Him.[1288] As far as we know, Herod is\nfurther distinguished as the only being who saw Christ face to face and\nspoke to Him, yet never heard His voice. For penitent sinners, weeping\nwomen, prattling children, for the scribes, the Pharisees, the\nSadducees, the rabbis, for the perjured high priest and his obsequious\nand insolent underling, and for Pilate the pagan, Christ had words--of\ncomfort or instruction, of warning or rebuke, of protest or\ndenunciation--yet for Herod the fox He had but disdainful and kingly\nsilence. Thoroughly piqued, Herod turned from insulting questions to\nacts of malignant derision. He and his men-at-arms made sport of the\nsuffering Christ, \"set him at nought and mocked him\"; then in travesty\nthey \"arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to\nPilate.\"[1289] Herod had found nothing in Jesus to warrant condemnation.\n\n\nCHRIST AGAIN BEFORE PILATE.[1290]\n\nThe Roman procurator, finding that he could not evade further\nconsideration of the case, \"called together the chief priests and the\nrulers and the people,\" and \"said unto them, Ye have brought this man\nunto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having\nexamined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those\nthings whereof ye accuse him; No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him;\nand, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore\nchastise him, and release him.\" Pilate's desire to save Jesus from death\nwas just and genuine; his intention of scourging the Prisoner, whose\ninnocence he had affirmed and reaffirmed, was an infamous concession to\nJewish prejudice. He knew that the charge of sedition and treason was\nwithout foundation; and that even the framing of such an accusation by\nthe Jewish hierarchy, whose simulated loyalty to C\u00e6sar was but a cloak\nfor inherent and undying hatred, was ridiculous in the extreme; and he\nfully realized that the priestly rulers had delivered Jesus into his\nhands because of envy and malice.[1291]\n\nIt was the custom for the governor at the Passover season to pardon and\nrelease any one condemned prisoner whom the people might name. On that\nday there lay in durance, awaiting execution, \"a notable prisoner,\ncalled Barabbas,\" who had been found guilty of sedition, in that he had\nincited the people to insurrection, and had committed murder. This man\nstood convicted of the very charge on which Pilate specifically and\nHerod by implication had pronounced Jesus innocent, and Barabbas was a\nmurderer in addition. Pilate thought to pacify the priests and people by\nreleasing Jesus as the subject of Passover leniency; this would be a\ntacit recognition of Christ's conviction before the ecclesiastical\ncourt, and practically an endorsement of the death sentence, superseded\nby official pardon. Therefore he asked of them: \"Whom will ye that I\nrelease unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?\" There\nappears to have been a brief interval between Pilate's question and the\npeople's answer, during which the chief priests and elders busied\nthemselves amongst the multitude, urging them to demand the release of\nthe insurrectionist and murderer. So, when Pilate reiterated the\nquestion: \"Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?\"\nassembled Israel cried \"Barabbas.\" Pilate, surprized, disappointed, and\nangered, then asked: \"What shall I do then with Jesus which is called\nChrist? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor\nsaid, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying,\nLet him be crucified.\"\n\nThe Roman governor was sorely troubled and inwardly afraid. To add to\nhis perplexity he received a warning message from his wife, even as he\nsat on the judgment seat: \"Have thou nothing to do with that just man:\nfor I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.\"\nThose who know not God are characteristically superstitious. Pilate\nfeared to think what dread portent his wife's dream might presage. But,\nfinding that he could not prevail, and foreseeing a tumult among the\npeople if he persisted in the defense of Christ, he called for water and\nwashed his hands before the multitude--a symbolic act of disclaiming\nresponsibility, which they all understood--proclaiming the while: \"I am\ninnocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.\" Then rose that\nawful self-condemnatory cry of the covenant people: \"His blood be on us\nand on our children.\" History bears an appalling testimony to the\nliteral fulfilment of that dread invocation.[1292] Pilate released\nBarabbas, and gave Jesus into the custody of the soldiers to be\nscourged.\n\nScourging was a frightful preliminary to death on the cross. The\ninstrument of punishment was a whip of many thongs, loaded with metal\nand edged with jagged pieces of bone. Instances are of record in which\nthe condemned died under the lash and so escaped the horrors of living\ncrucifixion. In accordance with the brutal customs of the time, Jesus,\nweak and bleeding from the fearful scourging He had undergone, was given\nover to the half-savage soldiers for their amusement. He was no ordinary\nvictim, so the whole band came together in the Pretorium, or great hall\nof the palace, to take part in the diabolical sport. They stripped Jesus\nof His outer raiment, and placed upon Him a purple robe.[1293] Then with\na sense of fiendish realism they platted a crown of thorns, and placed\nit about the Sufferer's brows; a reed was put into His right hand as a\nroyal scepter; and, as they bowed in a mockery of homage, they saluted\nHim with: \"Hail, King of the Jews!\" Snatching away the reed or rod, they\nbrutally smote Him with it upon the head, driving the cruel thorns into\nHis quivering flesh; they slapped Him with their hands, and spat upon\nHim in vile and vicious abandonment.[1294]\n\nPilate had probably been a silent observer of this barbarous scene. He\nstopped it, and determined to make another attempt to touch the springs\nof Jewish pity, if such existed. He went outside, and to the multitude\nsaid: \"Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no\nfault in him.\" This was the governor's third definite proclamation of\nthe Prisoner's innocence. \"Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of\nthorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the\nman!\"[1295] Pilate seems to have counted on the pitiful sight of the\nscourged and bleeding Christ to soften the hearts of the maddened Jews.\nBut the effect failed. Think of the awful fact--a heathen, a pagan, who\nknew not God, pleading with the priests and people of Israel for the\nlife of their Lord and King! When, unmoved by the sight, the chief\npriests and officers cried with increasing vindictiveness, \"crucify him,\ncrucify him,\" Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence, \"Take ye him and\ncrucify him,\" but added with bitter emphasis: \"I find no fault in him.\"\n\nIt will be remembered that the only charge preferred against Christ\nbefore the Roman governor was that of sedition; the Jewish persecutors\nhad carefully avoided even the mention of blasphemy, which was the\noffense for which they had adjudged Jesus worthy of death. Now that\nsentence of crucifixion had been extorted from Pilate, they brazenly\nattempted to make it appear that the governor's mandate was but a\nratification of their own decree of death; therefore they said: \"We have\na law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son\nof God.\" What did it mean? That awe-inspiring title, Son of God, struck\nyet deeper into Pilate's troubled conscience. Once more he took Jesus\ninto the judgment hall, and in trepidation asked, \"Whence art thou?\" The\ninquiry was as to whether Jesus was human or superhuman. A direct avowal\nof the Lord's divinity would have frightened but could not have\nenlightened the heathen ruler; therefore Jesus gave no answer. Pilate\nwas further surprized, and perhaps somewhat offended at this seeming\ndisregard of his authority. He demanded an explanation, saying:\n\"Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to\ncrucify thee, and have power to release thee?\" Then Jesus replied: \"Thou\ncouldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from\nabove: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.\"\nThe positions were reversed; Christ was the Judge, and Pilate the\nsubject of His decision. Though not found guiltless, the Roman was\npronounced less culpable than he or those who had forced Jesus into his\npower, and who had demanded of him an unrighteous committal.\n\nThe governor, though having pronounced sentence, yet sought means of\nreleasing the submissive Sufferer. His first evidence of wavering was\ngreeted by the Jews with the cry, \"If thou let this man go, thou art not\nC\u00e6sar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against C\u00e6sar.\"\nPilate took his place in the judgment seat, which was set up in the\nplace of the Pavement, or Gabbatha, outside the hall. He was resentful\nagainst those Jews who had dared to intimate that he was no friend of\nC\u00e6sar, and whose intimation might lead to an embassy of complaint being\nsent to Rome to misrepresent him in exaggerated accusation. Pointing to\nJesus, he exclaimed with unveiled sarcasm: \"Behold your King!\" But the\nJews answered in threatening and ominous shouts: \"Away with him, away\nwith him, crucify him.\" In stinging reminder of their national\nsubjugation, Pilate asked with yet more cutting irony, \"Shall I crucify\nyour King?\" And the chief priests cried aloud: \"We have no king but\nC\u00e6sar.\"\n\nEven so was it and was to be. The people who had by covenant accepted\nJehovah as their King, now rejected Him in Person, and acknowledged no\nsovereign but C\u00e6sar. C\u00e6sar's subjects and serfs have they been through\nall the centuries since. Pitiable is the state of man or nation who in\nheart and spirit will have no king but C\u00e6sar![1296]\n\nWherein lay the cause of Pilate's weakness? He was the emperor's\nrepresentative, the imperial procurator with power to crucify or to\nsave; officially he was an autocrat. His conviction of Christ's\nblamelessness and his desire to save Him from the cross are beyond\nquestion. Why did Pilate waver, hesitate, vacillate, and at length yield\ncontrary to his conscience and his will? Because, after all, he was more\nslave than freeman. He was in servitude to his past. He knew that should\ncomplaint be made of him at Rome, his corruption and cruelties, his\nextortions and the unjustifiable slaughter he had caused would all be\nbrought against him. He was the Roman ruler, but the people over whom he\nexercized official dominion delighted in seeing him cringe, when they\ncracked, with vicious snap above his head, the whip of a threatened\nreport about him to his imperial master, Tiberius.[1297]\n\n\nJUDAS ISCARIOT.[1298]\n\nWhen Judas Iscariot saw how terribly effective had been the outcome of\nhis treachery, he became wildly remorseful. During Christ's trial before\nthe Jewish authorities, with its associated humiliation and cruelty, the\ntraitor had seen the seriousness of his action; and when the unresisting\nSufferer had been delivered up to the Romans, and the fatal consummation\nhad become a certainty, the enormity of his crime filled Judas with\nnameless horror. Rushing into the presence of the chief priests and\nelders, while the final preparations for the crucifixion of the Lord\nwere in progress, he implored the priestly rulers to take back the\naccursed wage they had paid him, crying in an agony of despair: \"I have\nsinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.\" He may have vaguely\nexpected a word of sympathy from the conspirators in whose wickedly\nskilful hands he had been so ready and serviceable a tool; possibly he\nhoped that his avowal might stem the current of their malignancy, and\nthat they would ask for a reversal of the sentence. But the rulers in\nIsrael repulsed him with disgust. \"What is that to us?\" they sneered,\n\"see thou to that.\" He had served their purpose; they had paid him his\nprice; they wished never to look upon his face again; and pitilessly\nthey flung him back into the haunted blackness of his maddened\nconscience. Still clutching the bag of silver, the all too real\nremembrancer of his frightful sin, he rushed into the temple,\npenetrating even to the precincts of priestly reservation, and dashed\nthe silver pieces upon the floor of the sanctuary.[1299] Then, under the\ngoading impulse of his master, the devil, to whom he had become a\nbond-slave, body and soul, he went out and hanged himself.\n\nThe chief priests gathered up the pieces of silver, and in sacrilegious\nscrupulosity, held a solemn council to determine what they should do\nwith the \"price of blood.\" As they deemed it unlawful to add the\nattainted coin to the sacred treasury, they bought with it a certain\nclay-yard, once the property of a potter, and the very place in which\nJudas had made of himself a suicide; this tract of ground they set apart\nas a burial place for aliens, strangers, and pagans. The body of Judas,\nthe betrayer of the Christ, was probably the first to be there interred.\nAnd that field was called \"Aceldama, that is to say, The field of\nblood.\"[1300]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 34.\n\n1. Annas, and His Interview with Jesus.--\"No figure is better known in\ncontemporary Jewish history than that of Annas; no person deemed more\nfortunate or successful, but also none more generally execrated than the\nlate high priest. He had held the pontificate for only six or seven\nyears; but it was filled by not fewer than five of his sons, by his\nson-in-law Caiaphas, and by a grandson. And in those days it was, at\nleast for one of Annas' disposition, much better to have been than to be\nhigh priest. He enjoyed all the dignity of the office, and all its\ninfluence also, since he was able to promote to it those most closely\nconnected with him. And while they acted publicly, he really directed\naffairs, without either the responsibility or the restraints which the\noffice imposed. His influence with the Romans he owed to the religious\nviews which he professed, to his open partisanship of the foreigner, and\nto his enormous wealth.... We have seen what immense revenues the family\nof Annas must have derived from the Temple booths, and how nefarious and\nunpopular was the traffic. The names of those bold, licentious,\nunscrupulous, degenerate sons of Aaron were spoken with whispered\ncurses. Without referring to Christ's interference with that\nTemple-traffic, which, if His authority had prevailed, would of course\nhave been fatal to it, we can understand how antithetic in every respect\na Messiah, and such a Messiah as Jesus, must have been to Annas.... No\naccount is given of what passed before Annas. Even the fact of Christ's\nbeing first brought to him is only mentioned in the fourth Gospel. As\nthe disciples had all forsaken Him and fled, we can understand that they\nwere in ignorance of what actually passed, till they had again rallied,\nat least so far, that Peter and 'another disciple', evidently John,\n'followed Him into the palace of the high priest'--that is, into the\npalace of Caiaphas, not of Annas. For as, according to the three\nsynoptic Gospels, the palace of the high priest Caiaphas was the scene\nof Peter's denial, the account of it in the fourth Gospel must refer to\nthe same locality, and not to the palace of Annas.\"--Edersheim, _Life\nand Times of Jesus the Messiah_; vol. 2, pp. 547-8.\n\n2. Christ's Forbearance when Smitten.--That Jesus maintained His\nequanimity and submissiveness even under the provocation of a blow dealt\nby a brutish underling in the presence of the high priest, is\nconfirmatory of our Lord's affirmation that He had \"overcome the world\"\n(John 16:33). One cannot read the passage without comparing, perhaps\ninvoluntarily, the divine submissiveness of Jesus on this occasion, with\nthe wholly natural and human indignation of Paul under somewhat similar\nconditions at a later time (Acts 23:1-5). The high priest Ananias,\ndispleased at Paul's remarks, ordered someone who stood by to smite him\non the mouth. Paul broke forth in angry protest: \"God shall smite thee,\nthou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and\ncommandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?\" Afterward he\napologized, saying that he knew not that it was the high priest who had\ngiven the command that he be smitten. See _Articles of Faith_, xxiii,\nII, and Note 1 following the same lecture; and Farrar's _Life and Works\nof St. Paul_, pp. 539-540.\n\n3. High Priests and Elders.--These titles as held by officials of the\nJewish hierarchy in the time of Christ must not be confused with the\nsame designations as applied to holders of the Higher or Melchizedek\nPriesthood. The high priest of the Jews was the presiding priest; he had\nto be of Aaronic descent to be a priest at all; he became high priest by\nRoman appointment. The elders, as the name indicates, were men of mature\nyears and experience, who were appointed to act as magistrates in the\ntowns, and as judges in the ecclesiastical tribunals, either in the\nLesser Sanhedrins of the provinces, or in the Great Sanhedrin at\nJerusalem. The term \"elder\" as commonly used among the Jews in the days\nof Jesus had no closer relation to eldership in the Melchizedek\nPriesthood than had the title \"scribe\". The duties of Jewish high\npriests and elders combined both ecclesiastical and secular functions;\nindeed both offices had come to be in large measure political\nperquisites. See \"Elder\" in Smith's _Bible Dictionary_. From the\ndeparture of Moses to the coming of Christ, the organized theocracy of\nIsrael was that of the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, comprizing the\noffice of priest, which was confined to the lineage of Aaron, and the\nlesser offices of teacher and deacon, which were combined in the\nLevitical order. See \"Orders and Offices in the Priesthood\" by the\nauthor in _The Articles of Faith_, xi:13-24.\n\n4. Illegalities of the Jewish Trial of Jesus.--Many volumes have been\nwritten on the so-called trial of Jesus. Only a brief summary of the\nprincipal items of fact and law can be incorporated here. For further\nconsideration reference may be made to the following treatments:\nEdersheim, _Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah_; Andrews, _Life of Our\nLord_; Dupin, _Jesus before Caiaphas and Pilate_; Mendelsohn, _Criminal\nJurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews_; Salvador, _Institutions of\nMoses_; Innes, _The Trial of Jesus Christ_; Maimonides, _Sanhedrin_; MM.\nLemann, _Jesus before the Sanhedrin_; Benny, _Criminal Code of the\nJews_; and Walter M. Chandler, of the New York Bar, _The Trial of Jesus\nfrom a Lawyer's Standpoint_. The last named is a two volume work\ntreating respectively, \"The Hebrew Trial\" and \"The Roman Trial\", and\ncontains citations from the foregoing and other works.\n\nEdersheim (vol. 2, pp. 556-8) contends that the night arraignment of\nJesus in the house of Caiaphas was not a trial before the Sanhedrin, and\nnotes the irregularities and illegalities of the procedure as proof that\nthe Sanhedrin could not have done what was done that night. With ample\ncitations in corroboration of the legal requirements specified, the\nauthor says: \"But besides, the trial and sentence of Jesus in the palace\nof Caiaphas would have outraged every principle of Jewish criminal law\nand procedure. Such causes could only be tried, and capital sentence\npronounced, in the regular meeting-place of the Sanhedrin, not, as here,\nin the high priest's palace; no process, least of all such an one, might\nbe begun in the night, nor even in the afternoon, although if the\ndiscussion had gone on all day, sentence might be pronounced at night.\nAgain, no process could take place on Sabbaths or feast-days, or even on\nthe eves of them, although this would not have nullified proceedings;\nand it might be argued on the other side, that a process against one who\nhad seduced the people should preferably be carried on, and sentence\nexecuted, on public feast-days, for the warning of all. Lastly, in\ncapital causes there was a very elaborate system of warning, and\ncautioning witnesses; while it may safely be affirmed that at a regular\ntrial Jewish judges, however prejudiced, would not have acted as the\nSanhedrists and Caiaphas did on this occasion.... But although Christ\nwas not tried and sentenced in a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin, there\ncan, alas! be no question that His condemnation and death were the work,\nif not of the Sanhedrin, yet of the Sanhedrists--of the whole body of\nthem ('all the council') in the sense of expressing what was the\njudgment and purpose of all the supreme council and leaders of Israel,\nwith only very few exceptions. We bear in mind that the resolution to\nsacrifice Christ had for some time been taken.\"\n\nThe purpose in quoting the foregoing is to show on acknowledged and\neminent authority, some of the illegalities of the night trial of Jesus,\nwhich, as shown by the above, and by the scriptural record, was\nconducted by the high priest and \"the council\" or Sanhedrin, in\nadmittedly irregular and unlawful manner. If the Sanhedrists tried and\ncondemned, yet were not in session as the Sanhedrin, the enormity of the\nproceeding is, if possible, deeper and blacker than ever.\n\nIn Chandler's excellent work (vol. I, \"The Hebrew Trial\"), the record of\nfact in the case, and the Hebrew criminal law bearing thereon are\nexhaustively considered. Then follows an elaborate \"Brief\", in which the\nfollowing points are set forth in order.\n\n\"_Point 1: The Arrest of Jesus was illegal_\", since it was effected by\nnight, and through the treachery of Judas, an accomplice, both of which\nfeatures were expressly forbidden in the Jewish law of that day.\n\n\"_Point 2: The private examination of Jesus before Annas or Caiaphas was\nillegal_\"; for (1) it was made by night; (2) the hearing of any cause by\na 'sole judge' was expressly forbidden; (3) as quoted from Salvador, 'A\nprinciple perpetually reproduced in the Hebrew scriptures relates to the\ntwo conditions of publicity and liberty.'\n\n\"_Point 3: The indictment against Jesus was, in form, illegal._ 'The\nentire criminal procedure of the Mosaic code rests upon four rules:\ncertainty in the indictment; publicity in the discussion; full freedom\ngranted to the accused; and assurance against all dangers or errors of\ntestimony'--Salvador, p. 365. 'The Sanhedrin did not and could not\noriginate charges; it only investigated those brought before\nit'--Edersheim, vol. I, p. 309. 'The evidence of the leading witnesses\nconstituted the charge. There was no other charge; no more formal\nindictment. Until they spoke and spoke in the public assembly, the\nprisoner was scarcely an accused man,'--Innes, p. 41. 'The only\nprosecutors known to Talmudic criminal jurisprudence are the witnesses\nto the crime. Their duty is to bring the matter to the cognizance of the\ncourt, and to bear witness against the criminal. In capital cases they\nare the legal executioners also. Of an official accuser or prosecutor\nthere is nowhere any trace in the laws of the ancient Hebrews.'--\nMendelsohn, p. 110.\n\n\"_Point 4: The proceedings of the Sanhedrin against Jesus were illegal\nbecause they were conducted at night._ 'Let a capital offense be tried\nduring the day, but suspend it at night,'--Mishna, Sanhedrin 4:1.\n'Criminal cases can be acted upon by the various courts during daytime\nonly, by the Lesser Sanhedrions from the close of the morning service\ntill noon, and by the Great Sanhedrion till evening.'--Mendelsohn, p.\n112.\n\n\"_Point 5: The proceedings of the Sanhedrin against Jesus were illegal\nbecause the court convened before the offering of the morning\nsacrifice._ 'The Sanhedrin sat from the close of the morning sacrifice\nto the time of the evening sacrifice,'--Talmud, Jer. San. 1:19. 'No\nsession of the court could take place before the offering of the morning\nsacrifice'.--MM. Lemann, p. 109. 'Since the morning sacrifice was\noffered at the dawn of day, it was hardly possible for the Sanhedrin to\nassemble until the hour after that time,'--Mishna, Tamid, ch. 3.\n\n\"_Point 6: The proceedings against Jesus were illegal because they were\nconducted on the day preceding a Jewish Sabbath; also on the first day\nof unleavened bread and the eve of the Passover._ 'They shall not judge\non the eve of the Sabbath nor on that of any festival.'--Mishna, San.\n4:1. 'No court of justice in Israel was permitted to hold sessions on\nthe Sabbath or any of the seven Biblical holidays. In cases of capital\ncrime, no trial could be commenced on Friday or the day previous to any\nholiday, because it was not lawful either to adjourn such cases longer\nthan over night, or to continue them on the Sabbath or holiday.'--Rabbi\nWise, 'Martyrdom of Jesus', p. 67.\n\n\"_Point 7: The trial of Jesus was illegal because it was concluded\nwithin one day._ 'A criminal case resulting in the acquittal of the\naccused may terminate the same day on which the trial began. But if a\nsentence of death is to be pronounced, it cannot be concluded before the\nfollowing day.'--Mishna, San. 4:1.\n\n\"_Point 8: The sentence of condemnation pronounced against Jesus by the\nSanhedrin was illegal because it was founded upon His uncorroborated\nconfession._ 'We have it as a fundamental principle of our jurisprudence\nthat no one can bring an accusation against himself. Should a man make\nconfession of guilt before a legally constituted tribunal, such\nconfession is not to be used against him unless properly attested by two\nother witnesses,'--Maimonides, 4:2. 'Not only is self-condemnation never\nextorted from the defendant by means of torture, but no attempt is ever\nmade to lead him on to self-incrimination. Moreover, a voluntary\nconfession on his part is not admitted in evidence, and therefore not\ncompetent to convict him, unless a legal number of witnesses minutely\ncorroborate his self-accusation.'--Mendelsohn, p. 133.\n\n\"_Point 9: The condemnation of Jesus was illegal because the verdict of\nthe Sanhedrin was unanimous._ 'A simultaneous and unanimous verdict of\nguilt rendered on the day of the trial has the effect of an\nacquittal.'--Mendelsohn, p. 141. 'If none of the judges defend the\nculprit, i.e., all pronounce him guilty, having no defender in the\ncourt, the verdict of guilty was invalid and the sentence of death could\nnot be executed.'--Rabbi Wise, 'Martyrdom of Jesus', p. 74.\n\n\"_Point 10: The proceedings against Jesus were illegal in that: (1) The\nsentence of condemnation was pronounced in a place forbidden by law; (2)\nThe high priest rent his clothes; (3) The balloting was irregular._\n'After leaving the hall Gazith no sentence of death can be passed upon\nany one soever,'--Talmud, Bab. 'Of Idolatry' 1:8. 'A sentence of death\ncan be pronounced only so long as the Sanhedrin holds its sessions in\nthe appointed place.'--Maimonides, 14. See further Levit. 21:10; compare\n10:6. 'Let the judges each in his turn absolve or condemn.'--Mishna,\nSan. 15:5. 'The members of the Sanhedrin were seated in the form of a\nsemicircle, at the extremity of which a secretary was placed, whose\nbusiness it was to record the votes. One of these secretaries recorded\nthe votes in favor of the accused, the other those against\nhim.'--Mishna, San. 4:3. 'In ordinary cases the judges voted according\nto seniority, the oldest commencing; in a capital case the reverse order\nwas followed.'--Benny, p. 73.\n\n\"_Point 11: The members of the Great Sanhedrin were legally disqualified\nto try Jesus._ 'Nor must there be on the judicial bench either a\nrelation or a particular friend, or an enemy of either the accused or of\nthe accuser.'--Mendelsohn, p. 108. 'Nor under any circumstances was a\nman known to be at enmity with the accused person permitted to occupy a\nposition among the judges.'--Benny, p. 37.\n\n\"_Point 12: The condemnation of Jesus was illegal because the merits of\nthe defense were not considered._ 'Then shalt thou enquire, and make\nsearch, and ask diligently.'--Deut. 13:14. 'The judges shall weigh the\nmatter in the sincerity of their conscience.'--Mishna, San. 4:5. 'The\nprimary object of the Hebrew judicial system was to render the\nconviction of an innocent person impossible. All the ingenuity of the\nJewish legists was directed to the attainment of this end.'--Benny, p.\n56.\"\n\nChandler's masterly statements of fact and his arguments on each of the\nforegoing points are commended to the investigator. The author tersely\navers: \"The pages of human history present no stronger case of judicial\nmurder than the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, for the\nsimple reason that all forms of law were outraged and trampled under\nfoot in the proceedings instituted against Him.\" (p. 216.)\n\n5. \"His Blood be on us, and on Our Children.\"--Edersheim (vol. 2, p.\n578) thus forcefully comments on the acknowledgment of responsibility\nfor the death of Christ: \"The Mishna tells us that, after the solemn\nwashing of hands of the elders and their disclaimer of guilt, priests\nresponded with this prayer: 'Forgive it to thy people Israel, whom thou\nhast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood upon thy people\nIsrael.' But here, in answer to Pilate's words, came back that deep,\nhoarse cry: 'His blood be upon us,' and--God help us!--'on our\nchildren.' Some thirty years later, and on that very spot, was judgment\npronounced against some of the best in Jerusalem; and among the 3,600\nvictims of the governor's fury, of whom not a few were scourged and\ncrucified right over against the Pretorium, were many of the noblest of\nthe citizens of Jerusalem. (Josephus, Wars, xiv, chap. 8:9). A few years\nmore, and hundreds of crosses bore Jewish mangled bodies within sight of\nJerusalem. And still have these wanderers seemed to bear, from century\nto century, and from land to land, that burden of blood; and still does\nit seem to weigh 'on us and on our children'.\"\n\n6. \"We Have no King but C\u00e6sar.\"--\"With this cry Judaism was, in the\nperson of its representatives, guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, of\napostasy. It committed suicide; and ever since has its dead body been\ncarried in show from land to land, and from century to century,--to be\ndead and to remain dead, till He come a second time, who is the\nresurrection and the life.\"--Edersheim, vol. 2, p. 581.\n\n7. The Underlying Cause of Pilate's Surrender to the Jewish\nDemands.--Pilate knew what was right but lacked the moral courage to do\nit. He was afraid of the Jews, and more afraid of hostile influence at\nRome. He was afraid of his conscience, but more afraid of losing his\nofficial position. It was the policy of Rome to be gracious and\nconciliatory in dealing with the religions and social customs of\nconquered nations. Pontius Pilate had violated this liberal policy from\nthe early days of his procuratorship. In utter disregard of the Hebrew\nantipathy against images and heathen insignia, he had the legionaries\nenter Jerusalem at night, carrying their eagles and standards decorated\nwith the effigy of the emperor. To the Jews this act was a defilement of\nthe Holy City. In vast multitudes they gathered at C\u00e6sarea, and\npetitioned the procurator that the standards and other images be removed\nfrom Jerusalem. For five days the people demanded and Pilate refused. He\nthreatened a general slaughter, and was amazed to see the people offer\nthemselves as victims of the sword rather than relinquish their demands.\nPilate had to yield (Josephus, Ant. xviii, chap. 3:1; also Wars, ii,\nchap. 9:2, 3). Again he gave offense in forcibly appropriating the\nCorban, or sacred funds of the temple, to the construction of an\naqueduct for supplying Jerusalem with water from the pools of Solomon.\nAnticipating the public protest of the people, he had caused Roman\nsoldiers to disguise themselves as Jews; and with weapons concealed to\nmingle with the crowds. At a given signal these assassins plied their\nweapons and great numbers of defenceless Jews were killed or wounded\n(Josephus, Ant. xviii, chap. 3:2; and Wars, ii, chap. 9:3, 4). On\nanother occasion, Pilate had grossly offended the people by setting up\nin his official residence at Jerusalem, shields that had been dedicated\nto Tiberius, and this \"less for the honor of Tiberius than for the\nannoyance of the Jewish people.\" A petition signed by the ecclesiastical\nofficials of the nation, and by others of influence, including four\nHerodian princes, was sent to the emperor, who reprimanded Pilate and\ndirected that the shields be removed from Jerusalem to C\u00e6sarea (Philo.\nDe Legatione ad Caium; sec. 38).\n\nThese outrages on national feeling, and many minor acts of violence,\nextortion and cruelty, the Jews held against the procurator. He realized\nthat his tenure was insecure, and he dreaded exposure. Such wrongs had\nhe wrought that when he would have done good, he was deterred through\ncowardly fear of the accusing past.\n\n8. Judas Iscariot.--Today we speak of a traitor as a \"Judas\" or an\n\"Iscariot\". The man who made the combined name infamous has been for\nages a subject of discussion among theologians and philosophers, and in\nlater times the light of psychological analysis has been turned upon\nhim. German philosophers were among the earliest to assert that the man\nhad been judged in unrighteousness, and that his real character was of\nbrighter tint than that in which it had been painted. Indeed some\ncritics hold that of all the Twelve Judas was the one most thoroughly\nconvinced of our Lord's divinity in the flesh; and these apologists\nattempt to explain the betrayal as a deliberate and well-intended move\nto force Jesus into a position of difficulty from which He could escape\nonly by the exercize of His powers of Godship, which, up to that time,\nHe had never used in His own behalf.\n\nWe are not the invested judges of Judas nor of any other; but we are\ncompetent to frame and hold opinions as to the actions of any. In the\nlight of the revealed word it appears that Judas Iscariot had given\nhimself up to the cause of Satan while ostensibly serving the Christ in\nan exalted capacity. Such a surrender to evil powers could be\naccomplished only through sin. The nature and extent of the man's\ntransgressions through the years are not told us. He had received the\ntestimony that Jesus was the Son of God; and in the full light of that\nconviction he turned against his Lord, and betrayed Him to death. Modern\nrevelation is no less explicit than ancient in declaring that the path\nof sin is that of spiritual darkness leading to certain destruction. If\nthe man who is guilty of adultery, even in his heart only, shall, unless\nhe repents, surely forfeit the companionship of the Spirit of God, and\n\"shall deny the faith\", and so the voice of God hath affirmed (see Doc.\nand Cov. 63:16), we cannot doubt that any and all forms of deadly sin\nshall poison the soul and, if not forsaken through true repentance,\nshall bring that soul to condemnation. For his trained and skilful\nservants, Satan will provide opportunities of service commensurate with\ntheir evil ability. Whatever the opinion of modern critics as to the\ngood character of Judas, we have the testimony of John, who for nearly\nthree years had been in close companionship with him, that the man was a\nthief (12:6); and Jesus referred to him as a devil (6:70), and as \"the\nson of perdition\" (17:12). See in this connection Doc. and Cov.\n76:41-48.\n\nThat the evil proclivities of Judas Iscariot were known to Christ is\nevidenced by the Lord's direct statement that among the Twelve was one\nwho was a devil; (John 6:70; compare 13:27; Luke 22:3); and furthermore\nthat this knowledge was His when the Twelve were selected is suggested\nby the words of Jesus: \"I know whom I have chosen\", coupled with the\nexplanation that in the choice He had made would the scriptures be\nfulfilled. As the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God was foreknown and\nforetold so the circumstances of the betrayal were foreseen. It would be\ncontrary to both the letter and spirit of the revealed word to say that\nthe wretched Iscariot was in the least degree deprived of freedom or\nagency in the course he followed to so execrable an end. His was the\nopportunity and privilege common to the Twelve, to live in the light of\nthe Lord's immediate presence, and to receive from the source divine the\nrevelation of God's purposes. Judas Iscariot was no victim of\ncircumstances, no insensate tool guided by a superhuman power, except as\nhe by personal volition gave himself up to Satan, and accepted a wage in\nthe devil's employ. Had Judas been true to the right, other means than\nhis perfidy would have operated to bring the Lamb to the slaughter. His\nordination to the apostleship placed him in possession of opportunity\nand privilege above that of the uncalled and unordained; and with such\nblessed possibility of achievement in the service of God came\ncorresponding capability to fall. A trusted and exalted officer of the\ngovernment can commit acts of treachery and treason such as are\nimpossible to the citizen who has never learned the secrets of State.\nAdvancement implies increased accountability, even more literally so in\nthe affairs of God's kingdom than in the institutions of men.\n\nThere is an apparent discrepancy between the account of Judas Iscariot's\ndeath given by Matthew (27:3-10) and that in Acts (1:16-20). According\nto the first, Judas hanged himself; the second states that he fell\nheadlong, \"and all his bowels gushed out.\" If both records be accurate,\nthe wretched man probably hanged himself, and afterward fell, possibly\nthrough the breaking of the cord or the branch to which it was attached.\nMatthew says the Jewish rulers purchased the \"field of blood\"; the\nwriter of the Acts quotes Peter as saying that Judas bought the field\nwith the money he had received from the priests. As the ground was\nbought with the money that had belonged to Iscariot, and as this money\nhad never been formally taken back by the temple officials, the field\nbought therewith belonged technically to the estate of Judas. The\nvariations are of importance mainly as showing independence of\nauthorship. The accounts agree in the essential feature, that Judas died\na miserable suicide.\n\nConcerning the fate of the \"sons of perdition,\" the Lord has given a\npartial but awful account through a revelation dated February 16, 1832:\n\"Thus saith the Lord, concerning all those who know my power, and have\nbeen made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the power\nof the devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my\npower--They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that\nit had been better for them never to have been born, For they are\nvessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and\nhis angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is no\nforgiveness in this world nor in the world to come, Having denied the\nHoly Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only\nBegotten Son of the Father--having crucified him unto themselves and put\nhim to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake of\nfire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels, And the only ones on\nwhom the second death shall have any power.... Wherefore, he saves all\nexcept them: they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is\nendless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil\nand his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is\nnot quenched, which is their torment; And the end thereof, neither the\nplace thereof, nor their torment, no man knows. Neither was it revealed,\nneither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are\nmade partakers thereof: Nevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision unto\nmany, but straightway shut it up again: Wherefore the end, the width,\nthe height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not,\nneither any man except them who are ordained unto this condemnation.\"--\nDoc. and Cov. 76:31-37, 44-48.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1249] John 18:13, 24.\n\n[1250] Matt. 26:57; Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54.\n\n[1251] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1252] John 18:14; compare 11:49, 50.\n\n[1253] John 18:19-23.\n\n[1254] The common text of John 18:22, says that the man \"struck Jesus\nwith the palm of his hand,\" that is to say slapped Him; such an act\nadded humiliating insult to violence; the marginal reading of the\nrevised version is \"with a rod.\" There is lack of agreement on this\npoint in the early Mss.\n\n[1255] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1256] Matt. 26:59-61; Mark 14:55-59.\n\n[1257] Matt. 26:61 and Mark 14:58.\n\n[1258] John 2:18-22; see pages 156, 157 herein.\n\n[1259] Note the accusation reported to Pilate that Jesus was guilty of\n\"perverting the nation,\" Luke 23:2.\n\n[1260] Matt. 26:63-66; compare Mark 14:61-64.\n\n[1261] Pages 191, 201.\n\n[1262] Compare Mark 14:62.\n\n[1263] Matt. 26:65, 66. Revised version reads: \"He is worthy of death,\"\nand gives in margin a yet more literal rendering: \"liable to\" death.\n\n[1264] Lev. 21:10.\n\n[1265] Josephus, Wars, ii, 15:2, 4; also 1 Maccabees 11:71.\n\n[1266] Matt. 26:67; Mark 14:65; compare Luke 18:32; see also Isa. 50:6.\n\n[1267] Matt. 26:68; Luke 22:62-65.\n\n[1268] Mark 14:64.\n\n[1269] Luke 22:66.\n\n[1270] John 18:28.\n\n[1271] Luke 22:66-71.\n\n[1272] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1273] Mark 15:1; compare Matt. 27:1, 2; John 18:28.\n\n[1274] Note 4, end of chapter, gives further details of the unlawful\nirregularities of the Jewish trial of Jesus.\n\n[1275] Matt. 26:58, 69-75; Mark 14:54, 66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John\n18:15-18, 25-27.\n\n[1276] John 18:8, 9; page 615 herein.\n\n[1277] John 1:35, 40; 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20, 24.\n\n[1278] Observe that Mark, who alone states that the Lord said to Peter\n\"before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice,\" (14:30) records\na first crowing of the cock after Peter's first denial (v. 68) and a\nsecond crowing after the third denial (v. 72).\n\n[1279] C\u00e6sarea Palestina, not C\u00e6sarea Philippi.\n\n[1280] John 18:28-32.\n\n[1281] Luke 23:2.\n\n[1282] John 18:33-38; compare Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3, 4.\n\n[1283] Luke 23:5-7.\n\n[1284] Luke 23:8-12.\n\n[1285] Pages 110, 118; see also page 106.\n\n[1286] Luke 23:12.\n\n[1287] Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7, 9.\n\n[1288] Luke 13:31, 32; page 446 herein.\n\n[1289] Luke 23:11. Revised version reads, \"arraying him in gorgeous\napparel.\" Clarke (\"Commentaries\") and many other writers assume that the\nrobe was white, that being the usual color of dress amongst the Jewish\nnobility.\n\n[1290] Luke 23:13-25; Matt. 27:15-31; Mark 15:6-20; John 18:39, 40;\n19:1-16.\n\n[1291] Matt. 27:18; Mark 15:10.\n\n[1292] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1293] Matthew says \"scarlet,\" Mark and John say \"purple.\"\n\n[1294] Compare Luke 18:32.\n\n[1295] \"Ecce Homo.\"\n\n[1296] Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1297] Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1298] Matt. 27:3-10; compare Acts 1:16-20.\n\n[1299] Revised version of Matt. 27:5 reads, \"And he cast down the pieces\nof silver into the sanctuary\" instead of \"in the temple,\" signifying\nthat he flung the money into the Porch of the Holy House, as\ndistinguished from the outer and public courts.\n\n[1300] Acts 1:19; Matt. 27:8. Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 35.\n\nDEATH AND BURIAL.\n\n\nON THE WAY TO CALVARY.[1301]\n\nPontius Pilate, having reluctantly surrendered to the clamorous demands\nof the Jews, issued the fatal order; and Jesus, divested of the purple\nrobe and arrayed in His own apparel, was led away to be crucified. A\nbody of Roman soldiers had the condemned Christ in charge; and as the\nprocession moved out from the governor's palace, a motley crowd\ncomprizing priestly officials, rulers of the Jews, and people of many\nnationalities, followed. Two convicted criminals, who had been sentenced\nto the cross for robbery, were led forth to death at the same time;\nthere was to be a triple execution; and the prospective scene of horror\nattracted the morbidly minded, such as delight to gloat over the\nsufferings of their fellows. In the crowd, however, were some genuine\nmourners, as shall be shown. It was the Roman custom to make the\nexecution of convicts as public as possible, under the mistaken and\nanti-psychological assumption, that the spectacle of dreadful punishment\nwould be of deterrent effect. This misconception of human nature has not\nyet become entirely obsolete.\n\nThe sentence of death by crucifixion required that the condemned person\ncarry the cross upon which he was to suffer. Jesus started on the way\nbearing His cross. The terrible strain of the preceding hours, the agony\nin Gethsemane, the barbarous treatment He had suffered in the palace of\nthe high priest, the humiliation and cruel usage to which He had been\nsubjected before Herod, the frightful scourging under Pilate's order,\nthe brutal treatment by the inhuman soldiery, together with the extreme\nhumiliation and the mental agony of it all, had so weakened His physical\norganism that He moved but slowly under the burden of the cross. The\nsoldiers, impatient at the delay, peremptorily impressed into service a\nman whom they met coming into Jerusalem from the country, and him they\ncompelled to carry the cross of Jesus. No Roman or Jew would have\nvoluntarily incurred the ignominy of bearing such a gruesome burden; for\nevery detail connected with the carrying out of a sentence of\ncrucifixion was regarded as degrading. The man so forced to walk in the\nfootsteps of Jesus, bearing the cross upon which the Savior of the world\nwas to consummate His glorious mission, was Simon, a native of Cyrene.\nFrom Mark's statement that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus\nwe infer that the two sons were known to the evangelist's readers as\nmembers of the early Church, and there is some indication that the\nhousehold of Simon the Cyrenian came to be numbered with the\nbelievers.[1302]\n\nAmong those who followed or stood and watched the death-procession pass,\nwere some, women particularly, who bewailed and lamented the fate to\nwhich Jesus was going. We read of no man who ventured to raise his voice\nin protest or pity; but on this dreadful occasion as at other times,\nwomen were not afraid to cry out in commiseration or praise. Jesus, who\nhad been silent under the inquisition of the priests, silent under the\nhumiliating mockery of the sensual Herod and his coarse underlings,\nsilent when buffeted and beaten by the brutal legionaries of Pilate,\nturned to the women whose sympathizing lamentations had reached His\nears, and uttered these pathetic and portentous words of admonition and\nwarning: \"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for\nyourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in\nthe which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that\nnever bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to\nsay to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if\nthey do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?\" It\nwas the Lord's last testimony of the impending holocaust of destruction\nthat was to follow the nation's rejection of her King. Although\nmotherhood was the glory of every Jewish woman's life, yet in the\nterrible scenes which many of those there weeping would live to witness,\nbarrenness would be accounted a blessing; for the childless would have\nfewer to weep over, and at least would be spared the horror of seeing\ntheir offspring die of starvation or by violence; for so dreadful would\nbe that day that people would fain welcome the falling of the mountains\nupon them to end their sufferings.[1303] If Israel's oppressors could do\nwhat was then in process of doing to the \"Green Tree,\" who bore the\nleafage of freedom and truth and offered the priceless fruit of life\neternal, what would the powers of evil not do to the withered branches\nand dried trunk of apostate Judaism?