LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BS2585 .L941 Footprints of the Son of Man traced by saint mark : being portions for private study, f BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Eighth Edition. Crown 8z>o. 6s. After Death. An Examination of the Testimony of Primitive Times respecting the State of the Faithful Dead, and their Relationship to the Living. CONTENTS. PART I. The State of the Faithful Dead and the Good Offices of the Living in their Behalf: The Test of Catholicity — Value of the Testimony of the Primitive Fathers — The Intermediate State — Change in the Intermediate State — Prayers for the Dead : Reasons for our Lord's Silence on the Subject — Testimony of Holy Scripture — Testimony of the Catacombs — Testimony of the Early Fathers — Testimony of the Primitive Liturgies — Prayers for the Pardon of Sins of Infirmity and the Effacement of Sinful Stains — Inefficacy of Prayer for those who died in wilful unrepented sin. PART II. The Good Offices of the Faithful Dead in Behalf of the Living : Primitive Testimony to the Intercession of the Saints — Primitive Testimony to the Invocation of the Saints — Trustworthiness of the Patristic Evidence for Invocation tested — The Primitive Liturgies and the Roman Catacombs — Patristic Opinion on the extent of the Knowledge possessed by the Saints — Testimony of Holy Scripture upon the same Subject — The Beatific Vision not yet attained by any of the Saints — Conclusions drawn from the fore- going Testimony. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS. Is a fuller recognition of the Practice of praying for the Dead desirable or not ? Is it lawful or desirable to practise the Invocation of Saints in any form or not? Fourth Edition. Cro7un 8vo. 6s. The Intermediate State between Death and Judgment. Being a Sequel to 'After Death.' By H. M. Luckock, D.D., Canon of Ely ; sometime Principal of Ely Theological College, and Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. " We have to express our deep thankfulness to Dr. Luckock for his full and careful exposition of the significance of our Lord's descent into hell, the value of prayers for the dead, and the reality of the intermediate state." — Guardian. " The subject of this treatise is one of absorbing interest to all religious people. . . The book is of sterling value, and must take its place as a standard authority. Such writings make the study of theology a pleasant task, and while the book teaches it opens up deep channels of thought and offers comfort to the Christian mourner. " — Church Review. LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Fourth Edition. Two Vols. Crown Svo. 12s. Cheap Edition. One Vol. Crown Svo. $s. Footprints of the Son of Man, as Traced by St. Mark. Being Eighty Portions for Private Study, Family Reading, and Instructions in Church. With an Introduction by the late Bishop of Ely. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " His book is designed ' for private study, family reading, and instructions in church.' For one or all of these three purposes we heartily recommend it. . . . The frequent references to the Talmud and Mishnah, as illustrating the Gospel record, form a peculiarly valuable feature of the book." — Church Quarterly Review. ' ' We will undertake to say that there is not a church in England in which the congregation would not be greatly benefited and advanced in religious knowledge by listening to these addresses." — Guardian. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. The Bishops in the Tower. A Record of Stirring Events affecting the Church and Nonconformists from the Restoration to the Revolution. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " They are admirable. We most heartily commend this delightful volume. It is no mere compilation. It is full of original research, and clear and broad grasp of situations ; it is written by one with the historical faculty richly developed. ' ' — Literary Chrirchman. "The encouragement of the study of Church History is Dr. Luckock's object ; and it will be cheerfully allowed that his lectures are calculated to promote it." — Spectator. ' ' We like this book fully as well as any that Canon Luckock has written. It is an excellent piece of work in point of composition. The author shows a thorough knowledge of the period which he describes, and his views are calm and fair." — Church Bells. " It is very readable, and very pleasantly written." — Guardian. Third Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. Studies in the History of the Book of Common Prayer. The Anglican Reform — The Puritan Innovations — The Elizabethan Reaction — The Caroline Settlement. With Appendices. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. The Divine Liturgy. Being the Office for Holy Communion, Historically, Doctrinally, and Devotionally set forth, in fifty portions. LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 7 fy/ ^ FOOTPRINTS OF THE SON OF MAN AS TRACED BY SAINT MARK FOOTPRINTS OF THE SON OF MAN AS TRACED BY SAINT MARK, NOV 10 1 BEING Eighty Portions for Private Study, Family Reading, and Instructions in Church BY HERBERT MORTIMER LUCKOCK, D.D. CANON OF ELY, SOMETIME PRINCIPAL OF ELY THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, AND FELLOW OF JESUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE LATE BISHOP OF ELY LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. AND NEW YORK : 15 EAST 16 th STREET 189I New and Cheaper Edition AD : MAJOREM : DEI : GLORIAM : T T T OMNIBUS : QUOLIBET : IN : STATU : INTRA : DICECESIM : ELIENSEM : VESTIGIA : DOMINI : REPETERE : LABORANTIBUS : SIVE : DESERVIANT : ALTARI : SIVE : ADSISTANT ; QUOD : POTEST : AUXILII : SUPPEDITATURUM : OPUSCULUM : DEDICO : PREFACE TO THE NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION I have had numerous requests from my brother Clergy and others to make these readings from S. Mark's Gospel more accessible to the general public ; and the Publishers have kindly consented to reprint them in a less expensive form. It has been found necessary, from the exigency of the circumstances, to omit all the side-notes 1 ; this is a matter for regret, as they contained many valuable references to authori- ties, especially in the Talmud and Mishnah, where additional information on the subjects treated of may be found ; there was however no alternative, if the size of the book was to be reduced without actually curtailing the portions themselves. It is a cause for no little thankfulness on my part that a plan which I was encouraged to carry out under the guidance and auspices of the late Bishop of Ely, has been so favourably received ; and I look forward to being able at no distant time to continue it by the issue of a course upon similar lines on the Acts of the Holy Apostles. H. M. L. %>. Jlufcc'ss Dap, 1889. The original edition, in 2 vols., with the side-notes, may still be had. INTRODUCTION The following addresses were delivered in substance on Wednesdays and Fridays at the Early Matins in S. Cathe- rine's Chapel within Ely Cathedral. Having myself heard many of them with great interest and profit, I advised their publication, because they seemed likely to be useful in the private study of Holy Scripture, and to be especially fitted for family reading in households consisting of thoughtful and educated persons. But I had a further reason for urging the publication of these addresses, in that they appeared to recognise a need which has been long felt, I believe, by devout members of many congregations — the need of regular instruction in Holy Scripture, — and to supply a good example of the way in which such need might be met by the Parochial Clergy. There is probably no Branch of the Catholic Church in which more Sermons are preached than in the Anglican Com- munion ; there is perhaps also no Branch of it in which there is less didactic exposition of the sacred text ; less explanatory teaching as to the Constitution and Ordinances of the Church. The result is that the majority of ordinary Church people, when called upon to defend their own system, know less about it than the members of any other religious body. The sermons preached to our congregations are almost exclusively hortatory. It may be questioned whether the constant listening to ad- dresses whose sole object is to awaken the conscience and move the affections, does not tend in some degree to defeat Introduction its own object. At any rate this kind of preaching requires, I am persuaded, to be supplemented by careful and regular expository teaching. Something analogous to this is adopted in the conduct of those Parochial Missions which are becom- ing familiar amongst us. The Mission Sermon is usually followed by the simpler and more direct " Instruction ; " and these Instructions have in many places been that part of the Mission which has left the most abiding results. In a similar way it appears to me that the usual Sunday Sermon requires to be varied by addresses of a less rhetorical and more did- actic character, which may lead to a better understanding of the Bible and the Prayer-Book. Where there is a Daily Service it would, I feel assured, be very profitable if upon the Wednesday and Friday the Parish Priest were to read with his people short portions of some book of Holy Scripture with a brief explanatory comment. When, as is the custom in so many Churches, there is only one Week-day Evening Service, such a systematic reading and exposition of a Gospel would, in my opinion, be more useful to the people, and less burdensome to the Parish Priest, than an additional sermon. In those places where there are no Week-day Services (although I am bound to say that, with the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer daily throughout the Year meeting us on the first page of the Prayer-Book, no Church ought to be shut up from Sunday to Sunday) it might, I think, be desirable to make the Sunday Morning Sermon an expository Address or Instruction, reserving the Sermon proper for the afternoon or "evening service. The addresses now published may, it is hoped, lead to a more general adoption of this practice of Scripture Exposition in Church. I heartily commend them to the Clergy of my Diocese for use in their Churches. In some they may be read exactly as they are printed. In others, they may be expanded or modi- fied according to the character of the congregation. Introduction To the younger Clergy especially they will be suggestive of the way in which other books of the New Testament may be treated, with the same profit to themselves and their people, which has, I believe, attended this attempt to read with an intelligent congregation the Gospel of S. Mark. J. R. ELIENS. Palace, Ely, ail Saints' Dap, 1884. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE The Bishop of Ely has explained in the Introduction the main object which I have had in view in publishing these volumes on S. Mark's Gospel. I have long felt that in an age when purely "subjective" and hortatory preaching has become so popular, there is danger of the Church forgetting that she has an authoritative commission to teach as well as to admonish — not only to point out the way of salvation (though of necessity this must always be her highest duty), but also to make the Sacred History intellectually as well as spiritually edifying. In days when works of secular instruction are made so attractive, it seems most desirable not to lose sight of the fact that the Bible is a storehouse for the literary student, as well as a guide to eternal life. Whenever it has been my privilege to give addresses at the early Cathedral Service on week-days, I have endeavoured, according to my ability, to offer to the congregation instruction rather than exhortation ; at the same time I have sought to maintain their religious character by briefly suggesting at the close, in what way the immediate subject may be practically applied, leaving the fuller consideration for subsequent medita- tion in private. After systematically going through a portion of S. Mark in this way, the Bishop, who was usually present at these services, desired me to commit the addresses to writing, and prepare them for publication, to further the object which his Introduc- tion shows that he has so closely at heart. I would that the xiv Preface result of my labours were more worthy of his imprimatur, and better calculated to illustrate the principles which he seeks to establish. For the manifold writings, both ancient and modern, to which I am indebted, I must direct the reader to the marginal references, and the notes which are subjoined to the several "portions." I have, I trust, as a rule acknowledged any obligation that seemed to call for acknowledgment. The frequent reference to the Talmud and Mishnah will show that many illustrations have been taken from Hebrew Literature. This happily is becoming an attractive source of information to all students of the Gospel History ; and we would fain believe that the day is for ever closed when " Jews refused to teach those who were not of their faith," and when, almost worse still, too many Churchmen "desired nothing better than the entire suppression of Jewish learning." In this branch of my studies I, in common with many of this generation at Cambridge, owe a large debt of gratitude for the self-denying labours of a Tutor, the Rev. P. H. Mason, who almost single-handed kept alive the study of Hebrew in the University. For special assistance in preparing this book, I offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Schiller-Szinessy, the Reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature at Cambridge. He has been ready at all times to place his copious stores of Jewish knowledge at my service ; I have never applied to him for information without obtaining all that I required. Almost all the passages quoted from Hebrew authorities in the following pages, I have read with him in the originals, and we have verified together every reference. I trust therefore that the Jewish in- formation, as far as it goes, will be accepted with confidence. Two friends, the Archdeacon of Sudbury, and one of my brother chaplains, the Rev. H. F. St. John of Dinmore, have also kindly undertaken to revise the proof-sheets, and I am indebted to them for many suggested improvements made in the course of their revision. Preface xv The troublesome and usually uninteresting task of com- piling an Index has been converted into a labour of love in the hands of my eldest daughter. I believe it will be found very fairly exhaustive, and will largely contribute to the con- venience of the reader. No one can realise more strongly than myself how open to criticism these pages are. I have probably aimed at far too much in attempting to adapt them to the threefold purpose stated on the Title-page. I cannot but think that they will be found useful for private study and for family reading ; but I dare not feel confident that they will answer the main end for which they have been written, and awaken in the Clergy a desire to cultivate more largely the office of " teaching," which can only be neglected with harm and loss to the Church. If they fail, I shall still be able to look back to many hours of delightful, and, I hope, not unprofitable, study of the Life of Him " in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." I pray that they may meet with acceptance only in proportion as they tend to the best interests of the Church, and the greater glory of God. H. M. L. College, Ely, myz JFeagt of ait §>antts$, 1884. CONTENTS i. Characteristics of S. Mark's Gospel ii. The Preaching of the Baptist hi. The Baptism of Jesus iv. Our Lord's Temptation . v. The Call of the Apostles . vi. The Synagogue at Capernaum vii. S. Peter's Wife's Mother viii. The Leper Cleansed ix. The Paralytic Cured . x. The Call of Levi ..... xi. The Principle of Fasting xii. The Disciples in the Corn-fields xiii. The Withered Hand, xiv. The Ordination of the Twelve . xv. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost xvi. The Lord's Brethren xvii. The Parable of the Sower . xviii. The Parable of the Sower explained xix. The Gradual Growth of the Seed xx. The Parable of the Mustard-Seed xxi. The Stilling of the Storm . CH i. VER. 1 PAGE i. 2-6 6 i. 7-n 11 i. 12-13 15 i. j 4-20 20 i. 21-28 25 i. 29-35 30 i. 36-45 34 ii. 1-12 33 ii. 13-17 43 ii. 18-22 47 ii. 23-28 5i iii. 1-6 55 iii. 7-19 60 iii. 20-30 65 iii. 31-35 70 iv. 1-12 75 iv. 13-25 80 iv. 26-29 84 iv. 3o-34 S 9 iv. 35-41 94 Contents xxii. The Demoniacs of Gadara xxiii. The Herd of Swine destroyed xxiv. The Raising of Jairus' Daughter v xxv. The Woman with an Issue of Blood xxvi. The Carpenter at Nazareth . xxvii. The Mission of the Twelve . xxviii. Herodias and her Daughter xxix. The Feeding of the Five Thousand xxx. Walking upon the Sea . xxxi. Tradition of the Elders . vi. 53-56 xxxii. Further Traditionalism . xxxiii. The Syrophenician Woman . xxxiv. The Deaf Man with Stammering Tongue xxxv. The Feeding of the Four Thousand xxxvi. The Demand for a Sign . xxxvn. The Blind Man at Bethsaida xxxviii. S. Peter's great Confession . xxxix. Bearing the Cross .... xl. The Scene of the Transfiguration xli. The Lessons of the Transfiguration xlii. The Demoniac Boy .... xliii. The Jealousy of the Apostles xliv. Avoiding Offences .... xlv. The Law of Divorce xlvi. The Authority for Infant Baptism xlvii. The Rich Young Ruler . xlviii. The Ambitious Request of SS. James and John .... xlix. Blind Bartima:us at Jericho . l. The Triumphal Entry CH. VER. PAGE V. I-IO 99 V. II-20 104 21-24, 35-43 109 V. 25-34 114 vi. 1-6 119 vi. 7-13 124 vi. 14-29 129 vi. 30-44 134 vi. 45-52 140 56, vii. 1-8 145 vii. 9-23 151 vii. 24-30 156 E vii. 31-37 161 . viii. i-9 165 . viii. 10-21 170 . viii. 22-26 174 . viii. 27-33 178 . viii. 34-38 183 ix. 1-4 187 ix. 5-13 192 ix. 14-29 197 ix. 30-41 202 ix. 42-50 207 X. 1-12 211 X 13-16 216 X 17-31 220 ES X 32-45 225 X 46-52 230 xi ill 235 Contents xix CH. LI. The Withered Fig-tree . . . xi. 12-14, lii. The Cleansing of the Temple , . xi. liii. Our Lord's Authority . , . xi. liv. The Parable of the Vineyard . . xii. lv. The Tribute-Money xii. lvi. Sadducean Difficulties .... xii. lvii. The Great Commandment . . . xii. lviii. David's Son and Lord ; and the Widow's Mite lix. The Fall of Jerusalem foretold . lx. Further Predictions lxi. The Prediction of the End . lxii. The Gift of Mary of Bethany lxiii. The Last Supper .... lxiv. The Sacrificial Aspect of the Holy Eucharist ,...,. xiv. lxv. S. Peter warned xiv. lxvi. Gethsemane ..,..„ xiv. lxvii. The Betrayal and Arrest . „ , xiv. lxviii. The Examination before Annas [Sup- plementary] . . . S. John xviii. 12-13, lxix. Before an Informal Court . . . xiv. lxx. S. Peter's Fall ..-,,. xiv. lxxi. Before the Sanhedrim . . . xv. lxxii. Before Pilate the first time, and [Supplementary] before Herod . . xv. and S. Luke xxiii. lxxiii. The Final Trial and the Condemna- tion ....... xv. lxxiv. The Mock Investiture, and bearing the Cross xv. VER. PAGE 20-26 240 15-19 244 27-33 249 1- 12 254 13-17 259 18-27 264 28-34 269 xii. 35-44 274 xiii. xiii. xiii. xiv. xiv. 1-13 279 14-23 285 24-37 290 -11 295 12-21 300 22-25 306 26-31 313 32-42 318 43-52 323 19-24 329 53-65 334 66-72 338 1 343 2-5 8-12 349 6-15 355 16-22 360 xx Contents CH. VER. PAGE lxxv. At the Place of Execution . . . xv. 23-32 366 lxxvi. "He gave up the Ghost" . . . xv. 33-38 371 lxxvii. Laid in the Grave xv. 39-47 376 lxxviii. The Devout Women .... xvi. 1-8 381 lxxix. Three Appearances on the Day of the Resurrection xvi. 9-14 386 lxxx. The Manifestation in Galilee ; and the Ascension xvi. 15-20 391 Index . 397 Characteristics? of &♦ ®$avk f $ (Bogpel S. Mark i. i The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The authority upon which the Gospel Histories are based is a subject of special attraction and interest. This is not because it has been assailed by hostile critics, for by far the majority of Christians are ready to accept the united testimony of the early Fathers and Doctors, and the decrees of the Church assembled in Council. But most men feel that, without surrendering in any degree their deference to antiquity, they have a right to work out for themselves the arguments upon which the several Gospels were admitted into the Canon of Scripture. Now, touching the veracity of the first and the last, there could never have been any doubt from the moment that their authorship was admitted. S. Matthew and S. John had been eye-witnesses from the beginning to the end, and they were of the number of those to whom a promise was given of super- natural direction and help in recalling forgotten facts. The other two, though written by men who were neither companions of Jesus nor heirs of the same promise, were indirectly influenced to a large extent by those who were so privileged. S. Luke, without claiming to have witnessed our Lord's life, tells us that he had made it a subject of deep research, and followed with careful attention what the Apostles had told him. Furthermore, he was generally believed to have written B 2 Characteristics of chap, i under the guidance of S. Paul, 1 who was placed on a level of authority with the Twelve through visions and revelation. S. Mark was even more largely influenced, and that, by the very chief of the Apostles. The tie that bound him first to S. Peter was one of spiritual sonship. Converted probably by what he heard in his mother's house from the Apostle's lips, he continued in after times, with certain interruptions of longer or shorter duration, to sit at his feet and receive his teaching upon Sacred History. There is an unbroken testimony from the earliest age to his having filled the office of " interpreter " to S. Peter. The expression, it is true, admits of various shades of meaning, but can hardly imply less than that he was associated with him in literary work, and became the exponent of his mind. This would supply to the Evangelist much that he missed from not being an " eye-witness and minister of the word." This influence may be traced in the following manner. S. Mark himself, except on rare occasions, 2 could not have been in our Lord's company, and yet many of the scenes described in his Gospel betray the hand of an eye-witness. It will suffice to notice a few examples. There is first the oft- recurring " immediately," 3 or one of its equivalents, bespeak- ing the presence of the writer. There are unimportant details which would catch at once the eye of a spectator: — The paralytic was " borne by four " men. " They took him even as he was." " He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on the pillow." " Neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf." They " sit down by companies upon the green grass." " They found the colt tied at the door without, at a place where two ways met." " His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can 1 Besides direct notices in the Fathers of the connection between them, we would refer to a close affinity in their conception of the universality of the message of redemption and forgiveness, and to coincidences such as are found in their accounts of the Institution of the Eucharist. 2 John Mark was the son of one Mary, who lived at Jerusalem, and may well therefore have seen Jesus from time to time. If, moreover, S. Mark xiv. 51, 52 is an account of what happened to himself, then he certainly was an eye-witness of one of the closing scenes. 3 evdvs is translated in the Authorised Version by a variety of English words: "forthwith," "presently," "anon," "straightway," " bye and bye," and "immediately." Something is certainly lost by such capricious renderings. 5. Mark's Gospel white them." " He commanded that something should be given her to eat." Added to all these are the numerous references to the expression of our Lord's countenance upon divers occasions. Now it will be observed that some of these details belong to scenes where only the chosen Three were present; and that of these S. Peter was the source of the information admits of little doubt when other circumstances are considered. Great prominence is given throughout to his faults and failings, while much that redounds to his credit is carefully suppressed. For instance, S. Mark records our Lord's severe rebuke, " Get thee behind Me, Satan," but passes over the splendid eulogy that preceded : " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." Again, it is surely not accidental that he mentions in the account of the Apostle's denial the two warnings given by the two cock- crowings. It was an aggravation of his guilt that he should have fallen in the face of a double hindrance. One more testimony to Petrine influence is found in the scene in the courtyard of the High Priest's palace. All the Evangelists speak of S. Peter being with the servants ; S. John adds that he warmed himself; but S. Mark and S. Luke 1 preserve a very significant detail, the meaning of which is lost in the English version, " at the fire." It is rather " with his face to the light." The circumstance was well remembered by S. Peter as that which most probably led the bystanders to recognise and detect him. All this affords convincing proof of what the Fathers have handed down, and satisfies us as to the source of the Evangelist's authority for what he wrote. Now it is worth while to discover the object which the writer kept mainly in view. In the mystic pages of Ezekiel there is a wonderful vision of " four living creatures," — a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. They were interpreted in early 1 At first sight the fact that this is common to SS. Mark and Luke weakens the argument, but it is worthy of notice that there are incidents peculiar to these two Evangelists, which are most easily explained on the supposition that they were the result of their communication with each other when together, as we find they were, from Colossians iv. 10-14, an d Philemon 24. Such a detail as the mention of the blaze of the fire leading to S. Peter's detection, if told to S. Luke by S. Mark, would be sure to impress itself on his memory. 4 Characteristics of chap, i Christian times as typical of the four Gospels, 1 which represent the Humanity, the Royalty, the Priesthood, and the Divinity of Jesus Christ. But there has been considerable diversity in the appropriation of the several emblems — mainly, however, in respect of the first two. S. Augustine had no hesitation in assigning the Lion to S. Matthew and the man to S. Mark ; but S. Jerome with a singular want of discernment adopted the reverse. Then Christian Art came in and indorsed the view of the latter. The building of the great Cathedral in the Piazza at Venice, 2 with which S. Mark's name is indissolubly linked, and the adoption of " the Lion of S. Mark " as its crest by the Venetian Senate, stereotyped the mistake for centuries. We pass by the manifold marks of Royalty, 3 which may be found in the first Gospel, and content ourselves with discover- ing traces of the Humanity in every part of the second. It is true that S. Mark begins with the confession that Jesus was " the son of God," which won for his father in the faith that glorious eulogy, 4 but it is followed by numberless incidents and expressions which show how he loved to dwell upon the Human and Personal side of His character. He notices again and again the lights and shadows that passed over His Face: — "He looked round about." "He looked round about upon all things." "He looked upon them with anger." "Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him." (There must have been something in His expression which revealed His yearn- ing.) So, too, he records His human feelings : — " He sighed." " He sighed deeply in His spirit." He was "moved with com- 1 They were referred to other things also, of which there is a full account in Is. Williams on Study of the Gospels, ch. ii. Some Fathers went so far as to regard them as directly prophetical of the Evangelists ; but it is safer to accept them as typical or emblematical. The Lion, as king of beasts, and as belonging to the "royal tribe of Judah " (Rev. v. 5), symbolises Christ's Sovereignty ; the ox, as the sacrificial victim, the Atoning Sacrifice made by the Great High Priest ; the eagle, as flying in the heavens, the Divine Life. 2 Venetian merchants are said to have brought S. Mark's relics from Alexandria in 815 A. D. , and his legendary history has been perpetuated in endless pictures, and not infrequently with the emblem of the Lion. 3 The " Regal" character of the first Gospel is illustrated especially by the Genealogy through a line of kings, by the numerous parables of the " kingdom," and by an air of authority assumed throughout by our Lord, not to name a variety of details, for which cf. Is. Williams. 4 The words are absent from the Sinaitic MS. .S. Mark ' s Gospel passion." Again, is there no reference to His weariness, in the observation, "They took Him even as He was in the ship " ? none to His human tenderness, in the picture of His taking the little children in His arms ? It has been observed also that "His condescension to human infirmities, His coming down to meet our weakness," is especially marked in two miracles of healing recorded by S. Mark alone. While then in S. Matthew we bow the knee with the Eastern kings before Him Who was born " King of the Jews" ; while we read the charter of our salvation in the pages of S. Luke ; while we soar with S. John on his eagle wings into the very highest heaven, and realise the Pre-existence of the Word, it is to S. Mark more especially that we turn for the life of Him Who was "touched with a feeling of our infirmities," Who, as the Perfect Man, has left us an example that we should follow His steps. II %\)t ^reacljing of tlje Baptist S. Mark i. 2-6 2. As it is written in the prophets, remission of sins. 5. And there Behold, I send My messenger before went out unto him all the land of Thy face, which shall prepare Thy Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and way before Thee. 3. The voice of were all baptized of him in the river one crying in the wilderness, Pre- of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6. pare ye the way of the Lord, make And John was clothed with camel*s His paths straight. 4. John did hair, and with a girdle of a skin baptize in the wilderness, and preach about his loins ; and he did eat the baptism of repentance for the locusts and wild honey. We often speak of a "royal road," or '-'king's highway," by which we mean one that has been prepared beforehand, from which all obstacles have been removed, to assure a smooth and easy journey for the king or noble whenever he under- takes it. Such a highway Isaiah seven centuries before had predicted should be made for the King of kings : " Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low : and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." Malachi had taken up his parable, and repeated the declaration : " Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me," and had closed the scroll of ancient prophecy with the words, " Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet." 1 1 "The Tishbite" found its way into the LXX. version, and appeared to imply the return of the personal Elijah rather than the advent of one who should come in the likeness of his spirit. For the geography of Thisbe, and the correctness of reading in 1 Kings xvii. 1, cf. Smith's Bib. Diet, in loc. ch. i. v. 2-6 The Preaching of the Baptist 7 From that day onward the Jews have lived and still live in expectation of the prophet's return. 1 They place a splendid chair for him at the rite of Circumcision, and set the door wide open to welcome him. The noblest cup is filled for him on the first two nights of the Passover. When treasures are found which no one claims, they are put aside, and if pre- plexing difficulties arise, they are left " till Elijah comes," who will restore and settle all things. Just when this eager hope had reached its highest pitch, He by Whose Providence everything happens at the right and at no other time, caused His servant, John the Baptist, " to be wonderfully born," and to grow up " in the spirit and power of Elias," as the forerunner of His kingdom. The points of resemblance between the two prophets are very striking. All that we are told of Elijah's early years is summed up in the words, " Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead : " but brief as they are, they are full of suggestion. Gilead was "a rocky region," a land of forests rather than of cities, isolated from the rest of Pales- tine. It was in such separation and exclusion that he was trained, and taught to stand alone, against the days when he would be called to confront a profligate court, and con- tend single-handed with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. So with the Baptist ; all that is recorded of his life during the thirty years' probation for his office is gathered into a single verse : " The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel." And when he came forth to his work he revived at once the recollections of Elijah. Like him in his rough exterior — "the long-haired man with a leathern girdle" 2 — with the same spareness of diet, the same endurance of hardness and poverty, the same fearless, undaunted courage. And just as the elder prophet had gained his strength in retirement, so John had realised amid the awful stillness of his desert life the greatness and nearness 1 Edersheim, vol. ii. App. viii., has collected a mass of Rabbinic tradition about the prophet. 2 Literally "a lord of hair." In LXX. dvdpuiros 8aavs. "Leathern" is simply " of skin," as always elsewhere. 8 The PreacJiing of the Baptist chap, i of God. Though he knew that he " had no friend but God," the consciousness of His friendship was just that without wh'~h he would have been impotent for his work ; and we can well believe that it made itself felt. Like the after-glow of the Divine Presence on the Lawgiver's face, fresh from com- muning in the mount, it inspired the people with awe, and held them spell-bound when he spoke. Now, apart from his resemblance to the expected prophet, what was the secret of his influence ? For there is no question that he exercised a marvellous fascination over his country- men. We may sum it up by the word " reality." In an age of hollowness and hypocrisy never equalled before or since, such a characteristic was bound to startle men and arrest their attention. The Baptist, if any one, practised what he preached. His protest against sin was embodied in his example. Take a single illustration from his habit and dress. He came to denounce luxury and soft clothing and sumptuous fare, and he was a living example of the austerity which he called for. And how many preachers have been prompted to imitate him ! SS. Martin and Dominic, and Anselm and Boromeo, and a host of others, have themselves worn the same externals of severity, as the surest way of recommending the self-denial they sought to inculcate. And though such asceticism is deprecated in the nineteenth century, history bears abundant witness to its power in the past. It was from a hard life in the desert that SS. Gregory Nazianzen and Basil came forth to preach with such success ; and Simon Stylites was by no means a solitary instance to show how men of active lives and varied occupations, how even kings, burdened with imperial cares, were eager to seek counsel and direction from a lonely and austere ascetic. So when the Baptist came, men were drawn irresistibly to his feet. 1 "There went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan." It was a mixed multitude of almost every class. The other 1 "The idea of the wilderness was sacred to the Jews." " From it," say the Rabbis, ''came the Law, the Tabernacle, the Sanhedrim, the Priesthood, and the office of the Levites. Even the kingship, and indeed every good gift which God granted to Israel, came from the desert." Quoted by Geikie, i, 392 ; also by Sepp. ii. 41. v. 2-6 The Preaching of the Baptist 9 Evangelists help us to realise its heterogeneous character. There were Pharisees, 1 whose scrupulous routine of external observance had woven around them a web of self-sati* led pride ; and Sadducees, whose reaction from superstition had landed them in a cold and heartless infidelity. Among these there would be followers of Shammai, cleaving to tradition and rigidly orthodox ; sympathisers also with his opponent Hillel, just emerging from that slavery to the letter which had taken the very life out of their religion. 2 There were soldiers, too, who, through the lawless rapacity of their generals, had learned to think only of loot and plunder ; and the hated publicans, 3 with their overreaching and fraudulent exactions, the byword for all that was lowest and most contemptible — all were there, and for all he had the same message, " Repent." The Rabbis have a wonderful comment on the import of that message. " If," they say, "Israel would repent, they would be redeemed." His voice was like an earthquake, " the wrath to come," "the uplifted axe," and it sent a shudder, as well it might, through the whole land. It was the echo of what Daniel had heard : " I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven : he cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches." God knows whether history is repeating itself, and the national vices of another country are preparing a similar judg- ment to that from which S. John would have saved Jerusalem. There are terrible revelations of a spreading unbelief — active and determined unbelief — and they are such as to make every 1 S. Luke vii. 30 implies that they did not submit to the Rite of Baptism. 2 The above distinction is not always so marked, and instances are quoted from Edujoth (of the Mishnah) to show that sometimes Hillel was more severe than Shammai. They were the last of the five "Couples " who filled up the interval between the death of Simon the Just, the last of the Great Synagogue, and the Advent of our Lord. 3 In the Greek the title is reXdprjs, a contractor for the revenue, a term equally applicable to the equestrian capitalists at Rome, who made the contract in the first instance, as to the native tax-gatherers, to whom they sub- let them. The term " publican " arose from paying the sum in publicum, i.e. the Treasury at Rome, which was done by the Roman knights, not by the provincial collectors. The retention of the term, therefore, in the Revised Translation is unfortunate, apart from the modern acceptation of it, io The Preaching of the Baptist ch. r. r. 2-6 thoughtful Englishman fall upon his knees and pray God for a second Baptist to startle us to repentance. " Life is real, life is earnest." That was the burden alike of the preacher's precept and example ; and just in proportion as individuals acknowledge the obligation to make it such, will the world be ready to welcome the returning Lord with the cry, " Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for Him, and He will save us : this is the Lord ; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Ill ^Ije Baptism of 3le$ug S. Mark i. 7-1 i 7. And preached, saying, There eth of Galilee, and was baptized of cometh One mightier than I after me, John in Jordan. 10. And straight- the latchet of Whose shoes I am not way coming up out of the water, He worthy to stoop down and unloose. saw the heavens opened, and the 8. I indeed have baptized you with Spirit like a dove descending upon water: but He shall baptize you with Him: 11. and there came a voice the Holy Ghost. from heaven, saying, Thou art My 9. And it came to pass in those beloved Son, in Whom I am well days, that Jesus came from Nazar- pleased. It was a time of eager expectation, and the news that a prophet had appeared wrought the people's hopes to the highest pitch ; and when John stood by the banks of the Jordan, and with a voice of power and persuasion called upon them to wash and be clean, " there went out unto him all the land of Judaea." But he would not have his mission misunderstood ; his was only a symbolical 1 washing of water ; it was to be followed, if their repentance were true, by a baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit, which should purge the conscience and make them new creatures. His work was preparatory. Great as he might seem to them, he was as far inferior to his Successor as a slave is below his master ; he was not even fit to carry His shoes or untie their latchet. 2 1 Just as in the Mosaic Dispensation it was enjoined that no one might appear in the Presence of God till he had washed in the Laver at the door of the Tabernacle, so the open Advent of God among men must be preceded by a mighty cleansing from the defilement of sin. 2 It was the part of the slave to attend upon his master at the bath, and to 12 The Baptism of Jesus chap, i The words had scarcely passed his lips when the Greater than he appeared ; ay, He was in their midst all the time, and neither he 1 nor they knew it. "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptized of him." 2 The Baptist was staggered by the bare thought that He, Whose forerunner he was — for Whom he had just declared his unworthiness to perform the most menial office — should seek at his hands the baptism of repentance — the baptism of sinners. No wonder that "he forbad Him," and exclaimed, " I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? " Now it is not possible for us to understand the whole mystery of this act, but we may reverently consider some of the motives which prompted the amazing condescension. First, then, it may have been to consecrate water for the remission of sins. Just as the brooding of the Spirit of God upon the face of the waters at the first creation reduced order out of chaos, and prepared that element for all the purifica- tions of the first Dispensation ; so when the moral re-creation of the world was inaugurated the operation of the same Blessed Agent, descending upon our Lord in the river Jordan, sanctified water to the mystical washing away of sin. Again, it may have been that He designed thereby to be made one with His brethren, or to taste for their sakes at the outset of His ministry that curse of sin which he felt in all its intolerable burden at the close, before he cried, " My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me ? " We know that He had no sins to confess, no stains of a guilty conscience to wash away, for " He was holy, harmless, and undefiled ; " but that He might be " touched with a feeling of our infirmities," He mixed with a crowd of sin-laden perform these menial duties. The connection is well expressed in the oft- misinterpreted passage, Ps. lx\, ' ' Moab is my wash-pot ; over Edom will I cast out my shoe." Moab and Edom are both to be reduced to a menial condition. He will wash his feet in the one and toss his shoes to the other. 1 It is a question how far the Baptist knew Jesus personally before the Baptism. The chief texts bearing upon the subject are S. Matt. iii. 14 and S. John i. 31-33. Cf. Mill on Pantheistic Principles, ii. 1-5. 2 The traditional sites of the Baptism are about two hours' walk from Jericho. The Greek and Latin Churches have fixed upon separate sites, separated from each other two or three miles. Pilgrims flock thither to bathe from all parts. Cf. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 615. v. 7-1 1 The Baptism of Jesus 13 souls, and, as though He were Himself a sinner, sought a sinner's cleansing in the baptism of repentance. Another motive He has expressly revealed. When the Baptist shrank back from an act that at first must have seemed nothing short of a profanation, his hesitation was overcome by the request, " Suffer it to be so now : for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." " I come," He seems to say, " to set an example of perfect obedience, and whatsoever the Father has laid upon Me of duty and requirement that will I do." "Thus it be- cometh us." He does not say, "Thus it is necessary," for that would have implied that He needed cleansing. All that was incumbent upon Him was a perfect acquies- cence in His Father's Will. It is true the Law had pro- vided no Baptism of repentance, but if, as He knew, the Baptism of John was "of heaven," He was as much bound to accept this, as were Moses or Aaron any of those Levitical ordinances which God had expressly enjoined. And yet once more, underlying this resolution of obedience was the consciousness of a deep humiliation. His whole life from Bethlehem to Golgotha was one unbroken course of self-abasement; but it reached its lowest depth in His Baptism. To have every word misinterpreted, every act, even of mercy and compassion, misconstrued ; to be accused of working through the very agency which He came to tread under foot, — all this must have been most galling to hear; but to be told that by His Own confession He was a sinner, one with publicans and harlots, and that by His Own act and deed He admitted His guilt, and sought to have it removed, — such self-abasement is more than man can either measure or conceive. And in this consummate act He did indeed "fulfil all righteousness," for humiliation is the very keynote of the religion which He came to enforce and illustrate. It was the conviction of this that led S. Augustine to appeal so earnestly to his friend to submit to the discipline of Christ and fortify himself by the self-same exercise. " Demos- thenes," he said, "when asked what was the first rule of oratory, replied, ' Pronunciation,' and when asked for the second rule, replied, ' Pronunciation,' and being asked again 14 The Baptism of Jesus ch. i. v. 7-1 i for the third, still answered, 'Pronunciation.' So if you should put question after question to ascertain the precepts of Christianity, I should tell you that I cared for nothing but self-abasement, though I might possibly be obliged to mention other things." Now, if we need encouragement, we may find it in the fact that the submission of our Lord was immediately followed by a signal manifestation of Divine favour. 1 Straightway coming up out of the water, " He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him : and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." He saw, and the Baptist saw, but not the bystanders. It was doubtless, as with S. Stephen, who "saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God," while to the unpurged eyes of the wicked persecutors no such vision was vouchsafed, for spiritual things are discerned only by spiritual men. Now it will be well for us to remember that our great Example was most highly exalted just when His humiliation was deepest ; that it was when He had made Himself one with the sons of men that He was declared to be the Son — the beloved Son — of God. It is a pledge that the lowly submissive spirit will be greatly sanctified, and that there is no surer way to win the approval of God than by yielding our wills to the authority of those set over us by the Lord, and striving to carry out the rules of the Church in the spirit of Him Who accepted at once what His Father had appointed. " God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." 1 There was an old tradition that, in addition to the attesting signs men- tioned in Holy Scripture, "a fire was kindled over Jordan." Cf. Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph. 88 ; Epiphanius, Hasr. xxx, 13. IV £Dur JLoW& temptation S. Mark i. 12, 13 12. And immediately the Spirit forty days, tempted of Satan ; and driveth Him into the wilderness. 13. was with the wild beasts; and the And He was there in the wilderness angels ministered unto Him. There is a special attraction for us in the story of our Lord's Temptation, and it lies in this : it is the one page which He must have written, as it were, by His Own hand ; a personal revelation of what no human eye but His Own could possibly have witnessed. His miracles and sermons had been seen or heard by many, and the memory of them was cherished and handed down from mouth to mouth ; but that strange conflict with the Evil One — that triple wrestling with His ghostly enemy — it was witnessed by no earthly spectator. Alone He had trodden the winepress of temptation ; alone He had vanquished His foe, and He alone could repeat to the Apostle or Evangelist its wonderful history. And we feel quite sure that of all the marvels they were called upon to record, nothing could have filled them with such amazement as this revelation from His Own lips. Now it would be no little satisfaction if we could identify the scene, but it is surrounded with uncertainty. It may have been the wilderness of Jericho, the Quarantania of later days, that region of barren limestone rock with its endless fissures and caverns, where hermits have often fled from the world, where year after year pious pilgrims encamped for penance 1 6 Our Lord *s Temptation chap, i and prayer, because they believed that a vivid realisation of their Saviour's victory would make resistance easier and deliverance more certain. 1 Or it may have been that He was carried by the Spirit into the more distant desert of Arabia, to the scene of Elijah's preternatural fast of forty days, where Moses also had tarried in the mount for a like period, and "did neither eat bread nor drink water;" and this would complete the analogy. The Three who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration had each inaugurated a vast Dis- pensation ; each had been prepared for the work by the same miraculous fast, and in the same silent and secluded spot. But wherever the desert lay, what was it that Jesus Christ was subjected to ? S. Mark is very brief in his description, but it is most suggestive. " He was with the wild beasts." Is this only one of those graphic touches which this vivid writer so often gives us? Was it a forcible way of describing a total absence of human sympathy ? No doubt it served this purpose, but this was not all. When we recognise the correspondence between this and Adam's temptation, our thoughts fly at once to Paradise, and we remember that he too was with the wild beasts, and that God had given him dominion over them, and that during the brief duration of his innocence he must have exercised it unfearing and unfeared. And we fancy we can see in this short but pregnant sentence a hint that He Who came to inaugurate an era of restoration, and bring back the times of man's innocence, was not unmindful of the lower creatures and their subjection to vanity. It was a promise of what should one day come to pass when broken harmonies should be restored, and the prediction of Eliphaz receive its fulfil- ment, and man "should be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field should be at peace with him." It matters little that we can point to no evidence of its accomplishment as yet, because with the Lord "a thousand years are but as one day, and one day as a thousand years." There is no question that the hope was created, and that it laid hold upon the mind of the early Christians, in support of 1 Thomson testifies that Copts and Abyssinians occasionally visit the place now for the same purpose. v. i2-i3 Our Lord's Temptation 17 which we have the testimony of the Catacombs, 1 where our Lord is so frequently represented in the character of Orpheus attracting wild animals of divers kinds by the sound of his lyre. The same was perpetuated by later legends, which made the surpassing goodness of S. Francis throw a spell of mysterious influence, not only over his fellow-creatures, but over birds of the air and beasts of the field. Of the Temptation itself S. Mark speaks with even more than his usual brevity. We are obliged to look for the details to S. Matthew and S. Luke. From them we find that Jesus was tried at every point. Three forms of temptation only are spoken of, but they are intended to embrace all that man is liable to. They were the same that were presented to Adam — " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." " Command that these stones be made bread." The appetite craves for food : give rein to the indulgence of your lower nature ; if you cannot satisfy it in one way, have recourse to another; you may not always be able to choose your mode of subsistence, but you must obtain it somehow. "Cast Thyself down" from the pinnacle. 2 Make an ostentatious display of your power and win the admiration of men. " All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." Seek wealth and power; you know not what influence they will give you in the world ; have no scruples, therefore, about the means — think only of the end. Or we may look at them in another light, as persuasive of mistrust, presumption, and avarice. Of mistrust : God has forgotten you — take care of yourself, for is not self-preservation a duty incumbent upon every one ? Of presumption : If you are a Christian you will be safe, 1 Cf. Catacombs of Rome, by the author of The Buried Cities of Campania, 145 ; Stanley's Eastern Church, Lect. vi. ; and the Author's observations in After ipeath, 83, 84. 2 This may have been either on the aroa. /3acrt\i«:r/, from which the descent into the valley was most precipitous. It would have been a most appropriate spot if the Temptation was simply to test His supernatural power ; but if it had for its object a public display of it, then it was more probably an apex of the building overlooking one of the Courts of the Israelites, about 200 feet high. C 1 8 Our Lord's Temptation chap, i do what you will and go where you may ; 1 it was in view of this that a guardian angel was appointed to keep you from falling. Of avarice : If you have set your heart especially upon some one thing, be prepared to make a sacrifice to obtain it ; the principle of compensation runs through life. Such are the forms under which the Tempter tries the mettle of the Christian character of what sort it is ; and if he be met in the same spirit and with the same weapons as he was in the wilderness, the test will be satisfied S. Mark closes his account with the notice that "angels ministered unto Him." We find elsewhere that their ministra- tion only began when the Tempter left Him. They gave Him no support whilst He was passing through it, as in the Agony, but stood aloof as spectators of the struggle, waiting to see what Humanity was capable of, and only stepped in at the close to honour Him for His victory and enhance His satis- faction. Men share this blessed experience when they feel that inward sense of joy and peace which crowns every success in the conflict of life. An objection has been raised that as an example the Temptation of our Lord is a failure ; that it can be no real help to us, because by reason of His sinlessness successful resistance on His part was a foregone conclusion. The whole subject is full of mystery. Holy Scripture teaches, directly 2 and indirectly, 3 that He was incapable of sin, and also that He was tempted. They appear irreconcilable statements, but, like the doctrines of Freewill and Predestination, they will be 1 This will recall a familiar story. A Christian woman, trusting to be preserved by her principles, ventured into a place of a questionable character and came back " possessed." When the exorcist asked the evil spirit how he dared to enter into a Christian, his answer was, "Why not, when I found her upon my own ground ? " 2 Heb. iv. 15. 3 1st, The union of the Divine and Human involved impeccability, e.g. the Beatific Vision consequent upon such union is inconsistent with a capacity for sin. 2d, The Atonement necessitated the perfection of His Nature. The typical victim was free from all defects, either natural or accidental. The Antitype the same, Heb. vii. 26. Heb. ii. 17 must be read in connection with what follows. " In all things" is modified by the object to be attained, viz. the reconciliation of sinners, which can only be effected by a perfect Being. It seems impossible, therefore, that the posse non peccare can satisfy the requirements of the case, but non posse peccare alone. v. 12-13 Our Lord's Temptation fully harmonised when we see no longer "through a glass darkly." We can, however, obtain a glimpse at the reality of the Temptation. For instance, He was hungry ; l He had a human desire and craving for food, which nature prompted Him to gratify. Now it would have been easy for Him to turn the stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, as He satisfied the famished crowds in the wilderness ; but to do that under the circumstances at the bidding of the Tempter would be to act against the Will of God, which was the law of His life. Thus on one side there was a strong desire, albeit in no way a sinful one; on the other there were facilities for its gratification. It was a real temptation, and His victory lay in making the lower will bend to the higher. Possibly His example would have been more forcible and helpful, had He been capable of sin and triumphed over the tendency, but such a nature would have impaired the efficacy of the Atone- ment. The lesser would have been gained, the greater lost. 1 I owe this pertinent illustration to that very thoughtful and helpful book, Hutchings' The Mystery of the Temptation. %it Call of tie japogtleg S. Mark i. 14-20 14. Now after that John was put and I will make you to become fishers in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, of men. 18. And straightway they preaching the gospel of the kingdom forsook their nets, and followed Him. of God, 15. and saying, The time is 19. And when He had gone a little fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at farther thence, He saw James the son hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. of Zebedee, and John his brother, 16. Now as He walked by the sea who also were in the ship mending of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew their nets. 20. And straightway He his brother casting a net into the sea : called them : and they left their for they were fishers. 17. And Jesus father Zebedee in the ship with the said unto them, Come ye after Me, hired servants, and went after Him. Though it is manifest that the individual character of the Evangelist impressed itself upon all that he wrote, it is no less certain that he was supernaturally influenced to write what was best fitted to complete the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now it was foretold in the Old Testament that " the Com- ing One " would in His Own person represent the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king, and thereby, as gathering into one all who were consecrated by the anointing oil, prove an indefeasible right to the title of the Messiah, or Anointed. It could hardly then have been undesigned that while S. Mat- thew has kept mainly in view the Regal, and S. Luke the Priestly side of our Lord's character, 1 S. Mark should have opened the account of His ministry as a Preacher, which then at least was another name for Prophet. "After that John was put in prison, Jesus came into 1 Cf. p. 4. i4-2o The Call of the Apostles Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God." He had begun His mission in Judaea ; but we can easily under- stand that He would be anxious to remove to another scene. First, in all probability, He would be influenced by prudential reasons. Jerusalem was steeped in bigotry ; the priests and rulers must have been roused against Him, and were waiting an opportunity to compass His overthrow, as they did that of His forerunner ; for the cleansing of the Temple 1 showed them what they had to fear if He were suffered to proceed unchecked. Again, to have made Samaria the scene of His ministry, except so far as the exigences of travel should take Him there, was to alienate His countrymen. Persea also was out of the question. It was not only too secluded and thinly-peopled, but Herod Antipas was living at Machaerus 2 at the time. Had Jesus set foot in the neigh- bourhood, and lifted up His voice, it could only have been to brand him in the eyes of his subjects as an adulterer and a murderer, and the consequences would have been fatal. It was of vital importance that any serious check to His enterprise at the outset should be avoided. We may see traces of the same circumspect prudence in the fact that He seems never to have ventured to enter Tiberias, 3 where also Herod resided, and that He evaded him so successfully, that, notwithstanding the Tetrarch's great desire to see Him, they met for the first time only at the close. Excluded thus from Judaea, Samaria, and Peraea, He natu- rally found Himself in Galilee. No preacher or reformer could have wished for a better opening. " It was to Roman Palestine what the manufacturing districts are to England." It was the focus of the energy and industry of the whole country. Its lake, which was the centre of the northern trade and fisheries, from its contrast to the deserted shores of the Dead Sea, has been aptly called " the Sea of Life." 1 This cleansing had taken place at the opening of His ministry. For the distinctions between it and the last, cf. infra, chap. lii. 2 Machaerus was an almost impregnable fortress built on the south-eastern frontier of Peraea by Alexander Jannaeus, and strengthened by Herod the Great to overawe the Arab tribes. It was the favourite residence of Antipas. 3 Tiberias was built by Antipas, and made the capital of Galilee instead of Sepphoris. Agrippa II. changed back again to the old town. 22 The Call of the Apostles chap, i So it was that He came and preached to the eager, excitable Galileans, and the burden of His message was "the gospel of the kingdom of God." A kingdom implied not only a king, but subordinate officers, and He proceeded at once to the selection. Now the apparent abruptness of the Call of the Apostles has led to misconceptions of what really took place. They arise chiefly from the difficulty in discovering the true historic sequence of the earlier events. How many persons think that our Lord, as He passed by, seeing one here and another there, one in his boat, another at his custom-office, spake the words, " Follow Me," and it was done : without delay and without reserve they gave themselves up from that moment body and soul to His service. He might, of course, have fascinated them by such a sudden spell had He chosen, but it was not in accord with His usual mode of dealing with men ; and a little attentive study will show that some at least reached the Apostle- ship only by degrees and preparatory stages of careful training. There was first the admission to His personal acquaintance and friendship ; then followed the abandonment of their secular occupation for closer attendance upon His ministry ; and lastly the solemn ordination of those whom He finally selected, and their investiture with supernatural powers. S. Mark passes over in silence the first stage ; indeed none but S. John, who was one of the first to be attracted to our Lord, notice it ; and it is no matter of surprise that it should have been so. Knowing, as we do, how sacred first meetings come to be considered, when followed by momentous histories, we can easily understand how he should have cherished, even to old age, the recollection of what seemed to others an unim- portant event, because it had coloured his whole life. The first invitation to follow Him was only to occasional companionship, but He began at once to train them for some- thing more ; they witnessed the miracle at Cana of Galilee ; they were with Him at the first Passover, and they saw the marvellous exhibition of His power in the cleansing of the Temple. Then take the second stage, which S. Mark brings before us in this passage. They had returned to their occupation : "As He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and v. 14-20 The Call of the Apostles 23 Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers ; " but what they had witnessed had sunk down into their hearts. No doubt they often talked of it as they tossed upon the waves, and had fully prepared themselves for a further surrender, and so when He said, " Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men," " straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him ; " and we read no more of their fishing, 1 at least till after His death, when, think- ing their discipleship was over, they went back to their old calling. The second summons, then, led to an unbroken attendance upon our Lord, but time must yet elapse before their Ordination. They must hear in secret what they had to preach openly ; He must whisper in their ears the truths which they should pro- claim upon the housetops. And they had much to unlearn as well. They had a catholic message to deliver, and all narrow-minded Jewish ideas must be eradicated, and their hearts enlarged by the witness of a sympathy wide as the world itself. And they must see as well as hear — see the perfect life, that for which God had become Incarnate ; they must study every feature and lineament before they could be able to pro- claim Jesus, and be His witnesses to an unbelieving world. Into all this they were more or less initiated during this second stage. The company of followers and disciples grew considerably, and the final selection was made, as we shall find in the third chapter, from a wider circle. Now the Call of the Apostles suggests two considerations which have an important bearing upon our estimate of the Christian Ministry. The first is, that God should have condescended to associate with Himself human agents in carrying on a Divine work. The second, that He should have deliberately selected for the purpose such feeble helpers as ignorant peasants and poor fishermen. He has manifestly by the counsel of His Will determined that a duly called and ordained Ministry should be an essen- 1 The case mentioned in S. Matt. xvii. 27, where S. Peter was sent to fish with a view to finding a coin, was clearly exceptional. 24 The Call of the Apostles en. i. v. 14-20 tial part of His Church on earth. If ever there was a time when we might have expected Him to dispense with human agency, it was surely when He was Himself present among men in visible form ; but out of an amazing loving-kindness He preferred to give to men the honour and delight of being helpers with Him in the dispensation of grace ; and of all that have since lived and believed He still says, " I drew them with cords of a man, and with bands of love." Yet further, it is no less a law of His kingdom that He should work the grandest results by the simplest means ; and so He chooses "the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty," and He gives us the treasure of His grace and Sacraments " in earthen vessels, that the excel- lency of the power uiay be of God, and not of us." VI %l)t »>pnapg;ue at Capernaum S. Mark i. 21-28 21. And they went into Capernaum; Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold and straightway on the sabbath day thy peace, and come out of him. He entered into the synagogue, and 26. And when the unclean spirit had taught. 22. And they were astonished torn him, and cried with a loud at His doctrine : for He taught them voice he came out of him. 27. And as One that had authority, and not as they were all amazed, insomuch that the scribes. 23. And there was in they questioned among themselves, their synagogue a man with an un- saying, What thing is this? what clean spirit; and he cried out, 24. new doctrine is this? for with authority saying, Let us alone ; what have we commandeth He even the unclean to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of spirits, and they do obey Him. 28. Nazareth ? art Thou come to destroy And immediately His fame spread us? I know Thee Who Thou art, abroad throughout all the region the Holy One of God. 25. And round about Galilee. The synagogue carries us back for its origin to the land of the Exile. Cut off from the sacrificial worship of the Temple, devout Jews gathered together for prayer and hearing of the Law, and " little sanctuaries " were built for their meetings ; and after the Return from Captivity, though the statelier ritual of the Temple was restored, synagogues in towns and villages became an integral part of the ecclesiastical system. They claim our interest, not only from their association with our Lord's preaching and miracles, but as well from the fact that it was from "the eighteen prayers" 1 which were read therein 1 Wetstein on S. Matt. vi. refers the contents of the Lord's Prayer to private prayers used by the Jews ; but this is an opinion peculiar to himself. All the petitions have been identified by Freeman in spirit, if not in words, with some in the Shemoneh Esreh, except "as we forgive them," etc., which, he says, being strictly Christian, has no parallel. For this reason Jesus commented upon this, "For if ye forgive not," 26 TJie Synagogue at Capernaum chap, i daily except on the Sabbath, that Jesus drew the chief materials for that which the Christian Church has consecrated for daily use as " the Lord's Prayer." Now, of all the synagogues in Palestine, perhaps that at Capernaum is fullest of historic reference. Its erection at the sole expense of a large-hearted Roman soldier had earned for him the affection of the inhabitants, for when his servant was sick, they pleaded with Jesus on the ground that the peti- tioner was worthy of special consideration, because " he loved the people and built us the synagogue." x The discovery and identification of its ruins in later years have awakened no little attention, and have set at rest a long-standing dispute as to the site of Capernaum. 2 At Tell Hum, on the Lake, remains of a synagogue of unusual size and beauty have been excavated, the style of which belongs to the Herodian period of archi- tecture. It appears to have been a common custom to carve over the entrance of these buildings an emblem, which, as far as we know, with a single exception, was " the seven-branched candlestick," indicating that they were designed mainly for illumination or teaching. The exceptional instance is at Tell Hum. The lintel of the chief doorway has a carving in the centre, of " the pot of manna," 3 which is encircled with the etc. It was a new feature. This view, however, has been combated in the Journal of Philology, in an article by Dr. Schiller-Szinessy, on ' ' The Sources of Christian Prayers." The words "as we forgive them" are practically found in the Talmud. ' ' To whom does God forgive iniquity ? To him who overlooks a trespass" — i.e. If you forgive a little sin against yourself God will forgive you a great one. — Talm. Bab. Rosh Hasshanah 17 a. 1 In Greek the article is expressed. 2 The two sites about which the dispute has been are Khan Minyeh and Tell Hum, distant from each other about three miles. Accounts of the reasons for choosing one or the other are to be found in Ritter, ii. 273-278. In addition to the argument drawn from the coincidence given above, Tell Hum, " High hill," explains "Thou Capernaum, which art exalted," etc. It must surely have had a physical elevation to have suggested such a mode of describing its moral advantages. 