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LOOKING ON JESUS, 
 THE LAMB OF GOD 
 

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LOOKING ON JESUS, 
 THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 BY 
 
 MADAME CECILIA 
 
 ,>, 
 
 RELIGIOUS OF ST. ANDREW S CONVENT, STREATHAM, 
 
 LONDON, S.W. 
 
 R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD. 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 AND AT MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND GLASGOW 
 
 I912 
 
sz^lW^ 
 
 #ihtl (Dbstat. 
 
 FRANCISCUS CANONICUS WYNDHAM, 
 Censor Deputatus. 
 
 Imprimatur. 
 
 EDM. CAN. SURMONT. 
 
 ViCARIDS GeNERALIS. 
 
 Westmonasterii, 
 
 Die 12 Februarii, 1912. 
 

 <c 
 
 THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN, 
 
 IS WORTHY TO RECEIVE 
 
 POWER, AND DIVINITY AND WISDOM 
 
 AND STRENGTH AND HONOUR AND GLORY 
 
 AND BENEDICTION." 
 
 (apocalypse V. 12.) 
 
 r ■ 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This volume has for object to provide a book of spiritual 
 readings or a series of meditations for the holy season of Lent. 
 The " Summaries for Meditation " — drawn up according to 
 the Ignatian method — may be useful to those who desire to 
 use this book for their daily meditations. The " Preludes " 
 and "Colloquies" are merely suggestive, but they may be 
 useful, when the mind has to be forced into a given groove. 
 
 None can come between the creature and its Creator in 
 the matter of prayer, since God asks for the spontaneous 
 outpouring of the soul. But when the Christian walks in 
 terra deserta et in via inaquosa, or is a novice in the science of 
 the Saints — in meditation, — a few suggestions which furnish 
 subjects for petitions may be welcome. Such aids to devotion 
 must be taken or left at each person's discretion. 
 
 The Author has endeavoured to bring these sacred subjects 
 before her readers as practically and realistically as possible, — 
 to let them see these events as they probably occurred, — and 
 at the same time, to refrain from freely indulging in pure con- 
 jectures. To this end, the " side lights " of topography and 
 Jewish customs have been thrown on the Gospel narratives 
 as far as possible. Minute exegetical notes and controversial 
 subjects have been excluded, as out of place in a purely 
 
 devotional work. 
 
 ix 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 In some chapters, the Author has drawn a few paragraphs 
 from her " Catholic Scripture Manuals," since the same facts 
 had to be recorded. 
 
 Should the circulation of this volume justify the step, the 
 
 Author proposes to make it the first of a series, destined to 
 
 cover the cycle of the Church's year. 
 
 MADAME CECILIA. 
 
 December 20, 191 1. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Baptism of Jesus and the Temptation - i 
 
 II. Jesus, our Compassionate High-Priest - - lo 
 
 III, The First Temptation - - - - - i8 
 
 IV. The Second Temptation - - - - 25 
 V. The Third Temptation: the Victory - - 33 
 
 VI. "Behold the Lamb of God !" ... 41 
 
 VII. The Lamb that was slain - - - - 50 
 
 VIII. The Predictions of the Passion - - - 57 
 IX. The Failure of the Apostles to understand Christ's 
 
 Predictions - - - - - - 64 
 
 X. The Transfiguration — Part I. - - - 73 
 
 XL The Transfiguration — Part II. - - - 79 
 
 XII. The Descent from Mount Thabor - - - 88 
 
 XIII. At the Foot of Mount Thabor - - - 95 
 
 XIV. The Stater in the Mouth of the Fish - - 106 
 XV. Our Lord's Instruction to His Apostles on Humility i 14 
 
 XVI. "Jesus knew their Thoughts" - - - 120 
 XVII. Jesus* Refusal to go publicly to the Feast of 
 
 Tabernacles - - - - - - 127 
 
 XVIII. Jesus sets out for Jerusalem privately - - 138 
 XIX. Jesus teaches in the Temple during the Feast of 
 
 Tabernacles - - - - - - 148 
 
 XX. Our Lord's Discourse in the Temple on the Last 
 
 Day of the Feast of Tabernacles - - 159 
 
 XXI. A Stormy Day in the Temple - - - 168 
 
 XXII. Jesus gives Sight to a Man born Blind - - 178 
 
 XXIII. Instruction on Prayer : Parable of the Importu- 
 
 nate Friend - - - - - - 188 
 
 XXIV. The Increasing Hostility of the Pharisees 
 
 towards Jesus - - - - - 195 
 
 XXV. Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication of the 
 
 Temple ...... 205 
 
 xi 
 
xii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXVI. Sickness and Death of Lazarus - - - 216 
 
 XXVII. The Raising of Lazarus - - - - 226 
 
 XXVIII. The Healing of the Blind Men near Jericho 235 
 
 XXIX. Jesus anointed in Bethania -• - - 243 
 
 XXX. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem — 
 
 Part I. - - - - - -253 
 
 XXXI. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem — 
 
 Part II. - - - - - - 261 
 
 XXXII. Jesus curses the Barren Fig-Tree and casts 
 
 out the Traders from the Temple - - 270 
 
 XXXIII. " The Day of Questions "—Part I. : The Deputa- 
 
 tion FROM THE SaNHEDRIN ThE TRIBUTE MONEY 2/8 
 
 XXXIV. " The Day of Questions "—Part II. : The Sad- 
 
 ducees' Question — The Scribe's Question — 
 The Widow's Mites . _ . _ 286 
 
 XXXV. Jesus prophesies the Destruction of the 
 
 Temple : The Parable of the Ten Virgins - 298 
 XXXVI. "Judas Iscariot, One of the Twelve"- - 310 
 
 XXXVII. The Preparations for the Paschal Supper : Its 
 
 Distinctive Rites - - - - 323 
 
 XXXVIII. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the 
 
 Prediction of Peter's Denial - - - 333 
 
 XXXIX. The Agony in the Garden - - - 341 
 
 XL. The Betrayal of our Lord - - - 3 50 
 
 XLI. Jesus before Caiphas : 
 
 (i) The Informal Interrogation \ 
 (2) The Formal Trial J " "357 
 
 XLII. St. Peter denies Christ - . - - - 368 
 
 XLIII. Jesus before Pilate for the First Time : Pilate 
 
 sends Him to Herod - - - - 375 
 
 XLIV. Jesus is led back to Pilate : He is scourged, 
 crowned with Thorns, mocked, and condemned 
 TO Death - - - - - -385 
 
 XLV. The " Via Dolorosa " : Jesus is nailed to the 
 
 Cross .__._- 397 
 
 XLVI. Jesus dies on the Cross - - - - 410 
 
 XLVII. The Signs which accompanied Christ's Death : 
 
 His Burial - - - - - 417 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 Adoration of the Lamb - - - - - - v 
 
 The Temptation ....-.- 33 
 
 EccE Homo ..-...-- 385 
 
 The Entombment -_.._.- 417 
 
 xui 
 
LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB 
 
 OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION 
 
 (A CONTRAST) 
 
 " Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus 
 also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened : and the Holy 
 Ghost descended, . . . and a voice came from heaven : Thou art My 
 beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased." — St. Luke iii. 
 
 " And immediately the Spirit drove Him out into the desert. And 
 He was in the desert forty days, and forty nights : and was tempted 
 by Satan, and He was with beasts." — St. Mark i. 
 
 It is well, when meditating on any incident related in the 
 Gospels, to consider how far the context throws light upon 
 it. This is particularly important when two consecutive 
 incidents offer a marked contrast and, in consequence, convey 
 some important lesson. Take, as an example of this, the 
 Baptism and the Temptation of Christ. The three Synoptists 
 all relate these two events of His human life, and they note 
 particularly the close sequence, as regards time, of His Baptism 
 and Temptation — as our Lord came up out of the Jordan, 
 " immediately the Spirit drove Him out into the desert." 
 There was no interval between these two incidents. Let us 
 strive to reconstruct these two touching scenes. 
 
 Jesus comes " from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to 
 be baptized by him." He has taken leave of His blessed 
 Mother, and told her that He is about to commence His 
 public life — to manifest Himself unto Israel. Mary is to 
 be separated from her Divine Son ; in future they will only 
 meet from time to time. For both, the separation is a very 
 
 I 
 
2 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 real sacrifice, since to none could our Lord speak as freely of 
 His Mission, and of the means of accomplishing it, as to His 
 holy Mother. She knew some of the Divine secrets, and 
 frequently meditated upon them. Each step in our Lord's 
 life on earth was a revelation of new aspects of His Mission, 
 or a confirmation of what had been already made known to 
 her. 
 
 Jesus, now in the thirty-first year of His life on earth, 
 leaves the cottage in Nazareth. He turns His steps towards 
 Judea, and what earnest purpose His demeanour reveals as, 
 in silence. He pursues His journey, now communing with His 
 Heavenly Father, now meditating on the work that awaits 
 Him. He reaches " Bethania beyond the Jordan," where 
 His Precursor is preaching and baptizing. 
 
 According to a local tradition, this little village stood 
 near Jericho, on the western bank of the Jordan. The greatest 
 of the children of men, St. John the Baptist, is there, in the 
 midst of a multitude of Jews from all parts of Palestine. The 
 Precursor's consecrated life, his holiness, his striking person- 
 ality, his burning eloquence and fearlessness, rivet the attention 
 of his hearers, and stir up deep emotions in their souls. They 
 confess their sins and are baptized, that when the King 
 Messias shall come, they may be ready to meet Him. 
 
 And so "it came to pass that when all the people were 
 baptized," when priests, Levites, Pharisees, Sadducees, 
 publicans, and soldiers — in a word, men of all ranks — had 
 made their profession of faith in the Coming One, and had 
 given proofs of their sincere repentance, that Jesus Himself 
 stood in the midst, though they knew it not. He manifests 
 Himself to His herald, and receives baptism at the hands of 
 John, after having assured him that it was necessary for the 
 Christ to receive this rite in order " to fulfil all justice." The 
 Baptist yields and baptizes Jesus, as He stands in the waters 
 of the Jordan. 
 
 When this act of public humiliation is accomplished, while 
 our Saviour is praying to the Father, a miraculous appear- 
 ance is seen. The Holy Ghost descends in a visible form, and 
 the Dove of God bears witness to the Lamb of God. At the 
 same instant a voice is heard from Heaven — the voice of the 
 
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION 3 
 
 Eternal Father — saying : " Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee 
 I am well pleased." In the baptism of Jesus, the three 
 Persons of the Blessed Trinity act in unison. God the Son, 
 incarnate in our human nature, stands in the water, God the 
 Holy Ghost descends, God the Father bears testimony to 
 His Son. 
 
 What a solemn moment ! Surely, now at once, Jesus will 
 reveal Himself to the assembled crowds and claim their alle- 
 giance. No, God has decreed otherwise, and Jesus comes 
 forth from the Jordan, " full of the Holy Ghost," who " drove 
 Him out into the desert," there to wrestle with Satan. 
 
 Contemplate our blessed Lord as, urged by the Spirit, He 
 turns to the west and directs His steps to the desolate moun- 
 tainous region, that lies between Jerusalem and Jericho, and 
 extends beyond these towns on the east. Travellers have 
 described the traditional scene of the Temptation. It forms 
 the northern part of the desert of Judea, and is the roughest 
 and most desolate region of Palestine. It consists of a large 
 tableland, from which fantastic ranges of grey limestone 
 rocks and mountains rise. These are honeycombed with 
 numerous caves, the dwelling-places of the dead, of robbers, 
 and of wild beasts. Wolves, boars, leopards, and jackals, 
 roam over this desolate region in search of their prey. Scarcely 
 any vegetation is to be found ; only here and there a few 
 stunted shrubs in parallel rows mark out the banks of the 
 deep crevices, which have been hollowed out by the winter 
 torrents, as they rushed impetuously down the steep mountain 
 sides. The sun beats fiercely down upon this barren region, 
 and the long ranges of limestone hills, reflecting back its rays, 
 dazzle the weary traveller as his glance falls upon them. 
 Eastwards, across the River Jordan, rise the great IMountains 
 of Moab, while the river itself winds like a silver thread 
 mingled with green along the valley. Looking at the district 
 from the tableland, it would be difficult to imagine a more 
 lonely or dreary spot. 
 
 Close to the ruins of the old town of Jericho, Mount Quaran- 
 tania rises to a height of 2,500 feet above the level of the 
 Jordan, and, on its eastern side, the mountain forms a per- 
 pendicular wall some 1,300 feet in height, inaccessible to the 
 
4 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 foot of man. It consists of three distinct tiers, all of which 
 abound in caverns and recesses. One very large cavern near 
 the summit is said to have been our Lord's refuge from the 
 inclemency of the weather, and the highest peak of Mount 
 Quarantania is pointed out as the spot, whence Satan showed 
 our Lord " all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of 
 time." 
 
 In this district, and on the shores of the Dead Sea, there 
 are numerous fossils, known as septaria and lapides 
 judaici. More popularly they are spoken of as '* Elijah's 
 melons," in accordance with a tradition that these siliceous 
 accretions are the petrified fruits of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 These " melons " resemble, both in shape and size, the small 
 barley loaves used by the poorer classes of Palestine. 
 
 Such was the desert to which our Lord bent His course 
 when He came forth from the waters of the Jordan. Note 
 the striking contrast : He has been recognized by St. John 
 the Baptist, proclaimed as the Son of God by the Eternal 
 Father, and the Holy Ghost has descended upon Him in a 
 visible shape. God has sanctioned His mission, but before 
 He enters upon His public life as the Teacher of Israel, He 
 must descend into the valley of humiliation, and wrestle with 
 Satan for our salvation. From the waters of baptism to the 
 fire of temptation — such was the path traced out by God 
 for His beloved Son. 
 
 Jesus enters into the conflict " full of the Holy Ghost," 
 ready to meet and conquer His bitter foe by wielding '' the 
 sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." He who 
 taught His disciples to " watch and pray," lest they should 
 enter into temptation, had recourse Himself to these means. 
 It was ever His custom "to do and to teach," for He knew 
 well that words without deeds, can never bring forth fruit unto 
 salvation." 
 
 " The servant is not greater than his lord, neither is the 
 apostle greater than He that sent him."* Hence we must 
 expect to find sharp contrasts in our own lives. We may, 
 at times, be filled with spiritual joy when all seems so light 
 and easy, that, like the Psalmist, we run in the way of God's 
 
 * St. John xiii. 
 
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION 5 
 
 commandments — happy in the service of our Master. Then 
 the cloud of desolation passes over our souls, and things seem 
 so changed ! How shall we meet this trial ? With courageous, 
 earnest effort and prayer, remembering that whenever God 
 leads a soul into the desert to wrestle with Satan's foul sugges- 
 tions, He accompanies that soul, upholding the Christian by 
 His might, and providing him with the necessary weapons 
 and sufficient grace to vanquish the devil. 
 
 Loneliness is a trial which many are called upon to endure. 
 Various causes may combine and result in marking out our 
 solitary paths in life's wilderness. Some are *' alone in a 
 crowd," because those they dwell with are uncongenial com- 
 panions, who live only for this world and savour " not the 
 things that are of God, but the things that are of men."* 
 This is often the case when a Catholic has contracted a mixed 
 marriage. The Protestant cannot understand the Catholic 
 faith ; often he will sneer at what his wife holds dearest. On the 
 vital question of religion, husband and wife must perforce keep 
 silence, and the result is that the Catholic treads the path of 
 loneliness. A convert, the only one in the family, may have 
 to endure a like trial. It is painful when those we love 
 ridicule what we hold dearest — namely, our religious belief, 
 the doctrines and practices of the Church. It is even harder 
 when the creed they profess leads them to regard all Catholics 
 as idolaters, and when their hearts are wellnigh broken, 
 because one of their children, or relatives have been, in their 
 opinion, " entangled in the superstitions of Rome." Such 
 Protestants are sincere in their belief, and conversions in their 
 families are a very real source of sorrow to them. But how 
 much the converts themselves have to suffer ! They cannot 
 retrace their steps ; they must continue to be a cause of grief 
 to their parents, because their duty to God comes first. Yet 
 their lives are unspeakably lonely ; they are cut off from so 
 many things, in which they previously took an active part. 
 
 Bad health is another factor w^hich is responsible for many 
 lonel}^ hours. Those who are delicate, those who suffer, must 
 necessarily withdraw from many of the occupations and 
 amusements of the family circle. The aged, who have out- 
 
 * St. Matt. xvi. 
 
6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 lived their generation, often feel keenly the burden of the cross 
 of isolation, and as each old friend is called home by God, their 
 loneliness increases. 
 
 In all these cases, loneliness does its work ; it detaches men 
 from the things of earth, and prepares them for Heaven, 
 provided they count on God in imitation of our Lord. In 
 the desert He was alone, yet not alone, for the Holy Spirit 
 strengthened Him in the conflict with Satan by the fulness 
 of His Presence. In the desert, Jesus fasted, prayed, and 
 resisted the suggestions of the devil. He is our Exemplar 
 in all things, and we, in our deserts, can look to Him for 
 strength and consolation, and, as the Israelites were fed with 
 manna from Heaven, so Jesus, the Living Bread, nourishes 
 our immortal souls, and by His presence in the Holy Eucharist, 
 He fulfils the promise made to each and all of His beloved 
 children : " Lo, I am with you always." 
 
 We have seen how Jesus sanctified silence and solitude 
 by His sojourn in the desert. What other lesson can we learn 
 from our Divine Model ? St. Luke seems to point to another, 
 when He tells us that, when Jesus was baptized. He was 
 *' praying." There are frequent allusions in the New Testa- 
 ment to His praying. St. Paul speaks of Him "Who in the 
 days of His flesh with a strong cry and tears offering up 
 prayers and supplications to Him that was able to save Him 
 from death, was heard for His reverence."* Not only to 
 the agony in the Garden of Gethsemani do these words 
 apply, hence we may picture our Emmanuel going forth 
 praying into the desert. There, too. His life was miraculously 
 sustained during the forty days' fast. There, too, we may 
 contemplate Him offering up '' prayers and supplications," 
 while He resisted Satan's temptations. 
 