\n\nAlong the city streets, out through the portal of the massive wall, and\nthence to a place beyond but yet nigh unto Jerusalem, the cortege\nadvanced. The destination was a spot called Golgotha, or Calvary,\nmeaning \"the place of a skull.\"[1304]\n\n\nCRUCIFIXION.[1305]\n\nAt Calvary the official crucifiers proceeded without delay to carry into\neffect the dread sentence pronounced upon Jesus and upon the two\ncriminals. Preparatory to affixing the condemned to the cross, it was\nthe custom to offer each a narcotic draught of sour wine or vinegar\nmingled with myrrh and possibly containing other anodyne ingredients,\nfor the merciful purpose of deadening the sensibility of the victim.\nThis was no Roman practise, but was allowed as a concession to Jewish\nsentiment. When the drugged cup was presented to Jesus He put it to His\nlips, but having ascertained the nature of its contents refused to\ndrink, and so demonstrated His determination to meet death with\nfaculties alert and mind unclouded.\n\nThen they crucified Him, on the central cross of three, and placed one\nof the condemned malefactors on His right hand, the other on His left.\nThus was realized Isaiah's vision of the Messiah numbered among the\ntransgressors.[1306] But few details of the actual crucifixion are given\nus. We know however that our Lord was nailed to the cross by spikes\ndriven through the hands and feet, as was the Roman method, and not\nbound only by cords as was the custom in inflicting this form of\npunishment among some other nations. Death by crucifixion was at once\nthe most lingering and most painful of all forms of execution. The\nvictim lived in ever increasing torture, generally for many hours,\nsometimes for days. The spikes so cruelly driven through hands and feet\npenetrated and crushed sensitive nerves and quivering tendons, yet\ninflicted no mortal wound. The welcome relief of death came through the\nexhaustion caused by intense and unremitting pain, through localized\ninflammation and congestion of organs incident to the strained and\nunnatural posture of the body.[1307]\n\nAs the crucifiers proceeded with their awful task, not unlikely with\nroughness and taunts, for killing was their trade and to scenes of\nanguish they had grown callous through long familiarity, the agonized\nSufferer, void of resentment but full of pity for their heartlessness\nand capacity for cruelty, voiced the first of the seven utterances\ndelivered from the cross. In the spirit of God-like mercy He prayed:\n\"_Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do._\" Let us not\nattempt to fix the limits of the Lord's mercy; that it would be extended\nto all who in any degree could justly come under the blessed boon\nthereof ought to be a sufficing fact. There is significance in the form\nin which this merciful benediction was expressed. Had the Lord said, \"I\nforgive you,\" His gracious pardon may have been understood to be but a\nremission of the cruel offense against Himself as One tortured under\nunrighteous condemnation; but the invocation of the Father's forgiveness\nwas a plea for those who had brought anguish and death to the Father's\nWell Beloved Son, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Moses forgave\nMiriam for her offense against himself as her brother; but God alone\ncould remit the penalty and remove the leprosy that had come upon her\nfor having spoken against Jehovah's high priest.[1308]\n\nIt appears that under Roman rule, the clothes worn by a condemned person\nat the time of execution became the perquisites of the executioners. The\nfour soldiers in charge of the cross upon which the Lord suffered\ndistributed parts of His raiment among themselves; and there remained\nHis coat,[1309] which was a goodly garment, woven throughout in one\npiece, without seam. To rend it would be to spoil; so the soldiers cast\nlots to determine who should have it; and in this circumstance the\nGospel-writers saw a fulfilment of the psalmist's prevision: \"They\nparted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast\nlots.\"[1310]\n\nTo the cross above the head of Jesus was affixed a title or inscription,\nprepared by order of Pilate in accordance with the custom of setting\nforth the name of the crucified and the nature of the offense for which\nhe had been condemned to death. In this instance the title was inscribed\nin three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, one or more of which would\nbe understood by every observer who could read. The title so exhibited\nread: \"_This is Jesus the King of the Jews_\"; or in the more extended\nversion given by John \"_Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews_.\"[1311]\nThe inscription was read by many, for Calvary was close to the public\nthoroughfare and on this holiday occasion the passers-by were doubtless\nnumerous. Comment was aroused; for, if literally construed, the\ninscription was an official declaration that the crucified Jesus was in\nfact King of the Jews. When this circumstance was brought to the\nattention of the chief priests, they excitedly appealed to the governor,\nsaying: \"Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of\nthe Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.\" Pilate's\naction in so wording the title, and his blunt refusal to permit an\nalteration, may have been an intended rebuff to the Jewish officials who\nhad forced him against his judgment and will to condemn Jesus; possibly,\nhowever, the demeanor of the submissive Prisoner, and His avowal of\nKingship above all royalty of earth had impressed the mind if not the\nheart of the pagan governor with a conviction of Christ's unique\nsuperiority and of His inherent right of dominion; but, whatever the\npurpose behind the writing, the inscription stands in history as\ntestimony of a heathen's consideration in contrast with Israel's\nruthless rejection of Israel's King.[1312]\n\nThe soldiers whose duty it was to guard the crosses, until loitering\ndeath would relieve the crucified of their increasing anguish, jested\namong themselves, and derided the Christ, pledging Him in their cups of\nsour wine in tragic mockery. Looking at the title affixed above the\nSufferer's head, they bellowed forth the devil-inspired challenge: \"If\nthou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.\" The morbid multitude, and\nthe passers-by \"railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou\nthat destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself,\nand come down from the cross.\" But worst of all, the chief priests and\nthe scribes, the elders of the people, the unvenerable Sanhedrists,\nbecame ring-leaders of the inhuman mob as they gloatingly exulted and\ncried aloud: \"He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King\nof Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe\nhim. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him:\nfor he said, I am the Son of God.\"[1313] Though uttered in ribald\nmockery, the declaration of the rulers in Israel stands as an\nattestation that Christ had saved others, and as an intended ironical\nbut a literally true proclamation that He was the King of Israel. The\ntwo malefactors, each hanging from his cross, joined in the general\nderision, and \"cast the same in his teeth.\" One of them, in the\ndesperation incident to approaching death, echoed the taunts of the\npriests and people: \"If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.\"\n\nThe dominant note in all the railings and revilings, the ribaldry and\nmockery, with which the patient and submissive Christ was assailed while\nHe hung, \"lifted up\" as He had said He would be,[1314] was that awful\n\"If\" hurled at Him by the devil's emissaries in the time of mortal\nagony; as in the season of the temptations immediately after His baptism\nit had been most insidiously pressed upon Him by the devil\nhimself.[1315] That \"If\" was Satan's last shaft, keenly barbed and\ndoubly envenomed, and it sped as with the fierce hiss of a viper. Was it\npossible in this the final and most dreadful stage of Christ's mission,\nto make Him doubt His divine Sonship, or, failing such, to taunt or\nanger the dying Savior into the use of His superhuman powers for\npersonal relief or as an act of vengeance upon His tormentors? To\nachieve such a victory was Satan's desperate purpose. The shaft failed.\nThrough taunts and derision, through blasphemous challenge and\ndiabolical goading, the agonized Christ was silent.\n\nThen one of the crucified thieves, softened into penitence by the\nSavior's uncomplaining fortitude, and perceiving in the divine\nSufferer's demeanor something more than human, rebuked his railing\nfellow, saying: \"Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same\ncondemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our\ndeeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.\" His confession of guilt\nand his acknowledgment of the justice of his own condemnation led to\nincipient repentance, and to faith in the Lord Jesus, his companion in\nagony. \"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into\nthy kingdom.\"[1316] To the appeal of penitence the Lord replied with\nsuch a promise as He alone could make: \"Verily I say unto thee, To day\nshalt thou be with me in paradise.\"[1317]\n\nAmong the spectators of this, the greatest tragedy in history, were some\nwho had come in sympathy and sorrow. No mention is found of the presence\nof any of the Twelve, save one, and he, the disciple \"whom Jesus loved,\"\nJohn the apostle, evangelist, and revelator; but specific record is made\nof certain women who, first at a distance, and then close by the cross,\nwept in the anguish of love and sorrow. \"Now there stood by the cross of\nJesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas,\nand Mary Magdalene.\"[1318]\n\nIn addition to the women named were many others, some of whom had\nministered unto Jesus in the course of His labors in Galilee, and who\nwere among those that had come up with Him to Jerusalem.[1319] First in\npoint of consideration among them all was Mary, the mother of Jesus,\ninto whose soul the sword had pierced even as righteous Simeon had\nprophesied.[1320] Jesus looking with tender compassion upon His weeping\nmother, as she stood with John at the foot of the cross, commended her\nto the care and protection of the beloved disciple, with the words,\n\"_Woman, behold thy son!_\" and to John, \"_Behold thy mother!_\" The\ndisciple tenderly led the heart-stricken Mary away from her dying Son,\nand \"took her unto his own home,\" thus immediately assuming the new\nrelationship established by his dying Master.\n\nJesus was nailed to the cross during the forenoon of that fateful\nFriday, probably between nine and ten o'clock.[1321] At noontide the\nlight of the sun was obscured, and black darkness spread over the whole\nland. The terrifying gloom continued for a period of three hours. This\nremarkable phenomenon has received no satisfactory explanation from\nscience. It could not have been due to a solar eclipse, as has been\nsuggested in ignorance, for the time was that of full moon; indeed the\nPassover season was determined by the first occurrence of full moon\nafter the spring equinox. The darkness was brought about by miraculous\noperation of natural laws directed by divine power. It was a fitting\nsign of the earth's deep mourning over the impending death of her\nCreator.[1322] Of the mortal agony through which the Lord passed while\nupon the cross the Gospel-scribes are reverently reticent.\n\nAt the ninth hour, or about three in the afternoon, a loud voice,\nsurpassing the most anguished cry of physical suffering issued from the\ncentral cross, rending the dreadful darkness. It was the voice of the\nChrist: \"_Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My\nGod, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?_\" What mind of man can fathom\nthe significance of that awful cry? It seems, that in addition to the\nfearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had\nrecurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest\nhour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. That\nthe supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its\nfulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate\nPresence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory\nover the forces of sin and death. The cry from the cross, though heard\nby all who were near, was understood by few. The first exclamation,\n_Eloi_, meaning _My God_, was misunderstood as a call for Elias.\n\nThe period of faintness, the conception of utter forsakenness soon\npassed, and the natural cravings of the body reasserted themselves. The\nmaddening thirst, which constituted one of the worst of the crucifixion\nagonies, wrung from the Savior's lips His one recorded utterance\nexpressive of physical suffering. \"_I thirst_\" He said. One of those who\nstood by, whether Roman or Jew, disciple or skeptic, we are not told,\nhastily saturated a sponge with vinegar, a vessel of which was at hand,\nand having fastened the sponge to the end of a reed, or stalk of hyssop,\npressed it to the Lord's fevered lips. Some others would have prevented\nthis one act of human response, for they said: \"Let be, let us see\nwhether Elias will come to save him.\" John affirms that Christ uttered\nthe exclamation, \"I thirst,\" only when He knew \"that all things were now\naccomplished\"; and the apostle saw in the incident a fulfilment of\nprophecy.[1323]\n\nFully realizing that He was no longer forsaken, but that His atoning\nsacrifice had been accepted by the Father, and that His mission in the\nflesh had been carried to glorious consummation, He exclaimed in a loud\nvoice of holy triumph: \"_It is finished!_\" In reverence, resignation,\nand relief, He addressed the Father saying: \"_Father, into thy hands I\ncommend my spirit._\"[1324] He bowed His head, and voluntarily gave up\nHis life.\n\nJesus the Christ was dead. His life had not been taken from Him except\nas He had willed to permit. Sweet and welcome as would have been the\nrelief of death in any of the earlier stages of His suffering from\nGethsemane to the cross, He lived until all things were accomplished as\nhad been appointed. In the latter days the voice of the Lord Jesus has\nbeen heard affirming the actuality of His suffering and death, and the\neternal purpose thereby accomplished. Hear and heed His words: \"For,\nbehold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he\nsuffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto\nhim.\"[1325]\n\n\nIMPORTANT OCCURRENCES BETWEEN THE LORD'S DEATH AND BURIAL.\n\nThe death of Christ was accompanied by terrifying phenomena. There was a\nviolent earthquake; the rocks of the mighty hills were disrupted, and\nmany graves were torn open. But, most portentous of all in Judaistic\nminds, the veil of the temple which hung between the Holy Place and the\nHoly of Holies[1326] was rent from top to bottom, and the interior,\nwhich none but the high priest had been permitted to see, was thrown\nopen to common gaze. It was the rending of Judaism, the consummation of\nthe Mosaic dispensation, and the inauguration of Christianity under\napostolic administration.\n\nThe Roman centurion and the soldiers under his command at the place of\nexecution were amazed and greatly affrighted. They had probably\nwitnessed many deaths on the cross, but never before had they seen a man\napparently die of his own volition, and able to cry in a loud voice at\nthe moment of dissolution. That barbarous and inhuman mode of execution\ninduced slow and progressive exhaustion. The actual death of Jesus\nappeared to all who were present to be a miracle, as in fact it was.\nThis marvel, coupled with the earthquake and its attendant horrors, so\nimpressed the centurion that he prayed to God, and solemnly declared:\n\"Certainly this was a righteous man.\" Others joined in fearsome\naverment: \"Truly this was the Son of God.\" The terrified ones who spoke\nand those who heard left the place in a state of fear, beating their\nbreasts, and bewailing what seemed to be a state of impending\ndestruction.[1327] A few loving women, however, watched from a distant\npoint, and saw all that took place until the Lord's body was laid away.\n\nIt was now late in the afternoon; at sunset the Sabbath would begin.\nThat approaching Sabbath was held to be more than ordinarily sacred for\nit was a high day, in that it was the weekly Sabbath and a paschal holy\nday.[1328] The Jewish officials, who had not hesitated to slay their\nLord, were horrified at the thought of men left hanging on crosses on\nsuch a day, for thereby the land would be defiled;[1329] so these\nscrupulous rulers went to Pilate and begged that Jesus and the two\nmalefactors be summarily dispatched by the brutal Roman method of\nbreaking their legs, the shock of which violent treatment had been found\nto be promptly fatal to the crucified. The governor gave his consent,\nand the soldiers broke the limbs of the two thieves with cudgels. Jesus,\nhowever, was found to be already dead, so they broke not His bones.\nChrist, the great Passover sacrifice, of whom all altar victims had been\nbut suggestive prototypes, died through violence yet without a bone of\nHis body being broken, as was a prescribed condition of the slain\npaschal lambs.[1330] One of the soldiers, to make sure that Jesus was\nactually dead, or to surely kill Him if He was yet alive, drove a spear\ninto His side, making a wound large enough to permit a man's hand to be\nthrust thereinto.[1331] The withdrawal of the spear was followed by an\noutflow of blood and water,[1332] an occurrence so surprizing that John,\nwho was an eye-witness, bears specific personal testimony to the fact,\nand cites the scriptures thereby fulfilled.[1333]\n\n\nTHE BURIAL.[1334]\n\nA man known as Joseph of Arimathea, who was at heart a disciple of\nChrist, but who had hesitated to openly confess his conversion through\nfear of the Jews, desired to give the Lord's body a decent and honorable\ninterment. But for some such divinely directed intervention, the body of\nJesus might have been cast into the common grave of executed criminals.\nThis man, Joseph, was \"a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just.\"\nIt is expressly said of him that he \"had not consented to the counsel\nand deed of them\"; from which statement we infer that he was a\nSanhedrist and had been opposed to the action of his colleagues in\ncondemning Jesus to death, or at least had refrained from voting with\nthe rest. Joseph was a man of wealth, station, and influence. He went in\nboldly unto Pilate and begged the body of Christ. The governor was\nsurprized to learn that Jesus was already dead; he summoned the\ncenturion and inquired as to how long Jesus had lived on the cross. The\nunusual circumstance seems to have added to Pilate's troubled concern.\nHe gave command and the body of Christ was delivered to Joseph.\n\nThe body was removed from the cross; and in preparing it for the tomb\nJoseph was assisted by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, the\nsame who had come to Jesus by night three years before, and who at one\nof the conspiracy meetings of the council had protested against the\nunlawful condemnation of Jesus without a hearing.[1335] Nicodemus\nbrought a large quantity of myrrh and aloes, about a hundredweight. The\nodorous mixture was highly esteemed for anointing and embalming, but its\ncost restricted its use to the wealthy. These two revering disciples\nwrapped the Lord's body in clean linen, \"with the spices, as the manner\nof the Jews is to bury\"; and then laid it in a new sepulchre, hewn in\nthe rock. The tomb was in a garden, not far from Calvary, and was the\nproperty of Joseph. Because of the nearness of the Sabbath the interment\nhad to be made with haste; the door of the sepulchre was closed, a large\nstone was rolled against it;[1336] and thus laid away the body was left\nto rest. Some of the devoted women, particularly Mary Magdalene, and\n\"the other Mary,\" who was the mother of James and Joses, had watched the\nentombment from a distance; and when it was completed \"they returned,\nand prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according\nto the commandment.\"\n\n\nTHE SEPULCHRE GUARDED.[1337]\n\nOn the day following the \"preparation,\" that is to say on Saturday, the\nSabbath and \"high-day,\"[1338] the chief priests and Pharisees came in a\nbody to Pilate, saying: \"Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while\nhe was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore\nthat the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples\ncome by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen\nfrom the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.\" It is\nevident that the most inveterate of the human enemies of Christ\nremembered His predictions of an assured resurrection on the third day\nafter His death. Pilate answered with terse assent: \"Ye have a watch: go\nyour way, make it as sure as ye can.\" So the chief priests and Pharisees\nsatisfied themselves that the sepulchre was secure by seeing that the\nofficial seal was affixed at the junction of the great stone and the\nportal, and that an armed guard was placed in charge.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 35.\n\n1. Simon the Cyrenian.--Simon, upon whom the cross of Jesus was laid,\nwas a member of the Jewish colony in northern Africa, which had been\nestablished nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ by\nPtolemeus Lagi, who transported thither great numbers of Jews from\nPalestine (Josephus, Antiquities, xii, chap. 1). Cyrene, the home of\nSimon, was in the province of Libya; its site is within the present\nboundaries of Tunis. That the African Jews were numerous and influential\nis evidenced by the fact that they maintained a synagog in Jerusalem\n(Acts 6:9) for the accommodation of such of their number as visited the\ncity. Rufus and his mother are mentioned in friendly reference by Paul\nover a quarter of a century after the death of Christ (Romans 16:13). If\nthis Rufus be one of the sons of Simon named by Mark (15:21), as\ntradition indicates, it is probable that Simon's family was prominently\nidentified with the Primitive Church. As to whether Simon had become a\ndisciple before the crucifixion, or was converted through his compulsory\nservice in bearing the Lord's cross, or became a member of the Church at\na later date, we are not definitely told.\n\n2. Christ's Words to the Daughters of Jerusalem.--\"The time would come,\nwhen the Old Testament curse of barrenness (Hosea 9:14) would be coveted\nas a blessing. To show the fulfilment of this prophetic lament of Jesus\nit is not necessary to recall the harrowing details recorded by Josephus\n(Wars, vi, 3:4), when a frenzied mother roasted her own child, and in\nthe mockery of desperateness reserved the half of the horrible meal for\nthose murderers who daily broke in upon her to rob her of what scanty\nfood had been left her; nor yet other of those incidents, too revolting\nfor needless repetition, which the historian of the last siege of\nJerusalem chronicles. But how often, these many centuries, must Israel's\nwomen have felt that terrible longing for childlessness, and how often\nmust the prayer of despair for the quick death of falling mountains and\nburying hills rather than prolonged torture (Hosea 10:8), have risen to\nthe lips of Israel's sufferers! And yet, even so, these words were also\nprophetic of a still more terrible future (Rev. 6:10). For, if Israel\nhad put such flame to its 'green tree' how terribly would the divine\njudgment burn among the dry wood of an apostate and rebellious people,\nthat had so delivered up its Divine King, and pronounced sentence upon\nitself by pronouncing it upon Him!\"--Edersheim, _Life and Times of Jesus\nthe Messiah_ vol. 2, p. 588.\n\nConcerning the prayer that mountains fall to crush and hide, Farrar\n(_Life of Christ_, p. 645, note), says: \"These words of Christ met with\na painfully literal illustration when hundreds of the unhappy Jews at\nthe siege of Jerusalem hid themselves in the darkest and vilest\nsubterranean recesses, and when, besides those who were hunted out, no\nless than two thousand were killed by being buried under the ruins of\ntheir hiding places.\" A further fulfilment may be yet future. Consult\nJosephus, Wars, vi. 9:4. See also Hos. 9:12-16; 10:8; Isa. 2:10; compare\nRev. 6:16.\n\n3. \"The Place of a Skull.\"--The Aramaic Hebrew name \"Golgotha\", the\nGreek \"Kranion\", and the Latin \"Calvaria\" or, as Anglicized, \"Calvary\",\nhave the same meaning, and connote \"a skull\". The name may have been\napplied with reference to topographical features, as we speak of the\nbrow of a hill; or, if the spot was the usual place of execution, it may\nhave been so called as expressive of death, just as we call a skull a\ndeath's head. It is probable that the bodies of executed convicts were\nburied near the place of death; and if Golgotha or Calvary was the\nappointed site for execution, the exposure of skulls and other human\nbones through the ravages of beasts and by other means, would not be\nsurprizing; though the leaving of bodies or any of their parts unburied\nwas contrary to Jewish law and sentiment. The origin of the name is of\nas little importance as are the many divergent suppositions concerning\nthe exact location of the spot.\n\n4. Crucifixion.--\"It was unanimously considered the most horrible form\nof death. Among the Romans also the degradation was a part of the\ninfliction, and the punishment if applied to freeman was only used in\nthe case of the vilest criminals.... The criminal carried his own cross,\nor at any rate a part of it. Hence, figuratively, _to take, take up_ or\n_bear one's cross_ is _to endure suffering, affliction, or shame_ like a\ncriminal on his way to the place of crucifixion (Matt. 10:38; 16:24;\nLuke 14:27, etc.). The place of execution was outside the city (1 Kings\n21:13; Acts 7:58; Heb. 13:12), often in some public road or other\nconspicuous place. Arrived at the place of execution, the sufferer was\nstripped naked, the dress being the perquisite of the soldiers (Matt.\n27:35). The cross was then driven into the ground, so that the feet of\nthe condemned were a foot or two above the earth, and he was lifted upon\nit; or else stretched upon it on the ground and then lifted with it.\" It\nwas the custom to station soldiers to watch the cross, so as to prevent\nthe removal of the sufferer while yet alive. \"This was necessary from\nthe lingering character of the death, which sometimes did not supervene\neven for three days, and was at last the result of gradual benumbing and\nstarvation. But for this guard, the persons might have been taken down\nand recovered, as was actually done in the case of a friend of\nJosephus.... In most cases the body was suffered to rot on the cross by\nthe action of sun and rain, or to be devoured by birds and beasts.\nSepulture was generally therefore forbidden; but in consequence of Deut.\n21:22, 23, an express national exception was made in favor of the Jews\n(Matt. 27:58). This accursed and awful mode of punishment was happily\nabolished by Constantine.\" Smith's _Bible Dict._\n\n5. Pilate's Inscription--\"The King of the Jews.\"--No two of the\nGospel-writers give the same wording of the title or inscription placed\nby Pilate's order above the head of Jesus on the cross; the meaning,\nhowever, is the same in all, and the unessential variation is evidence\nof individual liberty among the recorders. It is probable that there was\nactual diversity in the trilingual versions. John's version is followed\nin the common abbreviations used in connection with Roman Catholic\nfigures of Christ: J. N. R. J.; or, inasmuch as \"I\" used to be an\nordinary equivalent of \"J\",--I. N. R. I.--\"Jesus of Nazareth, King [Rex]\nof the Jews.\"\n\n6. The Women at the Cross.--\"According to the authorized version and\nrevised version, only three women are named, but most modern critics\nhold that four are intended. Translate, therefore, 'His mother, and His\nmother's sister, (i.e. Salome, the mother of the evangelist [John]); and\nMary the wife of Cleophas; and Mary Magdalene.'\"--Taken from Dummelow's\ncommentary on John 19:25.\n\n7. The Hour of the Crucifixion.--Mark (15:25) says: \"And it was the\nthird hour and they crucified him\"; the time so specified corresponds to\nthe hour from 9 to 10 a.m. This writer and his fellow synoptists,\nMatthew and Luke, give place to many incidents that occurred between the\nnailing of Christ to the cross and the sixth hour or the hour from 12\nnoon to 1 p.m. From these several accounts it is clear that Jesus was\ncrucified during the forenoon. A discrepancy plainly appears between\nthese records and John's statement (19:14) that it was \"about the sixth\nhour\" (noon) when Pilate gave the sentence of execution. All attempts to\nharmonize the accounts in this particular have proved futile because the\ndiscrepancy is real. Most critics and commentators assume that \"about\nthe sixth hour\" in John's account is a misstatement, due to the errors\nof early copyists of the manuscript Gospels, who mistook the sign\nmeaning 3rd for that signifying 6th.\n\n8. The Physical Cause of Christ's Death.--While, as stated in the text,\nthe yielding up of life was voluntary on the part of Jesus Christ, for\nHe had life in Himself and no man could take His life except as He\nwilled to allow it to be taken, (John 1:4; 5:26; 10:15-18) there was of\nnecessity a direct physical cause of dissolution. As stated also the\ncrucified sometimes lived for days upon the cross, and death resulted,\nnot from the infliction of mortal wounds, but from internal congestion,\ninflammations, organic disturbances, and consequent exhaustion of vital\nenergy. Jesus, though weakened by long torture during the preceding\nnight and early morning, by the shock of the crucifixion itself, as also\nby intense mental agony, and particularly through spiritual suffering\nsuch as no other man has ever endured, manifested surprizing vigor, both\nof mind and body, to the last. The strong, loud utterance, immediately\nfollowing which He bowed His head and \"gave up the ghost\", when\nconsidered in connection with other recorded details, points to a\nphysical rupture of the heart as the direct cause of death. If the\nsoldier's spear was thrust into the left side of the Lord's body and\nactually penetrated the heart, the outrush of \"blood and water\" observed\nby John is further evidence of a cardiac rupture; for it is known that\nin the rare instances of death resulting from a breaking of any part of\nthe wall of the heart, blood accumulates within the pericardium, and\nthere undergoes a change by which the corpuscles separate as a partially\nclotted mass from the almost colorless, watery serum. Similar\naccumulations of clotted corpuscles and serum occur within the pleura.\nDr. Abercrombie of Edinburgh, as cited by Deems (_Light of the Nations_,\np. 682), \"gives a case of the sudden death of a man aged seventy-seven\nyears, owing to a rupture of the heart. In his case 'the cavities of the\npleura contained _about three pounds of fluid_, but the lungs were\nsound.'\" Deems also cites the following instance: \"Dr. Elliotson relates\nthe case of a woman who died suddenly. 'On opening the body the\npericardium was found distended with _clear serum_, and a very large\ncoagulum of blood, which had escaped through a spontaneous rupture of\nthe aorta near its origin, without any other morbid appearance.' Many\ncases might be cited, but these suffice.\" For detailed treatment of the\nsubject the student may be referred to Dr. Wm. Stroud's work _On the\nPhysical Cause of the Death of Christ_. Great mental stress, poignant\nemotion either of grief or joy, and intense spiritual struggle are among\nthe recognized causes of heart rupture.\n\nThe present writer believes that the Lord Jesus died of a broken heart.\nThe psalmist sang in dolorous measure according to his inspired\nprevision of the Lord's passion: \"Reproach hath broken my heart; and I\nam full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was\nnone; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for\nmy meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.\" (Psalm 69:20,\n21; see also 22:14.)\n\n9. The Request that Christ's Tomb be Sealed.--Many critics hold that the\ndeputation called upon Pilate on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath had\nended. This assumption is made on the ground that to do what these\npriestly officials did, in personally supervizing the sealing of the\ntomb, would have been to incur defilement, and that they would not have\nso done on the Sabbath. Matthew's statement is definite--that the\napplication was made on \"the next day, that followed the day of the\npreparation.\" The preparation day extended from sunset on Thursday to\nthe beginning of the Sabbath at sunset on Friday.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1301] Matt. 27:31-33; Mark 15:20-22; Luke 23:26-33; John: 16, 17.\n\n[1302] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1303] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1304] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1305] Matt. 27:34-50; Mark 15:23-37; Luke 23:33-46; John 19:18-30.\n\n[1306] Isa. 53:12; compare Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37.\n\n[1307] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1308] Numb. 12.\n\n[1309] Revised version, marginal reading, \"tunic.\"\n\n[1310] Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23,24; compare Psa.\n22:18.\n\n[1311] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1312] Pages 85 and 89.\n\n[1313] Matt. 27:42, 43. The clause \"if he be the King of Israel\" in\nverse 42 of the common text is admittedly a mistranslation; it should\nread \"He is the King of Israel.\" See revised version; also Edersheim,\nvol. 2, p. 596; compare Mark 15:32.\n\n[1314] John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32.\n\n[1315] Matt. 4:3, 6; see pages 130, 137 herein.\n\n[1316] Luke 23:42; the revised version reads \"when thou comest in thy\nkingdom.\"\n\n[1317] See chapter 36, following.\n\n[1318] John 19:25; compare Matt. 27:55, 56; Mark 15:40, 41; Luke 23:48,\n49. See Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1319] See references last cited; and Luke 8:2, 3; also page 264 herein.\n\n[1320] Luke 2:34, 35; page 97 herein.\n\n[1321] Mark 15:25; see Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1322] Compare P. of G.P., Moses 7:37, 40, 48, 49, 56.\n\n[1323] John 19:28; compare Psa. 69:21.\n\n[1324] The Gospel writers leave us in some uncertainty as to which of\nthe last two utterances from the cross.--\"It is finished,\" and \"Father,\ninto thy hands I commend my spirit,\" was spoken first.\n\n[1325] Doc. and Cov. 18:11; revelation given in June 1829; see also\n19:16-19, and page 613 herein.\n\n[1326] See \"The House of the Lord,\" pages 59, 60.\n\n[1327] Matt. 27:51-54; Mark 15:38, 39; Luke 23:47-49.\n\n[1328] John 19:31-37.\n\n[1329] Deut. 21:23.\n\n[1330] Exo. 12:46; Numb. 9:12; Psa. 34:20; John 19:36; 1 Cor. 5:7.\n\n[1331] John 20:27; B. of M., 3 Nephi 11:14, 15.\n\n[1332] Note 8, end of chapter.\n\n[1333] John 19:34-37; compare Psa. 22:16, 17; Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7.\n\n[1334] Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42.\n\n[1335] John 3:1, 2; 7:50; see pages 158 and 404 herein.\n\n[1336] See revised version, Mark 15:46.\n\n[1337] Matt. 27:62-66.\n\n[1338] Note 9, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 36.\n\nIN THE REALM OF DISEMBODIED SPIRITS.\n\n\nJesus the Christ died in the literal sense in which all men die. He\nunderwent a physical dissolution by which His immortal spirit was\nseparated from His body of flesh and bones, and that body was actually\ndead. While the corpse lay in Joseph's rock-hewn tomb, the living Christ\nexisted as a disembodied Spirit. We are justified in inquiring where He\nwas and what were His activities during the interval between His death\non the cross and His emergence from the sepulchre with spirit and body\nreunited, a resurrected Soul. The assumption that most naturally\nsuggests itself is that He went where the spirits of the dead ordinarily\ngo; and that, in the sense in which while in the flesh He had been a Man\namong men, He was, in the disembodied state a Spirit among spirits. This\nconception is confirmed as a fact by scriptural attestation.\n\nAs heretofore shown[1339] Jesus Christ was the chosen and ordained\nRedeemer and Savior of mankind; to this exalted mission He had been set\napart in the beginning, even before the earth was prepared as the abode\nof mankind. Unnumbered hosts who had never heard the gospel, lived and\ndied upon the earth before the birth of Jesus. Of those departed myriads\nmany had passed their mortal probation with varying degrees of righteous\nobservance of the law of God so far as it had been made known unto them,\nbut had died in unblamable ignorance of the gospel; while other\nmultitudes had lived and died as transgressors even against such moiety\nof God's law to man as they had learned and such as they had professed\nto obey. Death had claimed as its own all of these, both just and\nunjust. To them went the Christ, bearing the transcendently glorious\ntidings of redemption from the bondage of death, and of possible\nsalvation from the effects of individual sin. This labor was part of the\nSavior's foreappointed and unique service to the human family. The shout\nof divine exultation from the cross, \"It is finished,\" signified the\nconsummation of the Lord's mission in mortality; yet there remained to\nHim other ministry to be rendered prior to His return to the Father.\n\nTo the penitent transgressor crucified by His side, who reverently\ncraved remembrance when the Lord should come into His kingdom,[1340]\nChrist had given the comforting assurance: \"Verily I say unto thee,\nToday shalt thou be with me in paradise.\" The spirit of Jesus and the\nspirit of the repentant thief left their crucified bodies and went to\nthe same place in the realm of the departed.[1341] On the third day\nfollowing, Jesus, then a resurrected Being, positively stated to the\nweeping Magdalene: \"I am not yet ascended to my Father.\" He had gone to\nparadise but not to the place where God dwells. Paradise, therefore, is\nnot Heaven, if by the latter term we understand the abode of the Eternal\nFather and His celestialized children.[1342] Paradise is a place where\ndwell righteous and repentant spirits between bodily death and\nresurrection. Another division of the spirit world is reserved for those\ndisembodied beings who have lived lives of wickedness and who remain\nimpenitent even after death. Alma, a Nephite prophet, thus spake of the\nconditions prevailing among the departed:\n\n\"Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the\nresurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, that\nthe spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal\nbody; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are\ntaken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to\npass that the spirits of those who are righteous, are received into a\nstate of happiness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a state\nof peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all\ncare, and sorrow, &c. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits\nof the wicked, yea, who are evil; for behold, they have no part nor\nportion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works\nrather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them,\nand take possession of their house; and these shall be cast out into\nouter darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of\nteeth; and this because of their own iniquity; being led captive by the\nwill of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked:\nyea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for the fiery\nindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this\nstate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their\nresurrection.\"[1343]\n\nWhile divested of His body Christ ministered among the departed, both in\nparadise and in the prison realm where dwelt in a state of durance the\nspirits of the disobedient. To this effect testified Peter nearly three\ndecades after the great event: \"For Christ also hath once suffered for\nsins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put\nto death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he\nwent and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were\ndisobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of\nNoah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls\nwere saved by water.\"[1344]\n\nThe disobedient who had lived on earth in the Noachian period are\nespecially mentioned as beneficiaries of the Lord's ministry in the\nspirit world. They had been guilty of gross offenses, and had wantonly\nrejected the teachings and admonitions of Noah, the earthly minister of\nJehovah. For their flagrant sin they had been destroyed in the flesh,\nand their spirits had endured in a condition of imprisonment, without\nhope, from the time of their death to the advent of Christ, who came as\na Spirit amongst them. We are not to assume from Peter's illustrative\nmention of the disobedient antediluvians that they alone were included\nin the blessed opportunities offered through Christ's ministry in the\nspirit realm; on the contrary, we conclude in reason and consistency\nthat all whose wickedness in the flesh had brought their spirits into\nthe prison house were sharers in the possibilities of expiation,\nrepentance, and release. Justice demanded that the gospel be preached\namong the dead as it had been and was to be yet more widely preached\namong the living. Let us consider the further affirmation of Peter, as\npart of his pastoral admonition to the members of the Primitive Church:\n\"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the\ndead. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead,\nthat they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live\naccording to God in the spirit.\"[1345]\n\nThat Jesus knew, while yet in the body, that His mission as the\nuniversal Redeemer and Savior of the race would not be complete when He\ncame to die is sufficiently demonstrated by His words to the casuistical\nJews, following the Sabbath day healing at Bethesda: \"Verily, verily, I\nsay unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear\nthe voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the\nFather hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in\nhimself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because\nhe is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the\nwhich all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come\nforth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they\nthat have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.\"[1346] The\nsolemn truth, that through the atonement of Christ salvation would be\nmade possible to the dead as well as to the living, was revealed to the\nprophets centuries before the meridian of time. Isaiah was permitted to\nforesee the fate of the ungodly, and the state prepared for haughty and\nrebellious offenders against righteousness; but the dread vision was in\npart brightened by the deliverance that had been provided. \"And it shall\ncome to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the\nhigh ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.\nAnd they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the\npit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they\nbe visited.\"[1347] To the same mighty prophet was shown the universality\nof the Savior's atoning victory, as comprizing the redemption of Jew and\nGentile, living and dead; and convincingly he voiced the word of\nrevelation: \"Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and\nstretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which\ncometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and\nspirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in\nrighteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give\nthee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open\nthe blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them\nthat sit in darkness out of the prison house.\"[1348]\n\nDavid, singing the praises of the Redeemer whose dominion should extend\neven to the souls in hell, shouted in joy at the prospect of\ndeliverance: \"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my\nflesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;\nneither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt\nshew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy\nright hand there are pleasures for evermore.\"[1349]\n\nFrom these and other scriptures it is evident that the ministry of\nChrist among the disembodied was foreseen, predicted, and accomplished.\nThe fact that the gospel was preached to the dead necessarily implies\nthe possibility of the dead accepting the same and availing themselves\nof the saving opportunities thereof. In the merciful providence of the\nAlmighty, provision has been made for vicarious service by the living\nfor the dead, in the ordinances essential to salvation; so that all who\nin the spirit-world accept the word of God as preached to them, develop\ntrue faith in Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior, and contritely\nrepent of their transgressions, shall be brought under the saving effect\nof baptism by water for the remission of sins, and be recipients of the\nbaptism of the Spirit or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost.[1350] Paul\ncites the principle and practise of baptism by the living for the dead\nas proof of the actuality of the resurrection: \"Else what shall they do\nwhich are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are\nthey then baptized for the dead?\"[1351] Free agency, the divine\nbirthright of every human soul, will not be annulled by death. Only as\nthe spirits of the dead become penitent and faithful will they be\nbenefited by the vicarious service rendered in their behalf on earth.\n\nMissionary labor among the dead was inaugurated by the Christ; who of us\ncan doubt that it has been continued by His authorized servants, the\ndisembodied, who while in the flesh had been commissioned to preach the\ngospel and administer in the ordinances thereof through ordination in\nthe Holy Priesthood? That the faithful apostles who were left to build\nup the Church on earth following the departure of its divine Founder,\nthat other ministers of the word of God ordained to the Priesthood by\nauthority in the Primitive as well as in the Latter-day Church, have\npassed from ministerial service among mortals to a continuation of such\nlabor among the disembodied, is so abundantly implied in scripture as to\nbe made a certainty. They are called to follow in the footsteps of the\nMaster, ministering here among the living, and beyond among the dead.\n\nThe victory of Christ over death and sin would be incomplete were its\neffects confined to the small minority who have heard, accepted, and\nlived the gospel of salvation in the flesh. Compliance with the laws and\nordinances of the gospel is essential to salvation. Nowhere in scripture\nis a distinction made in this regard between the living and the dead.\nThe dead are those who have lived in mortality upon earth; the living\nare mortals who yet shall pass through the ordained change which we call\ndeath. All are children of the same Father, all to be judged and\nrewarded or punished by the same unerring justice, with the same\ninterposition of benign mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered,\nnot alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the\nflesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death,\nbut for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He was\nordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;[1352] He is\nLord alike of living and dead,[1353] as men speak of dead and living,\nthough all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there will\nbe but a single class, for all live unto Him.[1354] While His body\nreposed in the tomb, Christ was actively engaged in the further\naccomplishment of the Father's purposes, by offering the boon of\nsalvation to the dead, both in paradise and in hell.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 36.