3 This has been photographed in a series issued by the Society for the Exploration of Palestine. Such an uncommon emblem would attract our Lord's attention, and lead to the spiritual application of the manna, when the subject was broached. Much of His teaching was based upon objects immediately present. On this supposition a reason is found for His speaking by anticipation of the Holy Eucharist, which was not instituted till a year after ; the combination of the Vine and the Manna, so suggestive to Him Who knew the end from the beginning, led Him to dwell upon that which they fore- v. 21-28 The Synagogtie at Capernaum 27 vine and clusters of grapes. And it is this which enables us to identify " His Own city," as well as the building where He delivered one of His most important discourses. At the same time it helps to establish the catholic interpretation of His teaching on the occasion as anticipatory of the Holy Eucharist. "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead." " I am the Living Bread Which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." " These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum." It was in this building that our Lord spent the morning of His first Sabbath-day in Galilee, and He taught with such novel power that the people were filled with amazement. They had been used to the teaching of the Scribes, with their inter- minable details and puerilities, and their slavery to traditional interpretation. There was no freedom of thought or speech, no departure even by a hair's-breadth from the decisions of the doctors — nothing but the dry bones of Rabbinical exposition, and we are not surprised that when Christ came and spoke with " thoughts that breathed and words that burned," and drew His illustrations from the sights and sounds in which they lived and moved, the very freshness delighted them, and they exclaimed at the novelty and independence of His teaching. While Jesus was speaking, there was one in the con- gregation — a man of an unclean spirit — who was stirred beyond the rest by the things that he heard, and he filled the air with his wild cries and raving. It is the first mentioned of the many cases of " demoniacal possession " which fill the pages of the Gospels, but find scarcely a place in later histories. 1 Attempts have been made to explain away such a strange phenomenon. It has been supposed that our Lord spoke only in accommodation to a general but mistaken belief of the times, when He attributed some of the worst diseases to a shadowed, though circumstances forbade His giving the full explanation. This would be clear only when the Feast was instituted, and the thoughts of the disciples would revert to what He had said in the synagogue. 1 It is mentioned in Just. Mart. , Dial. c. Tryph. and Tertullian's Apology, and notices of exorcism are not infrequent ; but the evil is less and less noticed, and dies out altogether at an early period. For a full discussion, cf. Delitzsch, Biblical Psychology, 358-360, Eng. Tr. For further information on Demoniacal Possession, cf. infra, chap. xxii. 28 The Synagogue at Capernaum chap, i direct occupation of the bodies of the afflicted by evil spirits. It is quite true that " possession " and physical infirmities were often found in the same person, and naturally so, if we accept that teaching of Scripture which makes Satan the author of bodily as well as spiritual evil, of which we have illustrations in Job's blains and boils, or S. Paul's thorn in the flesh, 1 or the poor woman with the spirit of infirmity ; but no disease by itself, either of body or mind, however aggravated its form, can possibly satisfy the language of Scripture, and explain the double personality which is so patent in almost every recorded case. Look at the present instance. See how at one time the man, at another the evil spirit, rules his actions. He is described as "unclean;" like the rest he had found his dwelling in the tombs ; an overpowering influence had driven him away from the haunts of men, but now he comes back, struggling to assert the authority which he had lost, and in one of his better moments he had crept into the synagogue, hoping to find some peace and deliverance from his persecutor in the house of God. Had the evil power within him been undivided, it was the last place to which he would have suffered him to resort. How many have testified to the relief they have found in the services of the Church, and there alone, from temptations of the Evil One ! If it was under such an impulse as this that the demoniac entered the synagogue at Capernaum, he found even more than he hoped for — no mere temporary reprieve, but permanent security from the power of his tormentor. The foul spirit recognised the Presence of Him Who had come for the express purpose of treading Satan under His feet, and reasserting his overmastering influence upon the will of the possessed, he made him the mouthpiece of his terrible forebodings, " Ah ! 2 art Thou come to destroy us ? " but in the midst of his fear, albeit with an expression of contempt, " Thou Jesus the Nazarene," he pays Him the homage which the Jew by himself would have refused, " I know Thee Who Thou art, the Holy One of God." 1 For a full discussion, cf. Lightfoot, Galatians, pp. 169-175, in which he clearly establishes the belief that it was a bodily not spiritual infirmity. 2 ia is probably an interjection. It is omitted altogether in the majority of MSS. v. 21-28 The Synagogue at Capernaum 29 That our Lord at once delivered the poor man from this terrible possession was a natural consequence of the inter- ruption. It was the suffering with which He felt the keenest sympathy, and for which He brought the quickest relief. S. Mark alone of the Evangelists has preserved the rebuke, " Hold thy peace." It is full of stern severity, as well for the pretended homage, as for the accompanying contempt. From such a quarter He will brook neither the one nor the other. Had it been some poor sinful man, who in his ignorance had heaped reproachful titles on His head, He would have met them with the gentlest remonstrance ; or if such an one had recognised His Divine mission in the midst of prevailing unbelief, He would have hailed the confession with gladness ; but from the evil spirits, with all their determined antagonism and malignity, He would receive nothing. And herein what a contrast there is between His conduct and ours ! When we have an object in view, and it is a matter of importance, there is often far too little scruple about the means of attaining it. Any assistance is enlisted, perhaps cordially welcomed. If a Christian is enforcing the beauty of our Lord's life, he may press into his service the confession of one hostile to the Faith. It may be that he is able to quote from it some favourable testimony, and he seems to experience satisfaction at receiving it from such an unexpected quarter. But the principle is condemned by our Lord's rebuke in the synagogue at Capernaum, "Hold thy peace." Better to trust to its own inherent goodness than be impatient to support a righteous cause by questionable means. " The weapons of our warfare are not carnal," and if only they are kept free from worldliness, they will be powerful to the pulling down of all strongholds of the enemy, and for the defence and security of right and justice. VII &♦ peters QMiW$ ^otljcr S. Mark i. 29-35 29. And forthwith, when they were diseased, and them that were possessed come out of the synagogue, they with devils. 33. And all the city entered into the house of Simon and was gathered together at the door. Andrew, with James and John. 30. 34. And He healed many that were But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of sick of divers diseases, and cast out a fever, and anon they tell Him of many devils ; and suffered not the her. 31. And He came and took devils to speak, because they knew her by the hand, and lifted her up ; Him. and immediately the fever left her, 35. And in the morning, rising up and she ministered unto them. 32. a great while before day, He went And at even, when the sun did set, out, and departed into a solitary place, they brought unto Him all that were and there prayed. Very little has been preserved to us touching the home-life of the Apostles. A tradition in the Armenian Church speaks of all being married except S. Thomas and the two sons of Zebedee ; but whether true or not, it is unsupported by any general evidence. In this uncertainty, such a passage as that before us at once excites our interest. At all events, the chief of the Twelve was a married man. The name of his wife has come down to us as Concordia and Perpetua ; and a very touching incident in connection with her martyrdom has been narrated by two early writers of considerable importance. It is said that the Apostle, on seeing her led out to execution, rejoiced in the mighty privilege of which she was deemed worthy, and cheered her by words of endearment and consolation to meet her death with unfaltering courage. It was the mother of this holy woman who had fallen sick ch. i. v. 29-35 S. Peter s Wife's Mother 31 of a fever, 1 which S. Luke, with his accurate knowledge of disease, characterised as of no ordinary type of severity. Her friends and relations waylaid our Lord as He was leaving the synagogue service on the Sabbath morning, and summoned Him to her bedside. His very first act marked the tenderness of His nature. We know well what courage it seems to give us in our weakness to feel the touch of a strong hand ; it was doubtless for this purpose that He did not speak merely, but Himself lifted her up in the bed — "and immediately the fever left her." But though this may have been His first object, it could hardly have been the only one. He Who has taught us by deeds as well as words — from Whose mode 2 of working miracles we can learn almost as much as from what fell from His lips — He touched her, as He touched the leper and the daughter of Jairus, and a host of others who came to Him, in anticipation of the sacramental ordinances He had always in view. It was a way of showing the life-giving virtue which comes from contact with the Body of the Incarnate God, an anticipation of His promise, "Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life." "The fever left her, and she ministered unto them." It marks the completeness of the cure ; there was none of that weakness which is usually so trying when the fever subsides ; there was no period of convalescence for the gradual recovery of strength, but she felt herself at once in perfect health. Now it was quite natural that the fame of two such miracles as this and the cure of the demoniac should spread rapidly. The congregation when they broke up would carry far and wide the news of what they had seen in the synagogue ; and now the friends, whose anxiety for the fever-stricken patient had been so great, could ill conceal the joyful intelligence of the second restoration. 1 S. Luke calls it a " great " fever. This is supposed, from the use of the term in contemporary writers, to indicate a recognised type of fever, such as scarlet or typhus with us. We learn from travellers that a very malignant form of the disease is still prevalent in the marshy plains near Capernaum. Cf. Tristram, Land of Israel, 448 ; Thomson, The Land and the Book, 356. 2 S. Augustine has expressed this very beautifully in Tract xxiv. on S. John : " Interrogemus ipsa miracula, quid nobis loquantur de Christo ; habent enim, si intelligantur, linguam suam. Nam quia ipse Christus Verbum est, etiam factum Verbi verbum nobis est." 2,2 S. Peter s Wife's Mother chap, i But it was the Sabbath-day, and by the interpretation of the Law which the Scribes had taught, it was forbidden to attend to any but acute diseases ; chronic cases could wait ; and so we read that it was not till sunset, when, according to Jewish reckoning, the day ended, that the people generally availed themselves of His power to heal. "At even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils." It is far more likely that this, and not any desire to avoid the heat of the day, was the cause of the delay. Had they really believed what they had heard, they would never have stayed from fear of temporary inconvenience or a possible aggravation of disease. They would have felt that it was far better to insure the recovery, though it might be preceded by a brief increase of pain, than to risk His departure. But the fear of breaking the Sabbath had a very strong hold upon them, and so they let the weary hours pass before they turned into the streets and made their way to the house where He was staying. We can hardly imagine the crowd: "all the city was gathered together at the door." The whole suffering population, halt, lame, and blind, the sick and sore with every kind of infirmity, the bereft of reason and the possessed of demons, all were there, and for all there was the same gracious and ready help : " Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Here, as in the synagogue, the evil spirits were foremost to recognise Him, but He rebuked their utterance and suffered them not to speak. It was not by the witness of enemies, not by the confession of those who cried out in fear and anger, that He was " the Holy One of God," that He would win His way in the world, but by the willing testimony of men who were convinced by what they saw, and cried out of the depths of their conviction, "Truly this was the Son of God. It was thus that His kingdom should be established in the hearts of men. Now it had been foretold ages and ages before, that the Messiah should bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, that He should be sent " to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliver- ance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." And this day they must have felt that this scripture was fulfilled in their ears. If their v. 29-35 £• Peter s Wife's Mother 33 thoughts went to Nazareth and the carpenter's shop, and the doubts and misgivings which so often rose up for men's bewilderment had had any place in the minds of those who saw what was done in Capernaum, they must have completely vanished, and this question must have put every other aside, " When Christ cometh, can He do greater miracles than this Man doeth ? " There are many passages in our Lord's life which we should wish to paint if we could give anything like an adequate representation of the scene ; but perhaps there is none which would be more likely to win acceptance, or which would give a truer idea of His real character than this. In the streets of Capernaum and before Simon's door there is gathered all the sorrow, the suffering, the misery of the world ; and in the midst of it moves One in form like them- selves — "the Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" — and yet as He passes by " virtue goes out of Him and heals them all." Never was He more truly "the Christ" than He must have seemed then. But the work of healing was over, and the night closed in. The day had been one that must have tried our Lord's human strength to its furthest limits ; but we are amazed to read that the hours of well-earned sleep were curtailed, and that He rose "a great while before day," and went into a solitary place to pray. Temptations awaited Him on the morrow : there would be crosses and disappoint- ments, failures and provocations, and they must be prepared for. Perhaps in nothing have we more need to follow His example than in this. What a rebuke it is to the worldly maxim, "A busy life is hardly compatible with a life of devotion " ! We cannot tell what may befall us any single day we live ; but all experience teaches that a life alike of business and enjoyment must bring entanglements and dangers : in the one of overreaching our neighbours, in the other of forgetting God. No man can presume to say that he can meet them in confidence and safety whose spirit is not fortified by prayer and communion with God. " Of mine own self I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ Which strengtheneth me." VIII ^Ije Hepec Cleangeti S. Mark i. 36-45 36. And Simon and they that were with Him followed after Him. 37. And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, All men seek for Thee. 38. And He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also : for therefore came I forth. 39. And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40. And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. 41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will ; be thou clean. 42. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43. And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away ; 44. and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man ; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45. But He went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places : and they came to Him from every quarter. There were pains and penalties attaching to the leper such as were unknown in the case of other sufferers. Leprosy, for instance, entailed separation from society. " He shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." " He shall cry, Unclean, unclean," to warn the passer-by of his approach. By a merciful concession he was allowed to enter a synagogue, but a vacant space was drawn around him, and it was enjoined that he should be the first to enter and the last to leave. The same primal law of isolation seems to have been enforced in spirit wherever the disease has been perpetuated. In the East the Lepers' Quarters revive the memory of the Mosaic restrictions, and they are found not only in Jerusalem, ch. i. v. 36-45 The Leper Cleansed 35 where we are so familiar with them, but in many of the smaller towns. 1 And when during the Crusades the disease was imported into this country, lazar-houses 2 were built away from the frequented districts, and the inmates were only suffered to go abroad at certain seasons, and conditionally upon their giving timely notice of their presence. Yet further, the Jewish leper was regarded as a living emblem of death. He has been called " a walking sepulchre." He was commanded " to bare his head," and " to cover his lip," just as one did who had come into contact with a corpse. The special rites for his purification were precisely identical with those appointed for such as had been defiled by the touch of death. And as in the previous case, England here also accepted, in spirit at least, the legislation of the Jews. During the Middle Ages any one who suffered from this plague was treated as civilly dead ; his marriage tie was dissolved ; he was clothed in a shroud, his funeral obsequies were performed, and even Masses were said for the repose of his soul. Now there was one feature in which leprosy had no parallel : no medicine could arrest or even mitigate the disease. It was regarded as a direct punishment inflicted by God, and, as such, incurable, save through the intervention of Him Who had sent it. This conception of it was inherent in the Jewish mind. It explains the question of the king of Israel, when he exclaimed on the receipt of the letter asking him to cure Naaman of this disease, " Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy ? " It was the same conviction, too, that drew forth Naaman's confession, when he realised his cure, " Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel." It is worthy of notice, for it lends a deep significance both to the action and the words of the leper who came to our Lord, kneeling down to Him, and saying, " If thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." We can hardly suppose that a full knowledge of the Godhead of Jesus was vouchsafed to that poor outcast ; but that sign of homage, and such a confession 1 e.g. Damascus, Nablus, Ramleh. 2 The largest of these is said to have been at Burton-Lazars, near Melton- Mowbray. It is supposed that there were about a hundred in England. The disease seems to have died out in the country during the sixteenth century. There is an interesting treatise on Leprosy in the Speaker's Comm. on Lev. xiii. 36 The Leper Cleansed chap, i of belief in His power to heal, evidence the presence of a faith far beyond that of his fellows, and it received a reward in an instantaneous response. Now the method of healing adopted by our Lord is full of instruction. S. Mark says that He "was moved with com- passion." It is unnoticed elsewhere, but it fitly finds a place in the records of one who loves to notice every trait of the Humanity of the Saviour. 1 Then we read, He "put forth His hand, and touched him." Save for the priests alone, to touch the unclean was to become a partaker of his uncleanness. Jesus therefore by this act claimed the prerogative of the priesthood at the same time that He foreshadowed the Redemption in which He " Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses." The touch was followed by His word. " It is a sign of your faith," He seems to say, " that you use the expression ' If Thou wilt,' not ' If Thou canst;' I do will; and My hand is ever obedient to My will ; be thou cleansed therefore by this touch." He spake, and it was done : for " immediately the leprosy departed from him." Two directions followed the cure, one of expediency, the other of obligation ; and they were given with a sternness that marked their importance and the peril of neglecting them. Our translation fails 2 to express by " He straitly charged him " the force of the original ; but one of the old versions rendered it more aptly, " He threatened him." In the first instance he was to say nothing about this cure to any one. Jesus often gave similar injunctions to those whom He had healed, in order to avoid publicity; but, when considered in its immediate connection with the command to go and show himself to the priests, its explanation here is probably to be found in a tender regard for the man rather than in any thought of Himself. The priests were very jealous of their office, and any the least invasion of it would be resented. If any information of the cure should reach their ears before they had pronounced upon his cleanness, nothing was more likely than that they would refuse altogether to grant him the certificate of absolu- 1 Cf. pp. 4 , s. 2 eixfipLjxaodai implies a muttering, an emotion accompanied by noise. Lat. frenio. It is hardly translatable. Perhaps " sternly charged " is best. v. 36-45 The Leper Cleansed 37 tion. It was another proof of our Lord's loving-kindness and consideration, thus to provide that he should enjoy with all possible speed the privileges of restoration. And what was the object of the second command, "Go thy way, shew thyself to the priest " ? Leprosy, it must be remembered, inasmuch as it was the direst physical disease, and the culmination of misery, has always been regarded as a fitting type of sin. And it may have been that He Who " came not to destroy, but to fulfil," looked on to the Ordinance of the Christian Priesthood, in which there would be by His appointment functions similar in kind, only higher in degree. Just as the leper was bidden to go again and again to the Jewish priest before he received his discharge, so in like manner it is provided that the sinner under the New Dispensation may seek the help and guidance of the Ministry of Christ's Church in ridding himself of the leprosy of sin. And it is to be carefully noted how scrupulously the Church has preserved the analogy between the parts of God and the priest in the Mosaic Order with that of Christ and the Christian Priesthood in the present. God, and God alone, was the source of the leper's cure. He, and none but He, could take away the disease, but, in accordance with His ordaining, human agents were employed to seal the restoration. Even so in the cleansing from the defilement of sin, it is Christ's appointment that the message of forgiveness should be conveyed to the penitent by human lips. And if men are qualified to receive it, He in Whose Name and by Whose authority the words are pronounced will ratify and seal the pardon, according to that commission which He gave to His first Ministry, under circumstances of unparal- leled solemnity, when He breathed upon them to symbolise the delegation of His Own inherent power, and said, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them : and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." x 1 It is often said that the power given to the Apostles was merely to preach, which would result in forgiveness or hardening : but that power had been intrusted to them before. This was probably even more than the * ' power of the keys," or " the binding and loosing," and for this reason was accompanied by the deeply significant act of breathing upon them. Absolution underlay the two former, but this was an authority for its direct exercise in and by itself. The three commissions imply teaching, legislating, and absolving. IX ^Ije ^aralptic Cureti S. Mark ii. 1-12 1. And again He entered into Capernaum after some days ; and it was noised that He was in the house. 2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive the?n, no, not so much as about the door : and He preached the word unto them. 3. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was : and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7. Why doth this Alan thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8. And immedi- ately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts ? 9. Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10. But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11. I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all ; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. A difficulty will be removed if we realise the construction on which the more substantial houses in an Eastern town are not infrequently built. The ground-plan is that of a quad- rangle. We enter at a door or gateway in the centre, and pass into a court which is open to the sky. Usually there is a verandah or colonnade on one or more sides of it : some- times of one story only, more frequently of two. When the latter is the case, its covering rises almost as high as the housetop itself. This is generally flat, and is used as a ch. ii. v. 1-12 The Paralytic Cured 39 common place of resort ; in some streets there is a continued thoroughfare by it from end to end, with flights of steps at convenient places for public use. On this occasion a group of persons — S. Mark, with his love of picturesque detail, gives the number as four — hearing that Jesus was speaking to the people in Simon's house, attempted to bring to Him a poor sufferer who had been struck with paralysis. But when they came near, they saw to their disappointment that the. courtyard was thronged, and the very doorway choked with an eager crowd. They were not, however, easily baffled. They noticed the upturned faces of the multitude, and seeing the direction in which they were all looking, they gathered that Jesus was in the upper story of the verandah speaking to the people from the vantage- ground it gave Him. They made their way at once to the housetop by one of the public staircases, and soon found themselves only a few feet above the spot where Jesus was standing. The roof of the verandah 1 was torn open, and the litter 2 on which their helpless patient lay was lowered through the opening and placed at His feet. And their end was gained. Nothing ever attracted the compassionate Saviour so surely as the sight of suffering. No matter what He was doing, that had the first claim on His attention. Again and again He allowed Himself to be interrupted, and broke off His speaking, without a sign of impatience, to heal the sick. But there is something which strikes us with surprise in the words that He spoke — so unlike His usual utterances on similar occasions. " Thy sins be forgiven thee." It reminds us of the inseparable connection between sin and suffering : "by sin came death," and with death all its evil forerunners of pain and sorrow, sickness and disease. It would seem that the man was conscience-stricken. We are not told it in so 1 There are fewer difficulties presented by this interpretation than by the others ; but Trench, Miracles, 199, adopts the common theory. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 359, supposes that the roof was that over the lewan, composed of a layer of stiff mortar or clay upon some thickly-matted thorns. He imagines the house to have been only of one story. Edersheim, i. 502, confirms the writer in the view maintained above. 2 The word is originally Latin, grabatiun. S. Mark, writing primarily for Roman readers, uses many Latin words — e.g. (nreKovX&Tup, ijecrroj', Kwrvpluv, /ctjj/ctos, K.T.X. 40 The Paralytic Cured chap, u many words, but what if that stroke of paralysis was the result of past excesses? What if the loss of vital energy in his limbs had been produced by a course of enfeebling in- dulgence ? We can see his terror in the presence of the Great Searcher of men's hearts, dreading disclosure, and yet longing to be healed. It is thus that in fear and trembling he may have poured out his soul in confession of his guilt. S. Matthew hints at least at something of the kind, for he puts into our Lord's mouth such words of fatherly love and encouragement as a confession of this kind would naturally evoke, "Son, be of good cheer," 1 and then, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." And what followed ? At once all the animosities of the Scribes and Pharisees were aroused. " Was not the forgiveness of sins one of the inalienable prerogatives of the Godhead? It is nothing less than blasphemy in Him to claim it." Such were their unspoken thoughts ; but He Whose Divine claims they denied, established them in the very midst of their denial. For did He not read the secrets of their heart, and hear their unuttered murmurings, which none but God could do ? "I know your thoughts," He seems to say; "you accuse Me of pretending to extraordinary powers without any evidence that My claims are well founded. The veriest impostor, you say, may do that. No man has any right to speak so, unless he is prepared to verify his words by signs following. Who can possibly say whether the absolution you pronounce is ratified in heaven or not?" And out of condescension to their secret murmurings Jesus attests His powers. He works a miracle which the eyes of all can see, in proof that He possesses that which they denied to Him, because it carried with it no evident confirmation. "That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, and take up thy bed." He spake, and at once the man arose in presence of them all, and that " which before had been the sign of his sickness, became now the sign of his cure." Now what may we learn from the different characters of 1 "Child, take courage," is a more literal rendering, and expresses more than the Authorised Version the above idea. v. i -i2 The Paralytic Czcred 41 those with whom this miracle brings us into contact — the Jewish rulers and the sick man's friends ? The Scribes could hardly as yet have witnessed much of Christ's wonder-working, for they came chiefly from Jerusalem, 1 and that was not the scene of many miracles. 2 The fame of His doings had doubtless reached them; otherwise they would not have travelled so far as Capernaum to see and hear what He did, but it was not for such as they to be convinced by mere hearsay. Were they not the recognised guardians of the religion of the nation, the teachers who sat in Moses' seat? They were in duty bound, then, to be jealous of all rival claims, and not to suffer their office to be invaded by unauthorised intruders. Any assumption of supernatural power, with no visible proof that the claimant possessed it, was sure to provoke disparaging sneers, and they did hardly more than what we should probably have done under similar circumstances. But this only applies to their conduct in the beginning. When once He had furnished them with the credentials of His mission, with the incontestable signs which they demanded, there was no longer any excuse for their incredulity. But turning from the Scribes to the poor man's friends, we read that " when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." We have already hinted at the probable confession of the sick man himself, and though this would have been sufficient to excite the compassion of Jesus, we have no right to ignore what the Holy Spirit has recorded, viz., that it was the sight of their 3 faith which drew from His lips the words of for- giveness. It is a fact full of mystery, but full also of con- solation, that not a few of the gifts of healing and restoration — on the centurion's servant — on Jairus' child — on the blind man at Bethsaida — on the Syro-Phcenician's daughter — were obtained through the faith and prayers, not so much of the sick and afflicted themselves, as of their relations and friends. Surely this dependence of man upon his fellow-creatures was 1 We learn from S. Luke v. 17 that some were present also from Galilee. 2 The only recorded miracles in Jerusalem before this are the Cleansing of the Temple (if it may be called a miracle), and that at the Pool of Bethesda. 3 Though the narrative speaks of "their" faith only, the perfect con- currence of the paralytic cannot be doubted. 42 The Paralytic Cured oh. n. v. 1-12 intended to foreshadow the great mystery of Redemption through Another's Blood. It may well have been placed on record by the Holy Spirit to teach us that whenever we try to bring others to the feet of Jesus to be healed of their soul's sickness — be they friends or enemies — whenever we offer up " the prayer of faith," which we are assured " shall save the sick," we are associating ourselves in deeds of mercy and acts of intercession with the Great High Priest of the world — the One Mediator between God and man — the Man Christ Jesus, our Lord. %%z caii of am S. Mark ii. 13-17 13. And He went forth again by were many, and they followed Him. the sea side ; and all the multitude 16. And when the scribes and resorted unto Him, and He taught Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans them. 14. And as He passed by, and sinners, they said unto His He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus disciples, How is it that He eateth sitting at the receipt of custom, and and drinketh with publicans and said unto him, Follow Me. And he sinners? 17. When Jesus heard it, arose and followed Him. 15. And He saith unto them, They that are it came to pass, that as Jesus sat at whole have no need of the physician, meat in his house, many publicans but they that are sick : I came not and sinners sat also together with to call the righteous, but sinners to Jesus and His disciples : for there repentance. It was not an uncommon thing to assume a new name upon adopting a fresh calling. Simon was named Peter, Saul be- came Paul. In like manner, Levi, rejoicing in the change from a life of shame to one of glory and honour, signalised the step and the power by which it had been brought about, by calling himself Matthew, " the gift of God." x Comparing together the Synoptist Evangelists, we find that the first describes the call of Matthew, the second and third of Levi, under precisely similar circumstances, and there can scarcely be a question of their identity. S. Chrysostom 2 so little doubted it that he used the variety of designation to illustrate 1 The full name is Mattathias ; Theodore, Doritheus, Theodotus, Adeo- datus, and Nathanael, are all equivalents in different languages. A few of the Fathers refused to identify Levi and Matthew, but it is impossible to believe that two publicans could have been called at the same time and place, and that one should have become so famous and the other be no more heard of. 2 This illustration is taken from Abraham's Festival Lectures, No. xxxv. 44 The Call of Levi chap, n an important principle, viz., that men should be as severe as they like towards themselves, but should draw a veil over the shame of others, and conceal their offences if followed by re- pentance. S. Mark and S. Luke, not wishing to blazon abroad the fact that the Apostle and Evangelist had belonged to the hated class of publicans, give him his old name, by which he had ceased to be known at the time when they wrote ; but S. Matthew, thinking only of the goodness of God, and regarding himself as "a miracle of mercy," is careful to recall the fact, that he who is now the honoured Apostle was once the despised tax-gatherer. In all the Roman Provinces, no doubt, it was considered a hardship to be compelled to pay taxes to the Imperial Treas- ury ; but to the Jews it was inconceivably galling, because it entailed a surrender of their most cherished prerogative. To be called upon, again, to acknowledge their alien subjection at the bidding of their own countrymen, 1 was to make the cup of bitterness a thousandfold more bitter. As God's chosen people they refused at heart to admit anything but a Theo- cracy. The arm of Rome was too strong to be resisted by open rebellion, but they made no pretence of disguising their hatred of her authority. Her official publican was "the Pariah of Palestine." Nothing was too bad for him. He was an outcast from society ; his offering was regarded as defiled and excluded from the Korban ; 2 his evidence was inadmissible in a court of justice ; and contracts entered into with him were not binding on the conscience. " Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican " gathered up in a recognised proverb the idea that all communication with such an one must cease. Notwithstanding all this, Christ chose a publican to be an Apostle and to wait on His Ministry. He found him at Capernaum, in his toll-booth on the shore of the lake, where it was his duty to take toll for the fisheries, and assess the value 1 It was obviously advantageous generally to employ natives of the pro- vince, as better acquainted with the people and their occupations. We may witness a faint image of the relationship of a Jew to the publican in that of an Irish tenant to an Irish agent employed by an English landlord to evict him. 2 This term was used of the offering, S. Mark vii. u, and of the place where it was received. S. Matt, xxvii. 6. v. 13-17 The Call of Levi 45 of merchandise passing through the port. Thus he belonged to a class of publicans especially hated, 1 because extortion was more easily practised in custom-house dues than in the poll-tax, which was fixed. It finds expression in the Talmudic saying, " Woe to the ship which sails without having paid its dues." Now it is quite possible that the real turning-point in Levi's career was the cure of the paralytic. If he had witnessed that, his heart would be touched by the great stress laid upon the forgiveness of his sins. It would awaken him to a realisa- tion of that, which the common belief, that repentance was impossible to men of his calling, had made him forget ; and he may then and there have resolved to break with the past on the first opportunity. The Evangelists, at any rate, have linked the two events most closely together, and followed up our Lord's public declaration of forgiveness with an even more forcible illustration, in His choice of " a publican and sinner " to be numbered with His disciples. " As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him." Porphyry and Julian assailed the truth of the narrative, on the ground that it was irrational to suppose that a man would quit a lucrative calling so suddenly at the bidding of a passer-by. But they made no allowance for the fame of Jesus, none for the magnetic influence of Him " Who spake as never man spake." It is very probable, too, that the lake-side had been the scene of His teaching often before, 2 and that Levi's attention had been aroused by His burning words, as well as by the miracle which exhibited His pardoning mercy. And so the instant the right hand was held out, he eagerly grasped it, and left all behind. His first act was a manifestation of gratitude. His brother Evangelists record, what with singular modesty he veiled in his own account, that the " great feast " that followed was given by him. It marks the depth of his sincerity, that he lost no time in making an effort for the deliverance of his fellow-sinners. He 1 Edersheim, i. 515-518, gives many particulars of the office, and says that Levi must have belonged to the Moches or douanier class, whose office was connected entirely with rates on merchandise. The ordinary publican was called Gabbai. 2 The original of verse 13 expresses this by the imperfect tense, tfpxero, used to go, and i5i5acn, was wont to teach. 46 The Call of Levi ch. n. v. 13-17 invited as guests those who had shared his shame, in the hope that they might become partakers of his joy. It was doubtless a rude shock to Pharisaic prejudice that Jesus should accept the discipleship of a publican ; but it must have raised a storm of reproach and anger that He should sit down to meat with a whole company of them, and that, too, on one of the fast-days of the week. 1 It gave rise at once to a twofold question, the first touching the principle of associating with sinners, the second on the propriety of observing the fasts. The former alone belongs to this portion of the narrative. " How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners ? " Our Lord was ready with an answer. It was a recognised maxim in their oral law, and it had its echo in heathen 2 writers in abundance, " The physician's sphere of work lies among the sick." Translated into the spiritual life, it says that the mis- sion of the Redeemer is not to the righteous, but to sinners — ay, to the very publicans from whom they had turned away. There is surely a severe rebuke to His gainsayers underlying the words. "You," He seems to say, "are the recognised guardians of the people, but 'the diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost.' I on the contrary, ' am the Good Shepherd,' and care for My sheep. I have come to seek and to save that which was lost, and I rejoice more over this poor publican who confesses his sins, than over the ninety and nine who think themselves safe within the fold. ' I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' " 3 1 Cf. p. 48. 2 Stier mentions Antisthenes, Diogenes, Pausanias, and Ovid. To repentance " is absent from the best MSS. XI %^t principle of jfagtmn; S. Mark ii. 18-22 18. And the disciples of John and from them, and then shall they fast of the Pharisees used to fast : and in those days. 21. No man also they come and say unto Him, Why seweth a piece of new cloth on an old do the disciples of John and of the garment : else the new piece that Pharisees fast, but Thy disciples fast filled it up taketh away from the old, not? 19. And Jesus said unto them, and the rent is made worse. 22. Can the children of the bridechamber And no man putteth new wine into fast, while the Bridegroom is with old bottles : else the new wine doth them ? as long as they have the Bride- burst the bottles, and the wine is groom with them, they cannot fast. spilled, and the bottles will be marred : 20. But the days will come, when but new wine must be put into new the Bridegroom shall be taken away bottles. It is almost certain that the feast given by Levi and attended by our Lord was on one of the two weekly fast-days. The word used by S. Mark implies not so much that the Pharisees " used to fast," as that they " were fasting " at the time ; and it was the disregard of the observance which prompted the question why the disciples of Jesus acted differently from others in tlys respect. Now there can be no doubt that He would not have made light of any ordinance of legal obligation. Fasting was almost unnoticed in the Law. On one day, and one only, were the people directed " to afflict the soul." That was the " Day of Atonement." It was a national Fast, binding upon all who had reached the age of thirteen ; and no Jew who was contented to follow the Mosaic Code need trouble him- self with any other. During the Captivity, however, four more Annual Fasts were added to commemorate national disasters, 1 1 Tn the fourth month, both for the breaking of the Two Tables of Moses, 48 The Principle of Fasting chap, h especially connected with the destructions of Jerusalem and the Temple. From time to time also public humiliations and private fasts were observed amidst dearth and famine, and in preparation for important works. In the New Testament we learn from the Pharisee's confession that the Jews " more righteous than the rest " kept two days in the week as fasts ; they were the second and fifth, in remembrance of the ascent of Moses into the Mount to receive the Two Tables of Stone, and his descent, after the anger of the Lord had been appeased. But when we read in S. Matthew's Gospel of frequent fastings — " the Pharisees fast oft " — it is probable that it was something more even than these ; and later Jewish writings testify to repetition on the most trivial pretexts, such as for a good omen, for a dream, for the interpretation of a dream ; and this gave birth to the proverb, " A fast is as fit for a dream as fire is for tow." They record also many cases of Rabbis who obtained a reputation by the number of their self-imposed fasts. When the Baptist came, he felt that it was a time to make ready a people by strict discipline and self-denial, not as a meritorious act or matter of boasting, such as the Pharisees taught, but as a fitting preparation for the Advent of the Messiah. " There is a time to every purpose under heaven : a time to weep, and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." The former was the season in which the Baptist's lot had been cast; the latter, that which Christ came to inaugurate. Such was the broad distinction which our Lord drew when appealed to for a vindication of His conduct. He illustrated the principle by the use of a figure that was singularly appropriate to His hearers. They had heard their own master say that "the friend of the Bridegroom, which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice." The friends of the bridegroom, or "the children of the bridechamber," as they are elsewhere called, were especially and also for the capture of Jerusalem in Zedekiah's reign. In the fifth, for the burning of the Temple of Nebuchadnezzar. In the seventh, for the death of Gedaliah. In the tenth, for the commencement of the blockade. v. i8-22 The Principle of Fasting 49 appointed to make preparation for the advent of the bride, to bear the bridal -canopy for her reception, and to arrange generally for the wedding- feast. All their thoughts were of joy and happiness. For seven days there were prolonged festivities ; fatlings were killed, costly dresses were worn, torchlight processions were held, and there was every possible demonstration of gladness ; indeed, such was the festive character of the marriage-week, that exemption was granted to the bride even from certain obligations of the great Fast of " the Day of Atonement," if it fell within that period. 1 " The present," our Lord seems to say to those who questioned Him, "is such a time as that. What more incongruous than for My friends to seek to mar their enjoy- ment by introducing an air of sadness into such a scene? The time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away ; 2 but do not anticipate the separation ; it will be here all too soon. The darkness of Calvary will spread a gloom over the disciples' hearts : then there will be an end to rejoicing: 'then shall they fast in those days.'" Two more illustrations followed : one touching the outward conduct, the other the inner spirit ; and both were suggested by the Wedding Feast. "No man seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment." Christianity is too strong and vigorous for an outworn system. Attempt to piece it on the old, and its very weight and strength will tear still more the failing threads, and " a worse rent will be made." Again, " no man putteth new wine into old bottles." The New Religion is too free, too elastic, too expansive, to be infused into the old forms and modes of life. It will be like the fermenting must, which cracks and bursts the withered wine-skins, so that both are ruined. We must not however conclude from this, that Christ forbade, or even discouraged, the principle of fasting. It was the Jewish surroundings which He condemned. Rabbinic Pharisaism had wholly misconceived its true object ; it had taught men to believe that such mortification was a means of 1 She shared with a king the privilege of washing the face at such a time ; the idea being that before all things she must be pleasing to her husband. After they had been married some time he would know that she was not unclean, but at first she must run no risk of such a thing being supposed. 2 This is the first intimation of His approaching death. E 50 The Principle of Fasting ch. ii. v. 18-22 averting God's anger, and of atoning for sins. To the Pharisees it was no instrument for the subjection of the lower to the higher nature, no ingredient in the cup of penitence, no sign of deep humiliation for offence against God, but a meritorious act, entitling him who practised it to Divine acceptance. As such it gained no encouragement, no recognition, in the teaching of our Blessed Lord. Neither did He approve their mode of fasting. The spirit of the Gospel is not the spirit of the Law. The one is love, the other is fear. The Jew sat in sackcloth and ashes ; the Christian anoints his head and washes his face. We have only to turn to the Sermon on the Mount to understand the real position of fasting. Its true value was fully recognised when our Lord united it in a threefold cord with the Christian graces of prayer and almsgiving, and pointed thereby to man's triple duty to God, his neighbour, and himself. In enjoining the obligation of fasting, He knew that if it be true that no one can enjoy liberty till he has learned self-restraint, it is absolutely necessary for the full realisation of Christian freedom that a man should be able to hold his lower appetites in complete subjection. But fasting in its highest sense reaches far beyond the abstinence from bodily food; the rule is absolute, "If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself." S. Bernard shows well what it is which makes the Christian "ascetic." " If," he says, " the appetite alone have sinned, let that alone fast ; but if other members, let them also fast. The eye from . . . looking with pleasure at any glass which reflects self; the ear from praise of self, from slanders, gossip, controversy ; the tongue from detraction, murmuring, and fault-finding ; the hand from needless work, which hinders prayer; but more than all, the soul from vice and self-will. Thus only shall we avoid provoking God to reject our offerings ; thus only realise what is promised : ' Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure.'" XII %\)t 2Dt0ciple0 fit tlje Corn=ficlt)0 S. Mark ii. 23-28 23. And it came to pass, that He were with him ? 26. How he went went through the corn fields on the into the house of God in the days of sabbath day ; and His disciples began, Abiathar the high priest, and did as they went, to pluck the ears of eat the shewbread, which is not corn. 24. And the Pharisees said lawful to eat but for the priests, and unto Him, Behold, why do they on gave also to them which were with the sabbath day that which is not him? 27. And He said unto them, lawful ? 25. And He said unto The sabbath was made for man, and them, Have ye never read what not man for the sabbath : 28. there- David did, when he had need, and fore the Son of Man is Lord also of was an hungred, he, and they that the sabbath. There are reasons for supposing that it was after the syna- gogue service on the first Sabbath in the month of May that our Lord went out to walk in the fields, where the harvest was ripening in the Plain of Gennesareth. 1 Perhaps He wished for quiet ; but the Pharisees, whose hostility He had aroused, watched which way He went, and followed behind, determined to lose no opportunity of fastening upon Him a charge, to lay before the Sanhedrim. It is not unlikely that their hope on this occasion was, that He might be tempted to exceed the legitimate two thousand cubits, in disregard of the restriction for a Sabbath-day's journey. 1 The synagogue service was held at nine o'clock. The Pharisees would hardly have gone out after Him into the fields before that hour, but nothing is more natural than that they should have followed Him when the congregation separated. The Authorised Version renders it "the second Sabbath after the first," which is meaningless. A variety of explanations have been offered, viz., that given above (Wetstein) ; the first Sabbath after the second Paschal Day (Eder- sheim) appears most probable. It was certainly between Passover and Pentecost. Barley harvest was in the latter half of April, wheat in the first half of May. 52 The Disciples in the Corn-fields chap, n Disappointed, however, in not finding anything against the Master, they attacked His disciples. They were hungry, and plucked some ears of corn by the wayside, and ate them. There was no offence in that : it was no act of theft on their part, for the Law made allowances for such a case : "When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand." But though it was no infraction of the Written Law, there was " the hedge " of the Law, the fence which the Rabbis had built up to guard its minutest observance. This they could turn and twist at their will ; and they had no difficulty in bringing the disciples' conduct into court for a breach of it. To pluck the ears of corn was equivalent to reaping ; to rub them in their hands was the same as threshing ; and to reap and thresh was to engage in prohibited labour on the Sabbath. If then they could make good the charge, and enforce the extreme penalty, like the man who gathered sticks on that holy day, the transgressors might be stoned for the breach. It shows the eagerness with which they were watched, that the instant they began to do it the Pharisees broke in with their remonstrances : " Behold ! why do they on the Sabbatlv day that which is not lawful?" It was the boast of the stricter Jews that they would endure any privation rather than violate that holy day. More than one great defeat and massacre in Jewish history 1 might have been averted if they had not refused on these grounds to draw the sword in defence of their lives. Jesus at once threw the shield of His protection over His followers. Scorning the petty quibbles with which He was so familiar, He declined to argue as to what constituted labour, and plunged into the general question of Sabbath observance, laying down the principle that no ceremonial ordinance may override man's good. With one of those master-strokes which He so often made, He recalled to their minds an illustration from the history of their greatest hero. It is quite possible that it was suggested 1 Josephus, Antiq. xiv. 4. 2, 3, describes how the Romans under Pompey mercifully respected the Jewish law, and refused to attack till the following day. — Milman, Hist. ii. 2. The Jews however did not always observe the rule. — Wars, ii. 19. 2. v. 23-28 The Disciples in the Corn-fields 53 by the Lesson which they had just heard in the synagogue ; if so, we can imagine with what force it must have struck them. David, in his flight from Saul's court, halted at the priestly station of Nob on the sides of Mount Olivet. It was the spot where the Tabernacle had found a temporary home during the period of its wanderings before it rested on Mount Zion. Ahimelech or Abiathar (the two names are commonly supposed to represent father and son, but it is possible that they were both borne by one and the same person x ) gave him some of the loaves from the Golden Table to satisfy his hunger. It was the most sacred of all food : for while that which was offered in sacrifice might be sold in the shambles, the mystic " Bread of the Face " 2 was eaten by the priests alone, and within the Holy Place. And yet they, the guardians of every religious observance, had not hesitated to divert its use in the exigency of circumstances, and David, the great national saint, had made no scruple of accepting it. Were the Pharisees prepared to accuse him of sacrilege for so doing ? If they were, our Lord might have retorted that they were at issue with the teaching of the old masters of Israel. Had not they said, " It was lawful even to eat that which was sanctified, when another loaf was not within reach, and one was bitten with hunger;" and again, "There is nothing which may hinder taking care of life but idolatry, adultery, and murder " ? But we find from S. Matthew, that He drew a second argument from the Temple ordinances. " What," He seems to say, " were the multiplied sacrifices, and incense-burnings, and washings, but so many breaches of the letter of the Law ? Had they not given birth to the proverb, 'There is no Sabbatical rest observed in the sanctuary ' ? and yet no one ever thought of blaming the priests." 1 Surely, as there is nothing impossible in the supposition, it is better to accept it than accuse the authors of Chronicles and Samuel of mistake. The absence of the definite article from the best MSS. forbids the translation " in the time of Abiathar (afterwards familiarly known as) the high priest," as, e.g. ' ' in the house of Simon the leper " — not a leper at the time. Grammatically, as it stands, it can only be "when Abiathar was high priest." 2 i.e. Bread laid out in the Presence of God. Our Shewbread is taken from Luther's translation " Schaubrod." The table of pure gold is depicted on the Arch of Titus. The Bread was only eaten by those priests who were ceremonially clean. 54 The Disciples in the Corn-fields ch. ii. v. 23-28 And just as under the first illustration there lay the thought that He was David's Son, and that what was lawful for the father, could not be unlawful for the Son, so by the assertion that there was in that place " One greater than the Temple," He reminded them "that the Body of the Son of Man was the truest temple of God, and the disciples who ministered to Him were entitled to at least the same privilege as the priests in the Temple at Jerusalem." But the real solution of the question lay in the declaration that the day was instituted for the happiness and wellbeing of man, and consequently He in Whom humanity was personified, held control over its observance; "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath : therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." The question has been revived in our own generation : " In what spirit is that day which has superseded the Sabbath to be kept, especially by the working classes ? " This no less than the other "was made for man." Now man, it must be remembered, is a complex creature. He has a tripartite nature, consisting of body, soul, and spirit ; and it is necessary to provide for him as such, not ignoring either his physical or his social or his religious needs. All must be kept in view. It is a manifest duty to furnish the masses with the means of bodily recreation, and to draw them from their squalid homes into the pure air which will invigorate the frame. It is no less a duty to elevate their tastes, to offer them, as far as possible, variety of scene, and that relief from the monotony of labour which the rich man finds in his club or library ; but all must be subordinated to the paramount duty of worship. That is due from every creature to the Great Creator. It is that moreover in which he may find his highest enjoyment. No scheme, therefore, which ignores this claim, can possibly carry out the principle laid down by our Lord when He said, " The Sabbath was made for man." XIII %%z MMtfieceti ^anU S. Mark hi. i-6 i. And He entered again into the kill ? But they held their peace. 5. synagogue ; and there was a man And when He had looked round there which had a withered hand. about on them with anger, being 2. And they watched Him, whether grieved for the hardness of their He would heal him on the sabbath hearts, He saith unto the man, day ; that they might accuse Him. Stretch forth thine hand. And he 3. And He saith unto the man which stretched it out : and his hand was re- had the withered hand, Stand forth, stored whole as the other. 6. And the 4. And He saith unto them, Is it Pharisees went forth, and straightway lawful to do good on the sabbath took counsel with the Herodians against days, or to do evil ? to save life, or to Him, how they might destroy Him. For the third time our Lord is confronted by the Pharisees on the question of Sabbath observance. A week has elapsed since He defended the action of His disciples from their objections to plucking the ears of corn; and now they are waiting for an opportunity to renew the charge of breaking the Law. It was either in the synagogue at Capernaum, from which they had followed Him the previous Sabbath, or possibly it may have been in the neighbouring Sepphoris, 1 which Herod had lately made his capital, and where one of the five Sanhe- drims held its sittings, that He saw a man whose hand had been withered, and had lost its power. It is interesting to find from S. Jerome, who quotes from some apocryphal additions to S. Matthew's Gospel, that he was by trade " a stone-mason, who had depended for his livelihood on manual 1 If here, the meeting of Pharisees and Herodians would be more easily accounted for. 56 The Withered Hand chap, m labour, and that he pleaded for the cure to avoid the disgrace of begging his bread." If this tradition- be a true one (and there is no reason to doubt it), then we can understand that the circumstance of his poverty would tend to aggravate the bitterness of the Pharisees. They could not bear that Jesus should bestow favour upon the labouring class, because they held the poor in the lowest contempt, and regarded ignorance as an unpardonable offence. ''The rabble, that know not the law, are accursed." His partiality to them was consequently a great blow to Pharisaic pride ; and we are not surprised that the common people rejoiced in the change of treatment that they received, and nocked to His feet, and " heard Him gladly." Now, no sooner did the Pharisees become aware of the poor man's presence in the synagogue, than they were filled with satisfaction. They felt sure from what had taken place before, that Jesus would be prompted to heal him, and would break the Sabbath in doing so. They determined, therefore, simply to bide their time, and, like beasts of prey, to pounce upon Him directly He should fall into their toils. They had attacked the man who had carried his bed, then the disciples in the field, but now they have Christ Himself almost within their grasp. They had heard wonderful things of Him, but they little knew that He could read their thoughts, that their inmost heart was laid bare and open before His all-searching eye, and their excitement must have become intense when He uttered the command, "Stand forth." It was a compassionate effort on His part to change their hearts by the sight of the man's helpless infirmity, and to prick their callous consciences. But there was no sign of relenting, no turn in the current of their malignant intentions, and so the question was directly put, " Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath-days, or to do evil ? to save life, or to kill ? " The man was not in danger of his life, and he would have survived undoubtedly had no cure been wrought. But that question implied, that not to give health and strength, not to restore the vital power when the restora- tion lies within your reach, is equivalent to taking it away. To leave a good deed undone is hardly less sinful than doing a bad one. Such was no doubt the direct force of the question v. 1-6 The Withered Hand 57 which our Lord put ; but it is extremely probable that beneath the broad principle thus laid down He covered an allusion to the designs of the Pharisees upon His Own life. And if their hearts had not been hardened against every influence, those words would have carried to their conscience such an alter- native as this: "Which, think you, is in reality the better thing, — to restore life and energy to this withered limb, or to destroy Me, as I know full well you are so eager to do ? " But He received no answer. The sight of the poor maimed cripple imploring mercy, and the Saviour's question, to which there was but one reply, both alike failed to make any impression. "They held their peace." Then He "looked round with anger and grief." The notice of this incident is due to S. Mark alone, who is always so careful to make mention of " the passing lights and shadows which swept over the countenance of the Lord." * In the original language it is something more than grief; it is the grief of sympathy; and it creates a difficulty at first sight — there seems something so contradictory in the combination of anger and sorrow and sympathy. But it is only in sinful fallen man that they appear incompatible. There was no malice in the anger of Christ. He was angry with the sin, but grieved for the sinner. His indignation was roused, not by any offence that had been given to Himself, or by any personal injury ; and His sympathy was exhibited by an act of kindness naturally calculated to win them to repent- ance. With a look, then, of sorrowful, sympathetic anger, He bade the helpless cripple stretch forth his hand, and at once the heart sent its streams of blood into every vein and artery of the palsied limb. " It was restored whole as the other." It can hardly have been by accident that our Lord should have healed him without any actual work, any visible effort on His part. We know with what infinite variety He effected His purposes. At one time He made clay and anointed the eyes of the blind, or touched with His hands the tongue of the dumb or the ears of the deaf; at another He merely spake and it was done. It was surely of set purpose that He adopted the latter course in the case before us. It threw an additional obstacle in the way of the Pharisees. It was not words, but deeds that were forbidden in the Law on the 1 Cf. Characteristics of S. Mark, pp. 4, 5. 58 The Withered Hand chap, hi Sabbath-day ; and when He said, " Stretch forth thy hand," the strictest Sabbatarian could lay no hold upon Him. There was no actionable breach, no violation even of the letter of the Law. What, then, were the baffled Pharisees to do ? Exposure of sin is usually followed by one of two alternatives, — repentance, or more determined perseverance in the evil way. It creates no surprise to find that the Pharisees accepted the latter of the two. S. Luke expresses the bitterness of their disappointment when he says that they were filled with madness, and S. Mark leaves no doubt of the aggravation of their malicious designing in the record that " they went forth and straightway took counsel with the Herodians 1 against Him, how they might destroy Him." The coalition is so remarkable that it calls for consideration. No two classes could be found more widely separated either in political or in religious views. In politics the Pharisees resolutely denied the right of any foreign power to exercise dominion over the heritage of God. Nothing but a Theocracy could be tolerated by a Jew. Prudence restrained them from revolution, but they lost no opportunity of protesting vigorously against the payment of taxes to the Imperial Treasury. The Plerodians were of Idumaean descent, but from long connection with Rome had become Roman in feeling and political sentiment, and exercising their authority only as vassals, they were careful to uphold the claims of the Sovereign. In religion again there was an equally marked antagonism between the two parties. The Separatists were the unflinching champions of the national faith, as they received it, and they upheld the Ritual 1 The Herodians are referred to only in S. Matt. xxii. 16, S. Mark iii. 6, xii. 13, and S. Luke xx. 20, and it is very difficult to describe their exact position. Dr. Westcott, in Smith's Bibl. Diet., suggests that they were brought into union with the Pharisees as supporters of a dynasty which saved the Jews from direct heathen rule ; and with the Sadducees, as holding a faith which was as it were a compromise between the belief of God's chosen people and that of heathen civilisation. I have looked for the motives of coalition simply in the desire to obtain one's end even through the assistance of one's natural enemies. It is very difficult to think the Pharisees could have felt any sympathy with the Herodians, when the Herods persistently appointed non- Palestinians to the High Priesthood. Some of the Herodians, moreover, held that the Messianic predictions were fulfilled in the Herodian dynasty, which was a view wholly antagonistic to Pharisaic belief. v. 1-6 The Withered Hand 59 and Ceremonial Law with the most rigid formalism. The Herodians, on the other hand, as far as they professed any religion at all, were Sadducees, altogether sceptical of a future life, and caring for little beyond a rationalistic morality. The proud Jewish patriot and the half-heathen Herodian courtier — the scrupulous Religionist and the indifferent Secularist — such were the widely-conflicting spirits that were made friends together in this unrighteous cause. It proves almost more conclusively than any other tes- timony the low estate into which all parties in Jewish society had sunk, that the principles which Christ preached found no response in the tenets of any of them ; for sooner or later, here or elsewhere, all alike took counsel together and became confederate against Him. XIV %ty ADtHination of tije ^tocltie S. Mark hi. 7-19 7. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea : and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judasa, 8. and from Jeru- salem, and from Idumeea, and from beyond Jordan ; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9. And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him. 10. For He had healed many ; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues. 11. And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12. And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known. 13. And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would : and they came unto Him. 14. And He or- dained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, 15. and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils : 16. and Simon He surnamed Peter ; 17. and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James ; and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder : 18. and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Mat- thew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19. and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him. And they went into an house. This is the third stage in the preparation of the disciples for the Apostolate. A certain number had been admitted at the beginning to terms of intimacy and friendship with Jesus. Then they had left their secular calling for a time to attend upon Him ; now the final step must be taken, and a selection made of such as would give themselves wholly to the work, and go no more back to the world. It was a crisis in His ministry ; and, as the pattern Man, He prepared Himself for it by prayer. S. Mark ch. in. v. 7-19 The Ordination of the Twelve 61 only tells us of His ascent into the mountain — the Kurun Hattin, 1 from which He preached His first sermon — but S. Luke, who is careful to note the marks of His Priestly work, adds that it was to spend the night in intercession and communing with the Father. It is in imitation of her Lord that the Church, from the ordination of S. Matthias to the present time, has proceeded to " the laying on of hands " only after prayer and fasting and the invocation of the Holy Ghost. The twelve Apostles are divided by the Evangelists into three groups. In the first are SS. Peter and James and John and Andrew. They formed two pairs of brothers, sons of Jonah and Zabdai ; and not only were their homes in the same town, but the families were united by partnership in trade. Three of the four are linked together by a golden chain as the favoured company, " the chosen out of the chosen," to whom was granted the companionship of their Master in the most solemn events of His life — on the Mount of Transfigura- tion and in the Garden of Gethsemane. Andrew had been the first to follow Christ, the first to believe the Baptist's cry, "Behold the Lamb of God;" and he was so loyal to the Master, that almost all that we read of him in his individual actions, is concerned with bringing others to His feet; and yet, notwithstanding all this, there was something — we know not what — that excluded him from the inner circle. The second group is composed of SS. Philip and Bartholo- mew, Matthew and Thomas. Of the first but little is recorded. " He was a sincere but timid seeker after truth," and as such our Lord appealed to him when He spoke of " anything hard to be done or believed," hoping thereby to inspire him with strength and confidence. Bartholomew, whose full title was, in all probability, Nathanael 2 Bar Tolmai, stands out as a 1 The Latin Church has adopted the tradition that it was on a plateau of the " Horns of Hattin," not far from the Khan Minyeh, on the western shore of the lake. 2 The grounds upon which the identification of Nathanael with Bartholo- mew rest are these : S. John places Nathanael in the earliest group of Jesus' followers, and names him with certain Apostles after the Resurrection, but he makes no mention of Bartholomew. The Synoptists, on the other hand, place Bartholomew in the List of Apostles, but take no note of Nathanael. Again, S. John states that Nathanael was brought to Jesus by Philip, and in the Synoptists Philip and Bartholomew are always associated together. It 62 The Ordination of the Twelve CHAP. Ill marked man in that early history ; in an age of duplicity rarely equalled, he maintained, even before the shadow of Christ fell upon him, a character of such childlike simplicity that he was hailed by One Who can read the hearts of men, as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." S. Matthew, the Levi 1 of the first Gospel, was the lowest in the social scale, in a company where probably none were men of birth or position. S. Thomas, also called Didymus, the Twin, was the most despondent, the slowest to believe, the last of the Twelve to be convinced, but true and honest to the core. When once his doubts was cleared away, and the pathway of duty was open, nothing could exceed the intensity of his devotion. The third group contains the rest. S. James, by a mistaken interpretation dating even from S. Jerome, has been generally known as "the Less;" 2 but in reality he was designated by the Evangelists, " the little," and that, not from any inferiority of position or ability, but simply because, like Zacchssus, he was small of stature. Next to him in the usual order is the Apostle "of the triple name." 3 He was called by his parents Judas, but probably after that had become a name of evil omen, he received other distinguishing titles, and is described in the narrative as the brother of James, or as Lebbaeus, the warm- hearted and lion-like man, or by S. Mark as Thaddaeus, from a certain feminine tenderness, which controlled and tempered the force and strength of his natural character. The third was S. Simon, the Kananite ; not of the land of Canaan, but, as the Syriac word implies, "the Zealot." It marks his connection with a band of Galileans, who held their lives in their hand for the defence of the Mosaic Ritual and is hard to believe that the follower most highly spoken of at the beginning by Jesus should have been excluded from the Apostleship. S. Augustine, however, disputed the identity, and conjectured a reason for the rejection of Nathanael. 