 We do not know whether the devil Was allowed to tempt 
 our blessed Lord during the whole of the forty days, but we 
 are told that three great temptations were set before Him 
 at the close of this time, when the pangs of hunger were making 
 themselves more keenly felt. We may certainly assume that 
 our Lord passed this time in intercourse with His Heavenly 
 Father. We know that He frequently spent long hours in 
 
 * Heb. V. 
 
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION 7 
 
 prayer, and especially before undertaking any very important 
 work. Thus St. Luke tells us, that before choosing His twelve 
 Apostles, " He went out into a mountain to pray, and He 
 passed the whole night in the prayer of God " (i.e., to 
 God). Now that He was about to enter on His public 
 ministry. He must have felt the need, as man, to commune 
 with God. 
 
 What were the petitions which He offered ? We know 
 not, but may we not presume that those of the " Our Father " 
 formed part of His prayer ? How fervently He would have 
 prayed that God's Name might be hallowed. To this end — 
 the glory of God — Jesus had taken upon Himself our nature 
 and had offered Himself as a Victim of expiation. " Thy 
 kingdom come " — these words, too, were often on the lips 
 and in the thoughts of Jesus. Frequently He spoke to His 
 disciples of it, bidding them " seek first the kingdom of God." 
 He called them the " children of the kingdom," and sent 
 them to announce to men that it was nigh at hand. Surely, 
 then, during the long vigils in the desert, that petition rose to 
 His Divine lips, and pierced the Heavens, even to the throne 
 of God. 
 
 " Thy wiU be done " — yes, even when that Will drove Him 
 to the desert to fast, to pray, and to endure temptation. 
 Jesus once said to His disciples : " My meat is to do the will 
 of Him that sent Me, that I may perfect His work." Jesus 
 must have experienced in the desert a natural shrinking from 
 the physical pain of His prolonged fast, and from the violent 
 temptations of Satan, who, knowing that so far he had gained 
 no victory over our Lord, now put forth all his energies to 
 overcome Him. Hence in the wilderness, as in Gethsemani, 
 Jesus must have felt the need of uttering this sublime act of 
 resignation. 
 
 " Forgive us our trespasses." Could our sinless Saviour 
 offer up this prayer ? St. Paul tells us that Jesus, " Who 
 knew no sin," yet for our salvation God " hath made sin "* — 
 i.e., God has made Him a victim of sin for us. Therefore, 
 as our Surety, He can offer up a prayer for our forgiveness 
 just as when, on the Cross, He prayed for His executioners, 
 
 * 2 Cor, V. 
 
8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 and while the petition rose to Heaven, He was paying our 
 ransom, presenting to His Father the price of our pardon. 
 
 " Lead us not into temptation ; deliver us from evil." This, 
 as we are taught by the Church, is not a petition that no 
 temptations may assail us, since they are a part of our trial 
 during life's pilgrimage. It is a prayer for strength to endure 
 the trial, and, in this sense, Jesus could utter the petition. 
 Saints have been sorely tempted, but no Saint has ever known 
 a temptation so violent, as that with which Jesus was assaulted 
 in the desert. 
 
 We know how the patriarch Job was tried, but the violence 
 of the temptation which Jesus experienced was far, far 
 stronger. Satan came to the conflict enraged with past 
 failures, desiring to penetrate the mystery of our Lord's 
 wondrous Personality. Although Satan had fallen from his 
 first estate, yet he had still the mighty intelligence of an 
 Archangel. The overwhelming desire to penetrate this mystery, 
 to overcome Jesus, stirred him up to do his worst. Add to 
 this that God the Father willed that Jesus should undergo 
 the humiliation of the temptation. 
 
 If all trials are proportioned to our strength, and are never 
 allowed to exceed it, what must have been the force put forth 
 by the devil when he undertook to vanquish " the Lion of the 
 Tribe of Juda !" He must have set in motion all his hellish 
 batteries, with the result that the temptation experienced by 
 our Lord exceeded in violence all the temptations collectively 
 that ever have been or will be experienced by men. Jesus 
 was tempted that He might atone for our frequent falls, and 
 merit for us the grace to withstand the suggestions of the 
 Evil One. But because Jesus was perfect Man, He had need 
 to be sustained during this terrible prolonged conflict ; He 
 had need to pray as He has taught us to pray : " Lead us not 
 into temptation ; but deliver us from evil." 
 
 We have contemplated our Saviour going forward to meet 
 Satan and praying as He went. What would He have us 
 learn from His example ? He would have us " watch and 
 pray." How often have we fallen because we have neglected 
 watchfulness and prayer ! Let us resolve to be more prudent 
 in future, knowing that Satan, ''like a roaring lion," is ever 
 
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION 9 
 
 on the watch for the unwary. The weapons used by our 
 Lord are placed within our reach, and, provided we "do 
 manfuUy," we are sure of the victory. We are not alone in 
 the struggle ; true, the devil is the prince of this world, but 
 for our consolation we may apply to ourselves the inspired 
 words of the beloved disciple, " Greater is He that is in you 
 than he that is in the world," and with St. Paul we can 
 exclaim : " I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth 
 me." 
 
 By Him and with Him we can conquer the fiercest tempta- 
 tions, those which beset us continually, those we fear the 
 most, and which have the greatest attraction for us — all these 
 we can overcome with a firm will, generous efforts, and confi- 
 dence in the abiding Presence of Jesus, the Divine Companion 
 of our exile in life's wilderness. " By Thy fasting and 
 temptation," succour us, dear Lord, in our hour of need, and 
 protect those who are even now in conflict with the devil. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Watch our blessed Lord as, full of the 
 Spirit, led by Him, and praying. He comes forth from the 
 waters of the Jordan, and goes towards the Desert of Judea. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for grace to walk in our Saviour's 
 footsteps, and to learn from His example a twofold lesson — • 
 how to support isolation, and how to resist temptation. 
 
 First Point. — ^The contrast between the scene of His 
 Baptism and that of His Temptation. Honours and joys are 
 often preludes to trials, disgrace, and sorrows in this world. 
 
 Second Point. — The loneliness of Jesus in the desert. His 
 solitude is an encouragement to those whose lives are marked 
 out in the bypaths of life, for those who walk alone. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The prayer of Jesus as He went forward to 
 enter into conflict with Satan. Perhaps the petitions of the 
 " Our Father " filled His mind. 
 
 Colloquy. — Compassionate with our Lord enduring tempta- 
 tion for you, to atone for your sins, and to give 3'ou an example. 
 Thank Him with all your heart. Ask for grace to endure 
 temptations generously, for strength to conquer the devil. 
 
10 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Pray for those who are lonely and tempted. Pray, too, for the 
 grace of vigilance. Thank our Lord for all past victories 
 over Satan. Pray that prosperity may not elate you, nor 
 adversity cast you down. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 JESUS, OUR COMPASSIONATE HIGH-PRIEST 
 
 " Having therefore a great High-Priest that hath passed into the 
 heavens, Jesus the Son of God : let us hold fast our confession. For 
 we have not a High-Priest, who cannot have compassion on our in- 
 firmities : but one tempted in all things hke as we are, without sin. 
 Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace : that we may 
 obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid." — Heb. iv. 
 
 " Wherefore it behoved Him in all things to be made hke unto His 
 brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful High-Priest 
 before God, that He might be a propitiation for the sins of the people. 
 For in that, wherein He Himself hath suffered and been tempted, He 
 is able to succour them also that are tempted." — Heb. ii. 
 
 Let us continue our meditation on the Temptation of Jesus 
 in the desert. We will fix our gaze on our Lord at the 
 moment when, in visible form, and having obtained God's 
 permission, Satan stands face to face with Jesus. The forty 
 days are now drawing to an end, and our Lord's fasting and 
 vigils have marked their imprint upon His sacred features, 
 for He was truly man, and therefore, like all human beings, 
 amenable to physical and mental pain. The Saviour of the 
 world and Satan, through whom sin entered into the world 
 and ruined mankind, confront one another. It is the decisive 
 moment when the devil is preparing to suggest to Jesus the 
 three great typical temptations which, in one form or another, 
 and in varying degrees, have brought about the ruin of every 
 lost soul, and the spiritual death of every soul that has ever 
 consented to commit mortal sin. 
 
 At the Last Supper, during His discourse to the Apostles, 
 Jesus said : " The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he 
 hath not anything." Satan knew this when he came to 
 tempt our Lord : over the children of men, the devil 
 
JESUS, OUR COMPASSIONATE HIGH-PRIEST ii 
 
 gained easy victories ; over their Saviour, he could prevail 
 nothing. 
 
 He probably suspected that Jesus was the Messias, but he 
 did not know it for certain, for it is generally believed that 
 the mystery of our Lord's miraculous birth was concealed 
 from Satan, as it was from the generality of men. St. Joseph 
 and our blessed Lady kept the Divine secrets committed to 
 their charge. Had Satan known that Jesus was God, he would 
 never have dared to tempt Him ; but, not knowing it, he comes 
 in all the rage of his previous defeats, ready to exercise his 
 powers to the utmost, in the hope of overcoming our Lord's 
 steadfast resistance. The devil's pride could ill brook defeat 
 along the whole line, and this is what he had experienced 
 whenever he had approached our Saviour with an evil sugges- 
 tion. We may certainly believe that Jesus was tempted during 
 His hidden life, as well as during His public life, for men are 
 tempted all their lives. No human being has ever attained to 
 the age of thirty without having been subjected to any temp- 
 tation, and since Jesus was made " like unto His brethren " 
 in " all things," we may presume that He endured temptations 
 before His retirement into the desert for the express purpose 
 of being tempted. 
 
 But could Jesus, the Son of God, really experience the force 
 of temptation ? Yes, because He was also truly man, and 
 therefore subject to the infirmities of men, since, as the 
 Incarnate Son of God, He took upon Himself their redemp- 
 tion. He is our Saviour and our IModel, and therefore, because 
 we cannot escape from the suggestions of the Evil One, " it 
 behoved " Jesus to submit to them. Animals cannot be 
 tempted, since they have no spiritual souls, and are incapable 
 of moral acts. God cannot be tempted, because it is contrary 
 to His Divine Nature. Man, however, must submit to this 
 keen mental trial. God has thus willed it — temptations are 
 common to man. 
 
 Jesus, being true man, consented to submit to temptation, 
 and He willed to feel it in all its force and bitterness. Just as, 
 during the Agony in the Garden and on the Cross, our Lord 
 could have allowed the joys of the Beatific Vision to inundate 
 His soul, and to concentrate all His thoughts on God, and thus 
 
12 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 make Him insensible to physical and mental pain, so in the 
 desert Jesus could have spared Himself the humiliation and 
 the violent stress of the temptation. He willed, however, to 
 endure it, although at any moment He could have withdrawn 
 from the combat, and rendered His human nature invulnerable 
 to Satan's fiery darts. But our Emmanuel " spared not 
 Himself " ; He ever drained the chalice of suffering. Hence 
 the temptation was very real — Jesus felt the pangs of hunger. 
 He needed food, and the fossils, to which the devil pointed, 
 being so like loaves in appearance, must have intensified His 
 pain. The temptation was no phantom scene, no mere 
 subjective impression. It was an awful fact, a real prolonged 
 combat, numbering three engagements, during which two 
 Kings wrestled for their respective kingdoms. Taking it for 
 granted that the whole of the temptation lasted but a short 
 period — as men count time — yet we must remember that 
 intense anguish cannot be gauged by the measures of time, 
 and that, to men enduring an agony, moments seem as hours 
 and days. 
 
 Satan undertook the battle that he might establish his 
 kingdom in this world ; he fought for the supremacy of evil, 
 and the lasting possession of the souls that he had already 
 ensnared. Jesus, whose kingdom was *' not of this world," 
 accepted the devil's challenge, that He might wrest from him 
 these souls enslaved by sin, and found that kingdom which 
 " shall have no end." Jesus, our personal Saviour, entered 
 the lists with Satan, man's personalioQ, and the enemy of God. 
 
 In the history of the Catholic Church, we read of virgin 
 Saints being conducted into dens of infamy. What must 
 have been their horror on finding themselves in the company 
 of evil men bent on their ruin ! What sights met their gaze, 
 what sounds fell upon their ears ! Take, for example. Blessed 
 Joan of Arc when she was given into the charge of dissolute 
 soldiers. More readily would they have entered the arena, 
 and given themselves up to the wild beasts to be devoured. 
 Loathing and horror filled their souls, and in some cases we 
 hear of young girls leaping into the flames in order to get away 
 from their persecutors and their foul suggestions. But what 
 was their horror of evil compared with the loathing and 
 
JESUS, OUR COMPASSIONATE HIGH-PRIEST 13 
 
 hatred for sin experienced by our sinless Saviour ? The Holy- 
 One of God finds Himself in the presence of the Evil One, the 
 betrayer of the human race. Human words are powerless 
 to express the abhorrence and repulsion for sin which filled 
 the all-holy soul of Christ. As all human beings shrink 
 instinctively from physical suffering, prolonged solitude, and 
 mental conflict, so Jesus, who was perfect Man, shrank from 
 them, but He shrank far more from the faintest suggestion of 
 evil. In Him there was no concupiscence ; He could only 
 be tempted from without ; there was no interior traitor to 
 open the door to the foe. 
 
 Again, every gift of God bestowed upon men has its special 
 liability to the attacks of the devil. Man is a complex being, 
 consisting of body and soul, and greater gifts bring greater 
 responsibilities and possibilities of suffering. Hence Jesus, 
 with all the perfection of His human nature, was far more 
 susceptible to suffering in every form than the fallen sons of 
 Adam. The temptation caused our Lord more anguish than 
 the torments of His Passion, because sin attacks the authority 
 of God Himself. 
 
 Adam was sinless when, through Eve, the serpent tempted 
 him in Eden ; he had the power to resist the tempter or to 
 yield. Adam failed when put to the test ; he consented to the 
 serpent's suggestion, and thus Paradise and sanctifying grace 
 were lost. Jesus, too, was tempted, but He overcame Satan, 
 and regained for man his lost birthright. *' The Captain willed 
 to endure temptation in order to teach His soldiers how to 
 contend."* By the fall of Adam mankind was ruined ; by the 
 victory of Jesus over the devil the road to victory is opened to 
 us. " Ideo tentatus est Christiis ne vincatur a tentore Christianus." 
 
 The word " temptation " is sometimes used in the sense 
 of testing or trying, and with this meaning it is applied to 
 God Himself. Thus when God ordered Abraham to sacrifice 
 his only son Isaac, we are told that " God tempted Abraham."! 
 but, as St. James says : " God is not a tempter of evils." It 
 was not a trial in this sense that Jesus was called upon to 
 endure, since the devil thrice explicitly suggested the doing 
 of evil, and the sins proposed were those which, ever since the 
 * St. Augustine. j Gen. xx. 22. 
 
14 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 fall of Adam, had served Satan's ends so well — namely, " the 
 concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, 
 and the pride of life."* Our first parents saw that " the tree 
 in the midst of Paradise . . . was good to eat, and fair to the 
 eyes, and delightful to behold." Add to this the serpent's 
 promise : " In what day soever you shall eat thereof, your 
 eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good 
 and evil,"f and we have the three sources of sin pointed 
 out by St. John. 
 
 Every transgression that has ever been committed against 
 the Law of God can be traced to one or more of these sources. 
 We can see, therefore, the wondrous love of Jesus in sub- 
 mitting to those very temptations which assail us. Yes, ** it 
 behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren," 
 therefore He humbled Himself by allowing the devil to tempt 
 Him with the concupiscence of the flesh, of the eyes, and of 
 the pride of life. Having been tempted in all things like as 
 we are, and because " He Himself hath suffered ... he is able 
 to succour them also that are tempted." | 
 
 " Able to succour !" Let us meditate on these consoling 
 words until they sink deeply into our souls. Jesus is " able 
 to succour " in all emergencies, in every trial which God may 
 see necessary to inflict upon us. He is " able to succour " 
 when we go to wrestle with Satan, and while the combat is at 
 its height. He is ** able to succour " when we are worsted 
 in the fight, since He can forgive the sin, lestore us to the life 
 of grace, and teach us how to profit by our sad experiences. 
 The greater our need, the greater is His compassion. The 
 more numerous our infirmities, the more confidently can we 
 appeal to Him for assistance, because He came to save the 
 lost, and the sick, rather than the whole, need the ministrations 
 of the Good Physician of souls. 
 
 " Able to succour " — the words ring like the burden of some 
 familiar song as they fall upon the ears of the fallen children of 
 Adam. We all need One who is *' able to succour," and this 
 One is ever present in our hour of need. As " the Angel of 
 the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into 
 the furnace, and one, ' like the Son of God,' walked with them 
 * I St. John. ii. f ^en. ii, J Heb. ii. 
 
JESUS, OUR COMPASSIONATE HIGH-PRIEST 15 
 
 and preserved them from the flames,"* so the Son of God 
 Himself fights for and with His servants, and enables them 
 " to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one."t 
 
 From the meditation on the reality of our blessed Lord's 
 temptation, we should try to bring home to ourselves this 
 important lesson : " We have not a High-Priest who cannot 
 have compassion on our infirmities, but one tempted in all 
 things like as we are." What follows, then ? St. Paul tells 
 us in his vigorous language ; " Let us go therefore with confi- 
 dence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and 
 find grace in seasonable aid." 
 
 These words bring before our minds the Mercy Seat within 
 the Holy of Holies, upon which the High-Priest sprinkled the 
 blood of the sin-offering on the Day of Atonement. Jesus, 
 our High- Priest, " by His own blood, entered once into the 
 Holies, having obtained eternal redemption " for us His 
 children, and St. Paul goes on to explain that " Jesus is not 
 entered into the Holies made with hands, the patterns of the 
 true, but into Heaven itself, that He may appear now in the 
 presence of God for us. "J 
 
 There we may find mercy when we fail, when we yield, 
 and God alone knows how often each soul on earth has need 
 to beg for that mercy. How often have we had recourse 
 to that infinite mercy, and never has it failed us ! There, too, 
 at the throne of grace we find ** seasonable aid " — just the 
 succour needed, when we are on the point of capitulating to 
 the enemy ; needed to strengthen our wills and to animate 
 us to the combat. 
 