\n\n1. Paradise.--The scriptures prove that at the time of the final\njudgment every man will stand before the bar of God, clothed in his\nresurrected body, and this, irrespective of his condition of\nrighteousness or guilt. While awaiting resurrection, disembodied spirits\nexist in an intermediate state, of happiness and rest or of suffering\nand suspense, according to the course they have elected to follow in\nmortality. Reference to paradise as the abode of righteous spirits\nbetween the time of death and that of the resurrection is made by the\nprophet Nephi (2 Nephi 9:13), by a later prophet of the same name (4\nNephi 14), by Moroni (Moroni 10:34); as also by Alma whose words are\nquoted in the text (Alma 40:12, 14). New Testament scripture is of\nanalogous import (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). The word\n\"paradise\" by its derivation through the Greek from the Persian,\nsignifies a pleasant place, or a place of restful enjoyment. (See _The\nArticles of Faith_, xxi, note 5). By many the terms \"hades\" and \"sheol\"\nare understood to designate the place of departed spirits, comprizing\nboth paradise and the prison realm; by others the terms are applied only\nto the latter, the place of the wicked, which is apart from paradise,\nthe abode of the just.\n\nThe assumption that the gracious assurance given by Christ to the\npenitent sinner on the cross was a remission of the man's sins, and a\npassport into heaven, is wholly contrary to both the letter and spirit\nof scripture, reason, and justice. Confidence in the efficacy of\ndeath-bed professions and confessions on the basis of this incident is\nof the most insecure foundation. The crucified malefactor manifested\nboth faith and repentance; his promised blessing was that he should that\nday hear the gospel preached in paradise; in the acceptance or rejection\nof the word of life he would be an agent unto himself. The requirement\nof obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel as an essential to\nsalvation was not waived, suspended, or superseded in his case.\n\n2. The Scripture Relating to Christ Among the Spirits in Prison.--The\nrevised version of 1 Peter 3:18-20 reads: \"Because Christ also suffered\nfor sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us\nto God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; in\nwhich also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which\naforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the\ndays of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight\nsouls were saved through water.\" This is regarded by scholars as a\ncloser approach to accuracy in translation than the common version.\nCertain important differences between the two versions will appear to\nthe studious reader. The common version of the latter part of verse 18\nand the whole of verse 19 reads: \"being put to death in the flesh, but\nquickened by the spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the\nspirits in prison.\" The revised text expresses the true thought that\nChrist was quickened, that is to say, was active, in His own spirit\nstate, although His body was inert and in reality dead at the time; and\nthat _in_ that disembodied state He went and preached to the disobedient\nspirits. The later reading fixes the time of our Lord's ministry among\nthe departed as the interval between His death and resurrection.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1339] Chapters 2 and 3 herein.\n\n[1340] Page 659.\n\n[1341] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1342] Note the distinction made by Paul 2 Cor. 12:2-4.\n\n[1343] B. of M., Alma 40:11-14.\n\n[1344] 1 Peter 3:18-20; see Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1345] 1 Peter 4:5, 6. See Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1346] John 5:25-29; see also page 210 herein.\n\n[1347] Isa. 24:21, 22.\n\n[1348] Isa. 42:5-7.\n\n[1349] Psalm 16:9-11.\n\n[1350] See page 124 herein; also \"The Articles of Faith,\" vii:18-33; and\n\"The House of the Lord,\" pages 63-93.\n\n[1351] 1 Cor. 15:29; see also \"House of the Lord,\" p. 92.\n\n[1352] Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5.\n\n[1353] Rom. 14:9.\n\n[1354] Luke 20:36, 38; \"The Articles of Faith,\" vii:18.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 37.\n\nTHE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION.\n\n\nCHRIST IS RISEN.\n\nSaturday, the Jewish Sabbath, had passed, and the night preceding the\ndawn of the most memorable Sunday in history was well nigh spent, while\nthe Roman guard kept watch over the sealed sepulchre wherein lay the\nbody of the Lord Jesus. While it was yet dark, the earth began to quake;\nan angel of the Lord descended in glory, rolled back the massive stone\nfrom the portal of the tomb, and sat upon it. His countenance was\nbrilliant as the lightning, and his raiment was as the driven snow for\nwhiteness. The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell to the earth as dead\nmen. When they had partially recovered from their fright, they fled from\nthe place in terror. Even the rigor of Roman discipline, which decreed\nsummary death to every soldier who deserted his post, could not deter\nthem. Moreover, there was nothing left for them to guard; the seal of\nauthority had been broken, the sepulchre was open, and empty.[1355]\n\nAt the earliest indication of dawn, the devoted Mary Magdalene and other\nfaithful women set out for the tomb, bearing spices and ointments which\nthey had prepared for the further anointing of the body of Jesus. Some\nof them had been witnesses of the burial, and were conscious of the\nnecessary haste with which the corpse had been wrapped with spicery and\nlaid away by Joseph and Nicodemus, just before the beginning of the\nSabbath; and now these adoring women came early to render loving service\nin a more thorough anointing and external embalmment of the body. On the\nway as they sorrowfully conversed, they seemingly for the first time\nthought of the difficulty of entering the tomb. \"Who shall roll us away\nthe stone from the door of the sepulchre?\" they asked one of another.\nEvidently they knew nothing of the seal and the guard of soldiery. At\nthe tomb they saw the angel, and were afraid; but he said unto them:\n\"Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is\nnot here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the\nLord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from\nthe dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye\nsee him: lo, I have told you.\"[1356]\n\nThe women, though favored by angelic visitation and assurance, left the\nplace amazed and frightened. Mary Magdalene appears to have been the\nfirst to carry word to the disciples concerning the empty tomb. She had\nfailed to comprehend the gladsome meaning of the angel's proclamation\n\"He is risen, as he said\"; in her agony of love and grief she remembered\nonly the words \"He is not here,\" the truth of which had been so\nforcefully impressed by her own hasty glance at the open and tenantless\ntomb. \"Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other\ndisciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away\nthe Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid\nhim.\"\n\nPeter, and \"that other disciple\" who, doubtless, was John, set forth in\nhaste, running together toward the sepulchre. John outran his companion,\nand on reaching the tomb stooped to look in, and so caught a glimpse of\nthe linen cerements lying on the floor; but the bold and impetuous Peter\nrushed into the sepulchre, and was followed by the younger apostle. The\ntwo observed the linen grave-clothes, and lying by itself, the napkin\nthat had been placed about the head of the corpse. John frankly affirms\nthat having seen these things, he believed, and explains in behalf of\nhimself and his fellow apostles, \"For as yet they knew not the\nscripture, that he must rise again from the dead.\"[1357]\n\nThe sorrowful Magdalene had followed the two apostles back to the garden\nof the burial. No thought of the Lord's restoration to life appears to\nhave found place in her griefstricken heart; she knew only that the body\nof her beloved Master had disappeared. While Peter and John were within\nthe sepulchre, she had stood without, weeping. After the men had left\nshe stooped and looked into the rock-hewn cavern. There she saw two\npersonages, angels in white; one sat \"at the head, and the other at the\nfeet, where the body of Jesus had lain.\" In accents of tenderness they\nasked of her: \"Woman, why weepest thou?\" In reply she could but voice\nanew her overwhelming sorrow: \"Because they have taken away my Lord, and\nI know not where they have laid him.\" The absence of the body, which she\nthought to be all that was left on earth of Him whom she loved so\ndeeply, was a personal bereavement. There is a volume of pathos and\naffection in her words, \"They have taken away my Lord.\"\n\nTurning from the vault, which, though at that moment illumined by\nangelic presence, was to her void and desolate, she became aware of\nanother Personage, standing near. She heard His sympathizing inquiry:\n\"Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?\" Scarcely lifting her\ntearful countenance to look at the Questioner, but vaguely supposing\nthat He was the caretaker of the garden, and that He might have\nknowledge of what had been done with the body of her Lord, she\nexclaimed: \"Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast\nlaid him, and I will take him away.\" She knew that Jesus had been\ninterred in a borrowed tomb; and if the body had been dispossessed of\nthat resting place, she was prepared to provide another. \"Tell me where\nthou hast laid him,\" she pleaded.\n\nIt was Jesus to whom she spake, her beloved Lord, though she knew it\nnot. One word from His living lips changed her agonized grief into\necstatic joy. \"Jesus saith unto her, Mary.\" The voice, the tone, the\ntender accent she had heard and loved in the earlier days lifted her\nfrom the despairing depths into which she had sunk. She turned, and saw\nthe Lord. In a transport of joy she reached out her arms to embrace Him,\nuttering only the endearing and worshipful word, \"Rabboni,\" meaning My\nbeloved Master. Jesus, restrained her impulsive manifestation of\nreverent love, saying, \"Touch me not[1358] for I am not yet ascended to\nmy Father,\" and adding, \"but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I\nascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your\nGod.\"[1359]\n\nTo a woman, to Mary of Magdala, was given the honor of being the first\namong mortals to behold a resurrected Soul, and that Soul, the Lord\nJesus.[1360] To other favored women did the risen Lord next manifest\nHimself, including Mary the mother of Joses, Joanna, and Salome the\nmother of the apostles James and John. These and the other women with\nthem had been affrighted by the presence of the angel at the tomb, and\nhad departed with mingled fear and joy. They were not present when Peter\nand John entered the vault, nor afterward when the Lord made Himself\nknown to Mary Magdalene. They may have returned later, for some of them\nappear to have entered the sepulchre, and to have seen that the Lord's\nbody was not there. As they stood wondering in perplexity and\nastonishment, they became aware of the presence of two men in shining\ngarments, and as the women \"bowed down their faces to the earth\" the\nangels said unto them: \"Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not\nhere, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in\nGalilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of\nsinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they\nremembered his words.\"[1361] As they were returning to the city to\ndeliver the message to the disciples, \"Jesus met them, saying, All hail.\nAnd they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said\nJesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into\nGalilee, and there shall they see me.\"[1362]\n\nOne may wonder why Jesus had forbidden Mary Magdalene to touch Him, and\nthen, so soon after, had permitted other women to hold Him by the feet\nas they bowed in reverence. We may assume that Mary's emotional approach\nhad been prompted more by a feeling of personal yet holy affection than\nby an impulse of devotional worship such as the other women evinced.\nThough the resurrected Christ manifested the same friendly and intimate\nregard as He had shown in the mortal state toward those with whom He had\nbeen closely associated, He was no longer one of them in the literal\nsense. There was about Him a divine dignity that forbade close personal\nfamiliarity. To Mary Magdalene Christ had said: \"Touch me not; for I am\nnot yet ascended to my Father.\" If the second clause was spoken in\nexplanation of the first, we have to infer that no human hand was to be\npermitted to touch the Lord's resurrected and immortalized body until\nafter He had presented Himself to the Father. It appears reasonable and\nprobable that between Mary's impulsive attempt to touch the Lord, and\nthe action of the other women who held Him by the feet as they bowed in\nworshipful reverence, Christ did ascend to the Father, and that later He\nreturned to earth to continue His ministry in the resurrected state.\n\nMary Magdalene and the other women told the wonderful story of their\nseveral experiences to the disciples, but the brethren could not credit\ntheir words, which \"seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them\nnot.\"[1363] After all that Christ had taught concerning His rising from\nthe dead on that third day,[1364] the apostles were unable to accept the\nactuality of the occurrence; to their minds the resurrection was some\nmysterious and remote event, not a present possibility. There was\nneither precedent nor analogy for the stories these women told--of a\ndead person returning to life, with a body of flesh and bones, such as\ncould be seen and felt--except the instances of the young man of Nain,\nthe daughter of Jairus, and the beloved Lazarus of Bethany, between\nwhose cases of restoration to a renewal of mortal life and the reported\nresurrection of Jesus they recognized essential differences. The grief\nand the sense of irreparable loss which had characterized the yesterday\nSabbath, were replaced by profound perplexity and contending doubts on\nthis first day of the week. But while the apostles hesitated to believe\nthat Christ had actually risen, the women, less skeptical, more\ntrustful, knew, for they had both seen Him and heard His voice, and some\nof them had touched His feet.\n\n\nA PRIESTLY CONSPIRACY OF FALSEHOOD.[1365]\n\nWhen the Roman guardsmen had sufficiently recovered from fright to make\ntheir precipitate departure from the sepulchre, they went to the chief\npriests, under whose orders they had been placed by Pilate,[1366] and\nreported the supernatural occurrences they had witnessed. The chief\npriests were Sadducees, of which sect or party a distinguishing feature\nwas the denial of the possibility of resurrection from the dead. A\nsession of the Sanhedrin was called, and the disturbing report of the\nguard was considered. In the spirit in which these deceiving hierarchs\nhad tried to kill Lazarus for the purpose of quelling popular interest\nin the miracle of his restoration to life, they now conspired to\ndiscredit the truth of Christ's resurrection by bribing the soldiers to\nlie. These were told to say \"His disciples came by night, and stole him\naway while we slept\"; and for the falsehood they were offered large sums\nof money. The soldiers accepted the tempting bribe, and did as they were\ninstructed; for this course appeared to them the best way out of a\ncritical situation. If they were found guilty of sleeping at their\nposts, immediate death would be their doom;[1367] but the Jews\nencouraged them by the promise: \"If this come to the governor's ears, we\nwill persuade him and secure you.\" It must be remembered that the\nsoldiers had been put at the disposal of the chief priests, and\npresumably therefore were not required to report the details of their\ndoings to the Roman authorities.\n\nThe recorder adds that until the day of his writing, the falsehood of\nChrist's body having been stolen from the tomb by the disciples was\ncurrent among the Jews. The utter untenability of the false report is\napparent. If all the soldiers were asleep--a most unlikely occurrence\ninasmuch as such neglect was a capital offense--how could they possibly\nknow that any one had approached the tomb? And, more particularly, how\ncould they substantiate their statement even if it were true, that the\nbody was stolen and that the disciples were the grave-robbers?[1368] The\nmendacious fiction was framed by the chief priests and elders of the\npeople. Not all the priestly circle were parties to it however. Some,\nwho perhaps had been among the secret disciples of Jesus before His\ndeath, were not afraid to openly ally themselves with the Church, when,\nthrough the evidence of the Lord's resurrection, they had become\nthoroughly converted. We read that but a few months later \"a great\ncompany of the priests were obedient to the faith.\"[1369]\n\n\nCHRIST WALKS AND TALKS WITH TWO OF THE DISCIPLES.[1370]\n\nDuring the afternoon of that same Sunday, two disciples, not of the\napostles, left the little band of believers in Jerusalem and set out for\nEmmaus, a village between seven and eight miles from the city. There\ncould be but one topic of conversation between them, and on this they\ncommuned as they walked, citing incidents in the Lord's life, dwelling\nparticularly upon the fact of His death through which their hopes of a\nMessianic reign had been so sadly blighted, and marveling deeply over\nthe incomprehensible testimony of the women concerning His reappearance\nas a living Soul. As they went, engrossed in sorrowful and profound\ndiscourse, another Wayfarer joined them; it was the Lord Jesus, \"but\ntheir eyes were holden that they should not know him.\" In courteous\ninterest, He asked: \"What manner of communications are these that ye\nhave one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?\" One of the disciples,\nCleopas by name, replied with surprize tinged with commiseration for the\nStranger's seeming ignorance: \"Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem,\nand hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these\ndays?\" Intent on drawing from the men a full statement of the matter by\nwhich they were so plainly agitated, the unrecognized Christ asked,\n\"What things?\" They could not be reticent. \"Concerning Jesus of\nNazareth\" they explained, \"which was a prophet mighty in deed and word\nbefore God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers\ndelivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.\" In\nsorrowful mood they went on to tell how they had trusted that the now\ncrucified Jesus would have proved to be the Messiah sent to redeem\nIsrael; but alas! this was the third day since He had been slain. Then,\nwith brightening countenances, yet still perplexed, they told of certain\nwomen of their company who had astonished them that morning by saying\nthat they had visited the sepulchre early and had discovered that the\nLord's body was not there, but, \"that they had also seen a vision of\nangels, which said that he was alive.\" Moreover, others beside the women\nhad gone to the tomb, and had verified the absence of the body but had\nnot seen the Lord.\n\nThen Jesus, gently chiding His fellow travelers as foolish men and slow\nof heart in their hesitating acceptance of what the prophets had spoken,\nasked impressively, \"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and\nto enter into his glory?\" Beginning with the inspired predictions of\nMoses, He expounded to them the scriptures, touching upon all the\nprophetic utterances concerning the Savior's mission. Having continued\nwith the two men to their destination Jesus \"made as though he would\nhave gone further,\" but they urged Him to tarry with them, for the day\nwas already far spent. He so far acceded to their hospitable entreaty as\nto enter the house, and, as soon as their simple meal was prepared, to\nseat Himself with them at the table. As the Guest of honor, He took the\nloaf, \"blessed it and brake, and gave to them.\" There may have been\nsomething in the fervency of the blessing, or in the manner of breaking\nand distributing the bread, that revived memories of former days; or,\npossibly, they caught sight of the pierced hands; but, whatever the\nimmediate cause, they looked intently upon their Guest, \"and their eyes\nwere opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.\" In\na fulness of joyful wonderment they rose from the table, surprized at\nthemselves for not having recognized Him sooner. One said to the other,\n\"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way,\nand while he opened to us the scriptures?\" Straightway they started to\nretrace their steps and hastened back to Jerusalem to confirm by their\nwitness what, before, the brethren had been slow to believe.\n\n\nRISEN LORD APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES IN JERUSALEM AND EATS IN THEIR\nPRESENCE.[1371]\n\nWhen Cleopas and his companion reached Jerusalem that night, they found\nthe apostles and other devoted believers assembled in solemn and\nworshipful discourse within closed doors. Precautions of secrecy had\nbeen taken \"for fear of the Jews.\" Even the apostles had been scattered\nby the arrest, arraignment, and judicial murder of their Master; but\nthey and the disciples in general rallied anew at the word of His\nresurrection, as the nucleus of an army soon to sweep the world. The two\nreturning disciples were received with the joyous announcement, \"The\nLord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.\" This is the sole\nmention made by the Gospel-writers of Christ's personal appearance to\nSimon Peter on that day. The interview between the Lord and His once\nrecreant but now repentant apostle must have been affecting in the\nextreme. Peter's remorseful penitence over his denial of Christ in the\npalace of the high priest was deep and pitiful; he may have doubted that\never again would the Master call him His servant; but hope must have\nbeen engendered through the message from the tomb brought by the women,\nin which the Lord sent greetings to the apostles, whom for the first\ntime He designated as His brethren,[1372] and from this honorable and\naffectionate characterization Peter had not been excluded; moreover, the\nangel's commission to the women had given prominence to Peter by\nparticular mention.[1373] To the repentant Peter came the Lord,\ndoubtless with forgiveness and loving assurance. The apostle himself\nmaintains a reverent silence respecting the visitation, but the fact\nthereof is attested by Paul as one of the definite proofs of the Lord's\nresurrection.[1374]\n\nFollowing the jubilant testimony of the assembled believers, Cleopas and\nhis fellow traveler told of the Lord's companionship with them on the\nEmmaus road, of the things He had taught them, and of the manner in\nwhich He had become known unto them in the breaking of bread. As the\nlittle company communed together, \"Jesus himself stood in the midst of\nthem, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.\" They were affrighted,\nsupposing with superstitious dread that a ghost had intruded amongst\nthem. But the Lord comforted them, saying \"Why are ye troubled? and why\ndo thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it\nis I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,\nas ye see me have.\" Then He showed them the wounds in His hands and feet\nand side. \"They yet believed not for joy,\" which is to say, they thought\nthe reality, to which they all were witnesses, too good, too glorious,\nto be true. To further assure them that He was no shadowy form, no\nimmaterial being of tenuous substance, but a living Personage with\nbodily organs internal as well as outward, He asked \"Have ye here any\nmeat?\" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and other food,[1375]\nwhich He took \"and did eat before them.\"\n\nThese unquestionable evidences of their Visitant's corporeity calmed and\nmade rational the minds of the disciples; and now that they were\ncomposed and receptive the Lord reminded them that all things that had\nhappened to Him were in accordance with what He had told them while He\nhad lived amongst them. In His divine presence their understanding was\nquickened and enlarged so that they comprehended as never before the\nscriptures--the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets and the\npsalms--concerning Him. That His now accomplished death was a necessity,\nHe attested as fully as He had predicted and affirmed the same\naforetime. Then He said unto them: \"Thus it is written, and thus it\nbehoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and\nthat repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name\namong all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these\nthings.\" Then were the disciples glad. As He was about to depart the\nLord gave them His blessing, saying \"Peace be unto you: as my Father\nhath sent me, even so send I you.\" This specification of men sent by\nauthority points directly to the apostles; \"And when he had said this,\nhe breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:\nwhose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose\nsoever sins ye retain, they are retained,\"[1376]\n\n\nDOUBTING THOMAS.[1377]\n\nWhen the Lord Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples on the\nevening of the Resurrection Sunday, one of the apostles, Thomas, was\nabsent. He was informed of what the others had witnessed, but was\nunconvinced; even their solemn testimony, \"We have seen the Lord,\"\nfailed to awaken an echo of faith in his heart. In his state of mental\nskepticism he exclaimed: \"Except I shall see in his hands the print of\nthe nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my\nhand into his side, I will not believe.\" Caution and charity must attend\nour judgment in any conclusion as to the incredulous attitude of this\nman. He could scarcely have doubted the well attested circumstance of\nthe empty sepulchre, nor the veracity of Mary Magdalene and the other\nwomen as to the presence of angels and the Lord's appearing, nor Peter's\ntestimony nor that of the assembled company; but he may have regarded\nthe reported manifestations as a series of subjective visions; and the\nabsence of the Lord's body may have been vaguely considered as a result\nof Christ's supernatural restoration to life followed by a bodily and\nfinal departure from earth. It was the corporeal manifestation of the\nrisen Lord, the exhibition of the wounds incident to crucifixion, the\ninvitation to touch and feel the resurrected body of flesh and bones, to\nwhich Thomas demurred. He had no such definite conception of the\nresurrection as would accord with a literal acceptance of the testimony\nof his brethren and sisters who had seen, heard, and felt.\n\nA week later, for so the Jewish designation, \"after eight days,\" is to\nbe understood, therefore on the next Sunday, which day of the week\nafterward came to be known to the Church as the \"Lord's Day\" and to be\nobserved as the Sabbath in place of Saturday, the Mosaic Sabbath,[1378]\nthe disciples were again assembled, and Thomas was with them. The\nmeeting was held within closed and, presumably, guarded doors, for there\nwas danger of interference by the Jewish officers. \"Then came Jesus, the\ndoors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.\nThen saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;\nand reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not\nfaithless, but believing.\"\n\nThe skeptical mind of Thomas was instantly cleansed, his doubting heart\nwas purified; and a conviction of the glorious truth flooded his soul.\nIn contrite reverence he bowed before his Savior, the while exclaiming\nin worshipful acknowledgment of Christ's Deity: \"My Lord and my God.\"\nHis adoration was accepted, and the Savior said: \"Thomas, because thou\nhast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen,\nand yet have believed.\"\n\n\nAT THE SEA OF GALILEE.[1379]\n\nThe angel at the sepulchre and the risen Christ Himself had severally\nsent word to the apostles to go into Galilee, where the Lord would meet\nthem as He had said before His death.[1380] They deferred their\ndeparture until after the week following the resurrection, and then once\nagain in their native province, they awaited further developments. In\nthe afternoon of one of those days of waiting, Peter said to six of his\nfellow apostles, \"I go a fishing\"; and the others replied, \"We also go\nwith thee.\" Without delay they embarked on a fishing boat; and though\nthey toiled through the night, the net had been drawn in empty after\nevery cast. As morning approached they drew near the land, disappointed\nand disheartened. In the early dawn they were hailed from the shore by\nOne who asked: \"Children, have ye any meat?\"[1381] They answered \"No.\"\nIt was Jesus who made the inquiry, though none in the boat recognized\nHim. He called to them again, saying: \"Cast the net on the right side of\nthe ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not\nable to draw it for the multitude of fishes.\" They did as directed and\nthe result was so surprizing as to appear to them miraculous; it must\nhave aroused memories of that other remarkable draught of fishes, in the\ntaking of which their fishermen's skill had been superseded; and at\nleast three witnesses of the earlier miracle were now in the boat.[1382]\n\nJohn, quick to discern, said to Peter, \"It is the Lord\"; and Peter,\nimpulsive as ever, hastily girt his fisher's coat about him and sprang\ninto the sea, the sooner to reach land and prostrate himself at his\nMaster's feet. The others left the vessel and entered a small boat in\nwhich they rowed to shore, towing the heavily laden net. On the land\nthey saw a fire of coals, with fish broiling thereon, and alongside a\nsupply of bread. Jesus told them to bring of the fish they had just\ncaught, to which instruction the stalwart Peter responded by dashing\ninto the shallows and dragging the net to shore. When counted, the haul\nwas found to consist of a hundred and fifty-three great fishes; and the\nnarrator is careful to note that \"for all there were so many, yet was\nnot the net broken.\"\n\nThen Jesus said \"Come and dine\"; and as the Host at the meal, He divided\nand distributed the bread and fish. We are not told that He ate with His\nguests. Everyone knew that it was the Lord who so hospitably served; yet\non this, as on all other occasions of His appearing in the resurrected\nstate, there was about Him an awe-inspiring and restraining demeanor.\nThey would have liked to question Him, but durst not. John tells us that\nthis was the \"third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples,\nafter that he was risen from the dead\"; by which we understand the\noccasion to have been the third on which Christ had manifested Himself\nto the apostles, in complete or partial assembly; for, including also\nthe appearing to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to Peter, and to\nthe two disciples on the country road, this was the seventh recorded\nappearance of the risen Lord.\n\nWhen the meal was finished, \"Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of\nJonas, lovest thou me more than these?\" The question, however tenderly\nput, must have wrung Peter's heart, coupled as it was with the reminder\nof his bold but undependable protestation, \"Though all men shall be\noffended because of thee, yet will I never be offended\",[1383] followed\nby his denial that he had ever known the Man.[1384] To the Lord's\ninquiry Peter answered humbly, \"Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love\nthee.\" Then said Jesus, \"Feed my lambs.\" The question was repeated; and\nPeter replied in identical words, to which the Lord responded, \"Feed my\nsheep.\" And yet the third time Jesus asked, \"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest\nthou me?\" Peter was pained and grieved at this reiteration, thinking\nperhaps that the Lord mistrusted him; but as the man had three times\ndenied, so now was he given opportunity for a triple confession. To the\nthrice repeated question, Peter answered: \"Lord, thou knowest all\nthings; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed my\nsheep.\"\n\nThe commission \"Feed my sheep\" was an assurance of the Lord's\nconfidence, and of the reality of Peter's presidency among the apostles.\nHe had emphatically announced his readiness to follow his Master even to\nprison and death. Now, the Lord who had died said unto him: \"Verily,\nverily; I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and\nwalkedst whither thou wouldst: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt\nstretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee\nwhither thou wouldst not.\" John informs us that the Lord so spake\nsignifying the death by which Peter should find a place among the\nmartyrs; the analogy points to crucifixion, and traditional history is\nwithout contradiction as to this being the death by which Peter sealed\nhis testimony of the Christ.\n\nThen said the Lord to Peter, \"Follow me.\" The command had both immediate\nand future significance. The man followed as Jesus drew apart from the\nothers on the shore; yet a few years and Peter would follow his Lord to\nthe cross. Without doubt Peter comprehended the reference to his\nmartyrdom, as his writings, years later, indicate.[1385] As Christ and\nPeter walked together, the latter, looking backward, saw that John was\nfollowing, and inquired: \"Lord, and what shall this man do?\" Peter\nwished to peer into the future as to his companion's fate--was John also\nto die for the faith? The Lord replied: \"If I will that he tarry till I\ncome, what is that to thee? follow thou me.\" It was an admonition to\nPeter to look to his own course of duty, and to follow the Master,\nwherever the road should lead.\n\nConcerning himself, John adds: \"Then went this saying abroad among the\nbrethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto\nhim, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is\nthat to thee?\" That John still lives in the embodied state, and shall\nremain in the flesh until the Lord's yet future advent, is attested by\nlater revelation.[1386] In company with his martyred and resurrected\ncompanions, Peter and James, the \"disciple whom Jesus loved\" has\nofficiated in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship in this the\ndispensation of the fulness of times.\n\n\nOTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF THE RISEN LORD IN GALILEE.[1387]\n\nJesus had designated a mountain in Galilee whereon He would meet the\napostles; and thither the Eleven went. When they saw Him at the\nappointed place, they worshiped Him. The record adds \"but some doubted,\"\nby which may be implied that others beside the apostles were present,\namong whom were some who were unconvinced of the actual corporeity of\nthe resurrected Christ. This occasion may have been that of which Paul\nwrote a quarter of a century later, concerning which he affirms that\nChrist \"was seen of above five hundred brethren at once,\" of whom,\nthough some had died, the majority remained at the time of Paul's\nwriting, living witnesses to his testimony.[1388]\n\nTo those assembled on the mount Jesus declared: \"All power is given unto\nme in heaven and in earth.\" This could be understood as nothing less\nthan an affirmation of His absolute Godship. His authority was supreme,\nand those who were commissioned of Him were to minister in His name, and\nby a power such as no man could give or take away.\n\n\nFINAL COMMISSION AND THE ASCENSION.\n\nThroughout the forty days following His resurrection, the Lord\nmanifested Himself at intervals to the apostles, to some individually\nand to all as a body,[1389] and instructed them in \"the things\npertaining to the kingdom of God.\"[1390] The record is not always\nspecific and definite as to time and place of particular events; but as\nto the purport of the Lord's instructions during this period there\nexists no cause for doubt. Much that He said and did is not\nwritten,[1391] but such things as are of record, John assures his\nreaders, \"are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,\nthe Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his\nname.\"[1392]\n\nAs the time of His ascension drew nigh, the Lord said unto the eleven\napostles: \"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every\ncreature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that\nbelieveth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that\nbelieve; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with\nnew tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly\nthing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and\nthey shall recover.\"[1393] In contrast with their earlier commission,\nunder which they were sent only \"to the lost sheep of the house of\nIsrael,\"[1394] they were now to go to Jew and Gentile, bond and free, to\nmankind at large, of whatever nation, country, or tongue. Salvation,\nthrough faith in Jesus the Christ, followed by repentance and baptism,\nwas to be freely offered to all; the rejection of the offer thenceforth\nwould bring condemnation. Signs and miracles were promised to \"follow\nthem that believe,\" thus confirming their faith in the power divine; but\nno intimation was given that such manifestations were to precede belief,\nas baits to catch the credulous wonder-seeker.\n\nAssuring the apostles anew that the promise of the Father would be\nrealized in the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord instructed them to\nremain in Jerusalem, whither they had now returned from Galilee, until\nthey would be \"endued with power from on high\";[1395] and He added: \"For\nJohn truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy\nGhost not many days hence.\"[1396]\n\nIn that last solemn interview, probably as the risen Savior led the\nmortal Eleven away from the city toward the old familiar resort on the\nMount of Olives, the brethren, still imbued with their conception of the\nkingdom of God as an earthly establishment of power and dominion, asked\nof Him, \"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to\nIsrael?\" Jesus answered, \"It is not for you to know the times or the\nseasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall\nreceive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall\nbe witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in\nSamaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.\"[1397] Their duty was\nthus defined and emphasized: \"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,\nbaptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the\nHoly Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have\ncommanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the\nworld. Amen.\"[1398]\n\nWhen Christ and the disciples had gone \"as far as to Bethany,\" the Lord\nlifted up His hands, and blessed them; and while yet He spake, He rose\nfrom their midst, and they looked upon Him as He ascended until a cloud\nreceived Him out of their sight. While the apostles stood gazing\nsteadfastly upward, two personages, clothed in white apparel, appeared\nby them; these spake unto the Eleven, saying: \"Ye men of Galilee, why\nstand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from\nyou into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go\ninto heaven.\"[1399]\n\nWorshipfully and with great joy the apostles returned to Jerusalem,\nthere to await the coming of the Comforter. The Lord's ascension was\naccomplished; it was as truly a literal departure of a material Being as\nHis resurrection had been an actual return of His spirit to His own\ncorporeal body, theretofore dead. With the world abode and yet abides\nthe glorious promise, that Jesus the Christ, the same Being who ascended\nfrom Olivet in His immortalized body of flesh and bones, shall return,\ndescending from the heavens, in similarly material form and substance.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 37.\n\n1. Precise Time and Manner of Christ's Emergence from the Tomb Not\nKnown.--Our Lord definitely predicted His resurrection from the dead on\nthe third day, (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22;\n13:32; 18:33), and the angels at the tomb (Luke 24:7), and the risen\nLord in Person (Luke 24:46) verified the fulfilment of the prophecies;\nand apostles so testified in later years (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). This\nspecification of the third day must not be understood as meaning after\nthree full days. The Jews began their counting of the daily hours with\nsunset; therefore the hour before sunset and the hour following belonged\nto different days. Jesus died and was interred during Friday afternoon.\nHis body lay in the tomb, dead, during part of Friday (first day),\nthroughout Saturday, or as we divide the days, from sunset Friday to\nsunset Saturday, (second day), and part of Sunday (third day). We know\nnot at what hour between Saturday sunset and Sunday dawn He rose.\n\nThe fact that an earthquake occurred, and that the angel of the Lord\ndescended and rolled the stone from the portal of the tomb in the early\ndawn of Sunday--for so we infer from Matt. 28:1, 2--does not prove that\nChrist had not already risen. The great stone was rolled back and the\ninside of the sepulchre exposed to view, so that those who came could\nsee for themselves that the Lord's body was no longer there; it was not\nnecessary to open the portal in order to afford an exit to the\nresurrected Christ. In His immortalized state He appeared in and\ndisappeared from closed rooms. A resurrected body, though of tangible\nsubstance, and possessing all the organs of the mortal tabernacle, is\nnot bound to earth by gravitation, nor can it be hindered in its\nmovements by material barriers. To us who conceive of motion only in the\ndirections incident to the three dimensions of space, the passing of a\nsolid, such as a living body of flesh and bones, through stone walls, is\nnecessarily incomprehensible. But that resurrected beings move in\naccordance with laws making such passage possible and to them natural,\nis evidenced not only by the instance of the risen Christ, but by the\nmovements of other resurrected personages. Thus, in September, 1823,\nMoroni, the Nephite prophet who had died about 400 A.D., appeared to\nJoseph Smith in his chamber, three times during one night, coming and\ngoing without hindrance incident to walls or roof, (see P. of G.P.,\nJoseph Smith 2:43; also _The Articles of Faith_, i:15-17). That Moroni\nwas a resurrected man is shown by his corporeity manifested in his\nhandling of the metallic plates on which was inscribed the record known\nto us as the Book of Mormon. So also resurrected beings possess the\npower of rendering themselves visible or invisible to the physical\nvision of mortals.\n\n2. Attempts to Discredit the Resurrection Through Falsehood.--The\ninconsistent assertion that Christ had not risen but that His body had\nbeen stolen from the tomb by the disciples, has been sufficiently\ntreated in the text. The falsehood is its own refutation. Unbelievers of\nlater date, recognizing the palpable absurdity of this gross attempt at\nmisrepresentation, have not hesitated to suggest other hypotheses, each\nof which is conclusively untenable. Thus, the theory based upon the\nimpossible assumption that Christ was not dead when taken from the\ncross, but was in a state of coma or swoon, and that He was afterward\nresuscitated, disproves itself when considered in connection with\nrecorded facts. The spear-thrust of the Roman soldier would have been\nfatal, even if death had not already occurred. The body was taken down,\nhandled, wrapped and buried by members of the Jewish council, who cannot\nbe thought of as actors in the burial of a living man; and so far as\nsubsequent resuscitation is concerned, Edersheim (vol. 2, p. 626)\ntrenchantly remarks: \"Not to speak of the many absurdities which this\ntheory involves, it really shifts--if we acquit the disciples of\ncomplicity--the fraud upon Christ Himself.\" A crucified person, removed\nfrom the cross before death and subsequently revived, could not have\nwalked with pierced and mangled feet on the very day of his\nresuscitation, as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. Another theory that\nhas had its day is that of unconscious deception on the part of those\nwho claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, such persons having\nbeen victims of subjective but unreal visions conjured up by their own\nexcited and imaginative condition. The independence and marked\nindividuality of the several recorded appearings of the Lord disprove\nthe vision theory. Such subjective visual illusions as are predicated by\nthis hypothesis, presuppose a state of expectancy on the part of those\nwho think they see; but all the incidents connected with the\nmanifestations of Jesus after His resurrection were directly opposed to\nthe expectations of those who were made witnesses of His resurrected\nstate.\n\nThe foregoing instances of false and untenable theories regarding the\nresurrection of our Lord are cited as examples of the numerous abortive\nattempts to explain away the greatest miracle and the most glorious fact\nof history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by evidence\nmore conclusive than that upon which rests our acceptance of historical\nevents in general. Yet the testimony of our Lord's rising from the dead\nis not founded on written pages. To him who seeks in faith and sincerity\nshall be given an individual conviction which shall enable him to\nreverently confess as exclaimed the enlightened apostle of old: \"Thou\nart the Christ, the Son of the living God.\" Jesus, who is God the Son,\nis not dead. \"I know that my Redeemer liveth.\" (Job 19:25.)\n\n3. Recorded Appearances of Christ Between Resurrection and Ascension.--\n\n1. To Mary Magdalene, near the sepulchre (Mark 16:9, 10; John 20:14).\n\n2. To other women, somewhere between the sepulchre and Jerusalem (Matt.\n28:9).\n\n3. To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13).\n\n4. To Peter, in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5).\n\n5. To ten of the apostles and others at Jerusalem (Luke 24:36; John\n20:19).\n\n6. To the eleven apostles at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14; John 20:26).\n\n7. To the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias, Galilee, (John 21).\n\n8. To the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16).\n\n9. To five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6); locality not\nspecified, but probably in Galilee.\n\n10. To James (1 Cor. 15:7). Note that no record of this manifestation is\nmade by the Gospel-writers.\n\n11. To the eleven apostles at the time of the ascension, Mount of\nOlives, near Bethany (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51).\n\nThe Lord's manifestations of Himself to men subsequent to the ascension\nwill be considered later.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1355] Matt. 28:1-4, see also verse 11.\n\n[1356] Matt. 28:5-7; compare Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-2.\n\n[1357] John 20:1-10.\n\n[1358] Revised version, \"Take not hold on me\" (margin).\n\n[1359] John 20:11-17.\n\n[1360] Mark 16:9.\n\n[1361] Luke 24:3-8.\n\n[1362] Matt. 28:9, 10.\n\n[1363] Luke 24:9-11; compare Mark 16:9-13.\n\n[1364] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1365] Matt. 28:11-15.\n\n[1366] Matt. 27:65, 66; page 665 herein.\n\n[1367] Compare Acts 12:19.\n\n[1368] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1369] Acts 6:7; compare John 12:42.\n\n[1370] Luke 24:13-32; compare Mark 16:12.\n\n[1371] Luke 24:33-48; John 20:19-23.\n\n[1372] Matt. 28:10; John 20:17.\n\n[1373] Mark 16:7.\n\n[1374] 1 Cor. 15:5.\n\n[1375] The words \"and of an honeycomb\" (Luke 24:42) are omitted from the\nrevised version, and by many authorities are declared to be a spurious\naddition to the original text.\n\n[1376] John 20:21-23.\n\n[1377] John 20:24-29; compare Mark 16:14.\n\n[1378] Rev. 1:10; compare Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2.