1 S. Matthew gives an account of the call of a " man named Matthew ; " SS. Mark and Luke of Levi, under precisely similar circumstances. Matthew, like Theodore, Adeodatus, Dorotheus, implying "the gift of God," probably was the name he assumed after his call. 2 Cf. the discussion on " the Brethren " in xvL, pp. 70 ff. 3 Lebbaeus, from the Hebrew kb, the heart ; according to others, from labi, a lion. Thaddaeus, from thad, the female breast. v. 7-i9 The Ordination of the Twelve 63 "the Covenant of their fathers." In the last days of Jerusalem they degenerated into a desperate faction, and wrought endless mischief, rapine, and bloodshed, during the final struggle with the Roman army. In the zeal and enthusiasm which led Simon to cast in his lot with such a cause, our Lord discerned a qualification which, if once diverted into a proper channel, would prove of the greatest value in the spread of Christianity. The list closes with one of the tribe of Judah — strange to say, the only member of it in the number of the Twelve. He was born at the little village of Kerioth, and called by a fearful paradox, Judah, " the praise of the Lord." He bears on his forehead the ineffaceable brand, and is the only one of whom it has ever been said, " Good were it for that man if he had never been born." Such, briefly told, were the men who were associated with the Founder of the Faith for the regeneration of the world. The first general thought suggested by this consideration is of the manifold variety, both of character and of calling, represented in the Twelve. Where in the whole world could we find dispositions more diverse than in S. Peter and S. John, — the one ardent and impulsive, the very embodiment of energy and vehemence ; the other quiet and contemplative, fitted for nothing so well as the life of a recluse ? What callings again could be more incongruous than those which S. Simon and S. Matthew had respectively chosen ? The fiery patriot could brook no allegiance to an earthly ruler, but would do and dare anything to resist the Roman claim to impose taxation upon the people of God. But his fellow- Apostle had degraded himself, of his own free will, to exact from his own flesh and blood the obnoxious tribute. And yet such was the comprehensive work which lay before the Ministry of the Church, that a sphere was found in it for the " tax-gatherer," no less than the " tax-hater," — for the Jew who had sold his birthright, as well as for the irreconcilable nationalist. Jew and Greek, bond and free, rich and poor, men of every type and people, were destined to be embraced in the Catholic Church ; and Jesus Christ foreshadowed the future when He welded together the most discordant elements in that first society of the Twelve Apostles. Another thought of scarcely less importance arises out of 64 The Ordination of tJie Twelve ch. m. v. 7-19 the social position from which He made His choice. The Jewish Rabbis estimated the weight of their influence by the rank or wealth or learning of the pupils who sat at their feet. The first Teacher of Christianity aimed, on the contrary, at attracting the poorest of men. It may be urged that He had no alternative; that men in the position of Joseph and Nicodemus were so reluctant to accept the call, that had He waited for their adherence, the Apostolic Roll would never have been filled up in His lifetime. But His choice of the poor and despised, the ignorant and unlearned, was based upon a principle which governed the whole of His life on earth ; which selected for His birthplace the manger of a way- side khan, for His home a humble cottage, and for His early occupation the trade of an artisan, among a people intellect- ually of the lowest type in Palestine. It was in perfect consistency with all that had gone before, that He should associate with Himself for the work of the Ministry men of the humblest rank, who probably knew little more than their letters, and, judged by a human standard, were worthless for that unto which they were called. And it was the same throughout, till at His departure out of the world He made the Sacraments, by which His Presence 1 was to be continued, the exact counterparts of the simplicity and plainness of His life in the flesh. One period of history will suffice to demonstrate the wisdom of His choice. For the first three centuries the progress of Christianity was a gradual triumph of the lowly over the great, till, by the irresistible might of its weakness, it shook the world and compelled " the master of legions " to cast his crown at the foot of the Cross. And so the Apostle's boast was realised : " God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to con- found the things which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are : that no flesh should glory in His Presence." 1 This expression may be justified in regard to Baptism, by the belief that in both Sacraments we have " an extension of the Incarnation." XV Blagpljemp against tlje ^ol^ (Bfjogt S. Mark hi. 20-30 20. And the multitude cometh to- house cannot stand. 26. And if gether again, so that they could not Satan rise up against himself, and so much as eat bread. 21. And be divided, he cannot stand, but hath when His friends heard of it, they an end. 27. No man can enter into went out to lay hold on Him : for a strong mans house, and spoil his they said, He is beside Himself. 22. goods, except he will first bind the And the scribes which came down strong man ; and then he will spoil from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelze- his house. 28. Verily I say unto bub, and by the prince of the devils you, All sins shall be forgiven unto casteth He out devils. 23. And He the sons of men, and blasphemies called them unto Him, and said unto wherewith soever they shall blas- them in parables, How can Satan pheme : 29. but he that shall bias- cast out Satan ? 24. And if a king- pheme against the Holy Ghost hath dom be divided against itself, that never forgiveness, but is in danger of kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if eternal damnation. 30. Because they a house be divided against itself, that said, He hath an unclean spirit. The popularity of our Blessed Lord was rapidly on the increase. The crowds were becoming so eager to see and hear, so desirous for the relief of their wants and infirmities, that they left Him no time to Himself, not even " so much as to eat bread." Hitherto His progress had been impeded only by enemies, but now a new element of opposition springs up. "His friends," including no doubt His kinsfolk and " brethren," who had as yet the most inadequate conception of His Mission, tried to interpose. They looked upon His indifference to bodily necessities as a mark of fanaticism, and feared that if it were left unchecked the consequences might be fatal. It is evident, however, from what follows later that their interference was wholly disregarded. But before their objections had been F 66 Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost chap, m silenced, He was confronted by a deputation of ecclesiastics from the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem. They had no doubt been carefully prepared with the arguments they were to use, and the line of action to pursue. It would be quite useless to deny His power over evil spirits, because hardly a day passed without some exhibition of it being witnessed. His influence with the people must be secretly undermined, and so they adopted the course of going about amongst them, and by covert insinuation or open assertion leading them to believe that He was in league with Beelzebub. Who this exactly was is wrapped in some obscurity. Origin- ally perhaps a Phoenician god, he has been variously regarded as the lord of flies, the lord of the dwelling, or the prince of idolatry, as some hold in accordance with Talmudic interpreta- tion. 1 But, whatever may have been the real significance of the appellation, its usage in Holy Scripture is associated exclusively with demoniacal possession. It is quite possible that it is due to this circumstance, that, when that strange phenomenon passed away the use of the title was wholly dis- continued. It does not appear that the Scribes accused our Lord to His face of employing such agency, but He read their thoughts, perhaps heard their whispered innuendos, and, calling them up before Him, began at once to rebut the charge. We cannot fail to be struck by the total absence of personal anger, or pride, or indignation, such as one would naturally expect under such gross misrepresentation. The strength of His position inspired Him with the utmost calm and confidence ; and He told them that their suggestion was refuted by the commonest observation. No kingdom, no society, no house nor family, could possibly hold together if its members were disunited. " That goes almost without saying." If then they carried their thoughts on for a moment from the earthly to the spiritual, from the kingdom of men to the dominion of the Evil Spirit, they would see the in- consistency of their allegation. That kingdom, like every 1 Beelzebub. The LXX. and Josephus both connect him with flies, Baa\ fxvtav ; perhaps from the Hebrew zebcl, dung, the dung-fly ; others from zebul, a habitation, make him oiKo5eotocr S. Mark IV. I- I 2 i. And He began again to teach by the sea side : and there was gathered unto Him a great multitude, so that He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea ; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2. And He taught them many things by par- ables, and said unto them in His doctrine, 3. Hearken ; Behold, there went out a sower to sow : 4. and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth ; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth : 6. but when the sun was up, it was scorched ; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased ; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9. And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10. And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. 11. And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God : but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables : 12. that seeing they may see, and not perceive ; and hear- ing they may hear, and not under- stand ; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. There are two circumstances which lend a peculiar interest to this parable. It was the first spoken by our Lord, and the scene may be identified almost beyond a question. There is always some special charm and attraction in the earliest productions of great and distinguished people. The first sermon of a preacher like S. Chrysostom, or the first drawing of an artist like Raphael, would be eagerly examined, if they could anywhere be found. They would exhibit, no doubt, some sign and earnest of coming greatness ; but in 7 6 The Parable of the Sowei' chap, iv power and skill they would fall immeasurably below the standard of excellence reached in later years. How different in this respect is the first parable of Him "Who spake as never man spake " ! It bears no trace of inferiority, but comes forth perfect as the latest that fell from His lips. Again, it affords us no little pleasure to be able to deter- mine the exact locality where it was delivered. He was teaching on the shores of the lake, not far from Capernaum, and the crowd gathered so thickly about Him that, in order to obtain a position of advantage for preaching, He entered a boat, rowed out a few strokes from the land, and then turned round to address them. Now, travellers in Palestine have often found the imagery of the Parables repeated in what they have themselves seen passing before their eyes. The vineyard with its fence and wine-press and tower — the shepherd with the sheep following, not going before — the man who fell among thieves, — all are illustrated almost to the letter in the present day. But when the parable of the Sower was spoken, our Lord was by the sea-side, and there we should have expected that His similes would have been drawn from storms and ships and nets, hardly from fields and agriculture. We know what life and freshness He was wont to impart to His teaching by basing it upon the sights and objects immediately present. It is exemplified here, where it was least expected, in a very striking manner. A well-known Eastern traveller has de- scribed his feelings on visiting the neighbourhood. As he was wondering what there could possibly be to suggest such imagery, his attention was arrested by a slight recess in the hillside, which disclosed at once " every feature of the great parable. There was the undulating corn-field descending to the water's edge. There was the trodden pathway running through the midst of it, with no fence or hedge to prevent the seed from falling here and there on either side of it or upon it : itself hard with the constant tramp of horse and mule and human feet. There was the 'good' rich soil, which dis- tinguishes the whole of that neighbourhood from the bare hills elsewhere, descending towards the lake, and which, where there is no interruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the rocky ground of the hillside protruding here and there through the corn-fields, as elsewhere through the v. i-i2 The Parable of the Sower 77 grassy slopes. There were the large bushes of thorn — the 1 Nebk,' that kind of which tradition says the Crown of Thorns x was woven, — springing up in the very midst of the waving wheat." It is indeed a strange coincidence that in a land where such vast changes have taken place during eighteen centuries — more perhaps than in any other country in the world — the scene of our Lord's first parable, from the reproduction of the exact features, should be capable of almost certain identification. Two expressions arrest our notice at once, as they were manifestly designed to arrest that of the assembled multitude : " Hearken ; Behold !" The parable begins with " Hearken ;" it closes with "Take heed what ye hear." He was about to adopt a mode of teaching unfamiliar to their ears : it needed an undivided attention. "Behold!" Did He actually point to a husbandman, as he came forth at the moment from his homestead on the hillside and began to sow ? If we could be sure that the sequence of events has brought us to the autumnal seed-time, we could hardly doubt it, but the chronological order here is most difficult to determine. And then as they listened with a newly-awakened interest, He clothed the sad experience of the farmer in a parabolic form, and told them how much of the seed that was sown brought no return — three parts lost, one only saved. We can scarcely conceive how its moral could have escaped even the meanest understanding; but the disciples were astonished that He should speak to the crowds in any but the transparent language to which they were used. They were not even sure that they rightly understood Him themselves. " Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?" they asked. The method of teaching was common among the Jews. Parables abound in the Talmud. Hillel and Shammai and Rabbi Meir 2 have left many examples ; but as the Rabbis held the poor and ignorant in contempt, and cared only to find the rich and 1 In all probability the name of "Spina Christi " was given to this from the idea that, having very sharp points, it was most likely to have been chosen for the crown. The object, however, of crowning Him appears to have been mockery rather than cruelty, so that they would choose one with leaves more nearly resembling those of the imperial wreaths, and a stem more pliable than that of the Nebk. 2 Hillel and Shammai were the chief teachers before our Lord, R. Meir immediately after. It was said of the last that a third of his teaching was by parables. 78 TJie Parable of the Sower chap, iv intelligent x classes sitting at their feet, it is probable that the surprise of the disciples was occasioned by His adopting, with the multitude at large, a style hitherto appropriated to narrower circles. There is an illustration of this distinction in one of the Apocryphal Books, where, in contrasting the learned with artisans and labourers, the writer says of the latter, " they shall not be found where parables are spoken." 2 Our Lord gave a reason to His disciples when they were alone. Because their minds were receptive of truth, and, as compared with that of the general public, capable of appreci- ating the deep mysteries of the Gospel, 3 He sets them aside. But He had now been teaching for a considerable time, and with such plainness of speech that there was no excuse if men in general could not understand the nature of His message. It was, so to speak, a crisis in their lives ; He had reached a point where He must test results. He could not always go on casting pearls before swine, so henceforward a new line must be adopted. It was of the nature of a parable both to conceal and to unveil. To men whose minds were en- lightened it was a revelation of spiritual truths, but hearts that were waxed gross, and ears dull of hearing, it only hardened into greater insensibility. Thinking only of the latter, He takes up the language of Isaiah, who had been sent to the Jews with a penal message from the Almighty, when the decree had gone forth that their sin must work out its pun- ishment, because the day of grace was past. But that He adopted the interpretation of the Septuagint 4 version in pre- ' Cf. p. 56. 2 I am indebted for this reference to a note in Professor Plumptre's Com- mentary on S. Matthew. 3 Only by comparison. They had much to learn as yet ; and the gradual and patient guidance of them into the truths of revelation is a subject well worthy of notice. 4 In the Hebrew it is in the imperative mood — a command to the prophet, " Make the heart of this people fat,'"' etc. In the LXX. the people are sup- posed to do it themselves. Sadler in his notes on the passage in S. Matthew has shown how a full consideration of the passage in Isaiah mitigates the apparent harshness of God's command. The whole note is worthy of con- sideration. The LXX. has lost the significance of a common and very forcible Hebrew idiom in the rendering, " that seeing they may see and not perceive." It is rather, " that they may fully see," see without anything to hide, but not perceive what it meant — that the sense of sight may be quickened but the understanding made dull. v. 1-12 The Parable of the Sower 79 ference to the harsher form assumed in the Hebrew — " Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed," — is the most convincing proof that He did not intend, what the words taken by themselves would appear to convey, and that His purpose was only penal and retributive. He had learned by experience the hopelessness of His task, and foreseeing the failure of this fresh attempt, " half in sadness, half in irony" perhaps, He spoke as though He aimed 1 at producing the expected result. It was too true that those who saw His miracles without perceiving their symbolism, and heard His words only to miss their spiritual import, were by those very sights and sounds left in a worse condition than before ; but the fact that His whole mission was a prolonged appeal to men to receive His words that they might have life, is the clearest evidence that He could never at any time have designed that His preaching should aggravate their impenitence and hardness of heart. 1 The 'iva of S. Mark should be read in connection with the 6Vi of S. Matthew, and in the light of our Lord's acceptance of the more merciful rendering of the LXX. XVIII %\yz parable of tljc Softer c^plaineti S. Mark iv. 13-25 13. And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14. The sower soweth the word. 15. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown ; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immedi- ately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground ; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness ; 17. and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time ; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18. And these are they which are sown among thorns ; such as hear the word, 19. and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20. And these are they which are sown on good ground ; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. 21. And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed ? and not to be set on a candlestick? 22. For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested ; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 24. And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear : with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you : and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25. For he that hath, to him shall be given : and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. The disciples must have grasped, at least in part, the hidden meaning of the parable. Otherwise our Lord could hardly have spoken of them, as knowing the mysteries of the kingdom ; for no spiritual teaching could be made simpler than that. They needed however to have their hazy and fragmentary ideas cleared of all doubtfulness and expressed with coherence ; and this He did for them, filling up what was lacking, correcting mistaken conceptions, and leaving a model of exposition for all time. c. iv. v. 13-25 The Parable of the Sower explained 8 Now when He framed the parable, He classified the hearers of the Word according to His Own experience as a Preacher ; basing His classification not so much upon generalities as upon well-remembered illustrations. It would not be difficult to exemplify this by specimens * drawn from the records of His dealings with men ; but it will suffice now to give point to His descriptions, by recalling the divers effects produced by His claims to the Messiahship. There were men hardened by Jewish prejudice, and seared with worldliness, who looked only for material advancement by the establishment of a new kingdom, and yet flocked to hear His words, meek and lowly as He was. They might possibly have been impressed, had not the Pharisaic enemies of the Cross, the emissaries of Satan, stepped in with their specious arguments, and caught away the seed before ever it found any lodgment in their hearts. Then there were others of an emotional temperament, 2 who were carried away in the excitement aroused by His sudden popularity, who, when they witnessed the wonderful works that He did, would have taken Him by force, and made Him a king, and yet, staggered by the first check their enthusiasm received, within twenty-four hours "went away backward, and walked no more with Him." Again, there was a third class, more limited, no doubt, who saw in Him the Beauty they desired, and recognised His " goodness," — men too whom He loved in return for all that was best in their lives, but who failed at last because their heart was not whole. Underneath all this there was " a root of bitterness," — love of riches, or pleasure, or even distracting cares of home, — and though for a time they showed no vitality, not springing up simultaneously with the crop of new desires, yet by the rapidity and rankness of their growth, they just spoiled the life when it was on the eve of bearing fruit. 3 1 Bruce, in his Parabolic Teaching of Christ, adopting a different mode of illustration, has found examples of each kind of hearer in S. Luke xii. n, 13, ix. 57, and 61, 62, and in the case of Barnabas. 2 The comparison is only rightly appreciated by noticing that it is not " stony ground," so much as rocks covered with a thin layer of soil. The heat of the sun acting upon the rock excites hasty growth, and is followed by premature withering. 3 The meaning is better expressed in S. Luke, ov TeXeacpopovaiv, "they bring no fruit to perfection." 82 The Parable of the Sower explained chap, iv The last class was composed of those whose hearts the Baptist had prepared, and the Lord had opened, who were " waiting for the consolation of Israel," — men like SS. Andrew and John and Nathanael, or women like the devout band who " ministered to Him of their substance," and in varying degrees of productiveness bore fruit in their lives. This is but a single application of the parable, adapted to a special time, but the language is so pregnant and compre- hensive that those who have rejected or received His Word from whatever motive, throughout all history can see their image reflected in some portion of its fourfold division. The exposition was followed up by three proverbial J say- ings, suggested no doubt by its teaching, and all calculated to enforce the importance of communicating to others what we have received ourselves. The object of material light is that it may be diffused. Conceal it by a covering, and the very object of its existence is frustrated. Even so the spiritual illumination enjoyed by the disciples would fail in its purpose, if it were either extin- guished or concealed. It can hardly be illustrated better than by the familiar story of the Calais lighthouse-keeper, who, when boasting of the brilliancy of his lamp, was asked what would happen if it were suffered to go out, or if the reflectors became dim. " Impossible," he answered, " for yonder, where nothing can be seen by us, there are ships sailing to every harbour of the sea ; if to-night I failed in my duty some one might be ship- wrecked. No ! I like to think that the eyes of the whole world are fixed upon my light." This man understood well what our Lord had taught the disciples when He said that they were to be like Safed, 2 the city set upon an hill which could not be hid, and to remember that, inasmuch as they were the light of the world, they must shine before men. After this He justifies the parabolic form of teaching, which often served to veil the truth, on the ground that immediate 1 The principle involved was of such vital importance that the proverbial sayings were repeated on more than one occasion, cf. S. Matt. v. 14, 15, 16, x. 26 ; S. Luke xii. 2. 2 Maundrell, Jowett, and others have so identified Safed. It rises to the height of nearly 3000 feet, and would certainly be conspicuous from Kurun Hattin, the traditional scene of the Sermon on the Mount. v. [3-25 The Parable of the Sower explained 83 revelation is not always desirable. Many things are concealed, both in nature and by art, though the concealment is by no means designed to be permanent. What striking illustra- tions of the principle are furnished in Geology ! Look at the almost measureless beds of coal, hidden for ages in the bowels of the earth, but designed by Providence to be revealed when necessity should arise. The precise time for the unveil- ing it is not always easy to decide, because man's knowledge is finite, but we rest assured that it will coincide with the need for its use. It is a principle worth bearing in mind when human efforts fail ; for it is encouraging to know that such a result may be due simply to the fact that we have tried uncon- sciously to anticipate the fore-appointed time. He reverts, in conclusion, to the principle of the first proverb, by quoting another of an analogous kind. Man learns by teaching, and the more use he makes of what he acquires, the more he will be enriched. But let him refuse to acknowledge the obligation to measure out what he has himself received- — to trade, that is, with the Talents or Pounds intrusted to him for profit, — and they will be taken from him and given to others. All history, whether of individuals or communities, is an unbroken witness to the fact, that no good gift, either of wealth, or influence, or spiritual wisdom, is bestowed for the sole use of the immediate recipient. ' ' We lose what on ourselves we spend, We have as treasure without end Whatever, Lord, to Thee we lend :" and we lend to God what we give to our fellow-creatures. XIX ^fje (Bratmai (Brototlj of tlje £>ecti S. Mark iv. 26-29 26. And He said, So is the kingdom bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the of God, as if a man should cast seed blade, then the ear, after that the full into the ground, 27. and should sleep corn in the ear. 29. But when the and rise, night and day, and the seed fruit is brought forth, immediately he should spring and grow up, he know- putteth in the sickle, because the eth not how. 28. For the earth harvest is come. In this parable, of almost unique beauty, which S. Mark alone has recorded, our Lord teaches that there is an analogy to be drawn between the operations of Nature and Grace. He speaks of the latter under the figure of a kingdom. Now " the kingdom of God " is an expression used in Holy Scrip- ture in a threefold sense. It is that empire which shall be established at the end oi the world, when " all things shall be subdued unto Him, . . . that God may be all in all." Again, it is the Divinely-constituted society of the Church, in which His sovereign powers of admission and exclusion, of government and guidance, were delegated to a human Ministry, when its Founder said, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations ; " and again, " As My Father hath sent Me, so send I you : . . . whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." Yet once more, it is the reign of grace in the individual heart, whose presence is so productive of good, that, like the "treasure hid in the field," or the "one pearl of great price," no sacrifice can be too much to pay for its acquisition. ch. iv. v. 26-29 The Growth of the Seed 85 Our Lord makes no reference here to the first of the above meanings, but in regard to the other two, shows how the spiritual and natural kingdoms are governed and controlled by similar laws. Now, in every comparison of the higher with the lower — the heavenly and spiritual with the earthly and natural — while there are many points of close similitude, there will of necessity be some also of manifest divergence. The present parable furnishes an apt illustration when it says that the sower of the seed knows nothing of the mysterious laws of growth and development, and implies that the farmer, having sown his barley or wheat, goes about his ordinary avocations with little thought of that, over which he knows that he has no control. But of Him Who plants the seed of Divine grace in the individual heart, or forms the embryo of what is destined to become a visible body of Christians, none can say that He is careless of its condition or is baffled in understanding the progressive stages of its formation. Upon the main point, however, which the parable was intended to enforce, there is an exact parallel. The normal growth is not fitful or capricious, but in accordance with well- ordered laws of slow and gradual progression. Now look at the kingdom of God in its twofold aspect in the light of this statement. Take first the history of the Church in its collective community. The world was prepared for it by the Incarnation and Redemption. When Christ gave His life for mankind, and broke down the middle wall of partition which sin had built up between man and God, humanly speaking, there would be a rapid diffusion of spiritual knowledge, and no appreciable interval " between the two events of Christ's dying for the world and the world falling prostrate " at His feet. But He taught men by this parable not to cherish any such expectation ; the seed must first lie dormant for a time, then the springing blade would follow in the uprising of small communities struggling through the soil of oppression and persecution ; then, when the Empire should be converted, the blade would sprout into the ear, and the Churches grow and Sees be multiplied ; and now we still wait, after eighteen centuries of alternation of hope and despair, of success and adversity, of the waxing and waning of missionary 86 The Gradual Growth chap, iv enterprise, — we still wait for the full corn and the time of harvest, when " the valleys shall stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing;" and when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Look again at individual souls. The seed of the spiritual life is sown in Holy Baptism, when " by the washing of water and renewing of the Holy Ghost " the baptized person is translated from the kingdom of wrath into the kingdom of grace, and receives from God the requisite powers for continu- ance therein. The effects of the gift, however, may be invisible for a time, necessarily so if the rite has been received in an unconscious state ; it may lie dormant for years, but if the influences are favourable, if the education is carefully tended, if childhood and youth are duly sheltered from the blighting winds of early temptations, and the chilling frosts of unbelief, then it may be expected to grow up from one stage of holiness to another. It may not be always (as neither is it in the field of nature) with uniform progress, but on the whole it develops by the selfsame laws of growth which normally govern the growing corn, from the first burst of germinating life to the ripened grain of full sanctification. The language of the parable, where it speaks of the spon- taneous growth of the corn in the soil, needs careful interpreta- tion in its relation to the Divine life. It is true that it is the Spirit of God Which is the great vivifying Agent in the soul of man, just as in nature, it is from its disposition in the earth that germination is produced ; but it is not meant that nothing can hinder or foster the growth. In both cases the soil may be prepared, the weeds and noxious herbs uprooted, the sun- light more freely admitted by the removal of overshadowing trees, and the field may be fenced round for protection from the incursion of destructive influences ; but the farmer and the preacher must unite in the confession that when they have done all, in their respective spheres, that lies within their reach, when Paul has planted, and Apollos watered, it is none but God Who can give the increase. Now the general teaching of the parable 1 suggests a con- 1 In this very pregnant parable we have been obliged to pass over much that is well worthy of consideration. The reader may consult with advantage Bruce, Parabolic Teaching, ch. v. v. 26-29 of the Seed 87 sideration of two important doctrinal questions, viz. the relationship of Sanctification l to Conversion, and the mode of reconciling the absence of any sign of spiritual life, with the truth of Regeneration. Jacob may have been changed in a single night ; he may have realised, under the influence of one preternatural vision, such an overpowering sense of God's Providence that the current of his life was immediately turned. Or again, in a somewhat similar manner, Saul the persecutor experienced " a wonderful conversion " through that sudden arrest on the road to Damascus ; and other saints, in all ages of Christian history — here one and there another — have shared the same experi- ence, differing only in the degree of its force and influence. How then is the doctrine of Christ's language here affected by such cases ? There is no rule without its exceptions. These sudden conversions are as it were miracles of mercy. They resemble the instantaneous multiplication of the loaves in the desert : they are as when the divers stages of production are concentrated by Divine interposition into a single act, for a special object or a rare emergency. But to hint even, that the heart of man must be thus changed, and that the "where" and the "when" of the change should be definable and certain, is a direct contradiction to the analogy which Christ drew. It is God's law — albeit a law admitting of infinite variation at the hands of Him Who made it — that the soul of man should be sanctified ordinarily, not by sudden crises or abnormal seasons, but by such a slow and gradual development as is witnessed every day in the fields around us. Again, if no sign of the Holy Spirit's influence manifests 1 It is very necessary to distinguish carefully theological terms. Regenera- tion, TraXcyyeveaia (Tit. iii. 5), is an initial act, in which we are "begotten again," avcL-yeyevvrj^voi (1 S. Pet. i. 3), a new relationship of spiritual Paternity being established between us and God. It is a completed act. We can never be "regenerated" again. Holy Scripture never calls upon those who have fallen away from Baptismal grace to "be born again." Sanctification, ayiaafxbs, is a progressive work by which fallen man is made "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light." It begins coincidently with Regeneration. The distinction is well marked in the Collect for Christmas Day, ' ' Grant that we being regenerate . . . may daily be renewed by Thy Holy Spirit." Conversion, e-rncTpocpT}, is a change from a false religion to the true, or a return, after falling away from grace given, on the part of a convinced penitent. This may therefore take place before or after Baptism. 88 The Growth of the Seed ch. iv. v. 26-29 itself during the lapse of years in the life of the baptized, what conclusion must be drawn ? Dare any one assert that the gift of Regeneration was either not imparted in Holy Baptism, or has since been taken away ? Is it not truer that it is only dormant, not quenched or crushed, but waiting to be quickened in God's good time, just as we read of grains of wheat laid up with mummies, which, after ages of unproductive existence, have actually germinated and grown to maturity when the circumstances of the situation changed ? What God requires is the patience of the farmer, who " sleeps, and rises night and day " in the full assurance that "though it tarry it will surely come." If ever then we are discouraged by any apparent failure, either in our own heart or in the hearts of others, let us take courage from what we may see for ourselves in the analogies of Nature, always remembering what closer observation teaches, that " the higher the thing which grows in the scale of being, the slower its growth." XX Clje parable of tljc ^tt£tartu»>ecti S. Mark iv. 30-34 30. And He said, Whereunto shall branches ; so that the fowls of the air we liken the kingdom of God ? or with may lodge under the shadow of it. what comparison shall we compare it ? 33. And with many such parables 31. // is like a grain of mustard seed, spake He the word unto them, as which, when it is sown in the earth, they were able to hear it. 34. But is less than all the seeds that be in the without a parable spake He not earth : 32. but when it is sown, it unto them : and when they were groweth up, and becometh greater alone, He expounded all thi?igs to than all herbs, and shooteth out great His disciples. The interpretation of Holy Scripture has often suffered from an undue anxiety to press details, especially in connection with its parabolic teaching. Difficulties of this kind have been created by certain circumstances of the parable before us. The mustard plant, it is urged, does not fully meet the re- quirements of the language. There are other seeds that are smaller : it does not shoot out large branches, nor become " a great tree : " at best it is little more than a garden shrub. The difficulties were thought to have been solved when a learned botanist 1 discovered a tree in Palestine which, in everything but name, seemed to fulfil the demands of the parable. Its name is Salvadora Persica ; it grows to a considerable height, puts forth leafy branches, and possesses many properties of the mustard plant. 1 Dr. Royle adopted a suggestion previously made by two travellers, Irby and Mangles (Travels in Egypt, ch. vii. ) It is called in Arabic khardal, which is the common name for mustard. Dr. R. made a mistake in assuming that it grew by the Sea of Galilee. Cf. Bible Educator, i. 119 ; Smith's Diet, ii. 446 ; Tristram, Nat. Hist, of the Bible, 472. 90 The Parable of the Mustard-Seed chap, iv Now, while we hail with satisfaction any scientific discovery for the elucidation of obscure passages of the Bible, care must be taken not to depart from the plain teaching because a novel interpretation pleases the fancy, and to see that in clearing away existing obstacles, new ones are not created. For instance, the Salvadora has since been found to grow only in southern climes, abounding in Abyssinia, the desert of Sinai, and other hot regions ; and it is a great question whether it could have grown in Palestine, anywhere else than on the almost tropical shores of the Dead Sea. Whereas it is obvious that the force of the similitude would have been lost upon our Lord's hearers, unless He had spoken of something that was familiar to them. Now, though it may be perfectly true that mustard as a wild plant attains no greater magnitude than a common shrub, yet when sown in "a garden," and properly cultivated, it becomes considerably larger. One of the old Rabbis narrates how he was wont to climb into a mustard-tree in his field as men climb into a fig-tree ; and a trustworthy traveller of this generation testifies that in the rich plain of Akkar he had seen it "as tall as the horse and his rider." This is sufficient to show that, at all events, the mustard plant develops, till there is the utmost disproportion between the bulk to which it attains and the germ from which it sprung. No doubt other figures might have been chosen in abund- ance more suggestive of the great after-development of the kingdom of Christ — such forest-trees, for instance, as the oak of Bashan or cedar of Lebanon, but the acorn and cone were both far less adapted to represent the littleness of its initial state. The mustard was probably the smallest seed from which so large a shrub or tree was known to grow. If, then, such Oriental colouring is allowed for, as is reasonably admitted in other parts of Holy Scripture, no occasion remains for departing from the ordinary interpretation. Now it is clear that our Lord had no doubt that His comparison would be understood. " As small as a grain of mustard-seed " was a recognised proverb * for " the superla- 1 Archbishop Trench quotes a passage from the Qur'an (Sur. 31) : — " Oh my son, verily every matter, whether bad or good, though it be of the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and be hidden in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, God will bring the same to light." v. 3Q-34 The Parable of the Mustard- Seed 91 tively little ; " and as such it is used by Him on two other occasions for the encouragement of the Apostles. If they had " faith as a grain of mustard-seed " He promised them that they should remove mountains, or bid the sycamore-tree be uprooted and planted in the sea, and they should be instantly obeyed. It is not without a purpose that the contrast between the first beginning of His kingdom and its expected future should have been put before the Apostles in such a striking form. The parables which had preceded it must have had a most depressing effect upon their minds. They showed that of the seed sown in the hearts of men, three parts would be lost to one saved ; and that the field carefully planted with the best of seeds too often mocked all the husbandman's hopes of a goodly crop by a simultaneous growth of noxious weeds. Well then might the parable of the mustard-seed be spoken to encourage them in their despondency ! Its fulfilment is so patent that it requires but the briefest notice. It may be well, however, to draw an illustration from a single stage in its development. Contrast the condition of the Church on what is called her birthday, with the same after the first three centuries of her existence. Place yourself in imagination in the Upper Chamber at Jerusalem before the Apostles entered upon their labours. There are but eleven — men of the humblest rank of life, with few of the qualifications which the judgment of the world requires for such an enter- prise. Then overleap the centuries of chequered history that followed, and take your place in the Council Chamber at Nicaea. 1 It is but a portion of the family by which the whole earth was overspread, but it presents a marvellous contrast to its first gathering. The eleven have grown into upwards of three hundred $ 2 and the miserable handful of followers upon whom the Apostles could count at the first, has increased till 1 Perhaps the contrast would have seemed greater if we had selected the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. , the greatest both in numbers and dignity, when 636 Bishops were present instead of 318 ; but we selected the earlier as the first great historical event of universal interest, marking the first important epoch. 2 The numbers have been variously stated — by Eusebius as 250, by Atha- nasius 300, by .Socrates, Sozomen, and others, 318. The last is far most • probable, especially owing to the mystical meanings that were attached to it in early times. 92 The Parable of the Mustard-Seed chap, iv the fruit thereof "shakes like Libanus," and is "green in the city like grass upon the earth." It will suffice for the contrast, but it must not be forgotten that although representatives were present from almost every part of the Eastern Empire, there were but few 1 from the Western, owing mainly perhaps to the exigencies of travel. There were Bishops 2 from the great centres of population, as Alexandria, or Carthage, or Jerusalem ; Bishops, too, from the remote deserts far up the Nile, as the Coptic hermits ; delegates from the Churches of the extreme North and the farthest East, and from the isles of the sea. It fills one with amaze- ment to find every country almost of the East, familiar and unfamiliar, represented in the Assembly. The growth of the Apostolic Church has indeed, despite all the opposition that the world could array against her, fulfilled to the very letter the conditions of the comparison, " The little one has become a thousand," — the smallest of seeds has developed into a goodly tree. Now, though it is quite true that the object of the parable was simply to predict the future increase of the Kingdom, other analogies, to be found by further comparison, however foreign to the main purpose, are not to be ignored. There is surely a side-lesson to be learned from the natural properties of the mustard-seed, from its internal heat and pungency, and from " the fact that it must be bruised ere it yield its best virtues." Its inherent stimulating force finds its parallel in the quickening vitality and vigour that comes from the indwelling of the lifegiving power of the Holy Spirit ; and the necessity of crushing it, is no inapt figure of the principle which has been embodied in the familiar proverb, " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Yet once more, if in addition to its strength and its powers 1 The Western Bishops numbered barely ten. Their Sees were, besides those mentioned below, French, Spanish, Sicilian, Calabrian, Milanese, and Pannonian. 2 The Bishop of Alexandria was then styled "the Pope." This was Alexander, but his See was better represented by his deacon, Athanasius. From the Coptic Church there were Potammon of Heracleopolis and Paphnutius of the Upper Thebaid. From the North, Theophilus the Goth ; from the far East, John the Persian ; from the islands, Spiridion of Cyprus. Cf. Stanley's Eastern Church, Lecture iii. v. 3Q-34 The Parable of the Mustard- Seed 93 of expansion, it was possessed, as is believed, also of medicinal properties, it is impossible to ignore its resemblance to the tree of life in the heavenly city — so true an emblem of the Church, — "which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yields her fruit every month," and whose " leaves were for the healing of the nations." XXI %%z Stilling; of tlje Storm S. Mark iv. 35-41 35. And the same day, when the Him, and say unto Him, Master, even was come, He saith unto them, carest Thou not that we perish? 39. Let us pass over unto the other side. And He arose, and rebuked the wind, 36. And when they had sent away and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. the multitude, they took Him even as And the wind ceased, and there was He was in the ship. And there were a great calm. 40. And He said unto also with Him other little ships. 37. them, Why are ye so fearful? how is And there arose a great storm of wind, it that ye have no faith? 41. And and the waves beat into the ship, so they feared exceedingly, and said one that it was now full. 38. And He to another, What manner of man is was in the hinder part of the ship, this, that even the wind and the sea asleep on a pillow : and they awake obey Him ? The eastern side of the Sea of Galilee has been characterised as a "natural refuge from the active life of the western shores." It was for this reason that our Lord so often retired there for rest, and to commune with His Father in the solitude of the mountain range by which it is bounded. If the sequence of events be taken according to this Gospel, it was after a day spent in teaching the people through a succession of parables, that at eventide Jesus expressed to the disciples His desire to pass over to the other side. His wish was law, and it would seem there were special reasons on this occasion for avoiding the least delay. The boat, which was always drawn up on the shore where He was, was immediately launched, and, without any preparation, they embarked. It almost indicates that He was physically exhausted 1 with His day's work, and they 1 There is evidence of this in the fact that He fell asleep in the boat. The expression "just as He was" is akin to that in S. John iv. 6, "sat thus on ch. iv. v. 35-41 The Stilling of the Storm 95 wished without loss of time to get on to the lake, that He might be refreshed by its breezes. At all events, " they took Him even as He was in the ship." " And there arose a great storm of wind." Travellers say that the Sea of Galilee is peculiarly liable to sudden squalls caused by the physical features of the district. It is not unlike some of the lakes of Switzerland, on which sailing is admittedly dangerous from a more or less similar cause. The sea lies in a deep depression, as much as 600 feet or more, below the level of che surrounding country. It is girt in almost entirely by a range of hills, rising in places to a considerable height, and crowned by vast plateaus of table- land. The hillsides are worn by watercourses into deep gorges, which act like funnels, through which the wind pours down from the higher latitudes on to the surface of the lake. The temperature on the edge of the water is almost tropical, while that above is many degrees lower, and this variation aggravates not a little the violence of the storms. The disciples on this occasion were overtaken by one of these, and in imminent danger of being wrecked. It was a storm of more than ordinary severity, for the disciples, who were fishermen, and had had their home on those very waters, and must have been often exposed to tempestuous weather, were in real fear. The waves were fast filling the boat, and it would certainly sink if matters did not immediately mend. Their omy hope lay in the miraculous intervention of their Lord, Who, with His head upon the boatswain's cushion, was sleeping, wholly undisturbed by the tumult around. They had as yet seen but one instance in which He had exercised His power over the material elements ; but the miracle at Cana of Galilee had shown that even the waters were obedient unto His word, and though, as was probable, only a few 1 of the disciples had witnessed it, the fact must have become known to all ; and if they thought of it at the time, despair would be relieved by hope, when they awoke Him to a sense the well," ourws, " as He was," apparently expressed by the preceding words, " being wearied with His journey." 1 This took place most probably before any of the disciples had been formally called to the Apostleship. The five who were mentioned in the first chapter of S. John would naturally be with them. 96 The Stilling of the Storm chap, iv of their danger. "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?" It is almost certain that they were the words of S. Peter. The rest may have joined, but they are in such exact accord with that impatient and impulsive spirit, which so often betrayed him into unbefitting words and acts, that we can have little doubt that the remonstrance was his in the first instance. The recollection of that hasty speech clung to him in after years ; and while the other Evangelists only record an ex- pression of earnest entreaty, "Lord, save us; we perish," or " Master, Master, we perish," S. Peter was careful to make known to S. Mark one which he felt reflected discredit upon himself. But though there is in their cry an evidence of imperfect confidence, and even of hasty impatience, knowing how little way He had been able to advance them as yet in their spiritual training, Jesus showed nothing but tenderness towards them. " He rebuked the wind." Seeing the wild fury with which it was lashing the waves into commotion, as though it were some monster whose roar must be silenced, He cries to it to "be silent and be gagged," for such in the original is the force of the expression, "Peace, be still." 1 Nature in her wildest uproar recognised the voice of Him Who was her rightful Lord, and obeyed His command. "And there was a great calm." It was no ordinary abatement, for commonly, when the wind ceases, and for long after, there is a great swell upon the waves : when they are no more agitated by external force, they require time to recover their ordinary condition ; but here they were them- selves at rest as though nothing had disturbed them. It puts out of question all possibility of explaining the miracle by natural causes. Then, 2 having relieved His disciples from their impending peril, His first thought was to turn it to account in helping 1 cruinra, TecpLfAwcro. The latter word is used properly for "muzzling" a beast — 1 Cor. ix. 9 ; 1 Tim. v. 18. Our Lord applies it also to the un- clean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum (S. Mark i. 25). Possibly there is an allusion to "the Prince of the power of the air" having aroused the storm. £ SS. Mark and Luke both place the rebuking of the wind before His complaint of the disciples' want of faith ; S. Matthew inverts the order. The difference may have arisen from the former resting upon a general report, the latter upon actual eye-witness of the scene. v. 35-4i The Stilling of the Storm 97 and preparing them for the greater dangers and difficulties that lay in their future. Nothing could exceed the gentleness with which He reproved their impatient distrust. " Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" It was a simple call upon them to remember what they had learned, what proofs He had given of His power and His willingness to help and deliver. And great fear came upon them — not the fear which had made them tremble for their safety, but an overmastering sense of awe. What they had just witnessed was not altogether a new revelation, but it had torn away another bandage from their eyes, and their apprehension of Him Who was thus " gradually making Himself felt in all His fulness," became proportionately stronger, and they asked one another, in amazed surprise at their convictions, "What manner of man is this," or, more literally, " Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" The "then" is by no means without its significance, for it points back to what they had witnessed, and points on to the conclusion that must be drawn from it. The truth which was unfolding before them is clear and patent to us, that it was He of Whom the Psalmist had written, "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still;" or again, "O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto Thee ? Thou rulest the raging of the sea : when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them." The symbolical application of this miracle has been made almost more frequently than that of any other, whether that Galilean boat be compared to the Ark of Christ's Church, or to the individual soul sustained in its voyage through " the waves of this troublesome world " by the indwelling Presence of the Captain of our salvation and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Under a very familiar figure in early times, 1 the Church is depicted as a ship supported in the sea by a great fish, whilst a dove is sitting upon the top of the mast. The fish was regarded as emblematic of Christ, because the Greek word formed an acrostic, containing the initial letters of "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour." The dove perched upon the mast, represented the Holy Spirit, Who, 1 For an account of the anagram, cf. the author's After Death, 88. H 98 The Stilling of the Storm ch. iv. v. 35-41 as at the first creation, broods over the waters, and by His gentle influence brings order out of confusion. One of the great Latin Fathers 1 has applied the several parts of the miracle to the history of the individual soul somewhat as follows : " We are sailing through life as through a sea, and the wind rises, and storms of tempest spring up. How is this, save because Jesus is sleeping in thee? If He were not asleep in thee, thou wouldst be calm and at rest. But why is He sleeping ? Because thy faith is asleep. And what shalt thou do to be delivered ? Arouse Him. ' Master, we perish.' Then He will awaken : thy faith will revive : and though the tempests roar and beat into thy ship, yet, strong in thy recovered faith, thou wilt defy the elements : the danger will pass away, and thou wilt reach in safety the haven where thou wouldest be." 1 I owe this quotation to Trench on Miracles, 157. XXII ^Ije SDemoniactf of (Batiara S. Mark v. i-io i. And they came over unto the and cutting himself with stones. 6. other side of the sea, into the country But when he saw Jesus afar off, he of the Gadarenes. 2. And when He ran and worshipped Him, 7. and was come out of the ship, immedi- cried with a loud voice, and said, ately there met Him out of the tombs What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, a man with an unclean spirit, 3. who Thou Son of the Most High God ? had his dwelling among the tombs ; I adjure Thee by God, that Thou and no man could bind him, no, not torment me not. 8. For He said with chains : 4. because that he had unto him, Come out of the man, thou been often bound with fetters and unclean spirit. 9. And He asked chains, and the chains had been him, What is thy name? And he plucked asunder by him, and the answered, saying, My name is Le- fetters broken in pieces : neither gion : for we are many. 10. And could any man tame him. 5. And he besought Him much that He always, night and day, he was in the would not send them away out of mountains, and in the tombs, crying, the country. The night was closing in, when our Lord landed on the eastern shore of the lake. He had embarked with the disciples in the afternoon, when the sun began to decline at " the first 1 even- tide," but the journey across, usually occupying two or three hours, had been much prolonged by the storm which they encountered : and it must have been late when they came to land. It adds considerably to the weird character of the scene to realise this. The solitude of the coast, the bleak barren rocks, scarred and fissured with gloomy caverns, the wild shrieks of " the possessed," were sufficient of themselves to 1 The first evening was when the sun began to set, about three p.m. ; the second when it actually went down, about six p.m. The Paschal lamb was slain "between the evenings." ioo The Demoniacs of Gadara chap, v inspire one with a sense of awe, but it would be greatly inten- sified by the gathering darkness, and all the more as the light of the moon shone out upon the landscape. It lends a peculiar interest to the story that, after years of dispute, the locality has been incontestably identified by the dis- covery of the ruins of the town of Khersa, 1 exactly opposite to Capernaum, and close to the shore. Two of the most accurate writers on the Holy Land have described "the steep bluff and perpendicular declivity " which overhangs the lake at this spot, and satisfies most closely the requirements of the miracle. As our Lord stepped out of the boat He was met immedi- ately by a demoniac 2 coming out of the tombs with which the mountain abounded, and of which so many traces still remain. It would appear that it was a most aggravated case of "possession," and as such was doubtless selected by three Evangelists for especial notice. S. Mark, as usual, is very vivid in his description, but something is added to it by the other two. From a combina- tion of all we gather the following results. He wore no clothes ; he filled the air with his ravings ; he was driven by a suicidal mania to cut himself with stones ; he was the terror of the neighbourhood ; every effort to bind him had failed, for he was endowed with prodigious strength, and burst his chains ; he made his dwelling-place in the tombs, and he was possessed by a legion of evil spirits. 3 It is impossible to conceive of a worthier claimant for the Divine compassion. 1 This is probably the modern equivalent of the ancient Gergesa, which Origen says was the scene of the miracle. Gadara, the modern Umkeis, is distant one mile and a half from the lake, and separated from it by a river, which sets it aside as impossible. 2 S. Luke agrees with S. Mark in mentioning one demoniac. S. Matthew speaks of two. It is possible that one was much better known than the other, and the fame of his cure would be spread abroad and stress laid upon it. — S. Aug. de Consens. Evang. ii. 24. S. Matthew, having been an eye-witness, remembered the fact that he was accompanied by a second. There is no con- tradiction, ' ' aui plura dicit pauciora complectitur ; qui pauciora dicit, plura non negat. " 3 The case of " possession " has been rendered especially difficult from the modern way of speaking of "the possessed of devils," unfortunately perpetu- ated in the Revised Version. There is only one "devil." He is spoken of many times in the New Testament, but never in the plural. The demons by whom men were "possessed" were evil spirits, his emissaries or "angels." Edersheim, in an appendix on this subject, sums up thus : " Greater con- trast could scarcely be conceived than between what we read in the New The Demoniacs of Gadara No sooner did he see Jesus in the distance than he recog- nised Him, the spirit that possessed him at once acknowledging the dreaded Presence of Him Who came to trample upon the powers of evil. And he did homage to Him, and addressed Him by a title of exceeding dignity, used only once elsewhere, in the prediction of His birth by the angel. It is said that the title " Most High God " was the one commonly adopted in the formula of exorcism, and possibly the demoniac was prompted to use it, as that with which he was most familiar, from its frequent invocation over himself. With an earnest adjuration he begged that he might not be tormented. This he did, seeing that Jesus was about to cast him out, not, as the Authorised Version renders it, "for He said to him " — but " for He was on the point of saying to him," — "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." Had the word of authority once been uttered, it would have been too late to interpose, for when Jesus spake, it was done. Then followed the question of his name, and that mysterious answer — " Legion, 1 for we are many." The man had seen, perhaps, the resistless might of the Imperial forces of Rome as they swept down all opposition, and it seemed to him the fittest symbol of the power which had taken him captive ;. or it may be from the double consciousness, which is so marked through- Testament and the views and practices mentioned in Rabbinic writings." It is often said that our Lord adopted the Jewish way of speaking, and treated mental and physical diseases as though they were demoniacal possessions, and the modern usage of the term " lunatic " is quoted as a parallel. But there is the widest difference between them. Cf. Trench, Miracles, 153. "Posses- sion," it is true, was often accompanied by disease or infirmity, but often also distinguished from them. — S. Mark i. 33, xvii. 17, 18 ; S. Luke vi. 17, 18. The demons speak with more than human knowledge. — S. Mark i. 24 ; S. Matt viii. 29. There is, moreover, a double consciousness in the possessed which is inexplicable save by an objective possession. Is it possible that our Lord could have so far yielded to popular prejudice as to embrace it in His commission to the Apostles (S. Matt. x. 8), and to make it a matter of thanksgiving to God when they reported their success? Cf. Edersheim, i. 480. Archdeacon Farrar's theory that "any mental aberration, sudden sickness, melancholy tendencies," and the like, were regarded as due to the direct influ- ence of "demons" (Life of Christ, i. 236), can hardly be accepted, if the above writer has correctly interpreted the opinions of his nation. He con- cludes that there is no midway between rejecting the accounts of dispossession as purely mythical, or believing that there was a demonised state different from disease or madness. 1 Possibly it signified also that the evil spirits were banded together under officers in regular organisations, like the forces of an army. 102 The Demoniacs of Gadara chap, v out, that it was the spirit within him that answered, and that he hoped by such an exaggerated estimate of his force, to over- awe and terrify his Adversary. "And he besought Him that He would not send them away out of the country." S. Luke has preserved a more definite expression, which is full of suggestiveness — "that He would not command them to go out into the deep." It was not the Galilean lake which lay before them, but " the abyss," " the bottomless pit," as S. John calls it, into which the devil and his angels will be consigned l when their present liberty " to go to and fro on the earth " is taken away, and the final sentence passed upon them. The sequel must remain for future consideration. We notice now some thoughts arising out of the narrative as far as it has proceeded. The first touches the mode of treatment which the demoniac received at the hands of his fellow-creatures. Here is a man afflicted with the most terrible evil one can possibly imagine, abandoned to his cruel fate, with nothing done, no step taken in any direction, to mitigate his condition, but everything almost purposely contrived to aggravate its misery. He is driven from the haunts of men into a bleak barren region, to seek shelter from wind and rain and cold, in caverns where the dead lie buried ; he is chained from time to time to the rocks, but only with the supernatural strength that belongs to frenzy and madness, to regain his freedom. Forsaken by every human being, he roams about by night and by day, not only to the terror of others, but cutting and maiming himself among the rocks and stones. We have but to dwell upon such a picture of inhuman neglect as this, and then contrast it with the treatment such a deplorable case would have received in our own generation; and in realising this, we may well be thankful for the change which Christianity has effected alike in the estimate and the alleviation of suffering. But not only do we note the neglect of the demoniac ; we go further, and say that it was a case which of all others 1 Milton helped very largely to propagate the erroneous belief that the devil and the evil spirits are already in hell, in the place of torments. Cf. Paradise Lost, ii. 115-120; iii. 200-210. v. i-io The Demoniacs of Gadara 103 deserved the greatest sympathy and consideration. He was not, as far as we are able to judge, one who had brought that terrible evil upon himself. A distinguished writer says, " We should find ourselves altogether upon a wrong track did we conceive of the demoniacs as the worst of men, and their possession as the plague and penalty of a wickedness in which they had greatly exceeded others. Rather we must esteem the demoniac as the unhappiest, but not of necessity one of the guiltiest of our race." There is indeed the widest gulf between the condition of the traitor Judas whom Satan entered when he committed an act of unparalleled baseness, and that of the demoniac boy at the foot of the Transfiguration Mount, who had not only been afflicted with epilepsy from childhood, but, according to Christ's own words, was possessed by "an unclean spirit." But the question has often been asked, If demoniacal pos- session was something distinct from disease, mental or corporal, how are we to explain the fact that it is no longer existent ? We do not stay to dispute the supposition that the phe- nomenon has disappeared, further than to observe that in the East, especially in India, the advent of the Gospel is said to be not infrequently signalised by manifestations of Satanic agency not far removed in character from that under consideration. It has, however, been proved that epidemics, both moral and physical, have appeared " at certain epochs, specially fitted for their generation, have gradually declined, and totally disap- peared in others less congenial to them." Now the days of the Messiah were pre-eminently exceptional. To the powers of evil it was a most momentous crisis, and it was to be expected that they would be strained to the utmost to counteract oppos- ing influences from which they had so much to fear. Demoniacal possession was, so to speak, their death-struggle, the last convulsive spasm of an expiring force in the conflict with Him Who came into the world for the avowed purpose of planting His heel upon their prince's neck, and treading the powers of evil under His feet. XXIII %%z ^trti of £>toine tictftropcti S. Mark v. 11-20 11. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12. And all the devils be- sought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine : and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand,) and were choked in the sea. 14. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind ; and they were afraid. 16. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17. And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts. 18. And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. 19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him : and all men did marvel. It creates a feeling of surprise that there should be so large a herd of swine feeding in a country where to keep such animals was strictly prohibited by the Jewish Law. On the supposition that the owners were Jews, a motive has been sought for their destruction in its penal character. Nothing could be more natural than that our Lord should manifest His displeasure, if occasion offered, at such an overt act of disobedience. But it is doubtful whether the facts of the case justify the interpretation. History tells us how, after the conquest of Palestine, large numbers of Romans settled in that neigh- bourhood ; and in addition to this, it was the region of ch. v. v. 11-20 The Herd of Swine destroyed 105 Decapolis, of the ten cities which had remained in the heathen's 1 hands after the return of the Jews from captivity. It will be well, therefore, to account for the destruction on other grounds ; but we revert first to the circumstances which led to it. During their conversation with our Lord the devils besought Him that He would send them into the swine. It is difficult to decide whether such a desire may be taken as indicative of their natural propensity to all that was unclean, or as a proof of their craft and subtlety. " Unclean " spirits would seize instinctively upon the bodies of those who, by excessive sensuality and indulgence of the flesh, had laid themselves open to their inroads. 2 They seem, moreover, to have found a congenial dwelling-place in the tombs of the dead, which to the ancients were types of all impurity. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- crites ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness." It may have been the same natural impulse that prompted them, when about to be driven out of the bodies of men, to seek for a lodgment in the lowest and most unclean of the brutes : — " Send us into the swine." Or again, it may have been nothing but a deep designing plot to revenge themselves upon their destroyer. If only they could be the means of annihilating their herds, the owners would inevitably rise up against Him, at Whose bidding the destruction had been caused. They would not tolerate His Presence, but would drive Him out of their coasts. And so we know it came to pass. But whatever their motive in making the request, it was instantly granted. No sooner was the permission given than a wild panic seized the herd, and they rushed " madly down the almost perpendicular declivity — those behind tumbling over and thrusting forward those before ; and as there was neither time nor space to recover on the narrow shelf between 1 Lightfoot says : ' ' You may not improperly guess that these hogs belonged not to the Jews, but to the heathen dwelling among the Gadarene Jews ; for such a mixture was very usual in the cities and countries of the land of Israel." 2 This seems to contradict what was said above ; but all that was intended there was that there were cases where "possession" was not necessarily the result of a sinful life. 106 The Herd of Swine destroyed chap, v the base and the lake, they were crowded headlong into the water and perished." 1 The swineherds fled in terror and dismay to the town hard by, and told to their masters all that had happened ; and the whole population was stirred by the tidings, and went out to meet Jesus. The account closes with two requests, which stand in striking contrast to each other. The one was granted ; the other denied. When the owners of the swine came to Jesus, they saw the poor demoniac, whom they had known and feared, no longer naked and wild and raving, but "clothed, and in his right mind;" but, instead of falling at His feet Who had wrought that incredible change, and seeking for themselves some gifts of grace, they could think only of their miserable herds, and fill their minds with superstitious fear, lest some worse loss should befall them. They saw in the Saviour of men's souls " no beauty that they should desire Him," and begged Him to "depart out of their coasts." It was in accordance with a mysterious and perplexing principle, often illustrated in Scripture History, by which men estranged from God come offering a petition which is not refused, that the prayer of the Gerasenes was at once complied with. The request was granted, but how fatal the gift ! " He gave them their own desire : they were not disappointed of their lust." And this was the second request. " When He was come unto the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him" — but that was refused ! Where could he have been better, than where he craved to be ? Where in the whole wide world could he find greater safety from a relapse into the power from which he had been rescued, than in the companionship of his Deliverer? But He sent him away. The Gerasenes may drive the Master from their shores, but the servant must remain, because God would not leave Himself without a witness. It was possible 1 Milman and some others have imagined that the swine were driven down the precipice by the demoniacs in a paroxysm of frenzy. This is inconsistent with the narrative, which lends our Lord's sanction to what they did. Paulus supposes that they began fighting among themselves, and in the confusion fell over the cliff. v. n-2o The Herd of Swine destroyed 107 that the man, whom they knew, might win acceptance where the Stranger was feared, and so He left him behind, that as he had been a signal illustration in the neighbourhood of the working of sin and evil, he might henceforward be seen as a living monument of the transforming power of grace and mercy. Thou " when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren." Now, setting aside the interpretation which regards the destruction of the swine as a penalty inflicted on Jews for the transgression of the Law, men's minds have been exercised to find any satisfactory justification for an apparently unnecessary waste of life and property. In considering the question we can only appeal to one other miracle bearing any analogy to it ; for often as Jesus exercised His almighty power to give life, He exercised it only twice to take it away. In neither case was it human life. It was that of the lowest of the creatures in the animal, and of the fig-tree in the vegetable, world. It is almost incredible that with all the provocation that He received, in all the perilous circumstances in which He was placed, He should never have revenged Himself, as men are so eager to do, or have taken away another's life to save His Own. It should fill us with the highest conception of His super- human meekness; and our wondering admiration should be increased by the realisation of the fact that, almost immediately after His departure, one of the very first miracles wrought by the power which He had delegated to the Apostles was for the destruction of two human beings. The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were no doubt a most salutary warning to the infant Church, of the imperative obligation of perfect truth and candour; but, looking at our Lord's acts, we are sure that what seemed inevitable to S. Peter would somehow have been avoided by Him, if only because He came expressly to save life, and not to destroy it. We shall, however, find ample justification for the two solitary exceptions which the history of His miracles has left on record. The withering of the fig-tree was a parable in act, designed to impress the Jews when words had completely failed ; and the destruction of the swine resulted in the salva- tion of the man. Now, if it be in accordance with Divine 108 The Herd of Swine destroyed ch. v. v. u-20 Providence that so many animals should be slaughtered daily to sustain men's bodies, we need feel no surprise that so great a sacrifice should be made to save an immortal soul. And when we realise what the " possession " had been, we can appreciate the difficulty the poor demoniac must have experi- enced in apprehending the possibility of deliverance. Not till he saw the evil spirits by which he had been tortured transferred to others — to the bodies of other creatures — not till he saw them working upon others the very effects from which he had suffered, could he be convinced of his salvation. Surely, then, "those who know the worth of a human soul — of a life restored to itself, to its fellow-men, and to God — will hesitate before they presume to say that this destruction of the swine was too dear a price to pay for its restoration." XXIV <3E&e Easing; of 3&fnt0' 2Daug1jter S. Mark v. 21-24, 35-43 21. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him : and He was nigh unto the sea. 22. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name ; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, 23. and besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death : / pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed ; and she shall live. 24. And Jesus went with him ; and much people followed Him, and thronged Him. ... 35. While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead : why troublest thou the Master any further? 36. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 37. And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38. And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39. And when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. 40. And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 41. And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were aston- ished with a great astonishment. 43. And He charged them straitly that no man should know it ; and com- manded that something should be given her to eat. S. John closes his Gospel with a declaration that if all the things which Jesus did " should be written every one, .... even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Among the unrecorded miracles, we can hardly doubt, there were many instances of restoration to life. The Evangelists were guided by the Holy Spirit to hand down the The Raising of history of only three, and a careful consideration of these has suggested that they were selected of set purpose to represent Christ's power over death in all its stages. The little daughter of the ruler of the synagogue 1 had only just passed away, and was lying on her death-bed. When the widow's son at Nain was raised from the bier, he had been dead twenty-four hours or less — for that was the longest time allowed to elapse before the funeral 2 in the East. Lazarus, again, had been buried out of sight for a considerable period, and the process of decomposition had set in. It is possible, moreover, that there was a further object in the choice, viz., to show forth "a progressive development of the Almighty power," the raising of Lazarus being, so to speak, a more difficult work than that of the widow's son, and this again than that of Jairus' daughter. Now, while the two other miracles find a place each in one Gospel only, this last is narrated in no less than three. There must therefore be some circumstances connected with it deserving more than common attention. An apparent discrepancy in the several reports of the father's words has been a stumbling-block to critical minds ; but when rightly interpreted, it will be found confirmatory of the truth, the variety of expression carrying with it an air of naturalness that is quite convincing. He had left his child to all human appearance at the point of death ; life was ebbing so fast that when he found Jesus he realised the worst, and, throwing himself at His feet, spoke of her as " dead ; " but as he talked with Him, a flash of hope seemed to have crossed his soul that she may have revived; and there is a correspond- ing change in his language, — he had left her "at the point of death." Those who know anything of the bed-side watching by the sick and dying will readily understand this alternation of hope and fear, and find no difficulty in the fact that the 1 Jairus was the president of the elders of the synagogue, by whom all its affairs were managed. Lightfoot, quoting from the Talmud, says that he gave orders who should read the Prophets, who should recite the Phylacteries, and who should pass before the Ark. The subordinate officers were the "Delegate," who read the prayers; the Chazzan, or deacon; and the Batlanim, whose exact office is much disputed. 2 Burial must take place before the expiration of the day on which one died. For all the particulars connected with an Oriental funeral, cf. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 99-106. 2i-24, 35-43 Jairus Daughter distracted father should express himself at one moment in one way, at the next in another. Jesus yielded to his entreaty, and went with him ; and we can well imagine that no time would be lost, and the least delay anxiously avoided. But suddenly Christ deliberately stopped ; something unusual had occurred, and it was necessary that it should be cleared up before they went any further. He had felt a hand upon Him ; it was no common touch, no mere jostling of the crowd, but a touch that had drawn healing virtue from His Person, and that eager hurrying multitude was bidden to halt, till the one who had done this thing should be discovered. We can almost see the agonised expression which must have clouded the poor father's face. He did not dare to remonstrate, but every moment was precious, and minutes must have seemed like hours. Was it unkind, then, of Jesus to delay at such a time ? There were some, no doubt, who thought so. Even S. Peter answered impatiently ; but we are sure that one Who was all tenderness could never be really cruel, or do otherwise than feel the keenest sympathy with that intense anxiety. Indeed, so far from that stoppage being a sign of indifference, it was actually designed — fore-ordained for the father's good. Christ knew, what Jairus did not know, viz., that the child was already dead. He knew also that there was far too little of that faith in his heart which was indispensable for the exercise of miraculous power. There was none of the "venture" which our Lord loved, of the undoubting conviction that He was able to do all that was asked of Him, no simple appeal to " speak the word only " which marked implicit trust ; Y and in Plis tender compassion He took these means to strengthen his faith by a demonstration of power. The message which was brought to him from home at that moment was calculated to have the very opposite effect. Perhaps Jairus' friends had discouraged his journey; they may have heard as yet of no one being raised from the dead ; and it would be useless to send for One to heal her sickness, when she would certainly be dead before the Physician could 1 Nothing short of our Lord's presence would satisfy him. He must come and take some outward means for her restoration — " Come and lay Thy hand upon her." 1 1 2 The Raising of arrive. And they lost np time in hurrying after him, as soon as their fears were fulfilled, and brought the tidings, "Thy daughter is dead," and urged him at once to return: "Why troublest 1 thou the Master any further ? " Now see how wonderfully all had been ordered. Had those messengers arrived ever so little sooner, Jairus might have lost all heart, and abandoned his petition, and his little child would never have been restored to him again. But their arrival exactly coincided with His miraculous cure of the woman with the issue of blood ; and as He had just given proof of His power, so again He interposes with further encouragement at the critical juncture : " Be not afraid, only believe." And what He meant by His words was simply this : " Thou hast seen a poor sufferer healed of her infirmity by the touch of faith ; cherish the same undoubting confidence in My power, and thou shalt see greater things than this." That act of healing and that word of assurance swept away all lingering doubt, and he went on his way rejoicing. But when they reached the house, they were confronted by every sign and token of death. It was filled with hired mourners, persons whose duty it was to make death appear as sad as possible, a thing to vex the mind with the most painful associations. We can conceive no greater contrast than that between the wild shrieks and wailings of the mercenaries, and the calm consolatory utterance of Jesus : " The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth." 2 He did not mean that life had not fled, because there could be no doubt on that point, but that death was not what most men thought. " In the eyes of God we are not dead, we only sleep. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and when He is near, death is but a sleep." "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." And when Jesus had rebuked the tumult, He entered the 1 " Troublest." — The original word is almost untranslatable. It means to flay, excoriate ; hence to vex, annoy. 2 Some writers have assumed from this that she was only in a trance, and that no miracle was performed : but our Lord uses the same language of Lazarus ; and in Jewish phraseology death is most commonly spoken of as sleep ; cf. Lightfoot in loco. v. 21-24, 35-43 J aims Daughter 113 chamber where she lay, and, taking her hand, said, " Talitha cumi," l and she obeyed the word of omnipotence, and arose and walked. No wonder S. Mark should have recorded the exceeding astonishment with which the miracle was witnessed; for in all probability it was one of the earliest occasions upon which He had shown Himself triumphant over death. His last command was that "something should be given her to eat." In its literal application it speaks of the tenderest forethought, but when spiritually interpreted it involves a principle too often lost sight of, in the restoration of those that are morally dead. To awaken the sinner to a sense of his guilt, and to draw him up out of the degradation in which he has been sunk, is only the first step, albeit a most important one ; but the restored life needs proper sustenance ; and unless fresh help and unfailing food be provided, " the last state of that man is worse than the first." If the history of many of those Missions which are such a characteristic of this generation were to be written, there would be tale after tale of reclaimed sinners relapsing into sin, simply because efforts were relaxed when the excitement had passed ; because conversion was regarded as the end, rather than the first step only, in the ever-progressing advance of a Godward life. The Church's true mission is to follow in her Master's steps, and, reading the inner meaning of His acts and words, first to take the sleeping soul by the hand and bid it " arise," and then after the awakening to strengthen it with the life- giving food of Him Who said, "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up' at the last day." 1 S. Mark alone gives the very words used by our Lord, as on other occasions. Talitha is a term of tenderness and endearment. S. Peter must have remembered this when he said, " Tabitha, arise" (Acts ix. 40). XXV %\)t cl&lomati tottlj an 3|£gue of Blood S. Mark v. 25-34 25. And a certain woman, which virtue had gone out of Him, turned had an issue of blood twelve years, Him about in the press, and said, 26. and had suffered many things of Who touched My clothes? 31. And many physicians, and had spent all His disciples said unto Him, Thou that she had, and was nothing seest the multitude thronging Thee, bettered, but rather grew worse, 27. and sayest Thou, Who touched Me? when she had heard of Jesus, came in 32. And He looked round about to the press behind, and touched His see her that had done this thing. 33. garment. 28. For she said, If I may But the woman fearing and trembling, touch but His clothes, I shall be knowing what was done in her, came whole. 29. And straightway the and fell down before Him, and told fountain of her blood was dried up ; Him all the truth. 34. And He said and she felt in her body that she was unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath healed of that plague. 30. And Jesus, made thee whole ; go in peace, and immediately knowing in Himself that be whole of thy plague. There is a well-known series of pictures in Christian Art known as " The Stations " on the Way of the Cross. In one of these our Blessed Lord lies prostrate on the ground, and a woman is wiping the great drops of sweat from His face with her veil. That act of tender sympathy was regarded by the early Church as so Christlike a thing that she clothed the episode in a beautiful and romantic form, maintaining that the impression of His face was left upon the veil ; 1 and the sister of mercy who ministered to Him in His distress has 1 It is an interesting study to discover the dea underlying the mediaeval legends : — e.g. in the betrothal of S. Catharine to the Infant Jesus is repre- sented the union of the pure and holy Christian soul with the one absorbing object of its love ; in the leafy covering into which S. Etheldreda's staff budded to protect her from the heat, the shelter which her great foundation at Ely offered to many generations. For that of Veronica cf. Eucharistic Poems by A. Gurney. ch. v. v. 25-34 The Isstie of Blood 115 come down to posterity by the name of Veronica, or " The True Likeness." According to one of the Apocryphal Gospels, 1 which is known for its preservation of some probable traditions, she was the woman for whom Jesus had wrought this miraculous cure. If the identity may be assumed, it was not merely an act of womanly tenderness and compassion, but a grateful return for remembered loving-kindness. Further, as corroborative of the truth of this miracle of healing, the Father of Ecclesiastical History testifies, three centuries after its occurrence, that he had seen at Caesarea Philippi, which was said to have been her native town, a monument erected in commemoration of the event. " At the gates of her house, on an elevated stone, stands a brazen image of a woman on her bended knee, with her hands stretched out before her like one entreating. Opposite to this there is another, of a man, erect, of the same material, decently clad in a mantle, and stretching out his hand to the woman." This monument Eusebius associates with the case before us by a superstitious belief, which he says prevailed in the neighbourhood — viz., that there was a mysterious plant growing at the base, which year by year, as soon as it reached as high as the hem of the brazen garment, became a kind of antidote to all manner of sickness and disease. The circumstances of the cure are very familiar. Our Lord was on His way to the bedside of a dying child, followed by a crowd of people, all expectant and eager to see for themselves an exhibition of His healing power. Their curiosity had been excited by the rumours of His " mighty deeds " in Capernaum, nigh where they were. Jesus was probably clad as the Jewish Rabbi invariably was. 2 On His head He would wear the Oriental turban, on His feet sandals or shoes, according to the season of the year ; His inner or under dress was the close-fitting tunic, reaching 1 The date of the Apocryphal Gospels is uncertain, but some belong to the second and third centuries. 2 Our Lord is usually represented without any head-dress. Edersheim has shown in an interesting chapter upon Jewish Dress that it was held as disrespectful to go with a bare head. The under garment was called Chithuna, and is represented in the Greek x LT ^ v ' There was another upper garment besides the Tallith, called Goltha. Both had fringes, n6 The Woman with chap, v almost to the ground, and gathered in with a girdle : it was " without seam, woven from the top throughout," while over this was thrown " the Tallith," with the hems or fringes for which such careful directions were given in the Law, and to which such deep significance was attached : " Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture," . . . " that ye may remember, and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God." It was, no doubt, from the almost superstitious reverence that had grown up for this part of the dress, that the woman was impelled to grasp it, in the hope of being cured. For few would deny that there was a strong element of superstition in her faith. Our Lord, however, judged her according to the standard of her times, and saw underlying her conduct at least the principle of that which He ever regarded as a claim upon His recognition. And so her touch was immediately responded to. But He would not let her depart till her faith had been lifted on to a higher level, and she was thoroughly convinced how great things she was capable of effecting by it. Hence the conversation that followed. "And Jesus, im- mediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched My clothes ? " The question brought no answer, but it provoked a remonstrance from the disciples. We find from S. Luke that S. Peter was their mouthpiece. It creates a little surprise that we should be indebted to another Evangelist for the know- ledge of this, because that Apostle was so careful in reminding S. Mark of much that told to his own disparagement. But it was no idle question, as they supposed. There were many around Him who had need to be healed, sick, no doubt, with countless infirmities, and they had touched Him again and again as they pressed upon Him, but they were not cured as she was. And Christ would tell them why it was. They had not touched in faith. The poor woman had not dared to come forward, knowing that her disease made her unclean. She was afraid that, if Zizith, but which Jesus wore is doubtful. The four articles — the turban, the girdle, the sandals or shoes, and the Tallith — would be divided severally to the four soldiers, while the fifth, the Chithuna, was raffled for by all. Cf. Life and Times, i. 621-6. v. 25-34 An Isstte of Blood 117 she threw herself in His way, some of the bystanders to whom she was known would cry out " Unclean," and her shame would be exposed in the presence of the multitude. So it was that she pushed as closely as she could, and then grasped the fringe of His robe, and felt at once that the issue of her blood was stanched. And when Jesus called for her "that had done this thing," she hesitated for a moment ; she heard the remonstrance of S. Peter, and hoped, perhaps, that nothing more would be said ; but as the Saviour insisted, and looked round, it may be He caught her anxious look, for " she came, and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth." And what followed ? We lose some of the force of the language in the English translation : " Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." They are different words x in the original, and the first is greater than the last, — " Thy faith hath saved thee " — saved thee not only from bodily infirmity, but from the soul's sickness : go in peace, and carry away deliverance from the lower, as a pledge and witness of that which is higher. The story teaches the rightful place of faith in the work of salvation. That none can be saved without faith is so plainly set forth in Holy Scripture that " he may run that readeth it ; " but at the same time it is taught with equal emphasis, though it may be more through acts than words, that it is the touch of Christ which effects the cure, whether His hands are laid upon us, or ours are stretched forth to lay hold upon Him. This poor sufferer had faith before she touched ; she believed, however imperfect her appreciation of the reality, that Jesus was possessed of the means of healing, and that, though every other remedy had failed, He could still bring relief. But it was not till she laid hold of something external to herself, till she brought herself into actual contact with Him, that her end was gained. It is the same in the Christian life now. We have faith in the efficacy of the Incarnation for the purification from all sin, and the Sacraments are given for the application of its virtue to each individual. They are the means by which we may 1 cre'crw/ce, the same expression as in verse 28 — saved or delivered — often used in deliverance from bodily ailments, with a further sense underlying it. vyirjs, whole, healthv, sound. u8 The Issue of Blood ch. v. v. 25-34 follow up the internal conviction by the external act ; by which the faith which satisfies us of the all-sufficiency of Christ, may make us partakers of the Divine Nature, and quicken us by the life-giving power of His Body and Blood. Herein faith and works, the inner and the outward, are so combined, that they not only cannot be severed, but that the result, so happily produced by the combination, may in accordance with Scripture phraseology be ascribed to the one or the other. God the Holy Ghost tells us by the inspired Evangelist that the drying up of the fountain of blood was the immediate consequence of her touch. God the Son, on the other hand, gives her the assurance of His Own lips that it was her faith that made her whole. XXVI ^Ije Carpenter at jpajaretfj S. Mark vi. i-6 i. And He went out from thence, Juda, and Simon ? and are not his and came into His own country ; sisters here with us ? And they were and His disciples follow Him. 2. offended at Him. 4. But Jesus said And when the sabbath day was come, unto them, A prophet is not without He began to teach in the synagogue : honour, but in his own country, and and many hearing Him were aston- among his own kin, and in his own ished, saying, From whence hath this house. 5. And He could there do no Man these things ? and what wisdom mighty work, save that He laid His is this which is given unto Him, that hands upon a few sick folk, and even such mighty works are wrought healed them. 6. And He marvelled by His hands? 3. Is not this the because of their unbelief. And He carpenter, the son of Mary, the went round about the villages, brother of James, and Joses, and of teaching. Jesus turned from Capernaum to visit once more the scenes where His early years had been spent. Nazareth was a very different place from that busy town on the lake which was astir with all the activity of a thriving trade. It was one of the most obscure of Galilean villages ; like its neighbours, Nain and Endor, the abode of oil-pressers and husbandmen. It once must have had a Jewish name, but it found no place of record either in the Bible or the Talmud. After the reception which our Lord had met with some nine months before, we are surprised that He should have revisited it, but His human love of home quickened for- giveness ; and though the Nazarenes had been filled with wrath by His first sermon in their synagogue, and attempted His life, ample time had elapsed for different feelings to spring up. At all events it was worth while to give them another 120 The Carpenter at Nazareth chap, vi opportunity ; and so He found Himself once more in the old home, lodging no doubt under the same roof with His mother and brethren Y and sisters. On the Sabbath-day He joined the crowd of village- worshippers, and made His way to the synagogue, where for nearly twenty years He had been a constant attendant. Everything must have been perfectly familiar to Him : the emblem 2 over the entrance, the holy Lamp, the Ark with the Sacred Rolls, the reader's desk, or preacher's chair. What memories they revived of bygone years, — years of eager expectation when He must have longed for His work to begin ! And now it was far advanced, far at least according to its destined measurement. What His thoughts were, none can tell, but we may be sure that when the Ruler asked Him to read the appointed Lessons, 3 and address the congregation, His heart must have kindled with even more than wonted desire to tell the glad tidings that He had to bring. It was the custom on the Sabbath-day for an interpreter 4 to stand by the reader and translate for the people the Hebrew they had forgotten during their exile in Babylon. 5 But none such was needed that day. The language of the Old Testa- ment and the vernacular Aramaic would be alike familiar to our Lord : 6 and so the Haphtarah would be read, and the explanation be given by the same lips. But the Preacher was again to be disappointed. It was almost a repetition of what 1 For their actual relationship cf. pp. 70-74. 2 The common emblem, judging from the remains which have been found, was the Seven-branched Candlestick, which was singularly appropriate for a place where instruction or illumination was one of the primary objects. For a variation from the above at Tell Hum cf. p. 26. 3 For Lessons the Law was divided into fifty-four Parashahs, a word signifying sections, "separated off." Cf. Pharisee, "separatist." The Prophets were divided into Haphtarahs, from a verb "to dismiss," because the congregation usually separated shortly after this part of the service. Cf. Acts xiii. 14, 15. After the Return from Captivity it was usual to read the Law only in the synagogues. This was stopped by Antiochus Epiphanes, but after the revolt of the Maccabees Simon restored it, and added the Prophets. Cf. S. Luke iv. 17. 4 He was called Methurgeman. 5 After the Return the dialect they used in Palestine was that known as Aramaic. At the same time the Quadrate form of Hebrew letters was introduced, and the Scriptures were rewritten in this character by Ezra. 6 The Old Testament Hebrew was only studied by Rabbis. We may be quite sure that our Lord would read the Scriptures in the original language, and not be satisfied with a version. v. 1-6 The Carpenter at Nazareth 121 had happened before. True, there was no outburst of violence, but they were filled with incredulity and amazement. There was no surrender of their old prejudices, no throwing of themselves at His feet in the simplicity of faith, no open confession or outpouring of regret that they could ever have doubted the truth of what they heard. Their hearts were hardened against conviction ; and so they tried to divert their thoughts from the substance of His preaching by recalling the circumstances of His youth, when He had lived and moved among them, a common man like themselves. They spoke to each other of His cottage home, His father, and His kinsfolk ; and the recollection of the carpenter's shop in which He had worked took such possession of their minds, that they had no power to understand the logic of facts and the tremendous change they had brought about. It is one of the few places where the veil is removed from His early life. He was brought up to the trade of a village carpenter. He worked with Joseph in building and repairing boats for the lake, in making furniture for the synagogue, in cutting down poles for tents, and, according to an early testimony, in shaping ploughs and yokes for oxen. When at home, His bench would be placed, as is the custom now, in the public way ; when abroad, He would find His occupation in such hamlets as Nain or Cana, or perhaps on the beach at Bethsaida and Capernaum. Such sparing notice by inspired historians teaches us to give no credence to the Apocryphal legends x of the wonders that He wrought both in play and at work. Had there been in His life at Nazareth even the least exhibition of superhuman capacities, it would have been on every one's lips, in a village where everything was known and talked of; and instead of being amazed at His wisdom, when in later years He taught in their synagogue, the people would at once have regarded it as the fulfilment of His early promise. No ; the brief question, " Is not this the carpenter?" leaves no doubt upon the mind that no " mighty works " had been done by His hands before His ministry began. None can doubt that there were abundant proofs even then that He was 1 The Gospel of the Infancy and others introduce Him as working wonders from His earliest years, e.g. to relieve Joseph, and correct his mistakes in carpentering. 122 The Carpenter at Nazareth chap, vi no common Person : a perfect Boy, a perfect Youth, a perfect Man, perfect at each stage as He passed through it, but with no unveiling of that which was His from the beginning. He in "Whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," Who was " the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His Person," lived in such obscurity that His neighbours only remembered Him as an undistinguished member of Joseph's household. It is quite possible that His fellow-villagers did not intend the contempt such a question conveys to our ears. Perhaps they wished only to be sure of His identity. The Jews, we know, did not consider it mean to work at a trade. It was the duty of every one, from the priest to the peasant, to learn some craft, and S. Paul was not ashamed to labour with his hands for his daily bread. But whatever their motive, the fact remains : they rejected His message, and evoked from His lips the oft-repeated complaint, " A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." It is only a nobler dress for the commonest proverb, than which none is truer, " Familiarity breeds contempt." He had come to bring them an abundant blessing, but His hand was stayed. S. Matthew tells us that " He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." S. Mark, as though bent on every occasion upon expressing His tender sympathy with suffering, points out that an exception was only made, to heal some that were sick. Now from this short notice of our Lord's earthly occupation during His preparation for His mission, we may gather some fresh proof that " His ways are not our ways." It was a poor beginning, as man measures, for the greatest work, to spend so many years at a carpenter's bench. For though there may have been nothing dishonourable in learning a trade, we can conceive of no weaker credentials for One Who claimed to regenerate the world, than that He had sat at no Rabbi's feet in the schools of wisdom and knowledge, but had spent thirty years in the meanest cottage among an ignorant and unlettered population. And history tells how often His followers were reproached with His origin. When Julian in his persecution was waging war successfully against the Faith, it is said that v. 1-6 The Carpenter at Nazareth 123 one of his officers asked a Christian with scorn and contempt what his Master, the carpenter's Son, was doing then. " Making a coffin," was the meek reply of the injured saint. And soon the news was brought that the apostate Emperor was dead. Celsus, also another great adversary of the Christians, had insolently upbraided them for being followers of One Who had worked as a labouring man. To those who read the lesson of those early years aright, a working life wears a far different aspect. Henceforward it is surrounded by a halo of dignity and honour ; and it is no insignificant consequence that He should have made it im- possible for ever that any man should be ashamed to work. XXVII %ty 9£tegion of tlje ^toeltie S. Mark vi. 7-13 7. And He called unto Him the that place, n. And whosoever shall twelve, and began to send them forth not receive you, nor hear you, when by two and two ; and gave them ye depart thence, shake off the dust power over unclean spirits ; 8. and under your feet for a testimony against commanded them that they should them. Verily I say unto you, It shall take nothing for their journey, save a be more tolerable for Sodom and staff only ; no scrip, no bread, no Gomorrha in the day of judgment, money in their purse : 9. but be shod than for that city. 12. And they with sandals ; and not put on two went out, and preached that men coats. 10. And He said unto them, should repent. 13. And they cast out In what place soever ye enter into an many devils, and anointed with oil house, there abide till ye depart from many that were sick, and healed them. For the first time the Twelve fulfil their office as Apostles. They leave their Master's side, and are sent forth as mission- aries to hasten His Kingdom. S. Mark notifies the change by appropriating to them in this place the new title of Apostleship. The mission upon which they were sent was to the Jews, "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The second Evangelist says nothing of the large mission to the Gentiles, but it fitly finds a place of record in the Gospel of one whose watchword was the Universality of Christ's Kingdom. 1 That Jesus yearned from the beginning for the emancipa- tion of the world none can doubt, but He Who did all things 1 S. Luke is emphatically " the Historian of the Universal Gospel." Prob- ably he was prompted to take this view mainly by S. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. The number 70 was regarded as the symbol of the nations of the world, taken from Deut. xxxii. 8. At the Feast of Tabernacles 70 oxen were offered in sacrifice for the Gentiles. Cf. Talm. Bab. Sukkah, 55, 6. ch. vi. v. 7-13 The Mission of the Twelve 125 " according to the counsel of His will " would not anticipate the orderly sequence of events : " to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles." To have disregarded that, would have excited most bitterly the jealousy of His countrymen, as well as com- mitted the Apostles to a work for which they were by no means prepared. The first qualification for a message of glad tidings to an alien people was the eradication of national antipathies, and nothing but a continued witness of the broadest sympathy could effect such a result. The hatred of the " Sons of Thunder " for the Samaritans survived wellnigh three years' companionship with the Saviour of the world, and there is no reason for supposing that they were more prejudiced than the rest. " He began to send them forth by two and two." It would have been well for the Church in all ages if the principle laid down at the outset could have been generally maintained. There is perhaps no sphere in which companionship is more desirable. To be called upon to witness sin and misery in their worst forms, to see the disease spreading and eating the life out of a people, and to find oneself powerless to check it through distrust and unbelief, brings with it a depression of spirits unknown in its intensity in any other field of labour. If, as so often happens, the labourer has none to take counsel with, none to cheer and sympathise with him, it becomes almost unbearable. Christ knew all this, and sent them forth, not singly, but " two and two," that they might hold sweet converse together, and strengthen and correct one another wherever strength and correction were needed. And when we study their several characteristics, we see how careful He was in pairing them together. The fiery impetuous Peter is coupled with the meditative Andrew ; James, so small of stature, with the lion- like Jude; the fanatical Zealot with the cold calculating Traitor, that the enthusiasm of the one might quicken the other's reserved and despairing spirit. The same principle is being happily revived in the present generation of missionary enterprise, and Colleges of priests are being planted by the Universities in Central Africa and Northern India for mutual help and encouragement in a most difficult work. 126 The Mission of the Twelve chap, vj Our Lord's next care was to make the mission in a sense self-supporting. " The workman was worthy of his meat ; " and if they went forth in simple dependence upon their Master, He would put it into men's hearts to supply their wants. They were to lay aside everything that would impede their progress in the way of baggage, every provision for the luxuries and conveniences of travel, and their "bread should be given them, and their waters be sure," and therewith they must be content. It is true that the East is proverbial for hospitality, and that it was a favourable country in which to try the experiment. To this day the Arab opens his door to the traveller, and if you meet him abroad he is ready to share with you his only piece of bread, or the last drop that is left in his wine-skin. We can hardly expect, therefore, the same measure of support to be extended to missions at large ; but there cannot be a question that people for the most part value religion in pro- portion to what it costs them. The intense love which we are told heathen converts entertain for their churches arises not infrequently from the fact that they have built them at their own expense, and often, too, with their own hands. No doubt His first purpose was to make them realise that they were going forth not in their own but in His strength; but we may not forget that a further reason has been suggested for the command to leave behind their shoes and purse. 1 These things were always laid aside before entering the Temple. It was a symbolical provision that in the service of God there should mingle no thought of the affairs of the world. Even so it may be there was reflected back from that old command the idea that the mission on which they were being sent was one which demanded the total sur- render of all their energy and will for Christ's cause. Yet further, before their departure our Lord quickened their sense of responsibility by reminding them of the terrible consequences awaiting any who should reject the message with which they were burdened. Sodom and Gomorrha had 1 Edersheim refers to the Rabbinic injunction, "not to enter the Temple- precincts with staff, shoes (mark, not sandals), and a money-girdle." It told the worshippers that they were to " be wholly absorbed in their service." — Life and Times, i. 643. v. 7-13 The Mission of the Twelve 127 perished in one of the most signal of God's punishments, but no messenger had been sent direct from Him to warn them of the consequences of their awful sin. They, on the other hand, were going with credentials such as no ambassador had ever borne, and the guilt of impenitence would be proportioned to the force with which the truth was revealed. If those to whom they went turned a deaf ear to their words, then let them know that they had forfeited their birthright ; they were no longer God's people, but outcast heathen j and the very dust of their land must be shaken in displeasure from the Apostles' feet, to symbolise that they were left to their own uncleanness. " And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick." S. Mark alone mentions the outward sign that accompanied the healing. The use of oil in medical treatment was widely prevalent, but, apart from its application by the good Samaritan, it is only mentioned twice elsewhere in Holy Scripture. Isaiah clearly has it in his mind when, speaking of the wounds from which Judah suffered, he says, " they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment," or more correctly, "oil." "Is any sick among you?" writes S. James. "Let him call for the elders of the church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord." It was an outward act accompanying the exercise of unusual power, 1 whether it was the prayer of the faithful rulers of the Church, or the preternatural gifts of healing with which the Apostles were intrusted. The purpose that it served was the same as the anointing of the eyes of the blind by the Lord's hand : it was for the Quickening of the patient's faith, without which no cure could be wrought. Now the combination of the twofold work of preaching repentance and healing the sick, first formed in this temporary 1 Anointing the sick with oil is not spoken of from New Testament times till the beginning of the fourth century. It is noticed in an Epistle of Innocent I. to Decentius in 416 A. D. It is also referred to in the Orationes ad visitandum Infirmorum of the Gregorian Sacramentary, A. D. 590, after which it is often recognised both in the Eastern and Western Churches. In the first Prayer- Book of Edward VI. it was provided that the sick man might be anointed ' ' if he desired it." In the Primitive Church its object was the recovery of the sick through supernatural agency ; now it is only administered in the Roman Church when recovery is considered impossible. Cf. Catech. Trident, ii. vi. 14. 128 The Mission of the Twelve ch. vi. v. 7-13 mission, has continued throughout the history of the Church. Care for the body and thought for the soul may never be separated without harm and loss in ministerial usefulness. It was the testimony of one of the bravest missionaries l that he owed no small measure of his success to the fact that he was possessed of the knowledge of medicine, which enabled him to work many bodily cures, and win confidence for the reception of his message. It is the pride and glory of the English Church that her priests are the truest friends of the sick and needy ; and though it is promised that " they that turn many to righteous- ness shall shine as the stars," our Lord has taught us that when we shall be called to give in the account of our steward- ship, the inquiry will mainly turn on what deeds of mercy and compassion we have shown. It will be to those who have fed the hungry, and clothed the naked, and visited the sick, that He will give the invitation, " Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you ; " for " inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." 1 Dr. Livingstone in Central Africa. His case may be used to illustrate the principle, though his doctrine was not that of the Church. XXVIII l&erotiiag anti Ijcr SDaugljtcr S. Mark vi. 14-29 14. And king Herod heard of Him ; (for His Name was spread abroad :) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 15. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded : he is risen from the dead. 17. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife : for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him ; but she could not: 20. for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him ; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee ; 22. and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask ? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26. And the king was exceeding sorry ; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought : and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28. and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel : and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. Herod Antipas was only "king" by courtesy. His father had originally intended to bequeath his whole kingdom to him, but he altered his will on his deathbed, and, dividing it into four portions, left one only to him, two to his brother 130 Herodias arid her Daughter chap, vi Archelaus, and the remainder to his half-brother Philip. 1 His right designation, therefore, was that which he more usually receives of " tetrarch." Herod the Great had been engaged in a long and troublesome war with a powerful border tribe, ruled over by an Arabian prince or Emir called Aretas. When at last it was brought to a close, it was an article in the con- ditions of peace that the princess of the Damascenes should marry one of his sons. Antipas was selected for the unhappy union. Being based upon political convenience, with no pretence of real affection, it was destined to be broken when the strain came. Another of his half-brothers, Philip, who had been disinherited from any share in the kingdom, had been married in his father's lifetime to his niece, Herodias, daughter of the eldest brother whom Herod the Great had cruelly put to death. This, too, was a most ill-assorted marriage, for her husband was more than double her age, and there was no pretence even of love and affection between them. She was of a passionate and imperious nature, and chafed at Philip's ignoble descent, for his mother was a Boethusian, while her own was a Maccabean princess ; but what galled her even more bitterly was her exclusion from all the magnificence and pomp of the regal courts. So it was, that when the tetrarch Antipas was visiting her husband at Rome, where he lived in a private capacity, she intrigued with him to repudiate his Arabian wife and establish herself in her place. He yielded to her infamous design, and, in violation of every principle of law and morality, took her to his palace at Tiberias to succeed his rightful but dishonoured queen, who had fled to her own people, through fear of being poisoned by her wicked rival. It was an ill-fated step for Antipas ; for crime led on to crime, lust to murder, and both brought a terrible retribution, in war and depredation, exile and ruin. The profligacy which was such a marked feature of the Roman Empire at this period had doubtless infected the 1 Herod the Great had several wives, viz. , Mariamne, a granddaughter of Hyrcanus, by whom he had Aristobulus, the father of Agrippa : Mariamne, a daughter of Simon, by whom he had Herod Philip, the husband of Herodias : Malthace, a Samaritan woman, the mother of Antipas and Archelaus : and Cleopatra, the mother of Philip, the tetrarch of Trachonitis, etc. He had several other wives besides, but they are unconnected with Sacred History. v. 14-29 Herodias and her Daughter 131 Province of Syria, but the feelings of the people were shocked by such an act of unblushing immorality in high places. And John the Baptist was but their mouthpiece when he raised his voice against the adulterous union : " It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." Herodias was not a woman to tolerate such reproof, and it was not long before she succeeded in silencing his voice : she dreaded the possibility of Herod's being stung by remorse under the vehemence of his remonstrance, and putting her away. Antipas also was in fear lest the people might be stirred by his eloquence to rise in rebellion, and so John was cast into prison. The distant fortress of Machaerus was chosen for his incarceration, mainly to remove him as far as possible from the machinations of the queen, for Herod well knew her revengeful spirit, and shrank from the additional odium of the murder of a man whom the people loved, and of whose fearless integrity he himself was not insensible. Indeed, such was the fascination of the Baptist's character, that his words, with all the bitterness of their sting, with all the pangs of conscience they must have stirred, did nevertheless give him pleasure to hear, for we are told "He was much perplexed," 1 or, if the ordinary reading be correct, with a strange incon- sistency in which his better nature triumphed for a time, " he did many things " under his influence, and " heard him gladly." But at last the opportunity came for which the deep-designing adulteress was always watching. The king's divorce of his Arabian wife led to the proclamation of war. The desperate father, whose warlike spirit had made the great Herod quail — " the old desert lion, whose claws had been more than once felt in Sebaste and Sepphoris " — took up arms to avenge his outraged child, and the forces of the Tetrarch were being massed on the frontier. Before they crossed, Herod, taking the occasion of his birthday, entertained the chief captains and civil authorities to a great banquet in the castle of Machaerus. Considering the object of the war, we can well imagine that the jealousy of the guilty queen would be excited to the highest pitch by the presence of the officers of the army. To ingratiate herself and make her cause more popular with those who had undertaken to defend it, she persuaded her daughter, 1 Tjiropei, for ZtoUi, is found in the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. 132 Herodias and her Daughter chap, vi the beautiful Salome, to submit to an act of no little con- descension for their gratification. She placed herself in the degraded position of the professional dancing-girls, whose office it was by immodest arts to please the tastes of a licentious court. The design succeeded almost beyond her expectations. The royal host, flushed with wine, and gratified alike by the condescension and the shameless exhibition which pandered to his impure passion, offered her, with true Oriental exaggeration, even the half of his kingdom as her reward. Salome was in league with her mother, and knew that there was a prize she coveted far more than the greatest of earthly possessions : it was the riddance from the stern uncompromising censor of her sinful life. The supreme moment had arrived, and, after the briefest consultation with the author of the plot, the damsel asked for the Baptist's head to be brought to her without delay. The petition was granted ; but, though the king felt some genuine sorrow that he had been betrayed into an uncon- ditional promise, he had not the moral courage to see that no oath could be binding which involved the commission of a dreadful crime. One of his bodyguard was despatched to the prisoner's cell, and the work of execution was soon completed. It reveals with an unmistakable clearness the revengeful nature of the real murderess, when tradition tells how, when the bleeding head was brought into the banquet-hall, she tore out the prophet's tongue in vindictive rage, just as the Roman lady 1 had pierced that of the dead Orator, under whose denunciations she had smarted so bitterly. And so the tragedy ended ; but its consequences lived on to haunt and vex the lives of those who perpetrated it j and they soon showed themselves. The fame of Jesus was now at its height, and the interest of Antipas was awakened. All kinds of reports were spread abroad concerning His Person and Character. Many said that it was Elijah, whose reappearance every pious Jew was anxiously awaiting : and the raising of the widow's son at Nain shortly before this must have recalled the miracle at Sarepta and quickened the imagination. 1 Fulvia, the wife of Mark Antony, in revenge for the Philippics, in which Cicero had attacked her husband, maltreated the Orator's body, and pierced his tongue through and through with a bodkin. v. 14-29 Hero diets and her Daughter 133 Others thought it was one of the old prophets, most probably Jeremiah, come back to restore to them the Ark and the Urim and Thummim, which he had hidden ages before on the mountain where Moses died ; and it has been suggested, not without reason, that the sadness of the Face that was never seen to laugh, helped to revive the memory of " the prophet of lamentation and tears and woe." But there was yet a third belief that prevailed, for " it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead," and it is almost needless to say that it was this that laid hold of Herod's mind. No matter that he was by profession a Sadducee, with no faith in the Resurrection, his creed was forgotten in the superstitious dread which the memory of his crime fostered. The shade of the murdered prophet haunted him wherever he went ; it followed him even beyond the seas ; and the fear it engendered became "a byword and a proverb in Roman society," and furnished material for the biting satire of a heathen poet j 1 and was held up in the schools of the Stoics to illustrate the miseries of a guilty conscience. A prolonged agony like this was a fitting penalty for such a heinous crime, but it did not exhaust the measure of Divine vengeance. Salome was accidentally beheaded, 2 and has supplied to moralists a signal example of exact correspondence between crime and its retribution. Herodias, the evil genius of the king's life, shared his punishment, as she had shared his sin ; for when he was banished from his kingdom, 3 she followed his fallen fortunes to Gaul, and there, dethroned and dishonoured, the guilty pair wandered about till an ignoble death closed a career of almost unequalled guilt. 1 Dean Plumptre has suggested that in the lines, " But when the feast of Herod's birthday comes, Thou mov'st thy lips, yet speak'st not in fear, Thou keep'st the Sabbath of the circumcised, And then there rise dark spectres of the dead," there is a direct allusion to this incident. Persius would have been a boy at the time of the Baptist's murder ; for he died in the prime of life, A.D. 62. 'The circumstance may well have fixed itself in his mind. 2 She is said to have fallen through the ice, the sharp edge of which nearly severed her head from the body. 3 He was banished by Caligula to Lugdunum, from which place he went to Vienne. XXIX tCIje ifcctitng of tlje jFtbe ^ou^anti S. Mark vi. 30-44 30. And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31. And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while : for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33. And the people saw them departing, and many knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto Him. 34. And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, be- cause they were as sheep not having a shepherd : and He began to teach them many things. 35. And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed : 36. send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread : for they have nothing to eat. 37. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38. He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39. And He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them ; and the two fishes divided He among them all. 42. And they did all eat, and were filled. 43. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. S. Mark calls our attention to the motive 1 for our Lord's retreat from Galilee. It was the need of rest for the Apostles 1 There were other motives which suggested His leaving Galilee. S. Matt, xiv. 13 specifies the report of the Baptist's death. Common prudence would lead Him to avoid unnecessary danger — S. Matt. x. 23. ch. vi. v. 30-44 Feeding of the Five Thousand 135 after the fatigues of their mission. And what a very natural scene it is to which he introduces us ! An expedition had gone out, and had been very successful, and those who had taken part in it were eager to narrate their experiences to Him Who had sent them forth. We can almost see Him seated in their midst as they pour into His ears the stirring tale. He knew it all even before they began, for His eye had never been off them, and His spirit never absent from their side, but He listened with patience as they told the wonders of their travel, of deaf ears unstopped, and blind eyes restored to sight, and fevers subdued by a single touch, and demoniacs dispossessed. No sooner was the story told than we fancy we can hear them in all the enthusiasm of success asking to be sent out again. But what was the answer? "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while." It must have sounded cold and chilling, but He knew that exhausted nature must needs be repaired. " Man goeth forth to his labour until the evening" — but only so far. Night follows day, and rest succeeds to toil. So it was that our Lord counselled a temporary withdrawal from active work. The spot that He selected was one of the mountains on the further side of the lake, and they entered into the boat and rowed across. They could hardly have enjoyed their seclusion more than an hour or two before their place of retreat was discovered, and He had no alternative but to come forth and preach to the crowds whom from the mountain range He saw gathering together. Many people, it is said, having observed the direction of the boat, "went afoot thither," crossing the Jordan where it flows into the lake, and going in search of Him in the "desert place," which lay on the north-eastern shore. Many more were pilgrims who had turned aside from the great road by which travellers went from Caesarea Philippi and the northern district to Jerusalem. It was customary for the inhabitants of neighbouring villages to join together, both for security and for company, and to travel in one long caravan up to the Annual Feasts. 1 One such was then impending. It is very 1 "The Songs of Degrees," viz., Psalms cxx. to cxxxiv. , were probably sung by the company on the ' ' goings-up " to the Feasts. Ps. cxxi. was appropriate to their last halt within sight of Jerusalem ; Ps. cxxii. to their entrance within the gates of the city. 136 The Feeding of the chap, vi significant that all the Evangelists call special attention to the number of men, for it is well known that, except with certain limitations, the attendance of women was not required at the Feasts. Jesus was moved with compassion at the sight, and began at once to teach them, and heal their sicknesses ; and as they hung spell-bound on His lips, and listened with rapt attention, the day wore on, and the disciples became anxious and fearful of what might happen if such a great mass of people should be overtaken by nightfall far from shelter or human habitation. S. John gives us to understand that the difficulty of feeding the multitudes had been broached by our Lord Himself, and that He had consulted Philip on the possible sources of supply. Philip, making a rough calculation of the numbers, intimated that to purchase the requisite food would take above two hundred pence, a larger sum perhaps than they had at the time in the common purse. Our Lord, knowing what He would do, returned to His teaching ; but the question which had been started exercised the minds of the Apostles, and as they were quite unable to devise any means for meeting the necessity, and it was now growing very late, they came to Him in a body, and asked Him to dismiss the people that they might go and provide for themselves. To their astonishment He declined, and said, " Give ye them to eat." They asked at once, perhaps in irony, whether He intended that they should carry out Philip's suggestion, but He replied by asking what amount of food they actually had. The answer, especially as recorded by S. John, showed the utter insufficiency of the store. There was a little boy — the fishers' lad, no doubt, whom they had brought from the boat to carry their food — with five loaves, and those none of the best, for they were made of barley, and two small fishes, — not such as would satisfy hunger, but serving only to give relish 1 and a savoury taste to their common bread. But "man's extremity is God's opportunity." No sooner did Christ see that the Apostles were satisfied that no ordinary 1 These were a kind of sardine. They were caught in large quantities in the lake, dried and salted, and eaten with bread by the common people. The peculiar word used by S. John — 6\f/dpLov — indicates local knowledge. Cf. Westcott on the Fourth Gospel, and Edersheim, Life and Times, i. 681, 682. 30-44 Five Thousand 137 means could avail, than He prepared for an exhibition of miraculous power. Let them make the men sit down on the grass. It was fresh and green at the time, for the spring rainfall was only just over; and the crowd was at once divided and broken up into manageable portions — that there might be no confusion, that none might be passed over or pushed aside — and arranged into " ranks, by hundreds and by fifties." The peculiar word which is translated "ranks," 1 indicates that the people were seated in "separate detach- ments," with sufficient space left to move freely between them ; but it is right to mention that, according to another etymology, it signifies a " bed of herbs or flowers," and its usage would then illustrate S. Mark's picturesqueness, the bright Eastern costumes of the compact masses upon the brilliant green having suggested to an eye-witness a close resemblance to a bright and well-ordered garden. However this may be, when all was arranged He took the loaves and fishes into His hands, and, according to the Jewish ordinance, as the Head of the house in which He presided, "gave thanks," no doubt in the familiar form of "Grace:" " Blessed art Thou, Jehovah our God, King of the world, Who bringest forth bread from the earth." It was followed by a marvellous increase. The method or process of the multi- plication is not revealed; whether it took place in Christ's hands, or in the hands of the disciples, it is impossible to say. S. Chrysostom accepts the latter supposition, and it would certainly seem the most convenient, and perhaps the most significant also. The result, however, was that all were filled. An almost startling announcement followed : " Gather up the fragments." It must have sounded strange, indeed, coming from the lips of One Who could multiply things as He would ; but He designed to teach His disciples that no creative power should ever supersede careful thrift, that the most prodigal bounty is fitly accompanied by the nicest economy. Obedient to His word the disciples unstrapped the little baskets 2 which 1 TTpacrial — areolatim — is usually derived from irpd, a leek or onion. Most commentators (Farrar, Geikie, etc.) have assumed that it was a ' ' flower "- bed, and have seen in it an apt figure for the gay scene. But there is no trace of irpaaov being used of a flower. Possibly it is a foreign word with the same root as " Pharisee," indicating "separation." 2 The "cophinus" was a sort of wicker wallet in which a Jew carried 138 The Feeding of the chap, vi all Jews were wont to carry when travelling from home, and filled them with the fragments; and behold "there was more of what remained over than of the original stock." It may have been intended to leave no doubt that a distinct creative act had been performed : that the multitudes had been satisfied, not by any sudden cessation of the cravings of hunger, but by an exercise of preternatural power on the part of Him by Whom " all things were made," and without Whom " was not anything made that was made." Now it cannot have been accidental that all four Evangelists should have recorded this miracle, and with so much more fulness of detail than is usually met with. There is no apparent reason for such prominence in its primary teaching. S. Hilary says the whole circumstance is a series of types. One or two will suffice for our present consideration. In all l the accounts it has been carefully recorded, with only a slight variety of expression, that after blessing and breaking the bread the Divine Master gave it to the disciples, and " the disciples distributed it to them that were set down." Those multitudes, collected " out of all cities," foreshadowed the numbers of people who should be gathered into the Catholic Church "out of every nation under heaven." The appearance of our Blessed Lord standing in their midst, and miraculously providing from His Own hand for their bodily wants, signified the place which He intended to occupy as the Head of the Church, able and willing to supply out of the inexhaustible fulness of His bounty whatsoever men of every clime, and age, and degree, should need for the support of their spiritual life. The twelve disciples receiving the bread which He had blessed, and distributing it to the people, after they were set down and arranged in convenient groups, were but the first in the line of a duly-appointed and unbroken Ministry, from whom, through all the ages of the Church's history, the separate "clean" food on a journey. It was such an indispensable article that in Juvenal's time the Jews were ridiculed for possessing nothing but this and a wisp of hay to serve as a pillow. — Juvenal, Sat. iii. 14. 