 But, note that there is a condition laid down, and if we do 
 not comply with it, we cannot hope to obtain either " mercy " 
 or " seasonable aid." The condition is that we approach our 
 High-Priest with confidence. We must believe firmly that 
 He is both able and willing to succour. Is this so very diifi- 
 cult ? Surely not, when we fix our gaze on our Lord in the 
 desert, and remember that His victor}^ is the gauge of that of 
 His disciples, and that He, the Eternal Tiiith, has pledged 
 His word to assist those who invoke His Name. 
 
 God's Saints have hoped in Him, and have not been con- 
 * Dan. iii. f Eph. vi. \ Heb. ix. 
 
i6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 founded. He is very near all of us, never nearer than when 
 we suffer or are hard pressed. We are weak and sinful, but 
 let us beware lest we add to our sins — the list of which is 
 already long — that of distrusting the goodness of God. 
 
 Have you ever climbed up the old turret staircase of the 
 Water Tower in Lambeth Palace ? It is well worth a visit. 
 At the top there is a little room, which gives on to the Thames, 
 and in the Tudor and Stuart times it served as a prison. 
 The staircase and the room are at least one thousand years old, 
 far older than the Water Tower, which dates only from the 
 fifteenth century. Two tiny slits do duty as windows. In 
 this dungeon many have been imprisoned either as Catholics 
 or Royalists. In this dreary prison, hundreds have fasted or 
 prayed, some for months, others throughout long years. 
 The ancient doors, with their primitive wooden locks, still 
 hang on their old-fashioned rivets. The worm-eaten oak 
 boards are stained with blood. Eight staples project from 
 the stone walls, bearing large rusty iron rings, to which the 
 prisoners were chained night and day, waiting for the hour 
 when death should release them. What tales of sorrow, 
 of heroism, of weakness, of fiendish cruelty these walls could 
 relate had they the power of speech ! Some have passed from 
 this dungeon to the steps of the great white throne. Examine 
 the walls closely ; they will tell us something of the history 
 of a brave Christian. Look at this inscription : " Dear Jesus 
 keepeth me compagnee." Look at it, too, reverentty, for it 
 is a relic. We can imagine we see the emaciated hands of the 
 one who chiselled these words. Day by day, he worked at his 
 labour of love with some rough tools — perhaps a nail and a 
 flint. As the letters formed while he profited by the few 
 gleams of daylight, the virtue of hope was imprinted even more 
 indelibly upon his soul ; and probably this prisoner's work 
 has helped to console some who took his place in after years 
 in that lonely prison. There are other marks and scratches 
 on the stones, other inscriptions, that can with difficulty be 
 deciphered, but this brave cry of a loving, trusting soul is 
 perfectly legible. Who carved those words ? Were they 
 traced by one of our blessed martyrs of England ? We know 
 not ; God knows, for that soul is now safe in His keeping. 
 
JESUS, OUR COMPASSIONATE HIGH-PRIEST 17 
 
 " Dear Jesus keepeth me compagnee." We can make 
 these words our own, though it be not our lot to pass our days 
 chained in a dungeon. Yet we shall have our trials, our hours 
 of conflict, planned or permitted by our Heavenly Father 
 for our sanctification, but all will be well, provided we go 
 forward to the contest in the Name and strength of Him who 
 has said : "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." In 
 every dark hour of stress and need, dear Jesus, keep us 
 " compagnee." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Fix your thoughts on the moment when 
 Satan in human form, meets our Lord in the desert at the 
 close of His fast of forty days. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the graces of generosity, constancy, 
 and confidence, that you may always be prepared to resist 
 the devil's temptations. 
 
 First Point. — Could our Lord be really tempted ? Yes ; 
 the temptation was no unreality. Jesus, being truly man, 
 did really feel the force of the temptation. He endured this 
 humiliation ** for us men and for our salvation." His perfect 
 manhood intensified the temptations. 
 
 Second Point. — Reasons why Jesus was tempted. That 
 He might gain experimental knowledge of the violence of 
 temptation, that He might rescue souls from the devil, that 
 He might be able to succour us in our conflicts with Satan. 
 
 Third Point. — What lesson may we learn from the reality 
 of our Lord's temptation ? Among others, to trust our 
 High- Priest implicitly ; to go to Him both for " mercy and 
 seasonable aid." 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our blessed Lord for His infinite con- 
 descension in enduring temptation. Ask pardon for your 
 numerous acts of cowardice when tempted. Pray for grace 
 to be more generous in future, and implore His mercy and 
 seasonable aid. Beg Him to abide with you in the desert of 
 life, and especially during the hours of violent temptation. 
 
i8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 THE FIRST TEMPTATION 
 
 " And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards 
 He was hungry ; and the tempter coming said to Him : If Thou be the 
 Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered 
 and said : It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every 
 word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." — St. Matt. iv. 
 
 Let us continue to fix our gaze on our blessed Lord as He 
 wanders about in the desert, absorbed in prayer, or meditating 
 on the means of accomplishing His Divine Mission. The 
 prolonged fast of forty days is now drawing to its close, during 
 which Jesus has fasted and prayed to atone for our sins of 
 gluttony and daintiness, and to teach us how to resist tempta- 
 tions of the flesh. 
 
 Like Moses, the Lawgiver of Israel, and Elias, the Reformer 
 — both types of the Messias — Jesus commenced His public 
 life by a forty days' retirement for prayer and penance. The 
 time was near at hand, when the multitudes would so throng 
 around our Lord and His disciples, *' that they could not so 
 much as eat bread."* They would follow Him fasting for 
 three days, though having " nothing to eat," irresistibly 
 attracted by His marvellous eloquence. Yet, even during 
 the busy days of His ministry, Jesus sought the solitude of 
 a desert place, from time to time, that He might refresh His 
 soul with prayer. He taught His Apostles to do likewise. 
 Thus, when they returned from their first mission, Jesus 
 invited them to withdraw for a time from their busy life, 
 saying: "Come apart into a desert place and rest awhile." 
 How many great works have been planned in retirement, 
 how many noble vocations have been fostered in a quiet time 
 of retreat from earthly cares, when the soul could converse 
 with God more freely I 
 
 The forty days' preparation is wellnigh over, and now 
 the great battle is to be fought between the Saviour of the 
 world, and the seducer of the souls of men. Satan advances j 
 he presumes to address our Lord : " If Thou be the Son of 
 
 * St. Mark iii. 
 
THE FIRST TEMPTATION 
 
 19 
 
 God, command that these stones be made bread." Note the 
 " if " — evidently the suggestion is that if Jesus be really the 
 Son of God, why should He hunger in the desert ? Why 
 not supply His bodily needs by using His miraculous powers ? 
 The devil did not suggest the acquisition of an unlawful thing, 
 but of procuring the bread needed by unlawful means. 
 
 Some theologians hold that the devil knew that Christ 
 was the Son of God, and that the " if " did not imply a doubt, 
 but was equivalent to " since." In support of this positive 
 view, it is argued that the devils had witnessed the miracles 
 connected with our Lord's infancy and baptism, and had 
 borne testimony to His Divinity. Those who take the nega- 
 tive view (and they are in the majority) are of opinion that 
 Satan's " if " implied real doubt, since God could easily have 
 concealed from the devils the miracles connected with our 
 Lord's life. With regard to the devils owning Christ to be 
 " the Holy One of God," they may have been prompted by 
 fear or self-interest, rather than by belief in His Divinity. 
 Probably the result of the temptation helped to convince the 
 devils that Jesus was the Son of God. 
 
 " If thou be the Son of God," then, Satan argues, " show 
 Thy Divine power, do not wait for God's Providence to 
 provide for Thee." As the devil spoke he pointed to the 
 stones that lay at our Lord's feet. Jesus was feeling keenly 
 the pangs of hunger, and He could work miracles, but He 
 possessed that power that He might alleviate the needs of 
 men, as when He healed the sick and fed the hungry, or that 
 He might strengthen the faith of His disciples. It was no 
 part of God's plan that He should use this power to supply 
 His own needs, nor that He should exercise it at the command 
 of the devil, of the Pharisees, when " they asked for a sign " ; 
 or of Herod, " who hoped to see some sign wrought by 
 Him." 
 
 Our Lord trusted His Heavenly Father, who He knew 
 would provide, in due time, all that was necessary for His 
 sustenance, as He had provided for the needs of the Israelites 
 by sending the manna, and of Elias, by means of the raven. 
 The Israelites had " wandered in a wilderness, in a place 
 without water. . . . They were hungry and thirsty, their 
 
20 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 soul fainted in them, and they cried to the Lord in their tribula- 
 tion, and He delivered them."* Jesus was content to do 
 likewise, to trust the Eternal Father, and to refrain from 
 using His power to procure bread for Himself. Such an action 
 would have created an impassable barrier between Him and 
 man, who has not the power of providing for his personal 
 needs by working a miracle. 
 
 The devil has made his suggestion, and, quick as thought, 
 Jesus answers him : " It is written : Not in bread alone doth 
 man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth 
 of God." Jesus foils the devil by using '' the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the word of God," for the words are quoted 
 textually from Deut. viii. 3. The whole of the paragraph 
 must have been in our Lord's mind when He answered Satan, 
 and the citation is particularly appropriate. The original 
 runs thus : " The Lord thy God brought thee . . . through 
 the desert. He afflicted thee with want and gave thee manna 
 for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew, to 
 show that not in bread alone doth man live, but in every 
 word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." In these 
 words, Moses reminded the Israelites in the desert, that God 
 could nourish and sustain their bodily life by other means 
 than bread, if He chose to do so. The life of the soul cannot 
 be supported by the bread that suffices for the body, and the 
 prolongation of the lower life is not to be purchased at the 
 risk of losing the higher life. Such is the lesson our Lord 
 here teaches us, and how much we have need to learn this ! 
 (Note, too, that our Lord, by His prompt reply, vindicated 
 God's honour, which indirectly Satan had attacked, but 
 without giving the devil any answer as regards His Divinity.) 
 
 In the daily battle of life, how hard it is for many to procure 
 their daily bread ! Thousands are tempted by Satan to commit 
 sin in order to obtain the necessaries of life. It is indeed hard 
 for parents when they see their children pining for food, which 
 they are powerless to procure. Often the temptation comes 
 to sacrifice the faith, or at least to secure these necessaries 
 by dishonest means . Yet our Saviour 's words remain eternally 
 true : '' Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor 
 
 * Ps. cvi. 
 
THE FIRST TEMPTATION 2i 
 
 do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your Heavenly 
 Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than 
 they ? . . . Be not solicitous therefore ... for your Father 
 knoweth that you have need of all these things."* We 
 may not all be called to endure the pangs of hunger, but we 
 have all need to learn to trust our Heavenly Father to supply 
 our temporal needs, to " seek first the kingdom " — knowing 
 that all material things which are really necessary and good 
 for us " shall be added." In the hours when we go running 
 forward to meet coming sorrows, we do well to remember 
 that Jesus has bidden us not to be solicitous for the morrow, 
 since " sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." Dear Lord, 
 we trust Thee for our eternal salvation, shall we be so foolish 
 as to distrust Thee for our daily bread ? He who changed 
 water into wine at the marriage feast will, if necessary, change 
 stones into bread to feed His children — that is to sa}^ He will 
 send help whence we least expect it. So often we make 
 appointments with sickness, temporal losses, and privations. 
 We go with heavy hearts to the place, dreading the moment 
 of meeting ; we even hasten our steps. Having reached the 
 spot, we " byde our tryst," but the dreaded visitors do not 
 come, because we, and not God, have made the appointment. 
 We repeatedly undergo gratuitous anguish, because of our 
 distrust of God's loving Providence, and this sin, like so many 
 others, is always accompanied by its own punishment — i.e., 
 by the loss of peace and happiness. 
 
 Far wiser should we be if we imitated the Saints of the Old 
 and New Covenant, who ever clung to God's Word as their 
 guide, solace, and joy. Thus we find the prophet Jeremias 
 exclaiming : " Thy words were found and I did eat them, 
 and Thy word was to be a joy and gladness of my heart. "f 
 Holy Job voices the same sentiments : "The words of his mouth 
 I have hid in my bosom." J Our blessed Lady, on hearing 
 God's will concerning her, said to God's ambassador : "Be 
 it done unto me according to Thy word." We need not fear to 
 accept God's words or decrees, for, though they involve suffer- 
 ing for a time, yet we know that, in eternity, " sorrow shall 
 be no more," and God's words " are most faithful and true."§ 
 * St. Matt. vi. f Ibid., xv. i6. X Ibid., xxiii. § Apoc. xxi. 
 
22 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Now let us study more in detail the tactics of Satan, lest 
 we be like those of whom our Lord speaks — namely, of those 
 who " have no root . . . and in time of temptation they fall 
 away."* We notice that Satan attacked our Lord, precisely 
 at the moment when the temptation to turn the stones into 
 bread would have its full force. Jesus felt the gnawing pangs 
 of hunger, and, being in a desert, there appeared to be, 
 humanly speaking, no chance of His bodily needs being satisfied. 
 The devil ever acts thus. He comes with his evil suggestions 
 when we are in real want, when the body is faint with sickness, 
 watching, and weariness. It was when the Apostles' " eyes 
 were heavy with sleep " and sadness that Satan prevailed 
 over them in Gethsemani, and prevailed upon them to secure 
 their personal safety by abandoning their Master. The devil 
 is very fond of attacking souls during the long hours of a 
 sleepless night, when darkness and loneliness intensify his 
 suggestions, and when the imagination, unduly excited^ con- 
 jures up vain phantoms. 
 
 He comes whether as " the terror of the night," or as " the 
 noonday devil, "f with plausible reasons why his base sugges- 
 tions should be followed. He appeals to the necessity, the 
 expediency, or the advantages of yielding. He never lacks 
 a specious pretext, and the motives Satan puts forward differ 
 with the age, temperament, and circumstances of each in- 
 dividual. To all, he proposes some personal satisfaction as 
 the end to be obtained. He promises great rewards, which 
 his dupes never receive, for in all his dealings with men, Satan 
 has his own ends in view. He wants to ruin souls, to secure 
 them for himself, and thus diminish the number of the saved. 
 Hatred of God is his ruling motive, and since he cannot attack 
 the Creator, he wreaks his vengeance on mankind, especiallj^ 
 on those who love and serve God. 
 
 How are we to defend ourselves from the wiles of the Evil 
 One ? Our Lord teaches us by His example — by falling 
 back on the Word of God — " It is written." We know that 
 God watches over each one of us, that He has pledged Himself 
 to supply our needs, but if He wills that we should endure 
 privations, we must accept them cheerfully. We cannot 
 * St. Luke viii. t Ps xc. 
 
THE FIRST TEMPTATION 23 
 
 expect to be better treated than God's Saints, " of whom the 
 world was not worthy." They were " in want, distressed, 
 afflicted." They wandered in deserts, in mountains, and 
 in dens, and in caves of the earth."* Some even died of 
 hunger ; it was God's means of calling them to Himself. As 
 Christians, we know that " all things work together unto 
 good," to them that love God, and, among these things, 
 St. Paul includes '' distress and famine."! We must have 
 a firm conviction that our lot is in God's hands, and that it 
 is our duty to leave it there. We cannot do better for ourselves 
 with our poor human short-sighted plans, than God can with 
 His infinite wisdom and love. 
 
 " Not in bread alone doth man live," but by every word of 
 God. This is true also of the spiritual food of the soul, of the 
 Sacraments, of certain means of guidance, which may be 
 given us for a time. We accept them with gratitude, but 
 should God take them back, we must be resigned. A man 
 may be cast upon a desert island, where no priest is at hand 
 to absolve or give the last rites of the Church. But God is 
 always at hand to pardon, to enable the soul to make a perfect 
 act of contrition, which shall be so efficacious that it will be 
 the means of procuring for that soul the immediate admission 
 to eternal blessedness. We love the means of grace, the 
 Sacraments, Holy Mass, hearing the Word of God explained, 
 but we have sometimes need to remember that God does not 
 limit His grace to these divinely-appointed channels, and that 
 when these fail. He can supply our needs Himself. In all our 
 spiritual privations, we can always fall back upon the " Sacra- 
 ment " of the Will of God. We have need to remember these 
 consoling truths when we are debarred by circumstances from 
 receiving the Sacraments, attending Holy Mass, receiving 
 spiritual direction or hearing sermons. Precious as are these 
 means of grace, the Will of God, which deprives us of them, 
 should be more precious, since : " Not in bread alone doth man 
 live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouthof God." 
 
 His word may go forth that the soul is, for a time, to wander. 
 " In terra deserta, et invia, et inaquosa " — in a desert, pathless, 
 arid region — ^where the spiritual thirst for God is so intense 
 * Heb. xi. t Rom, viii. 
 
24 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 that with David the soul exclaims : " For Thee my soul 
 thirsteth, for Thee my flesh, oh, how many ways !" Yet 
 even in this spiritual wilderness, through which by the 
 Providence of God some souls sojourn ^or long years, even 
 here the Christian in desolation can follow the example of the 
 royal Psalmist, and exclaim : " My soul hath stuck close to 
 Thee, Thy right hand hath received me ;" "So in the 
 sanctuary have I come before Thee to see Thy power and Thy 
 glory."* Yes, sooner or later, God will show His power on 
 our behalf and His glory, as He showed them to His beloved 
 Son in the desert, if we are faithful and resigned, if we " watch 
 at the break of day." It hath proceeded from the mouth 
 of God, that all who are disciples of Christ " must be for a little 
 time made sorrowful in divers temptations." f Like St. Paul, 
 it behoves us to serve " the Lord with all humility, and with 
 tears, and temptations, "| but, nevertheless, strong in faith 
 and hope, " looking on Jesus," our suffering and tempted 
 Saviour, we can bear our cross bravely. We can even 
 *' count it all joy " when we ** fall into divers temptations, "§ 
 knowing that " the trying of our faith worketh patience," 
 and that " the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of 
 temptation. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Lord at the moment when 
 Satan presumes to address Him with the suggestion to distrust 
 God by providing for His bodily needs. 
 