\n\n[1379] John 21:1-23.\n\n[1380] Matt 28:10; Mark 16:7; compare Matt. 26:32, Mark 14:28.\n\n[1381] The noun of address, \"Children\" is equivalent to our modern use\nof \"Sirs,\" \"Men\" or \"Lads.\" It was quite in harmony with the vernacular.\n\n[1382] Luke 5:4-10; also page 198 herein.\n\n[1383] Matt. 26:33; Mark 14:29; compare Luke 22:33; John 13:37; p. 600\nherein.\n\n[1384] Matt. 26:70, 72, 74; also page 629 herein.\n\n[1385] Peter 1:14.\n\n[1386] Doc. and Cov. Sec. 7; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:1-12.\n\n[1387] Matt. 28:16-18.\n\n[1388] 1 Cor. 15:6.\n\n[1389] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1390] Acts 1:3.\n\n[1391] John 20:30; compare 21:25 remembering that the latter passage may\nhave reference to occurrences both before and after the Lord's death.\n\n[1392] John 20:31.\n\n[1393] Mark 16:15-18.\n\n[1394] Matt. 10:5, 6.\n\n[1395] \"Clothed with power from on high\" according to revised version,\nLuke 24:49.\n\n[1396] Acts 1:5; see also Luke 24:49; and compare John 14:16, 17, 26;\n15:26; 16:7, 13.\n\n[1397] Acts 1:7, 8; compare Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32.\n\n[1398] Matt. 28:19, 20.\n\n[1399] Acts 1:9-11; see also Luke 24:50, 51.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 38.\n\nTHE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY.\n\n\nMATTHIAS ORDAINED TO THE APOSTLESHIP.[1400]\n\nAfter witnessing the Lord's ascension from Olivet, the eleven apostles\nreturned to Jerusalem filled with joy and thoroughly suffused with the\nspirit of adoring worship. Both in the temple and in a certain upper\nroom, which was their usual place of meeting, they continued in prayer\nand supplication, often in association with other disciples, including\nMary the mother of the Lord, some of her sons, and the little sisterhood\nof faithful women who had ministered to Jesus in Galilee and had\nfollowed Him thence to Jerusalem and to Calvary.[1401] The disciples,\nmost of whom had been dispersed by the tragic events of that last and\nfateful Passover, had gathered again, with renewed and fortified faith,\nabout the great fact of the Lord's resurrection. Christ had become \"the\nfirstfruits of them that slept,\" \"the first begotten of the dead,\" and\n\"the firstborn\" of the race to rise from death to immortality.[1402]\nThey knew that not only had the grave been compelled to give up the body\nof their Lord, but that a way had been provided for the striking of the\nfetters of death from every soul. Immediately following the resurrection\nof the Lord Jesus, many righteous ones who had slept in the tomb had\nbeen resurrected, and had appeared in Jerusalem, revealing themselves\nunto many.[1403] The universality of the resurrection of the dead was\nsoon to become a prominent feature of apostolic teaching.\n\nThe first official act undertaken by the apostles was the filling of the\nvacancy in the council of the Twelve, occasioned by the apostasy and\nsuicide of Judas Iscariot. Sometime between the ascension of Christ and\nthe feast of Pentecost, when the Eleven and other disciples, in all\nabout a hundred and twenty, were together \"with one accord in prayer and\nsupplication,\" Peter laid the matter before the assembled Church,\npointing out that the fall of Judas had been foreseen,[1404] and citing\nthe psalmist's invocation: \"Let his habitation be desolate, and let no\nman dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take,\"[1405] Peter\naffirmed the necessity of completing the apostolic quorum; and he thus\nset forth the qualifications essential in the one who should be ordained\nto the Holy Apostleship: \"Wherefore of these men which have companied\nwith us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,\nbeginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken\nup from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his\nresurrection.\" Two faithful disciples were nominated by the Eleven,\nJoseph Barsabas and Matthias. In earnest supplication the assembly\nbesought the Lord to indicate whether either of these men, and if so\nwhich, was to be chosen for the exalted office; then, \"they gave forth\ntheir lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the\neleven apostles.\"\n\nThe proceeding throughout is deeply significant and instructive. The\nEleven fully realized that on them lay the responsibility, and in them\nwas vested the authority, to organize and develop the Church of Christ;\nthat the council or quorum of the apostles was limited to a membership\nof twelve; and that the new apostle, like themselves, must be competent\nto testify in special and personal witness concerning the earthly\nministry, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The selection of\nMatthias was accomplished in a general assembly of the Primitive Church;\nand while the nominations were made by the apostles, all present appear\nby implication to have had a voice in the matter of installation. The\nprinciple of authoritative administration through common consent of the\nmembership, so impressively exemplified in the choosing of Matthias, was\nfollowed, a few weeks later, by the selection of \"seven men of honest\nreport, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,\" who having been sustained by\nthe vote of the Church, were set apart to a special ministry by the\nlaying-on of the apostles' hands.[1406]\n\n\nTHE BESTOWAL OF THE HOLY GHOST.[1407]\n\nAt the time of Pentecost, which fell on the fiftieth day after the\nPassover,[1408] and therefore, at this particular recurrence, about nine\ndays after Christ's ascension, the apostles \"were all with one accord in\none place,\" engaged in their customary devotions, and waiting, as\ninstructed, until they would be endowed with a particular bestowal of\npower from on high.[1409] The promised baptism by fire and the Holy\nGhost befell them on that day. \"Suddenly there came a sound from heaven\nas of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were\nsitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,\nand it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy\nGhost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them\nutterance.\"\n\nThe \"sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind\" was heard\nabroad;[1410] and a multitude gathered about the place. The visible\nmanifestation of \"cloven tongues like as of fire,\" by which each of the\nTwelve was invested, was seen by those within the house, but apparently\nnot by the gathering crowds. The apostles spoke to the multitude, and a\ngreat miracle was wrought, by which \"every man heard them speak in his\nown language\"; for the apostles, now richly gifted, spake in many\ntongues, as the Holy Ghost, by whom they had been endowed, gave them\nutterance. There were present men from many lands and of many nations,\nand their languages were diverse. In amazement some of them said:\n\"Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every\nman in our own tongue, wherein we were born?\" While many were impressed\nby the preternatural ability of the brethren, others in mocking tones\nsaid the men were drunken. This instance of Satanic prompting to\ninconsiderate speech is especially illustrative of inconsistency and\nrash ineptitude. Strong drink gives to no man wisdom; it steals away his\nsenses and makes of him a fool.\n\nThen Peter, as the president of the Twelve, stood up and proclaimed in\nbehalf of himself and his brethren: \"Ye men of Judea, and all ye that\ndwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for\nthese are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of\nthe day.\" It was the Jewish custom, particularly on festival days, to\nabstain from food and drink until after the morning service in synagog,\nwhich was held about the third hour, or nine o'clock in the forenoon.\nThe apostle cited ancient prophecy embodying the promise of Jehovah that\nHe would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that wonders would be\nwrought, even as those there present witnessed.[1411] Then boldly did\nPeter testify of Jesus of Nazareth, whom he characterized as \"a man\napproved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God\ndid by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know;\" and,\nreminding them, in accusing earnestness, of the awful crime to which\nthey had been in some degree parties, he continued: \"Him, being\ndelivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have\ntaken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath\nraised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible\nthat he should be holden of it.\" Citing the inspired outburst of the\npsalmist, who had sung in jubilant measure of the soul that should not\nbe left in hell, and of the flesh that should not see corruption, he\nshowed the application of these scriptures to the Christ; and fearlessly\naffirmed: \"This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.\nTherefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of\nthe Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which\nye now see and hear.\" With increasing fervency, fearing neither derision\nnor violence, and driving home to the hearts of his enthralled listeners\nthe fearful fact of their guilt, Peter proclaimed as in voice of\nthunder: \"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God\nhath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and\nChrist.\"\n\nThe power of the Holy Ghost could not be resisted; to every earnest soul\nit carried conviction. They that heard were pricked in their hearts, and\nin contrition cried out to the apostles: \"Men and brethren, what shall\nwe do?\" Now that they were prepared for the message of salvation, it was\ngiven without reserve. \"Repent,\" answered Peter, \"and be baptized every\none of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye\nshall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you,\nand to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the\nLord our God shall call.\"\n\nTo the apostles' testimony, to the exhortation and warning, the people\nresponded with profession of faith and repentance. Their joy was\ncomparable to that of the spirits in prison, to whom the disembodied\nChrist had borne the authoritative word of redemption and salvation.\nThose who repented and confessed their belief in Christ at that\nmemorable Pentecost were received into the Church by baptism, to the\nnumber of about three thousand. That their conversion was genuine and\nnot the effect of a passing enthusiasm, that they were literally born\nagain through baptism into a newness of life, is evidenced by the fact\nthat they endured in the faith--\"and they continued steadfastly in the\napostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in\nprayers.\" So devoted were these early converts, so richly blessed with\nthe outpouring of the Holy Ghost was the Church in those days, that the\nmembers voluntarily disposed of their individual possessions and had all\nthings in common. To them faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was of greater\nworth than the wealth of earth.[1412] Among them, there was nothing\ncalled \"mine\" or \"thine,\" but all things were theirs in the Lord.[1413]\nSigns and wonders followed the apostles, \"and the Lord added to the\nchurch daily such as should be saved.\"\n\nThrough the bestowal of the Holy Ghost the apostles had become changed\nmen. As made clear to them by the Spirit of Truth, the scriptures\nconstituted a record of preparation for the events to which they were\nspecial and ordained witnesses. Peter, who but a few weeks earlier had\nquailed before a serving-maid, now spoke openly, fearing none. Seeing\nonce a lame beggar at the Gate Beautiful which led into the temple\ncourt, he took the afflicted one by the hand, saying: \"Silver and gold\nhave I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ\nof Nazareth rise up and walk.\"[1414] The man was healed and leaped in\nthe exuberance of his newly found strength; then he went with Peter and\nJohn into the temple, praising God aloud. An amazed crowd, which grew to\ninclude about five thousand men, gathered around the apostles in\nSolomon's Porch; and Peter, observing their wonderment, seized on the\noccasion to preach to them Jesus the Crucified. He ascribed all praise\nfor the miracle to the Christ whom the Jews had delivered up to be\nslain, and in unambiguous accusation declared: \"The God of Abraham, and\nof Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son\nJesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate,\nwhen he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the\nJust, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the\nPrince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are\nwitnesses.\" In merciful recognition of the ignorance in which they had\nsinned, he exhorted them to expiatory penitence, crying: \"Repent ye\ntherefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the\ntimes of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he\nshall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the\nheaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which\nGod hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world\nbegan.\" There was no encouragement to a belief that their sins could be\nannulled by wordy profession; a due season of repentance was their\nprivilege, if so be they would believe.\n\nAs Peter and John thus testified, the priests and the captain of the\ntemple, together with the ruling Sadducees, came upon them toward\nevening, and put them in prison to await the action of the judges next\nday.[1415] On the morrow they were arraigned before Annas, Caiaphas, and\nother officials, who demanded of them by what power or in whose name\nthey had healed the lame man. Peter, impelled by the power of the Holy\nGhost, answered: \"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of\nIsrael, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified,\nwhom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here\nbefore you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you\nbuilders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there\nsalvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given\namong men, whereby we must be saved.\"[1416]\n\nThe hierarchy learned to their consternation that the work they had\nsought to destroy through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was spreading\nnow as it had never spread before. In desperation they commanded the\napostles, \"Not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.\" But\nPeter and John answered boldly: \"Whether it be right in the sight of God\nto hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but\nspeak the things which we have seen and heard.\" This rejoinder of\nrighteous defiance the priestly rulers dared not openly resent; they had\nto content themselves with threats.\n\nThe Church grew with surprizing rapidity; \"believers were the more added\nto the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.\" So abundantly was the\ngift of healing manifest through the ministrations of the apostles that\nas formerly to Christ, now to them, the people flocked, bringing their\nsick folk and those possessed of evil spirits; and all were healed. So\ngreat was the faith of the believers that they laid their afflicted ones\non couches in the streets, \"that at the least the shadow of Peter\npassing by might overshadow some of them.\"[1417]\n\nThe high priest and his haughty Sadducean associates caused the apostles\nto be again arrested and thrown into the common prison. But that night\nthe angel of the Lord opened the dungeon doors and brought the prisoners\nforth, telling them to go into the temple and further proclaim their\ntestimony of the Christ. This the apostles did, and were so engaged when\nthe Sanhedrin assembled to put them on trial. The officers who were sent\nto bring the prisoners to the judgment hall returned, saying: \"The\nprison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing\nwithout before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no man\nwithin.\" As the judges sat in impotent consternation, an informer\nappeared with the word that the men they wanted were at that moment\npreaching in the courts. The captain and his guard arrested the apostles\na third time, and brought them in, but without violence, for they feared\nthe people. The high priest accused the prisoners by question and\naffirmation: \"Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach\nin this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine,\nand intend to bring this man's blood upon us.\" Yet, how recently had\nthose same rulers led the rabble in the awful imprecation, \"His blood be\non us, and on our children.\"[1418]\n\nPeter and the other apostles, undaunted by the august presence, and\nundeterred by threatening words or actions, answered with the direct\ncounter-charge that they who sat there to judge were the slayers of the\nSon of God. Ponder well the solemn affirmation: \"We ought to obey God\nrather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew\nand hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a\nPrince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness\nof sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the\nHoly Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.\"\n\nClosing, locking, bolting their hearts against the testimony of the\nLord's own, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people\ncounseled together as to how they could put these men to death. There\nwas at least one honorable exception among the murderously inclined\ncouncilors. Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and a noted doctor of the law,\nthe teacher of Saul of Tarsus afterward known through conversion, works,\nand divine commission, as Paul the apostle,[1419] rose in the council,\nand having directed that the apostles be removed from the hall, warned\nhis colleagues against the injustice they had in mind. He cited the\ncases of men falsely claiming to have been sent of God, everyone of whom\nhad come to grief with utter and most ignominious failure of his\nseditious plans; so would these men come to nought if the work they\nprofessed proved to be of men; \"But,\" added the dispassionate and\nlearned doctor, \"if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye\nbe found even to fight against God.\"[1420] Gamaliel's advice prevailed\nfor the time being, to the extent of causing the apostles' lives to be\nspared; but the council, in contravention of justice and propriety, had\nthe prisoners beaten. Then the brethren were discharged with the renewed\ninjunction that they speak not in the name of Jesus. They went out\nrejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer stripes and\nhumiliation in defense of the Lord's name; and daily, both in the\ntemple, and by house to house visitation, they valiantly taught and\npreached Jesus the Christ. Converts to the Church were not confined to\nthe laity; a great company of the priests swelled the number of the\ndisciples, who multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.[1421]\n\n\nSTEPHEN THE MARTYR; HIS VISION OF THE LORD.[1422]\n\nFirst among the \"seven men of honest report\" who were set apart under\nthe hands of the apostles to administer the common store of the Church\ncommunity, was Stephen, a man eminent in faith and good works, through\nwhom the Lord wrought many miracles. He was zealous in service,\naggressive in doctrine, and fearless as a minister of Christ. Some of\nthe foreign Jews, who maintained a synagog in Jerusalem, engaged Stephen\nin disputation, and being unable \"to resist the wisdom and the spirit by\nwhich he spake,\" conspired to have him charged with heresy and\nblasphemy. He was brought before the council on the word of men suborned\nto witness against him; and these averred that they had \"heard him speak\nblasphemous words against Moses, and against God.\" The perjured accusers\nfurther testified that he had repeatedly spoken blasphemously against\nthe temple, and the law, and had even declared that Jesus of Nazareth\nwould some day destroy the temple, and change the Mosaic ceremonies. The\ncharge was utterly false in spirit and fact, though possibly in a sense\npartly true in form; for, judging by what we have of record concerning\nStephen's character and works, he was a zealous preacher of the word as\na world religion, through which the exclusiveness and alleged sanctity\nof Jerusalem as the holy city and of the now desecrated temple as the\nearthly abiding-place of Jehovah, would be abrogated; furthermore he\nseems to have realized that the law of Moses had been fulfilled in the\nmission of the Messiah.\n\nWhen the Sanhedrists looked upon him, his face was illumined, and they\nsaw it \"as it had been the face of an angel.\" In answer to the charge,\nhe delivered an address, which on critical analysis appears to have been\nextemporaneous, nevertheless it is strikingly logical and impressive in\nargument. The delivery was abruptly terminated, however, by a murderous\nassault.[1423] In effective epitome Stephen traced the history of the\ncovenant people from the time of Abraham down, showing that the\npatriarchs, and in turn Moses and the prophets, had lived and ministered\nin progressive preparation for the development of which those present\nwere witnesses. He pointed out that Moses had foretold the coming of a\nProphet, who was none other than Jehovah, whom their fathers had\nworshipped in the wilderness, before the tabernacle, and later in the\ntemple; but, he affirmed, \"the most High dwelleth not in temples made\nwith hands,\" the most gorgeous of which could be but small to Him who\nsaid: \"Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool.\"[1424]\n\nIt is plain to be seen that Stephen's speech was not one of vindication,\nand far from a plea in his own defense; it was a proclamation of the\nword and purposes of God by a devoted servant who had no thought for\npersonal consequences. In forceful arraignment he thus addressed his\njudges: \"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do\nalways resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of\nthe prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them\nwhich shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been\nnow the betrayers and murderers.\" Maddened at this direct accusation,\nthe Sanhedrists \"gnashed on him with their teeth.\" He knew that they\nthirsted for his blood; but, energized by the Holy Ghost, he looked\nsteadfastly upward, and exclaimed in rapture: \"Behold I see the heavens\nopened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.\"[1425]\nThis is the first New Testament record of a manifestation of Christ to\nmortal eyes by vision or otherwise, subsequent to His ascension. The\npriestly rulers cried aloud, and stopped their ears to what they chose\nto regard as blasphemous utterances; and, rushing upon the prisoner with\none accord, they hurried him outside the city walls and stoned him to\ndeath. True to his Master, he prayed: \"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit\";\nand then, crushed to earth, he cried with a loud voice: \"Lord, lay not\nthis sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.\"\n\nSo died the first martyr for the testimony of the risen Christ. He was\nslain by a mob comprizing chief priests, scribes, and elders of the\npeople. What cared they that no sentence had been pronounced against\nhim, or that they were acting in reckless defiance of Roman law? Devout\nmen bore the mangled body to its burial; and all the disciples lamented\ngreatly. Persecution increased, and members of the Church were scattered\nthrough many lands, wherein they preached the gospel and won many to the\nLord. The blood of Stephen the martyr proved to be rich and virile seed,\nfrom which sprang a great harvest of souls.[1426]\n\n\nCHRIST MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO SAUL OF TARSUS, LATER KNOWN AS PAUL, THE\nAPOSTLE.\n\nAmong the disputants who, when defeated in discussion, conspired against\nStephen and brought about his death, were Jews from Cilicia.[1427]\nAssociated with them was a young man named Saul, a native of the\nCilician city of Tarsus. This man was an able scholar, a forceful\ncontroversialist, an ardent defender of what he regarded as the right,\nand a vigorous assailant of what to him was wrong. Though born in Tarsus\nhe had been brought to Jerusalem in early youth and had there grown up a\nstrict Pharisee and an aggressive supporter of Judaism. He was a student\nof the law under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the most eminent\nmasters of the time[1428] and had the confidence of the high\npriest.[1429] His father, or perhaps an earlier progenitor, had acquired\nthe rank of Roman citizenship, and Saul was a born heir to that\ndistinction. Saul was a violent opponent of the apostles and the Church,\nand had made himself a party to the death of Stephen by openly\nconsenting thereunto and by holding in personal custody the garments of\nthe false witnesses while they stoned the martyr.\n\nHe wrought havoc in the Church by entering private houses and haling\nthence men and women suspected of belief in the Christ, and these he\ncaused to be cast into prison.[1430] The persecution in which he took so\nprominent a part caused a scattering of the disciples throughout Judea,\nSamaria, and other lands; though the apostles remained and continued\ntheir ministry in Jerusalem.[1431] Not content with local activity\nagainst the Church, \"Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter\nagainst the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and\ndesired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found\nany of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them\nbound unto Jerusalem.\"[1432]\n\nAs Saul and his attendants neared Damascus they were halted by an\noccurrence of awe-inspiring grandeur.[1433] At noontide there suddenly\nappeared a light far exceeding the brightness of the sun, and in this\ndazzling splendor the whole party was enveloped, so that they fell to\nthe ground in terror. In the midst of the unearthly glory, a sound was\nheard, which to Saul alone was intelligible as an articulate voice; he\nheard and understood the reproving question spoken in the Hebrew tongue:\n\"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?\" In trepidation he inquired: \"Who\nart thou, Lord?\" The reply sounded the heart of Saul to its depths: \"I\nam Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest\"; and continued, as in\nsympathetic consideration of the persecutor's situation and the\nrenunciation that would be required of him: \"It is hard for thee to kick\nagainst the pricks.\"[1434] The enormity of his hostility and enmity\nagainst the Lord and His people filled the man's soul with horror, and\nin trembling contrition he asked: \"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?\"\nThe reply was: \"Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee\nwhat thou must do.\" The brilliancy of the heavenly light had blinded\nSaul. His companions led him into Damascus, where, at the house of\nJudas, in the street called Straight, he sat in darkness for three days,\nduring which period he neither ate nor drank.\n\nThere lived in that city a faithful disciple named Ananias, to whom the\nLord spake, instructing him to visit Saul and minister unto him that he\nmight be healed of his blindness. Ananias was astonished at the\ncommission, and ventured to remind the Lord that Saul was a notorious\npersecutor of the saints, and had come at that time to Damascus to\narrest and put in bonds all believers. But the Lord answered: \"Go thy\nway: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the\nGentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how\ngreat things he must suffer for my name's sake.\" Ananias went to Saul,\nlaid his hands upon the penitent sufferer, saying: \"Brother Saul, the\nLord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest,\nhath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with\nthe Holy Ghost.\" The physical obstruction to vision was removed; scaly\nparticles fell from the eyes of Saul, and his sight was restored.\nWithout delay or hesitation, he was baptized. When strengthened by food\nhe communed with the disciples at Damascus and straightway began to\npreach in the synagogs, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God.[1435]\n\nWhen Saul returned to Jerusalem, the disciples were doubtful of his\nsincerity, they having known of him as a violent persecutor; but\nBarnabas, a trusted disciple, brought him to the apostles, told of his\nmiraculous conversion and testified of his valiant service in preaching\nthe word of God. He was received into fellowship, and afterward was\nordained under the hands of the apostles.[1436] His Hebrew name, Saul,\nwas in time substituted by the Latin Paulus, or as to us, Paul.[1437] In\nview of his commission to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles, the use of\nhis Roman name may have been of advantage, and particularly so as he was\na Roman citizen and therefore could claim the rights and exemptions\nattaching to the status of citizenship.[1438]\n\nIt is no part of our present purpose to follow even in outline the\nlabors of the man thus peremptorily and miraculously called into the\nministry; the fact of Christ's personal manifestations to him is the\nsole subject of present consideration. While in Jerusalem Paul was\nblessed with a visual manifestation of the Lord Jesus, accompanied by\nthe giving of specific instructions. His own testimony is to this\neffect: \"While I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; and saw him\nsaying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for\nthey will not receive thy testimony concerning me.\" In explanation of\nhis rejection by the people, Paul confessed his evil past, saying,\n\"Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that\nbelieved on thee: and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I\nalso was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the\nraiment of them that slew him.\" To this the Lord replied: \"Depart; for I\nwill send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.\"[1439] Once again, as he lay\na prisoner in the Roman castle, the Lord stood by him in the night, and\nsaid: \"Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in\nJerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.\"[1440]\n\nPaul's personal witness that he had seen the resurrected Christ is\nexplicit and emphatic. With his enumeration of some of the risen Lord's\nappearances he associates his own testimony, as addressed to the\nCorinthian saints, in this wise: \"For I delivered unto you first of all\nthat which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according\nto the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the\nthird day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas,\nthen of the Twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred\nbrethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but\nsome are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all\nthe apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out\nof due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be\ncalled an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.\"[1441]\n\n\nCLOSE OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY--THE REVELATION THROUGH JOHN.\n\nThe period of apostolic ministry continued until near the close of the\nfirst century of our era, approximately sixty to seventy years from the\ntime of the Lord's ascension. In the course of that epoch the Church\nexperienced both prosperity and vicissitude. At first the organized body\nincreased in membership and influence in a manner regarded as\nphenomenal, if not miraculous.[1442] The apostles and the many other\nministers who labored under their direction in graded positions of\nauthority strove so effectively to spread the word of God, that Paul\nwriting approximately thirty years after the ascension affirmed that the\ngospel had already been carried to every nation, or, to use his words,\n\"preached to every creature under heaven.\"[1443] Through the agency of\nthe Holy Ghost Christ continued to direct the affairs of His Church on\nthe earth; and His mortal representatives, the apostles, traveled and\ntaught, healed the afflicted, rebuked evil spirits, and raised the dead\nto a renewal of life.[1444]\n\nWe are without record of any direct or personal appearance of Christ to\nmortals between the manifestations to Paul and the revelation to John on\nthe isle of Patmos. Tradition confirms John's implication that he had\nbeen banished thither \"for the word of God, and for the testimony of\nJesus Christ.\"[1445] He avers that what he wrote, now known as the book\nof Revelation, is \"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto\nhim, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;\nand he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.\"[1446]\nThe apostle gives a vivid description of the glorified Christ as seen by\nhim: and of the Lord's words he made record as follows: \"Fear not; I am\nthe first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,\nI am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of\ndeath.\"[1447] John was commanded to write to each of the seven churches,\nor branches of the Church of Christ, then existing in Asia,\nadministering reproof, admonition and encouragement, as the condition of\neach required.\n\nThe final ministry of John marked the close of the apostolic\nadministration in the Primitive Church. His fellow apostles had gone to\ntheir rest, most of them having entered through the gates of martyrdom,\nand although it was his special privilege to tarry in the flesh until\nthe Lord's advent in glory,[1448] he was not to continue his service as\nan acknowledged minister, known to and accepted by the Church. Even\nwhile many of the apostles lived and labored, the seed of apostasy had\ntaken root in the Church and had grown with the rankness of pernicious\nweeds. This condition had been predicted, both by Old Testament\nprophets[1449] and by the Lord Jesus.[1450] The apostles also spake in\nplain prediction of the growth of the apostasy all too grievously\napparent to them as then in progress.[1451] Personal manifestations of\nthe Lord Jesus to mortals appear to have ceased with the passing of the\napostles of old, and were not again witnessed until the dawn of the\nDispensation of the Fulness of Times.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 38.\n\n1. Presiding Authority and Common Consent.--\"Another instance of\nofficial action in choosing and setting apart men to special office in\nthe Church arose soon after the ordination of Matthias. It appears that\none feature of the Church organization in early apostolic days was a\ncommon ownership of material things, distribution being made according\nto need. As the members increased, it was found impracticable for the\napostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporal\nmatters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honest\nreport, whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of these\naffairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on of\nhands. The instance is instructive as showing that the apostles realized\ntheir possession of authority to direct in the affairs of the Church,\nand that they observed with strictness the principle of common consent\nin the administration of their high office. They exercized their\npriestly powers in the spirit of love, and with due regard to the rights\nof the people over whom they were placed to preside.\"--The author, _The\nGreat Apostasy_, 1:19.\n\n2. Pentecost.--The name means \"fiftieth\" and was applied to the Jewish\nfeast that was celebrated fifty days after the second day of unleavened\nbread, or the Passover day. It is also known as \"the feast of weeks\"\n(Exo. 34:22; Deut. 16:10), because according to the Hebrew style, it\nfell seven weeks, or a week of weeks, after the Passover; as \"the feast\nof harvest\" (Exo. 23:16); and as \"the day of the first-fruits\" (Numb.\n28:26). Pentecost was one of the great feasts in Israel, and was of\nmandatory observance. Special sacrifices were appointed for the day, as\nwas also an offering suitable to the harvest season, comprizing two\nleavened loaves made of the new wheat; these were to be waved before the\naltar and then given to the priests (Lev. 23:15-20). Because of the\nunprecedented events that characterized the first Pentecost after our\nLord's ascension, the name has become current in Christian literature as\nexpressive of any great spiritual awakening or unusual manifestation of\ndivine grace.\n\n3. Having All Things in Common.--No condition recorded of the early\napostolic ministry expresses more forcefully the unity and devotion of\nthe Church in those days than does the fact of the members establishing\na system of common ownership of property (Acts 2:44, 46; 4:32-37;\n6:1-4). One result of this community of interest in temporal things was\na marked unity in spiritual matters; they \"were of one heart and of one\nsoul.\" Lacking nothing, they lived in contentment and godliness. Over\nthirty centuries earlier the people of Enoch had rejoiced in a similar\ncondition of oneness, and their attainments in spiritual excellence were\nso effective that \"the Lord came and dwelt with his people ... And the\nLord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one\nmind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.\" (P.\nof G.P., Moses 7:16-18.) The Nephite disciples grew in holiness, as\n\"they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one\nwith another.\" (B. of M., 3 Nephi 26:19; see also 4 Nephi 1:2-3.) A\nsystem of unity in material affairs has been revealed to the Church in\nthis current dispensation, (Doc. and Cov. 82:17, 18; 51:10-13, 18;\n104:70-77), to the blessings of which the people may attain as they\nlearn to replace selfish concern by altruism, and individual advantage\nby devotion to the general welfare.--See _The Articles of Faith_,\nxxiv:13-15.\n\n4. Saul's Conversion.--The sudden change of heart by which an ardent\npersecutor of the saints was so transformed as to become a true\ndisciple, is to the average mind a miracle. Saul of Tarsus was a devoted\nstudent and observer of the law, a strict Pharisee. We find no\nintimation that he ever met or saw Jesus during the Lord's life in the\nflesh; and his contact with the Christian movement appears to have been\nbrought about through disputation with Stephen. In determining what he\nwould call right and what wrong the young enthusiast was guided too much\nby mind and too little by heart. His learning, which should have been\nhis servant, was instead his master. He was a leading spirit in the\ncruel persecution of the first converts to Christianity; yet none can\ndoubt his belief that even in such he was rendering service to Jehovah\n(compare John 16:2). His unusual energy and superb ability were\nmisdirected. As soon as he realized the error of his course, he turned\nabout, without counting risk, cost, or the certainty of persecution and\nprobable martyrdom. His repentance was as genuine as had been his\npersecuting zeal. All through his ministry he was tortured by the past\n(Acts 22:4, 19, 20; 1 Cor. 15:9; 2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 1:13); yet he found a\nmeasure of relief in the knowledge that he had acted in good conscience\n(Acts 26:9-11). It was \"hard for him to kick against the pricks\"\n(revised version \"goad,\" Acts 9:5; 26:14) of tradition, training, and\neducation; yet he hesitated not. He was a chosen instrument for the work\nof the Lord (Acts 9:15); and promptly he responded to the Master's will.\nWhatever of error Saul of Tarsus had committed through youthful zeal,\nPaul the apostle gave his all--his time, talent, and life--to expiate.\nHe was preeminently the Lord's apostle to the Gentiles; and this opening\nof the doors to others than Jews was the main contention between himself\nand Stephen. In accordance with the divine and fateful purpose, Paul was\ncalled to do the work, in opposition to which he had been a participant\nin the martyrdom of Stephen. At the Lord's word of direction Paul was\nready to preach Christ to the Gentiles; only by a miracle could the\nJewish exclusiveness of Peter and the Church generally be overcome (Acts\n10; and 11:1-18).\n\n5. Rapid Growth of the Primitive Church.--Eusebius, who wrote in the\nearly part of the fourth century, speaking of the first decade after the\nSavior's ascension, says: \"Thus, then, under a celestial influence and\ncooperation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun,\nquickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine\nprophecy, the sound of His inspired evangelists and apostles had gone\nthroughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.\nThroughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor,\nchurches were rapidly abounding and filled with members from every\npeople. Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended to\nthem from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease of\nidolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ,\nthrough the teachings and miracles of His messengers.\"--(Eusebius,\n_Eccles. Hist._, Book I, ch. 3.)\n\n6. Patmos.--A small island in the Icarian section of the Aegean Sea. Dr.\nJohn R. Sterret writes of it in the _Standard Bible Dictionary_ as\nfollows: \"A volcanic island of the Sporades group, now nearly treeless.\nIt is characterized by an indented coast and has a safe harbor. By the\nRomans it was made a place of exile for the lower class of criminals.\nJohn, the author of 'Revelation' was banished thither by Domitian, 94\nA.D. According to tradition he lived there at hard labor for eighteen\nmonths.\"\n\n7. The Holy Ghost Given.--In answer to a question as to whether the Holy\nGhost was received by the apostles at or before Pentecost, a statement\nwas published by the First Presidency of the Church on February 5, 1916\n(see _Deseret News_ of that date), from which statement the following\nexcerpts are taken: \"The answer to this question depends upon what is\nmeant by 'receiving' the Holy Ghost. If reference is made to the promise\nof Jesus to His apostles about the endowment or gift of the Holy Ghost\nby the presence and ministration of the 'personage of Spirit,' called\nthe Holy Ghost by revelation (Doc. and Cov. 130:22), then the answer is,\nit was not until the day of Pentecost that the promise was fulfilled.\nBut the divine essence called the Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, or Holy\nGhost, by which God created or organized all things, and by which the\nprophets wrote and spoke, was bestowed in former ages, and inspired the\napostles in their ministry long before the day of Pentecost.... We read\nthat Jesus, after His resurrection, breathed upon His disciples and\nsaid, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' But we also read that He said,\n'Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the\ncity of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high' (John\n20:22; Luke 24:49). We read further: 'For the Holy Ghost was not yet\ngiven; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.' (John 7:39.) Thus the\npromise was made, but the fulfilment came after, so that the Holy Ghost\nsent by Jesus from the Father did not come in person until the day of\nPentecost, and the cloven tongues of fire were the sign of His coming.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1400] Acts 1:15-26.\n\n[1401] Luke 24:52,53; Acts 1:12-14.\n\n[1402] 1 Cor. 15:20; Rev. 1:5; Colos. 1:18.\n\n[1403] Matt. 27:52, 53.\n\n[1404] Acts 1:16; compare Psalm 41:9; see also John 13:18.\n\n[1405] Acts 1:20. The revised version substitutes on a preponderance of\nauthority \"office\" or, (marginal reading), \"overseership,\" for the\nerroneous rendering \"bishoprick\" in the common version. Compare Psalm\n109:8.\n\n[1406] Acts 6:1-6; Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1407] Acts 2:1-41. Note 7, end of chapter.\n\n[1408] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1409] Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 5, 8.\n\n[1410] Acts 2:6, in a better rendering than that of the common text (see\nrevised version) reads: \"And when this sound was heard, the multitude\ncame together.\"\n\n[1411] Joel 2:28, 29; compare Zech. 12:10.\n\n[1412] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1413] Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-37; 6:1-4.\n\n[1414] Acts 3:6; read the entire chapter.\n\n[1415] Acts 4:1-22.\n\n[1416] Acts 4:8-12; compare Psalm 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42.\n\n[1417] Acts 5:12-17.\n\n[1418] Matt. 27:25; compare 23:35; see pages 638 and 648 herein.\n\n[1419] Acts 22:3.\n\n[1420] Acts 5:33-40.\n\n[1421] Acts 6:7.\n\n[1422] Acts 6:8-15; and 7.\n\n[1423] Acts 7:1-53.\n\n[1424] Isa. 66:1, 2; see also Matt. 5:34, 35; 23:22.\n\n[1425] Acts 7:56. Note this exceptional application of the title, Son of\nMan, to Christ by anyone other than Himself. See page 142 herein.\n\n[1426] Acts 8:4; 11:19.\n\n[1427] Acts 6:9.\n\n[1428] Acts 22:3; compare 5:34; page 708 herein.\n\n[1429] In view of Saul's social status and recognized ability, many\nbelieve him to have been a member of the Sanhedrin; but for this\nassumption we find no definite warrant in scripture.\n\n[1430] Acts 7:58; 8:1-3.\n\n[1431] Acts 8:1.\n\n[1432] Acts 9:1, 2. Observe that \"way\" here used for the first time to\nconnote the gospel or religion of Christ, occurs frequently in Acts\n(16:17; 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).\n\n[1433] Three versions of this manifestation and its immediate results\nappear in Acts (9:3-29; 22:6-16; and 26:12-18): the first is the\nhistorian's narrative, while the others are given as reports of Saul's\nown words.\n\n[1434] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1435] Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1436] Acts 9:26-28; 13:2, 3.\n\n[1437] Acts 13:9.\n\n[1438] Acts 16:37-40; 22:25-28; 23:27; 25:11; 26:32; 28:19.\n\n[1439] Acts 22:17-21.\n\n[1440] Acts 23:11.\n\n[1441] 1 Cor. 15:3-9.\n\n[1442] Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1443] Col. 1:23; see verse 6; also \"The Great Apostasy,\" 1:20, 21.\n\n[1444] Acts 9:36-43.\n\n[1445] Rev. 1:9; see Note 6, end of chapter.\n\n[1446] Rev. 1:1; read the whole chapter.\n\n[1447] Rev. 1:10-20.\n\n[1448] Page 694 herein.\n\n[1449] Isa. 24:1-6; Amos. 8:11, 12.\n\n[1450] Matt. 24:4, 5, 10-13, 23-26.\n\n[1451] Acts 20:17-31, particularly 29, 30; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; 2\nThess. 2:3, 4, 7, 8; 2 Peter 2:1-3, read the entire chapter and observe\nits application to conditions in the world today; Jude 3, 4, 17-19; Rev.\n13:4, 6-9; 14:6, 7. See \"The Great Apostasy,\" chapter 2.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 39.\n\nMINISTRY OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.\n\n\nBy considering the apostolic ministry in immediate sequence to our study\nof the Lord's ascension from the Mount of Olives, we have departed from\nthe chronological order of the several personal manifestations of the\nrisen Savior to mortals; for very soon after His final farewell to the\napostles in Judea He visited His \"other sheep,\" not of the eastern fold,\nwhose existence He had affirmed in that impressive sermon concerning the\nGood Shepherd and His sheep.[1452] Those other sheep who were to hear\nthe Shepherd's voice and eventually be made part of the united fold,\nwere the descendants of Lehi who, with his family and a few others, had\nleft Jerusalem 600 B.C. and had crossed the great deep to what we now\nknow as the American continent, whereon they had grown to be a mighty\nthough a divided people.[1453]\n\n\nTHE LORD'S DEATH SIGNALIZED BY GREAT CALAMITIES ON THE AMERICAN\nCONTINENT.\n\nAs already set forth in these pages, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem had\nbeen made known to the Nephite nation on the western hemisphere by\ndivine revelation; and the glad event had been marked by the appearance\nof a new star, by a night devoid of darkness so that two days and the\nnight between had been as one day, and by other wonderful occurrences,\nall of which had been predicted through the prophets of the western\nworld.