1 In S. John vi. 11 the direct mention of this is omitted in the best MSS., but it may be inferred from the general sense, as well as from the 5i^5w/ce, here substituted for £5w/ce of the other Evangelists. v. 3o-44 Five Thousand 39 communities of the One Body were destined to receive the Immortal Food. And if we may draw a still further analogy, or press that more closely which has already been drawn, we should note the fact that Christ is carefully pointed out as the One Source from Which the supply was taken, though it is not revealed whether the real increase was made in His Own, or in the hands of the Apostles ; and yet further, that the bread was given only after the multitude had been taught at His mouth. It is the clearest evidence that the Church must look to Him, and Him alone, as her " stay and support," the Teacher and Feeder of her people. He will feed her in soul and spirit with His doctrine, and sacramentally with His Own most precious Body and Blood ; and though we may grasp the teaching, as the multitudes doubtless were able to do in a measure, we must expect the manner of the continued gift of His Sacramental Body to be shrouded in mystery, in the same way as the method by which the loaves were multiplied was hidden from their eyes. XXX (LcHalkitxn; upon tfje &za S. Mark vi. 45-52 45. And straightway He con- sea, and would have passed by them, strained His disciples to get into the 49. But when they saw Him walking ship, and to go to the other side upon the sea, they supposed it had before unto Bethsaida, while He sent been a spirit, and cried out : 50. for away the people. 46. And when He they all saw Him, and were troubled, had sent them away, He departed And immediately He talked with them, into a mountain to pray. 47. And and saith unto them, Be of good cheer : when even was come, the ship was It is I ; be not afraid. 51. And He in the midst of the sea, and He went up unto them into the ship ; and alone on the land. 48. And He saw the wind ceased : and they were sore them toiling in rowing ; for the wind amazed in themselves beyond measure, was contrary unto them : and about and wondered. 52. For they con- the fourth watch of the night He sidered not the miracle of the loaves : cometh unto them, walking upon the for their heart was hardened. The miraculous multiplication of the loaves had produced such an effect upon the multitudes that they believed the long-expected Messiah had come, and were eager " to take Him by force and make Him a king." The crown which they would have offered Him contrasted greatly with that which He knew that He must wear; and though He had vanquished once and for all every temptation to mere earthly greatness, the very presentation of the offer drove Him to seek fresh strength to resist in prayer and communion with the Father. The north-eastern shore of the lake was especially suited for retirement. It is the exact counterpart of the north- western ; and together, it has been well observed, they reflect "that union of energy and rest, of active labour and deep ch. vi. v. 45-52 Walking tipon the Sea 141 devotion, which is the essence of Christianity, as it was in the life of Him in Whom that union was first taught and shown." He was then in the neighbourhood of Bethsaida-Julias, 1 on the further side, but before He could obtain the undisturbed solitude which He sought it was necessary to dismiss both the multitudes and His disciples. We may well suppose that those whose enthusiasm had just been so largely kindled would be unwilling to depart, but we are not told of any resistance on their part. With the disciples, however, it was different, for it is said that He " constrained " them to get into the boat : it implies that pressure was necessary to overcome their reluctance. Every consideration must have suggested the propriety of their remaining. He was sur- rounded by strangers ; the country was bleak and desolate ; the night was fast closing in ; and to do as He bade them was to leave Him without any means of transport across the lake. But His word was law ; and after remonstrating they did as He commanded them. Could they have foreseen what awaited them they would have been filled with dismay. He Who sees the end from the beginning foresaw it ; but He foresaw also the deliverance, and so bade them go. Their destiny was the other Bethsaida, close to Capernaum, distant some forty 2 or fifty furlongs — from five to six English miles. After their departure Jesus ascended the mountain, and continued a long time in prayer. It was a stormy night, but there was a Paschal moon, and as the clouds broke, and the light fell upon the lake, He saw the disciples in distress from contrary winds. Eight or nine hours had passed, and they had accomplished little more than half their voyage. It required all their efforts to keep their boat from being driven back by the hurricane, and dashed to pieces on the rugged shore ; but " about the fourth watch," as S. Mark says, adopting the Roman division of the night, if, as is commonly 3 1 Bethsaida-Julias was a village rebuilt and adorned by Philip the Tetrarch, and dignified with the title of a town, called Julias, in honour of the Emperor's daughter. The Tetrarch was buried there. 2 Josephus says the lake was forty furlongs wide, i.e. five miles. — Wars, iii. 10. 7r For a further description cf. p. 94. 3 The Jews, it is said, originally divided the night into three watches, but after the establishment of Roman supremacy the number was increased tpropljemciatx aaioman S. Mark vii. 24-30 24. And from thence He arose, and unto her, Let the children first be went into the borders of Tyre and filled ; for it is not meet to take the Sidon, and entered into an house, and children's bread, and to cast it unto would have no man know it : but He the dogs. 28. And she answered and could not be hid. 25. For a certain said unto Him, Yes, Lord : yet the woman, whose young daughter had an dogs under the table eat of the child- unclean spirit, heard of Him, and ren's crumbs. 29. And He said unto came and fell at His feet : 26. the her, For this saying go thy way ; the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician devil is gone out of thy daughter, by nation ; and she besought Him 30. And when she was come to her that He would cast forth the devil out house, she found the devil gone out, of her daughter. 27. But Jesus said and her daughter laid upon the bed. This incident seems to point to a somewhat new departure in our Lord's mission. His ruling maxim had been, " I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." It had not prevented Him from bestowing favour upon such of the heathen as had come in His way. He could hardly have failed to heal some that were sick among the inhabitants of Decapolis ; and one instance is left on record of blessings bestowed upon a Roman centurion. He was perfectly familiar with the prophecies which foretold that the Gentiles should profit by His coming, that He would be "a Light to lighten the Gentiles," as well as " the glory of His people Israel ; " but for manifold reasons He felt that His personal ministry must be circumscribed, and confined within strictly Jewish limits. Now, for the first — for the only — time, He appears to have passed into heathen territory. It has been maintained, ch. vii. v. 24-30 The Syrophenician Woman 157 however, that He merely approached the confines without overstepping the boundary line. It may be that " Tyre and Sidon " were not only cities, but districts, and that the "coasts" or " borders of Tyre and Sidon " meant nothing more than "the marches " which separated Phenicia from Galilee ; but the statement of a later verse, that He went " through Sidon," leads to the more natural conclusion that He did actually set foot upon heathen land. It is worthy of note, nevertheless, that it was not with the intention of preaching or performing any ministerial work, but mainly in search of privacy and seclusion. He needed rest after His prolonged labours, and He may have felt it prudent also to place Himself, in a time of some special excitement, beyond the reach of Herod's machinations. No sooner had He crossed the frontier than He sought shelter in a house. To avoid any unnecessary offence to those who accompanied Him, we may conclude that it was that of a Jew ; for, though strictly a heathen country, the population had been a mixed one for many centuries. The fame of His doings had penetrated those parts, for the scene of His chief miracles was not much above thirty miles distant ; and though He expressed His desire to be left undis- turbed, " He could not be hid." He was almost immediately discovered by a poor woman, who was in great distress through a terrible affliction which had befallen her child. Her nation- ality is emphasised by the Evangelists with a variety of expression. She is characterised vaguely as " a Greek," not in the limited sense with which we are most familiar, but as a generic term for non-Jewish people, very much as the Turks and Asiatics adopt the designation of "Frank" for any European. Her personal name has come down through tradition as Justa, and that of her daughter as Bernice. She is called by S. Matthew "a woman of Canaan " — an inhabitant of the region into which those who escaped extermination had been shut up ; and the title may have been selected to enhance the loving-kindness of the Lord, not without reference to her inheritance of the ancient malediction, " Cursed be Canaan." She is also called here a Syrophenician by descent, probably to distinguish her from those Libyo - Phenicians : in the 1 It is supposed by some that the above distinction was not known, and 158 The Syrophenician Woman chap, vn northern coasts of Africa, whom the fame of Carthage had made so widely known. She was, no doubt, in religion a heathen, but was possessed by principles which, when called into active exercise by the Great Teacher, served her in better stead than the orthodox creed did not a few of its professors. She had heard of the fame of Jesus, probably from those "about Tyre and Sidon" who had joined the crowds at Capernaum a year before; perhaps they had even told her how the evil spirit had been cast out of the demoniac in the synagogue, and in the fulness of hope and faith she had believed all that she heard ; and now that the great Wonder- worker was actually come within reach, she hurried into His Presence, and, despite every hindrance, threw herself at His feet in supplication for mercy. He must have been surprised by the title with which she addressed Him, " Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David," for it was that which bespoke the Jewish Messiah, the Saviour of the world. But He met her petition by an instantaneous rebuff : " Let the children first be filled : for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." It would have checked the eagerness of most suppliants, but hers was no common faith, and her determination to find relief was only equalled by the soreness of her need. Though there was much that she could not have expected, and for which she was unprepared, in the language that He used, it was not altogether harsh, and she caught at whatever seemed to mitigate it. It is quite possible also that there was something either in the expression of His face or the tone of His voice, which lessened the discouragement. She had often heard her people characterised as " dogs." It was a title by which " the Jews, whose first care it was to hate, to mock, and to curse all besides themselves, disgraced the Gentiles." The noble nature of the dog finds no recog- nition in the history of the Old or New Testaments. 1 Among Jews, dogs were regarded as wild, savage, undomesticated that the true rendering is a Phenician Syrian, as in some copies, "Zvpa QoLviaaa. In the LXX. Canaan is translated Qoivlkt). 1 The only mention of a dog as a domestic animal among Jews is in Tobit, where Tobias goes forth on a journey to Media, and "the young man's dog with them." — Tob. v. 16. v. 24-30 The Syrophenician Woman 159 animals, which prowled about cities as the scavengers of the streets, with no masters and no homes. But Jesus, by the use of a diminutive not to be expressed in English, 1 softened not a little the harshness of the comparison, implying that the dogs to which He likened them were not excluded from the house. And the woman, with the instincts of a Gentile, with whom the dog was not only a favourite, but an almost necessary companion, having its place at the do- mestic hearth, turned it at once into an argument in her favour, and replied, "Yes, Lord" — or if we admit the truer reading — ' I accept the position, " for the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."' What she meant to convey must have been something like this : ' I do not deny that the Jews are the first object of Your care and ministration. They are the true children ; and I am far from asking that they should ever be superseded in their rightful prerogative ; but the very fact that You should speak of their being first fed seems to imply that our turn will come after them, and Your mitigation of the harsh unfeeling byword, which the Jews adopt, encour- ages me to persevere in my petition. Let the full board, then — the plentiful bread of grace, — be reserved for the Jewish children ; but only let me be as the dog under the table, to partake of the crumbs of mercy and comfort that fall from it' Such a pleading as that was irresistible : her prayer was answered, and for that saying, and the greatness of the faith of which it was the expression, her daughter was delivered from her dreadful affliction. The story places before us a pattern of meekness and per- severance rarely equalled. How many, even with privileges of teaching and education to which she was a stranger, would have taken offence at the apparent insult of such a reception as she met with ! But with all the forbearance of the meek and quiet spirit, which disarms opposition, she discerned a smile beneath His frown, and won her petition. How many, again, if not offended and full of resentment, would have turned away discouraged ! To have hoped, as she had done, against hope, and then to have heard that there was One Who could give her relief, and to have flung herself at His feet in 1 The common term of contempt was Kijves. Jesus said Kvvdpia, catelli, little dogs, pet dogs. 160 The Syrophenician Woman ch. vn. v. 24-30 the agony of supplication, and to be so received ! Could we have been surprised if despair had taken possession of her, and she had hurried from His Presence? But faith triumphed over all disappointment, and " her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Whether it was given to her to under- stand it, we cannot tell; but the seeming harshness of her Saviour's conduct was but a new revelation of His unfailing love. The same love which, when faith was weak, prompted Him to go forth to meet it, led Him to hold Himself back when faith was strong, that it might be yet further purified and made perfect through trial. XXXIV W&z 2Dea£ $$m toitl) Stammering; tongue S. Mark vii. 31-37 31. And again, departing from the and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came is, Be opened. 35. And straightway unto the sea of Galilee, through the his ears were opened, and the string midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32. of his tongue was loosed, and he And they bring unto Him one that spake plain. 36. And He charged was deaf, and had an impediment in them that they should tell no man : but his speech ; and they beseech Him to the more He charged them, so much put His hand upon him. 33. And the more a great deal they published He took him aside from the multitude, it ; 37. and were beyond measure and put His fingers into his ears, and astonished, saying, He hath done all He spit, and touched his tongue ; 34. things well : He maketh both the deaf and looking up to heaven, He sighed, to hear, and the dumb to speak. After leaving the borders of Tyre, where He had cured the Syrophenician's daughter, our Lord proceeded to go "through Sidon," l but whether He actually visited the ancient Phenician capital, or only set foot on Sidonian territory, we have no means of deciding. If the latter, He would turn southwards after making a slight circuit, and take the great Roman road direct to Csesarea Philippi. But if the former, He must have crossed some of the numerous passes of the mountain ranges of Libanus and Hermon into the neighbourhood of Damascus. This would take Him through some of the grandest highland scenery of Palestine ; and when we recall His love of Nature, so often manifested in His teaching, it affords a strong presump- tion that He would not be insensible to such a consideration in the selection of His route. We are told, moreover, that He came through "the midst 1 This is the correct text according to the oldest MSS. and versions. Cf. P. 157- M 1 62 The Deaf Man with chap, vu of the coasts of Decapolis," which favours the supposition, for Damascus 1 was one of the chief of those ten allied free cities so designated by the Romans. Though situated within the tetrarchies of Philip and Antipas, they were independent of any authority but that of their provincial governor ; and their populations, except so far as enterprising Jews might be tempted there for purposes of trade, were entirely heathen. On the Return from the Captivity the old possessors had been unable to re-conquer them ; and the ruins of ancient monu- ments, among which are temples to numerous Greek divinities, testify to their Pagan worship and customs. It is important to notice this, because it involves our Lord in a larger in- tercourse with the heathen than is commonly supposed, and makes it by no means improbable that the group of miracles here recorded were wrought upon them, and not upon Jews. At some stage of His journey through these parts they brought to Him " one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech." He had not been deaf and dumb from his birth, but had lost the sense of hearing from some unrecorded cause, perhaps a fever or an accident, and this deprivation was followed in time, as usually happens, by a difficulty and indistinctness in speaking. 2 What our Lord's motive was in taking him apart from the crowd is by no means obvious. 3 With our Saviour "a moral dealing was the ultimate end of a physical cure," and this was kept in view in the mode of working it. Possibly, then, it was a symbolical action indicating the necessity of his being separated from his own people, and brought out of heathen- ism. More probably it was designed to concentrate his attention upon our Lord's Own Person, and quicken his faith to be healed. For the same reason, perhaps, He made use of those manual acts of thrusting His fingers into his ears, and 1 There is some difference in the ancient enumerations of the cities. Pliny names Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Conatha, Damascus, and Raphana (H. N. v. 18). He gives the extent of the territory at about one hundred miles long, by sixty broad. 2 fMoyi\d\os is used in the LXX. for dumb, but etymologically implies merely ' ' difficulty of speech. " 3 This is the first occasion on which He adopted this course. The only other recorded instance is in the kindred miracle that followed shortly after. Cf. viii. 23. v. 31-37 Stammering Tongue 163 touching his tongue with the spittle, 1 because He could employ no words to strengthen his confidence. He prepared the man, so to speak, by a foretaste of what was to follow through His intervention ; as an old writer has expressed it, "by forcing His fingers into the ears, and moistening the tongue, He testified that it was He by Whose hand the closed passages could be pierced, and the tongue that clave to the roof of the mouth recover its motive power." Then followed an upward look to heaven, as well to convince him that it was more than human aid that he was about to receive, as to express His union with the Father. A moment more and He heaved a sigh and uttered a groan of sympathy for the sorrow that is in the world, and the word of authority — a single word — Ephphatha, 2 broke from His lips. He spake, and it was done. If we could be quite sure that the man was a Gentile — a native of those Greek-speaking cities — the word would help to the settlement of an open question, whether our Lord usually spoke in the ordinary vernacular of the Jews, or adopted the Greek of the more educated classes. If both languages had been in familiar use by Him, the circumstances of the case would at once have suggested the adoption of Greek rather than Aramaic. It is of little consequence that He could not in either case have been heard by the man himself; the narrative clearly indicates that his friends had drawn near, and were within sound of the Speaker's voice. But, in whatever language, it was a word of power. " The channels of hearing" 3 were unstopped, and, if we accept the reading of the oldest manuscript, 4 "immediately the string of his tongue was loosed." It is a significant change in the order of words, affording additional proof that it was not a case of congenital deafness. He needed only the restoration of the 1 There was a belief at the time in the medicinal virtue of saliva. " It is from this action of our Saviour that the Roman Catholics formed their custom of touching with spittle the ears and nostrils of the person to be baptized." Cf. Morison, S. Mark, in loc. 2 This is the Aramaic form of the Ethpael imperative. It has been thought that the stress laid on the few Aramaic expressions, such as this, " Talitha cumi," and " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, " is an inference that He usually spoke Greek, but it is hardly a legitimate one. 3 aKoal, instead of cira, implies the sense rather than the actual organs of hearing. 4 The Sinaitic MS. 164 The Deaf Alan ch. vii. v. 31-37 sense of hearing, to recover the faculty of articulate speech, and " he spake plain." The oft-repeated charge was once more given — once more to be disregarded — " that they should tell no man." It seems strange that after what He had done, the mere knowledge of His wishes did not insure obedience ; but the instinctive and irrepressible desire, following upon the reception of any great blessing, to speak of it to others was too strong for them. It is quite possible that they misunderstood His motives, and set it down to a modest shrinking from the praise and popularity which in their eyes was so well earned ; and this misconception gave them an additional impulse to do what their natural inclinations prompted, so "the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it." S. Matthew testifies that it was not the only miracle of the kind, but that multitudes of " lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others," were healed, so that the amazement of the people knew no bounds ; and he concludes with an expression which goes far to confirm the belief that those upon whom the miraculous cures were wrought belonged to the heathen population. "They glorified," he says, "the God of Israel." It would have been wholly inappropriate if applied to Jews. S. Mark records the exclamations in which their admiration expressed itself, and they carry us back to the utterances of the prophet ages before, and are an unconscious witness to their fulfilment, and to Christ's claim to the Messiahship : " Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped : then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." XXXV ^Ije jFeeDing of tlje four ^Ijou^anti S. Mark viii. 1-9 1. In those days the multitude ye? And they said, Seven. 6. And being very great, and having nothing He commanded the people to sit down to eat, Jesus called His disciples unto on the ground : and He took the seven Him, and saith unto them, 2. I loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, have compassion on the multitude, and gave to His disciples to set before because they have now been with Me them ; and they did set them before three days, and have nothing to eat : the people. 7. And they had a few 3. and if I send them away fasting to small fishes : and He blessed, and their own houses, they will faint by commanded to set them also before the way : for divers of them came them. 8. So they did eat, and were from far. 4. And His disciples an- filled : and they took up of the broken swered Him, From whence can a meat that was left seven baskets. 9. man satisfy these men with bread And they that had eaten were about here in the wilderness ? 5. And He four thousand : and He sent them asked them, How many loaves have away. S. Augustine expressed satisfaction that the providential record of this miracle by Evangelists, who recorded the kindred miraculous feeding of the five thousand, had preserved it from the attacks of hostile critics. But what kept them off in an earlier age has been found to interpose no barrier in these later times, when the credibility of the Gospel narrative is so fiercely assailed. This account has been spoken of as "a loose tradition," or "an ill-remembered reproduction" of the former, but the only ground for the supposition is the surprise of the Apostles, "Whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?" If, it is said, they had seen a similar multitude supernaturally fed, they would have expected a repetition of 1 66 The Feeding of the chap, vm the same creative act for a corresponding necessity. It is a plausible objection, but admits, as will be seen, of satisfactory explanation. Leaving this for the moment, we turn to a consideration of numerous facts which are wholly inconsistent with the suggested theory. Almost all the details of the two narratives are different. The mode of distribution through the agency of the Apostles 1 is the only point in which they exactly agree. Some uncertainty, it is true, hangs round the scene of this miracle, but the most that can be said is, that it was at least in the same neighbourhood as the first. There is no question that that was in a desert adjoining Bethsaida- Julias, on the north-eastern side of the lake. It may be in- ferred that this was wrought on the same coast, for it is said that Jesus had reached the further shore through the midst of Decapolis, and that after the multitudes had been dismissed, He took ship and crossed over to Magdala 2 on the Galilean side. There is, however, no evidence to enable us to fix the exact locality. In all other points and characteristic features there is distinct divergence. In the earlier miracle the people were Jews, chiefly from the Jewish towns of Capernaum, Tiberias, and Bethsaida, on the western side of the lake, pilgrims preparing to go up to the approaching Passover. In the later they were Gentiles. All the history which immediately precedes is occupied with our Lord's ministry among the semi -heathen population of Decapolis ; and an expression of S. Matthew, in describing the effect produced upon them by His miracles, where he says that "they glorified the God of Israel," admits of no other explanation than that they were not Israelites themselves. This, added to their wonder at the sight of His miracles, which would have been unaccountable in the Galileans after a ministry of two years amongst them, leaves little doubt of their non-Jewish nationality. The time also differed. When the five thousand were fed i Cf. p. 138. 2 Magdala. The best MSS. give Magadan as the name of the place. Possibly it bore both names. The modern El-Mejdil is clearly the represent- ative of the former. The Dalmanutha of S. Mark is not mentioned elsewhere ; but it must have been either a town or district on the south-western side of the lake. v. i-9 Four Thousand 167 the Passover was nigh at hand, as S. John says, and it is borne out by the undesigned coincidence that the remaining Evangelists all call attention to the abundance of grass, 1 which springs up in Palestine at this time of the year. Whereas, in describing what took place at the second miracle, there is no such allusion. It is merely said that they sat "on the ground." From the sequence of events several weeks must have elapsed, and, as usually happens in that country, the verdure had dried up and withered, and called for no observation. There is, moreover, a marked difference preserved through- out all the narratives in the kind of baskets used for gathering up the fragments in the two cases. In the first, each one of the Twelve unstrapped the wicker wallet which, in accordance with custom, he would take with him on his travels, and filled it with the broken pieces; and this accounts for the number of the baskets corresponding with that of the Apostles. In the second a much larger basket 2 was used, for on one occasion it served to hold S. Paul when he was let down through a window in the walls of Damascus. It is a noteworthy coincidence that the more capacious basket is found in connection with a prolonged sojourn in a heathen district, when a larger store of " clean " provisions would be required than could be carried in the ordinary cophinus or wallet. 3 Again, the multitudes in the first miracle were more, and the loaves and fishes fewer in number than in the second ; and herein may be found a further and decisive argument against the supposed invention of the latter account. A forger would have reversed the statistics, and made the numbers greater and the provisions smaller in the second case ; for nothing could be gained by inventing such a narrative if it did not 1 " The latter rain" fell during the greater part of the month of March, and was followed by a great outburst of spring verdure, which would be most noticeable about the time of the Passover. 2 a-rrvpis, Lat. sporta, was a large provision-basket, much used for meals, hence the phrase beiirvov dirb cnrvpidos. It was perhaps more of the nature of a hamper. 3 The miracle of the five thousand took place during a short absence only from Galilean territory. The "cophinus" would contain ample provision for this, but His travels through the towns of Decapolis had occupied a consider- able time. 1 68 The Feeding of the chap, vm tend, so to speak, to magnify the wonder-working power of our Lord. Lastly, there is a striking difference in the results. When the Jewish crowds witnessed that great creative act they were filled with enthusiasm and excitement. The expected Messiah had shown Himself in their midst, and they broke out with the cry, " This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world ; " and then they were so carried away with the conviction, that nothing would satisfy them till they had tried "to take Him by force and make Him a king." The heathen multitude, on the other hand, less excitable, because they had no such expectations, dispersed without any demonstration, when their wants were satisfied and they realised that Jesus was about to depart. A full consideration, therefore, of the circumstances of the second miracle furnishes ample proof of the authenticity of the record — none whatever that it is of spurious origin. The question of the Apostles, which has supplied the assailants of its credibility with their chief argument, admits of a double solution, either of which will satisfy the requirements of the case. If the multitudes were Gentiles, the Apostles might well have hesitated before concluding that their Master would work such a miracle for them, as He had done for the Jews. There was no lesson harder for them to learn, than that all x alike were eligible for His bounty. Or again, we may find the explanation in their slowness to believe. It is only another illustration of the proverbial forgetfulness of past mercies. Had not God cleft the rock in the wilderness to satisfy the thirst of the wanderers? Had He not given them quails from heaven ? And was it not true that when the fountain dried up, and the pangs of hunger returned, they forgot the past, and in their ingratitude mur- mured against Him ? It has been well said, " It is only the man of full-formed faith, of a faith which as yet the Apostles did not possess, who argues from the past to the future, and truly derives confidence from God's former dealings of faithfulness and love." The spiritual teaching to be derived from the history differs 1 Cf. the case of the Syrophenician woman. "Send her away," they cried. S. Matt. xv. 23. v. 1-9 Four Thousand 169 in no way from that which the kindred record supplied, but we may gather an additional fragment of instruction from the words, " So they did eat, and were filled." It is a significant expression in the original, "They were fed to satisfaction." That such a result followed, was the consequence of their being fed by Him alone Who "satisfies the empty soul, and filleth the hungry soul with gladness." There is need to be reminded of this in an age when men are pointed to other sources of satisfaction — to education, to culture, and to refinement, and bidden to find their highest enjoyment in these and suchlike pursuits. If they bear no reference to Him towards Whom all that is noblest and best in Nature and Art is designed to lead us, they will turn out to be but " broken cisterns that hold no water." There is only one answer to the inquiry, " From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread?" and it is contained in the words, "He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." XXXVI %\)t SDemanti for a £>ign S. Mark viii. 10-21 10. And straightway He entered into a ship with His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. 12. And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign ? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13. And He left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15. And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is be- cause we have no bread. 17. And when Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened ? 18. Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19. When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto Him, Twelve. 20. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21. And He said unto them, How is it that ye do not under- stand ? Our Lord had been travelling, if not actually in heathen territory, at least where He had been brought into contact with heathens. The eagerness with which He had been welcomed in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and of Decapolis, was in striking contrast to the reception that awaited Him on His return to Galilee. No sooner had He landed on the western shore of the lake, in Dalmanutha, which was probably the southern part not far from Magdala, than the Pharisees " came forth" to meet Him. Whether it merely means that they came from the neighbouring cities, such as Tiberias, where ch. viii. v. 10-21 The Demand for a Sign 171 they dwelt, or whether it points to a place of waiting, where, it may be, they had watched the progress of His well-known boat approaching, they lost no time in entering into a contro- versy as soon as He arrived* S. Mark, "for whom the beginnings of things had a charm," says that they "began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him." The last words leave it quite clear what their object was : they wished to put Him to the test, to incite Him to make an attempt in which they hoped He might fail. They intimated that they were not satisfied with what they had seen. The miracles of healing might be nothing more than the result of superior medical skill ; the dispossession of evil spirits, they had told Him before, they believed to have been effected by Beelzebub. If He wished to establish His Messianic claims above all doubt and suspicion, it behoved Him to give them a sign direct from heaven, where neither man nor devil could possibly be the moving cause. They would be quite satisfied if He would rain manna from above, or stay the sun in its course, or awake the thunder in a clear sky; any of these would put the question on quite another footing, and they would be the first to believe in Him. But He knew their hypocrisy, and that beneath all their pretended anxiety to be convinced, there lay a dogged determination to shut their eyes to every sign, and close their hearts against Him. He might have reminded them in so many words that they had the very evidence they asked for; but it may be, having in His mind the preternatural star which had presided over His Birth, and the scene when the very heavens had opened to attest His mission at His Baptism, He told them in irony that all their boasted skill in watching the everchanging sky, and pretending to be able to forecast sunshine and rain, 1 fair weather and foul, only aggravated their guilt in refusing to discern the signs of the times. No sign, He solemnly assured them, such as they asked should be given, not at least till it would be too late, for when " the sun should be darkened " 1 The Jews paid great attention to the forecast of weather. They watched the smoke, e.g. , at the Feast of Tabernacles. If it turned northward, they expected much rain the following year ; if southward, little. Cf. Talm. Bab. Yoma, 21 b. 172 The Demand for a Sign chap, vih in open day, they would have rejected Him for ever. No wonder that "He sighed deeply in His spirit." 1 It may have been in His human shrinking from that fearful hour, when He should hang upon the cross amid supernatural darkness ; it must have been as well, out of the depths of an untold pity for hearts that He longed in vain to save. And so, knowing the utter uselessness of complying with their request, as far as they were concerned, and having no temptation to make an ostentatious display of miraculous power for His Own aggran- disement, He quitted their shores, no more to return to do any work amongst them. 2 From Dalmanutha He embarked, and the boat was turned in the direction of the north-east coast. During the voyage nothing was spoken ; at least there is no record of any con- versation, and the thought of what had occurred may well have filled the heart of Jesus with sadness and gloom. But as soon as they landed, the disciples were troubled by the discovery that, in the hurry and confusion of their sudden departure, they had forgotten to supply themselves with necessary pro- visions ; and while they were discussing what was best to be done, Jesus broke His silence by bidding them "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod." His mind was full of His late interview, in which they had exhibited such a complete misapprehension of His mission, and dreading the possibility of its spreading to His disciples, He uttered the warning with a more than usual caution. 3 Their reply proved that though they did not misapprehend Him, as the Pharisees had done, they were yet slow of understanding, and with little perception of spiritual truths. The mention of leaven suggested at once the conclusion that He had overheard their discussion, and they associated it with their need of bread. 4 " He tells us," they seem to say, "that if we buy bread from a Pharisee 1 Cf. p. 36, n. 2. 2 He did not return to carry on His work. In ch. ix. 30 we find Him there, but only as it were in private ; ' ' He would not that any one should know " of His visit. 3 The combination of "Take heed, beware," is very expressive. 4 There were frequent disputes about the use of leaven, whether e.g. heathen leaven, or Cuthaean, were permissible ; and Lightfoot says, ' ' The disciples thought that Christ cautioned them concerning the leaven of the Pharisees ; but withal they suspected some silent reproof for not bringing bread along with them." v. 10-21 The Demand for a Sign 173 or a Sadducee, the bread would defile us, as it would if we bought it from a Samaritan." And at once He exposed their mistake by recalling the miracles which He had worked in their presence for the supply of food by supernatural power. How could they be perplexed by such a difficulty as this? Then, after eliciting from them the fact that they had forgotten nothing of the external circumstances — the numbers of the people and of the loaves, and the basketsful of fragments that remained over, and even the kind of baskets * which had been used on each occasion — He asked in sorrow of heart, how it was that they had failed so completely to understand the meaning of His acts ? If they had learned nothing more from them, they ought at least to have gathered this, that in His Presence there need be no anxious care about bread. S. Mark says no more, but S. Matthew tells us that their under- standings were opened, and that they discovered that by "the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees," He spoke of their doctrine. 1 Cf. pp. 137 n. 2, 167 n. 3. XXXVII %& Blinti $®m at Betljgaitia S. Mark viii. 22-26 22. And He cometh to Bethsaida ; And he looked up, and said, I see and they bring a blind man unto men as trees, walking. 25. After that Him, and besought Him to touch He put His hands again upon his eyes, him. 23. And He took the blind man and made him look up : and he was by the hand, and led him out of the restored, and saw every man clearly, town ; and when He had spit on his 26. And He sent him away to his eyes, and put His hands upon him, house, saying, Neither go into the He asked him if he saw ought. 24. town, nor tell it to any in the town. This miracle corresponds closely in many particulars to that of the restoration of " one that was deaf, and had an impedi- ment in his speech," and in parts the description is clothed in the very same language. Both are introduced to the reader in the same way : the scene is laid in the same district : x the subjects of the cures are of the same nationality : 2 and the mode of healing adopted is almost peculiar to these alone. 3 One distinguishing feature explains the motive that must have weighed with the Evangelist in preserving the record of both in such close proximity to each other. The point of difference is that in the earlier, as in all other miraculous restorations, the cure was immediate, in the later it was gradual and progressive. 1 All that is certain is that both were in the eastern territory. It has been commonly assumed that the former miracle was wrought close to the Sea of Galilee ; but it is an assumption, and has been here treated as such. Cf. pp. 161, 162. 2 Cf. p. 163. 3 The only other recorded instance is that of the blind man restored by having his eyes anointed and washing in the Pool of Siloam — S. John ix. 1-8. ch. viii. v. 22-26 The Blind Man at Bethsaida 175 Of the deaf man it is said, "They bring unto Him one that was deaf, . . . and they beseech Him to put His hands upon him ; " of the blind, " They bring a blind man unto Him, and besought * Him to touch him." There is no change of tense in the original, but the parallel is exact. In both cases it is the friends who intercede. It illustrates a truth that is full of comfort, that Christ was not infrequently influenced as much by the faith of others, as by that of the sick and afflicted themselves. Indeed, it has been said that "the Gospel history almost throughout is a system of relief through the medium of others." The scene is the eastern side of the lake at Bethsaida- Julias. 2 There is no intimation that Jesus had crossed over to the western shore, but every reason to believe that He had closed His ministry there at the conclusion of His encounter with the delegates from the Sanhedrim. His final direction to the restored man not to go into the town, but to return home, when added to other considerations, points to some city of Decapolis as his native place, and consequently to his heathen origin. He was led apart like the other, not, as has been suggested, that when restored his eyes might rest upon the beauties of Nature in the country, rather than on the works of man in the town, but that, in privacy and undisturbed intercourse with the Great Physician, his wants might be made fully known, and his faith quickened into a more receptive state. It is one of the most touching pictures in the Bible, — Christ, "the Light of the world," hand in hand with a man that was blind. Well indeed may it have created surprise that no Christian artist should ever have seized upon the subject, so suggestive alike of exquisite treatment and spiritual teaching ! We often wonder how deeply the spectators were touched by what they saw, and whether that " vision of beauty " ever faded from their memory, or remained as a joy for ever. 1 It is the present tense in both, used, as so often by S. Mark, to make the description more vivid. 2 Some have supposed that it was the Galilean Bethsaida, probably from a mistaken idea that Dalmanutha, from which our Lord had just crossed over, was on the eastern shore. On this supposition it has been concluded that He was forbidden to enter the town because of the sins of the inhabitants. " Woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! " 176 The Blind Man at Bcthsaida chap, vm No sooner had Jesus and the blind man withdrawn from the crowd than He anointed his eyes, and laid His hands upon them, and then inquired of him if sight had returned. The man had not been born blind, so was able to recognise objects ; but his vision was as yet imperfect, and in the mist and through the film, the forms of men were magnified and distorted. They looked like trees, but they could not be, for they moved about. 1 Again his eyes were touched by the Divine hand, and immediately he saw clearly, 2 for every object stood out in plain and well-defined outline. In the light of the previous miracle, it calls for no further consideration, save in that one particular which separates it from every other. The mode of cure is a parable in act ; its teaching is in exact harmony with that enforced by the gradual growth of the corn, " first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." It is worthy of notice that both have been preserved in this Gospel alone. In opening the eyes of the spiritually blind God is not fettered; "there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God that worketh all in all." The life of the soul, then, may be developed at once by a sudden crisis, for " with God all things are possible ; " but the normal process is according to the analogy of the natural kingdom, or as the restoration of sight to the man at Beth- saida, by gradual and progressive efforts. If it should be thought that because in the majority of His miracles the effect was immediate, and the cure complete, therefore the same law of proportion should be expected in the restoration of spiritual sicknesses, it must not be forgotten that the direct teaching by parable has infinitely greater weight than the indirect through act and deed. It is true that there is much to be learned from our Lord's mode of working, as, for instance, in this very miracle the means employed pre- figured the human ministries of the Church, and we accept it at once, because it is corroborated by what He taught openly 1 According to the best MSS. his exact exclamation was, " I discern men, for as trees I see them walking." Probably it expresses a broken utterance, and might be understood thus : "I notice some men — that is, indistinct like trees — but they cannot be trees, for they are walking about." 8 Kal die(3\e\f/ev is now accepted instead of kcli iiroirioev avrbu avafSXexpai, and the meaning is, he saw " the men," which were before indistinct, quite clearly, and "all things" plainly that he looked at afterwards. v. 22-26 The Blind Alan at Bethsaida 177 and without reserve. He nowhere 1 said, either in sermon or parable, that the sanctification of the heart was a sudden thing, and therefore we refuse to interpret His instantaneous cures as furnishing an illustration for the manner in which this moral and spiritual change is to be sought or obtained. On the other hand, we have no hesitation in accepting the mode of healing in this particular miracle as a model for the development of the inner life of the soul, because it is in perfect harmony with what He taught in the parables that dealt directly with the subject. It will be an encouragement, in an age of religious revival and excitement, to quiet Christians who are striving by the Holy Spirit and the appointed means of grace to increase in wisdom and stature, not by abnormal growth, but with steady advance from grace to grace till the end is reached. 1 The nearest approach is where the Father brings forth the best robe, and a ring and shoes, for the Prodigal Son on his return (S. Luke xv. 22) ; but as these were ornaments not of the slave, but of the free, it more probably symbolises "his rehabilitation in Baptismal privileges," which do not carry with them complete sanctification. Cf. Collect for Christmas Day. XXXVIII &♦ ^Beter'g great Confession S. Mark viii. 27-33 27. And Jesus went out, and His And He began to teach them, that disciples, into the towns of Caesarea the Son of Man must suffer many Philippi : and by the way He asked things, and be rejected of the elders, His disciples, saying unto them, and of the chief priests, and scribes, Whom do men say that I am ? 28. and be killed, and after three days And they answered, John the Baptist : rise again. 32. And He spake that but some say, Elias ; and others, One saying openly. And Peter took Him, of the prophets. 29. And He saith and began to rebuke Him. 33. But unto them, But whom say ye that I when He had turned about and looked am ? And Peter answereth and saith on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, say- unto Him, Thou art the Christ. 30. ing, Get thee behind Me, Satan : for And He charged them that they thou savourest not the things that be should tell no man of Him. 31. of God, but the things that be of men. From Bethsaida-Julias our Lord, at one of the greatest crises in His ministry, retired from His favourite haunts by the Sea of Galilee, and went northwards through the " coasts " and villages of Caesarea Philippi. Whether He had visited this place before is not certain, but the interest belonging to the physical features of the country, as well as to its historic associations, was such that He would naturally desire to see it. The situation of the town is unique, and combines elements of grandeur and beauty in the mighty overhanging Hermon and the rich luxuriant plain watered with the springs of the Jordan. If its identification with Laish or Dan be abandoned, its ancient history is wholly Pagan. Under the name of Panium it obtained notoriety for its sanctuary of the god Pan. In Herodian times it was enlarged by the Tetrarch ch. viii. v. 27-33 5*. Peter' s great Confession 179 Philip, 1 and its name changed to commemorate both himself and the Emperor. But its old heathen appellation was soon revived. Paneas became the seat of a Christian bishopric, and the ruins of the place are found in the site of the modern Banias. It was a turning-point in our Lord's history, and He felt the necessity of undisturbed intercourse with His disciples. He was anxious for an opportunity of talking over with them the progress of events, and ascertaining from their lips the general impression which His works and teaching had made upon the people at large. Two years at least had passed — two-thirds of the appointed time — amply sufficient to enable them to form a decided judgment upon His claims. At first He inquired about the opinions current among those who had in no sense joined His society. What do " the men " say ? What do " the multitudes " say about Me ? The disciples had often, no doubt, heard the subject freely canvassed, and they gathered up the floating ideas of His Person into three main convictions. One party, influenced perhaps by the superstitious Antipas and the Herodians, imagined that He was the murdered Baptist risen from the dead ; another recognised in His wonder-working power the long-expected Elijah ; while a third, impressed by His anxious and sorrowful look, which had deepened so much during the last weeks, as well as from a hope that the lost treasures of the Temple were about to be restored, thought that He was Jeremiah, or " one of the prophets." Such was the popular judgment. It was perhaps neither more nor less than He looked for. It showed that He had got hold of the people ; that they were satisfied that He was some " Great One," and that there was considerable diversity in the character of His work, for He had revived the memory of not one merely, but of several of their greatest ; but no real progress had been made towards a general acceptance of His true Mission as the Messiah. The Jews had become so wholly engrossed in the idea that their future 1 Herod the Great built a temple in honour of Augustus ; Philip called it Csesarea, and added his own name, both for his own honour and to distinguish it from Cassarea, Turris Stratonis, the well-known sea-port of Palestine. Cf. Joseph. Antiq. xv. 10. 3. 180 S. Peter 's great Confession chap, viii Deliverer must restore their political independence, that they had no eye for One Who seemed careless of their national hopes and prejudices, and bent only upon the restoration of spiritual privileges. Even the Baptist had need to be reminded that there were other characteristics of the Messiah than the power of deliverance from the hands of an enemy. Fully convinced of the fact that, as far as the public at large was concerned, there was no recognition of His Messiah- ship, He turned to His near companions, with satisfaction, no doubt, but not without anxiety, for " many of His disciples had gone away backwards," and the shock may have been felt by the Twelve ; and He asked with an earnest emphasis, "Butjjw 1 — who do you say that I am?" It was a critical moment. There was some excuse for the people. They had only seen Him at intervals ; they had witnessed one miracle here, and another there ; but the inner circle of disciples had been with Him from the beginning. Had that prolonged training been only labour lost ? There was no hesitation in the answer. With characteristic impetuosity, as the mouth- piece of all, confident that none would contradict him, S. Peter broke out into the great confession, "Thou art the Christ." 2 It was a noble witness to the truth, and it called forth a blessing upon him who bore it, though w T ith a praise- worthy modesty it is suppressed in the Gospel which was so peculiarly his own. If we notice here the memorable words by which our Lord followed up His blessing — words round which so much ecclesiastical controversy has gathered, it is not to reopen the unhappy strife, but simply to exemplify once more the custom which He so largely adopted, and which gave to His teaching a freshness unknown to the Rabbis, viz., of seizing His illustrations from the sights by which He was surrounded. It was, it is almost certain, as He looked upon the gigantic rock crowned with the castle of Subeibeh, 3 unassailable from 1 The position of the pronoun is very emphatic in the Greek : vfiels 5e riva fie Xeyere etvai ; 2 The Anointed. He received this title as embracing in His Own Person the three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, to which men were admitted by unction. Cf. i Kings xix. 16 ; Exod. xl. 15 ; 1 Sam. x. 1. 3 It rises to the height of 1500 feet, and is guarded on all sides by in- accessible gorges. It has been described as "the largest of its kind in the v. 27-33 S. Peter 's great Confession 181 its strength and position, that He saw no inapt figure of the solid foundation upon which His spiritual kingdom was to rest, and turning to the "Rock-man," whom He Himself had named, He said, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." That splendid eulogy was soon to be followed by a severe rebuke ; for the hopes which his confession had kindled, that at least the Apostles realised His Mission, were immediately dashed by the clearest evidence that their chief had wholly misunderstood that the Messiah must be "despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." The anticipation of the Cross, which was always present in His mind, had found expression from time to time, but only in enigmatical predictions. " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." " He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me." But they were passed by without notice. Jewish ideas at that time hardly admitted of a suffering Messiah ; indeed so wholly had the prophecies of His humiliation dropped out of sight, that it has been said that no Rabbi of our Lord's generation had ventured to teach that He must suffer. 1 The time had arrived when the truth must be revealed " openly," without reserve or disguise, and so " He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things," and be publicly rejected by the great council of the nation, and put to death. He did not fail to add that which should have brought them consolation, that though death must be endured He could not be holden of it, but would rise again after three days. But this part of the announcement was wholly lost upon the bewildered Apostle. His ambitious views, and his intense personal love for his Master, made him rebel against East, and equal in extent even to the pride of European castles at Heidel- berg." — Stanley, Sin. and Palest. 397. The origin of the name Subeibeh, given to it in the Crusades, is doubtful. 1 Geikie, in a note on Die Leiden des Messias, by August Wiinsche, has maintained that the extracts from Rabbinic writings, supposed to contradict this theory, are all indecisive. Cf. chap. xlvi. n. g. 1 82 S. Peter s Great Confession ch. vm, v. 27-33 the bare possibility of suffering and death, and taking Him aside he remonstrated with Him, and protested that it must not be. " God forbid ! it must not, it shall not happen unto Thee." It was a temptation to Jesus to turn aside from His predestined path. It was an echo of the voice which He had heard in the wilderness at the outset of His Mission, bidding Him exercise His power for His Own deliverance, and it called for a rebuke not a whit less severe. "Stand not in the way before Me; thou art a stone of stumbling and rock of offence, ' Get thee behind Me, Satan,' 1 for your mind is set on earthly things, you cannot grasp the counsel of the Most High. It is through suffering that I must reign ; My Crown can only be won when I have borne the Cross." It sounds harsh to our ears that our Lord should repeat to a misguided but well-intentioned disciple language which He had used to the subtle and malignant Tempter. But he had been blessed in the highest terms for His confession, though our Lord allowed that it could only have been made under the inspiration of God ; even so is he most severely rebuked now, though the temptation was recognised by Christ as the suggestion of the Evil One. It was an outspoken reproof calculated to awake him to a consciousness of what he was doing, and by whose influence he was being led ; and if we could read the story of his after-life, it would doubtless testify to his gratitude for the revelation which it made to him of the true nature of the Messiah's Kingdom. 1 It is quite true" that " Satan " is used in the Old Testament merely for an "adversary," as, e.g., " Let Satan stand at his right hand," but it is almost impossible to soften the language, which is precisely identical with that used to the Tempter, because S. Peter's suggestion was in spirit an exact echo of his. XXXIX Bearing tlje €vo$$ S. Mark viii. 34-38 34. And when He had called the if he shall gain the whole world, and people unto Him with His disciples lose his own soul ? 37. or what shall also, He said unto them, Whosoever a man give in exchange for his soul ? will come after Me, let him deny 38. Whosoever therefore shall be himself, and take up his cross, and ashamed of Me and of My words in follow Me. 35. For whosoever will this adulterous and sinful generation ; save his life shall lose it ; but whoso- of him also shall the Son of Man be ever shall lose His life for My sake and ashamed, when He cometh in the the gospel's, the same shall save it. glory of His Father with the holy 36. For what shall it profit a man, angels. The connection of Christ's glory with His abasement, which was brought out so strikingly when the confession of His Godhead was followed by the prediction of His Passion, has been very beautifully illustrated in the picture of a great Christian artist. 1 The scene is the Carpenter's shop at Nazareth ; the toil of the day is over, the door is open towards the west, when the wearied Son of Man stretches out His arms for a momentary relief. The sun is just setting, and throws His shadow upon the wall — the shadow of a cross. At that instant His Blessed Mother, who is kneeling at a casket containing the gifts of the Wise Men, takes in her hand the crown which they had presented to Him as King, and which she fondly hoped to see Him wear ; she lifts up her eyes, and they light upon the dark shadow cast upon the wall. Now there can hardly be a doubt that in her heart the future of her Son was thus overclouded. It had been so 1 Holman Hunt. 184 Bearing the Cross CHAP. VIII clearly predicted to her when she took the Babe into the Temple, that the anticipation of the predestined sword must have pierced her soul again and again. But probably the disciples were troubled by no such forebodings till the un- reserved declaration of what awaited Him in Jerusalem gave a rude shock to their hopes. The severe rebuke to S. Peter for doubting the certainty of His prediction must have satisfied them that there was no escape. They had then to face the fact that their cherished aspirations, their hopes that all obstacles would soon be overcome, and that they would sit on thrones in His kingdom, were dashed by this new revelation. There was, it is true, an element of consolation in His utter- ance, but the bare thought that their Master must suffer and die took such complete hold of them that they gave it no consideration. And then He had a still further disclosure to make. Not only must He suffer Himself, but a similar fate was in store for them ; and not for them only, but for all who wished to become members of His Church. Self-sacrifice in place of self-pleasing was to be the watchword of His disciples, and, as though to impress upon them that it was a law of universal application, He called the people within the sound of His voice before He proclaimed it. " Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." It was not altogether a new doctrine. Philosophers had taught men that righteousness is naturally persecuted in a sinful world. Plato had come very near to our Lord when he said that "the righteous man will be scourged, tortured, and bound, will have his eyes burned out, and at last, after suffer- ing every kind of ill, will be impaled 1 or crucified." But Jesus advanced a step further when He declared that a man must take up the cross himself. There could be no mistake as to what it implied in its literal meaning. Cruci- fixion was not a Jewish punishment, but since the Romans had been in possession of Palestine 2 the people had become familiarised with it, and must have seen many a condemned 1 avacrx'-v5v\ev(i}, not elsewhere used, is regarded by lexicographers as equivalent to dyaaKoXowi^eiu and avacrravpovv. Cf. Herod, ix. 78. 2 Syria was made a Roman province after the conquest of Pompey, B.C. 64, and Judaea was united with it A.D. 6. v. 34-38 Bearing the Cross 185 criminal bearing the instrument of his death to the place of execution. In His prevision of the early years of Christianity, our Lord knew that such a death awaited some of those to whom He was speaking. But the broad principle involved in His declaration is that sacrifice is inseparable from the Christian calling. There is, we know, a wonderful spell in the cry, " Come after me," " Follow me." All history, profane as well as sacred, has shown us this. The great Roman general realised its force when he called to his soldiers, who shrank from the hardships of the Libyan desert, and promised to go before them and to command them nothing which he would not first do himself. Even so Christ designed to help His followers by the assurance that He should first suffer that which they would be called to bear. In the first of the three arguments brought forward to enforce the principle, some obscurity is caused from the want of one English equivalent for the Greek word translated "life." On His lips it had a double significance — viz., that which we now live in the flesh, and that which we live in union with the life-giving Spirit, — a lower and earthly life, and a higher and heavenly. If, He argues, any man thinks only of the former, and makes everything bend to that, with all its temporal enjoyments and self-pleasing, he will forfeit all right to the latter. If, however, he learns to sit loosely to that, and is pre- pared to resign it whenever a strong sense of duty prompts the resignation, he carries in his hand a passport into a higher and nobler existence. " Whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." That is the first inducement, and the second is not unlike it. It rests upon the vast disproportion between the two lives. He pictures to His hearers a man placed upon trial for his conduct, and condemned to forfeit 1 all claim to eternal life, because he has thought only of the present, and taken his fill of its pleasures ; and then He weighs in the balance one against the other, what he has gained and what he has lost, 1 fy/xiou is a forensic term, to mulct, to amerce, to fine. The Authorised Version, by rendering it here "lose," and in the parallel passage in S. Luke, " be cast away," has missed all that the word implies. 1 86 Bearing the Cross ch. vm. v. 34-38 and the former flies up at once and kicks the beam, for it is "altogether lighter than vanity itself." The same truth is en- forced under another figure. There are many things which may be recovered by ransom or won back by exchange, but eternal life, once forfeited, is past recovery ; at least no corruptible things, such as silver and gold, neither "thousands of rams nor ten thousands of rivers of oil," can effect a redemption or offer the least compensation, for "it costs more to redeem their souls, so that he must let that alone for ever." His last argument is an appeal to the recompence and requital at the Final Judgment. S. Mark records His reference to the latter alone. It is a call to those who heard Him to break with the spirit of that sinful and adulterous generation, branded with unfaithfulness to their rightful Lord, and not to be ashamed to confess Him openly; for if every man is to be rewarded according to his works, then to be ashamed of Christ before men entailed the fearful requital of being put to shame by Him in the presence of the angels. It was all perhaps a gloomy outlook, but it was broken by gleams of bright anticipation if only they would have seen them. True, He was destined to die ; suffering, humiliation, and shame awaited Him ; but this was not the end, for He spoke also of the resurrection and of His return " in the glory of His Father." And yet once more He promised that some of them would live to see in this life a foretaste of the glory that should follow. Yet forty years and Jerusalem would be destroyed. All the present opposition would be crushed, and men should see in the judgment about to fall upon the Jews a type and assurance of that which would be consummated at the end of the world ; and not only so, but it would be followed by the establishment of His visible and spiritual kingdom upon earth. The Church was destined to rise out of the ashes of the Temple. Their eyes were to be delighted with a yet nearer vision and manifestation of Divine glory, so soon to be vouchsafed to the inner circle of the Twelve, and it could hardly have been absent from His thoughts while He spake ; but the intimation that all would not survive to witness the coming of His kingdom with power is the clearest proof that He looked beyond the Transfiguration. XL dje »>cene of tlje ^rangfigu ratio it S. Mark ix. 1-4 1. And He said unto them, Verily and leadeth them up into an high I say unto you, That there be some mountain apart by themselves : and He of them that stand here, which shall was transfigured before them. 3. And not taste of death, till they have seen His raiment became shining, exceeding the kingdom of God come with white as snow ; so as no fuller on power. earth can white them. 4. And there 2. And after six days Jesus taketh appeared unto them Elias with Moses ; with Him Peter, and James, and John, and they were talking with Jesus. The Transfiguration places us on " the summit-level " of our Lord's earthly life. Its teaching is of such momentous import for the right understanding of His true Nature, that, no less than the Resurrection, its credibility has been assailed by hostile critics. It has, however, been providentially ordered that, in addition to the triple record of the Evangelists in its proper place of history, it should have been further corro- borated by independent allusions in the writings of those who were eye-witnesses of the scene. The three selected by our Lord to be with Him were "the chosen out of the chosen," to whom was vouchsafed the honour of the closest companion- ship in the greatest crises of His life. They were destined, He knew, to be present at the Agony, and in His tender fore- thought He prepared them for the trial, strengthening their faith by a vision of preternatural glory first, that its re- membrance might bear them up when they should see " His face marred more than the sons of men." It made such an indelible impression upon their memories that two of them 1 88 The Scene of the Transfiguration chap, ix spoke of it long afterwards — one, in the sublime prologue of his Gospel : " We beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father ; " the other, in the Epistle that he wrote just preceding his death, " He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount." What the mountain was we would gladly know for certain ; but its name has not been preserved in. the Sacred History, and careful consideration shows that tradition is wholly un- trustworthy, notwithstanding its age and unanimity. Even as early as the fourth century it was assumed to be Mount Tabor. Pious Christians made pilgrimages thither ; the devout Helena built a church upon its summit ; monasteries were dedicated to Moses and Elias ; and all through the Crusades it was fought for with the same devotion as Calvary or Olivet. There is nothing but the beauty and isolation of the mountain that could have given birth to such a belief. It rises " in isolated grandeur " out of the lovely Plain of Esdraelon, "the most graceful of all the mountains of Palestine," and the mind, in the absence of other considera- tions, would be disposed to associate such a scene as this with so beautiful a height. But there are circumstances which lead us to look else- where for the actual locality ; for although the position of Tabor might appear to offer a suitable place for retirement "apart by themselves," its summit at this time was really occupied by a considerable fortress. 1 And further, only a few days before, Jesus, in company with His disciples, was " in the towns of Caesarea Philippi." No mention whatever is made of a journey into Galilee, which must have been chronicled by S. Mark if it had ever been taken, for he is always careful to note every change of place in our Lord's wanderings. Nowhere else than in the more distant north, on the ridge 1 Josephus, Life, 37 ; Wars, ii. 20, 6. Hos. v. 1, LXX. 