 Second Fr elude. — Pray for grace to attach yourself before 
 all, and above all to the Will of God. 
 
 First Point. — ^The temptation to change stones into bread. 
 Note how Christ parries the tempter's thrusts with the words : 
 " It is written," etc. 
 
 Second Point. — Satan's tactics : he chooses his time well, 
 and adopts his suggestions to the individual's temperament, 
 needs, and circumstances. 
 
 Third Point. — How we should defend ourselves from the 
 Evil One — namely, by falling back on God's commandments, 
 
 * Ps. Ixii., passim. f i St. Pet. i. % Acts xx. 
 
 § St. Jas. i. II 2 St. Pet. ii. 
 
THE SECOND TEMPTATION 25 
 
 by confidence in God in all our temporal and spiritual trials 
 and temptations. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for His love in enduring tempta- 
 tion for you. Ask that you may profit by His example, and 
 learn the lesson He teaches you in the desert. Thank Him 
 for having atoned for your carelessness and cowardice in 
 resisting the devil. Ask for courage and constancy when 
 temptations fall to your lot. Since He has said, " I will also 
 keep thee from the hour of temptation,"* ask Him to be with 
 you and sustain you in the conflict. Thank Him for all your 
 past victories, ask pardon for failures, and conclude by praying 
 for those who are, at this moment, in conflict with Satan and 
 hardly pressed. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE SECOND TEMPTATIONf 
 
 Harmonized Narrative {The Second Temptation). — "Then the 
 devil brought Him to Jerusalem, (and) took Hun up to the holy city, 
 and set Him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him : If 
 Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence ; for it is 
 written : He hath given His angels charge over Thee, that they keep 
 Thee, and that in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest perhaps 
 Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. And answering Jesus said to 
 him : Again it is written : Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 
 — St. Matt. iv. ; St. Luke iv. 
 
 The first temptation has been overcome, and Jesus has 
 conquered " the concupiscence of the ej^es," but the devil 
 has not yet exhausted his weapons, and he now makes choice 
 
 * Apoc. iii. 
 
 t St. Luke places the temptation to ambition last, but it is probable 
 that St. Matthew gives the correct sequence in placing it as the second. 
 St. Luke gives no words which denote chronological sequence ; he 
 inserts simply the word Kai (" and ") between each stage of the tempta- 
 tion. St. Matthew% on the contrary, lays stress on the sequence ; 
 hence we may conclude that he gives the exact order of the tempta- 
 tion : Cf. " and {Kai) the tempter " (iv. 3) ; " then {rdre) the devil," etc. 
 (iv. 5) ; "again (TrdAti/) the devil," etc. (iv. 8) ; " then {rSre) the devil 
 left," etc. (iv. ii). Also, from internal e\ddence, we conclude that this 
 temptation came last : — 
 
 1. It is the most violent, since the sovereignty of the world was 
 offered, without the condition of the Passion (see Isa. hii. 2-12). 
 
 2, "The words 'Begone, Satan,' quoted by St. Matthew, imply a 
 
26 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 of one which serves him well in his dealings with fallen 
 humanity. The first temptation appealed to the natural 
 craving for food experienced by human beings. The second 
 responded to the cravings of man's intellect ; it was a tempta- 
 tion to yield to *' the pride of life," to presumption. Jesus 
 of Nazareth, " taking the shield of faith " and confidence in 
 His Heavenly Father, had extinguished " the fiery dart " of 
 the Wicked One ; He had resisted the temptation to sensuality 
 and distrust of God. Satan now lets fly his second dart. 
 
 But before he proposes the second temptation, the devil 
 deems that a change of scene will further his evil designs. He 
 will appeal to sight as well as to hearing. He could only 
 tempt our Lord exteriorly ; hence Satan judges that the more 
 senses he can utilize, the more will he be likely to prevail. 
 Therefore he chooses, not the summit of Mount Quarantania — 
 which on the eastern side rises perpendicularly from the 
 ground, and overlooks a dreary tableland — but a pinnacle of 
 the Temple in the Holy City, where there would be witnesses 
 of the miracle, should Jesus consent to the evil suggestions 
 to cast Himself down. 
 
 St. Matthew, writing to his Hebrew brethren, says that 
 the devil took our Lord to " the Holy City/' — the Jews' 
 favourite title for Jerusalem, for there was the Temple of 
 God, containing the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the 
 Covenant. St. Luke, who wrote his Gospel for Jewish and 
 Hellenistic converts, gives the geographical name of the 
 Holy City — -namely, Jerusalem. 
 
 It seems probable that Satan actually carried our Lord 
 bodily through the air, but both St. John Chrysostom and 
 St. Thomas Aquinas are of opinion that the translation was 
 effected invisibly, God so ordering it that Satan should be 
 thus foiled. Further, the Desert of Quarantania was some 
 twenty miles from Jerusalem, and as the whole route led 
 upwards it would have taken about nine hours to accomplish 
 
 dismissal of the devil " (" Cath. Scrip. Man. : St. Matt.," Book I., p. loi, 
 by the Author). 
 
 The concluding words of the two accounts point to the same con- 
 clusion. Cf. " Then [i.e., after the temptation to worship Satan] the 
 de\'il left Him" (St. Matt.). " When all the temptation was ended, 
 the devil departed from Him " (St. Luke). 
 
THE SECOND TEMPTATION 27 
 
 it on foot. Now, it is implied that the three temptations, 
 with the two translations, did not extend over any consider- 
 able length of time, since the Devil came to tempt Jesus 
 " when He had fasted forty days and forty nights." We are 
 not told that He fasted any longer, hence it seems as though 
 these translations must have been made " in a moment of 
 time," as rapidly perhaps as the vision of the kingdoms of the 
 world was shown to Him. 
 
 St. Gregory the Great, in his commentary " In Evangelia," 
 has a note on this incident ; he writes : " We need not be 
 surprised that He, who allowed Himself to be crucified by 
 the members of Satan, allowed Himself to be carried up to a 
 mountain by Satan."* We can fix our gaze, then, on our 
 blessed Lord as He is carried through the air by the devil in 
 person. What loathing and horror of the vile tempter there 
 was in our Lord's soul ! How He must have shrunk from 
 the contact with His enemy ! But for love of us He submitted 
 voluntarily to this depth of humiliation in order to atone for 
 His sinful disciples who too often deliberately rush into the 
 arms of the devil, who walk in the paths of evil at Satan's 
 bidding, and who are ever ready to set themselves on the 
 perilous pinnacles of ambition and renown. How many have 
 fallen from these giddy heights into the abyss of hell ! How 
 often have we need therefore to breathe the prayer of the 
 Church to the Holy Spirit : 
 
 " Hostem repellas longius, 
 Pacemque dones protinus ; 
 Ductore sic te praevio, 
 Vitemus omne noxium I" 
 
 The devil has reached the pinnacle of the Temple and set 
 our Lord upon it. We do not know for certain which part 
 of the Temple Satan chose. From the choice of the word 
 " pinnacle," the diminutive of " wing," it has been suggested 
 that the devil set our Lord on the pediment of the lofty 
 tower, which Herod had erected at the south-eastern corner 
 
 * Horn, in St. Matt. 
 
 t " Far from us drive the foe we dread, 
 And grant us Thy true peace instead ; 
 So shall we not with Thee for Guide, 
 Turn from the path of Ufe aside." 
 
28 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 of the Temple cloisters, and which connected the Royal 
 Porch on the south with Solomon's Porch (or cloisters) on 
 the east. This three-storied tower rose 450 feet sheer above 
 the Valley of Cedron, where it blended" with the Valley of 
 Hinnom.* 
 
 Josephus thus describes this tower : " It was an astonishing 
 work of art ... for the valley was so deep that when anyone, 
 standing on the top, looked down into it, he lost his head. 
 Above this, Herod erected a portico of four stories of pillars, of 
 such extraordinary height that when anyone ascended to the 
 parapet, so as to look down from the roof on the combined 
 depth of the building and of the natural precipice, he stood a 
 chance of becoming giddy before his eyes reached the bottom 
 of the abyss." t Contemplate our blessed Saviour as He 
 stands on this giddy height. Satan is by His side. What a 
 panorama stretches out before their gaze, for from this position 
 of vantage a full view of the beautiful Temple can be had ! 
 Looking northwards, they see the House of the Lord, the 
 Priests' Court, the Court of Israel, the Women's Court, and 
 the spacious Court of the Gentiles. In all these we may 
 suppose there are crowds of worshippers. Perhaps it is the 
 hour of the morning sacrifice, when the white-robed priests 
 are silently and reverently performing their sacred functions. 
 The chant of the Levites rises on the breezes, and, as the 
 prayers are concluded, the loud response of the worshippers 
 may be heard : *' Blessed be the name of the glory of His 
 kingdom for ever. "J 
 
 In every prayer the devout Jew made mention of the coming 
 of the King Messias, of the establishment of His kingdom 
 upon earth. Now Jesus, the King, the Messias, is actually 
 present, looking down upon the Temple and the worshippers. 
 What is He thinking of as He stands there ? Surely of His 
 Father's glory and of our salvation. Satan has kept silence 
 for a brief space, so, too, has Jesus, for He will not condescend 
 
 * Ennom, Vulgate. f "Antiquities," xv., ii. 5. 
 
 X The Doxology which is found added to the " Our Father " in a 
 few ancient manuscripts, and which the Authorized Version retains, 
 was the ordinary Temple formula of response. With slight variations 
 in the different manuscripts, the Doxology runs thus : " For Thine is 
 the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever." 
 
THE SECOND TEMPTATION 29 
 
 to address the devil without necessity, and then He replies 
 as briefly as possible. Now the Tempter finds the moment 
 favourable for his second attack, and he speaks : " If Thou be 
 the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written : That 
 He hath given His Angels charge over Thee, and in their hands 
 shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash Thy foot 
 against a stone." 
 
 How craftily the devil renews his assault : "If Thou be the 
 Son of God " ! He had received no direct answer as to the 
 Divinity of our Lord, so he endeavours to satisfy his curiosity 
 by a suggestion that our Lord should now prove It by casting 
 Himself headlong down. Satan goes from one extreme to 
 the other ; having tempted Jesus to distrust His Father's care, 
 and to provide for His own bodily needs, he now tempts Him 
 to commit the sin of presumption, and, counting on God's 
 protection, to expose Himself to danger without necessity. 
 Satan follows up his evil suggestion by quoting a passage of 
 the Scriptures, as though he would foil our Lord with His 
 own weapons. But Jesus detects the serpent's ruse. He 
 knows that God will protect Him, but in all His ways — i.e., in 
 the paths where the Father would have Him tread. There is 
 no Divine promise of protection for those who rush unbidden 
 into danger. 
 
 The Jews had received a promise that the Messias should 
 come unexpectedly : '' And 'presently [statim) the Lord, whom 
 you seek, and the Angel of the testament, whom you desire, 
 shall come to His Temple."* They therefore expected Him 
 to come in some mysterious manner, as we see from a passage 
 in St. John.'s Gospel : " When the Christ cometh, no man 
 knoweth whence He is."f Was it, then, Satan's suggestion 
 that Jesus should cast Himself down in presence of the 
 assembled priests and worshippers, and proclaim the establish- 
 ment of the Messianic reign ? He could have done so by His 
 own power ; He had no need of angelic assistance, but such 
 was not the Father's Will. Christ's kingdom was to be 
 established by long years of toil and suffering ; it was " not of 
 this world." 
 
 Whatever Satan desired he was once more defeated. Jesus 
 * Mai. iii. f St. John vii. 
 
30 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 answered : "It is written again : Thou shalt not tempt the 
 Lord thy God." How much this brief answer contains ! It 
 is written. Jesus still uses the sword of the Spirit, and the 
 meaning is : " It stands or remains written." Yes, and written 
 " again " (which may mean '' also " or " elsewhere "). Our 
 Lord teaches us that the Scriptures must be explained by the 
 Scriptures ; it is possible for " the unlearned and the un- 
 stable " to wrest the Word of God " to their own destruction."* 
 In rebutting both the second and the third temptation, Jesus 
 quoted from Deut. vi. These words formed part of the 
 Shema, a prayer which all devout Jews recited morning and 
 evening. They were inscribed with three other passages f on 
 the phylacteries or strips of parchment, which were rolled up 
 and worn on the left arm and on the forehead. 
 
 Very familiar, therefore, were these words to our Lord. 
 From childhood He had recited them daily, and as He stood 
 on the pinnacle of the Temple, He probably wore the phy- 
 lacteries on which they were written. These words were 
 engraved, too, on His inmost Soul, and the mouth spoke of the 
 abundance of His Sacred Heart. The citation of these words 
 was strikingly appropriate if we consider the occasion when 
 Moses addressed them to the people, and the circumstance to 
 which he alluded. The Israelites when encamped at Raphidim 
 had lacked water, consequently they murmured against 
 Moses, threatened to stone him, and said with distrust : '' Is 
 the Lord amongst us or not ?" God told Moses to strike the 
 rock, and water flowed forth in abundance. When Moses 
 explained the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, he 
 reminded them of this act of rebellion, saying : " Thou shalt 
 not tempt the Lord thy God as thou temptedst Him in the 
 place of temptation." As the Israelites asked for a miracle 
 in order to be assured of God's presence among them, so Satan 
 tempted Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle as 
 a proof that God was with Him, that He was really the Son 
 of God. 
 
 * 2 St. Pet. iii. 
 
 t The frontal texts were taken from : (i) Exod. xiii. 2-10 ; (2) Exod. 
 xiii. 11-17; (3) Deut. vi. 4-9; {4) Deut. vi. 13-23. Jewish boys 
 became " sons of the Law " when about thirteen years of age, and their 
 wearing the phylacteries was a sign that they had been admitted to all 
 the privileges and responsibilities of the Law. 
 
THE SECOND TEMPTATION 31 
 
 Let us now learn a few other lesson,s from our Lord's 
 temptation. One tmth stands out very clearly — namely, 
 that contact with evil does not constitute sin. Jesus was 
 borne aloft in the arms of Satan ; He heard his foul suggestions, 
 but they could not soil the purity of His all-holy Soul. The 
 Christian may be exposed to live in the midst of evil, to listen 
 to the most foul temptations, yet he may come forth undehlcd 
 from this terrible ordeal by fire — i.e., from the fiery darts of 
 the Evil One. The temptations may be so violent that those 
 who experience them are unable to distinguish, for the time 
 being, whence they come, and may attribute them to 
 themselves. 
 
 There is an interesting passage in the ** Pilgrim's Progress " 
 which bears on this subject. It is related that when Christian 
 was travelling through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he 
 was so violently tempted and " confounded that he did not 
 know his own voice," and that " just when he was come over 
 against the mouth of the burning pit, one of the wicked ones 
 got behind him, and stepped softly up to him, and whisperingly 
 suggested many blasphemies to him, which he verily thought 
 had proceeded from his own mind, . . . but he had not the 
 discretion to stop his ears, or to know from whence these 
 blasphemies came." We must be wiser than poor Christian 
 and keep calm, knowing that panic springs from fear, which 
 " is nothing else but a yielding up of the succours from 
 thought."* So long as we take no voluntary pleasure in evil 
 thoughts, they are not ours. 
 
 Secondly, we must be brief in our replies to Satan. What- 
 ever be the temptation, we can always reply, " It is written,'* 
 for God's Word is an inexhaustible armoury. Does the 
 Tempter try to seduce us with the world's vain pomp and 
 glamour ? It is written : " Love not the world." W^ould he 
 have us despise our neighbours ? It is written again : " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Is he persuading us to 
 take our ease, to relax the restraints of wholesome discipline ? 
 It is written : " Behold I come as a thief in the night." Is the 
 temptation against faith ? It is written : " Contend earnestly 
 for the faith once delivered to the Saints, "t These citations 
 * Wisd. xvii. t St. Jude. 
 
32 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 will suffice to prove that we can always find spiritual defensive 
 Weapons in the teaching of the Church and of the Scriptures. 
 Would it not be a good plan to choose our weapons before- 
 hand ? We know what temptations usually assail us, and 
 it is well to have the means of resisting them at hand, so that 
 we may the more effectually overcome. " We must watch, 
 especially in the beginning of temptation, for then the enemy 
 is more easily overcome, if he be not suffered to enter the 
 door of the mind, but is withstood upon the threshold the 
 very moment that he knocketh."* 
 
 Thirdly, we must be prudent, and avoid running into 
 temptation. When God leads us to the combat. He will 
 remain with us to strengthen and deliver us. The wise man 
 tells us that " Pride goeth before destruction, and the spirit 
 is lifted up before a fall " ;t " He that loveth danger shall 
 perish in it.":|: How often we have experienced the truth of 
 these words ! There are certain persons, places, and things 
 that, to given individuals, are always occasions of sin. They 
 appeal to sinful inclinations so strongly as to lead these souls 
 to offend God. If He place them on their paths, they will be 
 able to conquer, but if they deliberately choose to face these 
 dangers they are tempting God. Without His grace they 
 cannot overcome, hence their defeat is a foregone conclusion. 
 On the other hand, those who humbly follow the guidance of 
 God, will be prepared to meet Satan, and, with David, they 
 can say : " My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for He shall 
 pluck my feet out of the snare. "§ 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Fix your thoughts on our Lord in the 
 moment when the devil carries Him bodily through the air, 
 and places Him on the lofty pinnacle of the Royal Porch. 
 
 Second Prelude. — ^Ask for grace, by the merits of our Lord's 
 resistance, to detect Satan's snares promptly, and to combat 
 him generously and constantly. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus accepts the humiliation of coming per- 
 sonally in contact with Satan, in order to atone for our 
 * "Imitation,"!. 19. f Prov. xvi. J Ecclus. iii § Ps. xxiv. 
 