[1454] Samuel the Lamanite, who through faithfulness and good\nworks had become a prophet, mighty in word and deed, duly chosen and\ncommissioned of God, had coupled with his predictions of the glorious\noccurrences that were to mark the birth of Christ, prophecies of other\nsigns--of darkness, terror, and destruction--by which the Savior's death\non the cross would be signalized.[1455] Every prophetic word concerning\nthe phenomena that were to attend the Lord's birth had been fulfilled;\nand many people had been brought thereby to believe in Christ as the\npromised Redeemer; but, as is usual with those whose belief rests on\nmiracles, many among the Nephites \"began to forget those signs and\nwonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished\nat a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard\nin their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all\nwhich they had heard and seen.\"[1456]\n\nThirty and three years had sped their course since the illumined night\nand the other signs of Messiah's advent; then, on the fourth day of the\nfirst month, or, according to our calendar, during the first week of\nApril, in the thirty-fourth year, there arose a great and terrible\ntempest, with thunderings, lightnings, and both elevations and\ndepressions of the earth's surface, so that the highways were broken up,\nmountains were sundered, and many cities were utterly destroyed by\nearthquake, fire, and the inrush of the sea. For three hours the\nunprecedented holocaust continued; and then thick darkness fell, in the\nwhich it was found impossible to kindle a fire; the awful gloom was like\nunto the darkness of Egypt[1457] in that its clammy vapors could be\nfelt. This condition lasted until the third day, so that a night a day\nand a night were as one unbroken night, and the impenetrable blackness\nwas rendered the more terrible by the wailing of the people, whose\nheart-rending refrain was everywhere the same, \"O that we had repented\nbefore this great and terrible day.\"[1458]\n\nThen, piercing the darkness, came a Voice,[1459] before which the\nfrightful chorus of human lamentation was silenced; \"Wo, wo, wo unto\nthis people\" resounded throughout the land. The Voice proclaimed\nincreasing woes except the people should repent. Destruction had\nbefallen because of wickedness, and the devil was then laughing over the\nnumber of the dead and the retributive cause of their destruction. The\nextent of the dread calamity was detailed; cities that had been burned\nwith their inhabitants, others that had sunk into the sea, yet others\nburied in the earth, were enumerated; and the divine reason for this\nwidespread destruction was plainly set forth--that the wickedness and\nabominations of the people might be hidden from the face of the earth.\nThose who had lived to hear were declared to be the more righteous of\nthe inhabitants; and to them hope was offered on conditions of more\nthorough repentance and reformation.\n\nThe identity of the Voice was thus made known: \"Behold, I am Jesus\nChrist the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all\nthings that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am\nin the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified\nhis name.\" The Lord commanded that the people should no longer serve Him\nwith bloody sacrifices and burnt offerings; for the law of Moses was\nfulfilled; and thenceforth the only acceptable sacrifice would be the\nbroken heart and the contrite spirit; and such should never be rejected.\nThe humble and repentant the Lord would receive as His own. \"Behold,\" He\nsaid, \"for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again;\ntherefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.\"\n\nThe Voice ceased; and through the space of many hours of continuing\ndarkness vociferous lamentations were hushed, for the people were\nconvicted of their guilt and silently wept in astonishment over what\nthey had heard, and in hopeful anticipation of the salvation that had\nbeen offered. A second time the Voice was heard, as in sorrow over those\nwho had refused to accept the Savior's succor; for often had He\nprotected them, more often would He have so done had they been willing,\nand yet in the future would He cherish them, \"as a hen gathereth her\nchickens under her wings\" if they would repent and live in\nrighteousness. On the morning of the third day the darkness dispersed,\nseismic disturbances ceased, and the storms abated. As the pall was\nlifted from the land the people saw how profound had been the\nconvulsions of earth, and how great had been their loss of kindred and\nfriends. In their contrition and humiliation they remembered the\npredictions of the prophets, and knew that the mandate of the Lord had\nbeen executed upon them.[1460]\n\nChrist had risen; and following Him many of the righteous dead on the\nwestern continent rose from their graves, and appeared as resurrected,\nimmortalized beings among the survivors of the land-wide destruction;\neven as in Judea many of the saints had been raised immediately after\nthe resurrection of Christ.[1461]\n\n\nFIRST VISITATION OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE NEPHITES.[1462]\n\nAbout six weeks or more after the events last considered,[1463] a great\nmultitude of the Nephites had assembled at the temple in the land called\nBountiful,[1464] and were earnestly discoursing with one another over\nthe great changes that had been wrought in the land, and particularly\nconcerning Jesus Christ, of whose atoning death the predicted signs had\nbeen witnessed in all their tragic details. The prevailing spirit of the\nassembly was that of contrition and reverence. While thus congregated\nthey heard a sound as of a Voice from above; but both a first and a\nsecond utterance were to them unintelligible. As they listened with rapt\nintentness, the Voice was heard a third time, and it said unto them:\n\"_Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have\nglorified my name: hear ye him._\"[1465]\n\nWhile gazing upward in reverent expectation, the people beheld a Man,\nclothed in a white robe, who descended and stood among them. He spake,\nsaying: \"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall\ncome into the world; and behold, I am the light and the life of the\nworld; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath\ngiven me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of\nthe world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all\nthings from the beginning.\" The multitude prostrated themselves in\nadoration for they remembered that their prophets had foretold that the\nLord would appear among them after His resurrection and ascension.[1466]\n\nAs He directed, the people arose, and one by one came to Him, and did\nsee and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and the\nspear-wound in His side. Moved to adoring utterance, with one accord\nthey cried: \"Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God!\" then,\nfalling at the feet of Jesus, they worshiped Him.\n\nSummoning Nephi and eleven others to approach, the Lord gave them\nauthority to baptize the people after His departure, and prescribed the\nmode of baptism with particular injunction against disputation in the\nmatter or alteration of the given form, as witness the Lord's words:\n\n    \"Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through\n    your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise\n    shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the\n    water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold,\n    these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name,\n    saying, Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you\n    in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy\n    Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and\n    come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall\n    ye baptize in my name, for behold, verily I say unto you, that\n    the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in\n    the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.\n    And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And\n    there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto\n    been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning\n    the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been.\"[1467]\n\nThe people in general, and particularly the Twelve, chosen as stated,\nwere impressively warned against contention over matters of doctrine,\nthe spirit of which was declared to be of the devil, \"who is the father\nof contention.\" The doctrine of Jesus Christ was set forth in simple yet\ncomprehensive summary in these words:\n\n    \"Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you\n    my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine\n    which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the\n    Father and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost\n    beareth record of the Father and me, and I bear record that the\n    Father commandeth all men: everywhere, to repent and believe in\n    me; And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall\n    be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of\n    God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall\n    be damned.\"[1468]\n\nRepentance, and humility akin to that of the innocent trusting child\nwere the prerequisites for baptism, without which none could inherit the\nkingdom of God. With the incisiveness and simplicity that had\ncharacterized His teachings in Palestine, the Lord thus instructed His\nnewly chosen Twelve:\n\n    \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and\n    whoso buildeth upon this, buildeth upon my rock, and the gates\n    of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare\n    more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the\n    same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock, but he\n    buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell standeth\n    open to receive such, when the floods come and the winds beat\n    upon them. Therefore go forth unto this people, and declare the\n    words which I have spoken unto the ends of the earth.\"[1469]\n\nThen, turning to the multitude, Jesus admonished them to give heed to\nthe teachings of the Twelve, and continued with a discourse embodying\nthe sublime principles He had taught among the Jews in the Sermon on the\nMount.[1470] The Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the same splendid\narray of ennobling precepts are set forth, and the same wealth of\neffective comparison and apt illustration appear, in both Matthew's and\nNephi's versions of this unparalleled address; but a significant\ndifference is observed in every reference to the fulfilment of the\nMosaic law; for where the Jewish scriptures record the Lord's words as\npointing to a fulfilment then incomplete, the corresponding expressions\nin the Nephite account are in the past tense, the law having been\nalready fulfilled in its entirety through the death and resurrection of\nChrist. Thus, to the Jews Jesus had said: \"Till heaven and earth pass,\none jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be\nfulfilled\"; but to the Nephites: \"For verily I say unto you, one jot nor\none tittle hath not passed away from the law, but in me it hath all been\nfulfilled.\"[1471]\n\nMany marveled over this matter, wondering what the Lord would have them\ndo concerning the law of Moses; \"for they understood not the saying that\nold things had passed away, and that all things had become new.\" Jesus,\nconscious of their perplexity, proclaimed in plainness that He was the\nGiver of the law, and that by Him had it been fulfilled and therefore\nabrogated. His affirmation is particularly explicit:\n\n    \"Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given\n    unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who\n    covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is\n    fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath\n    an end. Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as\n    have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all\n    be fulfilled. And because I said unto you, that old things hath\n    passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken\n    concerning things which are to come. For behold, the covenant\n    which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the\n    law which was given unto Moses, hath an end in me.\"[1472]\n\nAddressing Himself to the Twelve He affirmed that never had the Father\ncommanded Him to inform the Jews concerning the existence of the\nNephites, except indirectly by mention of other sheep not of the Jewish\nfold; and as, \"because of stiffneckedness and unbelief,\" they had failed\nto comprehend His words, the Father had commanded Him to say no more\nwith reference either to the Nephites or to the third fold--comprizing\n\"the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away\nout of the land.\" To the Nephite disciples Jesus taught many other\nmatters that had been withheld from the Jews, who through unfitness to\nreceive had been left in ignorance. Even the Jewish apostles had wrongly\nsupposed that those \"other sheep\" were the Gentile nations, not\nrealizing that the carrying of the gospel to the Gentiles was part of\ntheir particular mission, and oblivious to the fact that never would\nChrist manifest Himself in person to those who were not of the house of\nIsrael. Through the promptings of the Holy Ghost and under the\nministrations of men commissioned and sent would the Gentiles hear the\nword of God; but to the personal manifestation of the Messiah they were\nineligible.[1473] Great, however, will be the Lord's mercies and\nblessings to the Gentiles who accept the truth, for unto them the Holy\nGhost shall bear witness of the Father and of the Son; and all of them\nwho comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel shall be numbered\nin the house of Israel. Their conversion and enfoldment with the Lord's\nown will be as individuals, and not as nations, tribes, or\npeoples.[1474]\n\nThe adoring multitude, numbering about two thousand five hundred souls,\nthought that Jesus was about to depart; and they tearfully yearned to\nhave Him remain. He comforted them with the assurance that He would\nreturn on the morrow, and admonished them to ponder upon the things He\nhad taught, and to pray in His name to the Father for understanding. He\nhad already informed the Twelve, and now stated to the people, that He\nwould show Himself and minister \"unto the lost tribes of Israel, for\nthey are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken\nthem.\" Voicing the compassion He felt, the Lord directed the people to\nfetch their afflicted ones, the lame, halt, maimed, blind and deaf, the\nleprous, and the withered; and when these were brought He healed them,\nevery one. Then, as He commanded, parents brought their little children,\nand placed them in a circle around Him. The multitude bowed in prayer;\nand Jesus prayed for them; \"And,\" wrote Nephi, \"no tongue can speak,\nneither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men\nconceive so great and marvellous things as we both saw and heard Jesus\nspeak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the\ntime we heard him pray for us unto the Father.\" The prayer being ended,\nJesus bade the multitude arise; and joyfully He exclaimed: \"Blessed are\nye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.\" Jesus wept.\nThen He took the children, one by one, and blessed them, praying unto\nthe Father for each.\n\n    \"And when he had done this he wept again, and he spake unto the\n    multitude, and saith unto them, behold your little ones. And as\n    they looked to behold, they cast their eyes towards heaven, and\n    they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of\n    heaven as it were, in the midst of fire; and they came down and\n    encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about\n    with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.\"[1475]\n\nThe Lord Jesus sent for bread and wine, and caused the people to sit\ndown. The bread He brake and blessed, and gave thereof to the Twelve;\nthese, having eaten, distributed bread to the multitude. The wine was\nblessed, and all partook, the Twelve first, and afterward the people.\nWith impressiveness similar to that attending the institution of the\nSacrament of the Lord's Supper among the apostles in Jerusalem, Jesus\nmade plain the sanctity and significance of the ordinance, saying that\nauthority for its future administration would be given; and that it was\nto be participated in by all who had been baptized into fellowship with\nChrist, and was always to be observed in remembrance of Him, the bread\nbeing the sacred emblem of His body, the wine the token of His blood\nthat had been shed. By express commandment, the Lord forbade the\nsacrament of bread and wine to all but the worthy; \"For,\" He explained,\n\"whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and\ndrinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is\nunworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood, ye shall forbid him.\"\nBut the people were forbidden to cast out from their assemblies those\nfrom whom the Sacrament was to be withheld, if so be they would but\nrepent and seek fellowship through baptism.[1476]\n\nThe necessity of prayer was explicitly emphasized by the Lord, the\ncommandment to pray being given to the Twelve and to the multitude\nseparately. Individual supplication, family devotions, and\ncongregational worship were thus enjoined:\n\n    \"Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name; and\n    whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right,\n    believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto\n    you. Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name,\n    that your wives and your children may be blessed. And behold, ye\n    shall meet together oft, and ye shall not forbid any man from\n    coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them\n    that they may come unto you, and forbid them not; but ye shall\n    pray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if it so be that\n    they come unto you oft, ye shall pray for them unto the Father,\n    in my name.\"[1477]\n\nThe Lord then touched with His hand each of the Twelve, investing them,\nin words unheard by others, with power to confer the Holy Ghost by the\nimposition of hands upon all repentant and baptized believers.[1478] As\nhe finished the ordination of the Twelve, a cloud overshadowed the\npeople, so that the Lord was hidden from their sight; but the twelve\ndisciples \"saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven.\"\n\n\nCHRIST'S SECOND VISITATION TO THE NEPHITES.[1479]\n\nOn the morrow a yet greater multitude assembled in expectation of the\nSavior's return. Throughout the night messengers had spread the glorious\ntidings of the Lord's appearing, and of His promise to again visit His\npeople. So great was the assembly that Nephi and his associates caused\nthe people to separate into twelve bodies, to each of which one of the\ndisciples was assigned to impart instruction and to lead in prayer. The\nburden of supplication was that the Holy Ghost should be given unto\nthem. Led by the chosen disciples the whole vast concourse approached\nthe water's edge, and Nephi, going first, was baptized by immersion; he\nthen baptized the eleven others whom Jesus had chosen. When the Twelve\nhad come forth out of the water, \"they were filled with the Holy Ghost,\nand with fire. And behold, they were encircled about as if it were fire;\nand it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and do\nbear record; and angels did come down out of heaven, and did minister\nunto them. And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering\nunto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and\nministered unto them.\"[1480]\n\nThus Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples and ministering\nangels. At His command the Twelve and the multitude knelt in prayer; and\nthey prayed unto Jesus, calling Him their Lord and their God. Jesus\nseparated Himself by a little space, and in humble attitude prayed,\nsaying in part: \"Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy\nGhost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief\nin me, that I have chosen them out of the world. Father, I pray thee\nthat thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in\ntheir words.\" The disciples were yet fervently praying to Jesus when He\nreturned to them; and as He looked upon them with merciful and approving\nsmile, they were glorified in His presence, so that their countenances\nand their apparel shone with a brilliancy like unto that of the face and\ngarments of the Lord, even so that \"there could be nothing on earth so\nwhite as the whiteness thereof.\" A second and a third time Jesus retired\nand prayed unto the Father; and while the people comprehended the\nmeaning of His prayer, they confessed and bare record that \"so great and\nmarvellous were the words which he prayed, that they cannot be written,\nneither can they be uttered by man.\" The Lord rejoiced in the faith of\nthe people, and to the disciples He said: \"So great faith have I never\nseen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not shew unto them so great\nmiracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there are\nnone of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither\nhave they heard so great things as ye have heard.\"[1481] Then the Lord\nadministered the Sacrament in manner as on the yesterday; but both the\nbread and the wine were provided without human aid. The sanctity of the\nordinance was thus expressed: \"He that eateth this bread, eateth of my\nbody to his soul, and he that drinketh of this wine, drinketh of my\nblood to his soul, and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall\nbe filled.\"\n\nThis was followed by instructions concerning the covenant people,\nIsrael, of whom the Nephites were a part, and of the relation they would\nbear to the Gentile nations in the future development of the divine\npurpose. Jesus declared Himself to be that Prophet whose coming Moses\nhad foretold, and the Christ of whom all the prophets had testified. The\ntemporary supremacy of the Gentiles, whereby the further scattering of\nIsrael would be accomplished, and the eventual gathering of the covenant\npeople, were predicted, with frequent reference to the inspired\nutterances of Isaiah bearing thereon.[1482] The future of Lehi's\ndescendants was pictured as a dwindling in unbelief through iniquity; in\nconsequence of which the Gentiles would grow to be a mighty people on\nthe western continent, even though that land had been given as an\nultimate inheritance to the house of Israel. The establishment of the\nthen future but now existent American nation, characterized as \"a free\npeople,\" was thus foretold and God's purpose therein explained: \"For it\nis wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land,\nand be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these\nthings might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the\ncovenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with\nhis people, O house of Israel.\"[1483]\n\nAs a sign of the time in which the gathering of the several branches of\nIsrael from their long dispersion should take place, the Lord specified\nthe prosperity of the Gentiles in America, and their agency in bringing\nthe scriptures to the degraded remnant of Lehi's posterity or the\nAmerican Indians.[1484] It was made plain that all Gentiles who would\nrepent, and accept the gospel of Christ through baptism, should be\nnumbered among the covenant people and be made partakers of the\nblessings incident to the last days, in which the New Jerusalem would be\nestablished on the American continent. The joyful account of gathered\nIsrael as Jehovah had given it aforetime through the mouth of His\nprophet Isaiah, was repeated by the resurrected Jehovah to His Nephite\nflock.[1485] Admonishing them to ponder the words of the prophets, which\nwere of record amongst them, and to give heed to the new scriptures He\nhad made known, and especially commanding the Twelve to teach the people\nfurther concerning the things He had expounded, the Lord informed them\nof the revelations given through Malachi, and directed that the same be\nwritten.[1486]\n\nThe prophecies so reiterated by Him who had inspired Malachi to\nutterance, were at that time obviously of the future, and are even yet\nunfulfilled in their entirety. The advent of the Lord, to which these\nscriptures testify, is yet future; but that the time is now near--that\n\"great and dreadful day of the Lord\"--is attested by the fact that\nElijah who was to come before that day, has appeared in the discharge of\nhis particular commission--that of turning the hearts of the living\nchildren to their dead progenitors, and the hearts of the departed\nfathers to their still mortal posterity.[1487]\n\nThe personal ministry of Christ on the occasion of this second\nvisitation lasted three days, during which He gave the people many\nscriptures, such as had been before given unto the Jews, for so the\nFather had commanded; and He expounded unto them the purposes of God,\nfrom the beginning until the time at which Christ shall return in His\nglory; \"And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all\nkindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be\njudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil; if\nthey be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be\nevil, to the resurrection of damnation, being on a parallel, the one on\nthe one hand, and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy,\nand the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the\nworld began.\" In merciful ministration He healed their afflicted folk,\nand raised a man from the dead. At later but unspecified times, He\nshowed Himself among the Nephites, and \"did break bread oft, and bless\nit, and give it unto them.\"[1488]\n\nAfter His second ascension from among them, the spirit of prophecy was\nmanifest among the people, and this extended even to children and babes,\nmany of whom spake of marvelous things, as the Spirit gave them\nutterance. The Twelve entered upon their ministry with vigor, teaching\nall who would hear, and baptizing those who, through repentance, sought\ncommunion with the Church. Upon all who thus complied with the\nrequirements of the gospel, the Holy Ghost was bestowed; and those so\nblessed lived together in love, and were called the Church of\nChrist.[1489]\n\n\nCHRIST'S VISITATION TO HIS CHOSEN TWELVE AMONG THE NEPHITES.[1490]\n\nUnder the administration of the twelve ordained disciples the Church\ngrew and prospered in the land of Nephi.[1491] The disciples, as special\nwitnesses of the Christ, traveled, preached, taught, and baptized all\nwho professed faith and showed forth repentance. On a certain occasion\nthe Twelve were assembled in \"mighty prayer and fasting,\" seeking\ninstruction on a particular matter which, notwithstanding the Lord's\ninjunction against contention, had given rise to disputation among the\npeople. As they supplicated the Father in the Son's name, Jesus appeared\namongst them, and asked: \"What will ye that I shall give unto you?\"\nTheir answer was: \"Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name\nwhereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the\npeople concerning this matter.\" They had provisionally called the\ncommunity of baptized believers the Church of Christ; but, apparently\nthis true and distinguishing name had not been generally accepted\nwithout question.\n\n    \"And the Lord said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,\n    why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of\n    this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must\n    take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? for by this\n    name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon\n    him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at\n    the last day; therefore whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it\n    in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and\n    ye shall call upon the Father in my name, that he will bless the\n    church for my sake; And how be it my church, save it be called\n    in my name? for if a church be called in Moses' name, then it be\n    Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man, then it\n    be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name, then it\n    is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.\n    Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel;\n    therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my\n    name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if\n    it be in my name, the Father will hear you; and if it so be that\n    the church is built upon my gospel, then will the Father shew\n    forth his own works in it; but if it be not built upon my\n    gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of\n    the devil, verily I say unto you, they have joy in their works\n    for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn\n    down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return; for\n    their works do follow them, for it is because of their works\n    that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I\n    have told you.\"[1492]\n\nIn such wise did the Lord confirm as an authoritative bestowal, the name\nwhich, through inspiration, had been assumed by His obedient children,\n_The Church of Jesus Christ_. The Lord's explanation as to the one and\nonly Name by which the Church could be appropriately known is cogent and\nconvincing. It was not the church of Lehi or Nephi, of Mosiah or Alma,\nof Samuel or Helaman; else it should have been called by the name of the\nman whose church it was, even as today there are churches named after\nmen;[1493] but being the Church established by Jesus Christ, it could\nproperly bear none other name than His.\n\nJesus then reiterated to the Nephite Twelve many of the cardinal\nprinciples He had before enunciated to them and to the people at large;\nand commanded that His words be written, excepting certain exalted\ncommunications which He forbade them to write. The importance of\npreserving as a priceless treasure the new scriptures He had given was\nshown, with assurance that in heaven records were kept of all things\ndone by divine direction. The Twelve were told that they were to be the\njudges of their people; and in view of such investiture they were\nadmonished to diligence and godliness.[1494] The Lord was made glad by\nthe faith and ready obedience of the Nephites amongst whom He had\nministered; and to the twelve special witnesses He said: \"And now\nbehold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also\nthis generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the\nholy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are\nlost. Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are\nnow alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I\nhave fulness of joy.\" His joy, however, was mingled with sorrow because\nof the apostasy into which the later generations would fall; this He\nforesaw as a dire condition that would attain its climax in the fourth\ngeneration from that time.[1495]\n\n\nTHE THREE NEPHITES.\n\nIn loving compassion the Lord spoke unto the twelve disciples, one by\none, asking: \"What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to\nthe Father?\"[1496] All but three expressed the desire that they might\ncontinue in the ministry until they had reached a goodly age, and then\nin due time be received by the Lord into His kingdom. To them Jesus gave\nblessed assurance, saying: \"After that ye are seventy and two years old,\nye shall come unto me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest.\" He\nturned to the three who had reserved the request they ventured not to\nexpress;\n\n    \"And he said unto them, Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye\n    have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me\n    in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired\n    of me; therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste\n    of death, but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the\n    Father, unto the children of men, even until all things shall be\n    fulfilled, according to the will of the Father, when I shall\n    come in my glory, with the powers of heaven; and ye shall never\n    endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory, ye\n    shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to\n    immortality: and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my\n    Father.\"[1497]\n\nThe blessed three were assured that in the course of their prolonged\nlife they should be immune to pain, and should know sorrow only as they\ngrieved for the sins of the world. For their desire to labor in bringing\nsouls unto Christ as long as the world should stand, they were promised\nan eventual fulness of joy, even like unto that to which the Lord\nHimself had attained. Jesus touched each of the nine who were to live\nand die in the Lord, but the three who were to tarry till He would come\nin His glory He did not touch. \"And then he departed.\"\n\nA change was wrought in the bodies of the Three Nephites, so that, while\nthey remained in the flesh, they were exempt from the usual effects of\nphysical vicissitude. The heavens were opened to their gaze; they were\ncaught up, and saw and heard unspeakable things. \"And it was forbidden\nthem that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that\nthey could utter the things which they saw and heard.\" Though they lived\nand labored as men among their fellows, preaching, baptizing, and\nconferring the Holy Ghost upon all who gave heed to their words, the\nenemies to the truth were powerless to do them injury. Somewhat later\nthan a hundred and seventy years after the Lord's last visitation,\nmalignant persecution was waged against the Three. For their zeal in the\nministry they were cast into prison; but \"the prisons could not hold\nthem, for they were rent in twain.\" They were incarcerated in\nunderground dungeons; \"But they did smite the earth with the word of\nGod, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of\nthe earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold\nthem.\" Thrice they were cast into a furnace of fire, but received no\nharm; and three times were they thrown into dens of ravenous beasts,\nbut, \"behold they did play with the beasts, as a child with a suckling\nlamb, and received no harm.\"[1498] Mormon avers that in answer to his\nprayers the Lord had made known unto him that the change wrought upon\nthe bodies of the Three, was such as to deprive Satan of all power over\nthem, and that \"they were holy, and that the powers of the earth could\nnot hold them; and in this state they were to remain until the judgment\nday of Christ; and at that day they were to receive a greater change,\nand to be received into the kingdom of the Father to go no more out, but\nto dwell with God eternally in the heavens.\"[1499] For nearly three\nhundred years, and possibly longer, the Three Nephites ministered\nvisibly among their fellows; but as the wickedness of the people\nincreased these special ministers were withdrawn, and thereafter\nmanifested themselves only to the righteous few. Moroni, the last\nprophet of the Nephites, when engaged in completing the record of his\nfather, Mormon, and adding thereto matters of his own knowledge, wrote\nconcerning these three disciples of the Lord, that they \"did tarry in\nthe land until the wickedness of the people was so great, that the Lord\nwould not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be\nupon the face of the land no man knoweth. But behold, my father and I\nhave seen them, and they have ministered unto us.\"[1500] Their ministry\nwas to be extended to Jews and Gentiles, amongst whom they labor\nunrecognized as of ancient birth; and they are sent unto the scattered\ntribes of Israel, and to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples,\nfrom whom they have brought and are bringing many souls unto Christ,\n\"that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing\npower of God which is in them.\"[1501]\n\n\nGROWTH OF THE CHURCH FOLLOWED BY THE APOSTASY OF THE NEPHITE NATION.\n\nThe Church of Jesus Christ developed rapidly in the land of Nephi, and\nbrought to its faithful adherents unprecedented blessings. Even the\nhereditary animosity between Nephites and Lamanites was forgotten; and\nall lived in peace and prosperity. So great was the unity of the Church\nthat its members owned all things in common, and \"therefore they were\nnot rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and\npartakers of the heavenly gift.\"[1502] Populous cities replaced the\ndesolation of ruin that had befallen at the time of the Lord's\ncrucifixion. The land was blessed, and the people rejoiced in\nrighteousness. \"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the\nland, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the\npeople. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor\nwhoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness;\nand surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who\nhad been created by the hand of God.\"[1503] Nine of the twelve special\nwitnesses chosen by the Lord passed at appointed times to their rest,\nand others were ordained in their stead. The state of blessed prosperity\nand of common ownership continued for a period of a hundred and\nsixty-seven years; but soon thereafter came a most distressing change.\nPride displaced humility, display of costly apparel superseded the\nsimplicity of happier days; rivalry led to contention, and thence the\npeople \"did have their goods and their substance no more common among\nthem, and they began to be divided into classes, and they began to build\nup churches unto themselves, to get gain, and began to deny the true\nchurch of Christ.\"[1504] Man-made churches multiplied, and persecution,\ntrue sister to intolerance, became rampant. The red-skinned Lamanites\nreverted to their degraded ways, and developed a murderous hostility\nagainst their white brothers; and all manner of corrupt practises became\ncommon among both nations. For many decades the Nephites retreated\nbefore their aggressive foes, making their way north-eastward through\nwhat is now the United States. About 400 A.D. the last great battle was\nfought near the hill Cumorah;[1505] and the Nephite nation became\nextinct.[1506] The degenerate remnant of Lehi's posterity, the Lamanites\nor American Indians, have continued until this day. Moroni, the last of\nthe Nephite prophets, hid away the record of his people in the hill\nCumorah, whence it has been brought forth by divine direction in the\ncurrent dispensation. That record is now before the world translated\nthrough the gift and power of God, and published to the edification of\nall nations, as the BOOK OF MORMON.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 39.\n\n1. The Land Bountiful.--This comprized the northerly part of South\nAmerica, extending to the Isthmus of Panama. On the north it was bounded\nby the Land of Desolation, which embraced Central America, and, in later\nNephite history, an indefinite extent north of the Isthmus. The South\nAmerican continent in general is called, in the Book of Mormon, the Land\nof Nephi.\n\n2. The Jewish and Nephite Versions of the \"Sermon on the Mount.\"--As\nindicated in the text, one of the most impressive contrasts between the\nSermon on the Mount and the virtual repetition of the discourse by our\nLord on the occasion of His visit to the Nephites, is that of prediction\nconcerning the fulfilment of the law of Moses in the first delivery, and\nunqualified affirmation in the second that the law had been fulfilled.\nAmong the Beatitudes certain differences appear, in each of which the\nNephite sermon is more explicit. Thus, instead of, \"Blessed are the poor\nin spirit\" (Matt. 5:3), we read, \"Blessed are the poor in spirit who\ncome unto me\" (3 Nephi 12:3). Instead of, \"Blessed are they which do\nhunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled\"\n(Matt.), we read, \"And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst\nafter righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost\"\n(Nephi). Instead of, \"for righteousness' sake,\" (Matt.) we have \"for my\nname's sake,\" (Nephi). For the difficult passage, \"Ye are the salt of\nthe earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be\nsalted?\" (Matt.), we have the clearer expression, \"I give unto you to be\nthe salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith\nshall the earth be salted?\" (Nephi). And, as already noted, in place of\n\"one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be\nfulfilled\" (Matt.), we have \"one jot nor one tittle hath not passed away\nfrom the law, but in me it hath all been fulfilled\" (Nephi). Variations\nin succeeding verses are incident to this prospective fulfilment\n(Matt.), and affirmed accomplishment (Nephi). Instead of the strong\nanalogy concerning the plucking out of an offending eye, or the severing\nof an evil hand (Matt.), we find: \"Behold, I give unto you a\ncommandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your\nheart; for it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things,\nwherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into\nhell\" (Nephi). Following the illustrative instances of the gospel\nrequirements superseding those of the law, the Nephite record presents\nthis splendid summation: \"Therefore those things which were of old time,\nwhich were under the law in me, are all fulfilled. Old things are done\naway, and all things have become new; therefore I would that ye should\nbe perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.\"\n\nIn Matthew's report of the sermon, little distinction is made between\nthe precepts addressed to the multitude in general, and the instructions\ngiven particularly to the Twelve. Thus, Matt. 6:25-34 was spoken\ninferentially to the apostles; for they and not the people were to lay\naside all worldly pursuits; in the sermon delivered to the Nephites the\ndistinction is thus made clear: \"And now it came to pass that when Jesus\nhad spoken these words, he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen,\nand said unto them, Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold,\nye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I\nsay unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what\nye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the\nlife more than meat, and the body than raiment?\" etc. (See 3 Nephi\n13:25-34). Matt 7 opens with \"Judge not that ye be not judged,\" without\nintimation as to its general or special application; 3 Nephi 14 begins\n\"And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he\nturned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again,\nsaying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, judge not, that ye be not\njudged.\" A careful, verse-by-verse comparison between the Sermon on the\nMount as recorded by Matthew, and the risen Lord's discourse to His\npeople on the western continent is earnestly recommended to every\nstudent.\n\n3. Baptisms Among the Nephites After the Lord's Visitation.--We read\nthat before the second appearing of Christ to the Nephites, the chosen\nTwelve were baptized (3 Nephi 19:10-13). These men had doubtless been\nbaptized before, for Nephi had been empowered not only to baptize but to\nordain others to the requisite authority for administering baptism (3\nNephi 7:23-26). The baptism of the disciples on the morn of the Savior's\nsecond visit, was in the nature of a rebaptism, involving a renewal of\ncovenants, and confession of faith in the Lord Jesus.\n\nIt is possible that in the earlier Nephite baptisms some irregularity in\nmode or impropriety in the spirit of administering the ordinance may\nhave arisen; for, as we have seen the Lord enjoined upon the people in\nconnection with the instructions concerning baptism that disputations\nmust cease. (3 Nephi 11:28-33.)\n\nAs to second or later baptisms, the author has written elsewhere (see\n_The Articles of Faith_, vii:12-17) practically as follows. Rebaptisms\nrecorded in scripture are few, and in each instance the special\ncircumstances justifying the action are apparent. Thus, we read of Paul\nbaptizing certain disciples at Ephesus, though they had already been\nimmersed after the manner of John's baptism. But in this case the\napostle was evidently unconvinced that the baptism had been solemnized\nby due authority, or that the believers had been properly instructed as\nto the import of the ordinance. When he tested the efficacy of their\nbaptism by asking \"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?\"\nthey answered him, \"We have not so much as heard whether there be any\nHoly Ghost.\" Then asked he in seeming surprize, \"Unto what then were ye\nbaptized? and they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John\nverily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,\nthat they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on\nChrist Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of\nthe Lord Jesus.\" (See Acts 19:1-6.)\n\nIn the Church today a repetition of the baptismal rite on an individual\nis allowable under certain specific conditions. Thus, if one, having\nentered the Church by baptism, withdraws from it, or is excommunicated\ntherefrom, and afterward repents and desires to regain his standing in\nthe Church, he can do so only through baptism. However, such is a\nrepetition of the initiatory ordinance as previously administered. There\nis no ordinance of \"rebaptism\" in the Church distinct in nature, form,\nor purpose, from other baptism; and, therefore, in administering baptism\nto a subject who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony is\nexactly the same as in first baptisms.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1452] John 10:16; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 15:17-21; page 416 herein.\n\n[1453] See pages 49, 55 herein.\n\n[1454] Pages 49-52.\n\n[1455] Helaman 14:14-27.\n\n[1456] 3 Nephi 2:1.\n\n[1457] Exo. 10:21-23.\n\n[1458] 3 Nephi 8:5-25; compare Helaman 14:20-27.\n\n[1459] 3 Nephi chap. 9.\n\n[1460] 3 Nephi, chap. 10.\n\n[1461] Helaman 14:25; 3 Nephi 23:7-13; compare Matt. 27:52, 53.\n\n[1462] 3 Nephi, chaps. 11-18 inclusive.\n\n[1463] 3 Nephi 10:18. Bear in mind that Christ's ascension took place\nforty days after His resurrection.\n\n[1464] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1465] 3 Nephi 11:7; compare Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 9:35; P. of\nG.P., Joseph Smith 2:17.\n\n[1466] 3 Nephi 11:12; compare 1 Nephi 12:6; 2 Nephi 26:1, 9; Alma 16:20.\n\n[1467] 3 Nephi 11:23-28; compare Doc. and Cov. 20:72-74.\n\n[1468] 3 Nephi 11:31-34; compare Mark 16:15, 16; see also John 12:48.\n\n[1469] 3 Nephi 11:39-41.\n\n[1470] 3 Nephi, chaps. 12, 13, 14; compare Matt, chaps. 5, 6, 7.\n\n[1471] Matt. 5:18, and 3 Nephi 12:18; compare 46, 47; 15:2-10; and\n9:17-20. See Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1472] 3 Nephi 15:4-8. See pages 234, 373, 374 herein.\n\n[1473] 3 Nephi 15:11-24.\n\n[1474] 3 Nephi 16:4-20.\n\n[1475] 3 Nephi 17:23-24; read entire chapter.\n\n[1476] 3 Nephi 18:1-14, 27-34; compare 1 Cor. 11:23-30. For the\nprescribed manner of administering the Sacrament, see Moroni, chaps. 4\nand 5; compare Doc. and Cov. 20:75-79.\n\n[1477] 3 Nephi 18:19-23.\n\n[1478] 3 Nephi 18:36, 37; Moroni 2:1-3.\n\n[1479] 3 Nephi, chaps. 19-25, and 26:1-5.\n\n[1480] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1481] 3 Nephi, chap. 19:35, 36; read the entire chapter.\n\n[1482] 3 Nephi, chap. 20; see references to Isaiah given therein.\n\n[1483] 3 Nephi 21:4.\n\n[1484] 3 Nephi 21:1-7; for prophecies concerning subsequent events see\nremainder of chapter.\n\n[1485] 3 Nephi, chap. 22; compare Isa. chap. 54.\n\n[1486] 3 Nephi, chaps. 24 and 25; compare Malachi, chap. 3 and 4.\n\n[1487] Doc. and Cov. 110:13-16. Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple\nApril 3, A.D. 1836, and committed to the Church the keys of authority\nfor vicarious work in behalf of the dead. See chapter 41 herein, page\n775.\n\n[1488] 3 Nephi 26:4, 5, 13-15.