'Ira^vpiov. Polybius mentions the capture of Atabyrium, the name of the fortified city on the summit, by Antiochus the Great. Josephus also speaks of its being strengthened in his time. It was eventually destroyed in 1263 A. D. by a brother of the famous Saladin. Cf. Morison, S. Matt. xvii. r. v. i-4 The Scene of the Transfiguration 189 of Hermon, could He find a place so well fitted to be the scene of such a grand event ; l and if the reading which describes His raiment as "shining exceeding white as snow" be genuine, 2 we might well conclude that the simile was sug- gested by the surrounding circumstances. On Mount Tabor no snow would have been found so late in the year ; but on some parts of the range of Libanus it was almost perpetual. We conclude, then, that this was the mountain which our Lord ascended to pray, and it may be inferred that it was at eventide ; for we know that He was wont to set apart the night for prayer, and it is said that the Apostles were weighed down with sleep. It is, moreover, incidentally noticed that the descent took place in the morning. And how much more glorious the scene would be if the splendour, which, no doubt, would have outshone even the noonday sun, burst upon the spectators out of surrounding darkness! "And as He prayed" He was transfigured before them. The veil of flesh which had concealed the glory of the Godhead was, as it were, with- drawn, and the full blaze of ineffable light broke forth from within, while even His garments caught the wondrous rays, and shimmered with the dazzling brightness of sun-smitten snow. As the disciples wondered, " there appeared unto them Moses with Elias." Reasons are not far to find why these two should be brought back together from the other world to take part in the scene. They were the representatives of the quick and dead. Moses had died ; Elijah had ascended alive into heaven. They were types of the two great divisions which shall appear before the same Lord, when He comes in the glory of which that was a glimpse and foretaste, the dead and the living both standing before the judgment- seat of Christ. 3 Again, it may have been because both had passed from 1 " It is impossible to look up to its towering peaks, and not to be struck with its appropriateness to the scene. High up on its southern slopes there must be many a point where the disciples could be taken ' apart by them- selves. ' Even the transient comparison of the celestial splendour with the snow, where alone it could be seen in Palestine, should not perhaps be wholly overlooked." — Stanley, Sin. and Palest. 399-400. Cf. Porter, Handbook, 423- 2 u>s x L &v is omitted in the Sinaitic, Vatican, and Ephraem MSS. 3 It has been observed that the Transfiguration is linked on by the three Evangelists to a striking conversation, part of which is, as it were, carried on 190 The Scene of the Transfiguration chap, ix earth in mystery : the first buried by the hand of God in some unfrequented valley apart from his countrymen, " cast away by the breath of the Lord," and " no man knoweth of his sepulchre until this day ; " the other not dying, but vanishing instant- aneously in the midst of life, " lost in the flame of steeds and the car that swept him from the earth," and his resting-place also no man knew. Both had disappeared, no more to be seen by mortal eye till, in far-distant times, the same Hand that had carried them away should bring them back on the Mount of Transfiguration. It suggests the mighty truth, that however we are taken, whether lost to men in the depth of the sea, or consumed by the devouring fire, it matters nothing to the Great Keeper of His people, Who will bring all back again at the last day. But the chief motive, no doubt, was to unite together the representatives of the three great dispensations of Divine Government, — the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel. The force of this meeting, and of the disappearance of the two former, while the Third was left, will appear when we consider S. Peter's proposal to " build three tabernacles." ;Now the Transfiguration gives us a pledge and earnest of our personal identity in the risen state. The disciples knew that it was Jesus, although His Body was glorified, and "when He shall appear we shall be like Him." And doubtless one reason for the preservation of our identity is for mutual recog- nition — that we may know hereafter those whom we have known in the flesh. It puts before us a powerful incentive to make friends on earth with whom we may spend not only the life here, but the eternal life in heaven. Again, the scene opens up a further field of thought, when we recall the fact that S. Peter was able to recognise Moses and Elijah, though he had never seen them in the flesh. Shall we then recognise the great saints in the world to come, whom we have learnt by the study of their lives and works to know as though we had seen them face to face ? There was clearly something — it may have been some linger! ngs of the splendour which illumined his face after communing with God, in act in the Transfiguration, e.g. Christ had asked, ' ' Whom do men say that I am ?" The Apostles answered, " Some say, Elias ; and others, one of the prophets." Moses and Elias are presented to them on the mount, and a voice from heaven declares Christ to be God's " Beloved Son." v. i -4 The Scene of the Transfiguration 191 which painters have tried to express by the familiar " horns of light," — we cannot tell what it was, but it satisfied the Apostle that the form was none other than that of Moses. Will there be nothing by which, in like manner, we shall recognise the Baptist, or the beloved disciple, or the Blessed Virgin, or Mary of Magdala? Will the student of Theology, who has read the mind of S. Augustine, or pictured the fiery Athanase, with his feeble frame but lion heart, confronting the world for the great Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, find no means of identifying them when they meet hereafter? Will there be nothing to mark painters like Fra Angelico or Raphael, or poets such as Dante, or Tasso, or Milton ? It must surely be that marks of recognition, in all who have witnessed for God, and moulded the minds of men by their words or works, will not be wanting. Let us then look forward with prayerful hope to being of the number of those to whom our Lord made such a promise when He said, " Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." XLI llje Hegtfong of tlje ^rantffipratioii S. Mark ix. 5-13 5. And Peter answered and said to they had seen, till the Son of Man Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be were risen from the dead. 10. And here : and let us make three taber- they kept that saying with themselves, nacles ; one for Thee, and one for questioning one with another what the Moses, and one for Elias. 6. For he rising from the dead should mean, wist not what to say; for they were 11. And they asked Him, saying, sore afraid. 7. And there was a Why say the scribes that Elias must cloud that overshadowed them : and first come? 12. And He answered a Voice came out of the cloud, saying, and told them, Elias verily cometh This is My beloved Son : hear Him. 8. first, and restoreth all things; and And suddenly, when they had looked how it is written of the Son of Man, round about, they saw no man any that He must suffer many things, and more, save Jesus only with themselves. be set at nought. 13. But 1 say unto 9. And as they came down from you, That Elias is indeed come, and the mountain, He charged them that they have done unto him whatsoever they should tell no man what things they listed, as it is written of him. S. Peter was bewildered by the wonderful vision, and seeing that Moses and Elias were on the point of departing, he was seized with a sudden desire to detain them. He proposed to our Lord that they should "make three tabernacles;" 1 but, not knowing what to say, and yet eager, as ever, to give expression to his feelings of awe and delight, "he spake unadvisedly with his lips." Nothing could have been more ill-judged than the proposal he made. It showed an entire misconception of the object of that wonderful epiphany. He was ready to place Moses and Elijah on a level with Christ ; 1 In the corresponding passage in S. Matthew there is an ancient reading Troirjffu, which brings out very strikingly the characteristic of impulse which belongs to S. Peter. He ignores his brother Apostles, and will do what has to be done himself. ch. ix. v. 5-13 Lessons of the Transfiguration 193 to re-establish, that is, the old Dispensations, instead of realising that they were only preparatory, and in their very nature transient. Two things which immediately occurred must have convinced him of his error. A voice came out of the over- shadowing cloud, testifying that Jesus was the Beloved Son of God, and the Legislator and Prophet vanished out of sight. The words, "This is My beloved Son," 1 had been spoken before, when "the heavens were opened," and the Spirit of God descended upon Him at His Baptism, but now they were followed by an express command : " Hear ye Him." Moses and Elijah, each in their time, had claimed the attention of mankind, but now there was Another to Whom it behoved all to take heed, because He was " the Son," the express Image of the Father, by Whom, as never before, His eternal counsels should be revealed. " And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves." It was a symbolical intimation that when He that is perfect and eternal had come, all that was imperfect and preparatory should vanish away. And that this latter was the character both of the Law and the Prophets is obvious. Moses had Christ constantly in view, and the entire scheme of Levitical worship which he was inspired to draw up — the Tabernacle, the Passover, the scape- goat, the burnt-offerings, and sin-offerings and trespass-offerings — all were types, all looked forward to, and all were fulfilled in Him, for "Christ is the end of the Law." And it was the same with the Prophets. In various ways, either clearly or obscurely, they predicted an age of surpassing glory which should culminate at the Messiah's coming ; and to Him gave "all the prophets witness that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." But yet further, not only was all prophecy fulfilled in Christ, but the prophetic character also received its perfect development in Him. The Jewish prophet spoke not only of God, but for God ; yea, he was as it were the very mouthpiece 2 of God, delivering His message, and uttering His curse, and 1 The voice from heaven says, "This is My beloved Son," and it was intended to place Him in contrast, says S. Jerome, with Moses and Elias, who were God's servants. 2 This is the primary idea of the prophetic office. Aaron was the prophet, the mouthpiece of Moses. O 94 The Lessons of striking home the arrow of conviction even into the hearts of kings, careless of heathen threatenings, of bonds and imprison- ments and death, because he felt that it was not he that spoke, but God Who spoke through his lips. Then look on to the perfect embodiment, the complete antitype in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who was the very W 7 ord itself, "quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Consider all this, and the folly of the Apostle's proposal becomes patent at once. Moses and Elias and Christ were three no longer, no more separated, but made one by God. Legislator and prophet both were summoned to the scene of the Transfiguration, and both symbolically consigned their finished work into Christ's hands, knowing that henceforth there was but one Dispensation, one Tabernacle, one Gospel, — Christ the power of God, Christ the wisdom of God, Christ the way, the truth, and the life, by Whom alone we have access to the Father, God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. Such was the lesson that this mysterious scene was designed to convey, but our Lord saw that it was beyond the spiritual ken even of the inner circle of His disciples ; and so, as they descended from the mountain, He laid the injunction upon them that they should not attempt to describe what they had seen, till He should have risen from the dead. Not till that, of which this was in a measure typical, had come to pass would they be able to grasp its significance. And they obeyed His command, and, like the Blessed Virgin, pondered these things in their hearts, wondering how the Resurrection of which He spake could take place while they were yet alive. That for which they, with all pious Jews, were looking was the General Resurrection 1 at the last day, when all that are in their graves shall awake, " some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." There was yet another question which perplexed them as 1 This doctrine, revealed at the first only to the few, and held even by David not always with uniform consistency, was little doubted after the clearer language of Isaiah and Ezekiel and Daniel. For various shades of belief in this, cf. Geikie's Life and Words, ii. 254. v. 5-i3 the Transfiguration 195 they came down. What bearing had this appearance of Elijah upon the arguments of the Scribes? Their great objection to the claims of Jesus to the Messiahship was that He had not fulfilled the prophet's conditions. No reappear- ance of Elijah 1 had preceded His coming. When they saw that vision on the mount they thought that he was come as the forerunner of His kingdom, and that His Messianic claims would be recognised. But the prophet's disappearance had dashed all their hopes. It was in answer to their bewildered inquiry, that Christ opened their eyes to understand the spirit of prophecy, and showed that Elijah had indeed come, as Malachi foretold, yet not in that transient and glorious vision which they had just witnessed, but in the person of the Baptist, who by his preaching and moral purification had prepared the way of the Lord and made His paths straight. He it was of whom Elijah was a type, and that not only in his work of preparation, but in the sufferings he endured; for all the persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, and even worse, had been repeated by the wicked Herod and his shameless queen, who had "done unto him whatsoever they listed." Now what is the most practical lesson to be drawn from this sublime scene ? We must turn to the account which another Evangelist gives, and we shall find that it was during prayer that our Lord was transfigured : "As He prayed the fashion of His countenance was altered." In one respect the Transfiguration of our Blessed Lord can have no earthly counterpart, because it was with His Own glory that He was transfigured ; whereas that with which the souls of the saints are illumined is not from within, but it is thrown upon their lives from Him Who is the Source of all true light and glory. But here there is a point in which the two cases may be brought into comparison. It was through the act of prayer, when His human soul was holding close communion with God, that " His face did shine as the sun." It has been repeated in a lesser degree wifti the saints. 1 Many of the Fathers think this was only partially fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist, and expect that Elijah will really appear to "restore" the Jews before the Second Advent. Cf. Chrysos. , Horn. lvii. on S. Matt. ; Aug., Tract, iv. on S. John. 196 Lessons of the Transfiguration ch. ix. v. 5-13 Even so we remember it was after Moses had been communing with God in the mount, speaking with Him face to face, that his very skin seemed to catch the rays of Divine glory, and the people were dazzled by the reflection. Again it was of one who, with everything to divert his thoughts from higher things, "looked steadfastly up to heaven," and became so absorbed in the vision that was vouchsafed in answer to his prayer, that we are told that "all that sat in the council looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." And yet nearer home it has been vouchsafed to not a few to watch by the side of a dying saint, and in moments of intense prayer to see the inward joy of a growing nearness to God kindle into an expression of almost unearthly brightness. When, then, we read this wonderful story, be it ours to realise that it has a message to us, not only of what we may be in the resurrection, but that it gives us an assurance that we may catch even in this life some ray of the Transfiguration glory. XLII W&t Demoniac Bop S. Mark ix. 14-29 14. And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes question- ing with them. 15. And straightway all the people, when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed, and running to Him saluted Him. 16. And He asked the scribes, What question ye with them? 17. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto Thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit : 18. and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him : and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away : and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast him out ; and they could not. 19. He answereth him, and saith, faithless generation, how long shall 1 be with you ? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto Me. 20. And they brought him unto Him : and when he saw Him, straightway the spirit tare him ; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21. And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him : but if Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe ; help Thou mine unbelief. 25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him : and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up ; and he arose. 28. And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29. And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. It recalls almost to the letter a scene in Patriarchal history. The leader of Israel was absent, communing with God on the Mount. He to whom the people had turned in every danger and difficulty for guidance was withdrawn from their 198 The Demoniac Boy chap, ix sight, and God was writing on tables of stone those laws which were to be the great bulwark of right, and a restraint upon sin in time to come. It was a crisis with the powers of evil of momentous import. And see what they did. They seized the opportunity to revive in the heart of the people the old spirit of Egyptian idolatry, and sent them to Aaron with the petition on their lips, " Make us gods, which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him." What a contrast it is ! On the mountain height their head is holding converse with Almighty God in perfect peace. On the plain at its feet, the people have relapsed into all the tumult and confusion of heathen worship. Now turn to the counterpart in the scene before us. Christ had gone up with His chosen disciples into the Mount of Transfiguration, and in His absence the spirits of evil were so active that for a time the rest of the Twelve were shaken in their faith, and the enemies of Christ had gained a manifest victory. A poor father, hearing with joy of what the disciples had been doing elsewhere, had brought his boy to be cured by them. It is perhaps the most distressing case we meet with in the Gospels. Some of us know what a terrible anxiety it is to have dependent on our care and love, a person who is subject to epilepsy. Now add to this all the aggravations which the different Evangelists bring out, — to epilepsy lunacy — to lunacy a suicidal mania — and crown all this with that dread mystery of evil which is called " demoniacal possession," and then, if we are parents, think of this having happened to our only son. We can imagine in some degree the eagerness with which that anxious father betook himself to the disciples, and the misery of disappointment which awaited him ! Christ had given the disciples power to heal diseases, and to cast out devils, and they had done it again and again ; and the man knew that they had. Once they waged war so suc- cessfully upon the kingdom of Satan that they hurried back into the presence of their Lord, and boasted with pride that " even the devils are subject unto us through Thy Name." In the midst of all the confusion that followed upon their present attempt and its failure, Christ descended from the mountain, and "straightway all the people, when they beheld v. 14-29 The Demoniac Boy 199 Him, were greatly amazed, and running to Him saluted Him." We know how often it happens in common life. People are quarrelling and wrangling together, some saying one thing, some another, when suddenly a man who is an authority upon the subject in dispute passes by, and is instantly appealed to. Just in the same way, we are told, the people ran to meet Jesus, Who at once inquired into the details of the case. He discerned without difficulty, that there had been a general failure of faith, without which no cure could be expected. It was not merely the unbelieving Scribes and the helpless father, but the disciples themselves, who were included in the stern denunciation : " O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto Me." And here we would notice especially two points. First, that the child was seized by an attack of unwonted violence directly he was brought into Christ's presence. " For straight- way the spirit tare him ; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming." It is difficult to say with any confidence how far the evil spirits were able to aggravate the diseases x of the bodies they possessed, but we can hardly read of what happened here, without feeling that there was a special mani- festation of their power at this critical moment. And is it not in exact accord with all we know of Satanic influence ? Is it not invariably excited most vigorously, just when it is in most danger of being counteracted ? Look at it in its commonest mode of operation, in the sug- gestion of unhallowed thoughts. Which of us is not all too painfully aware that these are often forced upon the mind, especially in our most sacred engagements ? Is it not even the sad experience of some as they kneel in prayer, or draw near to the Blessed Sacrament ? Look at it again in its uncommon manifestation, in what we meet here under the name of "demoniacal possession." 2 It 1 The power of Satan as the author of physical as well as moral evil is indicated frequently in Holy Scripture : e.g. Job ii. 7 — Satan smote Job with boils ; S. Luke xiii. 16 — Satan bound the daughter of Abraham with a spirit of infirmity ; 1 Cor. v. 5 — The incestuous sinner is delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 3 Cf. p. 100, n. 3. 200 The Demoniac Boy chap, ix has often been asked by those who doubt the reality of this mysterious phenomenon, why, if it ever existed, is it altogether unknown now ? We believe the answer is, that it was a special exhibition of Satan's power, called forth at a special time, and under special conditions, — his last desperate struggle, in short, with Him Who came into the world at that crisis for the express purpose of trampling him under foot. And this is the reason why, when the father brought his child to be healed, he was seized in the presence of his Healer with that paroxysm of incontrollable frenzy. It was the expir- ing rage, if we may so say, of the demon that possessed him. And the second point to notice, is the conduct of our Lord in the presence of this grievous calamity. How unlike what ours would have been ! We should have been impatient to vindicate our authority and recover the ground that had been lost. We should have thought every moment of importance, and commanded the unclean spirit to come out at once ; but Christ never acts in haste. He is always calm and composed, whatever others may be. Much as He must have sympathised with the poor suffering boy before Him, there are others to be thought of, — the bystanders, whose excitement must be calmed by delay, and the unbelieving Scribes, the half-despairing father, and His Own weak and faltering disciples. The first requisite for the exercise of a miracle was faith ; and see how He seeks for some latent germ which He may awake in the parent's breast. There is no sudden inspiration, but He draws him on step by step, from his doubting appeal, " If Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." " If Thou canst," says our Lord, giving him back his words. No ; not if I can do anything, but if thou canst believe ; 1 there is no other bar to the exercise of Omnipotent love but unbelief. And hear the father's delighted cry. How natural it all is ! He has been told that it depends on some- thing in himself, and in the passion of his joy, without staying to reflect, he cries, Lord, "I do believe ; " and then, as the recollection of all his doubts crosses his mind, he adds the 1 If TTiGTevaai be omitted, as in the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. , then, though the sense remains the same, it must be differently interpreted, viz., Jesus said to him, "Do you use the expression 'If Thou canst'? — why, all things are possible to the man who believes." v. 14-29 The Demoniac Boy 201 prayer, " Help Thou mine unbelief; " and his end was gained : his boy was cured. But turn to the disciples. What shame they must have felt ! What it was that had shaken their faith, we can only conjecture. Perhaps they had suffered from their Master's absence, or opposition was too strong for them with- out the impetuous Peter and the "Sons of Thunder;" or it may be the depressing effect of Christ's prediction of His death had been too great a strain on their confidence. But whatever the reason, they had experienced a defeat ; the cause of Christ had been imperilled, and but for His timely intervention, the triumph of Satan and his allies would have been complete. And then He told them, in answer to their inquiry as to the reason of their failure — and they were remembered words for years, — " This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." There is nothing too hard for the man who asks in faith ; x even the very mountains, as the Rabbis say, may be uprooted, and cast into the midst of the sea, if the word be spoken by him who never doubts the Omnipotence of God. 2 But let our closing thoughts revert to the contrast which we dwelt upon at the beginning ; and let us learn from the Chris- tian painter the simplest but the most instructive lesson that this page of sacred history or any other can ever teach. In Raphael's great picture of the Transfiguration we may see at a glance all that we wish to impress upon the mind. The upper part — the mountain top — is a scene of transcendent peace ; in the lower, divided from it by a simple belt of clouds, the demoniac boy is the representative of the sin and confusion that is turning the world upside down. And what is it that makes the con- trast ? Surely it is nothing else than that which makes it in our own heart and life, whether it be sunshine or gloom — un- failing happiness or constant discontent — it is the presence, or the absence, of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 1 koX vqardq. are omitted in Sin. and Vat. MSS. 2 S. Matt. xvii. 20 ; Bava Bathra, 3 b. XLIII %ty gealottgp of tlje #pogtie0 S. Mark ix. 30-41 30. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee ; and He would not that any man should know it. 31. For He taught His disciples, and said unto them, The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him ; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day. 32. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask Him. 33. And He came to Capernaum : and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace : for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them : and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, 37. Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My Name, receiveth Me : and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me. 38. And John answered Him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy Name, and he followeth not us : and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not : for there is no man which shall do a miracle in My Name, that can lightly speak evil of Me. 40. For he that is not against us is on our part. 41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. After leaving the scene of the Transfiguration, our Lord turned southwards, and went to and fro l through the northern parts of Galilee. He desired to avoid publicity, so would probably leave the main roads, and turn aside to bypaths through woods and fields. " He would not that any should know it, for He taught His disciples;" rather it should be, 1 The A.V. in S. Matt. xvii. 22 renders dvacrrpecpo/JLepcou abode. " — The expression rather implies constant moving about. while they ch. ix. v. 30-41 The Jealousy of the Apostles 203 " He was teaching " them. He had a lesson to impress upon their minds which required both time and freedom from distraction ; He had to prepare them for His Death, and the failure of their earthly hopes and aspirations. From time to time He had given hints of what was coming. On the eve of the Transfiguration He had spoken with such clearness that the chief of their number had been offended at His words, and now He emphasises it by repetition. But their minds were so set upon earthly things, and their hopes so circum- scribed, that the announcement of coming shame was entirely eclipsed by the predictions of glory, and they could think only of the latter, and that, according to their own carnal con- ceptions. So it was that, forgetting what He had said about suffering and death, or allowing it only as a passing cloud to overshadow their spirits for a moment, they thought that the kingdom was near at hand. It was associated in their minds with places of honour and distinction, and they began to speculate on their respective claims. The promise to S. Peter had no doubt excited the jealousy of some of them ; and it may be the selection of " the Inner Circle " to be eye- witnesses of His glory had given rise to heart-burnings, possibly had tempted the chosen three to exalt themselves over their brethren, for as yet even these were far from perfect. At all events feelings of jealous rivalry had been aroused among them, and they had disputed with each other on their journeys who should be greatest in the Messianic kingdom. When they came to Capernaum, Jesus, Who had been conscious of their unworthy wranglings, determined to rebuke them; and He did it not by word only, but by a symbolical act of striking significance. He began by telling them that self- seeking brings no real gain, and to desire distinction is certain to end in disappointment. Humility, not ambition, is the road to honour. Suiting the action to the word, He took a little child, and folding him tenderly in His arms, pointed to him as the model . for them to copy, if they wished to attain to true greatness. Who the child was, it would be interesting to know. If S. Peter had children, which we are not told in Scripture, it would in all probability have been one of his, for the scene took place in his house, where our Lord usually abode in Capernaum. Two traditions have come down, 204 The Jealousy of the Apostles chap, ix though neither of them from an early age, or resting upon any substantial authority, — one, that it was Martial, 1 a disciple of S. Peter, and in later times a missionary Bishop in Gaul ; the other, that it was S. Ignatius, 2 the Martyr. Now it must not be supposed that Jesus intended by that act to withhold from the Apostles any supremacy in His kingdom, or to imply that there would be no subordination in order of dignity and honour. He cannot contradict Himself, and we know that He promised shortly after that they should "sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The very figure of a kingdom, too, involved different degrees of power and authority. But what He desired was to strike a blow at their idea that there was any- real resemblance between a kingdom of this world and that which He was about to set up. The principles of honour and advancement which held in the two were essentially unlike. In the one, the self- seeking and ambitious gain the pre-eminence ; in the other, renunciation is the only certain pathway to distinction. In the former, honour and power are sought by rivals, who are always "struggling upwards to overtop and rule each other;" in the latter, men " stoop down in lowliness and humility in order to draw each other up." Our Lord then having taught a lesson from the child as a pattern of humility, now sets it forth as a type of the lowly in station ; and shows how any "one of such children " deserves kindness and consideration in His Name, and for His sake. The reference to the duty of receiving others in Christ's Name pricked the conscience of one of the disciples, and recalled a scene which had lately occurred. They had fallen in with a man, who was casting out evil spirits in the Name of Jesus, having no connection with the Apostolic company, and refusing to join it ; and S. John makes known to the Master what course they had pursued. "We forbad him, 1 This rests upon the authority of Jansenius, but is contradicted by the statement of Gregory of Tours that he was sent to Gaul in the time of Decius. The Acta of S. Martial, now held to be spurious, gave him a place among the seventy disciples. Cf. Cornel, a Lap. in Matt. xvii. 2 This is found in Nicephorus and Symeon Metaphrastes. It originated probably in the name of Ignatius, Qtocpopos, being interpreted in a passive sense, "borne or carried by God," rather than, as Ignatius explains it, " bearing God in his heart." v. 30-41 The Jealousy of the Apostles 205 because he followeth not us." But Jesus rebuked him for what they had done ; and His words have been often claimed as affording direct justification for those who elect to work in separation from the Church. An examination of the circum- stances of the case will show that the claim cannot be maintained. It is not told us in so many words, but there is sufficient evidence that the man was working, not by his own in- dependent will, but under Divine authority. Possibly he was one of John's disciples, or perhaps one of the Seventy ; but in any case he carried with him his credentials, for it is not said merely that he was attempting to cast out evil spirits, but that he was doing it. He was no pretender, such as we meet with at a later period in the sons of Sceva, who used the Name for the same purpose, but were unsupported by the Divine co-operation. He was, by the Apostles' own con- fession, exercising miraculous powers ; and the sole reason which prompted them to stay his hand was an unworthy spirit of envy and jealousy that anything should be done in their Master's cause outside their own company. Jesus discerned their motive at once, and not only reproved them,, but went on to extend the principle to other acts besides that of casting out evil spirits. The least beneficent deed done simply for Christ's sake — even "a cup of water" given in His Name — should not lose its reward. Now separatists from the Church often claim Divine sanc- tion on the ground that their credentials may be seen in the success of their work, just as his was ; but there is a broad distinction between the two cases. It may be quite true that God's work is sometimes done by them, as it was by him ; but what He approved under certain conditions, He has only permitted under others. For instance, the man of whom we are speaking contravened no law whatever, and so Christ could sanction both the act and the way in which it was done. Dissenters from the discipline of the Church, on the other hand, transgress the law of unity, which He laid down ; and though the work they do may be done for His sake, and accepted on that account, their mode of effecting it is contrary to His original purpose, and cannot as such merit His approval. 206 The Jealousy of the Apostles ch. ix. v. 30-41 It was no breach of Church order or discipline at that time not to follow the Apostles, because the Church was not yet founded, and nothing had taken place to lead the Apostles to suppose that separation from them was a violation of Christ's law. The commission, " As My Father hath sent Me, so send I you," had not yet been received. Had this event happened after the Ascension or Pentecost, when the Church organisation on Apostolic authority was definitely inaugurated, the prohibition, " Forbid him not," would have worn an altogether different aspect. It is an excellent illustration of the dangerous mistake of isolating a passage from its context, and treating a special direction as though it established a general principle for all time, and under every condition. We must interpret Scripture by Scripture. The true mind of Christ on the subject of Dissent may be gathered with un- mistakable clearness, both from His Own prayer for unity, and from the utterances of those who were empowered to be its exponents after the Church was founded. If it be suggested, as it so often is, that it was spiritual unity for which He prayed, S. Paul steps in and shows that he not only longed for men to be of one heart, holding the unity of the Faith, but that he deprecated most sorely separation from the visible Body as the clearest proof of a carnal mind. " Whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos ; are ye not carnal ? " And S. Jude indorses the verdict when he says of those " who separate themselves," that they are " sensual," 1 and have not the Spirit of God. 1 xv< not the irvevfia, is the ruling principle. Cf. Trench, Synon. of the New Testament. XLIV bottling Offences* S. Mark ix. 42-50 42. And whosoever shall offend one that never shall be quenched: 46. where of these little ones that believe in Me, their worm dieth not, and the fire is it is better for him that a millstone not quenched. 47. And if thine eye were hanged about his neck, and he offend thee, pluck it out : it is better were cast into the sea. 43. And if for thee to enter into the kingdom thy hand offend thee, cut it off : it of God with one eye, than having two is better for thee to enter into life eyes to be cast into hell fire : 48. maimed, than having two hands to where their worm dieth not, and the go into hell, into the fire that never fire is not quenched. 49. For every shall be quenched : 44. where their one shall be salted with fire, and worm dieth not, and the fire is not every sacrifice shall be salted with salt, quenched. 45. And if thy foot offend 50. Salt is good : but if the salt have thee, cut it off : it is better for thee to lost his saltness, wherewith will ye enter halt into life, than having two season it? Have salt in yourselves, feet to be cast into hell, into the fire and have peace one with another. Jesus had spoken of the blessedness of receiving children and childlike men in His Name, and He now places over-against it the fearful punishment in store for those who put a stumbling- block in their path to impede their spiritual progress. Better, infinitely better, to die a violent death, even the most dreaded kind of death, than risk the salvation of the soul by commit- ting such an offence as this. "It is better for him that a millstone x were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." It was a mode of punishment reserved only for great criminals, and its terrors were aggravated by the thought that the body could never be recovered for burial, the depri- vation of which was the sorest trial. 1 "Millstone." In the original it is "a stone turned by an ass " — not, i.e. the ordinary one which women used in grinding, but a huge heavy stone which would sink one " like lead in the mighty waters." 208 Avoiding Offences chap, ix Then from offences against others, our Lord proceeds to warn men not to place stumbling-stones in their own way. He selects the chief instruments of sin, — the hand, the foot, the eye, — and counsels their immediate destruction, if need be, rather than allow them to work the threatened mischief. It is the hand which men lift up to do violence, as Cain did to his brother, or to appropriate what does not belong to them, like Achan. It is the feet which hurry us into forbidden paths, as they hurried Gehazi, or the old man of God whom the lion slew for his transgression. It is the eye which excites the lust to desire in the spirit of Eve something which God has seen fit to withhold. To hurt, to trespass, and to covet : what a common triple cord of sin it is ! There is no important distinction to be drawn between them, and any one of them by itself would have sufficed, but the threefold repetition, as so often in Scripture, appears to lend force to the warning. It is a recognised principle in surgery to cut off a limb to save a life ; for the wellbeing of the soul it must be applied, and with an unsparing hand, to the instruments of moral temptation. The alterna- tive is presented to us under the ghastly imagery drawn from the familiar terrors of Gehenna. In the Valley of Hinnom, on the south of Jerusalem, besides the fires of Molech which blazed in the great furnace, through which the idolaters made their children to pass, there was a constant burning of the heaps of refuse, and the worm of corruption fed perpetually upon the carcasses of animals, and the offal of the city, which was thrown there. It formed not unnaturally a lively emblem of the terrible torments of the lost ; and Milton, who moulded so largely the Christian idea of the pangs of hell, stereotyped the old Jewish conception when he wrote — "And black Gehenna called, the type of hell." But there are many passages in Holy Scripture which show that in the place of retribution there will be no need of any external apparatus of torture such as this, but that the sinner will be his own tormentor. It is more in accordance with Divine revelation to con- clude that there will be a close correspondence between the v. 42-50 Avoiding Offences 209 sin and its punishment. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." "They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." "They shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." "They that plough iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same." Lusts and passions unchecked in this life may last on to the next, and be there the instruments of an unending and in- tensified torment, because the gratification of them will be for ever denied. " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still." The same truth is indirectly taught by our Lord when He tells us to cut off the special instrument of sin while we have opportunity, rather than carry it with us in all its unimpaired strength and vigour into the place of punishment. "It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell." Jesus then points to the necessity of sacrifice, intimating that the surrender of hand or foot or eye is part of that discipline which all must pass through. The salt and the fire of which He speaks are, in relation to this, allied forces : the one preserving from corruption, the other purifying and cleansing. It was for this reason that God enjoined that all oblations should be seasoned with salt, 1 and that "the fire should try every man's work of what sort it is." "Salt," He says, "is good;" good in the natural world, and good in the spiritual; but as in the one, if it lose its virtue, it is fit only "to be trodden under foot;" 2 so in the other, the inward grace, of which it is the symbol, if it cease to purify the life, becomes hopelessly useless. Christianity which is no longer Christian, a " name to live " while one is " dead," what profit is it ? Remember, Christ seems to say, that you were made, at your call to the Apostleship, "the salt of the earth." You were destined to be in the New Society that element which should purify the world and preserve it from corruption. Be jealous of the office unto which you were called ; let nothing 1 The clause, "and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt," is omitted by the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. , and finds no place in the Revised Version. 2 This expression was suggested from the custom of strewing salt which had become worthless on the steps and pavement of the Temple in wet weather to prevent the feet from slipping. Avoiding Offences ch. ix. v. 42-50 rob you of those gifts and properties, which should be a savour of salvation to all around you. Do away at once with those unworthy disputes about honours and distinctions, purge out all selfish aims and ambition, "have salt in yourselves, and have peace 1 one with another. " 1 It is quite possible that the connection was suggested by His recollection of the old ' ' covenant of salt," the symbol of peace and concord. XLV 11) e Hato of 2Drt)orce Mark x. 1-12 1. And He rose from thence, and God made them male and female, cometh into the coasts of Judaea by 7. For this cause shall a man; leave the farther side of Jordan : and the his father and mother, and cleave to people resort unto Him again ; and, his wife ; 8. and they twain shall as He was wont, He taught them be one flesh : so then they are no again. 2. And the Pharisees came more twain, but one flesh. 9. What to Him, and asked Him, Is it lawful therefore God hath joined together, for a man to put away his wife? let not man put asunder. 10. And tempting Him. 3. And He answered in the house His disciples asked and said unto them, What did Moses Him again of the same matter. 11. command you ? 4. And they said, And He saith unto them, Whosoever Moses suffered to write a bill of shall put away his wife, and marry divorcement, and to put her away. another, committeth adultery against 5. And Jesus answered and said unto her. 12. And if a woman shall them, For the hardness of your heart put away her husband, and be he wrote you this precept. 6. But married to another, she committeth from the beginning of the creation adultery. Many things happened between our Lord's departure from Capernaum and the interview with the Pharisees^ with which this chapter opens. S. Luke and S. John fill up the gap which S. Mark has left. At this time He was in Peraea, and His enemies seized the opportunity as a favourable one to embarrass Him on the subject of divorce. The Governor of that country had put away the daughter of Aretas, 1 and was living with the wife of his half-brother Philip. They expected, no doubt, that Jesus would take the same view of the case as the Baptist had done, and thus kindle the Tetrarch's animosity against Him. If, however, they did not succeed in this aim, 1 Cf. p. 130, 212 The Law of Divorce chap, x they were certain to embroil Him with one of the rival parties into which Jewish society was then divided. S. Mark says that they put the question on the legality of divorce, " tempting Him." His answer must alienate one party or the other. The controversy between them had arisen out of the in- terpretation of a passage in Deuteronomy : " When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness 1 in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement." The stricter and more orthodox school of Shammai laid stress upon the words which spoke of " uncleanness," and only permitted the dissolution of marriage on the ground of deliberate immorality. The laxer Hillelites 2 dwelt rather upon the preceding words, and pronounced divorce legitimate " for every cause " in which the wife proved distasteful to her husband. " If she go not as thou wouldst have her, cut her off from thy flesh, and give her a bill of divorce, and let her go." In the general laxity of morals and prevailing profligacy of the times, this latter view had been accepted by the people at large; and it is clear that the Pharisees who tempted our Lord with this question belonged to the party of Hillel. Jesus referred them to the instructions of their Lawgiver, and when they sheltered themselves under the letter of his directions, He took the opportunity of pointing out the true character of the Mosaic legislation on the subject. It was only intended to be permissive and provisional, enacted to meet the special exigency of the times. Moses found himself confronted by evils which he saw that it was impossible to extirpate, for dissolution of marriage had become common 1 Lit. "the nakedness or shame of the thing." It can hardly be under- stood of adultery, because that was a capital offence. Cf. xxii. 20-22. From verse 3 personal hatred was sufficient cause for divorce, but clearly the spirit of the legislation made it unjustifiable save for some ' ' immodest conduct or grave physical defect." 2 Josephus, who was by no means a man of lax morals, spoke of divorcing his wives as though it were a thing of most ordinary occurrence, needing no apology. Cf. Life, c. 75, 76. Such grounds as these were regarded as sufficient : " if she spin in public ; " "if she go with her head uncovered ; " " if she become dumb or sottish ; " " if she cook her husband's food amiss ; " "if any man sees a woman handsomer than his own wife." But R. Akiba, from whom the last is taken, explains that by "handsomer" he meant "of nobler deeds." v. i-i2 The Law of Divorce 213 among the Jews, who had freely adopted the manners and customs of surrounding nations. Owing to the hardness of men's hearts the indissolubility of the marriage-tie could not be maintained; but Moses determined to check divorce at the arbitrary will and caprice of the husband. That such was the spirit and tendency of his enactment is clear from the fact that separation could only be effected by a duly prepared and attested document. 1 It would at least interpose delay and difficulty, and possibly lead in many cases to reconsidera- tion. But our Lord showed that such legislation could not be final. It was a departure from the law originally laid down, and though it may have been, and doubtless was, expedient for the time, it could lay no claim to be permanently observed. It was not the only instance in which retrogressive legislation had been permitted : the principle was illustrated in the allowance of slavery or polygamy, both of which, equally with divorce, were only temporary relaxations of God's original purpose. The ideal relation of the sexes was established at the beginning, when "God made them male and female," one wife for one husband, to be united so closely that they should become not only one in heart and soul, but actually "one flesh." It was an union designed for perpetuity, and this our Lord clearly taught when He said, " What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." The Pharisees went away discomfited, but when He was alone with His disciples in the house, the question was reopened, and, in answer to their inquiries, He enforced still more strongly the indivisible unity of them that are married. It is so close, He says, that if outward separation should take place, for either husband or wife to contract a second marriage, in the lifetime of the other, would be a distinct breach of the seventh commandment. Those who wish to separate and live apart must remain as they are after separation. S. Mark has preserved a saying of our Lord's which is of no little importance : " And if a woman shall put away her husband." It struck another blow at the Jewish legislation of the time by establishing an equality of rights between husbands and wives, which the Jews denied by allowing the initiative to be taken by the husband alone. 1 For specimen cf. Lightfoot's Exercit. on S. Matthew v. 31. 214 The Law of Divorce chap, x Now it will be interesting to see what effect the reversion by our Lord to first principles on the true teaching of marriage has had upon Christianity. The Primitive Church speaks here with a less certain sound than is usual upon matters of momentous interest. 1 The early Fathers were certainly divided among themselves ; most of them, however, agreed in allowing separation on the ground of " fornication," though they differed not a little in their interpretation of the original word, rendered in the Authorised Version "adultery" in the two passages where our Lord had used it, in dealing with the subject of divorce. Again, they were divided upon the lawfulness of contracting a second marriage during the lifetime of the divorced husband or wife ; but there can be no doubt that the prevailing opinion during the first three centuries was decidedly against it. The only known synodical decisions that bear directly upon the question were given at the Synod of Elvira in 305 and the Council of Aries in 314. The former deals with a wife who leaves an adulterous husband, the latter with a husband who puts away an adulterous wife. In both cases the right of re-marriage is denied, but there is this noteworthy difference : if the woman disregarded the prohibition, she was to be permanently ex- communicated, but in case the man did so, no provision was made for imposing ecclesiastical penance upon him. The Council was satisfied to decree that the men should be warned in the strongest manner, " so long as their adulterous wives are alive, not to take others." The civil laws at the time were more considerate to the man, and the Church accepted the principle ; but in the middle of the fifth century the position of man and wife was put on the same footing in this respect. The Roman Church 2 upholds the inherent perpetuity of the marriage-tie, and forbids either party, under any circum- stances, to marry again during the other's lifetime. The Anglican Church has never officially recognised any other than judicial separation, 3 and, by consequence, altogether 1 Clem. Alex. Strom, ii. 23 ; Tertull. contr. Marc. iv. 34 ; S. Hierom. Ep. 30 ; Epitaph. Fabiolae ; S. Chrys. Horn. xvii. in Matt. ; Origen, Horn, in Matth. in loc. ; Epiphan. Hasr. 59. 2 Cone. Trid. Sess. xxiv. Can. 7. 3 Can. 107, A.D. 1604. It was decided in the Star-Chamber, Elizabeth 44, in the case of Foljambe, that adultery was a ground for judicial separation, i.e. a mensa et toro, but not a vinculo. v. 1-12 The Laiv of Divorce 215 disallows re -marriage. The Commissioners 1 appointed by Henry VIII. aimed at relaxing the law, and were willing to constitute adultery, cruelty, and desertion sufficient grounds for an absolute dissolution, but these provisions never received legislative authority. From this time forward, however, the secular and ecclesiastical branches of the Legislature have been in conflict : 2 the former striving to relax, the latter to restrict, the rules of separation. The passing of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act in this generation (A.D.1867) ex- tinguished the ancient jurisdiction of the Church, and allowed a marriage to be nullified through direct appeal to a Secular Court. The following considerations may help to the formation of a sound judgment upon this and kindred questions connected with the Marriage Laws. If the directions of the New Testament are at all obscure, as they confessedly are, to judge by the differing views of commentators, instead of exercising the right of private judgment, it is the safer course to accept the general inter- pretation put upon them by the Church, which is the witness and keeper of Holy Writ. Again, we may well hesitate before doing anything which will tend to destroy the Sacramental character of Holy Matrimony. That which was chosen as a fitting type to represent Christ's union with His Church was far more likely to have been regarded in the Mind of the Spirit as indissoluble than otherwise. Further, the experience of the last seventeen years proves that the relaxation has encouraged immorality, and is striking at the root of the sanctity of family life. And lastly, it behoves us to remember that dissolution of marriage was only allowed in the Mosaic economy as a concession to human weakness, owing to the hardness of men's hearts ; and to sanction it now is to admit that the times are so degenerate that we have reached no higher standard. We can conceive of no severer satire upon the boasted progress and civilisation of the nineteenth century. 1 Cf. Reformatio legum Anglicanarum de Adult, et Divor. 2 The House of Lords again and again granted decrees for dissolution in opposition to the Ecclesiastical Courts. In 1798 it was enacted that the Upper House could dissolve a vinculo in any case where the Church had sanctioned divorce a mensa et toro. This intervention of the Spiritual Courts was made unnecessary by the Act of 1867. XLVI %\)t #utj)oritj? for g|nfant Baptism S. Mark x. 13-16 13. And they brought young child- and forbid them not : for of such is ren to Him, that He should touch the kingdom of God. 15. Verily I say them : and His disciples rebuked unto you, Whosoever shall not receive those that brought them. 14. But the kingdom of God as a little child, when Jesus saw it, He was much he shall not enter therein. 16. And displeased, and said unto them, Suffer He took them up in His arms, put His the little children to come unto Me, hands upon them, and blessed them. In the old English Office for the Baptism of Infants the corresponding passage from S. Matthew's Gospel was the portion of Scripture appointed to be read. It was wisely changed at the first Revision under Edward VI. for this, which, by certain additions, brings into still greater pro- minence our Lord's care and love for little children. It records, for instance, the indignation which He felt on realising that His disciples would have hindered the mothers who were bringing their babes, 1 or the little children whom an instinctive impulse was drawing to His side. " He was much displeased," S. Mark says ; it is an expression nowhere else applied to Jesus, and its application here not only reminds us of the characteristic feature 2 of this Gospel, in which the lights and shadows that passed over His face are so often noticed, but serves also to emphasise His abhorrence of the bare thought that children were not as dear to Him, or had not as much claim on His attention, as grown-up people. 1 S. Luke writes f3pt. 222 The Rich Young Rider chap, x and he answered, not perhaps in a wholly self-righteous spirit, "All these have I observed from my youth." It was the custom of Rabbis to kiss their pupils in token of their approbation of their conduct, and it is possible that the same mark was given on this occasion, and led to the observation that Jesus " loved him." At all events, it sets aside the idea that the above assertion was simply that of a self-righteous man. There was something deep down in his heart which attracted the Master, and made Him yearn to enlist him for ever in His personal service. But such a step involved a total surrender of all earthly goods. He must leave everything if he would follow Him. The other disciples had made the sacrifice, and there was no reason why his case should be an exceptional one. True, it was harder for the rich than the poor, and so he felt it. " He was sad at that saying, and went away grieved." He was not angry, and he offered no remonstrance, but a shadow fell upon his face, as when a thick and lowering cloud casts a sudden gloom over a sunny landscape. He did not dispute our Lord's authority, for he was conscience-smitten, and found himself weak when he thought he was strong. He felt as a man feels when the physician makes an examination of his constitution, and reveals some concealed and unexpected mischief. The terrible awakening was followed by a momentary struggle, for it was hard to disobey, but harder still to yield to the advice ; and he who had come to Jesus so full of eager hope and expectation went away with a heavy heart. We are apt to judge him harshly, 1 but many allowances ought to be made. He had been trained to look upon poverty as an evil to be deprecated above all human miseries, so dire in its consequences that a man was absolutely for- bidden by the Oral Law to part with all his possessions \ and to have embraced beggary, such as was put before him, involved a sacrifice far beyond our imagination. When he was gone, the Master turned to His disciples to draw a warning from what they had witnessed. We lose 1 Sadler quotes from the Commentary of a Bishop of the Church : ' ' We must place this young man in our memories by the side of Judas, Ananias, and Sapphira." v. 17-31 The Rich Young Rider 223 something of the true teaching by the familiar translation, " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! " It is not the equivalent of " scarcely," but betrays the difficulty, the distress, the harassing, the irritations, which the rich man will experience on the journey. When His disciples were perplexed by what they heard, He reiterated the verdict almost in the same words, but prefaced it by a term of endearment to remind them that He could not be unduly harsh ; and He drove it home by a proverbial saying that must have made His meaning unmistakable. It matters little whether He drew His illustration from a familiar object, some well-known wicket-gate 1 called the "needle's eye," through which no beast of burden could possibly pass till it had laid down its load ; or whether the expression was to be interpreted naturally as indicative of something superla- tively difficult. It only added force to what had gone before, for it called forth the astonished exclamation from the by- standers : "Who then can be saved?" The disciples had listened with eager attention to the conversation, and no doubt Peter spoke the thoughts of most of them when, with characteristic impulsiveness, he asked the Lord how far it applied to them. Had not they done just that which He counselled the young ruler to do ? True, they had no "great possessions," but such as they had they had willingly surrendered. They had " left all, and followed Him." And Jesus, knowing out of the depths of His Own experience how great is the joy of self-sacrifice, how transcendently superior to everything else, assures them that they will have their reward both here and hereafter. Here in a vastly intensified 2 appreciation of earthly enjoyments, finding new 1 Modern travellers have noticed that there are not infrequently two gate- ways in Oriental cities, one for beasts of burden, and one for foot-passengers, and that the name given to the latter is Es Summ el Kayut, The eye of the needle. Cf. Kitto, Pict. Bible. The figure of an elephant passing through a needle's eye is sometimes used in the Talmud. Cf. Lightfoot in loco. A " cable" has been conjectured for "camel," but the reading rests on no MS. authority, and would destroy the whole Oriental spirit of hyperbole, which belongs to the proverbial saying in its generally accepted form. 2 In the catalogue, "or wife" is omitted in some of the oldest MSS. and versions, and "wives" are not mentioned in the list of those blessings which will be multiplied, so that there was no ground for the sneering jest of Julian about the multiplicity of wives which the Christian was taught to look for. 224 The Rich Young Ruler ch. x. v. 17-31 homes and new friends wherever they go, and seeing new beauty in the commonest things — in earth and air, and sky and sea. It was true they would meet " with persecutions," but these would not mar their happiness, for by a mysterious law, understood by those alone who experienced them, they were accompanied by a "joy unspeakable and full of glory." And hereafter they would receive the fullest compensation, " an eternal weight of glory " in the life everlasting. One further word of no less vital import before the con- versation closed. It would humble them in the hour of earthly triumph and success : it would console them in trouble and depression, when the world turned its back upon them, and they should find themselves lightly esteemed of men. It was the assurance that hereafter human judgments would often be reversed by the Divine, " the first should be last, and the last first." It lends a sad significance to the utterance to remember that it was made in the hearing of Judas, and by One Who "knew from the beginning who should betray Him." XLVIII W$z flmbitioug Kequegt of £>»>♦ 3|ame0 anti 3|olju S. Mark x. 32-45 32. And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem ; and Jesus went before them : and they were amazed ; and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him, 33. saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem ; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes ; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles : 34. and they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him : and the third day He shall rise again. 35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36. And He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you ? 37. They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. 38. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask : can ye drink of the cup that I drink off and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? 39. And they said unto Him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized 7vithal shall ye be baptized : 40. but to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give ; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much dis- pleased with James and John. 42. But Jesus called them to Hint, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them ; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43. But so shall it not be among you : but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister : 44. and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Our Lord had just before spoken the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard. It must have been while He was still beyond Jordan, for such an illustration would be naturally Q 226 The Ambitions Request of ( cHAr. x suggested by the features of a Persean landscape. The note that they were going up to Jerusalem indicates that they had crossed the ford. It was an eventful epoch in their journey. The road to the scene of the Crucifixion was no longer inter- rupted, and thither "He "set His face steadfastly to go up." Whether it was an impatient eagerness to reach the goal, such as He expressed in the outburst, " How am I straitened till it be accomplished ! " or whether, in the anticipation of what awaited Him, He felt that He must gather strength from undisturbed communion with the Father, we cannot tell. All we know is, that, contrary to His general habit, He was walk- ing 1 in advance of the rest by Himself alone. It was so unlike what they had been used to, that it led to anxious questionings among His followers. They saw perhaps an intense earnestness in His look that bespoke grave forebodings, and their wonder grew into a weird feeling of awe, and "they were afraid." And He, knowing their thoughts, called the Twelve, who would naturally be nearest in the crowd, and for the third time told them of His coming Death, only now with a greater distinct- ness, as befitted its nearer approach. He predicted even the mocking and spitting, the scourging and crucifixion, 2 who would be the chief instigators, and who the agents by which it should be accomplished. Strange as it may seem, what He told them of the coming shame and dishonour laid no hold upon their minds; they thought only of the glory that was to follow. Two of the favoured three came, and either with their own mouth, or through the intervention of their mother, preferred a request for the two prominent places of distinction in the kingdom which they supposed was about to be revealed. There is no real discrepancy, such as has been alleged, between the narratives of S. Matthew and S. Mark. One puts the request into the mouth of the mother, the other into that of the sons. James and John had laid the plan, and 1 fy irpoaywv avrovs. He was going before them, and "leading them to the conflict as an intrepid general leads his soldiers to the battle ; " but it is used of a shepherd also before his sheep. 2 The Cross had been mentioned before, ch. viii. 34, but only indirectly. Here it is spoken of as the instrument of His death. v. 32-45 SS. James and John 227 Salome fell in with it. All no doubt were present, and it matters little by whom the petition was actually made. The answer, according to both narratives, was addressed to the sons, from whom it really emanated, directly or indirectly. Jesus asked them if they were ready to share His lot, to drink the same cup of shame, and to be baptized in the same sea of affliction and blood. He Himself would not enter into glory till He had suffered pain, and those who would reign with Him hereafter must suffer with Him here. In the confident hope of strength to bear whatever might befall, inspired by His Presence, they assured Him that they could do what He asked. He set His seal to their promise, seeing, it may be, their future history, when the one should lay down his life as the first martyr in the Apostolic company, and the other live on to advanced age in persecution, and cruelty, and exile, cheer- fully borne for the Master's sake. But they had misconceived how the honour which they sought was to be won. It was not as an arbitrary gift from His sovereign will, but to be assigned on recognised principles of labour and reward. It must be earned before it can be received. It is " not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared." This rendering of the Authorised Version is somewhat mis- leading, and seems to contradict what is elsewhere taught, that it will be the prerogative of Christ to award us our places in His future kingdom. The contradiction has been avoided by the Revised Translation : it "is not Mine to give, but 1 it is for them for whom it is prepared." No doubt stress is laid upon the word "to give," for, though it is in one sense a free gift of God, it is in another and most true sense wages for labour done. Men are predestined to receive it, but only after a life which fits them for the reception. Now as soon as the design of the two disciples had become known, the rest were filled with indignation. It was not that they had any truer appreciation of the coming kingdom, for 1 dXX' oU 7)Toifx.a, not knowing, unskilled. v. 32-42 Gethsemane 321 the iniquity of us all : that He gathered up as it were the sins of the whole world, and then, as though He were Himself the sinner, by an inexplicable mystery which we shall never fathom, but before which we must bow the head in awe, "was made a curse for us," " was wounded for our transgressions, was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." It seems difficult to fix our thoughts in Gethsemane on any other than the figure of our Adorable Lord, but the Holy Spirit has placed before us in this awful crisis men of like passions with ourselves, subject to all the weakness and in- firmities of a sinful nature, that, taking warning from them, we may learn how to bear ourselves in the hour of peril and temptation. It must have added another drop to the cup of sorrow, already so full, to find Himself in the hour of His direst need robbed of the sympathy for the sake of which He had kept His best beloved disciples within His reach. It was part of His predicted sufferings that He should be so bereft : " I looked for some to have pity on Me, but there was no man, neither found I any to comfort Me." They were there, it is true, but only to increase — not to relieve — His anxiety ; and turning to them with all the yearning of the tenderest affection, He forewarns them of approaching danger. " Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." He had told them before to " watch," and it may be they had endeavoured to do it in their own strength, and nature had asserted its mastery. Since the terrible revelation of the traitor at the Last Supper, the anticipation of the Passion had become intensely real to them, and grief had laid such hold upon them, that they were quite overpowered. Poor human nature gave way under the strain, and they slept " for sorrow." We know in our own experience what that expression means. We have watched, it may be, by the bedside of the sick or dying, hoping against hope, dreading the future when the present is over, till at last the spirit becomes so crushed and prostrate, that it yields to the claims of our lower being, and we too sleep "for sorrow." They were all asleep, but S. Peter is especially singled out for remonstrance. His re- Y 322 Gethsemane ch. xiv. v. 32-42 peated protestations had given promise of better things, and there is a world of sadness wrapt up in the expresssion of disappointment, " Simon, sleepest thou ? Couldest thou not watch one hour? " Is this the fulfilment of thy boast, " I will lay down my life for Thy sake " ? Well may our Lord have bidden them add prayer to watchfulness ; but even then they failed, for again, and yet again, He returned to find them weighed down with sleep. We may not gather from this that the means within their reach were insufficient, but we are forced to the conclusion that they did not use them to the utmost. The same tempta- tion is certain to be ours. There are times in the lives of most men when they are called upon to pass through a prolonged conflict with the powers of evil. For a season, it may be, they watch and pray ; and then the suggestion comes to them that they have watched long enough, and prayed long enough ; or that God never expects more than men are able to bear, and that the limit has been reached ; and so their efforts are relaxed ; and then when the crisis comes, as it came to S. Peter and the rest, they find that they have not strength enough to meet it, and they deny their Lord, or forsake Him and flee. We have been forewarned by this record of the Apostles' failure : may we be forearmed, and not found sleeping when nothing but continued watchfulness and prayer can save us from falling ! LXVII %ty Betrayal anti 2lvvt$t S. Mark xiv. 43-52 43. And immediately, while He yet sword, and smote a servant of the high spake, cometh Judas, one of the priest, and cut off his ear. 48. And twelve, and with him a great multi- Jesus answered and said unto them, tude with swords and staves, from the Are ye come out, as against a thief, chief priests and the scribes and the with swords and with staves to take elders. 