P/ioto, Levy 
 
 Scheffer 
 
 THE TEMPTATION 
 
 To face p 3; 
 
THE SECOND TEMPTATION 33 
 
 weakness in yielding to his suggestions, and in wandering 
 from the right path. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The nature of the second temptation ; it 
 was a temptation to presumption and ambition. Jesus again 
 overcomes by using the sword of the Spirit. He quotes the 
 words which were inscribed on the " frontal fillets." 
 
 Third Point. — Lessons we may learn : (i) Temptation is 
 not a sin, nor is it a sign of weakness. (2) We must not 
 parley with the devil. (3) If we run wilfully into dangerous 
 occasions of sin, we are sure to fall. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our blessed Lord, in union with the holy 
 Angels, as He stands on the pinnacle. Thank Him for accept- 
 ing this humiliation for love of us. Ask Him to engrave on 
 your inmost soul the words which will most surely help you to 
 extinguish the devil's darts. Promise Him that when Satan 
 tempts you to sin, you will at once employ your spiritual 
 weapons without seeking plausible excuses for yielding. 
 Thank Him for past succours. Beg pardon for past un- 
 faithfulness. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE THIRD TEMPTATION : THE VICTORY 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " Again the devil took Him up into a 
 very high mountain, and shewed Him all the kingdoms of the world 
 and the glory thereof in a moment of time, and said to Him : To Thee 
 wiU I give all this power and the glory of them, for to me they are de- 
 hvered, and, to whom I will, I give them. All these will I give Thee, 
 if, falhng down, Thou wilt adore me. Then Jesus saith to him : Begone, 
 Satan ; it is written : The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him alone 
 shalt thou serve. And all the temptation being ended, the devil 
 departed from Him for a time : and behold angels came and ministered 
 to Him." — St. Matt. iv. ; St. Luke iv. 
 
 Once more, Satan bears our Lord through the air, and Jesus 
 again submits to this humiliation for love of us. As we have 
 learned from the second temptation, it is not the mere act 
 of coming in contact with the devil that stains the soul, but 
 the yielding to his foul suggestions. This time the temptation 
 takes place upon " a high mountain." The traditional site is 
 Mount Quarantania, and it would have served Satan's purpose 
 
 3 
 
34 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 admirably, for Jesus, standing on the summit of the mountain, 
 would have had a glorious panorama whichever side He looked. 
 
 Due north lay the Plains of Jericho and the Valley of the 
 Jordan, along which the river meandered like a silver thread. 
 He sees, too, Samaria and Galilee, in which was the cottage 
 home of Nazareth. Farther north the Mountains of Lebanon 
 and snow-capped Hermon rise in all their majestic beauty. 
 Eastward the undulating plains slope down to the fertile 
 Valley of the Euphrates, one of the rivers which watered the 
 Garden of Eden, the scene of man's fall. Westward extend 
 the flowery Plains of Sharon, and beyond them gleam the 
 white sails on the bosom of the Mediterranean. If Jesus 
 looks to the south He beholds, at his feet, Jerusalem with her 
 glorious marble Temple ; He sees the pinnacle, the scene of the 
 previous temptation ; Bethlehem, too, is close by, and what 
 remembrances it arouses ! The Dead Sea lies due south, as 
 well as the Desert of Judea and the country of the Moa bites. 
 Jesus sees the caravan route that leads to Egypt, the home of 
 His childhood. 
 
 From no spot would it be possible to contemplate '' all the 
 kingdoms of the earth," but these countries might well 
 typically represent them. They were sufficient to call up a 
 picture of the regions that lay beyond — of Europe, with Italy, 
 the seat of the Caesars and the centre of the government of 
 practically the whole world ; of the East, with its teeming, 
 busy multitudes ; of the Far West, where the name of God was 
 unknown. The countries which could be scanned from that 
 high mountain where Jesus stood, certainly sufficed to convey 
 a very vivid impression of grandeur and some conception of 
 their extent, beauty, riches, and glory. These were typical 
 suggestive scenes which unrolled themselves before our Lord's 
 eyes. 
 
 On this occasion, Satan, " the prince of the power of this 
 air," may have been permitted to throw a glamour over the 
 panoramic scenes. Thus he could have appealed even more 
 powerfully to the imagination of Jesus, " the prince of the 
 kings of the earth who hath loved us,"* and who, urged by His 
 infinite love for man, perhaps condescended to submit to this 
 
 * Apoc, i. 
 
THE THIRD TEMPTATION : THE VICTORY 35 
 
 humiliation, that He might acquire an experimental knowledge 
 of what the children of Adam endure, when Satan tempts them 
 through the imagination.* 
 
 The words of Scripture certainly point to some outward 
 impression on our Lord's senses, and even on the supposition 
 that the devil threw no enchanting veil of beauty over the 
 landscapes, yet they were sufficiently sublime to stir up deep 
 emotions, and our Lord's knowledge would have supplied 
 what was so powerfully suggested, though not seen in reality. 
 
 Let us worship " the Prince of the kings of the earth " as He 
 stands looking over His broad dominions, for they are His, 
 although Satan has usurped them for a time. Jesus knows 
 that soon " shall the prince of this world be cast out,"t and 
 the present combat and victory are already destined to weaken 
 the devil's power. 
 
 Jesus looks around ; He sees beauty, wealth, grandeur — all 
 united in those vast tracts that stretch out before Him. 
 Kings rule over these mighty countries ; armies tramp to the 
 battle-fields ; mighty fleets sail over the oceans. Millions 
 of human beings, each possessing an immortal soul, dwell 
 in these lands. They are the souls whom Jesus has come to 
 snatch from the grasp of the enemy. What thoughts must 
 have surged in our Lord's soul as He thought of them and 
 their hapless plight ! 
 
 Satan is watching the features of Jesus as He surveys the 
 scene before Him. All passes in " a moment of time " — the 
 translation, the vision, the temptation, and the victory. Now 
 the suggestion is made : " To Thee will I give all these, all 
 this power and the glory of them, if, falling down, Thou wilt 
 adore me ; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I 
 give them." Satan cunningly appeals now to " the lust of 
 
 ♦ Milton, in his " Paradise Regained " (Book IIL), when he relates 
 the Temptation of Christ, places the subjoined lines on the Tempter's 
 Ups : 
 
 " Here thou behold 'st 
 Assyria, and her empire's ancient bounds, 
 Araxes and the Caspian lake; thence on 
 As far as Indus east, Euphrates west, 
 And oft beyond : to south the Persian bay, 
 And, inaccessible, the Arabian drouth." 
 
 t St. John xii. 
 
36 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the eyes " ; these vast dominions were " fair to the eyes and 
 deUghtful to behold."* This is Satan's last attempt ; he 
 uses his third dart by appealing to the love of power and 
 riches. He makes a great effort, for he is very much in 
 earnest, and knows no half-measures. Seeing that Jesus has 
 proved invulnerable to the temptations of the flesh and of 
 pride, His enemy uses the bait which attracts and ruins 
 millions of souls, though far less than a kingdom suffices to 
 obtain their allegiance — some paltry satisfaction wins them 
 over to his side, a trinket, a little of earth's dust which men 
 call gold. In return, they prostrate themselves and do homage 
 to the prince of this world. 
 
 Satan points to the different parts of the horizon, as he 
 says : '* I will give Thee all these." Has he the power to 
 bestow them ? Yes, for a time, since he has usurped these 
 dominions, and men have accepted his authority. Having 
 exhibited the bewitching spectacle of earth's grandeurs, the 
 devil now lays down his conditions ; he unmasks his evil 
 designs — the serpent shows himself in his full length. Notice, 
 too, that he asks for more than he offers, since if these king- 
 doms are held by his vassals, he is still the liege lord ; the 
 rulers and their lands remain in his possession. He asks 
 Jesus to renounce His allegiance to God, to worship him. 
 He would have Him accept an earthly kingdom in place of 
 the spiritual kingdom which the Father had sent Him to found. 
 A kingdom for a soul ! Yes, Satan has many a time made 
 this offer, and men have accepted it eagerly, and each time 
 the devil made the better bargain, for " what shall it profit 
 a man, if he gain the whole World, and suffer the loss of his own 
 soul ?" 
 
 Now Satan offers the whole world, its full possession and 
 government in return for an act of adoration, but Jesus knows 
 that He must " reign from the tree of shame," for thus God 
 has decreed. The royal road, along which the Incarnate Son 
 of God must travel to enter into His kingdom, is the truly 
 royal road of the Cross. Jesus had accepted His Father's 
 Will, even when it pointed out the ascent to Calvary. It is 
 there, by His sacred Passion, that He will obtain His kingdom 
 
 * Gen. ii. 
 
THE THIRD TEMPTATION : THE VICTORY 37 
 
 and even His enemies will be forced to give Him His royal 
 title: '* Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Nor does 
 our Lord keep Satan waiting for one second. Instantly He 
 replies : " Begone, Satan: It is written. Thou shalt adore the 
 Lord thy God, and Him alone shalt thou serve." 
 
 Jesus calls the devil by his name, Satan, the adversary of 
 God and man — and He commands him to depart. The other 
 attacks were insidious ; this one is undisguised, hence our Lord 
 shows the devil that He recognizes him, and sees through his 
 deceit. Once more, Jesus vindicates His Father's honour, 
 and He dismisses the Tempter. 
 
 " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God." In the original 
 Hebrew, the passage reads "fear" instead of "adore," but 
 the meaning is the same, since the word " fear " to the Jews 
 signified adoration, reverence, and love — in a word, all our 
 duties to God. Cf. " Fear God and keep His commandment, 
 for this is all man " {i.e., the whole duty of man). 
 
 Crestfallen, the devil retires ; every suggestion has failed, 
 and he has learned nothing concerning our Lord's Divinity. 
 Jesus replied to the last temptation by appealing to the duty 
 of man to adore God, and Him alone. He did not claim 
 adoration as due to Himself, for He did not will to reveal 
 Himself to Satan. 
 
 " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God " ; the words were 
 familiar enough to the devil ! Had he not fallen from his 
 first estate precisely because he had refused to worship God ? 
 The heart's allegiance is due to God ; He is the legitimate Lord 
 of all things. ]\Ioreover, there is an instinct in man which 
 leads him to worship ; he gropes after the Creator, and if 
 he cannot find Him, he worships creatures. Satan knows 
 this instinct exists in man, and his aim is to take the place of 
 God, to substitute himself as the object of adoration. The 
 devil is worshipped by thousands, who sell their spiritual 
 birthright that they may possess some of earth's baubles. 
 Jesus, by His answer to the devil, teaches us how to treat 
 him. We must be true to our God, and instantly reject every 
 temptation to put creatures in the place of the Creator. 
 
 Satan has departed. Jesus, the Vanquisher of the hellish 
 foe, has dismissed the Tempter. Contemplate our Saviour in 
 
38 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 this, His moment of victory, and ask that we frail human 
 beings may overcome all temptations in the Name and the 
 Power of the " Captain of our salvation." " By Thy fasting 
 and temptation," and by Thy glorious victory over Satan, 
 " Good Lord, deliver us." 
 
 It is the hour of victory. Now the legions of Angels are 
 permitted to come and minister to their Lord. During the 
 conflict they were " encamped round about " Him, but they 
 were not allowed to come to His assistance. They keep Him 
 in all His ways, for these ways are of God's ordering, and 
 the Divine promise is fulfilled. How joyfully and reverently 
 the hosts of Heaven minister to the Son of God ! They had 
 been spectators of the combat — " a great cloud of witnesses " 
 — and desired perhaps to know what this great mystery sig- 
 nified, and why they were not permitted to come forw^ard 
 sooner. Yet, knowing that God does all things well, they 
 were content " to stand and wait " until the signal for action 
 was given. 
 
 Now the angelic choirs throng round their Lord ; they adore 
 Him, they rejoice in His victory, they congratulate Him, and 
 they rejoice also for us. They minister, too, to His needs ; 
 how, we do not know, but certainly they sustained His failing 
 bodily strength by food that was miraculously procured. As 
 God fed the Israelites in the desert by sending manna from 
 Heaven, so now He supplies His beloved Son with food by 
 angelic agency, without the intervention of Nature. 
 
 How often in our Lord's human life we find Angels as the 
 messengers of God's behests ! In Bethlehem, they sing His 
 praises, and they give warning of danger. In Gethsemani, as 
 in the desert, they succour our Lord. How joyfully they 
 come forward to minister now to Him. As St. John 
 Chrysostom remarks : ** When the assault was going on He 
 would not suffer them to appear, lest they might by so doing 
 drive away the prey, but after He had convicted Satan on all 
 points and driven him away, then they are allowed to appear. 
 He does this that thou mayest learn that after thou hast gained 
 victories in imitation of Him, Angels will receive thee also 
 with applause, and wait as guards on thee in all things."* We 
 
 * In St. Matt., Horn. xiii. 
 
THE THIRD TEMPTATION : THE VICTORY 39 
 
 may be certain that if we resist manfully, " the ministering 
 spirits sent to minister to those who shall receive the inheri- 
 tance of salvation " will be at hand to defend us. 
 
 Let us gather a few more lessons as we linger in the desert 
 still contemplating our Saviour, as He chants His hymn of 
 praise and receives the reverent ministrations of the Angels. 
 While we have tarried with Him in His desert fast and vigil, 
 We have already learnt much that will serve us in our hour 
 of conflict with the powers of evil. 
 
 We are told that, " all the temptations being ended, the 
 devil departed from Him for a time " (literally, "for a season "). 
 He returned to the charge on several occasions through the 
 agency of men, even of St. Peter; and also in person, since Jesus, 
 on the eve of His Passion, said to His Apostles : " The prince 
 of this world conieth, and in Me he hath not anything."* The 
 combat was renewed in Gethsemani, when it was the hour 
 " of the powers of darkness," and of Satan's agents. So 
 will it be for us ; the devil leaves us but for a season. There- 
 fore, knowing this, we must " watch and pray " lest we " enter 
 into temptation." 
 
 One very consoling lesson that we should learn is that, 
 although Satan can suggest evil, he cannot compel us to 3deld, 
 for God has given us a free will, and the promise is formal : 
 " Resist the devil, and he will fly from you."t 
 
 We are further taught that temptations are divinely ordered 
 as to their duration, nature, and measure. We are fighting 
 with Satan, it is true, but under the watchful eye and loving 
 protection of our Heavenly Father. Satan is cunning, 
 powerful, and malicious, but he is no match for God, who is 
 with us. Hence our confidence in God must be greater than 
 our fear of the devil. 
 
 St. John Chrysostom thus sums up the lessons which we 
 should learn from the mystery of our Lord's Temptation in 
 the desert. Addressing those who had recently received 
 baptism, he says : '* Yea, thou didst take up arms that thou 
 mightest fight, and not to remain idle. For this cause God 
 does not stop the temptations as they come. First, He 
 would have thee learn how much stronger thou art [i.e., after 
 ♦ St, John xiv. t St. Jas. iv. 
 
40 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 baptism) ; next, that thou mayest be wise and not allow 
 thyself to be exalted because thou hast received such great 
 gifts ; . . . also (thou art tempted) in order that the devil 
 may be weJl assured that thou hast utterly abandoned him ; 
 fourthly, that thou mayest be stronger and more solid than 
 steel ; fifthly, that thou mayest obtain a certain proof of the 
 treasures entrusted to thee/'* 
 
 Finally, before we quit the desert scene, where we have 
 spent a few precious moments in our beloved Master's com- 
 pany, let us take with us, as our spiritual arms with which 
 to fight the devil, those consoling words of our Teacher : " / 
 will also keep thee from the hour of temptation." These words 
 are not a promise that we shall not have to contend with 
 Satan and his agents, but that, when we are called to go forth 
 to meet the foe, our Lord will be with us, watching us as we 
 resist, and aiding us by His grace. Therefore let us not 
 shrink from the combat, for "Blessed is the man that endureth 
 temptation, for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the 
 crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him . " f 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Lord as He stands on the 
 " high mountain." The vast regions of the earth are stretched 
 out at His feet. Satan stands beside Him. The Angels are 
 watching their King and Lord with reverent awe. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for grace to resist temptations to 
 covetousness and love of honours, and for courage to persevere 
 in overcoming temptations. 
 
 First Point. — The translation of Jesus to the mountain ; the 
 view that meets His gaze on all sides. 
 
 Second Point. — The suggestion ; its true import. Satan 
 throws off his mask, and appears as the adversary of God. 
 
 Third Point. — Christ's victory. He again uses the sword 
 of the Spirit. Angels minister to our Lord's needs. 
 
 Fourth Point. — Lessons we may learn : (i) The devil only 
 leaves us for a time. (2) Satan cannot compel us to yield. 
 (3) All temptations are divinely ordered. (4) Temptations 
 show us our strength, and test it. (5) Temptations should be 
 a source of joy. 
 
 * In St. Matt., Horn. xiii. f St. Jas. i. 
 
'' BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD !" 41 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 " BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD !" 
 
 " Behold the Lamb of God ! Behold Him who taketh away 
 the sin of the world !" How familiar we are with these 
 words ! The Church has enshrined them in her Liturgy from 
 the first century of her existence. She invokes the Lamb 
 of God in the greater Doxology — the Gloria in Excelsis — 
 which formed part of the early Christians' morning prayers. 
 We hear them daily recited in the Holy Mass, and all the 
 Litanies approved by the Church contain invocations to the 
 Divine Victim. 
 
 Let us consider the memorable occasion wlien these words 
 were uttered, and strive to fathom their meaning. Christ's 
 herald, St. John the Baptist, pronounced them w^hen he gave 
 his public testimony to Christ. He was then preaching and 
 baptizing in " Bethania beyond the Jordan."* 
 
 St. John habitually preached in the " country about 
 Jordan." It was necessary, in view of his administration of 
 the baptism of penance, that he should remain in the vicinity 
 of the river. Local traditions assign to various sites the 
 honour of having been chosen by the Baptist as stations for 
 exercising his ministry. In the region of " Bethania beyond 
 the Jordan "St. John baptized Christ, and rendered his first 
 public recorded testimony to His being the Messias, a testimony 
 which God the Father confirmed in the hearing of the by- 
 standers. 
 