\n\n[1489] 3 Nephi 26:14-21.\n\n[1490] 3 Nephi, chaps. 26, 27, and 28:1-12.\n\n[1491] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1492] 3 Nephi 27:4-12.\n\n[1493] E.g. of Calvin, Luther, Wesley; see also \"The Great Apostasy,\"\n10:21, 22.\n\n[1494] Note the assurance of a similar commission promised the Jewish\napostles: Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30. See also 1 Nephi 12:9.\n\n[1495] 3 Nephi 27:32 and references given therewith.\n\n[1496] 3 Nephi 28:1; read verses 1-12.\n\n[1497] 3 Nephi 28:6-8; see page 694 herein.\n\n[1498] 3 Nephi 28:13-23; compare 4 Nephi 1:14, 29-33.\n\n[1499] 3 Nephi 28:39, 40.\n\n[1500] Mormon 8:10, 11; see also 3 Nephi 28:26-32, 36-40, 4 Nephi 1:14,\n37; Ether 12:17.\n\n[1501] 3 Nephi 28:27-32.\n\n[1502] 4 Nephi 1:3; read 1:23; see pages 705 and 718 herein.\n\n[1503] 4 Nephi 1:15, 16.\n\n[1504] 4 Nephi 1:25, 26.\n\n[1505] Near Manchester, Ontario county, New York.\n\n[1506] See Mormon, chapters 1-9; and Moroni, chapter 10.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 40.\n\nTHE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY.\n\n\nFor over seventeen hundred years on the eastern hemisphere, and for more\nthan fourteen centuries on the western, there appears to have been\nsilence between the heavens and the earth.[1507] Of direct revelation\nfrom God to man during this long interval, we have no authentic record.\nAs already shown, the period of apostolic ministry on the eastern\ncontinent probably terminated before the dawn of the second century of\nthe Christian era. The passing of the apostles was followed by the rapid\ndevelopment of a universal apostasy as had been foreseen and\npredicted.[1508]\n\nIn the accomplishment of this great falling away, external and internal\ncauses cooperated. Among the disintegrating forces acting from without,\nthe most effective was the persistent persecution to which the saints\nwere subjected, incident to both Judaistic and pagan opposition. Vast\nnumbers who had professed membership and many who had been officers in\nthe ministry deserted the Church; while a few were stimulated to greater\nzeal under the scourge of persecution. The general effect of opposition\nfrom the outside--of external causes of decline in faith and works\nconsidered as a whole--was the defection of individuals, resulting in a\nwidespread _apostasy from the Church_. But immeasurably more serious was\nthe result of internal dissension, schism and disruption, whereby an\nabsolute _apostasy of the Church_ from the way and word of God was\nbrought about.\n\nJudaism was the earliest oppressor of Christianity, and became the\ninstigator and abettor of the succeeding atrocities incident to pagan\npersecution. Open and vigorous hostility of the Roman powers against the\nChristian Church became general during the reign of Nero, (beginning\nabout 64 A.D.), and continued with occasional respites of a few months\nor even years at a time to the close of Diocletian's reign (about 305\nA.D.). The inhuman cruelty and savage barbarity to which were subjected\nthose who dared profess the name of Christ during these centuries of\nheathen domination are matters of accepted history.[1509] When\nConstantine the Great came to the throne in the first quarter of the\nfourth century, a radical change was inaugurated in the attitude of the\nstate toward the church. The emperor straightway made the so-called\nChristianity of the time the religion of his realm; and zealous devotion\nto the church became the surest recommendation to imperial favor. But\nthe church was already in great measure an apostate institution and even\nin crude outline of organization and service bore but remote resemblance\nto the Church of Jesus Christ, founded by the Savior and builded through\nthe instrumentality of the apostles. Whatever vestiges of genuine\nChristianity may have possibly survived in the church before, were\nburied beyond the sight of man by the abuses that followed the elevation\nof the churchly organization to secular favor through the decree of\nConstantine. The emperor, even though unbaptized, made himself the head\nof the church, and priestly office was more sought after than military\nrank or state preferment. The spirit of apostasy, by which the church\nhad become permeated before Constantine threw about it the mantle of\nimperial protection and emblazoned it with the insignia of state, now\nwas roused to increased activity as the leaven of Satan's own culture\nflourished under the conditions most favorable for such fungoid growth.\n\nThe bishop of Rome had already asserted supremacy over his fellows in\nthe episcopate; but when the emperor made Byzantium his capital, and\nrenamed it in his own honor, Constantinople, the bishop of that city\nclaimed equality with the Roman pontiff. The claim was contested; the\nensuing dissension divided the church; and the disruption has persisted\nuntil the present day, as is evidenced by the existing distinction\nbetween the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic churches.\n\nThe Roman pontiff exercized secular as well as spiritual authority; and\nin the eleventh century arrogated to himself the title of _Pope_,\nsignifying _Father_, in the sense of paternal ruler in all things.\nDuring the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the temporal authority of\nthe pope was superior to that of kings and emperors; and the Roman\nchurch became the despotic potentate of nations, and an autocrat above\nall secular states. Yet this church, reeking with the stench of worldly\nambition and lust of dominance, audaciously claimed to be the Church\nestablished by Him who affirmed: \"My kingdom is not of this world.\" The\narrogant assumptions of the Church of Rome were not less extravagant in\nspiritual than in secular administration. In her loudly asserted control\nover the spiritual destinies of the souls of men, she blasphemously\npretended to forgive or retain individual sins, and to inflict or remit\npenalties both on earth and beyond the grave. She sold permission to\ncommit sin and bartered for gold charters of indulgent forgiveness for\nsins already done. Her pope, proclaiming himself the vicar of God, sat\nin state to judge as God Himself; and by such blasphemy fulfilled the\nprophecy of Paul following his warning in relation to the awful\nconditions antecedent to the second coming of the Christ: \"Let no man\ndeceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come\na falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of\nperdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called\nGod, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of\nGod, shewing himself that he is God.\"[1510]\n\nIn her unrestrained abandon to the license of arrogated authority, the\nChurch of Rome hesitated not to transgress the law of God, change the\nordinances essential to salvation, and ruthlessly break the everlasting\ncovenant, thereby defiling the earth even as Isaiah had foretold.[1511]\nShe altered the ordinance of baptism, destroying its symbolism and\nassociating with it imitations of pagan rites; she corrupted the\nSacrament of the Lord's Supper and befouled the doctrine thereof by the\nvagary of _transubstantiation_;[1512] she assumed to apply the merits of\nthe righteous to the forgiveness of the sinner in the unscriptural and\nwholly repellent dogma of _supererogation_; she promoted idolatry in\nmost seductive and pernicious forms; she penalized the study of the holy\nscriptures by the people at large; she enjoined an unnatural state of\ncelibacy upon her clergy; she revelled in unholy union with the theories\nand sophistries of men, and so adulterated the simple doctrines of the\ngospel of Christ as to produce a creed rank with superstition and\nheresy; she promulgated such perverted doctrines regarding the human\nbody as to make the divinely formed tabernacle of flesh appear as a\nthing fit only to be tortured and contemned; she proclaimed it an act of\nvirtue insuring rich reward to lie and deceive if thereby her own\ninterests might be subserved; and she so thoroughly departed from the\noriginal plan of Church organization as to make of herself a spectacle\nof ornate display, fabricated by the caprice of man.[1513]\n\nThe most important of the internal causes by which the apostasy of the\nPrimitive Church was brought about may be thus summarized: (1) The\ncorrupting of the simple doctrines of the gospel of Christ by admixture\nwith so-called philosophic systems. (2) Unauthorized additions to the\nprescribed rites of the Church and the introduction of vital alterations\nin essential ordinances. (3) Unauthorized changes in Church organization\nand government.[1514]\n\nUnder the tyrannous repression incident to usurped and unrighteous\ndomination by the Roman church, civilization was retarded and for\ncenturies was practically halted in its course. The period of\nretrogression is known in history as the Dark Ages. The fifteenth\ncentury witnessed the movement known as the Renaissance or Revival of\nLearning; there was a general and significantly rapid awakening among\nmen, and a determined effort to shake off the stupor of indolence and\nignorance was manifest throughout the civilized world. By historians and\nphilosophers the revival has been regarded as an unconscious and\nspontaneous prompting of the \"spirit of the times\"; it was a development\npredetermined in the Mind of God to illumine the benighted minds of men\nin preparation for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which\nwas appointed to be accomplished some centuries later.[1515]\n\nWith the renewal of intellectual activity and effort in material\nbetterment, there came, as a natural and inevitable accompaniment,\nprotest and revolt against the ecclesiastical tyranny of the age. The\nAlbigenses in France had risen in insurrection against churchly\ndespotism during the thirteenth century; and in the fourteenth, John\nWickliffe of Oxford University had boldly denounced the corruption of\nthe Roman church and clergy, and particularly the restrictions imposed\nby the papal hierarchy on the popular study of the scriptures. Wickliffe\ngave to the world a version of the Holy Bible in English. These\nmanifestations of independent belief and action the papal church sought\nto repress and punish by force. The Albigenses had been subjected to\ninhuman cruelties and unrestrained slaughter. Wickliffe was the subject\nof severe and persistent persecution; and though he died in his bed the\nvindictiveness of the Roman church was unsated until she had caused his\nbody to be exhumed and burned and the ashes scattered abroad. John Huss\nand Jerome of Prague were prominent on the continent of Europe in\nagitation against papal despotism, and both fell martyrs to the cause.\nThough the church had become apostate to the core, there were not\nlacking men brave of heart and righteous of soul, ready to give their\nlives to the furtherance of spiritual emancipation.\n\nA notable revolt against the papacy occurred in the sixteenth century,\nand is known as the Reformation. This movement was begun in 1517 by\nMartin Luther, a German monk; and it spread so rapidly as soon to\ninvolve the whole domain of popedom. Formal _protests_ against the\ndespotism of the papal church were formulated by the representatives of\ncertain German principalities and other delegates at a diet or general\ncouncil held at Spires A.D. 1529; and the reformers were thenceforth\nknown as _Protestants_. An independent church was proposed by John,\nElector of Saxony, a constitution for which was prepared at his instance\nby Luther and his colleague, Melanchthon. The Protestants were\ndiscordant. Being devoid of divine authority to guide them in matters of\nchurch organization and doctrine, they followed the diverse ways of men,\nand were rent within while assailed from without. The Roman church,\nconfronted by determined opponents, hesitated at no extreme of cruelty.\nThe court of the Inquisition, which had been established in the latter\npart of the fifteenth century under the infamously sacrilegious name of\nthe \"Holy Office,\" became intoxicated with the lust of barbarous cruelty\nin the century of the Reformation, and inflicted indescribable tortures\non persons secretly accused of heresy.\n\nIn the early stages of the Reformation instigated by Luther, the king of\nEngland, Henry VIII, declared himself a supporter of the pope, and was\nrewarded by a papal bestowal of the distinguishing title \"Defender of\nthe Faith.\" Within a few years, this same British sovereign was\nexcommunicated from the Roman church, because of impatient disregard of\nthe pope's authority in the matter of Henry's desire to divorce Queen\nCatherine so that he could marry one of her maids. The British\nparliament, in 1534, passed the Act of Supremacy, by which the nation\nwas declared free from all allegiance to papal authority. By Act of\nParliament the king was made the head of the church within his own\ndominions. Thus was born the Church of England, a direct result of the\nlicentious amours of a debauched and infamous king. With blasphemous\nindifference to the absence of divine commission, with no semblance of\npriestly succession, an adulterous sovereign created a church, provided\ntherein a \"priesthood\" of his own, and proclaimed himself supreme\nadministrator in all matters spiritual.\n\nWith the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism in Great Britain\nthe student of history is familiar. Suffice it here to say that the\nmutual hatred of the two contending sects, the zeal of their respective\nadherents, their professed love of God and devotion to Christ's service,\nwere chiefly signalized by the sword, the ax, and the stake. Revelling\nin the realization of at least a partial emancipation from the tyranny\nof priestcraft, men and nations debauched their newly acquired liberty\nof thought, speech, and action, in a riot of abhorrent excess. The\nmis-called Age of Reason, and the atheistical abominations culminating\nin the French Revolution stand as ineffaceable testimony of what man may\nbecome when glorying in his denial of God.\n\nIs it to be wondered at, that from the sixteenth century onward,\nchurches of man's contriving have multiplied with phenomenal rapidity?\nChurches and churchly organizations professing Christianity as their\ncreed have come to be numbered by hundreds. On every side is heard in\nthis day, \"Lo, here is Christ\" or \"Lo, there.\" There are sects named\nfrom the circumstances of their origin--as the Church of England; others\nafter their famous founders or promoters--as Lutheran, Calvinist,\nWesleyan; some are known by peculiarities of doctrine or plan of\nadministration--as Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregationalist;\nbut down to the third decade of the nineteenth century there was no\nchurch on earth affirming name or title as the Church of Jesus Christ.\nThe only organization called a church existing at that time and\nventuring to assert claim to authority by succession was the Catholic\nchurch, which for centuries had been apostate and wholly bereft of\ndivine authority or recognition. If the \"mother church\" be without a\nvalid priesthood, and devoid of spiritual power, how can her offspring\nderive from her the right to officiate in the things of God? Who would\ndare to affirm that man can originate a priesthood which God is bound to\nhonor and acknowledge? Granted that men may and do create among\nthemselves societies, associations, sects, and even \"churches\" if they\nchoose so to designate their organizations; granted that they may\nprescribe rules, formulate laws, and devize plans of operation,\ndiscipline, and government, and that all such laws, rules, and schemes\nof administration are binding upon those who assume membership--granted\nall these rights and powers--whence can such human institutions derive\nthe authority of the Holy Priesthood, without which there can be no\nChurch of Christ?[1516]\n\nThe apostate condition of Christendom has been frankly admitted by many\neminent and conscientious representatives of the several churches, and\nby churches as institutions. Even the Church of England acknowledges the\nawful fact in her official declaration of degeneracy, as set forth in\nthe \"_Homily Against Peril of Idolatry_,\" in these words:\n\n    \"So that laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages,\n    sects, and degrees of men, women, and children of whole\n    Christendom--an horrible and most dreadful thing to think--have\n    been at once drowned in abominable idolatry; of all other vices\n    most detested of God, and most damnable to man; and that by the\n    space of eight hundred years and more.\"[1517]\n\nLet it not be concluded that through the night of the universal\napostasy, long and dark as it was, God had forgotten the world. Mankind\nhad not been left wholly to itself. The Spirit of God was operative so\nfar as the unbelief of men permitted. John the apostle, and the Three\nNephite disciples,[1518] were ministering among men, though unknown. But\nthrough the centuries of spiritual darkness men lived and died without\nthe administration of a contemporary apostle, prophet, elder, bishop,\npriest, teacher, or deacon. Whatever of the form of Godliness existed in\nthe churches of human establishment was destitute of divine power. The\ntime foreseen by the inspired apostle had fully come--mankind in general\nrefused to endure sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, did they\nheap to themselves teachers, after their own lusts, and verily had they\nturned away their ears from the truth to follow after fables.[1519] The\nfirst quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed the cumulative\nfulfilment of the conditions predicted through the prophet Amos:\n\"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in\nthe land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing\nthe words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from\nthe north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word\nof the Lord, and shall not find it.\"[1520]\n\nThroughout the period of apostasy the windows of heaven had been shut\ntoward the world, so as to preclude all direct revelation from God, and\nparticularly any personal ministration or theophany of the Christ.\nMankind had ceased to know God; and had invested the utterances of\nprophets and apostles of old, who had known Him, with a pall of mystery\nand fancy, so that the True and the Living God was no longer believed to\nexist; but in His place the sectaries had tried to conceive of an\nincomprehensible being, devoid of \"body, parts, or passions,\" an\nimmaterial nothing.[1521]\n\nBut it had been determined in the councils of heaven, that after many\ncenturies of benighted ignorance the world should be illumined anew by\nthe light of truth. Through the operation of the genius of intelligence,\nwhich is the Spirit of Truth, the soul of the race had been undergoing a\npreparation, like unto the deep plowing of a field, for the planting of\nthe gospel afresh. The principle of the mariner's compass was revealed\nby the Spirit; the material embodiment thereof was invented by man; and\nby its aid the unknown oceans were explored. Toward the end of the\nfifteenth century Columbus was led by the inspiration of God to the\ndiscovery of the New World, whereon dwelt the degenerate posterity of\nLehi, a dark-skinned remnant of the house of Israel--the American\nIndians. In due time the good ships _Mayflower_ and _Speedwell_ brought\nto the western world the Pilgrim Fathers, as the vanguard of a host\nescaping from exile and seeking a new home wherein they could worship\naccording to the dictates of their consciences. The coming of Columbus\nand the later immigration of the Puritan Pilgrims had been predicted\nnearly six hundred years before Christ; their respective missions had\nbeen as truly appointed unto them as has been the sending of any prophet\nwith a message to deliver and a work to do.[1522] The war between the\nAmerican Colonies and the Mother Country, and the victorious issue\nthereof in the emancipation of the American nation once and forever from\nmonarchial rule, had been foretold as further steps in preparation for\nthe restoration of the gospel. Time was allowed for the establishment of\na stable government, for the raising up of men chosen and inspired to\nframe and promulgate the Constitution of the United States, which\npromises to every man a full measure of political and religious freedom.\nIt was not meet that the precious seed of the restored gospel be thrown\nupon unplowed soil, hardened by intolerance, and fit to produce only\nthorns of bigotry and rank weeds of mental and spiritual serfdom. The\ngospel of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of liberty; it is the truth\nthat shall make free every man and every nation who will accept and obey\nits precepts.\n\nAt the appointed time, the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus the Christ\nappeared to man upon the earth, and inaugurated the Dispensation of the\nFulness of Times.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 40.\n\n1. Cessation of Revelation on the Western Hemisphere.--\"The eastern\nworld had lost this knowledge of the Lord earlier than the western\nhemisphere. Upon the land of North America, four hundred years after the\nbirth of our Savior and Master, there stood at least one man who knew\nthe Lord God Almighty as a distinct personality, a Being capable of\ncommunicating Himself to man. That man was Moroni, the son of Mormon,\nwhose testimony abides now and must abide through all the ages to\ncome.\"--George Q. Cannon, _Life of Joseph Smith_, p. 21. See B. of M.,\nMoroni 10:27-34.\n\n2. Results of the Great Apostasy Divinely Overruled for Eventual\nGood.--The thoughtful student cannot fail to see in the progress of the\ngreat apostasy and its results the existence of an overruling power\noperating toward eventual good, however mysterious its methods. The\nheart-rending persecutions to which the saints were subjected in the\nearly centuries of our era, the anguish, the torture, the bloodshed\nincurred in defense of the testimony of Christ, the rise of an apostate\nchurch, blighting the intellect and leading captive the souls of\nmen--all these dread conditions were foreknown to the Lord. While we\ncannot say or believe that such exhibitions of human depravity and\nblasphemy of heart were in accordance with the divine will, certainly\nGod willed to permit full scope to the free agency of man, in the\nexercize of which agency some won the martyr's crown, and others filled\nthe flagon of their iniquity to overflowing. Not less marked is the\ndivine permission in the revolts and rebellions, in the revolutions and\nreformations, that developed in opposition to the darkening influence of\nthe apostate church. Wickliffe and Huss, Luther and Melanchthon, Zwingli\nand Calvin, Henry VIII in his arrogant assumption of priestly authority,\nJohn Knox in Scotland, Roger Williams in America--these and a host of\nothers builded better than they knew, in that their efforts laid in part\nthe foundation of the structure of religious freedom and liberty of\nconscience--and this in preparation for the restoration of the gospel as\nhad been divinely predicted.--_The Great Apostasy_, 10:19, 20.\n\n3. Declaration of a General Apostasy by the Church of England.--The\n_Book of Homilies_, from which the quotation given in the text is taken,\nwas published about the middle of the sixteenth century. The official\nproclamation of a universal apostasy was made prominently current, for\nthe Homilies were \"appointed to be read in churches\" in lieu of sermons\nunder certain conditions. In the statement cited, the Church of England\nsolemnly avers that a state of apostasy affecting all ages, sects, and\ndegrees throughout whole Christendom, had prevailed for eight hundred\nyears prior to the establishment of the church making the declaration.\nThat this affirmation remains effective today, as both confession and\nprofession of the Church of England, appears from the fact that the\nhomily \"Against Peril of Idolatry\" and certain other homilies are\nspecifically ratified and endorsed, and withal prescribed \"to be read in\nChurches by the Ministers diligently and distinctly that they may be\nunderstanded of the people.\" See \"Articles of Religion\" xxxv, in current\nissues of Church of England, _Book of Common Prayer_.\n\n4. The \"Creed of Athanasius.\"--At the Council of Nice, convoked by the\nemperor Constantine, 325 A.D., a formal statement of belief concerning\nthe Godhead was adopted. Later a modification was issued, known as the\n\"Creed of Athanasius,\" and though the authorship is questioned, the\ncreed has a place in the ritual of some of the Protestant churches. No\nmore conclusive evidence that men had ceased to know God need be adduced\nthan the Athanasian Creed. As confessed by the Church of England in this\nday, and as published in the official ritual (see _Prayer Book_) \"The\nCreed of Saint Athanasius\" is this: \"We worship one God in Trinity, and\nTrinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the\nSubstance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son:\nand another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the\nSon, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty\nco-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the Holy\nGhost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate: and the Holy Ghost\nuncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible: and the\nHoly Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal: and\nthe Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals: but one\neternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three\nuncreated: but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the\nFather is Almighty, the Son Almighty: and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And\nyet they are not three Almighties: but one Almighty. So the Father is\nGod, the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not\nthree Gods: but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord,\nand the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords: but one Lord.\"\n\nThen follows this strange confession of what is at once required by\n\"Christian verity,\" and forbidden by the \"Catholick Religion\": \"For like\nas we are compelled by the Christian verity: to acknowledge every Person\nby himself to be God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the Catholick\nReligion: to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.\"\n\n5. The Mission of Columbus and Its Results.--Unto Nephi, son of Lehi,\nwas shown the future of his people, including the degeneracy of a branch\nthereof, afterward known as Lamanites and in modern times as American\nIndians. The coming of a man from among the Gentiles, across the deep\nwaters, was revealed in such plainness as to positively identify that\nman with Columbus; and the coming of other Gentiles to this land, out of\ncaptivity, is equally explicit. The revelation is thus recorded by Nephi\nto whom it was given: \"And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many\nwaters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren. And\nit came to pass that the angel said unto me, Behold the wrath of God is\nupon the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld a man among the\nGentiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many\nwaters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought\nupon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed\nof my brethren, who were in the promised land. And it came to pass that\nI beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and\nthey went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.\" (1 Nephi\n13:10-13). The establishment of a great Gentile nation on the American\ncontinent, the subjugation of the Lamanites or Indians, the war between\nthe newly established nation and Great Britain, or \"their mother\nGentiles,\" and the victorious outcome of that struggle for independence,\nare set forth with equal clearness in the same chapter.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1507] Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1508] No extended account of the apostasy of the Primitive Church can\nbe attempted here; the reader is referred to special works treating this\nimportant subject. See the author's \"The Great Apostasy, considered in\nthe Light of Scriptural and Secular History,\" a work of 176 pages.\n\n[1509] See \"The Great Apostasy,\" chaps. 4 and 5.\n\n[1510] 1 Thess. 2:3, 4.\n\n[1511] Isa. 24:5.\n\n[1512] The false doctrine of \"transubstantiation\" is to the effect that\nthe bread and wine administered as emblems of Christ's flesh and blood\nin the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper are transmuted by priestly\nconsecration into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. See \"The\nGreat Apostasy,\" 8:16-19. As to \"supererogation\" see page 590 herein.\n\n[1513] \"The Great Apostasy,\" chaps. 6, 7, 8.\n\n[1514] \"The Great Apostasy,\" 6:14, 15; for comprehensive treatment of\nthe subject see chapters 6 to 9 inclusive.\n\n[1515] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1516] This paragraph is in part a paraphrase of \"The Great Apostasy,\"\n10:21, 22.\n\n[1517] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1518] Pages 694 and 738.\n\n[1519] See 2 Tim. 4:1-4; also \"The Great Apostasy,\" 2:30.\n\n[1520] Amos. 8:11, 12.\n\n[1521] See Church of England \"Book of Common Prayer,\" \"Articles of\nReligion\" i. Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1522] See B. of M., 1 Nephi 13:10-13. Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 41.\n\nPERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUS\nCHRIST IN MODERN TIMES.\n\n\nA NEW DISPENSATION.\n\nIn the year of our Lord 1820 there lived at Manchester, Ontario county,\nstate of New York, a worthy citizen named Joseph Smith. His household\ncomprized his wife and their nine children. The third son and fourth\nchild of the family was Joseph Smith Jr., who at the time of which we\nspeak was in his fifteenth year. In the year specified, New York and\nadjacent states were swept by a wave of intense agitation in religious\nmatters; and unusual zeal was put forth by ministers of the numerous\nrival sects to win converts to their respective folds. The boy Joseph\nwas profoundly affected by this intense excitement, and was particularly\npuzzled and troubled over the spirit of confusion and contention\nmanifest through it all. As our present subject has to do with him\nspecifically, and in view of the transcendent importance of his\ntestimony to the world, his own account of what ensued is given\nherewith.\n\n    \"Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester,\n    there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on\n    the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but\n    soon became general among all the sects in that region of\n    country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected\n    by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different\n    religious parties, which created no small stir and division\n    amongst the people, some crying, 'Lo, here!' and others, 'Lo,\n    there!' Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for\n    the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.\n\n    \"For notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these\n    different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and\n    the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were\n    active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of\n    religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they\n    were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they\n    pleased--yet when the converts began to file off, some to one\n    party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good\n    feelings of both the priests and the converts were more\n    pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad\n    feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and convert\n    against convert; so that all their good feelings one for\n    another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of\n    words and a contest about opinions.\n\n    \"I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was\n    proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined\n    that church, namely--my mother Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and\n    Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.\n\n    \"During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to\n    serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings\n    were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all\n    these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often\n    as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became\n    somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire\n    to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and\n    strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible\n    for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and\n    things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who\n    was wrong.\n\n    \"My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were\n    so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided\n    against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of\n    either reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least,\n    to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand,\n    the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous\n    in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all\n    others.\n\n    \"In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I\n    often said to myself, What is to be done? Who of all these\n    parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one\n    of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?\n\n    \"While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by\n    the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day\n    reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse,\n    which reads: _If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,\n    that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it\n    shall be given him._\n\n    \"Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the\n    heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to\n    enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I\n    reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person\n    needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know,\n    and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would\n    never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects\n    understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to\n    destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to\n    the Bible.\n\n    \"At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in\n    darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that\n    is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to 'ask of\n    God,' concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that lacked\n    wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might\n    venture.\n\n    \"So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I\n    retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning\n    of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen\n    hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had\n    made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as\n    yet made the attempt to pray vocally.\n\n    \"After I had retired to the place where I had previously\n    designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself\n    alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my\n    heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was\n    seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had\n    such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so\n    that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and\n    it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden\n    destruction.\n\n    \"But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out\n    of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the\n    very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon\n    myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the\n    power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such\n    marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at\n    this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over\n    my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended\n    gradually until it fell upon me.\n\n    \"It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the\n    enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw\n    two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description,\n    standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling\n    me by name, and said, pointing to the other--_This is my beloved\n    Son, hear him!_\n\n    \"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of\n    all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No\n    sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be\n    able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in\n    the light, which of all the sects was right--and which I should\n    join.\n\n    \"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all\n    wrong; and the personage who addressed me said that all their\n    creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors\n    were all corrupt; that 'they draw near to me with their lips,\n    but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the\n    commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny\n    the power thereof.'\n\n    \"He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other\n    things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.\n    When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back,\n    looking up into heaven.\n\n    \"Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in\n    company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active\n    in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing\n    with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him\n    an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly\n    surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only\n    lightly, but with great contempt, saying, it was all of the\n    devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations\n    in these days; that all such things had ceased with the\n    apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.\n\n    \"I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a\n    great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion,\n    and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to\n    increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen\n    and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as\n    to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high\n    standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind\n    against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common\n    among all the sects--all united to persecute me.\n\n    \"It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how\n    very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over\n    fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the\n    necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor,\n    should be thought a character of sufficient importance to\n    attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular\n    sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of\n    the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so\n    it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.\n\n    \"However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision.\n    I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made\n    his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the\n    vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still\n    there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest,\n    others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But\n    all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen\n    a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven\n    could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute\n    him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest\n    breath, that he had both seen a light, and heard a voice\n    speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or\n    believe otherwise.\n\n    \"So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the\n    midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in\n    reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for\n    saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they\n    were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of\n    evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my\n    heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually\n    seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God, or why\n    does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen?\n    For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it,\n    and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew\n    that by so doing I would offend God, and come under\n    condemnation.\n\n    \"I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world\n    was concerned; that it was not my duty to join with any of them,\n    but to continue as I was until further directed. I had found the\n    testimony of James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom\n    might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided.\"[1523]\n\nIn this wise was ushered in the Dispensation of the Fulness of\nTimes.[1524] The darkness of the long night of apostasy was dispelled;\nthe glory of the heavens once more illumined the world; the silence of\ncenturies was broken; the voice of God was heard again upon the earth.\nIn the spring of A.D. 1820 there was one mortal, a boy not quite fifteen\nyears old, who knew as well as that he lived, that the current human\nconception of Deity as an incorporeal essence of something possessing\nneither definite shape nor tangible substance was as devoid of truth in\nrespect to both the Father and the Son as its statement in formulated\ncreeds was incomprehensible. The boy Joseph knew that both the Eternal\nFather and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, were in form and stature,\nperfect Men; and that in Their physical likeness mankind had been\ncreated in the flesh.[1525] He knew further that the Father and the Son\nwere individual Personages, each distinct from the other--a truth fully\nattested by the Lord Jesus during His mortal existence, but which had\nbeen obscured if not buried by the sophistries of human unbelief. He\nrealized that the unity of the Godhead was a oneness of perfection in\npurpose, plan, and action, as the scriptures declare it to be, and not\nan impossible union of personalities, as generations of false teachers\nhad tried to impress. This resplendent theophany confirmed the fact of a\nuniversal apostasy, with the inevitable corollary--that the Church of\nChrist was nowhere existent upon the earth. It effectively dissipated\nthe delusion that direct revelation from the heavens had forever ceased;\nand affirmatively proved the actuality of personal communication between\nGod and mortals.\n\nFor the fourth time since the Savior's birth in the flesh, the voice of\nthe Father had attested the Son's authority in matters pertaining to\nearth and man.[1526] In this latter-day revelation of Himself, as on the\nearlier occasions, the Father did no more than affirm the fact of the\nSon's identity, and command that He be obeyed.\n\n\n\"A MESSENGER SENT FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD.\"[1527]\n\nFor about three and a half years following the glorious appearing of the\nFather and the Son to Joseph Smith, the youthful revelator was left to\nhimself, so far as further manifestations from heaven were concerned.\nThe period was one of probation. He was subjected to the sneers of\nyouths of his age, and to aggressive persecution on the part of older\nmen, \"who,\" as he very justly and somewhat accusingly remarks, \"ought to\nhave been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed\nme to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner\nto have reclaimed me.\"[1528] He pursued his usual vocation, that of farm\nwork in association with his father and brothers, from whom he received\nkindness, consideration, and sympathy; and in spite of raillery, abuse,\nand denunciation from the community at large he remained firm and\nfaithful in his solemn avouchment that he had seen and heard both the\nEternal Father and Jesus the Christ, and that he had been instructed to\njoin none of the contending sects or churches because they were all\nfundamentally wrong.\n\nOn the night of the 21st of September 1823, while engaged in fervent\nprayer to God in the solitude of his chamber, Joseph observed the room\nbecome illuminated until the light exceeded that of a cloudless noon. A\nglorious personage appeared within the room, standing a little space\nabove the floor. Both the body of the visitant and the loose robe he\nwore were of exquisite whiteness. Calling Joseph by name he announced\nhimself as Moroni, \"a messenger sent from the presence of God\"; and\ninformed the young man that the Lord had a work for him to do, and that\nhis name should come to be spoken of both for good and for evil among\nall nations, kindreds, and tongues. The angel told of a record engraven\non plates of gold, which contained an account of the former inhabitants\nof the American continent, and the fulness of the everlasting gospel as\ndelivered by the Savior to those ancient people; and furthermore, that\nwith the record were a breastplate, and the Urim and Thummim, which had\nbeen prepared by divine instrumentality for use in translating the book.\nThe place at which the plates and the other sacred things were deposited\nwas shown to Joseph in vision, and so clear was the demonstration that\nhe readily recognized the spot when he visited it next day.\n\nThe angel quoted several passages from the Old and one from the New\nTestament, some verbatim, and some with small variations from the\nBiblical version. Joseph's statement concerning the scriptures cited by\nMoroni is as follows:\n\n    \"He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and he\n    quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy,\n    though with a little variation from the way it reads in our\n    Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our\n    books, he quoted it thus:\n\n    \"_For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all\n    the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn as stubble;\n    for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts,\n    that it shall leave them neither root nor branch._\n\n    \"And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: _Behold, I will\n    reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the\n    prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the\n    Lord._\n\n    \"He also quoted the next verse differently: _And he shall plant\n    in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers,\n    and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if\n    it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his\n    coming._\n\n    \"In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,\n    saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the\n    third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses,\n    precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that\n    prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when they who\n    would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the\n    people, but soon would come.\n\n    \"He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the\n    twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not\n    yet fulfilled but was soon to be. And he further stated that the\n    fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in.