44. And he that betrayed Me ? 49. I was daily with you in the Him had given them a token, saying, temple teaching, and ye took Me not: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same but the scriptures must be fulfilled, is He ; take Him, and lead Him away 50. And they all forsook Him, and safely. 45. And as soon as he was fled. 51. And there followed Him a come, he goeth straightway to Him, certain young man, having a linen andsaith, Master, Master; and kissed cloth cast about his naked body ; and Him. 46. And they laid their hands the young men laid hold on him : 52. on ;Him, and took Him. 47. And and he left the linen cloth, and fled one of them that stood by drew a from them naked. In our bewilderment at the enormity of Judas's crime, we try- to discover some trace of extenuating circumstances. There are so many instances in which men, who have not trained themselves to resist in lesser matters, have been caught in a whirlpool of sudden temptation, and carried away almost before they knew where they were, that it is just possible something of this kind happened to Judas. He had an innate love of money, and instead of checking it in the beginning, put himself in harm's way ; and it may be, by frequent little pilferings from the common purse, which his too trustful com- panions confided to his care, 1 he lost the power of resistance altogether. Then at last, when some overmastering impulse 1 ipaaTafcv. A.V. "He bare," more probably "used to take away." Vulg. "exportabat," cf. S. John xx. 15. 324 The Betrayal and Arrest chap, xiv to gratify his ruling passion by a supreme act of treachery seized hold upon him, he yielded a ready obedience. But even if we could satisfy ourselves that he was surprised in this way into that base covenant with the chief priests, there is no excuse, no palliation whatever, admissible after the bar- gain was struck. A moment's reflection must have opened his eyes and shown him that the paltry sum which they had offered (it was but the price of a slave — the blood-money for a slave who had been accidentally killed) was wholly inadequate to yield any compensation for the shame it entailed. No, if we may judge of the whole transaction from what is told of his conduct after the compact was made, it was a cold-blooded, deep-laid design, conceived and executed under no excitement of passionate im- pulse, nor any imperious temptation, but marked throughout by premeditated duplicity. Let us follow his steps from the moment that he leaves the Upper Chamber after discovering that his design is no longer a secret. His first object is to preclude, by the most careful precautions, all possibility of its miscarrying. He hurries first to the chief priests and reports to them that the convenient opportunity has arrived when their Victim may be secured "in the absence of the multitude ; " for He was gone to pray in a retired spot, at some distance from the bustle of the city, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He could hardly expect them to take part in the arrest themselves (though in their eagerness they actually did so) ; he therefore enlists the sympathy of their servants. He had no doubt that they would enter cordially into the plot, for they could not have failed to conceive an hatred of One Who had spoken such bitter things against their masters. Then, having secured a goodly number of these, he seeks reinforcements from the officers of the Temple, and the com- pany of Levites, whose duty it was to keep watch and ward at its gates and courts. This was amply sufficient for his purpose, if all went well ; but if any unforeseen delay should arise, and the capture not be made till the morning, when the populace was astir again, it was quite possible that a rescue might be attempted. The inhabitants were in an excited mood, as the v. 43-52 The Betrayal and Arrest 3 2 5 Triumphal Entry a few days before had clearly shown, and they were as likely as not to create a tumult, which military force alone would be able to suppress. Nothing remains then but to appeal to the Roman governor. No doubt he sup- ported his application by telling him that Jesus was a danger- ous character, who aimed at the overthrow of the existing authority. His request was granted, and a detachment from the garrison stationed in the fortress of Antonia was told off for the traitor's purpose. The whole company must be armed. The soldiers of course had their swords ; the officers of the Temple took their batons, and the rest such sticks or staves as they could procure; but even these precautions were not enough. It was night, and although the great Paschal moon was shining overhead, in that rugged Valley of Jehoshaphat there were clefts of rock, and there were deep shadows thrown from many objects, by which Jesus might conceal Himself and escape. A supply of lanterns and torches was provided for such an emergency; and then, just when this weird and motley crowd were prepared to start on their unhallowed search, one last caution was given by the traitor. Jesus was well known no doubt to many of them, for " He was daily in the Temple ; " but to the soldiers He was probably a total stranger ; let there be no mistake then on their part, no arrest of another in the excitement of capture. " Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He, take Him, and lead Him away safely." This pre- concerted signal proved to be wholly unnecessary, but it was employed for another object, which gives still further proof of the traitor's resolute determination to carry out his wicked purpose. We cannot be sure of the sequence of events, but a com- parison of S. John's narrative leads us to place a very important circumstance before the kiss of betrayal. Jesus hearing footsteps approaching goes forth of His Own accord to meet the crowd, and before anything has been said asks the question, " Whom seek ye ? " They answer, " Jesus the Nazarene ; " to which He replies at once, " I am He," and all were panic- struck ; there was something so wholly unlike what they expected. Whether, as some have thought, it was a second flash of the Transfiguration glory, a " ray of Divinity" streaming forth from His face in that hour of darkness, or whether it was 3 2 6 The Betrayal and Arrest chap, xiv merely an intensified form of a mysterious power, which in moments of apparent helplessness has so often disarmed an assailant 1 — the calmness of innocence making the guilty tremble — whatever the cause, the multitude staggered back- wards and fell to the ground before Him. Now, if it was after this that the kiss of betrayal was given, we find in it a deeper purpose than the mere indication of his Victim. The sign was no longer needed for that. When the armed multitude rose to their feet, for a moment they must have stood irresolute. Judas was in dread lest through their fear all might miscarry even at the last. The vivid imagination of a thoughtful writer has put the scene dramatically before us, by imagining that some one whispered in his ear at this crisis, " Judas, if thou approachest Him, thou art a dead man." " Be not afraid," says the traitor, " He never injured any one. I will show you there is nothing to fear." He knew by experience that he might do it with perfect safety. " Rabbi, Rabbi," 2 he cries, and then with an hypocrisy that finds no parallel in history, kisses Him, not once only, but, as the original language 3 implies, again and again. What an exhibition it is of the Divine perfection of Christ's character ! How completely was the spirit of revenge, which is so sweet to the heart of man, held in check, just when we should have thought ourselves more than justified in punishing such baseness. Well indeed has it been said, " Wouldest thou know what Satan can do, and God can bear j what the basest of mankind can do, and the best of manhood can bear : behold the lips of Judas who kisses, and the cheek of Jesus which receives the kiss." And so the traitor's end was gained ; the crowd, emboldened by his impunity, closed around our Lord, bound Him, and led Him away. 1 Stier (Reden Jesu) adduces numerous examples besides those mentioned above ; Probus, Pertinax, Stanislaus, and Coligny. Farrar adds to these Avidius Cassius and a band of Egyptians falling prostrate before Simeon, the brother of Joseph, recorded in the Talmud. 2 The Apostles used to call Jesus by the title of Kvpios. Rabbi was a colder form of address ; cf. S. John xiii. 6-37, and S. Matt. xxvi. 25. 3 Kar€(pt\T)<7€P. Kara in compounds often expresses intensity. When he gives the signal to the company it is simply the uncompounded form. One kiss would suffice for this. Its repetition was needed to re-establish the cour- age of his followers. v. 43-52 The Betrayal and Arrest 327 But not alone for the meekness of His submission are we filled with admiring wonder, but as well for the self-forgetfulness which fixed His thoughts on those He loved — " If therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way." Whatever awaits Him, He will " tread the winepress alone," and, poor human beings that they were, they yielded to the instinct of self-preservation ; " they all forsook Him, and fled." As they were fleeing from the spot a strange incident occurred, which has been recorded by S. Mark alone. Some unknown youth — it may have been the owner of Gethsemane, or Lazarus, 1 or S. Mark himself — almost certainly a man of property 2 and position, hearing the tumult hard by, started out of his sleep, and wrapped only in the fine sheet on which he had been lying, ran out to see the cause of the disturbance. The crowd were diverted for the moment by the sudden apparition, and tried to seize him, but he fled away naked. We can only conjecture why such an apparently trifling circum- stance should have been deemed worthy of a place in the sacred narrative. It may have been merely one of those vivid details which imprinted themselves on S. Peter's memory ; or possibly, if S. Mark was himself the young man, it attained in his eyes a degree of importance out of proportion to its general interest. Now, what are the prominent thoughts which this story has fixed in our minds ? Betrayal and desertion. We shrink from the idea that we can betray our Lord as Judas did. And yet, at least in some degree, perhaps we may. Our conscience when probed may compel us to say, we do ; never, it is true, with the same heartless cruelty or premedi- tated craft, but whenever we have received special privileges and have misused them : whenever to hide our wickedness we pretend to be religious, and wear the mask of hypocrisy, we are guilty of the traitor's duplicity, and like him betray our Master with a kiss. 1 Plumptre in his article on "Lazarus" in Smith's Bib. Diet., and also in his Commentary, brings forward numerous arguments in favour of this view. They are full of interest, and well worthy of consideration. Epiphanius, Adv. Haer. lxxviii. 13, suggests that it was James the Just, our Lord's brother. 2 ' ' The linen cloth " (in S. Mark xv. 46, ' ' fine linen ") was a costly material. It was used for winding-sheets for the dead. 328 The Betrayal and Arrest ch. xiv. v. 43-52 And do we ever desert Him ? Can we recall no times when His Cause demanded our support, when His Word was assailed, His Name blasphemed, it may be even the morality of His Teaching called in question? And did worldly considerations, the love of ease or indifference, or the fear of being worsted or derided, seal our lips, and leave the Christian Faith, like Christ, defenceless in the presence of its foes ? If this be so, then we are of the number of those of whom those humiliating words were written, " they all forsook Him, and fled ; " and it was our desertion, as well as theirs, which the prophet foretold, when he said, " I looked for some to have pity upon Me, but there was no man : neither found I any to comfort Me." [SUPPLEMENTARY.] LXVIII %ty (fccammattoti before #nna$5 S. John xviii. 12-13, *9- 2 4 12. Then the band and the captain nothing. 21. Why askest thou Me ? and officers of the Jews took Jesus, ask them which heard Ale, what I and bound Him, 13. and led Him have said unto them : behold, they away to Annas first ; for he was know what I said. 22. And when father in law to Caiaphas, which was He had thus spoken, one of the the high priest that same year. officers which stood by struck Jesus 19. The high priest then asked with the palm of his hand, saying, Jesus of His disciples, and of His Answerest Thou the high priest so? doctrine. 20. Jesus answered him, 23. Jesus answered him, If I have I spake openly to the world ; I ever spoken evil, bear witness of the evil : taught in the synagogue, and in the but if well, why smitest thou Me? temple, whither the Jews always 24. Now Annas had sent Him bound resort ; and in secret have I said unto Caiaphas the high priest. It is necessary at this point to turn aside from S. Mark's Gospel, for the stage of our Lord's life upon which we now enter is so complicated that it requires a careful consideration of the fourfold record to make it intelligible. Critics have approached it too often in a hostile spirit, exaggerating trifles and widening discrepancies, till they have been compelled to pronounce the different accounts wholly irreconcilable. A reverent investigation has satisfied us that, after legitimate allowance has been made for circumstances, it is possible to weave the details of the terrible story into a fairly explicit and consistent whole. Feeling that hypercriticism is rebuked by the solemnity of the subject, we " take the shoes from off our feet" in the presence of the awe-inspiring fact, that we are about to witness a trial in which the Prisoner at the bar is 33° The Examination s. John xvm none other than He before Whose tribunal we shall all be judged at the last day. It may very fitly be divided into six separate stages or acts. Before Annas, before Caiaphas in his own palace, before the Sanhedrim in lawful assembly, before Pilate the first time, before Herod, and again before Pilate for the final sentence. Only four of these are recorded by S. Mark. Two preliminary difficulties call for notice. Two persons, Annas and Caiaphas, are spoken of as High Priests, whereas we know that there could not be more than one holding the office at any given time. Again, the palace where S. Peter denied our Lord seems in one place to belong to Annas, in another to Caiaphas. Both admit of explanation. We find that Annas had been High Priest some time before, but for political reasons had been deposed by the Roman Governor. The history of the times shows that he was a man of commanding influence, 1 and his hold upon the Jews was such that they refused, as far as they dared, to recognise the deposition, but continued to regard him as their chief-pontiff, and to designate him in familiar language by the high-priestly title. The man actually in legal possession of the office at this time — " the High Priest of the year," as he is significantly spoken of — was Caiaphas; and when the Jews designate him "High Priest," it is only, as we should say, under protest, because the State, which they were afraid openly to disobey, compelled them to do so. Thus we see in the eyes of the Jews, by whose laws the office was inalienable and for life, Annas was regarded as their rightful High Priest, while Caiaphas was legally in possession of the dignity and title. The question of locality is even more easily explained. Annas, we are told, was father-in-law to Caiaphas. What more natural than that they should occupy the same official residence, each with his separate suite of rooms and offices, but all within the same area, round the same courtyard ? What more natural than that the first thought of Caiaphas, 2 1 He was sufficiently powerful to secure the High Priest's office for no less than five of his sons besides his son-in-law. Lightfoot holds that he was deputy High Priest, or " Sagan ; " Selden that he was President of the Council, or " Nasi." 2 Possibly Eleazar, Annas's son, who had preceded Caiaphas, may have reinstated his father. But there was an interval of a year between the v. 12-13 before Annas 331 on his elevation to the office, should be to see his dethroned father-in-law reinstated in his rightful home? What more expedient, again, than that in those most troublous times, the youthful and inexperienced Caiaphas should be able to consult, without inconvenience, and as occasion might arise, one who was accounted by the general verdict the most influential man in Jerusalem ? Whether then it is the palace of Annas or of Caiaphas that is spoken of, it is one and the same building. Now it was past midnight when Judas, and the Temple guard, and the military escort from Pilate, started to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. It would seem that they succeeded sooner than they expected, for the Court was not ready to try Him when they reached the palace. They at once decided that He should be taken before Annas. We have no difficulty in suggesting motives which may have led them to such a decision. The Jews would like to give their favourite the satisfaction of seeing the common Enemy of their nation a prisoner, or it was a mark of deference to his position, which they would gladly pay, that he should be the first to examine Him; or perhaps — and it may have weighed with greater force than either of the above — they felt that the astute, far-seeing Annas was likely in such a pre- liminary examination to hit upon the best grounds of accusa- tion for Caiaphas to urge in the legal court. But whatever their object, they brought Him before Annas. He 1 questioned Him, we are told, about His disciples and His doctrine, and it is plain enough what his design was in so doing. He wished to make out that He belonged to some secret Society, and was connected with a deep-laid plot for promoting revolution. It would have been an excellent charge to press before the Roman Governor, for the executive power is generally alive to informations about suspected conspiracy. But our Lord repudiated the charge, or rather high priesthood of Eleazar and Caiaphas. The four other sons followed Caiaphas. 1 There is great division of opinion as to whether the questioner was Annas or Caiaphas. For the former there are among others SS. Chrysostom and Augustine, Olshausen, Lange, Neander, Ellicott, and Luthardt. For the latter Luther, Grotius, Bengel, and De Wette. Westcott suggests that the examination took place in the chamber of Annas in the presence of Caiaphas who took part in it. 332 The Examination S. John xvm refused to be interrogated, appealing to the publicity of His whole conduct, to the crowds which had nocked to His preaching, and the multitudes He had healed. Let him summon the worshippers from the synagogue at Capernaum, or from yonder Temple, where He had spoken so openly. Let him call up the blind and the lame, the halt and the maimed, the lepers and the possessed of devils, to whom He had ministered almost more than to any others. Let these bear witness what He had taught ; whether He was the secret intriguer, the seditious revolutionist that Annas suggested. And He reminded him that by the laws of justice witnesses must be called to establish every charge. " Why askest thou Me ? ask them which heard Me what I said unto them. They know what I said." And then some brutal attendant of Annas — tradition has aggravated the injury by saying that it was Malchus whose wound Jesus had just healed — knowing that He was defence- less, without a human friend of any kind to protect Him, smote Him cruelly on the face. To the lasting shame of Annas he suffered the cowardly blow to pass unrebuked. 1 The injured Prisoner, instead of scathing His assailant with indignant scorn, checked every expression, every sign of resentment. How unlike what we should have done ! How unlike even S. Paul himself when he was placed in similar circumstances, and answered with righteous anger and in- dignation, " God shall smite thee, thou whited wall, for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law ? " But why this mighty contrast ? this unparalleled meekness ? It was the perfect illustration of His teaching, " Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." It had been predicted two ages before by Isaiah that He should " give His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ; " and by Micah, that they should "smite the judge of Israel with a rod 2 upon the cheek;" and even the Sibyl had added the 1 Such conduct was strictly forbidden by Jewish law. Bynaeus, ii. 320, enters into particulars of the penalties incurred thereby : if with the open hand 200 drachmas, with the fist 400. Cf. Lange, iii. 234, etc. 2 Cf. marg. S. John xviii. 2, "with a rod" for "with the palm of his hand." v. 19-24 before Annas 333 prediction that " the hands of the unclean should smite their God." And here was the beginning of the fulfilment. It was only the beginning, for again and again we shall see it repeated with increasing severity, till the very dregs of ill-treatment shall be wrung out, and the tale of derision completely exhausted. " Annas then sent * Him bound unto Caiaphas the High Priest." Such are the words with which the first act of this terrible drama closes. Jesus is bound. He Who came " to preach deliverance to the captive," and " to set at liberty them that are bruised," is Himself in bonds. He might, we know, have " burst those bands asunder," and rent them like withes with more than Samson's strength, but prophecy must be fulfilled. And in like manner, as it was by His stripes that we should be healed, by His abasement that we have been exalted, by His Death that we might live, even so it was ordained that by His captivity He should open the prison doors, and purchase for us the liberty with which He would set all men free — the perfect freedom — " the glorious liberty of the children of God." 1 "Now Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas," A.V. , but it is ungrammatical to render the aorist air^cTeiXev as a pluperfect. LXIX Before an gnformal Court S. Mark xiv. 53-65 53. And they led Jesus away to the high priest : and with Him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. 54. And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest : and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. 55. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death ; and found none. 56. For many bare false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together. 57. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against Him, saying, 58. We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 59. But neither so did their witness agree together. 60. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? what is it which these witness against Thee? 61. But He held His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, and said; unto Him, Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? 62. And Jesus said, I am : and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 63. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses ? 64. Ye have heard the blasphemy : what think ye? And they all condemned Him to be guilty of death. 65. And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy : and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands. We left our Lord as He was being taken from a preliminary examination in the palace of Annas to Caiaphas the legal High Priest. Now we shall find that He appears before Caiaphas twice, the first time to be tried by members of the Sanhedrim, sitting informally ; the second time by the same body legally summoned to ratify the previous decision, Caiaphas being president on both occasions. We speak of the Council before which Jesus was first ch. xiv. v. 53-65 Before an Informal Court 335 brought as an informal one. It has, however, been con- jectured that it was the Lesser Sanhedrim, which consisted of twenty-three members, and sometimes sat as it were in com- mittee to recommend to the larger Assembly. As two of the Evangelists, however, speak of it in wider terms, we may fairly conclude that it was at least intended not to represent an inferior court, but the whole Sanhedrim. As soon as he was informed of the arrest, and while the examination before Annas was proceeding, Caiaphas would probably summon such Sanhedrists as he knew to be within easy reach. There would be, of course, the chief priests who had their quarters in his own residence, and others — no inconsiderable number, we may be sure — who were sufficiently excited about the arrangements and compact with Judas, to hold themselves in readiness for any emergency. Caiaphas was especially anxious to get the trial through as quickly as possible ; but seeing that under no circumstances might the Sanhedrim sit to try a capital cause before day- break, he thought the best thing that he could do would be, by the production of evidence and in other ways, to advance the proceedings so far, that, when the formal assembly met, there would be little for them to do but ratify the verdict at which most of the members had previously arrived. Now, the very first thing that we read is that all the Council exerted themselves to procure false witnesses against Him ; and they found plenty ready enough to take their bribe and invent an accusation, for though the narrative says that they " found none," it clearly means, none who answered their purpose. Their evidence was nothing but a tissue of obvious falsehoods and contradictions. At last, just when they were despairing of success, two came forward with apparently a consistent story ; they said they had heard Him speak disparagingly of the Temple. But again there was a failure. Their statements were inconsistent. 1 One said His words were, " I am able to destroy this Temple," another said they were, " I will destroy " it. It is more than a verbal discrepancy ; probably neither of them spoke the truth. What He really did say is told us by S. John : " Destroy this 1 The Jewish Law required the concordant testimony of at least two witnesses before condemning a man to be guilty of death. Cf. Deut. xvii. 6. 336 Before an Informal Court chap, xiv Temple ; " " destroy ye this Temple, as I know very well that ye will, and then in three days I will raise it up." Jesus was silent through all this Babel of accusation. He knew that the whole evidence was false from beginning to end, and it was the judges' business, not His, to expose its utter worthlessness. Till some charge should be adduced more substantial than any that had been spoken to as yet, no defence was needed. Caiaphas might have interpreted this silence as acqui- escence, and closed the proceedings, but this would have opened a door for delay when the Sanhedrim proper should meet. Moreover, he chafed at our Lord's calmness and dignity, and could ill brook to have his authority thus openly set at defiance. Still more, perhaps he felt that the charge was a most unsatisfactory one, even if properly supported, to lay before the Roman Governor, who had shown by his conduct that he cared little enough for the Temple. 1 At any cost a better case must be made out ; so, springing up from his seat and confronting the Prisoner, he commanded Him to break silence. " Answerest Thou nothing ? What is it which these witness against Thee ? " but it was all in vain. At last he made a final appeal. " I adjure Thee by the Living God ; " "I put you on your oath before Him, Whose curse falls on those who swear falsely ; " " tell me whether Thou be the Christ ? " and then he followed it up by a question of even greater moment still, "Art Thou the Son of the Blessed ? " The crisis had come. The title must be claimed before He died, so with a dignity and composure that must have filled them with awe, at least for the moment, He answered, " I am ; " "I am the Messiah. I am the Son of God." In pretended horror at the confession the enraged Caiaphas rent his priestly cloak, 2 crying ''Blasphemy." "Every one 1 Pilate appropriated the sacred treasure, Korban, which was set apart for the service of the Temple, to the construction of certain aqueducts. It led to disturbance and bloodshed. 2 In S. Mark it is "the under-garments " xvrCbva.%, in S. Matthew "the outer," i/xdria. In the Talmud directions are given as to the length and direction of the rent. It was to be a palm's breadth, and from the neck downwards. Cf. Buxtorf, Talm. Lex. p. 2148. If we follow S. Mark we must suppose he had on his unofficial dress at the time. v. 53-65 Before an Informal Court 337 must be agreed;" and amidst an unanimous 1 shout of "guilty," the informal Council broke up in confusion, and Jesus was left at the mercy of the attendants and bailiffs of the Court, while the judges hurried off and prepared for their re- assembling, to pass sentence in accordance with the legal formalities. Now, we can hardly close the consideration of this, the second stage in the trial, better than by noting carefully for what He was condemned. On the oath of " The Faithful and True Witness," in the Name of God, and in the face of death, knowing in what sense the High Priest had used the title "Son of God," He hastened to accept it. He broke silence which no expostulation, no threat whatever could provoke Him to break, because, as He said, He " came to bear witness to the truth," and now, for the first time in the trial, the truth is at stake. And so, without a moment's hesitation, in no lower sense, but in all its fulness, in the very language in which the challenge was given, He accepts it. "Thou hast said." "I am." What further evidence do we need of His Divinity ? Is it worthy of no weight with those who find difficulty in re- cognising it, that He claimed it Himself, He Whose truthful- ness they would never dream of doubting ? We can conceive of nothing more convincing than the fact, that in the supreme moment of His earthly life, surrounded by all the solemnity which an adjuration of the Most High could impart to the scene, He claimed that Sonship which, in the language of the Jews, implied nothing less than equality with God. It was not because He confessed that He was the Christ that they charged Him with blasphemy, but for the word that He spake — " I am," " I am the Son of the Blessed." Take we heed, then, lest we too accuse Him of blasphemy ; lest by withholding that which He claims we be found con- senting to their verdict ; for unless He deceived Caiaphas — and God forbid the thought ! — it is indeed true as S. Paul said, "That in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." 1 It is clear from this, compared with S. Luke xxiii. 51, that it was not the formal court, but a gathering of fanatical opponents of Christ. There was at least one at the legal court who voted differently. Z LXX &♦ peter'0 jfall S. Mark xiv. 66-72 66. And as Peter was beneath in again. And a little alter, they that the palace, there cometh one of the stood by said again to Peter, Surely maids of the high priest : 67. and thou art one of them : for thou art a when she saw Peter warming himself, Galilean, and thy speech agreeth she looked upon him, and said, And thereto. 71. But he began to curse thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. and to swear, saying, I know not this 68. But he denied, saying, I know Man of Whom ye speak. 72. And not, neither understand I what thou the second time the cock crew. And sayest. And he went out into the Peter called to mind the word that porch ; and the cock crew. 69. And Jesus said unto him, Before the cock a maid saw him again, and began crow twice, thou shalt deny Me to say to them that stood by, This is thrice. And when he thought there- one of them. 70. And he denied it on, he wept. An Oriental palace was frequently built in the form of a quad- rangle. A porch or gateway in the front led to a large inner courtyard, 1 open to the sky, round which were the servants' offices and public reception-rooms, sometimes raised by steps above the level of the ground. 2 The living-quarters of the occupants were on the second story. 3 At the time of which we are reading, Jesus was being examined by the informal Court gathered under the Presidency of Caiaphas in one of the lower chambers. After He had been brought in by the party who arrested Him, the gateway of the palace was closed to avoid the possibility of a rescue, for the High Priest was in fear of a 1 This is mistranslated " palace" in the A.V. 2 " Beneath in the palace," or "below in the courtyard," as it should be rendered, need imply no more than this ; not that the Council-chamber was on the upper story. 3 Cf. pp. 38, 39. ch. xiv. v. 66-72 • 61 Peter *s Fall 339 reaction in favour of the Prisoner. The attendants and other servants of the judges remained within call in the inner yard. It was past midnight, and as the air was cold at that season, they lit a fire in their midst, and began to talk over the excit- ing events of the last few hours. Meanwhile two of the Apostles, S. John and S. Peter, having recovered from the panic which had seized them in the Garden, found themselves at the porch of the palace. S. John, perhaps as being a friend of Caiaphas, was known to the portress, and had no difficulty in gaining admission ; but his companion was shut out. We often read of apparently trivial incidents preventing a great catastrophe or saving lives which must otherwise have been lost, and they are regarded as Providential interpositions by those who have met with them. Was it not some such merciful Providence that literally closed the door in the very face of the Apostle on that fatal night ? Was it not an echo of the forgotten warning, " Thou canst not follow Me now " ? Knowing as we do the terrible consequences of his admission, we may well re- gret that he was not superstitious enough, as men say, to hurry away from the scene. There is a marked change in his conduct at this stage. The courage and daring which made him draw his sword at once in defence of his Master has forsaken him. There is no longer any hope or thought of defending Him, and curiosity has succeeded to devotion. He could actually bring himself to play the part of a common spectator, and as S. Matthew says, " he went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end." It was certain to bring him into trouble, for he had at once to disguise himself, to wear a mask, and play a character that was not his own. And so it came to pass that as he stood in the crowd, pretending to no greater interest in the proceedings than the rest, he was surprised by the observation of a maid who belonged to the palace. She had recognised S. John as he entered, and now, when she joined the other servants who were in the courtyard, a sudden blaze of the fire lit up S. Peter's face, and she recollected his features as well, and made the observation, "Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth." Perhaps the Apostle thought within himself that she would be satisfied if he evaded the question, so he said that he did not know Him, nor quite understand what it was that she meant. 34© S. Peter s Fall chap, xiv His purpose was gained, and suspicion averted for a time ; but prudence suggested that he should withdraw as soon as he conveniently could, and he exchanged the bright glare of the fireside for the shade and retirement of the porch. While he was standing there the 1 maid, who had been silenced by his ready denial, seeing him again, became more than ever con- vinced that she was right in her opinion, and she told the people about her that she was sure he was " one of them." They at once took the matter up and asked him, as S. John tells us, " Art not thou also one of this Man's disciples ? " " and he denied it again." "About the space of one hour after" the accusation was renewed. He had regained confidence, and ventured to take part in the conversation that was going on. Under the influence of his excitement, some peculiarity of speech, generally thought to have been "a confused thick utterance of the guttural letters," 2 betrayed his " provincial " origin. The bystanders at once detected it, and said to him, " Surely thou art one of them, for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto." Others took up the charge, and one especially who had good cause to remember him — for he had cut off his kinsman's ear — came forward and confronted him with a most emphatic question, "Did not 7 3 see thee in the Garden with Him?" "But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this Man of Whom ye speak." Now it is well known that there are varieties of detail in the four records of S. Peter's threefold denial. The dis- crepancies have been spoken of as irreconcilable, and attempts to shake the credibility and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture have been based upon this supposition. Careful examination will show that "the incidents given by the different Evan- gelists are completely in harmony with the belief that there were three denials, that is, three acts of denial, of which the several writers have taken such features as seemed to be most significant for their purpose." 4 The multiplicity of charges 1 The definite article is in the original, and points to the identity of this maid with the one who had charged him before. 2 It is supposed that their pronunciation of Hebrew had become affected by their intercourse with Gentiles. It was so thick and unintelligible that they were not allowed to read in the synagogues. Cf. Lange, iii. 247. 3 It is emphasised by the insertion of eyu. 4 Dr. Westcott in his commentary on S. John has given a carefully pre- v. 66-72 S. Peter's Fall 341 again may well be illustrated out of our own experience. We have witnessed, no doubt, a scene in which a crowd of people in a state of excitement are setting upon an individual whom they believe to have done something of which they disapprove. No sooner has one begun to accuse him of it than another comes up and adds to the charge, another insists upon it with gestures of violence, another can prove it if they will only let him speak, and then perhaps several cry out at once. The be- wildered man tries to exculpate himself from the Babel of charges. He says anything and everything in the excitement of the moment, and at last, when matters become desperate, loses all control over his words. This is almost exactly what happened in the last " act of denial," in the courtyard of the High Priest's palace. S. Peter was driven to bay by a multitude of excited assailants, and perhaps hardly knowing, certainly not realising, what he said, he appealed to heaven and called down Divine vengeance upon his head if his denial were untrue. And at that moment, in the lull which such an awful adjuration must have produced, "the second time the cock crew." Simultaneously with the sound, which, coming when it did, must have brought a rush of tumultuous thoughts into his mind, the eyes of the Master, Whom he had so basely denied, were fixed upon him. He was being led out by an armed escort from the private Council-chamber towards the porch, 1 and "the Lord turned and looked upon Peter," and that look, " sharper than any two-edged sword," pierced him to the very heart, for " when he thought thereon " 2 he went out and was overwhelmed with grief. There is a very touching tradition which, whether true pared table of the three denials and helped to clear away some of the difficulties. In the first, all the Evangelists are practically agreed that the charge was brought by the portress ; in the second the charge is made indirectly by the same and another maid, directly by "another man" and some undefined people spoken of as " they ; " in the third indirectly by " another," and directly by the kinsman of Malchus, and in a different form by the bystanders. 1 This was on His way to the Lischath Haggazith, if the Sanhedrim still held its sittings there. If not, perhaps they were going to one of the " Booths." In either case they must have left the palace. 2 eirifiaXuv has received a variety of interpretations. "Throwing his mantle over his head," "throwing himself into it," "thinking it over." H\o.iev, the imperfect tense, shows that it was not a mere outburst of grief, but long continued. 34 2 S. Peter *s Fall ch. xiv. v. 66-72 or not, is at least in perfect accord with the depth and reality of his penitence. It is said that for nearly forty years, till a martyr's death sealed his repentance, the remembrance of that scene never left him, and that " morning by morning he rose at the hour when the look of his Master entered into his soul, to pray once more for pardon." Two practical reflections arise out of this fateful episode of the Apostle's fall. It teaches us the peril of trusting too much to our feelings. There was no one in the Apostolic company who could compare for an instant for zeal and enthusiasm with the warm-hearted and impulsive Peter. It led him to cast himself into the sea when he saw the Master coming : it betrayed him into rebuking Jesus for even hinting at His Passion : it impelled him also to draw his sword and attack the very foremost in the fray, when they came to arrest the Lord in Gethsemane. And yet he has proved for our admonition that the most fervent zeal may evaporate and be wasted, unless it be chastened and safeguarded by constant watchfulness and prayer. Again, we may learn from his example that warnings of danger are only disregarded at our peril. " Thou canst not follow Me now." That word, spoken by One Who had never deceived him, should have made him more wary. "Put up thy sword into the sheath ; " it was meant to tell him that some- thing over and above physical courage was needed in that hour. " The door of the palace closed in his face ; " it ought to have kept him from treading on forbidden ground. Let the consequences of his self-confidence bring home the value of the Apostolic precept, "Be not high-minded, but fear." LXXI Before tlje feanJeHn'm S. Mark xv. i i. And straightway in the morning whole council, and bound Jesus, and the chief priests held a consultation carried Him away, and delivered with the elders and scribes and the Him to Pilate. When the irregular assembly in the house of Caiaphas broke up, our Lord was left to the tender mercies of the attendants and servants of the chief priests. We know well how con- tagious cruelty is, especially amongst men of a coarse nature, and we are not surprised that the unjust treatment which the Prisoner had received at the hands of Caiaphas and the priests should have been followed up by worse indignities from the menials of the Court. They knew that they had nothing to fear, and began at once to give rein to their cruel passions, and subjected their unbefriended Victim to the most shameless violence. They spat upon His face, to mark the extremity of contempt. They blindfolded His eyes, and because He refused to guess who it was that struck Him, they taunted Him with His claims to the prophetic office. But He had set His face like flint, and nothing could divert Him. The Scriptures should all be fulfilled. " I hid not My face from shame and spitting." "He is despised and rejected of men." " His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." And so no utterance escaped His lips ; no hand was raised against them ; although a single word or the slightest movement would have sufficed to paralyse the arm of His oppressors, or throw them, like Judas and his company, prostrate on the ground. 344 Before the Sanhedrim chap, xv But while all this barbarity, this work of darkness, was going on, the day dawned ; and with daylight the legal Sanhedrim might open its formal session. Where the Court was held at this time is a matter of doubt. The regular place of meeting was the " Lischath Haggazith" — or chamber of hewn stone, at the south-east corner of the Temple Mount ; or perhaps at this time in " the Booths of the sons of Annas." An expression which S. Luke uses, " they led Him up x to their council " appears to point to the former. But wherever it was, we may feel sure that no time would be lost. They had everything to fear from delay. A reaction might set in at any moment, and the turbulent Galileans were as likely as not to rise up in support of their Countryman. The citations to the commissioners had doubt- less been issued immediately on the arrest, and the Court was constituted at once. The rules which regulated the proceedings of the Sanhe- drim in the ordinary exercise of its judicial functions have a special interest for us, if it be only to see how they were disregarded in connection with our Blessed Lord. The judges were ranged in the form of a semicircle. The High Priest, or in his absence, the " Nasi " or prince, 2 occupied the Presidential seat in the centre. A distinguished dignitary, selected for his age, and called " the Father of the council," sat on his right hand ; another, probably the most learned, entitled " the wise man," on his left. The rest of the judges took their seats in order of precedence, an equal number on either side, while at the two extremities of the crescent sat two scribes, — one to record the verdict of ac- quittal, the other the sentence of condemnation, as the case might be. The prisoner, with bailiffs and officers of the Court behind him, stood immediately confronting the President. Now, nothing could have been contrived more in the in- terests of the prisoner than the rules of the Court. The motto, if not written on the walls, was known and recognised 1 The reading dirrjyayov however is adopted for avr/yayov in the Revised Version. The fact that Judas, on hearing that the sentence was pronounced, flung the money down in the Temple, seems to favour the view that the Chamber was " Haggazith," not the " Booths." -' In later times his Presidency was confined to legal and ritual cases only. v. i Before the Sanhedrim 345 by every member: "The Sanhedrim aims at saving, not destroying life." The judges were chosen for learning, blamelessness of character, and moderation of temper; and there was one most touching and noteworthy provision — those only were qualified to adjudicate who were fathers of children. It was supposed to afford some guarantee that they would be influenced in their verdict by feelings of love and tenderness. The prisoner was held to be innocent till his guilt was proved ; and each witness as he came forward to give his evidence was enjoined to speak the strict truth, lest a life should be unjustly sacrificed. 1 Counsel was directed to watch the proceedings in behalf of the accused ; and lastly, to avoid the possibility of a decision, involving fatal consequences, being given under the impulse of excitement, though a sentence of acquittal might be passed at once, no condemnation could be pro- nounced till a whole day had elapsed from the close of the sitting. All this shows what a parody of justice the trial of our Lord really was. It is probable that as soon as the Court was formally opened, Caiaphas tried to get the previous verdict indorsed without any further examination of the Prisoner ; but objec- tions were raised. We know who one at least of the objectors was, viz., Joseph of Arimathsea, for we are told that he had " not consented unto their counsel and deed ; " and we can well imagine that he was supported in his protest by Nicodemus. It is quite clear that other members of the council were not satisfied with the High Priest's assertion as to what he had elicited from the Prisoner, for they put the question themselves, saying to Him, "Art Thou the Christ? tell us." In a moment their reception of His doctrine from the beginning, and His recollection of the manner in which His answer to Caiaphas had been denounced, came up before Him, and with a calmness and dignity which is surprising on the lips of One Who was being tried for His life, He replied, 1 There is a tradition that heralds were sent forth for forty days before our Lord's execution, inviting witnesses to speak in His favour ; and finding none, they hanged Him on the eve of the Passover. This is absent from the ordinary editions of the Talmud, but is found in the unmutilated edition published at Amsterdam, 1645. Cf. Talm. Bab. Synhed. 43 a. Such a supposition, how- ever, is contradicted by the whole proceedings at the trial. 34 6 Before the Sanhedrim chap, xv " If I tell you, ye will not believe : and if I also ask you, ye will not answer Me, nor let Me go." "If," that is, "My works and My life have not taught you ; if My solemn vin- dication of the title to which your High Priest testifies has not convinced you, what need to repeat it?" or again, "If I put a question to you to prove My claim, your lips will be closed lest your enforced admission compel you to acquit Me, which you know you are resolved under no circumstances to do." And then as the consciousness of His greatness came pouring in upon Him, — some sudden inspiration perhaps to strengthen Him for the approaching crisis, — He realised the whole iniquity of the trial ; the priests and elders and scribes sitting before Him to administer justice as the delegates of God, and yet violating every principle of it by word and deed : and the vision of another assize flashed before His sight. He saw that which Daniel had seen by anticipation, the Ancient of Days coming to judgment, and Himself the Assessor of the Judge, and He declared to the astonished Court, " Hereafter shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the power of God." It was a direct claim to Divine honour, and though they knew what answer He would give, though some of them had seen the High Priest rend his sacerdotal robe in pious horror at the confession, they courted a repetition of the dreaded blasphemy, and with one voice, " then said they all, Art Thou then the Son of God ? " Again He claimed to be One with the Father, and out of His Own mouth they condemned Him to be worthy of death. But the Sanhedrim could give no effect to its verdict. By their own confession the Jews had lost the power of life and death -, 1 "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." If, however, they had resolved to take the matter into their own hands they would probably have done it with impunity, but there was one grave reason to prevent their doing so. They had condemned Jesus on a charge of blasphemy, the 1 Some have thought they merely meant that it was illegal to do so at the Passover ; but it is an unnatural explanation of the words. Pilate assumes that the power resides with himself. S. John xix. 10 ; cf. note in Westcott on S. John xviii. 31. v. i Before the Sanhedrim 347 penalty for which was stoning. This in their eyes was too honourable a death for Him to die. Nothing would satisfy them short of crucifixion x — the Roman punishment reserved for slaves or their worst criminals. Their only course there- upon was to deliver Him up to the civil power. Its chief representative, Pontius Pilate, was then at Jerusalem. 2 It was Passover- time, and his presence was indispensable for the good order of the populace. The Sanhedrists went in a body with the Prisoner, hoping no doubt to overawe the Governor by their number and the weight of their office. It was most probably as Jesus was being conducted from the council-chamber to Pilate's residence, that Judas realised that He was sentenced to death. Before then the next stage of the trial begins, we shall do well to see what effect it produced upon him. When once the excitement of the arrest was over, and his part had been played, he was left to his own reflections. And in the dark- ness of the night the awful truth of his deed of shame must have forced itself upon his conscience, and many visions have come up before him — visions of the past, so full of unspeak- able love and tenderness — visions of the future, so big with doom and retribution. No doubt the Evil One buoyed him up with hopes — hopes that were only destined to mock and increase his misery. Perhaps he persuaded him that his remorse was wasted, for even at the last the Divine power might be exercised, and Jesus be saved from the hands of His enemies, and so the traitor's act would ultimately redound to His greatness. But now, to his unutterable dismay, he realised that Jesus was condemned, and on the point of being delivered up to 1 Crucifixion was common among Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Assyrians, and many other nations. Among the Jews there was a kind of crucifixion, in which the body was tied to a stake after death — Deut. xxi. 22, 23, — and this was held in great horror because of the saying, "He that is hanged is accursed of God." 9 His usual residence was at Caesarea. He had made himself so unpopular in Jerusalem by his disregard of Jewish customs and prejudices that he gener- ally kept away from the Holy City. It is doubtful whether he resided, when at Jerusalem, in the Fortress of Antonia, or in the Herodian Palace, on the north-western corner of the Upper City. Josephus, Wars, i. 21, 1, and v. 4, 4. 348 Before the Sanhedrim ch. xv. v. i the Roman Governor, and he was seized with horror. Instead however of taking the only step that could possibly have helped him, — instead of hurrying at once to his Lord, and flinging himself upon His mercy for pardon and forgiveness, — he fled to the chief priests, who had shared with him the guilt of the betrayal, and implored them to undo the awful crime. " I have sinned," he cries, " in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." But he might as well have cried to the stones of the Temple, for they had no word of comfort to give him : he had accomplished their purpose, and had been paid for his work, and might take the consequences. "Whichever way he looked was hell : Himself was hell." In a wild moment of distracting frenzy his life was closed by a suicidal hand — that life of which alone it may ever be said without fear of contradiction that there is no hope. " It were good for that man if he had never been born." LXXII Before dilate tlje firgt time • anti before l^eroti S. Mark xv. 2-5 2. And Pilate asked Him, Art asked Him again, saying, Answerest Thou the King of the Jews? And Thou nothing? behold how many He answering said unto him, Thou things they witness against Thee. 5. sayest it. 3. And the chief priests But Jesus yet answered nothing ; so accused Him of many things : but that Pilate marvelled. He answered nothing. 4. And Pilate [SUPPLEMENTARY] S. Luke xxiii. 8-12 8. And when Herod saw Jesus, he and scribes stood and vehemently was exceeding glad: for he was accused Him. 11. And Herod with desirous to see Him of a long season, his men of war set Him at nought, because he had heard many things of and mocked Him, and arrayed Him Him ; and he hoped to have seen in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him some miracle done by Him. 9. again to Pilate. 12. And the same Then he questioned with Him in day Pilate and Herod were made many words ; but He answered him friends together : for before they were nothing. 10. And the chief priests at enmity between themselves. 11 It was early," probably not yet seven o'clock, 1 when the members of the Sanhedrim arrived at the gate of the Praetorium. Pilate was already astir, for he could hardly be indifferent to the result of the proceedings in which his own soldiers had been taking part. He must have been surprised by the sight of such a deputation, and he gave orders at once for their admission into the hall ; but as they were Jews, and 1 It will be remembered that since sunrise, when the Sanhedrim met, time must have elapsed for the trial, and for taking the Prisoner to the Praetorium. 35° Before Pilate the first time chap, xv intended to eat the Passover that evening, 1 they were pre- cluded from entering a heathen dwelling. There was certain to be something there that would make them ceremonially unclean. The Governor, with some political tact, deferred to their religious scruples, and went out himself to meet them in the courtyard. They hoped to settle the matter with little delay ; so pointing, no doubt, to the Prisoner, Who stood in their midst with His hands bound, and, if tradition be true, with a cord fastened round His neck, they told him that He had been tried and condemned to suffer the extreme penalty of the law. It may be they thought the presence of such an august body would overawe Pilate, and with an air of importance claimed that it was the duty of the Roman authority to execute their judgment when once it had been pronounced. But he had no idea of accepting such a position as that, and submitting to be a mere tool in the hands of the Sanhedrim. His instincts, too, as a Roman judge rose up in protest against such a course, and he demanded that the nature of their charge should be formally stated : " What accusation bring ye against this Man ? " But they were most anxious to avoid another examination, and they replied that he might rely upon it that He was a criminal of a dangerous character, otherwise they would hardly have brought Him for execution. With no little irony he advised them to carry out their own sentence, and drew from them the humiliating confession that they had been deprived of the power to do it. Finding that there was no chance of getting Him executed off-hand, they brought forward an accusation. Pilate's question, which S. Mark introduces so abruptly, leaves no doubt what it was. They changed their ground completely. Jesus had been condemned for an ecclesiastical offence ; but their indictment was purely political. They accused Him of setting up a rival kingdom to that of Caesar. It must have excited Pilate's suspicions at once, for "he knew too much 1 The expression, eat ' the Passover, " implies, as was maintained above, that it was not limited to "the Paschal lamb," for the latter would not be eaten till after 6 p.m., when the day on which their uncleanness had been contracted would close. v. 2-s Before Pilate the first time 351 about Jewish expectations to suppose that the Sanhedrim would hate and persecute one who would free them from the Roman authority." He determined, however, to examine 1 the Prisoner, and took Him into the judgment-hall. Probably a certain number of the Jews sacrificed themselves, and, disregarding their scruples about ceremonial impurity, went in also, for Pilate speaks afterwards of the examination having taken place in their presence. " And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews ? " There is much more implied by the order of the words in the original. " Thou, — is it possible that Thou," this poor defenceless Prisoner I see before me, "art a king?" Before He could answer, it must be clearly understood in what sense the title was used. He was no king in rivalry with Caesar ; but He was the King Messiah, the Head of the spiritual empire; and in this sense He accepted the title, and said unto him, "Thou sayest it." Pilate, probably not understanding such subtle distinctions, put to Him a practical question touching His conduct : "What hast Thou done?" and he was so fully satisfied by the answer, that he went out, and not without some show of displeasure at their attempt to entrap him into the execution of an innocent Man, told them that their charge 2 had com- pletely broken down upon examination. The announcement was received with a storm of charges : "The chief priests accused Him of many things." But to the Governor's amazement they drew forth not a word of defence. Not even a direct appeal from himself could induce Jesus to break silence ; and again the charges were reiterated : " He stirs up the nation ; He rebels against Caesar ; He tells us that we ought not to pay the Imperial taxes ; there is not a town or village from Dan to Beersheba, from Galilee to Jerusalem, where He has not preached His seditious doctrines." 1 Pilate being only a Procurator, would have no Quaestor to examine prisoners, but must conduct the inquiry in person. It marks the accuracy of the Gospel narrative. 2 ovdev a'tTiou (S. Luke), ovSe/xiap alrlav (S. John), 'clearly refer to a judicial charge or indictment, which is hardly implied in "no fault at all." A.V. 35 2 Before Her pd s. Lukexxih Before Herod Pilate was in the greatest perplexity. He was satisfied of the Prisoner's innocence, but he lacked the moral courage to act upon his convictions. He knew that he himself was in disgrace at Rome ; for complaints had been made at head- quarters of his disregard for the customs and feelings of the native population, and he was not prepared to face another reprimand, especially as his enemies would be sure to make capital out of the alleged claims to royal authority, and put the matter before the Emperor in the worst possible light. It was a great relief therefore to him when he discovered a way of escape from his embarrassing situation. The Jews, in the multitude of accusations, had spoken of Galilee as the scene of Christ's revolutionary teaching. It was a common practice to try a prisoner, not where he was arrested, but where his crime had been committed. 1 By a fortunate coincidence the Tetrarch of Galilee was then in Jerusalem for the Passover ; he would at once shift the responsibility from himself, and send the chief priests to make good their charges before Herod's tribunal. Now, if Pilate was delighted to be rid of the Prisoner, Herod was overjoyed to receive Him. Long before this, he had been hoping and wishing to see Him. Tales of His miracles were in every one's mouth in Galilee. It so happened that his steward's wife was one of a number of women who had been healed by His touch or word; and, like Susanna and Mary Magdalene, she could not tear herself from His side. Doubtless she - sent home to her husband reports of the wonderful works which Jesus did, and being repeated at Herod's court, they wrought his curiosity to the highest pitch. And now at last the Wonder-worker was before him, and, as he probably congratulated himself, under the most favour- able circumstances, for, coming as a Prisoner on trial for His life, He would naturally be anxious to conciliate His judge. But how little did he understand with Whom he had to deal ! Herod began the examination by asking about His miracles, 1 It was to take him, as it was said, from the "forum apprehensionis ad forum originis vel domicilii." v. 8-i2 Before Herod 353 — scoffing questions perhaps connected with His followers. It may be that he reminded Him of the death of the Baptist, and hinted that if He kindled his displeasure He might share his fate ; 1 but it was all in vain. Not a word, not a syllable, could he extract from Him ! And why this silence ? He had replied to Caiaphas, and to Pilate ; why not to Herod ? It must have been because He knew all his shameful history, and if He had spoken then it could only be to brand him as a murderer and adulterer, 2 and to ask by what right one who had so outraged morality, and transgressed the laws of God, dared to sit in the seat of judgment for the administration of justice. But "there is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence," and so He held His peace; for it was part of His predestined sufferings that He should be oppressed and persecuted by His enemies, and yet not open His mouth. The proud prince of Galilee found himself treated with disdain by a Prisoner in chains. Had Herodias been with him, no doubt she would have urged His immediate execution, but he had suffered too many pangs of remorse through the Baptist's death to wish himself to risk a repetition. The chief priests and scribes were in despair. Driven from one tribunal to another, they could get no judge to speak the fatal word. They must have almost wished that they had taken the matter into their own hands, and stoned Him for blasphemy. Anything would have been better than this prolonged suspense. "They stood and vehemently accused Him ; " but no vehemence, no remonstrance, could move Herod to deal with the case seriously. He was quite ready to make Jesus suffer for His contemptuous behaviour, but the charge of aspiring to the throne of the Caesars was too ridiculous to be entertained for a single moment. They might, if they chose, treat Him with the ridicule He seemed to deserve. Let them give Him in mockery the Royalty He claimed, and see how He would bear His royal honours. And so the King of kings submitted to be made a laughing- stock of the soldiers, and to be set at nought by a profligate prince, who should have covered his face with shame in His 1 It was Herod Antipas, the same who had John beheaded. 2 Cf. xxviii., pp. 129 ff. 2 A 354 Before Herod s. Luke ch. xxiii. Presence. They dressed Him "ina gorgeous robe, 1 and sent Him again to Pilate," and with this the fifth act in the trial ends. " And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together; for before they were at enmity 2 between themselves." It is an echo of the alliance between Pharisees and Herodians ; another illustration of the acknowledged principle that there is something so hateful to the carnal mind in truth and innocence that men are ready to forget all their differences and opposi- tions in creeds, and in politics, in habits of life and thought, provided only they can compass its overthrow. Everything that Christ said was out of harmony with His generation. Hypocrisy and falsehood had impregnated society everywhere, and when He came to bear witness to the truth, there were none to welcome His coming ; but all wicked men and sinners of every kind became confederate against Him. " The servant is not above his lord ; " and though none of His followers will ever be called to bear the same isolation from the world, every one who loves truth and righteousness above all else, may have to suffer loss of friendship and sympathy, for He Who foresaw the end from the beginning, declared : "If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." Every faithful disciple, however, can feel assured of that which was His support : " And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me." 1 If, as has been supposed, \afnrpbs means white, it may have been chosen in mockery to indicate that He was candidatus, seeking the kingly office. Cf. Polybius, x. 15. Plumptre on S. Luke xxiii. 11 traces in this a vindictive retaliation for His denunciation of those Herodian courtiers who were " gorgeously apparelled. " S. Mark xi. 8; S. Luke vii. 25. 2 Possibly it arose through the slaughter of certain of his Galilean subjects mentioned in S. Luke xiii. 1. At all events this may have been one cause of the quarrel. LXXIII %^z iftnal Atrial ana tfje Contmnnatton S. Mark xv. 6-15 6. Now at that feast he released chief priests moved the people, that unto them one prisoner, whomsoever he should rather release Barabbas unto they desired. 7. And there was one them. 12. And Pilate answered and named Barabbas, which lay bound said again unto them, What will ye with them that had made insurrection then that I shall do unto Him Whom with him, who had committed murder ye call the King of the Jews? 13. in the insurrection. 8. And the mul- And they cried out again, Crucify Him. titude crying aloud began to desire 14. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, him to do as he had ever done unto what evil hath He done ? And they them. 9. But Pilate answered them, cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify saying, Will ye that I release unto you Him. 15. And so Pilate, willing to the King of the Jews ? 10. For he content the people, released Barabbas knew that the chief priests had unto them, and delivered Jesus, when delivered Him for envy. 11. But the he had scourged Him, to be crucified. To the bitter disappointment of Pilate, who hoped that he had escaped from the responsibility of giving judgment, the Prisoner was again brought before him. The Tetrarch of Galilee saw, as clearly as he had done, that the charge of menacing the Roman authority by treasonable claims was wholly without foundation ; but unlike himself, having nothing to fear from the Jews, he gave his decision at once against an unjust execution. It is true that he subjected Jesus to the cruelty and ridicule of his soldiery and court, but this was only to hide his mortification at not witnessing the performance of a miracle. Declining to be any party to a judicial murder, he ordered Jesus to be taken back to Pilate's jurisdiction. During the interval, in his moments of calmer reflection, 356 The Final Trial chap, xv Pilate could have only become more and more convinced of the Prisoner's innocence ; and now the conduct of the Tetrarch corroborated his convictions. " I have found no fault in this Man : no, nor yet Herod : for I sent you to him ; and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him." But the chief priests and rulers were more clamorous than ever for judgment to be given. Again the Governor thought that he saw a way of escape. He determined to appeal from the Sanhedrim to the people, to the crowds that by this time had gathered before the judgment-hall. He knew that the chief priests had delivered Him "for envy," because they feared the effect of His growing popularity. The reports, too, of Christ's enthusiastic reception a few days before must have reached him, if he had not actually witnessed it himself. He had everything, therefore, to hope from the course he pro- posed. It was an old Paschal 1 custom — a touching memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage — to grant an amnesty to any prisoner the people asked for; and Pilate took this opportunity of reminding them of their privilege. There happened at this time to be a prisoner of note in confinement at Jerusalem. He was in all probability a man of birth, alike if his patronymic indicates that he was the son of Abba, or, as is more likely, the son of a Rabbi ; but whether he was a robber-outlaw, who lived by plunder, and did not scruple to sacrifice the lives of his victims ; or whether he was a Jewish patriot, who had risen in rebellion against the hated Roman, and in the heat of conflict had shed blood, we have no means of judging. If the former, Pilate might have selected him as one whom the people would fear to let loose ; if the latter, 2 it accounts at once for his popularity with the mob, " Not this Man, but Barabbas." It is quite possible that his release had been suggested as an alternative to that of Jesus, from the similarity of their names. There is an old tradition, dating back from the close of the 1 kolt ioprrjv, at feast-time, seems to leave it more general, but S. John xviii. 39 confines it to the Passover. 