 What a wondrous power St. John the Baptist exercised 
 over men ! His austerity won their respect and admiration ; 
 his personality must have been imposing, for his words riveted 
 
 * There is in a few codices a variant reading — Betkabara — but the 
 best manuscripts give Bethania, which is generally accepted as the 
 correct name of the place in question. Origen preferred Bethabara 
 from topographical reasons, and his decision seems to have influenced 
 those who wrote later than his times. " Bethania beyond the Jor- 
 dan " must be distinguished from Bethania, the hamlet of JNIartha and 
 Mary, which was situated on the south-eastern slope of the Mount of 
 OHves, about one mile from Jerusalem. It is not known for certain 
 where " Bethania beyond the Jordan " was situated, but we may 
 safely conclude that it was in Perea, east of the Jordan. 
 
42 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the attention of his audience. They penetrated into their 
 inmost souls, and convicted them " of sin, of justice, and of 
 judgment to come." Men of various conditions went out to 
 hear him preach ; they went from ** Jerusalem and all Judea, 
 and all the country about the Jordan." They submitted to 
 the rite of baptism, and did not shrink from publicly '' con- 
 fessing their sins." Herod, too, '* feared John, knowing him 
 to be a just and a holy man." He even went so far as to hear 
 him " willingly," and to do " many things " suggested by the 
 Precursor. Nor would he have dared to lay hands upon him, 
 had it not been for the pressure exercised by Herodias, and 
 " because of his oath." 
 
 After the Baptist's death, the Jews dare not assert that 
 his mission was held " from men," even when this assertion 
 would have delivered them from their embarrassment. Hence 
 their hesitation when asked by our Lord : *' The baptism of 
 John, whence was it? from Heaven or from men?" They 
 pleaded ignorance, even at the risk of losing their prestige as 
 the spiritual rulers of Israel : " We know not." They an- 
 swered thus because they were " afraid of the multitude, for 
 all held John as a prophet." St. Luke gives the exact ground 
 of their fear: "If we say, * Of men,' the whole people will 
 stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." 
 
 To these human appreciations of the Precursor, add the 
 testimony of the Incarnate Word. This testimony was given 
 by Christ, when the Baptist from his prison — the fortress of 
 Machserus — hearing of the works of Christ, sent two of his 
 disciples to ask this question : " Art Thou He that art to come, 
 or look we for another ? " St. John needed not the information 
 for himself ; he was " no reed shaken with the wind," but, 
 knowing that his days were numbered and that he would soon 
 seal his testimony with his blood, he wished to persuade his 
 disciples to follow Christ. The disciples faithfully delivered 
 their message, and Jesus, after having worked miracles in 
 their presence, thus spoke of their master : " What went 
 you out to see ? . . . A prophet ? Yea, I tell you; more than 
 a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written : * Behold, I 
 send My Angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way 
 before thee. Amen I say to you, there hath not risen 
 
(( 
 
 BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD !" 43 
 
 among them that are born of women, a greater than John the 
 Baptist.' " 
 
 Truly the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets of the 
 Old Law, since it was his privilege to be the immediate fore- 
 runner of the Messias. His birth was miraculous ; he was 
 sanctified in his mother's womb, and he lived in the desert as a 
 Nazarite until the time came to begin his public life. John, 
 the son of Zachary, was also a priest, and in the fulness of 
 time, this divinely appointed herald came forth to bear 
 witness to Jesus, the Lamb of God. 
 
 We can picture him as, clad in his rough garment of camel's 
 hair, he stands with his disciples on the banks of the Jordan. 
 Now he is wrapped in thought, now he is preaching and 
 denouncing the vices of his hearers, who, pressing round, fear 
 to lose one word of his impassioned discourse. His whole 
 being is absorbed in the fulfilment of his mission. Christ must 
 be made manifest, Christ must reign, and he, the Precursor, 
 must decrease. So God has decreed it ; the herald is not 
 to witness the triumph of his Sovereign over sin and death. 
 He can best serve His Master's cause by suffering and self- 
 effacement, and this law seems to obtain in the lives of 
 thousands of Christians. Paul plants, Apollo waters, but 
 God gives the increase, not infrequent^, to a third labourer ; 
 and blessed are they who master this lesson betimes. 
 
 St. John was the humble Precursor. In answer to the 
 question " Who art thou ?" addressed to him by the deputa- 
 tion from the Sanhedrin, when priests and Levites came to 
 question him, the Baptist replied by proclaiming his inferiority 
 and the Messias' greatness. He told them plainly that he 
 was neither the Christ, the Prophet, nor Elias (whom they 
 expected to return in the flesh), but that he Was " a voice 
 crying in the wilderness : make straight the way of the 
 Lord. . . . The same is He that is preferred before me, the 
 latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose." A little later 
 some of the Precursor's disciples, jealously zealous for their 
 master's honour, came to him, and said : " Rabbi, He that was 
 with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, 
 behold, He baptizeth, and all men come to Him." Wliat 
 answer did they receive ? *' I am not the Christ, but I am 
 
44 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 sent before Him. . . . This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He 
 must increase, but I must decrease." 
 
 The Baptist asserts once more his true position ; he effaces 
 himself that Christ may be glorified. Yes, it is essential that 
 those whom God calls to any special work should be humble, 
 otherwise they would rob Him of His Glory, which He gives 
 not to another, and by so doing imperil their own salvation." 
 The Baptist having answered the Sanhedrin, the deputation 
 returned to Jerusalem, while he remained at the same place 
 with some of his faithful disciples. 
 
 Meanwhile Jesus, having conquered Satan in the wilderness, 
 was returning " in the power of the Spirit into Galilee," and 
 on His journey thither He passed by '' Bethania beyond the 
 Jordan," where John was preaching and baptizing. A rude 
 conflict, a well-earned victory, an earnest purpose to fulfil 
 some divinely-given mission, are revealed in a man's features 
 and gait. We know by experience that severe mental strain 
 as well as physical pain leaves its traces upon the human 
 body. Was it otherwise with the Son of man ? Surely not, 
 for Jesus, our High-Priest, *' was tempted in all things hke 
 as we are." Hence the forty days' fast, and the prolonged 
 struggle with Satan, must have left their imprint upon His 
 sacred features, while the indwelling of the Spirit in power 
 would have been revealed by the majesty of His demeanour. 
 Jesus passes His Precursor, who as We know, was standing with 
 his disciples on the east bank of the Jordan. In all probability 
 St. John knew of the combat out of which Christ had come 
 forth victorious, and, pointing Him out to his disciples, he 
 exclaimed : " Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who 
 taketh away the sin of the world !" What effect had these 
 words on those who stood around St. John ? We are not told, 
 but we learn from the context that when, on the next day, St. 
 John saw Jesus passing, he repeated his testimony to the 
 Lamb of God, and then two of the Baptist's disciples, St. 
 Andrew and another, left their beloved master and followed 
 Christ. 
 
 When the Baptist made his solemn proclamation concerning 
 Jesus of Nazareth, these two disciples felt drawn interiorly to 
 follow Him, and to attach themselves to Him. There was no 
 
" BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD !" 45 
 
 efinite call on this occasion, such as that which Jesus addressed 
 Simon Peter the next day, or to St. Philip a little later. 
 " The Spirit breatheth where He will," and as He wills. All 
 re not called to follow Christ in the same manner, but it 
 patters not how the call comes to each one individually, 
 he essential is to obey that Divine Voice, whatever form it 
 |iay take. Who was the other disciple that accompanied 
 ndrew ? Probably St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, 
 nee the incident is related precisely as an eyewitness would 
 jive it. This, then, was his first interview with our Lord ; he 
 as privileged to have many others, but this one was indelibly 
 j;amped on his memory, and in his old age he still remembered 
 lie sequence of events — ^what took place on each day, and 
 e hour when he left the Baptist to follow Christ. The 
 mediate result of the Baptist's testimony was to procure 
 ree disciples for Christ — <iisciples who were destined to 
 come members of the Apostolic college, and whose voices, 
 the course of ages, were to reach " even to the uttermost 
 rts of the earth." As St. John the Baptist saw his disciples 
 rsake hinrand follow Christ, he rejoiced ; in this his joy was 
 Ifilled. True zeal knows no self-seeking ; all is for God and 
 is interests. 
 
 But let us examine the Baptist's testimony in detail, in 
 [der to nourish our souls with the word of God by which they 
 e. Behold the Lamb of God ! The word " behold " fre- 
 ently occurs in the Scriptures. It may signify submission, 
 in the words of our Lady : " Behold the handmaid of the 
 Lord," or unexpectedness, as in the warning : " Behold, I 
 come as a thief." In this context it signifies gladness and 
 observation. '* Behold !" the Lamb of God is passing by. 
 
 He is the Lamb, the One of whom Isaias had predicted : 
 " He shall be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and shall be dumb 
 as a lamb before his shearer,"* the One whom the prophet had 
 foreseen bearing the " sins of many." But two days earlier 
 the Baptist had revealed himself as " the voice of one crying 
 in the wilderness : make straight the way of the Lord ;" j now 
 he points out to his hearers " the just servant " of God who, 
 because He was to bear the iniquities of His people, was typified 
 * Isa. liii. f Isa. xl. 
 
46 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 by a lamb. To the Jew, who was accustomed to seeing lambs 
 sacrificed daily in the Temple, the figurative language of the 
 Baptist must have been perfectly intelligible. If his hearers 
 thought of the morning or evening sin-offering, what scenes 
 would come before their minds ? 
 
 Let us assist in spirit at the offering of the morning sacrifice. 
 The preparations began on the preceding evening, when the 
 priests, who were to conduct the Temple services on the 
 morrow, might be seen entering the sacred precincts, while 
 those who had officiated on that day returned to their homes. 
 The guard of priests and Levites, superintended by their 
 Captain, now shut the Temple gates — those massive gates 
 which required the combined strength of twenty men to close 
 them. The 270 guards consisting of priests and Levites then 
 took up their respective places, while their chief went his 
 rounds from time to time to see that none gave way to 
 slumber. Meanwhile the priests and Levites gathered to- 
 gether for their evening meal. During the early morning 
 hours, before sunrise, the priests prepared for their sacred 
 functions by taking a bath. 
 
 Presently, the president of the day assembled all the priests 
 to draw lots for the various duties connected with offering the 
 sacrifices of animals and of incense. Four times during the 
 night, lots were cast for the various offices, and of these, the 
 second decided which of the priests were to offer the sacrifices 
 of the day. This drawing of lots necessarily preceded the 
 slaying of the lamb, and was performed just as the day began 
 to dawn, and before the sun appeared on the horizon. As soon 
 as it was known to whom the office of killing and offering the 
 victim had fallen, a priest was sent to a pinnacle of the Temple 
 to see if it was time to proceed with the sacrifice. If he 
 reported that the sky was lit up as far as Hebron, the president 
 ordered the lamb to be brought from the room where it had 
 been placed four days previously. It was carefully examined, 
 since the lambs offered in sacrifice might have no physical 
 defects, according to the words of the Lord, who, speaking to 
 Moses, said : " The man that offereth a victim . . . shall 
 offer it without blemish."'^' 
 
 * Lev. xxii. 
 
" BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD 1" 47 
 
 If found fit for the sacrifice, the lamb was fastened to the 
 rings on the north side of the altar, and at the western corner, 
 so as to face the east. Its legs were tied, and when the lamb 
 was ready for killing, the priests blew three blasts with their 
 silver trumpets. This was the signal for opening the Temple 
 gates to admit the worshippers and for slaying the victim. 
 Its gullet and windpipe were cut, and while the sacrificing 
 priest killed the lamb, another held a golden bowl in which 
 he caught the blood. Some of this was sprinkled on the altar ; 
 the remainder was poured out at the foot of it. 
 
 The lamb was then flayed and cut up according to certain 
 well-known rules. Each piece was salted, and these pieces 
 were carried processionally to the altar of holocausts by six 
 priests, after the altar of incense had been supplied with live 
 coals from the altar of holocausts. The victim was destroyed 
 by fire, and as the smoke from these two altars ascended 
 to Heaven, the officiating priests ranged themselves on the 
 steps in front of the Holy Place, and with hands raised above 
 their heads recited the Aaronic blessing over the people : 
 
 " The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. 
 The Lord shew His face to thee, and have mercy on thee. 
 The Lord turn His countenance to thee, and give thee peace." 
 
 (Num. vr.) 
 
 Such was the ceremony which was performed twice daily 
 in the Temple, and all instructed and devout Jews saw in the 
 lamb, daily offered for the sins of Israel, a type of Him who 
 should take away the sin of the world. 
 
 Our Emmanuel was the Lamb of God, and this phrase 
 admits of various interpretations. He was the Lamb of God, 
 in the sense that God had provided Him. In this aspect, Christ 
 was typified by the ram which was offered in the place of 
 Isaac. Abraham and his son, in obedience to God's command, 
 went on a three days' journey to the mountain pointed out by 
 God, where he had been told to oftei his only son as a holo- 
 caust. Isaac carried the wood, while " Abraham himself 
 carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went 
 on together, Isaac said to his father, My father. And he 
 answered : What wilt thou, my son ? Behold, said he, fire 
 and wood ; where is the victim for the holocaust ?" Abra- 
 
48 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 ham, firm in his faith in God, answered with sublime confi- 
 dence : " God will provide Himself a victim for an holocaust, 
 my son ;" and the historian repeats the words so eloquent in 
 their simplicity : " So they two went on together " — on to the 
 goal indicated by God to His servant where, caught in the 
 thicket by its horns, was the ram divinely provided. God, 
 " Who spared not even His own Son, but delivered Him up for 
 us all," thus rewarded the faith of Abraham. 
 
 Frequently Jesus spoke of Himself as having been sent by 
 the Father. Note the subjoined passages in which He is 
 mentioned as being sent by God : " God so loved the world 
 as to give His only-begotten Son. . . . He whom God hath 
 sent, speaketh the words of God."* " The Father Himself, 
 who hath sent Me, hath given testimony of Me. . . . Whom 
 He hath sent. Him you believe not."f 
 
 Or we may take the words " of God " as signifying offered 
 to God, and this aspect of Christ's sacrifice is frequently 
 brought before us both in the Old and New Testament. Isaias 
 had predicted that He should " be offered " of His own free 
 will ; that He should '' lay down His life for sin." St. Paul 
 speaks of our Lord's offering thus : " This man, offering one 
 sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth at the right hand of God."| 
 
 Jesus is also the " Lamb of God," inasmuch as He is Divine, 
 and belongs to God, or is meet and fitted to be offered to Him. 
 In Him there is no blemish, nothing that could diminish the 
 efficacy of His oblation. He was the only-begotten Son of 
 the Father, in whom the Father was Well pleased, and our 
 redemption has been purchased, not " with corruptible things, 
 as gold and silver . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, 
 as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled." 
 
 Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. 
 He transfers our transgressions to Himself ; He becomes our 
 Surety, our Victim, taking away our sins by bearing them in 
 His own Body on the tree of shame. The word translated 
 " taketh " may mean " taking upon Him " or " bearing away," 
 and Jesus does both potentially, in so far as each individual 
 soul accepts His redemption. He takes or bears away sin 
 as a whole, as the wall of separation between God and man, 
 * St. John iii. f Ibid., v. J Heb. x. 
 
" BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD !" 49 
 
 and just as a wall is built up of single stones, so the iniquity 
 of mankind is composed of the countless transgressions of 
 every child of Adam, our blessed Lady alone excepted. The 
 " sin of the world " ; He bears it away, putting away our 
 iniquities, casting them into the depths of the sea of His 
 Precious Blood, and " though they be as scarlet, they shall be 
 made white as snow."* He is the sin-bearer of the whole 
 world ; He is my sin-bearer. Shall I not, then, trust Him ? 
 n the burden of sin, which He took upon Him, He knows 
 which part I have personally contributed. I know some of 
 my transgressions, but what about secret and forgotten sins ? 
 All are known to Him, and whenever the earnest cry goes up 
 from the contrite soul, " Lamb of God, who takest away the 
 sin of the world, have mercy upon us," it is heard and 
 answered, and the Divine promise is fulfilled : " Before they 
 call, I will hear, as they are yet speaking, I will hear."t 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate the Precursor, standing on the 
 bank of the Jordan. His disciples are around him, listening 
 to his instructions. Presently our Lord approaches ; He 
 comes from the desert, in which He has met and conquered 
 Satan. St. John, pointing out our Lord to his disciples, 
 exclaims: "Behold the Lamb of God!" St. Andrew and 
 St. John, on hearing these words, follow Jesus. 
 
 Second Prelude, — Ask for grace always to recognize our 
 blessed Lord, and to follow Him promptly, generously, and 
 perse veringly. 
 
 First Point. — ^The mission of St. John the Baptist, his great- 
 ness, striking personality, and power over all men. 
 
 Second Point. — His virtues — self-effacement, humility, zeal. 
 
 Third Point. — His testimony, its import and results. Note 
 the docility of the Baptist's disciples and their reward. 
 
 Colloquy. — Kneeling at the feet of Jesus, offer yourself to 
 Him. Ask Him to make you a fervent disciple. Pray that you 
 may follow the Lamb of God along the narrow path of self- 
 denial and up the hill of Calvary, so that 3''0u may one day be 
 among those "who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." 
 
 * Isa. i. t Isa. Ixv. 
 
 4 
 
50 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 " THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN " 
 
 At least two of Christ's disciples, Andrew and probably John, 
 were present when the Baptist pointed out Jesus as " the 
 Lamb of God." As we have seen, the beloved disciple, in an 
 advanced old age, with that tenacity of memory for the events 
 of childhood and early life, which characterizes the aged, 
 vividly portrays that scene which took place in " Bethania 
 beyond the Jordan," where he first gazed upon the Messias, 
 the true Lamb of God, and spent some precious moments in 
 intercourse with Him.* From that day John, the son of 
 Zebedee, leaving his master the Baptist, became the disciple 
 of Jesus, the one whom our Lord cherished so tenderly, and 
 who is known to the Church of God as ** the disciple whom 
 Jesus loved." He was one of the three privileged Apostles 
 who witnessed the Transfiguration and the Agony in the 
 Garden of Gethsemani. Of all the apostolic college, St. John 
 alone had the courage to stand by the Cross when our Lord 
 was crucified, and to his care, our Lord confided His blessed 
 Mother. 
 