\"[1529]\n\nThe messenger departed, and the light disappeared with him. Twice during\nthe same night, however, the angel returned, each time repeating what\nhad been said at his first appearing and adding words of instruction and\ncaution. On the next day Moroni appeared to the young man again, and\ndirected him to inform his father of the visitations and commandments he\nhad received. Joseph's father instructed him to obey the messenger's\ninstructions and testified that they were given of God. Joseph then went\nto the locality specified by the angel, on the side of a hill called in\nthe record Cumorah, and immediately identified the spot that had been\nshown him in vision. By the aid of a lever he removed a large stone,\nwhich proved to be the cover of a stone box wherein lay the plates and\nother articles described by Moroni. The angel appeared at the place, and\nforbade Joseph to remove the contents of the box at that time. The young\nman replaced the massive stone lid and left the spot.\n\nFour years later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate\nwere delivered into Joseph's keeping by the angel Moroni. This Moroni,\nwho now came as a resurrected being, was the last survivor of the\nNephite nation; he had completed the record, and then shortly before his\ndeath had hidden away the same in the hill Cumorah, whence it was\nbrought forth through his instrumentality and delivered to the modern\nprophet and seer, Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827. That record, or,\nstrictly speaking a part thereof, is now accessible to all; it has been\ntranslated through divine instrumentality and is now published in many\nlanguages as the Book of Mormon.[1530]\n\n\nTHE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST.\n\nOn the 15th of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe in the work of\ntranslating the Nephite record, Oliver Cowdery, retired to a secluded\nglade to pray. Their special purpose was to inquire of the Lord\nconcerning the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, some\naccount of which they had found on the plates. Joseph writes:\n\n    \"While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord,\n    a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and\n    having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:\n\n    \"_Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer\n    the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering\n    of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by\n    immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be\n    taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer\n    again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.\"_[1531]\n\nThe angelic visitor stated that his name was John, the same who is\ndesignated in the New Testament, John the Baptist; and that he had acted\nin ordaining the two under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who\nheld the keys of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. He explained that\nthe Aaronic Priesthood did not comprize \"the power of laying on hands\nfor the gift of the Holy Ghost\";[1532] but he predicted that the Higher\nPriesthood, having this power, would be conferred later. By his express\ndirection, Joseph baptized Oliver, and the latter in turn baptized\nJoseph, by immersion in water.\n\n\nTHE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN.\n\nShortly after their ordination to the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood,\nJoseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by the presiding apostles\nof old, Peter, James, and John, who conferred upon them the Melchizedek\nPriesthood and ordained them to the Holy Apostleship. In a later\nrevelation the Lord Jesus thus specifically acknowledges the respective\nordinations as having been done by His will and commandment:\n\n    \"Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith,\n    jun., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first\n    priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and\n    ordained even as Aaron.... And also with Peter, and James, and\n    John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and\n    confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name,\n    and bear the keys of your ministry, and of the same things which\n    I revealed unto them: Unto whom I have committed the keys of my\n    kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times;\n    and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather\n    together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which\n    are on the earth.\"[1533]\n\n\nESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.\n\nOn the sixth day of April A.D. 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints was formally organized, at Fayette, Seneca county, New\nYork, in accordance with the secular law governing the establishment of\nreligious associations. The persons actually participating in the\norganization numbered but six, such being the minimum required by law in\nsuch an undertaking; many others were present however, some of whom had\nalready received the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins. By\nrevelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord had previously specified the day on\nwhich the organization was to be effected, and had made known His plan\nof Church government--with detailed instructions as to the requisite\nconditions for membership; the indispensability of baptism by immersion,\nand the precise manner in which the initiatory ordinance was to be\nadministered; the manner of confirming baptized believers as members of\nthe Church; the duties of elders, priests, teachers, and deacons in the\nChurch; the exact procedure to be followed in the administration of the\nSacrament of the Lord's Supper; the order of Church discipline, and the\nmethod of transferring members from one branch to another.[1534] The\nbaptized converts present at the organization were called upon to\nexpress their acceptance or rejection of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery\nas elders in the Church; and in accordance with the unanimous vote in\nthe affirmative the ordination or setting apart of these two men as\nrespectively first and second elder in the new organization was\nperformed.[1535]\n\nWhile the Book of Mormon had been in course of translation, particularly\nduring the two years immediately preceding the organization of the\nChurch, several revelations had been given through Joseph the prophet\nand seer, relating to the work of translation and to the preparatory\nlabor necessary to the establishment of the Church as an institution\namong men. The Author of these several revelations declared Himself\ndefinitely to be Jesus Christ, God, the Son of God, the Redeemer, the\nLight and Life of the World, Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord, the Lord\nand Savior.[1536] As early as A.D. 1829, the calling of the Twelve\nApostles was indicated, and appointment was made for the searching out\nof the Twelve who should stand before the world as special witnesses of\nthe Christ; these were subsequently ordained to the Holy Apostleship,\nand the council or quorum of the Twelve has been recognized, and\ninstructions concerning their exalted duties have been given, in\nnumerous revelations of later dates.[1537]\n\nIn such manner has the Church of Jesus Christ been reestablished upon\nthe earth, with all the powers and authority pertaining to the Holy\nPriesthood as committed by the Lord Jesus to His apostles in the period\nof His personal ministry. The inauguration of a new dispensation of the\ngospel, with a restoration of the Priesthood, was absolutely necessary;\nsince through the apostasy of the Primitive Church there lived not a man\nempowered to speak or administer in the name of God or His Christ. John\nthe Revelator saw in his vision of the last days an angel bringing anew\n\"the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and\nto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud\nvoice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is\ncome: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the\nfountains of waters.\"[1538]\n\nSuch an angelic embassage would have been but a needless and empty\ndisplay, and therefore an impossibility, had the everlasting gospel\nremained upon the earth with its powers of priesthood perpetuated by\nsuccession. The scriptural assurances of a restoration in the last days\nthrough direct bestowal from the heavens is conclusive proof of the\nactuality of the universal apostasy. Moroni came to Joseph Smith as \"a\nmessenger sent from the presence of God,\" and delivered a record\ncontaining \"the fulness of the everlasting gospel,\" as it had been\nimparted to the Lord's people in ancient times; and the world-wide\ndistribution of the Book of Mormon, and of other publications embodying\nthe revealed word in modern times, and the ministry of thousands who\nlabor in the authority of the Holy Priesthood combine as the loud voice\naddressed to every nation, crying: \"Fear God, and give glory to him; for\nthe hour of his judgment is come.\"\n\n\nFURTHER COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE HEAVENS TO MAN.\n\nFollowing the organization of the Church as heretofore described, direct\ncommunication between the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophet Joseph was\nfrequent, as the needs of the Church required. Numerous revelations were\ngiven, and these are accessible to all who will read.[1539] A marvelous\nmanifestation was granted to the prophet and his associate in the\npresidency of the Church, Sidney Rigdon, the record of which appears as\nfollows:\n\n    \"We, Joseph Smith, jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit\n    on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one\n    thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the\n    Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were\n    enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God--even\n    those things which were from the beginning before the world was,\n    which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten\n    Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the\n    beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear\n    is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son,\n    whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision;\n    For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord\n    had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the\n    fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows.\n    Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who\n    shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth;\n    they who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and\n    they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust. Now\n    this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the\n    Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things, the Lord\n    touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and\n    the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory\n    of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his\n    fulness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified\n    before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him\n    for ever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which\n    have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which\n    we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right\n    hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is\n    the Only Begotten of the Father--that by him and through him,\n    and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants\n    thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.\"[1540]\n\nThe vision was followed by further revelation both through sight and\nhearing; and the Lord showed unto His servants and proclaimed aloud the\nfate of the wicked and the characteristic features of the varied degrees\nof glory provided for the souls of mankind in the hereafter. The several\nstates of graded honor and exaltation pertaining to the telestial, the\nterrestrial, and the celestial kingdoms were revealed, and the ancient\nscriptures relating thereto were illumined with the new light of\nsimplicity and literalness.[1541]\n\n\nPERSONAL APPEARING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE.\n\nIn less than three and a half years after its organization the Church\nbegan the erection of the first temple of modern times at Kirtland,\nOhio. The work was undertaken in compliance with a revelation from the\nLord requiring this labor at the hands of His people. The Church\nmembership was small; the people were in poverty; the period was one of\ndetermined opposition and relentless persecution.[1542] Be it understood\nthat to the Latter-day Saints a temple is more than chapel, church,\ntabernacle, or cathedral; it is no place of common assembly even for\npurposes of congregational worship, but an edifice sacred to the\nordinances of the Holy Priesthood--distinctively and essentially a House\nof the Lord. The temple at Kirtland stands today, a substantial and\nstately building; but it is no longer in possession of the people who\nreared it by unmeasured sacrifice of time, substance, and effort\nextending through years of self-denial and suffering. Its corner-stones\nwere laid July 23, 1833, and the completed structure was dedicated March\n27, 1836. The dedicatory service was made ever memorable by a\nPentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord accompanied by the\nvisible presence of angels. In the evening of the same day the several\nquorums of priesthood assembled in the house, and a yet greater\nmanifestation of divine power and glory was witnessed. On the succeeding\nSunday--April 3, 1836--after a service of solemn worship, including the\nadministration of the Lord's Supper, the prophet Joseph and his\ncounselor, Oliver Cowdery, retired for prayer within the veils enclosing\nthe platform and pulpit reserved for the presiding authorities of the\nMelchizedek Priesthood. They bear this solemn testimony to the personal\nappearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at that time and place:\n\n    \"The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our\n    understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the\n    breast work of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a\n    paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His eyes were as a\n    flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure\n    snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and\n    his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even\n    the voice of Jehovah, saying--I am the first and the last, I am\n    he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with\n    the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean\n    before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice, let the\n    hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my\n    people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to\n    my name. For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name\n    shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy\n    in this house, Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak\n    unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my\n    commandments, and do not pollute this holy house, Yea the hearts\n    of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in\n    consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the\n    endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this\n    house; and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands,\n    and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured\n    out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen.\"[1543]\n\nAfter the Savior's withdrawal, the two mortal prophets were visited by\nglorified beings, each of whom had officiated on earth as a specially\ncommissioned servant of Jehovah, and now came to confer the authority of\nhis particular office upon Joseph and Oliver, thus uniting all the\npowers and authorities of olden dispensations in the restored Church of\nChrist, which characterizes the last and greatest dispensation of\nhistory. This is the record:\n\n    \"After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto\n    us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys\n    of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and\n    the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. After\n    this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the\n    gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all\n    generations after us should be blessed. After this vision had\n    closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for\n    Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting\n    death, stood before us, and said--Behold, the time has fully\n    come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying\n    that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful\n    day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the\n    children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth\n    be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation\n    are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the\n    great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the\n    doors.\"[1544]\n\n\nJESUS THE CHRIST IS WITH HIS CHURCH TODAY.\n\nRight gloriously has the Lord brought about a fulfilment of the promises\nuttered through the mouths of His holy prophets in by-gone ages--to\nrestore the gospel with all its former blessings and privileges; to\nbestow anew the Holy Priesthood with authority to administer in the name\nof God; to reestablish the Church bearing His name and founded upon the\nrock of divine revelation; and to proclaim the message of salvation to\nall nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. In spite of persecution\nboth mobocratic and judicially sanctioned, in spite of assaults,\ndrivings, and slaughter, the Church has developed with marvelous\nrapidity and strength since the day of its organization. Joseph, the\nprophet, and his brother Hyrum, the patriarch of the Church, were\nbrutally slain as martyrs to the truth at Carthage, Illinois, June 27,\n1844. But the Lord raised up others to succeed them; and the world\nlearned in part and yet shall know beyond all question that the Church\nso miraculously established in the last days is not the church of Joseph\nSmith nor of any other man, but in literal verity, the Church of Jesus\nChrist. The Lord has continued to make known His mind and will through\nprophets, seers, and revelators whom He has successively chosen and\nappointed to lead His people; and the voice of divine revelation is\nheard in the Church today. As provided for in its revealed plan and\nconstitution, the Church is blessed by the ministry of prophets,\napostles, high priests, patriarchs, seventies, elders, bishops, priests,\nteachers, and deacons.[1545] The spiritual gifts and blessings of old\nare again enjoyed in rich abundance.[1546] New scriptures, primarily\ndirected to present duties and current developments in the purposes of\nGod, yet which illuminate and make plain in simplicity the scriptures of\nold, have been given to the world through the channel of the restored\npriesthood; and other scriptures shall yet be written. The united\nmembership of the Church proclaims:\n\n    \"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now\n    reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and\n    important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.\"[1547]\n\nThe predicted gathering of Israel from their long dispersion is in\nprogress under the commission given by the Lord through Moses. The\n\"mountain of the Lord's house\" is already established in the top of the\nmountains, and all peoples flow unto it; while the elders of the Church\ngo forth among the nations, saying: \"Come ye, and let us go up to the\nmountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will\nteach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion\nshall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.\"[1548]\n\nWithin sacred temples, the living are officiating vicariously in behalf\nof the dead; and the hearts of mortal children are turned with\naffectionate concern toward their departed ancestors, while disembodied\nhosts are praying for the success of their posterity, yet in the flesh,\nin the service of salvation.[1549] The saving gospel is offered freely\nto all, for so hath its Author commanded. Through the medium of the\npress, and by the personal ministrations of men invested with the Holy\nPriesthood whom the Church sends out by thousands, this Gospel of the\nKingdom is today preached throughout the world. When such witness among\nthe nations is made complete, \"then shall the end come\"; and the nations\n\"shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and\ngreat glory.\"[1550]\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 41.\n\n1. The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.--\"Now the thing to be known\nis, what the fulness of times means, or the extent and authority\nthereof. It means this, that the dispensation of the fulness of times is\nmade up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since the\nworld began, until this time. Unto Adam first was given a dispensation.\nIt is well known that God spake to him with His own voice in the garden,\nand gave him the promise of the Messiah. And unto Noah also was a\ndispensation given; for Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah, so\nshall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man;' and as\nthe righteous were saved then, and the wicked destroyed, so it will be\nnow. And from Noah to Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses, and from Moses\nto Elias, and from Elias to John the Baptist, and from then to Jesus\nChrist, and from Jesus Christ to Peter, James, and John, the Apostles\nall having received in their dispensation by revelation from God, to\naccomplish the great scheme of restitution, spoken by all the holy\nProphets since the world began; the end of which is, the dispensation of\nthe fulness of times, in which all things shall be fulfilled that have\nbeen spoken of since the earth was made.\"--See _Millennial Star_, vol.\n16, p. 220.\n\n2. Limitations of the Aaronic Priesthood.--After conferring the Lesser\nor Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the\nofficiating angel, who had been known while a mortal being as John the\nBaptist, explained that the authority he had imparted did not extend to\nthe laying-on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, the latter\nordinance being a function of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood.\nConsider the instance of Philip, (not the apostle Philip), whose\nordination empowered him to baptize, though a higher authority than his\nwas requisite for the conferring of the Holy Ghost; and consequently the\napostles Peter and John went down to Samaria to officiate in the case of\nPhilip's baptized converts (Acts 8:5, 12-17). See Doc. and Cov. 20:41,\n46.\n\n3. Priesthood and Office Therein.--It is important to know that although\nJoseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been ordained to the Holy\nApostleship, and therefore to a fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood,\nby Peter, James, and John, it was necessary that they be ordained as\nelders in the Church. When they received the Melchizedek Priesthood from\nthe three ancient apostles, there was no organized Church of Jesus\nChrist, and consequently no need of Church officers, such as elders,\npriests, teachers, or deacons. As soon as the Church was established,\nofficers were chosen therein and these were ordained to the requisite\noffice or grade in the Priesthood. Moreover, the principle of common\nconsent in the conduct of Church affairs was observed in this early\naction of the members in voting to sustain the men nominated for\nofficial positions, and has continued to be the rule of the Church to\nthis day. It is pertinent to point out further that in conferring upon\nJoseph and Oliver the Aaronic Priesthood, John the Baptist did not\nordain them to the office of priest, teacher, or deacon. These three\noffices are included in the Aaronic, as are the offices of elder,\nseventy, high priest, etc., in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Read Doc. and\nCov. 20:38-67; _The Articles of Faith_, xi.\n\n4. Modern Temples.--The Lord's gracious promise given in the Kirtland\nTemple--to appear unto His servants at times then future, and to speak\nunto them with His own voice, provided the people would keep His\ncommandments and not pollute that holy house--has been in no wise\nabrogated nor forfeited through the enforced relinquishment of the\nKirtland Temple by the Latter-day Saints. The people were compelled to\nflee before the fury of mobocratic persecution; but they hastened to\nerect another and yet more splendid sanctuary at Nauvoo, Illinois, and\nwere again dispossessed by lawless mobs. In the valleys of Utah the\nChurch has erected four great temples, each more stately than the last;\nand in these holy houses the sacred ordinances pertaining to salvation\nand exaltation of both the living and the dead are in uninterrupted\nprogress. The temples of the present dispensation, at the time of the\npresent writing designated according to location, are those of Kirtland,\nOhio; Nauvoo, Illinois; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City,\nUtah; Cardston, Canada, and Laie, Hawaii. See _The House of the Lord_,\npp. 63-232.\n\n5. Consistency of the Church's Claim to Authority.--The proofs of order\nand system in the restoration of authority to officiate in particular\nfunctions pertaining to the priesthood are striking, and go to prove the\ncontinued validity, beyond the grave, of authoritative ordination on\nearth. The keys of the Aaronic order, comprizing authority to baptize\nfor the remission of sins, were brought by John the Baptist, who had\nbeen especially commissioned in that order of priesthood in the time of\nChrist. The apostleship, comprizing all powers inherent in the\nMelchizedek Priesthood, was restored by the presiding apostles of old,\nPeter, James, and John. Then, as has been seen, Moses conferred the\nauthority to prosecute the work of gathering; and Elijah, who, not\nhaving tasted death, held a peculiar relation to both the living and the\ndead, delivered the authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. To\nthese appointments by heavenly authority should be added that given by\nElias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and \"committed\nthe dispensation of the gospel of Abraham.\" It is evident, then, that\nthe claims made by the Church with respect to its authority are complete\nand consistent as to the source of the powers professed and the channels\nthrough which such have been delivered again to earth. Scripture and\nrevelation, both ancient and modern, support as an unalterable law the\nprinciple that no one can delegate to another an authority which the\ngiver does not possess.\n\n6. Cessation of the Melchizedek Administration in Ancient Times.--The\nHigher or Melchizedek Priesthood was held by the patriarchs from Adam to\nMoses. Aaron was ordained to the priest's office, as were his sons; but\nthat Moses held superior authority is abundantly shown (Numb. 12:1-8).\nAfter Aaron's death his son Eleazar officiated in the authority of the\nLesser Priesthood; and even Joshua had to take counsel and authority\nfrom him (Numb. 27:18-23). From the ministry of Moses to that of Jesus\nChrist, the Lesser Priesthood alone was operative upon the earth,\nexcepting only the instances of specially delegated authority of the\nhigher order such as is manifest in the ministrations of certain chosen\nprophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. It is evident that\nthese prophets, seers, and revelators were individually and specially\ncommissioned; but it appears that they had not authority to call and\nordain successors, for in their time the Higher Priesthood was not\nexistent on earth in an organized state with duly officered quorums. Not\nso with the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood, however. The matter is\nmade particularly plain through latter-day revelation. See Doc. and Cov.\n84:23-28; read the entire section; also _The House of the Lord_ pp.\n235-238.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1523] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:5-26; also \"History of the Church of\nJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\" vol. 1, pp. 2-8.\n\n[1524] Eph. 1:9, 10. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1525] See page 151 herein; Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1526] For earlier instances, see pages 126, 371, and 725.\n\n[1527] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:29-54, 59; also \"History of the\nChurch,\" vol. 1, pp. 10-16, 18.\n\n[1528] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:28.\n\n[1529] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:36-41; and \"History of the Church,\"\nvol. 1. pp. 12, 13.\n\n[1530] See B. of M., Mormon 6:6; Moroni 10:2.\n\n[1531] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:68, 69; Doc. and Cov. sec. 13;\n\"History of the Church,\" vol. 1, p. 39.\n\n[1532] Notes 2 and 6. end of chapter.\n\n[1533] Doc. and Cov. 27: 8, 12, 13.\n\n[1534] Doc. and Cov. sec. 20.\n\n[1535] Doc. and Cov. 20:2, 3; compare 21:11; see also \"History of the\nChurch.\" vol. 1, pp. 40, 41. Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n[1536] Doc. and Cov. sections 5, 6, 8, 10-12, 14-20.\n\n[1537] Doc. and Cov. 18:27, 31-36; 20:38-44; 84:63, 64; 95:4; 107:23-25;\n112:1, 14, 21; 118; 124:127-130.\n\n[1538] Rev. 14:6, 7.\n\n[1539] See Doctrine and Covenants, and \"History of the Church.\"\n\n[1540] Doc. and Cov. 76:11-24; also \"History of the Church\" under date\nspecified.\n\n[1541] See Doc. and Cov. 76:25-119; also \"The Articles of Faith,\" iv:29;\nand xxii:18-27.\n\n[1542] See \"The House of the Lord,\" pages 114-123.\n\n[1543] Doc. and Cov. 110:1-10; also \"History of the Church\" under date\nspecified. Note 4, end of chapter.\n\n[1544] Doc. and Cov. 110:11-16. Note 5, end of chapter.\n\n[1545] See \"Plan of Government in the Restored Church,\" in \"The Articles\nof Faith,\" xi:13-32.\n\n[1546] See \"Spiritual Gifts\" in \"The Articles of Faith,\" xii.\n\n[1547] No. 9 of \"The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints.\"\n\n[1548] Isa. 2:2, 3; compare Micah 4:1, 2; see also Doc. and Cov. 29:8.\n\n[1549] See \"The House of the Lord,\" pp. 63-109.\n\n[1550] P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 1:31, 36; compare Matt 24:14, 30.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 42.\n\nJESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN.\n\n\nTHE LORD'S SECOND ADVENT PREDICTED IN ANCIENT SCRIPTURE.\n\n\"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,\nwhich is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as\nye have seen him go into heaven.\"[1551] So spake the white-robed angels\nto the eleven apostles as the resurrected Christ ascended from their\nmidst on Olivet. The scriptures abound in predictions of the Lord's\nreturn.\n\nBy the \"second advent\" we understand not the personal appearing of the\nSon of God to a few, such as His visitation to Saul of Tarsus, to Joseph\nSmith in 1820, and again in the Kirtland Temple in 1836; nor later\nmanifestations to His worthy servants as specifically promised;[1552]\nbut His yet future coming in power and great glory, accompanied by hosts\nof resurrected and glorified beings, to execute judgment upon the earth\nand to inaugurate a reign of righteousness.\n\nThe prophets of both hemispheres, who lived prior to the meridian of\ntime, said comparatively little concerning the Lord's second coming;\ntheir souls were too full of the merciful plan of redemption associated\nwith the Savior's birth into mortality to permit them to dwell upon the\nyet more distant consummation appointed for the last days. Certain of\nthem, however, were permitted to behold in vision the working out of the\ndivine purposes even to the end of time; and these testified with\nunsurpassed fervency concerning the glorious coming of Christ in the\nfinal dispensation. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied saying,\n\"Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute\njudgment upon all.\"[1553] In a more extended account of the Lord's\nrevelations to Enoch than is included in the Bible, we read that after\nthis righteous prophet had been shown the scenes of Israel's history,\ndown to and beyond the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus\nChrist, he pleaded with God, saying: \"I ask thee if thou wilt not come\nagain on the earth. And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so\nwill I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance,\nto fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of\nNoah.... And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the\nSon of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for\nthe space of a thousand years.\"[1554] Isaiah, in rapturous contemplation\nof the eventual triumph of righteousness, exclaimed: \"Say to them that\nare of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come\nwith vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you\";\nand again: \"Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm\nshall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before\nhim.\"[1555] The conditions specified were not realized in the earthly\nlife of the Redeemer; moreover the context clearly shows that the\nprophet's words are applicable to the last days only--the time of the\nransomed of the Lord, the time of restitution, and of the triumph of\nZion.\n\nOf all Biblical scriptures relating to our subject, the utterances of\nthe Christ Himself in the course of His earthly ministry are most direct\nand certain. Many of these we have already considered in the narrative\nof the Savior's life; the few following are sufficient for present\ndemonstration. \"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father\nwith his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his\nworks.\"[1556] To the apostles and the people generally He proclaimed:\n\"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this\nadulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be\nashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy\nangels.\"[1557] When a bound prisoner before proud Caiaphas, Jesus\nanswered the unlawful adjuration of the corrupt high priest, by\naffirming: \"I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man\nsitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of\nheaven.\"[1558]\n\nThe apostles had been so impressed with the Master's assurance that He\nwould return to earth in power and glory, that they eagerly questioned\nas to the time and signs of His coming.[1559] He stated explicitly,\nthough at the time they failed to comprehend Him, that many great events\nwould intervene between His departure and return, including the long era\nof darkness associated with the apostasy.[1560] But as to the certainty\nof His advent in glory, as Judge, and Lord, and King, Jesus left no\nexcuse for dubiety in the minds of His apostles. After the ascension,\nthroughout the course of apostolic administration, the future coming of\nthe Lord was preached with earnest emphasis.[1561]\n\nBook of Mormon prophecies concerning the advent of the Lord in the last\ndays are specific and definite. On the occasion of His appearing to the\nNephites on the American continent shortly after His ascension from the\nMount of Olives, Christ preached the gospel to assembled multitudes;\n\"And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time\nthat he should come in his glory\"; and the events to follow, \"even unto\nthe great and last day.\"[1562] In granting the wish of the three Nephite\ndisciples who desired to continue their ministry in the flesh throughout\nthe generations to come, the Lord said unto them:\n\n    \"Ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father, unto the\n    children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled,\n    according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my\n    glory, with the powers of heaven; And ye shall never endure the\n    pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory, ye shall be\n    changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to\n    immortality: and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my\n    Father.\"[1563]\n\n\nTHE COMING OF THE LORD PROCLAIMED THROUGH MODERN REVELATION.\n\nTo the Church of Jesus Christ, restored and reestablished in these the\nlast days, the word of the Lord has come repeatedly, declaring the\nactuality of His second advent and the nearness of that glorious yet\ndreadful event. But a few months after the Church was organized, the\nvoice of Jesus Christ was heard, admonishing the elders to vigilance and\nproclaiming as follows:\n\n    \"For the hour is nigh, and the day soon at hand when the earth\n    is ripe: and all the proud, and they that do wickedly, shall be\n    as stubble, and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts,\n    that wickedness shall not be upon the earth; for the hour is\n    nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles must be\n    fulfilled; for as they spoke so shall it come to pass; for I\n    will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with\n    all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on\n    earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.\"[1564]\n\nIn the month following, the Lord gave instructions to certain elders,\nconcluding with these portentous words:\n\n    \"Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps\n    trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at\n    the coming of the Bridegroom: for behold, verily, verily, I say\n    unto you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen.\"[1565]\n\nAgain we read in a later revelation:\n\n    \"And blessed are you because you have believed; and more blessed\n    are you because you are called of me to preach my gospel, to\n    lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and\n    loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation,\n    preparing the way of the Lord for his second coming; for behold,\n    verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand, that I\n    shall come in a cloud with power and great glory, and it shall\n    be a great day at the time of my coming, for all nations shall\n    tremble.\"[1566]\n\nThe Lord Jesus addressed a general revelation to His Church in March\n1831, through which His earlier predictions uttered to the Twelve\nshortly before His betrayal were made plain, and the assurances of His\nglorious coming were thus reiterated:\n\n\"Ye look and behold the fig-trees, and ye see them with your eyes, and\nye say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet tender,\nthat summer is now nigh at hand; even so it shall be in that day when\nthey shall see all these things, then shall they know that the hour is\nnigh. And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking\nforth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the\ncoming of the Son of man: And they shall see signs and wonders, for they\nshall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; and\nthey shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke; and before the\nday of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be\nturned into blood, and stars fall from heaven; and the remnant shall be\ngathered unto this place, and then they shall look for me, and, behold,\nI will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with\npower and great glory, with all the holy angels; and he that watches not\nfor me shall be cut off.\"[1567]\n\nSo near is the consummation that the intervening period is called\n\"today\"; and, in applying this time designation in the year 1831, the\nLord said:\n\n\"Behold, now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of man),\nand verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my\npeople; for he that is tithed shall not be burned (at his coming); For\nafter today cometh the burning: this is speaking after the manner of the\nLord; for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly\nshall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of\nhosts: and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon. Wherefore, if ye\nbelieve me, ye will labor while it is called today.\"[1568]\n\n\nTHE TIME AND ACCOMPANIMENTS OF THE LORD'S COMING.\n\nThe date of the future advent of Christ has never been revealed to man.\nTo the inquiring apostles who labored with the Master, He said: \"But of\nthat day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my\nFather only.\"[1569] In the present age, a similar declaration has been\nmade by the Father: \"I, the Lord God, have spoken it, but the hour and\nthe day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they\nknow until he comes.\"[1570] Only through watchfulness and prayer may the\nsigns of the times be correctly interpreted and the imminence of the\nLord's appearing be apprehended. To the unwatchful and the wicked the\nevent will be as sudden and unexpected as the coming of a thief in the\nnight.[1571] But we are not left without definite information as to\nprecedent signs. Biblical prophecies bearing upon this subject we have\nheretofore considered.[1572] As later scriptures affirm: \"Before the\ngreat day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the\nwilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall\nflourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be\nassembled together unto the place which I have appointed.\"[1573] War\nshall become so general that every man who will not take arms against\nhis neighbor must of necessity flee to the land of Zion for\nsafety.[1574] Ephraim shall assemble in Zion on the western continent,\nand Judah shall be again established in the east; and the cities of Zion\nand Jerusalem shall be the capitals of the world empire, over which\nMessiah shall reign in undisputed authority. The Lost Tribes shall be\nbrought forth from the place where God has hidden them through the\ncenturies and receive their long deferred blessings at the hands of\nEphraim. The people of Israel shall be restored from their scattered\ncondition.[1575]\n\nIn addressing the elders of His Church in 1832, the Lord urged upon them\nthe imperative need of devoted diligence, and said:\n\n    \"Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle\n    not yourselves in sin but let your hands be clean, until the\n    Lord come; For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble\n    and reel to and fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his\n    face, and shall refuse to give light, and the moon shall be\n    bathed in blood, and the stars shall become exceeding angry, and\n    shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig\n    tree. And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon\n    the people; For after your testimony cometh the testimony of\n    earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and\n    men shall fall upon the ground, and shall not be able to stand.\n    And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and\n    the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the\n    voice of the waves of the sea, heaving themselves beyond their\n    bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's\n    hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people; And\n    angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud\n    voice, sounding the trump of God, saying, Prepare ye, prepare\n    ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is\n    come: behold, and lo! the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet\n    him.\"[1576]\n\nA characteristic of present-day revelation is the reiteration of the\nfact that the event is nigh at hand, \"even at the doors.\" The fateful\ntime is repeatedly designated in scripture, \"the great and dreadful day\nof the Lord.\"[1577] Fearful indeed will it be to individuals, families,\nand nations, who have so far sunk into sin as to have forfeited their\nclaim to mercy. The time is not that of the final judgment--when the\nwhole race of mankind shall stand in the resurrected state before the\nbar of God--nevertheless it shall be a time of unprecedented blessing\nunto the righteous and of condemnation and vengeance upon the\nwicked.[1578] With Christ shall come those who have already been\nresurrected; and His approach shall be the means of inaugurating a\ngeneral resurrection of the righteous dead, while the pure and just who\nare still in the flesh shall be instantaneously changed from the mortal\nto the immortal state and shall be caught up with the newly resurrected\nto meet the Lord and His celestial company, and shall descend with Him.\nTo this effect did Paul prophesy: \"Even so them also which sleep in\nJesus will God bring with him.... For the Lord himself shall descend\nfrom heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the\ntrump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are\nalive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to\nmeet the Lord in the air.\"[1579] Compare the promise made to the Three\nNephites: \"And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I\nshall come in my glory, ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye\nfrom mortality to immortality.\"[1580] Of the superlative glories\nawaiting the righteous when the Lord shall come, we have received in\nthis day a partial description as follows: \"And the face of the Lord\nshall be unveiled; and the saints that are upon the earth, who are\nalive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet him.\"[1581] The\nheathen nations shall be redeemed and have part in the first\nresurrection.[1582]\n\n\nTHE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO COME.\n\nThe coming of Christ in the last days, accompanied by the apostles of\nold[1583] and by the resurrected saints, is to mark the establishment of\nthe Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. The faithful apostles who were with\nJesus in His earthly ministry are to be enthroned as judges of the whole\nhouse of Israel;[1584] they will judge the Nephite Twelve, who in turn\nwill be empowered to judge the descendants of Lehi, or that branch of\nthe Israelitish nation which was established upon the western\ncontinent.[1585]\n\nWhile the expressions \"Kingdom of God\" and \"Kingdom of Heaven\" are used\nin the Bible synonymously or interchangeably, later revelation gives to\neach a distinctive meaning. The Kingdom of God is the Church established\nby divine authority upon the earth; this institution asserts no claim to\ntemporal rule over nations; its sceptre of power is that of the Holy\nPriesthood, to be used in the preaching of the gospel and in\nadministering its ordinances for the salvation of mankind living and\ndead. The Kingdom of Heaven is the divinely ordained system of\ngovernment and dominion in all matters, temporal and spiritual; this\nwill be established on earth only when its rightful Head, the King of\nkings, Jesus the Christ, comes to reign. His administration will be one\nof order, operated through the agency of His commissioned\nrepresentatives invested with the Holy Priesthood. When Christ appears\nin His glory, and not before, will be realized a complete fulfilment of\nthe supplication: \"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is\nin heaven.\"\n\nThe Kingdom of God has been established among men to prepare them for\nthe Kingdom of Heaven which shall come; and in the blessed reign of\nChrist the King shall the two be made one. The relationship between them\nhas been revealed to the Church in this wise:\n\n    \"Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one from on high, who is mighty\n    and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth,\n    yea, whose voice is unto men--Prepare ye the way of the Lord,\n    make his paths straight. The keys of the kingdom of God are\n    committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the\n    gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which\n    is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until\n    it has filled the whole earth; Yea, a voice crying--Prepare ye\n    the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make\n    ready for the Bridegroom; Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy\n    name, make known his wonderful works among the people; Call upon\n    the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the\n    inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days\n    to come, in the which the Son of man shall come down in heaven,\n    clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of\n    God which is set up on the earth; Wherefore may the kingdom of\n    God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O\n    God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thy enemies\n    may be subdued for thine is the honour, power and glory, for\n    ever and ever. Amen.