2 Had he been merely an insurrectionary leader it is difficult to understand how Pilate would risk proposing a name which was sure to be popular. S. Luke, however, distinctly mentions that he was imprisoned for " sedition." v. 6-15 and the Condemnation 357 second century, 1 that Barabbas was called Jesus, and that the exact form of the question which Pilate put to the people was this : " Whom will ye that I release unto you, Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus Which is called Christ ? " It matters little, however, what it was that prompted Pilate to propose him to the people, the result is the same : the robber, the revolutionist, the murderer was chosen — the Holy One, the Harmless, the Saviour was rejected. It was another disappointment to Pilate, and wholly unexpected. He had every reason for believing that the popu- lace would be on his side, and if he could only be satisfied that they would support him, he would have been prepared to brave all the threats of the hierarchy. But the priests were more than a match for him. Directly they recognised the danger, they ran in among the crowd, and moved the people — " Ask for Barabbas," " Cry for Barabbas ; " and their eager- ness made itself felt. A mob is easily swayed by a few powerful enthusiasts ; and it was so at this critical moment, for when Pilate asked what he should do with Him Whom they called " the King of the Jews," urged on again no doubt by the priests, who stirred the worst passions of their nature, they cried, " Crucify Him," " Crucify Him." It was a death wholly repellent to Jewish feelings, and one that would never have suggested itself to the people, who had no bitter animosity against Him ; but crucifixion alone would satisfy the revenge- ful rulers, whom He had denounced with such withering scorn ; and it was their cry really, not the people's, which Pilate heard : "Let Him be crucified." Again the judge's conviction of His innocence becomes manifest. " Why should I crucify Him ? " he asks, " What evil hath He done ? " We know not exactly at what stage in these tumultuous proceedings it was, but after " he was set down on the judg- ment-seat," he received a message, which must have made him 1 Origen spoke of it as a common reading, but approved of the omission on dogmatic grounds. He says, " Several MSS. also had not the name Tt/ctoOs." This implies that the majority had it. Its omission is certainly easier to account for than its interpolation. Olshausen, Meyer, De Wette, Ewald, Klein, and Wordsworth, and others, accept it. It is rejected by Alford, Tischendorf, Westcott, and Hort. It is found now only in five cursive MSS. , and in the Armenian and Jerusalem Syriac Versions. 358 The Final Trial chap, xv more reluctant than ever to assent to the execution. The dream of Procla 1 was the last effort of a Merciful God to save him from violating his conscience to the end. 2 That God "Who would not answer Saul by prophets or by dreams, Who for centuries had ceased to speak by Urim and Thummim," broke the silence of eternity to deliver a weak and wavering judge from eternal ruin. We cannot tell what visions stirred the spirit of the heathen's wife ; we know not, save by tradition, who she was ; but she came forth from her obscurity to utter a last warning to the conscience of her husband, to save him from incurring everlasting shame. If we may hazard a conjecture as to the time when the message reached him, we would suggest that it was after he had delivered Jesus to be scourged. 3 Was it this which prompted his last appeal to save the Prisoner ? Seeing the awful plight in which the frightful lash had left Him, clothed with the mock symbols of royalty, all smeared with blood and shameful spitting, he determined to make a final effort to move the sympathies of the people. Repeating his reiterated attestation to Christ's innocence, Pilate led Him out to the multitude, and with no irony or bitterness such as when he said, " Behold your King ! " he pointed simply to a human Being in abject misery ; and the words he used have echoed on through all the ages; painters have striven in a thou- sand ways to express their meaning, and preachers have caught them up at every Passion-tide — Ecu Homo! "Behold the Man!" It was a sight to draw tears even from the flinty rock, but it roused no sense of shame, and stirred no chord of compas- sion. It made the obdurate Jews even more clamorous for the execution of their wicked will, and awoke a still fiercer 1 Her name is given in Ecclesiastical tradition both as Procla and Claudia Procla. She is said to have become a Christian afterwards, and has been canonised by the Greek Church. 2 It was regarded as a Divine interposition by many of the Fathers, — Origen, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Hilary, Augustine, etc. For the influence such a dream was likely to have upon a Roman at this time, cf. Suetonius, August. 91, and Julius Caesar, 81. 3 The probable site of the scourging has been discovered by Captain Warren among the ruins of the Praetorium. It is "a truncated column, no part of the construction, for the chamber is vaulted above the pillar, but just such a pillar as criminals would be tied to to be scourged." Fergusson fixes the date at not later than the Herodian period. Cf.Westcott on S. John xix. 1. v . 6-15 crnd the Condemnation 359 outbreak than before : " Crucify Him," " Crucify Him." But Pilate would not relent ; we are even told that he took steps to release Him, and then their last device was tried — the desperate effort 1 reserved till all else had failed : "If thou let this Man go, thou art not Caesar's friend." And he yielded at once. That name of Caesar acted like a potent spell, and made a slave of one " to whom political success was as the breath of life." The craven fear of imperial displeasure com- pelled him to bow to the will he had so long resisted. "Already in imagination the wretched man saw himself in the presence of his gloomy and suspicious master, informed against, condemned, degraded, banished." 2 His sense of justice and his strongest convictions all were swept away in an instant as by a whirlwind ; and for the pride of worldly station and the favour of an earthly king he has gained the execration of Christendom, and eternal shame before God and man. 1 It is the first time they say anything calculated to irritate him and set him against them. It was a threat he might or might not resent — they knew not which. 2 Traditions vary as to the scene of his banishment. Either Vienne on the Rhone, or the neighbourhood of Mons Pilatus, near Lucerne. Cf, Scott, in Anne of Geierstein. LXXIV ^ije ®$otk 3|atjeja(titure, and bearing tlje Crogg S. Mark xv. 16-22 16. And the soldiers led Him away And when they had mocked Him, into the hall, called Prastorium ; and they took off the purple from Him, they call together the whole band. and put His own clothes on Him, and 17. And they clothed Him with led Him out to crucify Him. 21. purple, and platted a crown of thorns, And they compel one Simon a Cyren- and put it about His head, 18. and ian, who passed by, coming out of the began to salute Him, Hail, King country, the father of Alexander and of the Jews. 19. And they smote Rufus, to bear His cross. Him on the head with a reed, and 22. And they bring Him unto the did spit upon Him, and bowing place Golgotha, which is, being in- their knees worshipped Him. 20. terpreted, The place of a skull. If we were reading the narrative for the first time, when we had reached this point, we should experience a great sense of relief; we should feel that now Jesus is taken out of the hands of His countrymen, with all their intense spite and animosity, at least He will be subjected to no unnecessary suffering. He had provoked no retaliation from the Romans : He had spoken no bitter things against them. No " Woe unto you, ye heathen ! " had ever made them quail beneath His righteous anger. But prophecy must be fulfilled. It was ordained that He should drain the cup of suffering to the dregs ; and so just when no cruelty was expected, there it was exercised upon Him in its most brutal form. All the agents of evil were let loose in that " hour and power of darkness," and all alike, young and old, Jew and Gentile, became confederate against Him. " The soldiers led Him away into the hall, called Prastorium, and they call together the whole band." The headquarters ch. xv. v. 16-22 The Mock Investiture 361 of the Roman army of occupation were at Caesarea, but a detachment was kept in Jerusalem to overawe the populace, who chafed at foreign rule, and were always ready to rise in rebellion. 1 This cohort had their barracks round the quad- rangle of the palace. As soon then as Pilate's body-guard had conceived the idea of ill-treating the Prisoner, they called out all their comrades to take part in their cruel sport. They had heard Jesus charged with claiming the imperial dignity, and they resolved to give it to Him in mockery, and see how He would bear His royal honours. They fetched from the guard-room some cast-off scarlet cloak of one of their generals, 2 or perhaps from the Praetorian wardrobe a purple robe, such as Caesar wore when he took the field ; whichever it was, it was intended to represent a royal dress. Then they crowned Him. We usually think of it as with an Eastern diadem ; but it was far more probably in imitation of the victor's wreath, which the Emperor of the time was so fond of wearing, as the statues of Tiberius abundantly testify. One of the soldiers must have run into the garden of the palace, or down the rocky valley hard by, and gathered a handful of thorny bram- ble ; of what kind 3 it was, has been often disputed. Those who thought most of the infliction of pain fixed on an Acanthus, with long spikes that sting as well as prick ; others who saw in the crowning more of mockery than cruelty chose the Nebk — the Spina Christi — which, with its pliant twigs and bright ivy-like leaves, best recalls the imperial wreath. Which- ever it was, it is enough for us to feel, as an evidence of the restitution wrought by the Incarnation, that what sprang from the ground as a curse on Adam's transgression, was woven into a crown, and worn by Christ. Next a tall reed was brought and thrust into His hand for a royal sceptre, and the picture was complete — the mock in- vestiture finished. Then the derisive homage began. It was not a single act of mockery ; for S. Mark, who is so precise in 1 The whole detachment numbered from 400 to 600 men. 2 S. Mark speaks of it as '* purple : " S. Matthew as " scarlet :" possibly it was scarlet with the purple " laticlave." The ancients did not distinguish colours very accurately. 3 In Christian Art it is usually represented by a wreath of leafless twigs with long thorns. S. Chrysostom favours the idea that the coronation was for mockery : " they insulted Him with the crown of thorns." 362 The Mock Investiture, chap, xv his language, uses tenses 1 throughout which imply repetition. Not improbably, therefore, the whole cohort passed by before Him, each one kneeling as he passed, and mingling some word or act of insult with his mock obeisance. No sooner was this derisive exhibition concluded than Pilate led Jesus forth, wearing the mimic insignia of royalty, for his last appeal to the people. We have seen with what re- sult. 2 He was brought back only to be stripped of the scarlet cloak, and led forth to die. Where the Via Dolorosa or " Way of the Cross " began we may conjecture with confidence, for the site of the Prsetorium, from which it led, has been fixed ; but where it ended, is wrapped in obscurity. Tradition, however, has not hesitated to mark out the whole route. Particular spots connected with certain events — some recorded in Scripture, some not — are pointed out to the traveller ; and many a pilgrim, believing that he was literally treading in the footsteps of our blessed Lord, has gone barefoot from the beginning to the end. But the path which those holy feet really trod on that terrible day is buried, and everything associated with it, deep beneath that which now meets the eye. The scene of the Crucifixion was called by the Evangelists, in Aramaic, Golgotha, in Latin, Calvary, and, as interpreted, the " place of a skull." Familiar illustrations, in which skulls and bones lie whitening on the ground, have led us to look upon it as especially associated with the dead. But we would notice that it is not called the place of skulls, but of a skull. It was not the custom of the Jews to leave bodies unburied ; and we may be quite sure that a wealthy man, like Joseph of Arimathaea, would not have fixed his garden or pleasure-ground in close proximity to any spot ceremonially unclean. Golgotha was simply a rounded knoll, bare perhaps of trees and grass, in shape like a skull, 3 lying beyond the gate in the suburbs of the city. But whatever the road may have been by which Jesus went 1 The imperfect, Ztvtttov, heirrvov, irpoaeKvvovv. 2 Cf. p. 358. 3 S. Luke says, "the place which is called 'a skull,'" not, as the other Evangelists, " of a skull." The Hebrew word is derived from a root signify- ing to roll, hence "round." There is nothing in the Gospels to indicate that it was a "mountain." This is traditional. v. 16-22 and bearing the Cross 363 to the scene of His death, we know that those who led Him out compelled Him to carry the instrument of His execution on His Own shoulders. Christian Art has misled us in its re- presentation of what it was that He carried. It was then the usual custom in cases of crucifixion to make the condemned criminal bear to the place of execution, not the whole cross — this in the majority of cases after the exhaustion produced by the scourging which preceded, would have been physically impossible — but only the two transverse beams. They were tied or lightly nailed together in the shape of the letter V , and placed like a yoke on the criminal's neck. Crucifixion was borrowed, we must remember, from the Romans, and the Roman convict certainly so carried them, as we may gather from the name which he received in consequence, furcifer — 11 forkbearer >n — the most contemptible designation which a Roman could receive. Now we are told that for some reason or other, the soldiers "pressed into the service" one Simon, to help to bear the burden. He who was thus honoured above all men — who alone was permitted to lend any human aid to the Great Sufferer in that awful hour — was one of the African Jews, of whom there were sufficient in Jerusalem to have a synagogue of their own. He was returning from his work in the field with his two boys, Alexander and Rums, 2 when he was rudely seized and compelled to aid in bearing the Cross. In all probability he manifested some sympathy for Jesus, which drew attention to him ; and there is a most touching representa- tion of this feeling in one of a series of well-known pictures in Antwerp Cathedral. No sooner have they arrived at the place of execution than Simon, having done all that lay in his power, and seeing that they are about to nail Jesus to the Cross, unable any longer to endure the sight, takes his frightened boys by the hand and hurries them from the spot ; and theirs are the only faces which, in that vast crowd on Gol- gotha, are turned away from the Cross. And now we come to the point where, we think, the teach- 1 It was used like the English "gallows-bird "or " hang-dog." 2 It is a coincidence that S. Mark, writing especially for Romans, mentions the sons, who were probably well known to them, for S. Paul salutes Rufus in his Epistle to the Romans xvi. 13. 364 The Mock Investiture, chap, xv ing of Christian Art is at fault. Knowing how much sacred painting has done in bringing the Life of our Lord home to the hearts of men, remembering too out of our own experience the lasting, the ineffaceable impression which certain pictures have made upon the mind, we almost hesitate to say a word in disparagement; but it does seem that in one important point the great painters who have treated the subject have missed the truth. It all turns upon the reason why Simon was compelled to bear the Cross. Was it because our Lord was unable to bear it Himself, because, in short, He fell, as a late tradition says, three times prostrate beneath its weight ? or was it only because the soldiers were impatient, and though Jesus was Himself equal to the burden they had laid upon Him, they thought it would expedite matters to call in the assistance of another ! Men have learned to believe the first, but, in our judgment, erroneously. 1 Christ taught mankind by example almost more than by precept. Many of His great acts were, so to speak, typical, and the way in which He bore His Cross was to be an example and encouragement to those whom He told again and again to take up their cross and follow Him. Now if He had succumbed to the burden and sunk helpless to the ground, the example would have lost more than half its force. Christian Art, though probably it would have excited less compassion for the Sufferer, would have taught a truer and deeper lesson, if it had embodied the sentiment which pre- vailed in the earliest ages of the Church, when, under a pro- found sense of His all-sufficient power, men held that from the moment that the Cross was laid upon His shoulders till it was removed by other hands, He never proved unequal to the burden He was called on to bear. But though the lesson we ought to draw from this is that the faithful Christian must never lay down his cross, too many of us need to be reminded that it is incumbent upon us all to take it up. "Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come 1 There is an expression in S. Mark xv. 22 which may favour the idea that He was sinking beneath the burden — cptpovaiv avrbv — which may be, but is not necessarily, "they bear Him." In the A.V. it is "they bring Him." But even on the supposition that they actually carried Him, it is no proof that He could not have struggled through, had they not been so impatient to get the execution over. v. i6-22 and Bearing the Cross 365 after Me, cannot be My disciple." He does not say will not, but cannot be. It is as much an impossibility that we should be recognised as Christ's servants without discipline and self-denial, as that any man shall be able without holiness to gaze upon the Beatific Vision hereafter. We are all from our very birth apt and prone to sin ; and mortification of self is one of the great correctives placed within our reach by Him Who would have all men to be pure, even as He is pure. To crucify the flesh, then, with its affections and lusts, is a necessity of our being, and to take up the cross on our own shoulders is the first necessary step in the execution of our purpose. It was the realisation of this truth which gave birth to the watch- word of the martyrs in an earlier age : " No cross no crown." Bear the cross, and bear it bravely, till God's Own hand shall take it away ; then at the last we shall be able to say with all the confidence of S. Paul : " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me in that day," LXXV &t tlje pace of (Cjcecutfon S. Mark xv. 23-32 23. And they gave Him to drink He was numbered with the trans- wine mingled with myrrh : but He gressors. received it not. 24. And when they 29. And they that passed by railed had crucified Him, they parted His on Him, wagging their heads, and garments, casting lots upon them, saying, Ah, Thcni that destroyest the what every man should take. 25. temple, and buildest it in three days, And it was the third hour, and they 30. save Thyself, and come down from crucified Him. 26. And the super- the cross. 31. Likewise also the scription of His accusation was chief priests mocking said among written over, THE KING OF themselves with the scribes, He saved THE JEWS. 27. And with Him others; Himself He cannot save, they crucify two thieves ; the one 32. Let Christ the King of Israel de- on His right hand, and the other scend now from the cross, that we on His left. 28. And the scrip- may see and believe. And they that ture was fulfilled, which saith, And were crucified with Him reviled Him. It was probably as soon as they arrived at the place of cruci- fixion that the stupefying draught 1 was offered to our Lord. The compassionate women of Jerusalem were wont to provide it at their expense, and bribe the executioners to admin- ister it before the painful process of nailing the prisoner to the cross began. Jesus was parched with thirst, and would gladly have drunk it, as He took the proffered vinegar afterwards ; but when He recognised what it was, He refused to drink. He determined to look death in the face with all its possible horrors, and submit to the full penalty of the first transgression ; 1 Lightfoot quotes from the Talmud to prove that it was in fulfilment of the Scripture, "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish," — Prov. xxxi. 6. The reading of S. Matt, xxvii. 34 — "vinegar mingled with gall," according to the best MSS. is otvov for o£ov, and the right interpretation of the word rendered " gall " is found to be in harmony with S. Mark's account ; cf. Speaker's Com. on S. Matt, xxvii. 34. ch. xv. v. 23-32 At the Place of Execution 367 and no anodyne or soporific potion might cloud His faculties at such a time, or dull in the smallest degree the sharpness of the pain. It is probable, though not certain, that our Lord was nailed to the Cross while it lay upon the ground, and that it was then raised into its position, as is represented in the great picture of Rubens in Antwerp Cathedral. The shape of the Cross on which He suffered has been much debated. Some ancient Fathers, fancying they found a typical reference in the crossing of the hands over the head of the scape -goat, and in the peculiar mode in which Jacob blessed his grandsons, often assumed that it was in the form of what is commonly called a S. Andrew's Cross ; others again, seeing in the mystical mark or Tau set upon the foreheads of the righteous in Ezekiel's vision a foreshadowing of the Cross, concluded that it was like that which bears the name of S. Anthony, in form like a capital T. It is far more probable that it was what is known familiarly as the Latin Cross. It was prefigured by the transverse spits which the priest placed in the Paschal lamb. Its four arms, pointing to the four quarters of the globe, symbolised "the breadth and length and depth and height " of Christ's universal Church. It is a strong argument in favour of this form that " the inscription " was set above the head of the Crucified, which would be impossible in either of the other forms. After condemnation the grounds upon which a criminal had been found guilty were briefly inscribed upon a tablet. This was either hung round his neck or carried before him to the place of execution. This, in our Lord's case, was written by Pilate himself. In his desire to take his revenge for the humiliation to which the Jews had subjected him by compelling him to act in open violation of his expressed convictions, he bore an unconscious testimony to the truth — " This is the King of the Jews." And not only so, but he took steps to make it known in every quarter, when he wrote the inscription in " Hebrew and Latin l 1 This is the order in S. John xix. 20, according to the best MSS. The parallel passage in S. Luke xxiii. 38, "in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew," is of doubtful authority. It may be that different Evangelists have reproduced the differences of languages. The laconic "the King of the Jews," suggests at once "Rex Judceorum," and would be naturally chosen for Roman readers. 368 At the Place of Execution chap, xv and Greek." In Hebrew, that it might be read in the ver- nacular of the common people ; in Latin because it was the official language of the Government ; in Greek, to render it intelligible to the foreigners, amongst whom that tongue was widely spoken. These were the three great languages of the world; they " gathered up," it has been beautifully said, "the results of the religious, the social, the intellectual preparation for Christ, and in each witness was given to His office." No sooner was the Cross secured in its place than the executioners began to appropriate the clothes of the Crucified. They were their customary perquisite. The act deserves our attention, because it is one of those details which had been pre- dicted ages before with such remarkable exactness : " They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots." It is commonly supposed that the outer garments were cut up or torn into four parts, for there was a quaternion of soldiers, and the language of S. John appears to favour this view : "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part ; and also His coat (or tunic) : now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, 1 but cast lots for it, whose it shall be : that the Scripture might be fulfilled." If, however, our Lord was clothed as an ordinary Jewish Rabbi, He would wear a tunic, a cloak, a head-dress, a girdle, and sandals or shoes. The last four would be distributed, one to each executioner. What direct motives prompted them to set aside the tunic to be drawn for by lot, rather than any other part, we cannot tell ; but on the authority of S. John we are compelled to believe that it was so overruled for the ful- filment of prophecy. The time of the crucifixion is fixed by S. Mark at the "third hour," while S. John says that it was "about the sixth hour " when Pilate yielded to the clamour of the Jews, and "delivered Him unto them to be crucified." 1 It appears as though "let us not rend it " pointed to the other garments having been rent; but had this been so, "it" would probably have been emphasised. One piece was over after the distribution, and the only alter- native was to divide or cast lots for it. For reference to Jewish dress, cf. Edersheim, i. 621-6. The common tunic was made in two pieces. Our Lord wore one made like that of the High Priest ; cf. Joseph. Antiq. iii. 7, 4. v. 23-32 At the Place of Execution 369 In all probability S. John followed the modern Western mode of reckoning the hours from midnight, for traces of this are found in Asia Minor, where he was living when he wrote. 1 Making a legitimate allowance for the qualifying expression, " about " the sixth hour, there is little difficulty in reconciling the statement with "the third hour" of S. Mark, i.e. nine o'clock 2 by the Hebrew reckoning ; especially as a considerable time would necessarily elapse between the " delivering up " and the actual crucifixion. To increase the ignominy of our Lord's death it had been prophesied 3 that He should be "numbered with the trans- gressors." The spirit of revenge which moved Pilate so strongly against the Jews led him unwittingly to further the eternal counsels of God. He had been forced to release Barabbas at their will, but there were others in prison for the same offence, "that had made insurrection with him." He will show what respect he has for the choice of the people, by crucifying the comrades 4 of their favourite side by side with Him Whom they hate. In the Apocryphal " Acts of Pilate," 5 which carries us back to the earliest times, their names are preserved as Dysmas and Gestas. S. Mark, following the first Gospel, records how they both joined in the general reproach of our Lord on the Cross. The passers-by jeered Him derisively for His boasted powers, and bade Him take that opportunity to prove their existence. The chief priests, afraid perhaps that the inscription might deceive the people, let them see what they thought of it by their taunting jibes, and asked Him in irony to give some 1 Cf. Westcott in loco for a full examination. 2 If it be maintained that S. John and S. Mark both followed the Hebrew mode of reckoning, then possibly the explanation may be found in regarding the "third hour" merely as a division of the day, corresponding to a " night watch," and embracing the whole time from three to six. S. Jerome sug- gested that the numerals representing three and six had been confused. 3 The verse is absent from the best MSS. It was probably a marginal note calling attention to the fulfilment, which our Lord had anticipated in S. Luke xxii. 37. 4 "The two thieves are designated by the same word as Barabbas, not thieves, Kke-wraL, merely, but robbers, Xr/arai, which points to the identity of crime ; and, taken in conjunction with S. Mark xv. 7, is almost conclusive as to the connection. 5 For a full account, cf. Westcott on S. John xix. add. note. 2 B 37° At the Place of Execution ch. xv. v. 23-32 evidence of His Royalty, that they might " see and believe." The heathen soldiers too took part in the mockery and insult ; but the wicked blasphemy reached its climax when those who were " in the same condemnation " reviled Him for His im- potence to save. Through all this Babel of invective the Redeemer was silent; not a single rejoinder escaped from His lips. The silence was only broken to speak pardon to a penitent soul : it was when an exhibition of unparalleled meekness touched the heart of one of the poor criminals hanging at His side. Realising, as by a sudden illumination, the awful gulf that lay between innocence and guilt, and reaching out with a faith that baffles comprehension, he begged the Crucified to re- member him when He should come in His kingdom ; and at once His lips were unsealed — to grant even more than he asked, " To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." LXXVI "ll?e ptie up tlje (Bljogt" S. Mark xv. 33-3S 33. And when the sixth hour was Elias. 36. And one ran and filled a come, there was darkness over the spunge/^// of vinegar, and put it on whole land until the ninth hour. 34. a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, And at the ninth hour Jesus cried Let alone ; let us see whether Elias with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, will come to take Him down. lama SABACHTHANi ? which is, being 37. And Jesus cried with a loud interpreted, My God, My God, why voice, and gave up the ghost. 38. hast Thou forsaken Me? 35. And And the veil of the temple was some of them that stood by, when rent in twain from the top to the they heard it, said, Behold, He calleth bottom. At this point a manifest change seems to pass over the scene of the Crucifixion. Up to this hour Jesus has borne all that was laid upon Him without a murmur or complaint of any kind ; His only thoughts have been for others — for His mur- derers, for the penitent robber, for His desolate Mother ; and so far not a word of sympathy has been uttered. But now the climax of the Agony is reached, and where the voice of man is silent, Nature speaks. Darkness fell upon the whole land 1 of Judaea. It was doubtless limited in its area, not widely dissimilar from that which happened at the Exodus, when " there was a darkness in all the land of Egypt three days," while all "the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." It is true that a great 1 The expression ' ' the whole land " is ambiguous. If it may not be strictly limited to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, it must be interpreted as an Orientalism common to Scriptural phraseology. Cf. S. Matt. iv. 9, S. Luke iv. 25, Acts ii. 5, S. James v. 17. 372 " He gave up the Ghost" chap, xv earthquake and noonday eclipse x did occur in this year, as we learn from the testimony of more than one ancient writer, but the extinction of light of which the Evangelists write cannot be scientifically accounted for on natural principles. And surely if a miraculous brightness had illumined the night to signalise the birth of God Incarnate, we need not wonder that the heavens should have gathered a supernatural blackness in token of His death. Now it was out of this thick gloom, or perhaps just as the light broke out again to symbolise that His struggle with the powers of darkness was over, that He uttered that most mysterious cry, "My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me ? " A cloud had passed between His human soul and His Father's face : He had been driven like the scapegoat bearing the people's sins into the very wilderness of desolation. It was a cry of immeasurable alienation, but in its very accents it implied that union had been restored. "Even from the remotest bound of a nature thus traversed in all the measures of its infirmity for man's salvation, the Saviour cried unto God as His God, yea and He c was heard in that He feared.' " Whether the language He used was the Hebrew " Eli " or the Aramaic " Eloi," 2 there was something in the cry that recalled to the spectators the name of Elijah. If they were Jews, it may have been that in their bewilderment they caught only the first syllable, and with their superstitious fears quickened by the preternatural darkness, thought that "the great and dreadful day " was at hand. If, on the other hand, they were Romans, they must have seen how the people regarded Elijah, the patron saint of the distressed, and lived in expectation that he would appear in every crisis of difficulty and danger. It was not unnatural then that they hastened to the conclusion that the Crucified was calling for His deliverer. 1 This is on the evidence of Phlegon, a freedman, of Adrian. He says that ' ' there was a greater eclipse than any yet known, and that the sixth hour of the day becajne night." Strauss and others bring forward numerous parallels of darkness occurring simultaneously with the deaths of great men, and conclude that the Evangelists adopted a superstitious belief. 2 S. Mark usually gives the exact form of our Lord's words, so we may conclude that it was " Eloi," though of course it makes it harder to understand how it could be mistaken for Elijah. v. 33-3 8 " He gave tip the Ghost" 373 While they were waiting another cry was heard, " I thirst ; " and, moved to pity, one of the soldiers took the sponge from the neck of the earthen jar, and, dipping it in the wine, which they had provided for the sentry, held it on a reed or stalk of hyssop to His dying lips. The penalty of sin had been fully paid, its curse had been borne in all its intolerable weight, death was imminent, and He accepted the draught. Then followed the loud voice — an unwonted precursor of death, for Jesus died as none other died, and that cry was the last proof He could give of His power — the fulfilment of His Own declaration, " no man taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself." 1 At that moment " the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." The significance of this occur- rence is full of interest, and worthy of the closest consideration. The whole structure of the Tabernacle, upon which the Temple was modelled, was one of a complex and profound symbolism, such as befitted a plan drawn by no human architect, but revealed by God. It was divided into three parts, — an Outer Court, the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies. The whole congregation of Israel were admitted into the first, the priests into the second, the High Priest alone into the third; and they represented in type respectively the World, the Church, and Heaven. Both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies were entered through a veil or curtain called the outer and the inner, or sometimes the first and the second. Which of the two veils was it which was rent in twain, when Jesus gave up the ghost ? The early Fathers, with the exceptions of two of the greatest, Origen and S. Jerome, and nearly every modern commentator, have concluded that it was the inner or second veil. From this view we dissent 2 upon the follow- ing grounds : It is commonly assumed that the rent signified that henceforward heaven was opened to all believers through the death of Christ. But is this true ? Was not the effect of the Passion the unsealing of mysteries confined before to the Jewish nation ? Was it not the breaking down of " the middle 1 S. John x. 17, 18. S. Augustine says, "non earn deseruit invitus, sed quia voluit, quando voluit, quomodo voluit." 2 Two modern writers agree more or less with the view here stated, viz., Douglas in ' ' Jerusalem the Golden, " and Willis in ' ' The Worship of the Old Covenant." Hug also accepts this interpretation. 374 " He gave tip the Ghost" chap, xv wall of partition " which excluded the Gentiles ? Was it not, in short, the throwing open of the gates of the Church, so that there should no longer be any distinction between circumcision and uncircumcision, bond and free, male and female ? " In Christ Jesus," says the Apostle, "ye who were sometime afar off were made nigh by the blood of Christ." The Church was henceforward to be composed not of one but of all nations; it was necessary therefore that this should be foreshadowed in type. It could only be done by destroying the curtain which concealed the chamber that represented the Church, i.e. the Holy Place, not the Holy of Holies. But if the second or inner veil 1 was not rent at the Crucifixion, what change was effected in respect to the Holy of Holies, which symbolised heaven ? By the death of Christ apparently none. Whatever change passed over this resulted from His Ascension j but it was not so great that it deserved to be marked by the rending of that which precluded the general admission. Now what was the change ? The inner veil shrouded the Presence of God from the common gaze ; and when the High Priest entered, the mystical Shekinah might only be seen through a cloud of incense. This obscuration of the Divine Glory was provided for in a remarkable manner. We learn from the Mishnah that the curtain was a double one, with a space between about a cubit in width. When the High Priest passed into this intervening space, before he drew aside that which hung next to the inner Chamber, he poured incense over the glowing brazier in his hand, and, entering with downcast eyes, waited to look up till the smoke had completely filled the place. It was a merciful provision, Moses says, to save the High Priest from death, which he must have incurred had he looked upon the full brightness of the Divine Presence. But the vision of God is no longer veiled to our High Priest, for He sees It in all its undimmed glory, even face to 1 In the Hebrew, different words are used for the two veils ; and generally KaraTreraaixa, that here used, represents in the LXX. the inner, and KdXvfxfxa the outer, but by no means universally, as is too commonly asserted. Cf. Ex. xxvi. 37, xxxviii. 18, xl. 6, 8, 19 ; Numb. iii. 26, all cited by Willis. Further, it is KaraireTaafxa vaov, i.e. that part which contained both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. If it were the veil of the latter only, we should have expected ayiuv ayiwv. Cf. Heb. ix. 3. v. 33-38 " He gave itp the Ghost" 375 face. This at once connects the symbolism of the Inner Veil with the Ascension, not with the Crucifixion. This veil was not rent, because the heaven which it typically concealed is not yet thrown open for all to enter. We are still waiting without — some on earth, some in Paradise. Our Forerunner has entered, and His entrance is the pledge by which we may have boldness to believe that we shall one day follow, even by that " new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh ; " but as yet we may only do so by faith, for the road will be really trodden by no other feet till the Resurrection. We can no more say that we are free to enter heaven than the Jewish nation could have claimed that they had access to the Holy of Holies. They could enter in the person of their representative High Priest, and so can we by ours, but only in Him, not with Him. We can be there in hope, not in reality. For the actual admission in our own persons we must wait till the veil is for ever rent or removed, as it will be at the general Resurrection. It was, then, we believe, a rent in the outer veil, made as it were by the hand of God Himself, that must have terrified the Jewish worshippers as they flocked into the Temple at the hour when Christ expired upon the Cross. But, like all the other preternatural signs, it left the hardened Jews more obdurate than before. It seems incredible to us that they could have withstood such irresistible evidence. "The heavens had rejoiced at Christ's birth ; a new star had sprung into light, and a company of angels filled the air with their song. The sea had acknow- ledged Him, and made itself a pathway for His footsteps ; the earth trembled to its centre at His death ; the sun knew Him, and withdrew its shining; but though the whole material world bowed down before Him, the unbelieving Jews refused Him His due, and, harder even than the rocks, showed no sign of repentance," and they now reap the fruits of their unbelief. LXXVII Haiti fn tfje d^ratje S. Mark xv. 39-47 39. And when the centurion, which waited for the kingdom of God, stood over against Him, saw that He came, and went in boldly unto so cried out, and gave up the ghost, Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus, he said, Truly this Man was the Son 44. And Pilate marvelled if He were of God. 40. There were also women already dead : and calling unto him looking on afar off : among whom the centurion, he asked him whether was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the He had been any while dead. 45. mother of James the Less and of And when he knew it of the centurion, Joses, and Salome ; 41. (who also, he gave the body to Joseph. 46. when He was in Galilee, followed And he bought fine linen, and took Him, and ministered unto Him ;) Him down, and wrapped Him in and many other women which came the linen, and laid Him in a sepul- up with Him unto Jerusalem. chre which was hewn out of a 42. And now when the even was rock, and rolled a stone unto the come, because it was the prepara- door of the sepulchre. 47. And tion, that is, the day before the sab- Mary Magdalene and Mary the bath, 43. Joseph of Arimathaea, an mother of Joses beheld where He honourable counsellor, which also was laid. Every Roman legion was divided into twenty companies, each numbering, when the army was on a war footing, a hundred soldiers, and commanded by an officer hence called a "cen- turion." The one of whom we are reading doubtless belonged to the detachment stationed in Antonia ; and when the qua- ternion of soldiers was told off to see the execution duly carried out, such was the interest and excitement aroused, he deemed it advisable to accompany them himself. He witnessed, therefore, all that took place from the time that Jesus left the Praetorium ; and there were many things 1 1 In S. Matt, xxvii. 54 it is said that his confession was due to ' ' the earth- quake and those things that were done ; " but there is a diversity of reading, ch. xv. v. 39-47 Laid in the Grave 377 that filled him with wonder. He knew well how a Roman could set his face as flint, and meet death without a sign of fear; he had no doubt often seen it on the field of battle. But there was something in our Lord's whole demeanour, in His forgetfulness of self, in His thoughtful care for others, and especially in His prayer that those who were crucifying Him might be forgiven, which was quite beyond his experience. He was amazed, too, at the manner of His death, — at the loud expiring cry ; and when, in addition to all this, he felt the very ground quake beneath his feet, he gave utterance to the conviction forced upon him by these things, in the memorable confession : " Truly this was a righteous Man ; this was the Son of God." 1 We must interpret the testimony by the standard of the centurion's knowledge, not by that of Christian faith. It is quite possible that he knew something of the Messianic expectations of the Jews and of the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God (for the title was one which the priests frequently cast in His teeth as He hung upon the Cross), and it may be that he had come to the conclusion that One Who could deport Himself as He had done, what- ever claims He made, could be no Pretender. But it is perhaps more probable that he looked at the whole scene simply from the heathen standpoint, and felt that he had had before him a character that approached nearer to his own ideal of righteousness than anything he had ever seen before. Whichever interpretation we accept, it was a noble witness to the truth ; and to the lasting honour of him who bore it, no less than three Evangelists have been guided by the Holy Spirit to place it on record. From the heathen centurion we turn to the Jewish disciple, Joseph of Arimathaea. The part that he played in the last offices for the Dead has been deemed worthy of even greater honour, for it finds a place in all the Gospels. Apart from this a special interest attaches to his name for Englishmen, from his supposed connection with this country. He is one of the few Scriptural names that are associated with ra yei>6/j.eva, i.e. all that had happened, and ret yi.v6/xeva, the things that were happening at the time of the earthquake. The former, which has the greater authority, has been accepted in the above. 1 S. Matt, and S. Mark give the latter, S. Luke the former half. Probably the real utterance combined both. 37 8 Laid in the Grave chap, xv the early legends of British history. He shares the distinction with Pudens, Claudia, and S. Paul. Tradition says that he was sent by S. Philip as a missionary to this island, and that, settling at Glastonbury, he erected the first Christian church in Britain, made of wicker twigs, on the site where the noblest abbey was subsequently built. His pilgrim's staff, which he drove into the ground, is said to have taken root and grown into an umbrageous thorn, to protect him from the heat. We smile perhaps at the legend, but it was only the romantic dress in which an imaginative age clothed an important truth. It tells how, from a small and unpretending enter- prise, the founder, whoever he may have been, was able to raise up a vast monastery, within the walls of which he took refuge himself, and offered means of shelter to others from the bustle and turmoil of the world. But all this rests upon uncertain authority. In the Gospels we read that he was a native of Arimathaea, in all probability the later name of Ramathaim, 1 where Samuel was born. He was a man both of birth 2 and position, enjoying the highest dignity coveted by a Jew as a member of the Supreme Council of the nation. He was the only councillor of whom we know for certain that in the trial before the Sanhedrim he gave his vote for our Lord's acquittal. It is extremely probable that Nicodemus did the same, though it is not recorded. They were men between whom we may trace many correspondences, 3 both in social position and in natural temperament. The con- duct of both in connection with the Burial of our Lord bespeaks forethought and preparation. It is not improbable that, when they realised that they could do nothing to avert the execution of the sentence, they determined that, though unable to help Him while living, they would at least honour Him in His death. So it was that Joseph prepared, or resolved to give 1 There are no less than eight places, each of which has been claimed as its modern representative. 2 This is generally implied by eiKrxwtiv. 3 Both were Sanhedrists, both rich. If Nicodemus is identified with Nico- demus Ben Gorion, of Talmudic fame, he was proverbially wealthy. He was a timid follower of Jesus at first, coming to Him "by night" only, but after- wards braved everything for Jesus' sake. So too with Joseph, — the attention called to his becoming bold implies that he was making a venture alien to his natural temperament. v. 39-47 Laid in the Grave 379 up, the newly-made tomb, which he had designed for himself ; and that Nicodemus procured, by a lavish expenditure, spices for embalming far in excess of the usual requirements. It was the custom of the Romans to leave the bodies of the crucified to waste away upon the cross, or to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. The Jewish law, resting on the belief that crucifixion was "a reproach to God," 1 ordered that bodies should be removed before sunset and buried. The place of burial was the polluted Valley of Hinnom, amidst all that was unclean and vile, where the worm of corruption never died. But it had been foretold ages before by David that the Holy One should " see no corruption," and Isaiah had declared that His should be no unhonoured grave, but that He should rest "with the rich in His death." Now, as soon as Joseph learned that Jesus had given up the ghost, he waxed bold, and went in to the Praetorium, and, caring nothing for the dangers he encountered by such a ven- ture, begged of Pilate that the Body of the Crucified might be given to him. It was a common custom for Roman governors to yield to such a request only on consideration of a bribe in money ; and Philo has suggested that Joseph had recourse to the expedient, but the statement of S. Mark that Pilate " gave " — in the original it is "gave as a free favour" — the Body to him contradicts the idea. The request seems to have taken him by surprise ; he could hardly believe it possible that Jesus was dead, for in crucifixion criminals usually lingered for two days or more. The answer, however, to his inquiries from the officer who was responsible for the due execution of the sen- tence, satisfied him that He had been dead some time, 2 sufficiently long to preclude the possibility of a swoon being mistaken for death. The readiness with which the petition was granted affords additional evidence of the spirit of revenge which seems to have stirred Pilate so strongly against the Jews after their victory over him. To rescue the Body of Jesus from the 1 The Hebrew in Deut. xxi. 23, literally rendered, is "a curse of God is he that hangeth " etc. , and the Jews debated whether the ambiguous phrase implied that it was a curse pronounced by God, or, so to speak, felt by Him, i.e. a reproach to Him. The latter was generally accepted, because so many Jewish patriots were hanged. 2 el 7rd\cu aircdavcv. 380 Laid in the Grave ch. xv. v. 39-47 common fate of criminals, and to deliver it up for an honour- able burial at the hands of a wealthy citizen like Joseph, was an act of retaliation in exact accord with his feelings towards them, and a rebuff well calculated to sting them to the quick. The centurion gave up the Body according to the Gover- nor's directions, and from that moment no indignity could be offered to it. Joseph and Nicodemus, with their attendants, carried it into the sepulchre. They would pass through the entrance into an open court or chamber, in the rocky sides of which the recesses were cut, and there paid the last offices that the utmost reverence and care could suggest. They laid the Sacred Form in the most honourable niche, and rolled the Golal — the round flat mill-stone — before the entrance ; then the Sabbath began, and all were at rest. "And Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses, beheld where He was laid." It has been beautifully said that " it is the glory of woman that she seldom forsakes those she loves, even when things are darkest." It finds its fullest illus- tration in the example of those who, when all the disciples, save the one who was most like them in womanly devotion and love, had forsaken Him, took their station at the foot of the Cross : who, when driven back by the soldiers, or priests and rulers, watched with anxious gaze from a distance, and, when all was over, were unable to tear themselves from His grave. Their love and devotion received its reward, for it was to them that He Whom they loved gave the first manifestation of His risen life ; and it was they who were chosen to bear the glad tidings of His victory to the sorrowful disciples. LXXVIII ^Ije 2Detiout Wonwx S. Mark xvi. i-8 i. And when the sabbath was past, right side, clothed in a long white Mary Magdalene, and Mary the garment ; and they were affrighted. mother of James, and Salome, had 6. And he saith unto them, Be not bought sweet spices, that they might affrighted : Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, come and anoint Him. 2. And very Which was crucified : He is risen ; He early in the morning the first day of is not here : behold the place where the week, they came unto the sepulchre they laid Him. 7. But go your way, at the rising of the sun. 3. And they tell His disciples and Peter that He said among themselves, Who shall goeth before you into Galilee : there roll us away the stone from the door shall ye see Him, as He said unto you. of the sepulchre ? 4. And when they 8. And they went out quickly, and looked, they saw that the stone was fled from the sepulchre ; for they trem- rolled away : for it was very great. bled and were amazed : neither said 5. And entering into the sepulchre, they any thing to any man ; for they they saw a young man sitting on the were afraid. When the stone was rolled to the door of the sepulchre, and Joseph and Nicodemus went their way, two at least of the devout women remained watching. How long they kept their holy vigil we are not told ; neither is the least record given, of what it would be so interesting to know, in what way the Sabbath that followed that terrible day was spent by those heart-broken mourners. Knowing as we do, how the holiest men and women have found comfort in the services of the Sanctuary, when their hearts have been burdened with grief, we can feel almost sure that they went to the Temple at the appointed hours. If so, the sight that met their gaze as they entered must have inspired them with fresh awe, for full in view before the throng of worshippers was the great curtain of the Holy Place, rent in twain from the ceiling to the pave- 382 The Devout Women chap, xvi ment. They would go back to their homes only to ponder in yet deeper amazement on all that had happened. As soon as the Sabbath was over, after the sun had set, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, went out to buy spices for a further embalming of the Sacred Body. 1 In the haste of the burial, though everything no doubt was done with reverence, much was left which the tender ministries of women 2 could alone supply, and they hastened to fulfil their hallowed task. It would seem from a comparison of the several accounts that there were two companies ; possibly those from Jerusalem in the one, those who had their home at the more distant Bethany in the other. They all set out, no doubt by pre-arrangement, in the morning watch, and the first to arrive at the sepulchre was Mary Magdalene. In her passionate impatience to see once more the Form of Him, to Whom she owed so much, she outstripped her companions. The first glimpse of the sacred spot was enough ; it was still dark, but she could see "the stone taken away from the sepulchre," and without waiting to examine, she hastened to the conclusion that the Body must have been removed by violence, and ran back to Jerusalem to tell her apprehensions to S. Peter and S. John, under whose roof the Blessed Mother had found a home. Meanwhile the women whom she had left drew near to the place. They had not thought of any obstacles to impede them in the execution of their pious errand ; they had not heard that the Jews had placed a sentry over the tomb ; but suddenly a difficulty occurred to one of them, and it was taken up by all, and formed a subject of anxious conversation. 3 They had seen the force that was required when Joseph and his servants 4 1 "Had Dought" in the A.V. is misleading. It is the aorist, Tjybpaaav , not the pluperfect. If they remained till after sunset on Friday watching by the tomb, they could have had no opportunity before this of making their purchase. Some, it is said, did prepare their spices on Friday evening, but not these. S. Luke xxiii. 56. 2 Though Christian Art has commonly represented the women as taking part in the Burial, there is no authority for it in Scripture. The men buried our Lord, the women sat over-against the sepulchre and beheld where He was laid. 3 The imperfect tense implies that it was a subject of continued talk and anxiety. 4 There is no mention of these ; but as Joseph's house was close by, and it was impossible for him to do it without help, they would naturally be called. v. 1-8 The Devout Women 383 had rolled the " great stone " to the entrance ; and they were oppressed with fear, lest after all, their wishes might be frustrated. But immediately the sun rose, and they saw to their amazement that the stone had been already rolled back from its place. The description of their perplexity, so life-like and true to nature, is given by S. Mark alone. It is another of the beautiful little touches that lend such grace to the Gospel that is fullest of human affections and feeling. As soon as they entered the sepulchre they found that their Lord was risen. At what precise moment He burst the bands of death we cannot say ; it was doubtless simultaneously with " the great earthquake " (which they must have felt as they drew near), for, as Nature had been moved when her Lord laid down His life, so would she manifest her recognition when He willed to take it again. But the fact of the Resurrection was declared to them by a messenger from heaven. Angels had proclaimed His birth : had appeared to Mary and Joseph and the shepherds : had ministered to Him in the wilderness : had strengthened Him in Gethsemane ; and they came now to assure His followers of the Resurrection, as they did forty days later, after He had ascended, to promise His reappearance at the final consumma- tion. The stone had been rolled away, not for the Lord to come forth, for He, Who needed not that doors should be un- locked or gates thrown open for His admission, could be held back by no material barrier ; but the angel had down come to give the women an entrance into His tomb, and to deliver His message. And this was the glad tidings : " Tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee : thei,e shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." It was a deeply significant word that the angel used — " goeth before you." In fulfilment of prophecy, He Himself had been smitten, and His flock had been scattered, like sheep not having a shepherd. As soon as the armed multitude had closed around Him at the gates of Gethsemane, terror had seized them, as when a wolf cometh, and they "all forsook Him and fled ;" but He would gather His Own together again, and they should know His voice and follow Him, and be one flock once more. 384 The Devout Women chap, xvi We wonder, perhaps, why this should be singled out for a special announcement from all His intended appearances, and why Galilee should have been selected for the scene of the manifestation. It was not only because it was to be in the presence of the whole company of believers, witnessed "by above five hundred brethren at once ; " but far more, perhaps, in view of His intention there to commie to them in their Apostolic brotherhood His solemn charge, and assure them of His abiding Presence. And why was Galilee 1 to be thus favoured above Judaea and Jerusalem ? It was Galilee of the Gentiles ; and the com- mission they were to receive was not for Jews only, but for Gentiles — for every nation and people and tongue. It was fitting, therefore, that the meeting-place — the very soil that they trod — should lend force to the comprehensiveness of the message : " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." For what reason, again, was S. Peter chosen to be an in- dividual recipient of the glad tidings? The selection is re- corded in this Gospel alone, and its mention is due, no doubt, to the Apostle himself, to whom it was of such vital moment. There is something exceedingly touching in the addition. Jesus knew well that the piercing look which He had cast upon S. Peter as he crossed His path in the High Priest's court had left him crushed beneath the weight of his terrible sin. He knew, too, how he would be filled with a sense of utter unworthiness, and might think himself excluded for ever from the Apostolic company. And this was an anticipation of the assurance He had in store for him of complete forgiveness, and of restitution to his forfeited office. It was doubtless out of the same longing to deliver His dis- ciple from this crushing despair that He was unable to wait for the promised meeting in Galilee, and, as we are told, before the sun had set on that very day He "appeared unto Simon." What passed between them has not been revealed, but it needs no prophet's skill to divine at least the import of the Redeemer's words : " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 1 Nowhere else but in Galilee could such a large body of believers be gathered together. v. 1-8 The Devout Women 385 The account of the devout women concludes with their in- stantaneous departure to fulfil the behest : " They went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre." All that they had seen and heard filled them with amazement, and sealed their lips to all whom they met on their way to the city, " neither said they any thing to any man, for they were afraid ; " but when they found the disciples, they told the glad tidings with exclamations of joy. But what a disappointment awaited them ! Their words seemed but " as idle tales, and they believed them not." It is a reflection full of sadness that all alike were so " slow of heart to believe " what Jesus had told them of the re- surrection. The devout women seem never to have thought of it ; there is not the slightest hint, not the very faintest pre- sentiment, that they expected His words to come true, and that even without their ointment and spices His Body would see no corruption. The Apostles received message after message to assure them that He was alive and had been seen ; but it was not till they had touched Him standing in their midst, and had been assured by the manifestation of His wounds, till He had with His Own voice upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- ness of heart, that they were fully convinced. It is indeed sad that it should have been reserved for enemies alone to recall His forgotten promise, " After three days I will rise again." 2 c LXXIX ^Ijrce #ppeauance<3 on tlje 2Dap of tfje Ec^uiTcctton S. Mark xvi. 9-14 9. Now when Jesus was risen another form unto two of them, as early the first day of the week, He they walked, and went into the appeared first to Mary Magdalene, country. 13. And they went and out of whom He had cast seven told it unto the residue : neither be- devils. 10. And she went and told lieved they them, them that had been with Him, as they 14. Afterward He appeared unto mourned and wept. 11. And they, the eleven as they sat at meat, and when they had heard that He was upbraided them with their unbelief alive, and had been seen of her, and hardness of heart, because they believed not. believed not them which had seen 12. After that He appeared in Him after He was risen. If there is difficulty in weaving out of the fourfold record of the trial of our Blessed Lord a consistent whole, it is largely increased, when we attempt to harmonise the different narra- tives of His Risen Life. The hardness of this latter task arises in the main out of the evidently fragmentary character of this portion of His Sacred History. Ten 1 or more mani- festations of our Lord are described, each Evangelist mention- ing at least three, but no two Evangelists precisely the same 1 The best accredited order of the appearances is as follows : — 1. To Mary Magdalene alone. S. Mark xvi. 9 ; S. John xx. 14-17. 2. To the Women, i.e. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. S. Matt. xxviii. 9, 10. 3. To Simon. S. Luke xxiv. 34 ; 1 Cor. xv. 5. 4. To the Two Disciples going to Emmaus. S. Mark xvi. 12 ; S. Luke xxiv. 13-32. 5. To the Apostles, Thomas being absent. S. Mark xvi. 14 ; S. Luke xxiv. 36-49 ; S. John xx. 19, 20. ch. xvi. v. 9-14 The Three Appearances 387 three. Each fragment has, so to speak, a virtue peculiarly its own, 1 yet altogether combine in impressing us with one truth. It is that Christ rose, not merely to prove that He had con- quered death, but to teach men the possibilities of a higher life. Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus, and the widow's son, had risen to continue their former existence, and to die again. Jesus rose to live in His Risen Body a glorified life, and to die no more ; and herein He has given us an earnest and pledge, not only that we shall rise again, but that we shall be " changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." S. Mark has done little more than leave the briefest allu- sions to four of the Appearances during the forty days. It can hardly be doubted that he was guided to make his selection for the purpose of bringing into prominence the truth upon which we spoke at the close of the last chapter. Not once only, but three times he dwells upon the reluctance of the dis- ciples to believe the tidings of the Resurrection. When S. Peter and S. John found that Mary's fears were realised, they "went away again to their own home;" but she remained behind, struggling with an inconsolable grief, and unable to tear herself from the spot. And to her, first of all His followers, Jesus manifested Himself in His Risen Form. S. Mark gives no details of the scene ; for " S. John alone was capable of recording them in their incomparably beautiful conciseness and depth." "She turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if thou have borne 6. To the Apostles with Thomas. S. John xx. 26-29. 7. To Seven Disciples by the Sea of Galilee. S. John xx. 1-23. 8. To the Eleven in the presence of 500 brethren. S. Matt, xxviii. 16-20 ; S. Mark xvi. 15-18 ; Acts i. 3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6. 9. To S. James, the Lord's brother. 1 Cor. xv. 7. 10. The final appearance preceding the Ascension. S. Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 9 ; 1 Cor. xv. 7. Some harmonists have divided the eighth into two separate appearances. Probably our Lord appeared at other times, of which there is no record ; e.g. it is hard to believe that He did not show Himself unto His Mother. 1 The reader is referred to one of Dr. Westcott's most interesting and suggestive books, in which the characteristic features of each is drawn out, " The Revelation of the Risen Lord." 388 Three Appearances on the chap, xvi Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away." She did not recognise Him, for she was absorbed in her grief, and had no hope of the Resurrection, no thoughts but of death. " Jesus saith unto her, Mary ;" and the familiar tones touched a chord of sympathy, and brought back the associa- tions of the past. Then turning at once to satisfy herself that it was really true, she gathered the whole force of her new- found joy and conviction into the exclamation, " Rabboni," my Master ! 1 " She has no loftier title for Him than that which past ex- perience had made precious ; she assumes that the return to the old life exhausts the sum of her Master's victory over death;" and when she would have clung 2 to Him, He pointed her to the fact that, till He had ascended, she would not be able to enjoy that uninterrupted intercourse and closeness of union for which she longed. That could only be felt through the Presence of the Comforter, which depended on His return to the Father. Meanwhile He had a message to send to His brethren, and she should be the bearer of it : " Say unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God." What a shock of disappointment she must have felt, when they gave no credence to her word ! The second manifestation of which S. Mark speaks is that to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. 3 One was Cleo- pas, the other is unnamed. 4 They started that first Easter after- noon to go to a village a few miles distant ; their hearts were filled with sadness, for they in common with so many of our Lord's disciples had experienced a dreadful disaster. They had been living in expectation that Jesus had come to restore the fallen glories of their nation, and make the name and place 1 The interpretation given by the Evangelist excludes the idea that "Rabboni" expressed "my Divine Master," as has been suggested, cf. Westcott i?i loco. In the best MSS. it is, ' ' and said unto Him, in the Hebrew tongue, Rabboni." The termination i, which usually signifies " my," had probably lost its significance, as the Evangelist does not notice it. 2 It is more than " touch " in the original, cf. Col. i. 20, where its distinc- tion from dtyydvw is thus expressed — " don't handle a Recognition of the Saints, 190. Records of S. Peter's denial, 340. Regeneration, 87 n. Request of SS. James and John, the ambitious, 225. Resurrection, Old Testament testimony to the, 266. Moses on the, 267. declared by an Angel, 383. three appearances on the day of the, 386. appearances after the, 386 n. Return to Jerusalem, the Apostles', 393- Revolt of Barchochba, 25i. 2 D 402 Index Riha or Eriha, modern name for Jericho, 231 n. Ritual of the Jewish Sacrifice, 308. Roman and Anglican Churches on Divorce, 214. Roman eagles, the, 286 n. Legion, division of the, 376. Roof of an Eastern house, 38. Rufus and Alexander, 363. Ruler, the rich young, 220. identified with Lazarus, 221. Rules of the Sanhedrim, 344. SABiElSM, 292 n. Sacramental ordinances, anticipation of, 31. character of Holy Matrimony, 215. Sacrifice, necessity for, 209. Ritual of the Jewish, 308. Sacrificial aspect of the Hoiy Eucharist, 306. Sacrificial Blood, Christ's, 309. Sadducean difficulties, 264. Safed, description of, 82. Sagan, the term, 330 n. Salome, daughter of Herodias : her end, 133 n. Salt, why used in sacrifice, 209. covenant of, 210 n. Salvadora Persica, 89. Sanctification, 87 n. Sanctuary, desecration of the, by Antiochus, 285. Sanhedrim, our Lord before the, 343. rules of the, 344. Council of the Lesser, 335. Satan, power of, 199 n. Satanic influence, 199. Scene of the Transfiguration, 187. Scene of the Crucifixion, 362. Scribe, office of the, 269 n. Scripture, true way to interpret it, 206. Season for figs, the, 241 n. Separatists, the, 58. their motto, 271. Shammai and Hillel, 9. on divorce, 212. Shape of the Cross, 367. Shema, meaning of, 271. Shemoneh Esreh, 25 n. Shewbread, the, 53. Sick, unction of the, 127 n. Sign, demand for a, 170. Simon of Cyrene, 363. Site of the Guest-chamber, 302. Jericho in our Lord's time, 231. Slave, duties of a, 11 n. Son and Lord, David's, 274. Songs of Degrees, 135 n. Sower, parable of the, 75. explained, 80. Spikenard, 297 ?i. Spina Christi, the, 77, 361 n. Stilling of the storm, the, 94. Subdivision of the Law by the Scribes, 270. Sunset, time of, 99 n. Supper at Bethany, the, 297. the Last, 300. Swine, destruction of the, 104. Synagogue at Capernaum, the, 25. its identification, 26. its site, 26 n. lessons in the, 120 n. Synod of Elvira on divorce, 214. Syrophenician woman, the, 156. System, the Metayer, 255 n. Talmud or Gemara, 147. Temple, pinnacle of the, 17 n. cleansing of the, 244. motives for, 246. description of the, 280. treatment of it by Turnus Rufus, 280. attempt to rebuild the, 280. veil of the, 373. Temptation of our Lord, the, 15. its scene, 15. Testament, Old, testimony to the Resurrection, 266. Testimony of the Early Fathers, 1. Thorn in the flesh, the, 28 n. Thorns, crown of, 361. Tiberias, 21 n. Time of the Crucifixion, 368. Tishbite, the, 6 n. Tradition of the Elders, the, 145. Traditionalism, 151. Transfiguration, scene of the, 187. lessons of the, 192. Treasury of the Temple, 276. Trial of our Lord, 330. Index 403 Triumphal Entry, the, 235. Twelve, characteristics of the, 125. mission of the, 124. ordination of the, 60. Unction of the sick, the, 127. Use of salt in sacrifice, 209. Valley of Hinnom, the, 208. the Jews' burial-place, 379. Veil of the Temple, 373. Veronica, legend of S., 114. Via Dolorosa, 362. Vineyard, parable of the, 254. Walking upon the sea, 140. Watches of the night, 141 n. Watchfulness enjoined by our Lord, 294. Widow's mite, the, 277. Wife's mother, S. Peter's, 30. Withered fig-tree, the, 240. Witnesses procured, false, 335. Woman with an issue of blood, 114. Woman, the Syrophenician, 156. Women, the Devout, 381. Written and oral law, 147. Young man who fled, the, 327. THE END Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh A Catalogue of Works IN THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE PUBLISHED BY Messrs. LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 39 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. Abbey and Overton.— THE ENGLISH CHURCH IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. By Charles J. 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