 The beloved disciple, standing on Mount Calvary, wit- 
 nessed the offering of the Lamb of God. He saw ** the precious 
 blood of Christ, as of a lamb, unspotted and undefiled," 
 streaming from His sacred wounds and bedewing the earth, 
 and as St. John gazed on the Divine Victim, " Who His own 
 self bore our sins in His body on the tree,"t ^^ must have 
 remembered the words of the Precursor, and the prophecies 
 of Isaias. Then he realized their meaning. Jesus, the Lamb 
 of God, was indeed bearing away the sin of the world, by 
 taking upon Himself the penalty of man's transgressions. 
 
 Christ rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven, and 
 after the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Apostles went forth 
 to accomplish their Divine mission — to conquer the world. 
 Each chose a different field of labour, and, sooner or later, all 
 sealed their testimony by giving their lives for the cause of 
 the Gospel. St. John, indeed, did not die a martyr's death, 
 * See St. John i. f i St. Pet, ii. 
 
" THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN " 51 
 
 for when the tyrant Domitian had condemned him to be 
 immersed in a caldron of boiling oil, by a miraculous interven- 
 tion of the Divine power, the Apostle came forth unscathed 
 from the ordeal. The cruel tyrant then banished him to " the 
 island which is called Patmos," and St. John tells us that this 
 punishment was inflicted " for the word of God and the 
 testimony of Jesus."* 
 
 While in exile in that lonely island, the wondrous vision 
 related in the Apocalypse was vouchsafed to the beloved 
 disciple. Contemplate the aged Saint as he gazes once more 
 on His adorable Master, and receives from Him revelations 
 and instructions, not only for the Churches of Asia Minor, but 
 which were destined to comfort and enlighten the Church of 
 God for all time. He saw, indeed, '* the Son of man, clothed 
 with a garment to His feet." How he rejoices to see Him 
 " now living for ever and ever, and having the keys of death 
 and hell !" True, St. John, when the vision burst upon him, 
 fell at the feet of Christ as one dead, but all fear was quickly 
 dispelled when our Lord, laying His light hand upon the 
 prostrate Apostle, uttered those familiar words : " Fear not." 
 In the wondrous vision of the Apocalypse, however, it is 
 noticeable that our Lord appears oftener under the symbol 
 of the Lamb than as the Son of man. He is manifested as the 
 Lamb that was slain, and if we examine St. John's Gospel, 
 and his three Epistles, we find that this was the particular 
 aspect of the Redemption upon which this EvangeHst dwells 
 so often. His constant theme is the love of Christ in giving 
 His life for the world, and the Precious Blood which 
 " cleanseth us from all sin." 
 
 Under the symbol of the Lamb slain, as presented in the 
 Apocalypse, we find set forth (i) the work, (2) the character- 
 istics, and (3) the conquests of our Divine Redeemer. Let 
 us examine the vision related by St. John from these three 
 points of view, that we may learn to know our Divine Saviour 
 more intimately, and to follow Him more closely. 
 
 I. The Lamb of God came to redeem Mankind. — ^The Jews 
 looked forward to a Messias who, having subdued all the 
 enemies of Israel by the power of his might, should reign 
 
 * Apoc. i. 
 
52 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 gloriously. They did not, as a nation, accept the prophecies 
 of Isaias and Jeremias touching the sufferings of the Redeemer, 
 as events which would, in the course of time, be literally 
 realized. A few devout Jews, such as. holy Simeon, may 
 have been supernaturally enlightened concerning the actual 
 sufferings of the Messias, but the majority looked forward to 
 the Messianic reign, as to a period of temporal glory and un- 
 rivalled splendour, during which all the Gentile nations 
 would accept the Jewish faith. 
 
 So tenaciously did the Jews cling to this view that, after 
 the establishment of Christianity, when pressed for an ex- 
 planation as to the meaning of the predictions of the Old 
 Testament regarding the sufferings of the Messias, they took 
 refuge in the fiction of two deliverers — one, ** the Son of 
 David," who should reign as a conqueror ; the other, ** the Son 
 of Joseph," who, by his sufferings, would bring about the 
 restoration of the ten lost tribes of Israel to the religion of 
 their fathers, and thus once more reunite the twelve tribes. 
 
 The Apostles themselves found it difficult to accept the 
 r-eality of Christ's sufferings. Continually, Jesus spoke of 
 what would befall Him in Jerusalem, and as the time of His 
 decease approached, these predictions were repeated with 
 greater frequency and detail. Yet the Evangelists constantly 
 call attention to the fact that the disciples did not understand 
 our Lord's words, that these things were hidden from them, 
 and St. Peter even went so far as to reply on one occa- 
 sion : " Lord, be it far from Thee, this shall not be unto 
 Thee."* 
 
 In the vision seen by St. John during his exile, we find the 
 sufferings of Christ brought strongly into relief. How the 
 note of the Passion sounds forth clearly in the subjoined 
 quotations from the Apocalypse : " I saw a Lamb standing 
 as it were slain " ! " The four living creatures and the twenty- 
 four ancients " prostrated themselves before the throne, 
 saying : " The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive 
 power," and this *'Lamb was slain from the beginning of the 
 world." The great multitude of the redeemed, " standing 
 before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with 
 
 * St. Matt. xvi. 
 
" THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN " 53 
 
 white robes, and with palms in their hands," have all been 
 saved by " the Blood of the Lamb." Their stains have been 
 cleansed, and their robes have been made white by the merits 
 of the Precious Blood. 
 
 Do we always realize what we owe to Jesus as the Lamb 
 of God, as our personal Saviour ? He is my Saviour, my 
 Redeemer ! What a difference there would be in our daily 
 lives if we had a deeper insight into this great fundamental 
 truth of our holy religion ! St. Peter reminds us of this when 
 he exhorts us to be holy, as God is holy, since we are not 
 redeemed with " corruptible things such as silver and gold," 
 but with " the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted 
 and undefiled, foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of 
 the world." St. Paul teaches the same truth when^ writing 
 to the Corinthians, he says : " You are bought with a great 
 price. * 
 
 What conclusion does he draw from this ? The only true 
 and logical one — since we are not our own, it is our duty to 
 " glorify and bear God " in our bodies, and not to allow 
 ourselves to become " the bond-slaves of men,"f nor of the 
 flesh. This donation of our whole being is the only fitting 
 return we can make to our Redeemer for His infinite love. 
 Let us pause and ask ourselves if our offering is made daily, 
 generously, and lovingly, as He renews the oblation of Himself 
 upon our altars in the Holy Sacrifice, and should we find 
 that there has been any rapine in our holocaust, we can yet 
 make restitution by presenting our bodies as "a living 
 sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God," and, as St. Paul reminds 
 us, this is but " our reasonable service." 
 
 2. The Title " Lamb of God " brings before our minds some 
 of the characteristic tra2ts of our Lord — notabl}^ His patience 
 in suffering, His meekness and humility. His obedience and 
 purity. Jeremias, in prophetic vision, saw the Messias " as a 
 meek lamb that is carried to be a victim, "J while Isaias speaks 
 of Him as '* a sheep led to the slaughter," and " a lamb that 
 is dumb before his shearer." At the same time, the prophet 
 bears witness to His innocence : " He hath done no iniquity, 
 neither was there deceit in his mouth." § Why, then, does 
 
 * I Cor. vi. I Ibid., vii. | Jer. xi. § Isa. liii. 
 
54 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 He suffer ? Because " He hath borne our iniquity and 
 carried our sorrows," because '' the Lord hath laid on Him 
 the iniquity of us all." Jesus, the Lamb of God, " was offered 
 because it was His own will." 
 
 How marvellously the history of the sacred Passion illus- 
 trates the prophet's words ! Isaias writes as though he had 
 witnessed the Messias' sufferings, and the inspired writers of 
 the New Testament recognize the accuracy of the prophetic 
 descriptions of the Passion ; hence the continual reference 
 to the fulfilment of the prophecies, and the recurrence of 
 the words, '* For it is written," and " Then was fulfilled that 
 which was spoken by the prophet." St. Matthew's Gospel is 
 particularly rich in quotations from the prophets, and he 
 applies to our Lord the description of the servant chosen by 
 God, who shall not contend nor cry out.* 
 
 Contemplate the obedience of Christ during His Passion. 
 He submits to sinful men because they are the instruments in 
 God's hands. It is by their agency that the Crucifixion has to 
 be accomplished; for the time being, power has been granted 
 to them from above, as our Lord reminded Pilate. Silence 
 in suffering, meekness, obedience, and purity are the character- 
 istics of the Lamb of God, and they are also the virtues 
 which should distinguish " the sheep of His fold." 
 
 3. The Conquests of Jesus, the Lamb of God. — Having paid 
 the penalty of the sins of men, our Redeemer entered upon 
 His glorious life, and in the vision shown to St. John, His 
 conquests are celebrated in varied imagery. He stands upon 
 Mount Sion in the heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal city of 
 God. Around Him are gathered the hundred and forty-four 
 thousand that bear His Name. The Lamb has gathered His 
 spoils " which no man could number of all nations and tribes, 
 and peoples and tongues." They sing His praises, and ascribe 
 to the Lamb " power, divinity, wisdom, strength, honour, 
 glory, and benediction." And He governs and protects His 
 " little flock " of ransomed souls, for " the Lamb in the midst 
 of the throne shall rule them, and shall lead them to the 
 fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes." 
 
 * Isa. xlii. 
 
"THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN " 55 
 
 The great dragon and his angels have been cast down ■ the 
 accuser of the brethren has been silenced. How did the 
 elect win this signal victory ? " They overcame him by the 
 Blood of the Lamb." They acclaim their Saviour with 
 anthems of praise : " Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon 
 the throne, and to the Lamb." The redeemed sing " the 
 canticle of Moses, the servant of God and of the Lamb." 
 Because they have cleansed their robes in the Blood of the 
 Lamb, they are inscribed in " the Lamb's book of life." 
 Their eternal home, the temple of God, " hath no need of the 
 sun, nor of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God 
 hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." 
 The nuptials of the Church are celebrated in the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, and " blessed are they that are called to the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb." We may well rejoice, for 
 " these words of God are true," and if we follow the 
 Lamb faithfully during our earthly pilgrimage, we shall 
 one day be called to our place in the ranks of His true 
 followers. 
 
 Jesus, the Lamb of God, predicted by the prophets, born 
 as man, suffering in order to redeem a fallen race, rejoicing in 
 those realms where sorrow and tears are unknown, enjoying 
 eternally the fruit of His victory over sin and death — such is 
 the glorious tableau traced in the celestial vision granted to 
 the beloved disciple. 
 
 What lessons may we gather from these truths ? May we 
 not learn three especially needful. We are frail human beings, 
 subject to sin, captives of our passions, and often tempted to 
 give way to discouragement, but Jesus, the Lamb of God, has 
 conquered, and merited thereby pardon and strength for us. 
 He has given us the example of all virtues, and He provides 
 also grace to help in time of need. He has triumphed over 
 His foes and ours, and in the strength of the Lord of Hosts we, 
 too, can subdue our enemies. The Lamb is omnipotent, for 
 He is also "the Lion of the tribe of Juda," who will fight 
 for and with His redeemed. Therefore let us trust Him for 
 the past, the present, and the future, knowing that when- 
 ever we invoke His aid, He will be at hand to succour, 
 to ^ide, to console, and to strengthen, for never in vain 
 
56 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 was the prayer uttered : " O Jesus, Lamb of God, who 
 takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us ; 
 grant us Thy peace." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate one of the scenes witnessed 
 by St. John, as recorded in Apoc. v. 11-12 : " I beheld, and I 
 heard the voice of many Angels round about the throne, and 
 the living creatures and the ancients : and the number of 
 them was thousands of thousands. Saying, with a loud voice : 
 The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and 
 divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, 
 and benediction." 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may profit fully by the 
 Blood of the Lamb shed for your salvation. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus, the Lamb of God, redeems all men 
 potentially. He is the Saviour of all men, of all nations, of 
 all ages. Eternally the redeemed give thanks to the Lamb 
 that was slain. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus, the Lamb of God, throughout His 
 life and particularly in His Passion, practised silence in suffer- 
 ing, meekness, obedience, and purity. We are called to 
 imitate Him, as St. Peter reminds us : " For unto this {i.e., 
 ' enduring sorrows wrongfully ') are you called."* 
 
 Third Point. — ^The conquests of Jesus. He rules over men 
 and Angels, He subdues all His enemies. All power is given 
 to Him, and His triumphs have been purchased by His 
 sufferings : " He endured the Cross, despising the shame, 
 and now sitteth on the right hand of the throne of God."t 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for His abundant redemption. 
 Ask that it may profit for your salvation, and for all who 
 have a claim on your prayers. Pray for grace to follow in 
 His footsteps throughout this life. Rejoice in the glorious 
 future that awaits you, and ask the intercession of those who 
 now follow the Lamb. 
 
 * I St. Pet. ii. t Heb. xii. 
 
THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PASSION 57 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PASSION 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " From that time Jesus began to show 
 to His disciples, and to teach them that the Son of man must suffer 
 many things, that He must go to Jerusalem and be rejected by the 
 ancients, by the scribes, and by the high-priests, and be killed, and the 
 third day rise again. And He spoke the word openly." — St. Matt. xvi. ; 
 St. Mark viii. 
 
 In these words we have the first solemn prediction of the 
 Passion. Jesus passed His whole life on earth under the 
 shadow of the Cross ; every detail of the Passion was ever 
 present to His mind. As He went in and out, along the 
 streets of Jerusalem, past Mount Calvary, or the Garden of 
 Gethsemani on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, He foresaw 
 in the most detailed manner all that He must undergo in 
 these places. Often, previous to His Passion, when He was 
 in the presence of vast multitudes, He could have signalled 
 out those who, later on, would take an active part in His 
 death. Frequentty He came in contact with the scribes and 
 Pharisees, who planned His arrest, and decreed that He must 
 die, and with the High-Priest, who pronounced His con- 
 demnation. He foresaw that many, whom He had healed of 
 their diseases, would join in the cry : " Crucify Him ! Crucify 
 Him !" In this respect Jesus stands alone. None of our 
 Christian martyrs were enlightened from their earliest child- 
 hood as to the time, place, and circumstances of their sufferings 
 and death. These details were mercifuUy concealed from 
 them, and when the moment came to endure their torments. 
 God upheld them by His Power. 
 
 What marvellous grandeur of character, what fortitude, 
 constancy, self-sacrifice, what burning love of God and man, 
 Jesus displayed in thus facing the torments of His Passion 
 from the first moment of His eartlily existence ! This grand 
 prolonged endurance of mental strain is all the more admirable 
 when we consider that Jesus, having taken upon Himself 
 man's liabilities of suffering, contracted through Adam's 
 sin, could have allowed His all-perfect humanit}' to assert 
 
58 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 itself, and to enjoy its prerogative — i.e., the happiness 
 which pertained to it in virtue of its union with the Divine 
 Word. 
 
 For long years He kept the secret in His Heart ; to none 
 could He speak of it when He worked as a carpenter at 
 Nazareth, except to His blessed Mother, to whom holy 
 Simeon had so early given some intimations of the sufferings 
 of Jesus, and these were conveyed in mysterious veiled words : 
 " Behold this Child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection 
 of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted, 
 and thy own soul a sword shall pierce."* Yet surely Jesus 
 would not have confided even to her loving, strong, faithful 
 heart all the details " of the opposition of sinners against 
 Himself," of His having to resist unto blood, striving against 
 sin " in Gethsemani and on the Cross ! 
 
 Jesus faced His whole career on earth as man, with every 
 humiliating and agonizing detail. He predicted each incident, 
 and thereby He gave His disciples a proof of His Divinity. 
 No mere man could have thus foretold every detail of his own 
 life. Still less, could any human being have predicted and 
 brought to pass his own Resurrection from the dead. Let us 
 thank our loving Saviour for having borne this heavy secret 
 burden of the knowledge of His torments. He bore it for love 
 of us, and to atone for our cowardice in refusing to bear the 
 burdens God lays upon us, and in neglecting to assist our 
 fellows in bearing their burdens. We can ask, too, that those 
 who are called for a time to endure some secret sorrow, who 
 anticipate some long-dreaded issue or catastrophe, may be 
 encouraged to bear their burdens by " looking on Jesus," our 
 Exemplar and Strength. 
 
 The hidden life ended when Jesus reached His thirtieth 
 year ; then His public life commenced, and this was to last 
 a little over three years, during which Jesus, our Redeemer 
 revealed Himself as the Messias, founded His kingdom, and 
 chose the witnesses who were to carry on His work. The 
 three years' ministry culminated in the terrible drama of the 
 Sacred Passion. As the time drew near, when Jesus was to 
 leave this world, it was necessary that He should prepare His 
 
 * St. Luke U. 
 
THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PASSION 59 
 
 Apostles and disciples for the trial that awaited them, when 
 He should be crucified. Very gradually and lovingly did 
 Jesus forewarn them of this terrible climax. Hence we find 
 that, from the very commencement of His ministry, both 
 Jesus and St. John, His Precursor, give obscure intimations 
 of the Passion. 
 
 A study of the Gospels reveals several of these veiled 
 predictions. Take the allusions to the Passion made by St. 
 John the Baptist. His favourite title for Jesus is " the Lamb 
 of God." Cf. " The next day John saw Jesus coming to 
 him, and he saith : Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who 
 taketh away the sin of the world."* The Precursor pointed 
 to Jesus as " the Lamb," the sin-bearer, and every Jew 
 knew that only by the shedding of blood could sin be 
 expiated. They were familiar with the sacrifices in the 
 Temple on the Day of Atonement, when the High-Priest 
 sprinkled the Mercy Seat with the blood of the victim, in order 
 to expiate " the transgressions " of the children of Israel and 
 
 "all their sins, "t 
 
 Our Lord Himself predicted His sufferings in an obscure 
 manner during the first and second years of His ministr}^ 
 Thus when, for the first time, He drove forth the buyers and 
 sellers from the Temple, the Jews questioned the authority, 
 saying : " What sign dost Thou show unto us, seeing that 
 Thou dost these things?"! Jesus replied by a veiled pre- 
 diction of His death and Resurrection : " Destroy this temple, 
 and in three days I will raise it up." In the light of the 
 accomplishment of this prophecy, the beloved Apostle adds : 
 " But He spoke of the temple of His body." 
 