\"[1586]\n\n\nTHE MILLENNIUM.\n\nThe inauguration of Christ's reign on earth is to be the beginning of a\nperiod that shall be distinct in many important particulars from all\nprecedent and subsequent time; and the Lord shall reign with His people\na thousand years. The government of individuals, communities and nations\nthroughout this Millennium is to be that of a perfect theocracy, with\nJesus the Christ as Lord and King. The more wicked part of the race\nshall have been destroyed; and during the period Satan shall be bound\n\"that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years\nshould be fulfilled\"; while the just shall share with Christ in rightful\nrule and dominion. The righteous dead shall have come forth from their\ngraves, while the wicked shall remain unresurrected until the thousand\nyears be past.[1587] Men yet in the flesh shall mingle with immortalized\nbeings; children shall grow to maturity and then die in peace or be\nchanged to immortality \"in the twinkling of an eye.\"[1588] There shall\nbe surcease of enmity between man and beast; the venom of serpents and\nthe ferocity of the brute creation shall be done away, and love shall be\nthe dominant power of control. Among the earliest revelations on the\nsubject is that given to Enoch; and in this the return of that prophet\nand his righteous people with Christ in the last days was thus assured:\n\n    \"And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city\n    meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and\n    they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they\n    shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And\n    there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall\n    come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for\n    the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest. And it came\n    to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man,\n    in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the\n    space of a thousand years.\"[1589]\n\nIn these latter days the Lord has thus spoken, requiring preparation for\nthe Millennial era, and describing in part the glories thereof:\n\n    \"And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil\n    of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the\n    earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.\n    And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of\n    the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the\n    sea, that dwell upon all the face of the earth, shall be\n    consumed; And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat;\n    and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may\n    dwell upon all the earth. And in that day the enmity of man, and\n    the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease\n    from before my face. And in that day whatsoever any man shall\n    ask, it shall be given unto him. And in that day Satan shall not\n    have power to tempt any man. And there shall be no sorrow\n    because there is no death. In that day an infant shall not die\n    until he is old, and his life shall be as the age of a tree, and\n    when he dies he shall not sleep, (that is to say in the earth,)\n    but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be\n    caught up, and his rest shall be glorious. Yea, verily I say\n    unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal\n    all things.\"[1590]\n\nThe Millennium is to precede the time designated in scriptural phrase\n\"the end of the world.\" When the thousand years are passed, Satan shall\nbe loosed for a little season, and the final test of man's integrity to\nGod shall ensue. Such as are prone to impurity of heart shall yield to\ntemptation while the righteous shall endure to the end.[1591] A\nrevelation to this effect was given the Church in 1831, in part as\nfollows:\n\n    \"For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth\n    of my servants, shall come; For Satan shall be bound, and when\n    he is loosed again, he shall only reign for a little season, and\n    then cometh the end of the earth; And he that liveth in\n    righteousness shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and\n    the earth shall pass away so as by fire; And the wicked shall go\n    away into unquenchable fire, and their end no man knoweth on\n    earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before me in\n    judgment. Hearken ye to these words: Behold, I am Jesus Christ,\n    the Saviour of the world. Treasure these things up in your\n    hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your\n    minds.\"[1592]\n\n\nTHE CELESTIAL CONSUMMATION.\n\nThe vanquishment of Satan and his hosts shall be complete. The dead,\nsmall and great, all who have breathed the breath of life on earth,\nshall be resurrected--every soul that has tabernacled in flesh, whether\ngood or evil--and shall stand before God, to be judged according to the\nrecord as written in the books.[1593] So shall be brought to glorious\nconsummation the mission of the Christ. \"Then cometh the end, when he\nshall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he\nshall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must\nreign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that\nshall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his\nfeet.\"[1594] Then shall the Lord Jesus \"deliver up the kingdom, and\npresent it unto the Father spotless, saying--I have overcome and have\ntrodden the wine-press alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of\nthe wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of\nhis glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever and\never.\"[1595] The earth shall pass to its glorified and celestialized\ncondition, an eternal abode for the exalted sons and daughters of\nGod.[1596] Forever shall they reign, kings and priests to the Most High,\nredeemed, sanctified, and exalted through their Lord and God\n\n    JESUS THE CHRIST.\n\n\nNOTES TO CHAPTER 42.\n\n1. Enoch, spoken of by Jude as \"the seventh from Adam.\" was the father\nof Methuselah. In Genesis 5:24 we read: \"And Enoch walked with God; and\nhe was not; for God took him.\" From the Lord's revelation to Moses we\nlearn that Enoch was a mighty man, favored of God because of his\nrighteousness, and a leader of and revelator to his people. Through his\nagency a city was built, the inhabitants of which excelled in righteous\nliving to such an extent that they were of one heart and one mind and\nhad no poor among them. It was called the City of Holiness or Zion. The\nresidue of the race were all corrupt in the sight of the Lord. Enoch and\nhis people were taken from the earth and are to return with Christ at\nHis coming. (P. of G.P., Moses 7:12-21, 68, 69; compare Doc. and Cov.\n45:11, 12.)\n\n2. Heathen in the First Resurrection.--\"And then shall the heathen\nnations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the\nfirst resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them.\" (Doc. and Cov.\n45:54.) Such is the word of the Lord with respect to those benighted\npeoples who live and die in ignorance of the laws of the gospel. This\naffirmation is sustained by other scriptures, and by a consideration of\nthe principles of true justice according to which humanity is to be\njudged. Man shall be accounted blameless or guilty according to his\ndeeds as interpreted in the light of the law under which he is required\nto live. It is inconsistent with our conception of a just God to believe\nHim capable of inflicting condemnation upon any one for non-compliance\nwith a requirement of which the person had no knowledge. Nevertheless,\nthe laws of the gospel cannot be suspended even in the case of those who\nhave sinned in darkness and ignorance; but it is reasonable to believe\nthat the plan of redemption shall afford such benighted ones an\nopportunity of learning the laws of God; and, as fast as they so learn,\nwill obedience be required on pain of the penalty. See _Articles of\nFaith_, xxi:33.\n\n3. Regeneration of the Earth.--In speaking of the graded and progressive\nglories provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and\nsanctification, the Lord has thus spoken through revelation in the\npresent dispensation: \"And again, verily I say unto you, the earth\nabideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of\nits creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be\nsanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened\nagain, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the\nrighteous shall inherit it.\" (Doc. and Cov. 88:25, 26.) This appointed\nchange, by which the earth shall pass to the condition of a\ncelestialized world, is referred to in numerous scriptures as the\ninstitution of \"a new heaven and a new earth\" (Rev. 21:1, 3, 4; B. of\nM., Ether 13:9; Doc. and Cov. 29:23).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1551] Acts 1:11.\n\n[1552] Pages 713, 715, 761, and 774; see also Doc. and Cov. 110:8;\ncompare 36:8; 42:36; 97:15, 16; 109:5; 124:27; 133:2.\n\n[1553] Jude 14, 15; compare Gen. 5:18; see next reference following.\n\n[1554] P. of G.P., Moses 7:59, 60, 65. Note 1, end of chapter.\n\n[1555] Isa. 35:4; and 40:10; see also Psalms 50:3; Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6;\ncompare Note 1 on page 149 herein.\n\n[1556] Matt. 16:27.\n\n[1557] Mark 8:38; compare Luke 9:26.\n\n[1558] Matt. 26:64.\n\n[1559] Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:7; Acts 1:6; compare page 149\nherein.\n\n[1560] Matt. 24; see chapters 32 and 40 herein.\n\n[1561] See Acts 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 4:5; 11:26; Philip. 3:20; 1 Thess.\n1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-18; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8; 1 Tim. 6:14, 15; Titus 2:13;\nJames 5:7, 8; 1 Peter 1:5-7; 4:13; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14, etc.\n\n[1562] B. of M., 3 Nephi 26:3, 4.\n\n[1563] B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:7, 8; see also 29:2.\n\n[1564] Doc. and Cov. 29:9-11.\n\n[1565] Doc. and Cov. 33:17, 18.\n\n[1566] Doc. and Cov. 34:4-8.\n\n[1567] Doc. and Cov. 45:37-44; compare this section with Matt. 24, and\nLuke 21:5-36. See also Doc. and Cov. 49:23-28.\n\n[1568] Doc. and Cov. 64:23-25.\n\n[1569] Matt. 24:36; compare Mark 13:32-37; see pages 575, 696 herein.\n\n[1570] Doc. and Cov. 49:7; the context shows that the words are those of\nthe Father.\n\n[1571] Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; compare Matt. 24:43, 44; 25:13; Luke\n12:39, 40; page 575 herein.\n\n[1572] Page 573.\n\n[1573] Doc. and Cov. 49:24, 25.\n\n[1574] Doc. and Cov. 45:68-71.\n\n[1575] Doc. and Cov. 133:7-14, 21-35; \"Articles of Faith,\" xviii and\nxix.\n\n[1576] Doc. and Cov. 88:86-92.\n\n[1577] Doc. and Cov. 110:14, 16; compare Joel 2:31; Mal. 4:5; B. of M.,\n3 Nephi 25:5.\n\n[1578] Doc and Cov. 29:11-17.\n\n[1579] 1 Thess. 4:14-17.\n\n[1580] B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:8; see page 738 herein.\n\n[1581] Doc. and Cov. 88:95-98.\n\n[1582] Note 2, end of chapter.\n\n[1583] Doc. and Cov. 29:12.\n\n[1584] Doc. and Cov. 29:12; compare Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; page 479\nherein.\n\n[1585] B. of M., 3 Nephi 27:27; compare 1 Nephi 12:9, 10; Mormon 3:18.\n19.\n\n[1586] Doc. and Cov. 65. For a fuller treatment of this subject as also\nthe distinction between Church and Kingdom, see \"Articles of Faith,\"\nxx:16-26.\n\n[1587] Rev. 20:1-6; compare Doc. and Cov. 43:18.\n\n[1588] Doc. and Cov. 63:50-51; 101:30; compare 1 Cor. 15:51-57.\n\n[1589] P. of G.P., Moses 7:63-65.\n\n[1590] Doc. and Cov. 101:23-32; compare Isa. 65:17-25 and 11:6-9; see\nalso Doc. and Cov. 29:11, 22; 43:30; 63:51.\n\n[1591] Rev. 20:7-15.\n\n[1592] Doc and Cov. 43:30-34. See also \"Articles of Faith,\" xx:27-31.\n\n[1593] Rev. 20:11-15.\n\n[1594] 1 Cor. 15:24-27.\n\n[1595] Doc. and Cov. 76:107, 108.\n\n[1596] Note 3, end of chapter.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\nAaronic Priesthood, restored by John the Baptist, 768;\n  its powers, 768.\n\nAblutions, ceremonial, 366.\n\nAbraham, Children of, 409.\n\nAbraham, Christ's seniority over, 410, 411.\n\nAceldama, the field of blood, 643.\n\nAdam, the first man, 18;\n  his transgression, 19;\n  revelation to, 44.\n\nAdulteress brought to Christ, 405.\n\nAdulterous generation of sign-seekers, 270, 279, 359.\n\nAgency, free, of unembodied spirits, 8, 17;\n  of man, 17, 29.\n\nAmerican Indians, progenitors of, 49, 56, 742, 757.\n\nAnanias, ministers to Saul, 714.\n\nAndrew, follows Christ, 140;\n  one of the Twelve, 221.\n\nAnnas, high priest, 621, 643.\n\nAnnouncement of Christ by the Father, 39, 126, 371, 725, 761;\n  of Christ's birth to shepherds, 93.\n  See Annunciation.\n\nAnnunciation by Gabriel, to Zacharias, 76;\n  to Mary the Virgin, 79;\n  by angel to shepherds, 93.\n\nAntemortal Godship of Jesus Christ, 32.\n\nAntemortal state, graded intelligences in, 14.\n\nAntipas, Herod, 110, 118, 446, 635.\n\nAntonia, tower or fortress of, 441.\n\nApostasy, the great, 745;\n  among Nephites, 741.\n\nApostles, the Twelve, chosen and ordained, 217;\n  individually considered, 218;\n  general characteristics of, 226;\n  compared with disciples, 227;\n  charged and sent forth, 327, 328;\n  their return, 331;\n  futile attempt of to heal, 379;\n  as stewards, 441, 576;\n  Christ's final commission to, 695, 696;\n  imprisoned, 707;\n  delivered by an angel, 707;\n  scourged for their testimony, 709.\n\nApostleship, 227, 228;\n  restored in present dispensation, 769.\n\nApostolic ministry, the, 700;\n  close of, 716.\n\nAppearances of the risen Lord to mortals before the ascension, 699.\n\nArchelaus, 110, 118.\n\nArrest of Jesus, attempted but unaccomplished, 403;\n  effected through betrayal, 614.\n\nAscension, Christ's, 697.\n\nAss, Christ rides upon, 514;\n  as predicted, 517.\n\nAthanasius, creed of, 756.\n\nAtonement, the, a vicarious sacrifice, 21.\n\nAuthority, in Holy Priesthood, 362;\n  of Elias and Elijah, 375;\n  of Twelve, attested, 392;\n  of Christ, challenged, 530;\n  Christ as one having, 249;\n  Christ's ascribed to Beelzebub, 265.\n\n\nBaptism, by John the Baptist, 122, 163, 531;\n  of Christ by John, 125;\n  enjoined upon Nephites by Christ, 725;\n  mode of, 726;\n  of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, 768;\n  as required in the Church today, 769.\n\nBaptist, see John the Baptist.\n\nBarabbas, 637.\n\nBarnabas, sponsor for Saul or Paul, 714.\n\nBartholomew, see Nathanael.\n\nBartimeus, healed of blindness, 505.\n\nBeatitudes, the, 230.\n\nBeelzebub, Christ's authority ascribed to, 265.\n\nBenedictus, the, 78.\n\nBethany, Jesus at, 432, 448;\n  the family home at, 522.\n\nBethesda, Pool of, 206.\n\nBethlehem, birthplace of Christ, 92;\n  slaughter of children in, 100.\n\nBethphage, 512, 526.\n\nBethsaida, 258, 332, 346;\n  Julias, 360.\n\nBetrayal of Christ; foretold, 594;\n  effected by Judas Iscariot, 614.\n\nBetrothal, Jewish, 88.\n\nBlasphemy, 201;\n  Christ charged with, 193, 489;\n  Christ falsely convicted of, 629.\n\nBlessing of children, 485;\n  among Nephites, 730.\n\nBlindness, bodily and spiritual, 412, 416.\n\nBloody sweat, Christ's, 612;\n  reality of affirmed, 613, 620.\n\nBook of Mormon, original of, 742, 767.\n\nBountiful, Land of, 724.\n\nBread of Life, Jesus Christ the, 340.\n\nBridegroom, friend of the, 171.\n\nBrother of Jared, 12.\n\nBurial of Jesus, 664.\n\n\nC\u00e6sar, paying tribute to, 545;\n  Jews would have no king but, 641, 648.\n\nC\u00e6sarea Philippi, coasts of, 368;\n  Palestina, 631.\n\nCaiaphas, high priest;\n  his inspired utterance, 498;\n  his tenure of office, 501;\n  Christ before, 621;\n  the apostles before, 706.\n\nCalled and chosen, 540.\n\nCalvary, 654, 667.\n\nCamel and needle's eye, 478, 485.\n\nCapernaum, 181, 186;\n  our Lord's last sermon in synagog at, 339.\n\nCapitation tax, 383.\n\nCelestial marriage, 564.\n\nCephas, see Peter.\n\nCeremonial ablutions, 366.\n\nChild, as a little, 386;\n  humility illustrated by a, 387.\n\nChildlike and childish, distinction between, 387.\n\nChildren, precious in sight of God, 387;\n  blessed by Christ, 475, 485;\n  of Nephites blessed by risen Lord, 729.\n\nChorazin, woe decreed to, 258.\n\nChosen or only called, 540.\n\nChrist, see Jesus Christ.\n\nChrist and Messiah, significance of the titles, 36.\n\nChristians, early persecutions of, 746.\n\nChurch discipline of individuals, 391.\n\nChurch of England, origin of, 751;\n  affirms great apostasy, 753.\n\nChurch of Jesus Christ;\n  foundation of, 361;\n  rapid growth of Primitive, 705, 707, 712;\n  name of, 736;\n  among Nephites, 737;\n  of Latter-day Saints, establishment of, 769.\n\nChurches of man's making, 752.\n\nCircumcision, 88.\n\nClay, applied to blind man's eyes, 413.\n\nClearing of the temple, the first, 153;\n  the second, 527.\n\nCleopas, 685.\n\nCoasts, as descriptive term, 368.\n\nCoin, image and superscription on, 546, 563;\n  in mouth of a fish, 385.\n\nColumbus, Christopher, his mission, 754, 757.\n\nComforter promised, 603, 606;\n  given, 702.\n\nCommandment, the great, 549.\n\nCommon ownership, 705, 718.\n\nCommon people, attentive to hear Christ, 529.\n\nConfession, the great, 361.\n\nCongenital blindness healed, 413.\n\nConsent, common, observed in Primitive Church, 702, 718;\n  in the Church today, 778.\n\nConsistency of Church's claims, 779.\n\nConspiracy of Pharisees and Herodians, 544.\n\nConstantine the Great, gives state recognition to Christianity, 746.\n\nConstitution of the United States, a necessary preliminary to the\n  restoration of the gospel, 755.\n\nConsummation, the celestial, 792.\n\nContention forbidden, 726.\n\nCorban, 352, 366.\n\nCorner stone, Jesus the chief, 535, 706.\n\nCost, counting the, 452.\n\nCouncil, the Jewish, see Sanhedrin.\n\nCouncil in Heaven, primeval, 9, 15.\n\nCourt of the Women, in temple, 407, 422.\n\nCowdery, Oliver, ordained with Joseph Smith, 767;\n  witness of heavenly manifestations, 774.\n\nCreator, Jesus Christ the, 33.\n\nCreed of Athanasius, 756.\n\nCross, figurative, 365;\n  of Christ, borne by Simon, 653.\n\nCrucifixion, 655, 667;\n  of Jesus Christ, 654;\n  hour of, 668.\n\nCumorah, scene of last Nephite battle, 742;\n  Book of Mormon plates taken from, 767.\n\nCups and platters, ceremonial cleansing of, 437.\n\n\nDark ages, the, 749.\n\nDaughters of Jerusalem, Christ's lamentation over, 653, 666.\n\nDavid, Son of, see Son of David.\n\nDead, gospel preached to, 24;\n  ministered unto by Jesus Christ, 672, 673;\n  missionary labor amongst, 674;\n  vicarious labor for in Church today, 777.\n\nDeath, inaugurated by Satan, 20;\n  overcome by the atonement of Christ, 20;\n  and resurrection of Christ predicted, 381, 382,\n  accomplished, 662, 678.\n\nDecapolis, 367;\n  Jesus in coasts of, 356.\n\nDedication, feast of, 487, 499;\n  Jesus at, 487.\n\nDefilement, things that cause, 352.\n\nDegeneracy, bodily, incident to the fall of man, 19, 29.\n\nDemoniacal possession, 183.\n\nDemons, acclaim the Christ, 181, 310, 312.\n\nDevil, Jesus charged as possessed of a, 401, 411.\n\nDidrachm, 383.\n\nDisciples and apostles, 227.\n\nDisciples, instructed, 438, 461;\n  requirements of, 452.\n\nDiscipline of individuals in Church, 391.\n\nDisembodied spirits, Christ among, 670.\n\nDispensation of fulness of times, 777;\n  ushered in, 763.\n\nDives and Lazarus, 483.\n\nDivorce and marriage, 473;\n  views concerning, 484.\n\nDoctrine, test of the Lord's, 400, 421;\n  Christ's, as declared to Nephites, 726.\n\nDogs that eat of the crumbs, 367.\n\nDoor to the sheepfold, Christ the, 417.\n\nDove, sign of, 126, 150.\n\nDust, shaking from feet as a testimony, 345.\n\n\nEarth, regeneration of, 322, 793.\n\nEating, spiritual symbolism of, 343, 347;\n  with unwashen hands, 351.\n\nEcce Homo, 639.\n\nEgypt, flight into, 100;\n  return from, 110.\n\nElders and high priests, 644.\n\nElias, John Baptist and, 374;\n  and Elijah, 375;\n  spirit and power of, 376;\n  appearing of in Kirtland Temple, 775.\n\nElijah, and Moses at transfiguration, 371;\n  and Elias, 375;\n  appearance of in Kirtland Temple, 775.\n\nElisabeth, mother of John the Baptist, 75, 78;\n  visited by Mary the Virgin, 82.\n\nElohim, 38.\n\nEmmaus, Christ and two disciples journey to, 685.\n\nEnoch, 44, 143, 793;\n  promise to, relating to Christ's second coming, 790.\n\nEnrolment at Bethlehem, 91.\n\nEphraim, Jesus in retirement at, 498.\n\nEssenes, 67.\n\nEstate of man, first and second, 7.\n\nEternal Father, The, a resurrected, exalted Being, 143, 151.\n\nEve, beguiled by Satan, 19.\n\nEvenings, earlier and later, 346.\n\n\nFaith, active, as compared with passive belief, 319;\n  a gift from God, 347;\n  quality of, 381;\n  nothing impossible to, 395;\n  in behalf of others, 395;\n  as to quantity and quality, 469;\n  of Nephites, strong, 733.\n\nFall of man 19;\n  a process of bodily degeneracy, 19;\n  redemption from wrought by Jesus Christ, 20, 31.\n\nFasting and prayer, power gained by, 381.\n\nFather, the Eternal, proclaims the Son, Jesus Christ, 126, 371;\n  to Nephites, 725;\n  to Joseph Smith, 761.\n\nFeast, of Dedication, 487, 499;\n  of Tabernacles, 400, 419;\n  of the Passover, 112, 167;\n  the traditional Messianic, 538.\n\nFew or many to be saved, 445.\n\nFig tree, 541;\n  cursed, 524;\n  symbol of Judaism, 527;\n  and other trees, lesson from, 754;\n  as a type in modern revelation, 784.\n\nFirst may be last, 478.\n\nFishers of men, 197, 202.\n\nForeknowledge of God, not a determining cause, 18, 28.\n\nForeordination of Jesus Christ, 6.\n\nForgiveness, duty respecting, 391;\n  unlimited requirement of, 393;\n  mutual, 525.\n\nFox, Herod Antipas referred to as, 446, 636.\n\nFree agency, of unembodied spirits, 8, 17;\n\n  of man, 17, 29.\n\n\nGabriel's annunciation, of John and of Jesus, 75;\n  to Mary the Virgin, 79.\n\nGadarenes and Gergesenes, land of, 323.\n\nGalilean ministry, beginning of, 144;\n  close of, 398.\n\nGalileans, 68;\n  slain in temple courts, 441.\n\nGalilee, sea of, 165;\n  the risen Lord appears at sea of, 691;\n  appears on mountain in, 694.\n\nGamaliel, his advice to the council, 709;\n  tutor to Saul of Tarsus, 712.\n\nGenealogies of Christ, 85, 89.\n\nGennesaret, sea or lake of, 165.\n\nGentiles, 345;\n  to become great on western continent, 733.\n\nGergesenes and Gadarenes, land of, 323.\n\nGethsemane, 620;\n  Christ's agony in, 610;\n  His arrest in, 614.\n\nGoats and sheep, figurative, 584.\n\nGod's foreknowledge not a determining cause of action, 18, 28.\n\nGodhead, three Personages in, 32.\n\nGodship of Jesus Christ, antemortal, 32.\n\nGolgotha, 654, 667.\n\nGospels, the four, 166;\n  the synoptic, 166.\n\nGraded conditions in the hereafter, 601.\n\nGraded intelligences in antemortal state, 14.\n\nGreat commandment, the, 549.\n\nGreeks, as Gentiles, 345;\n  certain ones visit Jesus, 518.\n\n\nHappiness and pleasure, 231, 247.\n\nHeathen to be redeemed;\n  their part in first resurrection, 793.\n\nHem of garment, 346.\n\nHenry VIII, head of Church of England, 751.\n\nHerder, the hireling, 417.\n\nHerod, the Great, 97, 106;\n  temple of, 73;\n  Antipas, 110, 118;\n  referred to as \"fox,\" 446;\n  Christ before, 635.\n\nHerodians, 68;\n  in conspiracy with Pharisees, 544.\n\nHerodias, 259.\n\nHigh Priestly Prayer, Christ's, 609.\n\nHigh priests and elders, 644.\n\nHoly Ghost, sin against, 269, 278;\n  promised to apostles, 603;\n  investiture of apostles by, at Pentecost, 702.\n\nHomily against Idolatry, affirming the apostasy, 753.\n\nHosanna shout, 516, 523.\n\nHyrum Smith, martyred, 776.\n\n\nI AM, 36;\n  Jesus Christ, the, 411.\n\nImage on the coin, 546, 563.\n\nIndians, American, progenitors of, 49, 56, 742, 757.\n\nInquisition, court of the, 750.\n\nIsaiah, Messianic predictions by, 46, 47.\n\nIscariot, see Judas Iscariot.\n\nIsrael and Judah, kingdoms of, 59.\n\n\nJacob's prophecy concerning Shiloh, 54.\n\nJahveh, see Jehovah.\n\nJames and John, sons of Zebedee, called, 198;\n  members of the Twelve, 219;\n  minister with Peter in modern days, 219, 768;\n  their aspiring desire, 503;\n  mother of, 521.\n\nJames, son of Alpheus, one of the Twelve, 224.\n\nJared, brother of; his interview with the unembodied Christ, 12.\n\nJaredites, 16.\n\nJehovah, significance of the name, 36, 41, 411.\n\nJeremiah, Messianic prophecies by, 47.\n\nJericho, 521.\n\nJerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into, 513;\n  destruction of, predicted, 569,\n  accomplished, 586;\n  the Lord's lamentation over, 560;\n  daughters of, Christ's lamentation over, 653, 666.\n\nJesus the Christ, as Man and Christ, 1.\n\nJesus Christ, preexistence and foreordination of, 6;\n  the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, 8, 13, 81;\n  the Word, 10;\n  Word of God's power, 10;\n  His supremacy over Abraham, 11, 410, 411;\n  His power over death, 22, 23, 418;\n  antemortal Godship of, 32;\n  the Creator, 33;\n  names and titles of, 35;\n  predicted, 42;\n  annunciation of, 79;\n  the Babe of Bethlehem, 91;\n  birth of, 91;\n  birth announced to shepherds, 93;\n  circumcision and naming of, 95;\n  presentation in temple, 95;\n  testimony of Simeon and Anna regarding, 97;\n  birth made known to Nephites, 100;\n  time of birth of, 102, 109;\n  boy-hood of, 111;\n  in attendance at Passover when twelve years old, 113;\n  with the doctors in the temple, 114;\n  of Nazareth, 117;\n  baptism of, 125;\n\n  descent of Holy Ghost, upon, 126;\n  temptations of, 127;\n  first clearing of temple by, 154;\n  an offender to many, 254, 274;\n  unique status of, 384;\n  His brethren, interview with, 398;\n  at the feast of Tabernacles, 399;\n  rejected in Samaria, 423;\n  at the home in Bethany, 448;\n  blesses little children, 475;\n  the ennobler of woman, 484;\n  at feast of Dedication, 487;\n  accused of blasphemy, 489;\n  in retirement at Ephraim, 498;\n  predicts His death and resurrection, 363, 372, 381, 502, 518, 586;\n  called Son of David, 80, 86, 320, 354, 505, 515, 529;\n  triumphal entry into Jerusalem, 513;\n  Prince of Peace, 517;\n  visited by certain Greeks, 518;\n  His second clearing of temple, 527;\n  His authority challenged, 530;\n  close of His public ministry, 544;\n  His lamentation over Jerusalem, 560;\n  His final withdrawal from temple, 562;\n  specific prediction of His death, 586;\n  foretells His betrayal, 594;\n  His agony in Gethsemane, 610;\n  His betrayal and arrest, 614;\n  Jewish trial of, 621;\n  falsely convicted of blasphemy, 629;\n  appearance before Pilate, first, 631,\n    second, 636;\n  before Herod Antipas, 635;\n  delivered up to be crucified, 639;\n  His crucifixion, 654;\n  His burial, 664;\n  physical cause of death of, 668;\n  after resurrection appears to Mary Magdalene and other women, 681;\n  to two disciples on road to Emmaus, 685;\n  to ten apostles and others, in whose presence He eats, 687;\n  to Peter, 687;\n  to the Eleven, 689;\n  His ascension from Olivet, 697;\n  His death signalized on American continent, 721;\n  giver of the law to Moses, 728;\n  visitations to Nephites, 724, 731, 736;\n  ministers to Joseph Smith, 761, 774;\n  revelations from in current dispensation, 770;\n  second advent of, 780.\n\nJesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews, 87, 90, 657.\n\nJewish exclusiveness, 61.\n\nJews, Christ the King of, 657.\n\nJohn the Baptist, birth announced, 76;\n  circumcision and naming of, 78;\n  the forerunner, 75, 122;\n  regarded as a Nazarite, 87;\n  in the wilderness, 121;\n  baptizes Jesus Christ, 125;\n  his testimony of Jesus, 138, 150, 164;\n  his message to Jesus, 252;\n  Christ's testimony concerning, 256;\n  imprisonment of, 252;\n  death of, 259;\n  greatness of his mission, 275;\n  the Elias that was to come, 257, 276;\n  restores Aaronic Priesthood in modern time, 768.\n\nJohn, son of Zebedee, follows Christ, 140;\n  called, 198;\n  one of the Twelve, 220;\n  his testimony regarding the graded development of Jesus, 119;\n  with Peter at sepulchre of Jesus, 679;\n  to tarry in the flesh until Christ's second coming, 694;\n  the Revelator, 716.\n\nJohn and James, see James and John.\n\nJoseph of Arimathea, assists in burial of Christ's body, 664.\n\nJoseph and Mary the Virgin, espoused, 84;\n  married, 85;\n  genealogies of, 85, 89.\n\nJoseph Smith, 758;\n  his perplexity over sectarian strife, 759;\n  his prayer for light, 760;\n  visited by the Father and the Son, 761;\n  persecution of, 762;\n  visited by Moroni, 765;\n  receives Aaronic Priesthood, 768;\n  receives Melchizedek Priesthood, 768;\n  again visited by the Lord Jesus Christ, 774;\n  visited by Moses, Elias and Elijah, 775;\n  martyred, 776.\n\nJudah and Israel, kingdoms of, 59.\n\nJudas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, 225;\n  his complaint against waste of ointment, 512;\n  in conspiracy with Jewish rulers, 592;\n  goes out to betray Christ, 598;\n  his betrayal of Christ, 614;\n  his maddening remorse and suicide, 642;\n  views concerning his character, 649.\n\nJudas Thaddeus, or Lebbeus, one of the Twelve, 224, 228;\n  his inquiry, 603.\n\nJudean and Perean ministry, 423, 449.\n\nJudgment, the inevitable, 584.\n\n\nKeys, of kingdom of heaven, 361;\n  symbolical of power in Jewish literature, 362.\n\nKing of the Jews, Christ the, 87, 90, 657.\n\nKingdom of God and kingdom of heaven, 788.\n\nKirtland Temple, scene of heavenly manifestations, 773.\n\n\nLamanites and Nephites, 49, 55.\n\nLamanites, progenitors of American Indians, 49, 56, 742, 757;\n  promise concerning, 786.\n\nLamentation over Jerusalem, 560.\n\nLast may be first, 478.\n\nLast Supper, the, 592.\n\nLatter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of, 769.\n\nLaw, the, and the gospel, 234.\n\nLaw of Moses, rabbinical divisions of, 564;\n  Christ the giver of, 728;\n  fulfilled, as Christ declared to Nephites, 723, 728.\n\nLawyer questions Christ, 429.\n\nLawyers and Pharisees, Christ's criticism on, 436.\n\nLazarus and Dives, 483.\n\nLazarus restored to life, 490.\n\nLeaven, of evil, 359;\n  of Pharisees and Sadducees, 359.\n\nLeper, Simon the, 511.\n\nLepers, ten healed, 470.\n\nLeprosy, 189, 199.\n\nLevi Matthew, see Matthew.\n\nLevirate marriages, 548.\n\nLight of the World, Jesus the, 407.\n\nLiving water, figurative, 403.\n\nLord's Day, the, 690.\n\nLord's doctrine, test of, 421.\n\nLord's High Priestly prayer, the, 609.\n\nLord's Prayer, the, 238.\n\nLord's Supper, Sacrament of the, 596.\n\nLove, mutual, enjoined on apostles, 599.\n\nLucifer, see Satan.\n\nLuther, Martin, 750.\n\n\nMaccabean revolt, 60.\n\nMagnificat, the, 83.\n\nMagi, see Wise men.\n\nMalachi, his predictions misunderstood, 149;\n  fulfilled, 775.\n\nMalchus, wounded by Peter, healed by Jesus, 616.\n\nMalefactor, the penitent, 659, 671.\n\nMammon of unrighteousness, 463, 483.\n\nMan, preexistence of, 6, 17;\n  an embodied spirit, 18;\n  fall of, 19, 29;\n  free agency of, 18, 29.\n\nMan of Holiness, and Man of Counsel, names of the Eternal Father, 143.\n\nMan, The Son of, 142.\n\nManna, traditions concerning, 347.\n\nMansions, many in the Father's house, 601.\n\nMany or few to be saved, 445.\n\nMarriage and divorce, 473.\n\nMarriage for eternity, 564.\n\nMarriages, levirate, 548.\n\nMartha and Mary, 432;\n  at house of Simon the leper, 511.\n\nMary and Joseph, see Joseph and Mary.\n\nMary anoints Jesus with spikenard, 512.\n\nMary Magdalene, defended against traditional aspersions, 264;\n  at sepulchre, 679;\n  first to behold the risen Lord, 681.\n\nMatthew, or Levi, called, 193;\n  gives a feast, 194;\n  one of the Twelve, 222.\n\nMatthias ordained to apostleship, 700.\n\nMelchizedek Priesthood, Jesus Christ holds the, 552;\n  restored by Peter, James and John, 768.\n\nMeridian of Time, 57.\n\nMessiah, see Jesus Christ.\n\nMessiah and Christ, significance of names, 36.\n\nMessianic Psalms, 46.\n\nMichael in conflict with Satan, 6.\n\nMillennium, the, 790;\n  predictions of, ancient, 790,\n  modern, 791.\n\nMinisters and servants, 542.\n\nMiracles, in general, 147;\n  attitude of science toward, 151.\n\nMiracles of Christ: Water transmuted into wine, 144;\n  healing of nobleman's son, 178;\n  Peter's mother-in-law healed, 183;\n  demoniac healed in synagog at Capernaum, 181;\n  leper healed, 188;\n  palsied man healed and forgiven, 190;\n  draught of fishes, 198;\n  cripple healed at Bethesda pool, 206;\n  healing of man with withered hand, 214;\n  healing of centurion's servant, 249;\n  young man of Nain raised from, the dead, 251;\n  healing of a blind and dumb demoniac, 267;\n  stilling the tempest, 307;\n  demons rebuked in land of Gadarenes, 310;\n  raising of daughter of Jairus, 313;\n  healing of a woman in the throng, 317;\n  blind and dumb healed, 319;\n  feeding of the five thousand, 333;\n  walking on the water, 335;\n\n in the land of Gennesaret, 337;\n healing of daughter of Syro-Phenician woman, 354;\n healings in coasts of Decapolis, 356;\n feeding of the four thousand, 357;\n healing of blind man near Bethsaida Julias, 360;\n healing of youthful demoniac, 378;\n tribute money supplied, 382;\n blind man healed on Sabbath, 413;\n woman healed on Sabbath, 443;\n dropsical man healed, 449;\n ten lepers healed, 470;\n Lazarus restored to life, 490;\n blind healed near Jericho, 504;\n blighting of barren fig tree, 524;\n healings in the temple courts, 528;\n Malchus healed of wound, 616;\n second draught of fishes, 691.\n\nMissing scriptures, 117, 119.\n\nMission, of the Twelve, 328, 695;\n  of the Seventy, 425, 427.\n\nModern revelation, belief in, 776.\n\nMormon, Book of, 742, 767.\n\nMoroni, last of Nephite prophets, 742;\n  an angel sent from God, 765;\n  delivers ancient records to Joseph Smith, 767.\n\nMoses, repels Satan, 7;\n  his prophecy concerning Christ, 45, 138, 710, 766;\n  with Elijah at transfiguration, 371;\n  appearance of in Kirtland Temple, 775.\n\nMount of Olives, see Olivet.\n\n\nName, of Christ, power in, 390;\n  in Christ's, 602;\n  of Christ's Church, 736, 769.\n\nNames given of God, 40.\n\nNard, see Spikenard.\n\nNathanael, or Bartholomew brought to Christ, 141;\n  one of the Twelve, 222.\n\nNativity of Christ, a cause of discussion, 402, 403.\n\nNazareth, boyhood home of Jesus Christ, 110;\n  our Lord's sermon in synagog at, 179;\n  His rejection by Nazarenes, 180.\n\nNazarite, 67, 87;\n  John Baptist regarded as, 87.\n\nNeed of a Redeemer, 17.\n\nNeedle's eye, and camel, 478, 485.\n\nNeighbor, Who is my, 429.\n\nNephites, birth of Christ made known to, 100;\n  and Lamanites, 49, 55;\n  as sheep of another fold, 419;\n  death of Jesus signalized to, 721;\n  visitation of the risen Lord among, 724, 731, 736;\n  Twelve called from among, 725;\n  the Three, 738.\n\nNicodemus, visits Jesus, 158, 170;\n  his protest before Sanhedrin, 404;\n  assists in burial of Christ's body, 665.\n\nNight, watches of the, 346.\n\nNinety and nine, and the lost sheep, 389.\n\nNobleman seeking a kingdom, 522.\n\nNunc Dimittis, the, 97.\n\n\nOffenses and offenders, 274, 388.\n\nOld cloth and old bottles, 195.\n\nOlivet, (Mount of Olives) Christ's discourse to apostles on, 540, 569;\n  Gethsemane near, 611;\n  the Lord's ascension from, 697.\n\nOneness, of Godhead, 500;\n  of Father and Son, 602.\n\n\nPapal claims to authority, 747.\n\nParables in general, 298;\n  definitions, 303.\n\nParables of Christ: the Sower, 282;\n  Wheat and Tares, 280;\n  Seed growing secretly, 288;\n  Mustard Seed, 290;\n  Leaven, 291;\n  Hidden Treasure, 292;\n  Pearl of Great Price, 293;\n  Gospel Net, 294;\n  Lost Sheep, 389;\n  Unmerciful Servant, 393;\n  Good Samaritan, 430;\n  Friend at Midnight, 434;\n  Importunate Widow, or Unjust Judge, 436;\n  Foolish Rich Man, 439;\n  Barren Fig Tree, 443;\n  Great Supper, 450;\n  Lost Sheep (repeated), 454;\n  Lost Coin, 455;\n  Prodigal Son, 457;\n  Unrighteous Steward, 461;\n  Rich Man and Lazarus, 466;\n  Unprofitable Servants, 470;\n  Pharisee and Publican, 471;\n  Laborers in Vineyard, 479;\n  Pounds, 508;\n  Two Sons, 532;\n  Wicked Husbandmen, 533;\n  Royal Marriage Feast, 536;\n  Ten Virgins, 577;\n  the same referred to in modern revelation, 579;\n  Talents, 580;\n  Pounds and Talents compared, 581.\n\nParabolic teaching, Christ's purpose in, 295.\n\nParadise, 672, 676;\n  the penitent thief in, 659, 671.\n\nPassover, feast of, 112;\n Jesus at when a Boy, 113;\n throngs attending, 167;\n recurrences of during Christ's ministry, 365;\n the last eaten by Jesus, 593, 617.\n\nPatmos, 720.\n\nPaul, the Lord's manifestations to, 713, 715;\n his demeanor when smitten contrasted with that of Christ, 644.\n\nPence and talents, value of, 396.\n\nPentecost, 702, 718.\n\nPerea, the Lord's retirement in, 489.\n\nPerean and Judean ministry, 423, 449,\n\nPerfection, relative, 236, 248.\n\nPersecutions of early Christians, 746.\n\nPeter, James, and John, special witnesses, 314, 370, 376, 611;\n  officiate in modern times, 219, 768.\n\nPeter, Simon, brought to Jesus by Andrew and named Peter, 140;\n  called from his boat and nets, 198;\n  one of the Twelve, 218;\n  his confession of Christ, 360;\n  his presidency among the apostles, 362;\n  remonstrates with Jesus and is rebuked, 364, 368;\n  protests against washing of his feet by Jesus, 596;\n  his protestations of allegiance, 600;\n  his assault on Malchus, 616;\n  his denial of his Lord, 629;\n  with John at sepulchre, 679;\n  questioned by the risen Lord, 692;\n  manner of his death foreshadowed, 693;\n  his Pentecostal address, 703;\n  heals lame man, 705;\n  testifies to people and rulers in temple, 706, 708;\n  with James and John officiates in modern times, 219, 768.\n\nPharisees, and Sadducees, 65, 72;\n  leaven of the, 359;\n  humiliated by an unlearned indigent, 415;\n  with lawyers criticized by Christ, 436;\n  Jesus in house of one of chief, 449;\n  proud of false humility, 465;\n  with scribes, denounced, 552.\n\nPhilip, called by Jesus, 140;\n  one of the Twelve, 221;\n  asks to behold the Father, 602.\n\nPhylacteries, and borders, 565.\n\nPhysical cause of the Lord's death, 668.\n\nPilate, see Pontius Pilate.\n\nPilgrim Fathers, their mission predicted, 754, 757.\n\nPleasure and happiness, 231, 247.\n\nPontius Pilate, procurator, 631;\n  hears charges against Christ, 631, 636;\n  questions Jesus, 634, 640;\n  sends Christ to Herod, 635;\n  tries to save Jesus from death, 640;\n  gives sentence of crucifixion, 639;\n  cause of his surrender to Jewish clamor, 641, 648;\n  writes inscription for the cross, 656;\n  gives body of Jesus for burial, 664;\n  allows guarding of sepulchre, 665.\n\nPool, of Bethesda, 206;\n  a cripple healed at, 207;\n  of Siloam, 403, 421;\n  blind man sent to wash in, 413.\n\nPope, the, 747.\n\nPrayer, the Lord's, 238;\n  the Lord's High Priestly, 609;\n  and fasting, power developed by, 395;\n  request of disciples concerning, 434.\n\nPrecedence and humility, 503.\n\nPredictions of Christ's birth, life and death, 42;\n  by Adam, 44;\n  by Jacob, 44;\n  by Moses, 45;\n  by Job, 46;\n  by Isaiah, 46;\n  by Jeremiah, 47;\n  by other Hebrew prophets, 48;\n  by John the Baptist, 48;\n  by Nephite prophets, 49, 722;\n  of the Lord's death by Himself, 363, 372, 381, 518, 586.\n\nPreexistence of spirits, 6, 17;\n  involved in disciples' question, 412;\n  of Jesus Christ, 6.\n\nPresidency, Peter's among apostles, 362.\n\nPriesthood, Aaronic, see Aaronic Priesthood;\n  Melchizedek, see Melchizedek Priesthood;\n  the Holy, now operative on earth, 777; and office therein, 778.\n\nPrimitive Church, the, 705, 707, 712, 719.\n\nPrince of Peace, Jesus Christ the, 517.\n\nProphet, predicted by Moses--Jesus Christ 45, 138, 710, 733, 766.\n\nProtestants, origin of, 750.\n\nPsalms, Messianic, 46.\n\nPublicans, 193, 201;\n  and sinners, 193;\n  salvation for, 454;\n  Zaccheus a chief among, 506.\n\n\nRabbis, and scribes, 63, 71, 554.\n\nRedeemer, need of by essential qualifications of, 21.\n\nRedemption wrought by Jesus Christ, 20, 31.\n\nReformation, the, 750.\n\nRegeneration of the earth, 322, 793.\n\nRepentant woman forgiven, 263.\n\nRestoration, to mortal life contrasted with resurrection, 316, 496;\n  of the Priesthood in modern times, 768.\n\nResurrection, universal, 24;\n  distinct from restoration to mortal life, 316, 496;\n  Sadducean denial of, 72;\n  Sadducees question Jesus concerning, 547;\n  of Jesus Christ, 678;\n  false stories and untenable theories concerning Christ's, 683, 698;\n  heathen in the first, 793.\n\nRevelation, foundation of Church of Christ, 361, 775;\n  modern, belief in, 776.\n\nReward, for merit, assured, 479.\n\nRich men, and their stewards, 483;\n  difficulty of entering kingdom, 478.\n\nRigdon, Sidney, associated with Joseph Smith, 771.\n\nRock of revelation, 361.\n\nRuler, the rich young, 477.\n\n\nSabbath, distinctively sacred to Israel, 203;\n  Jesus Christ the Lord of the, 203;\n  rabbinical requirements concerning, 205, 215;\n  desecration of imputed to Jesus, 208, 214, 401, 413, 443;\n  disciples charged with desecration of, 212;\n  change of day from Saturday to Sunday, 690.\n\nSacrament of the Lord's Supper, instituted among Jews, 596;\n  on western continent, 730, 733, 735.\n\nSacrifice, animal, antiquity of, 53;\n  prototype of Christ's atoning death, 45, 53.\n\nSadducees, and Pharisees, 65, 72;\n  deny resurrection, 72;\n  question Christ concerning resurrection, 547.\n\nSaliva, applied to eyes of blind man, 360, 413.\n\nSalome, daughter of Herodias, 259;\n  mother of James and John, 521.\n\nSalt of the earth, figurative, 232, 248, 743.\n\nSalvation, conditions of, 26.\n\nSamaritan, woman talks with Jesus, 172;\n  Christ called a, 411\n\nSamaritans, origin of, 62;\n  and Jews, animosity between, 183;\n  Jesus received gladly by, 176;\n  afterward rejected by, 423.\n\nSanhedrin, the, 61, 69;\n  Nicodemus a member of, speaks in behalf of Jesus, 404;\n  unlawful trial of Jesus before, 621;\n  the apostles before, 706;\n  Gamaliel's advice to, 709;\n  Stephen condemned by, 711.\n\nSatan, Lucifer, a son of the morning, 7;\n  in conflict with Michael, 6;\n  cast out from heaven, 8;\n  commanded by Moses, 7;\n  would destroy man's agency, 8;\n  beguiles Eve, 19;\n  introduces sin and death, 20;\n  tempts Jesus Christ, 127;\n  to be bound during Millennium, 791;\n  final vanquishment of, 792.\n\nSaul of Tarsus, his persecution of the Saints, 712;\n  his conversion, 713, 719;\n  his baptism, 714;\n  beginning of his ministry, 714;\n  name changed to Paul, 714.\n\nSavior and Redeemer, necessary qualifications of, 21.\n\nScourging, 638;\n  of Jesus, 639.\n\nScribes and Pharisees, 552;\n  and rabbis, 63;\n  see further, Pharisees.\n\nScriptures, lost, 117, 119.\n\nSea of Galilee, storms on, 321.\n\nSecond advent of Christ, 780;\n  predicted anciently, 569, 781,\n    in modern times, 783;\n  signs of, 573, 786;\n  time of unknown, 575, 589, 785;\n  near at hand, 787;\n  accompaniments of, 787.\n\nSecular authority, submission to, 564.\n\nSeed and crop, 519.\n\nSermon on the Mount, 230;\n  repeated in effect to the Nephites, 727.\n\nServants and ministers, 542.\n\nSeventy, the, sent, 425;\n  return of, 427.\n\nSheep and goats, figurative, 584.\n\nSheep, other than of Jewish fold, 419;\n  Nephite fold, 728;\n  Lost Tribes another fold, 729.\n\nShepherd, Christ the Good, 417.\n\nShepherds, angelic annunciation to, 93;\n  contrasted with sheepherders, 416.\n\nShewbread, 213, 216.\n\nShiloh, Jacob's prophecy concerning, 44, 54.\n\nSigns, miracles as, 147, 696;\n  seekers of, 270, 279, 358;\n  of Christ's birth and death shown on American continent, 100, 721.\n\nSilence, Christ's, when before Herod, 636.\n\nSiloam, Pool of, 403, 421;\n  fall of tower at, 442.\n\nSimon, Peter, see Peter;\n  the leper, 510;\n  the Pharisee, 261;\n  of Cyrene, 653, 666;\n  Zelotes, one of the Twelve, 225.\n\nSin, brings death into the world, 20;\n  the unpardonable, 269, 278;\n  servitude of, 409;\n  and bodily affliction, 413.\n\nSinners, joy in heaven over repentant, 455.\n\nSmith, Hyrum, see Hyrum Smith;\n  Joseph, see Joseph Smith.\n\nSolomon's Porch, 487, 500, 705.\n\nSon of David, title, applied to Joseph of Nazareth, 84;\n  to Jesus Christ, 80, 86, 354, 505, 515, 529;\n  Christ's question concerning, 552.\n\nSon of God, The, proclaimed by the Father, 126, 371, 725, 761.\n\nSon of Man, The, 142.\n\nSon of the morning, see Satan.\n\nSpikenard, 523;\n  Mary anoints Jesus with, 512.\n\nSpirit and power of Elias, 376.\n\nSpirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost, 603.\n\nSpirits, unembodied, 6, 8, 17;\n  state of between death and resurrection, 671;\n  disembodied, Christ's mission among, 670, 672, 677;\n  world of, missionary labor in, 675.\n\nSpiritual development, the one thing needful, 433, 434.\n\nStater, 384.\n\nStephen, his zeal, 709;\n  his address to the council, 710;\n  his martyrdom, 711.\n\nStewards, apostles likened unto, 441, 576.\n\nStone, head of the corner--Jesus Christ--535, 706.\n\nSupererogation, false doctrine of, 590.\n\nSupper, at house of Simon the leper, 510;\n  The Last, 592.\n\nSychar, 173, 186.\n\nSynoptic Gospels, 166.\n\n\nTabernacles, feast of, 419;\n  Jesus at the, 399.\n\nTalents and pence, 396.\n\nTalmud, 62, 70.\n\nTargums, 179, 186.\n\nTax, capitation, 383.\n\nTaxing, or enrolment, 104.\n\nTemple, of Herod, 73;\n  the Lord's body symbolized as a, 157;\n  Christ's first clearing of the, 153;\n  second clearing of the, 527;\n  tribute paid to, 396;\n  destruction of, predicted, 563,\n    accomplished, 567;\n  treasure of, 567.\n\nTemples, modern, 778.\n\nTest of the Lord's doctrine, 400, 421.\n\nTetrarch, 274.\n\nThirty years of age, 166.\n\nThomas, one of the Twelve, 223;\n  doubts the resurrection of Christ, 689;\n  is convinced, 690.\n\n\"Thou art the Christ,\" 360.\n\nThree Nephites, the, 738.\n\nTiberias, sea of, 165,\n  the risen Lord appears at, 691.\n\nTithing, day of, 785.\n\nTitles, ecclesiastical, 566.\n\nToday and tomorrow, special application of terms, 785.\n\nTongues, as of fire, Pentecostal manifestations, 702.\n\nTraditionalism, in opposition to the law, 351.\n\nTransubstantiation, false doctrine of, 748.\n\nTransfiguration, the, 370, 376.\n\nTransgressors, Christ numbered among, 601, 655.\n\nTreasure belonging to temple, 567.\n\nTreasury of temple, 422.\n\nTrial of Jesus, the Jewish, 621;\n  illegalities of, 622, 644.\n\nTribes, of Israel, 59;\n  the Ten, or Lost, 61, 729.\n\nTribute, the temple, 396;\n  Christ pays the, 382;\n  to be rendered to C\u00e6sar under law, 545.\n\nTriumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's, 513.\n\nTruth, shall make men free, 408.\n\nTwelve, the, see Apostles;\n  the Nephite, 725.\n\nTyre and Sidon, Jesus in borders of, 354.\n\n\nUnbelief, effect of, 381.\n\nUnity of Godhead, 500.\n\nUnpardonable sin, 269, 278.\n\nVine, Christ the true, 604.\n\nVineyard and vines, Israel symbolized by, 541.\n\nVoice, in the wilderness,--John the Baptist, 121;\n  from heaven, the Father's, 126, 371, 519, 725;\n  of Jesus Christ from heaven to Nephites, 723.\n\n\nWar in heaven, 6.\n\nWashing of feet, ordinance of, 595, 619.\n\nWashings, ceremonial, 350, 366.\n\nWatches of the night, 346.\n\nWatchfulness enjoined, 575.\n\nWater, living, 403.\n\nWedding garment, lacking, 539.\n\nWestern continent, ministry of Jesus Christ on, 721.\n\nWidow's mites, 561.\n\nWise men, the, 97;\n  their adoration of Christ, 99.\n\nWitnesses, false, at trial of Jesus, 623.\n\nWoes over Jerusalem, 515, 560.\n\nWoman, a repentant, receives forgiveness, 263;\n  one taken in sin, 405.\n\n\"Woman,\" as noun of address, 144.\n\nWomen, Christ the ennobler of, 484;\n  witnesses of the crucifixion, 659, 688;\n  at sepulchre of Jesus, 681;\n  see and touch the risen Lord, 682.\n\nWord, Jesus Christ, the, 10.\n\n\nYahveh, see Jehovah.\n\n\nZaccheus, 506.\n\nZacharias, the martyr, 560, 567.\n\nZacharias, the priest, visited by the angel Gabriel, 76;\n  stricken dumb, 77, 88;\n  his speech restored, 78.\n\nZion, of Enoch, 719, 790;\n  of the last days, 786.","title":"Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy; Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":304383}