 When conversing with Nicodemus, Jesus told him that : 
 *' As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the 
 Son of man be lifted up."§ Again, when the disciples of John 
 the Baptist asked why Jesus' disciples did not fast, we find 
 our Lord once more referring to His death : '' The days will 
 come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, 
 and then shall they fast."|| 
 
 In like manner at Capharnaum, in the discourse on the 
 
 ♦ St. John i. I Lev. x\'i. J St. John ii. 
 
 § St. John iii. II St. Mark ii. 
 
6o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 living bread, Jesus told His hearers : ''The bread that I will 
 give is My flesh for the life of the world." This last obscure 
 prediction was made at the close of our Lord's second year of 
 public ministry. 
 
 The third and last year dawned, and in view of His approach- 
 ing death, it was time to warn the Apostles and disciples more 
 explicitly ; consequently we find that the intimations and 
 allusions are no longer veiled. St. Mark tells us that now 
 " He spoke the word openly," and St. Matthew says : " From 
 that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go 
 to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and 
 scribes, and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third 
 day rise again."* 
 
 Note the expression " from that time." To what par- 
 ticular period does the Evangelist refer ? He alludes to the 
 confession of faith in Christ's Divinity, which St. Peter made 
 at Caesarea Phiiippi in answer to our Lord's question: "Whom 
 do you say that I am ? Simon Peter, answering, said : Thou 
 art the Christ, the Son of the living God." It was the cul- 
 minating point in our Lord's public life. His mighty deeds 
 had spread His fame throughout all Galilee ; the people had 
 even wished to make Him their King, after He had fed the 
 five thousand in the desert, and His followers had con- 
 fessed their faith in His Divinity. This was the moment 
 chosen by Jesus to make the first clear prediction of Llis 
 Passion. 
 
 After the Transfiguration, about a week later, the three 
 privileged Apostles — Peter, James, and John — received a 
 special intimation of the Passion, which they were not allowed 
 to reveal. They saw their Master glorified, and were told 
 once more that His decease would take place in Jerusalem, 
 for this was the subject of conversation between Jesus and 
 the two lawgivers of Israel, but Jesus forbade them to speak 
 of this vision until after His Resurrection. 
 
 The third solemn prediction of the Passion was uttered 
 when Jesus was making His secret journey through Jerusalem, 
 and in this intimation He revealed that He should be betrayed : 
 " The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, 
 
 * St. Matt. xvi. 
 
THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PASSION 6i 
 
 and they shall kill Him, and after He is killed, He shall rise 
 again." 
 
 Lastly, just before His Crucifixion, we find Jesus uttering 
 the longest and most explicit prediction of His sufferings and 
 death. St. Luke thus records this announcement : " Then 
 Jesus took unto Him the twelve, and said to them : Behold 
 we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished 
 which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of 
 man. For He shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be 
 mocked, and scourged, and spit upon ; and after they have 
 scourged Him, they will put Him to death, and the third day 
 He shall rise again."* What minuteness there is in these 
 terrible details ! The disciples learn now that the Gentiles 
 are to be instrumental in their Master's death, and as the 
 Romans were accustomed to scourge those who were con- 
 demned to be crucified, the mode of Christ's death is here 
 pointed out. 
 
 The Twelve might have gathered this previously from the 
 words which are so closely connected with the first solemn 
 prediction of the Passion, for when St. Peter rebuked our 
 Lord for speaking of His decease, we find Jesus silencing His 
 Apostle, and declaring that all who would follow in His 
 footsteps must take up their cross. 
 
 This solemn prediction, made when our Lord was on His 
 last journey to Jerusalem, was more detailed than any of the 
 previous intimations. It must needs be so, for the moment 
 of their accomplishment was near at hand, and He willed 
 that they should be forewarned. Tenderly and gradually the 
 disciples were prepared for the events of Holy Week. It was 
 necessary that they should be told the whole truth for two 
 reasons. 
 
 First, Jesus desired to test their faith and loyalty ; conse- 
 quently, at Caesarea Philippi we find Him making the first 
 detailed prediction of His coming Passion, immediately after 
 St. Peter had made his solemn profession of faith in our Lord's 
 Divinity. He and his companions were then convinced that 
 Jesus was " the Christ, the Son of the living God." The 
 second solemn revelation came immediately after the Trans- 
 
 * St. Luke xviii. 
 
62 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 figuration, when the three privileged Apostles had seen Jesus 
 in glory, and had heard the Father proclaim Him as His 
 " beloved Son." 
 
 These predictions, made under such , circumstances, were 
 well calculated to put their fidelity to the test. They believed 
 in a Messianic reign of glory, in a Messias who should reign 
 unopposed over the whole earth — over Jews and Gentiles. 
 These views were frequently expressed by the Apostles, and 
 Jesus strove in vain to rectify them. It was not until after 
 the descent of the Holy Ghost that they realized that Christ's 
 kingdom was " not of this world." The blessed Spirit of 
 God opened their minds to this truth, and enabled them to 
 understand all that Jesus had taught them during His life 
 on earth. 
 
 There was a second lesson which it was necessary for the 
 Apostles to learn — namely, that they, too, would be called 
 to bear their cross in union with their Divine Master. They 
 must suffer with Him if they would reign with Him, and this 
 is a truth which we are all very slow to grasp. Some never 
 master it ; they spend their lives in seeking for the good things 
 of earth. In their pursuit of worldly treasures, they lose sight 
 of spiritual riches, and make no provision for eternity. 
 
 If we would be truly wise, we must study our Saviour's life. 
 It was one long series of sufferings, and not the least of all 
 these was the clear detailed view of all He had to undergo. 
 As we contemplate our Divine Master training His Apostles, 
 revealing to them, little by little, the mystery of His Passion, 
 what lessons would He teach us ? 
 
 He would have us believe Him, even when He makes 
 known to us things that run counter to our preconceived 
 notions and desires, for we know by faith that God's thoughts 
 are not like ours, and that "all things work together unto 
 good to such as according to His purpose are called to be 
 saints."* Yes, we are all called to he saints ; sooner or later, 
 therefore, it behoves us to take the right means if we would 
 attain the end. Sanctity and suffering are united in the 
 Divine plan of Redemption, and " as the servant is not greater 
 than his master," all Christians must endure suffering in 
 
 * Rom. viii. 
 
THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PASSION 63 
 
 some form, if they are to attain to holiness here and salvation 
 hereafter. 
 
 Therefore, as we contemplate our blessed Lord lovingly 
 preparing His Apostles for the inevitable, let us offer ourselves 
 to Him, as far as our will is concerned (repugnances do not 
 count), to bear whatever He sees fit to lay upon us, knowing 
 that He will ever be near to help us to carry our burden. 
 Sorrows must needs come, but if we remain close to our Lord 
 by confidence and prayer, we shall have the faith and strength 
 to bear them. 
 
 " O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life, 
 until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the 
 busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our 
 work is done. Then, in Thy great mercy, grant us a safe 
 lodging and a holy rest, and peace at last, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Fix your gaze upon Jesus as He journeys on 
 the road that leads southward from Caesarea Philippi to ]\Iount 
 Thabor, along the banks of the Jordan, and past the Sea of 
 Galilee. The Twelve are gathered around Him. They listen 
 awe-struck to the first solemn prediction of the Sacred Passion. 
 
 Second Prelude. — ^Ask for the grace to take home to yourself 
 the great truth that only through much tribulation can you 
 enter into the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 First Point. — Consider how our Lord carried all His life the 
 burden of the detailed knowledge of every incident of His 
 Passion. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus lovingly and gradually prepares His 
 disciples for what awaits Him and them. He gives obscure 
 predictions. 
 
 Third Point. — After the Apostles have confessed their faith 
 in His Divinity, He reveals the details of His sufferings. He 
 acted thus to test their fidelity, and prepare them for what 
 was to come, to teach them to suffer with Him. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for bearing this burden of 
 mental sorrow throughout thirty years for love of you. Ask 
 
 * Prayer of Cardinal Newman . 
 
64 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Him to uphold you when you are called to bear a hidden cross 
 of pain or anxiety. Pray for light to grasp practically the 
 doctrine of the Cross. Offer yourself to bear what God sees 
 fit to send ; tell Him that in spite of your repugnances you 
 will try to be generous. Pray for those in sorrow, for " the 
 heart that knoweth the bitterness of his own soul."* 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE FAILURE OF THE APOSTLES TO UNDERSTAND 
 CHRIST'S PREDICTIONS 
 
 " But they understood not this word." — St. Luke ix. 
 
 In the preceding meditation we have seen how Jesus gradually 
 revealed to His Apostles that He was the Redeemer of Israel, 
 and that He must enter into His kingdom by the thorny paths 
 of suffering and death. We have seen, too, how these truths 
 ran counter to the prejudices of the Jews who had been taught 
 to expect a temporal Messianic reign of glory, of fulness of 
 all things, and now, like " a bolt from the blue," they learn 
 from the lips of their Divine Master that the true " kingdom 
 of God is not meat and drink, but justice, peace, and joy in 
 the Holy Ghost," and that these blessings were to be won 
 by suffering. 
 
 The Jewish Commentaries represented the King Messias as 
 standing upon the roof of the Sanctuary and proclaiming to 
 Israel that Redemption was at hand. All the nations of the 
 earth were to lick the dust from under the feet of the King 
 Messias. All were to come and fall on their faces before the 
 Messias and Israel, saying ; '' We will be servants to Him and 
 to Israel." The Rabbis taught the Messias should come in a 
 time known to God only. He was to rule Israel by His might 
 — that is, by His invincible word. He would restore to Israel 
 their tribal possessions, purify Israel, judge all nations, and 
 subject them to His rale. During the Messianic reign the 
 land would give her fruits spontaneously ; sickness, disease 
 and death should be abolished. 
 
 * Prov. xiv 
 
"THEY UNDERSTOOD NOT THIS WORD " 65 
 
 Clearly this was a vision of a purely earthly kingdom of 
 unbroken easy conquests and of glory,* and such was the 
 view held by the Jews in our Lord's time. 
 
 Now, placing ourselves in the position of the Apostles, of 
 Jews who held these views tenaciously, let us endeavour to 
 realize what effect the predictions of the Passion made by our 
 Lord must naturally have produced. We will take the first 
 clear intimation of the sufferings of Christ, the one which 
 followed St. Peter's confession of faith : " He began to teach 
 them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be 
 rejected by the ancients, and by the High- Priests, and by the 
 scribes, and be killed : and after three days rise again." 
 
 The Son of man must suffer many things. Now, He whom 
 the Apostles believed to be the Messias had uttered these 
 words. But how could " this word " be reconciled with all 
 they had been taught from infancy by their spiritual rulers ? 
 The Messias was to be invincible, none should be able to 
 resist Him, all nations would be forced to accept His rule. 
 How, then, could He Himself suffer ? 
 
 Moreover, Jesus had said that His sufferings were to take 
 place " in Jerusalem,'*] in the Holy City. But the Rabbis 
 taught that in the Messianic reign " the sacred City would be 
 wholly rebuilt and inhabited. ... Its Sabbath boundaries 
 would be strewed with pearls and precious gems." The City 
 itself would be lifted to a height of some nine miles — nay, 
 with realistic application of Isaias xlix. 20 (" This place is too 
 strait for me, make me room to dwell in "), it would reach up 
 to the throne of God, while it would extend from Joppa as 
 far as the gates of Damascus ! *' For Jerusalem was to be the 
 dwelling-place of Israel and the resort of all nations." % How, 
 then, could it come to pass that Jesus, the Messias, should 
 suffer '* in Jerusalem," the very seat of His triumph and the 
 centre of His government ? 
 
 * For a clear exposition of the Messias as depicted in,. the Tahnud, 
 the reader is referred to Edersheim's " Life and Times of Jesus the 
 Messiah." His chapters on this subjectjare excellent and most instruc- 
 tive. In particular, see vol. i., book ii., chap, v., p. 160: "What 
 Messiah did the Jews expect ?" 
 
 t St. Matt. xvi. 
 
 X Edersheim, " Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," vol. ii., chap, 
 vi., p. 437, ed. 1901. 
 
 5 
 
66 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 And, further, He was to he rejected by the Ancients, the High- 
 Priests, and the Scribes — in a word, by the spiritual rulers of 
 Israel, by those who looked most eagerly for the coming of 
 the Messias, who never omitted the daily prayer for the 
 establishment of His kingdom. How could they be the ones 
 to reject their Redeemer ? Would not their rejection prove 
 that He was not the Messias ? This very argument was put 
 forward when the officers, sent to arrest Jesus in the Temple, 
 returned to their masters, saying : " Never did man speak like 
 this man." The Pharisees, enraged that the chief priests' 
 orders had not been executed, replied : " Are you also seduced ? 
 Hath any one of the rulers of Israel believed in Him, or of the 
 Pharisees ?" * The rejection of Jesus by the rulers was there- 
 fore manifestly considered as a proof that He was a seducer. 
 
 Lastly, Jesus announced His approaching death — the Son 
 of man must be killed. But the Messias was to be immortal. 
 He was to deliver all men from death. How, then, could He 
 Himself be subjected to it ? It was evident that the words 
 of Jesus must have some mysterious meaning ; they could not 
 possibly be taken literally — such must have been the train of 
 reasoning of the Apostles when, for the first time, the un- 
 expected, unwelcome, and (to them) inexplicable prediction 
 of the Passion fell upon their ears. 
 
 But let us examine further in detail what we are told in the 
 Gospels of the effects produced by the reiterated announce- 
 ments of the Passion. The subject is full of interest and 
 instruction for us, for men are always inclined to reject, ignore, 
 or forget whatever does not harmonize with their preconceived 
 notions of fitness. Prejudice dies hard even in spite of a good 
 will to overcome it. If we add to this the natural abhorrence 
 of suffering, disgrace, humiliation, and death, experienced by 
 all human beings, we shall find that the Apostles' dulness of 
 comprehension, as revealed by the sacred writers, is adequately 
 explained. Although they had received such great graces, 
 they were but men subject to all the limitations, frailties, and 
 shortcomings of their fellows. How consoling it is to find 
 the lives of the Apostles so simply and naturally portrayed ! 
 If we take into consideration, as far as possible, their stand- 
 
 * St. John vij, 
 
"THEY UNDERSTOOD NOT THIS WORD " 67 
 
 point, their peculiar circumstances and difficulties, we shall 
 feel that it would have been almost impossible for them to 
 have acted otherwise than they did. 
 
 We will examine each of the four solemn predictions in 
 turn. The first was uttered immediately after Simon Peter's 
 confession of faith at Csesarea Philippi. The Apostle had 
 proclaimed the dignity of Jesus ; he had confessed Him to be 
 the Son of God. Christ had rewarded St. Peter by making 
 him the head of the Church on earth. It was a moment of 
 enthusiasm when the Twelve for the first time expressed their 
 belief in His Messiasship. What visions of an earthly king- 
 dom, in which they would have the places of honour, must 
 have arisen in their minds ! How their dearest hopes were 
 stirred up, their inmost aspirations on the point of being 
 realized ! For was not their Master the Messias, and had not 
 they left all for Him, and been the first to recognize His 
 claims to their allegiance ? A glorious vista opened out 
 before them. 
 
 Then, like a sudden storm on a bright summer's day, came 
 the dread prediction of the Passion. What a strange revulsion 
 of thought and feeling it produced ! What could their Master 
 mean by these strange words ? Simon Peter, ever the first 
 to voice the sentiments of his companions, presumptuously 
 exclaimed : " Lord, be it far from Thee, this shall not be to 
 Thee." This unbecoming expostulation was evidently due 
 to St. Peter's natural impetuosity, to his want of spiritual 
 discernment, and, above all, to his burning love for His Divine 
 Master. Both he and his companions were scandalized at the 
 bare idea of a suffering Messias ; hence his vehement protest 
 and his efforts to dissuade our Lord from suffering. Simon 
 Peter's remonstrance was a real temptation to Jesus, for Satan 
 spoke through the Apostle ; consequently we find that our 
 Lord addressed to him one of the strongest rebukes recorded 
 in the New Testament, a rebuke which recalls the dismissal 
 of Satan in the desert after the third temptation : '' Go behind 
 me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me, because thou savourest 
 not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men." 
 The effect of the first prediction of the Passion was that the 
 Apostles were scandalized ; the saying was too hard, like the 
 
68 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 doctrine of the Holy Eucharist to the Jews, practically they 
 rejected the intimation. 
 
 Six days passed, during which the Apostles, in all prob- 
 ability, had discoursed among themselves concerning the 
 prediction made by Christ. What more natural than that 
 they should speak of our Lord's words and teachings as they 
 travelled southward along the banks of the Jordan, past the 
 Sea of Galilee, and on to Mount Thabor ? It was the month 
 of August (a.d. 33), just seven months before the Crucifixion. 
 The time of the fulfilment of our Lord's predictions was not 
 far off now, therefore He willed to keep the thought of His 
 sufferings and cruel death before the minds of His Apostles. 
 They must be taught to face the terrible reality, and if they 
 misunderstood His words at the time when He uttered them, 
 still they did realize their meaning later. The Holy Ghost 
 brought the predictions to their remembrance ; He unsealed 
 those truths which time and events had not illumined, and 
 thus it comes to pass that these blessed teachings of Jesus, 
 our Master, have been handed down by the Church to be the 
 heritage of the faithful throughout all ages. 
 
 The little band reach Mount Thabor, the traditional site 
 of the scene of the Transfiguration. It was just one week since 
 St. Peter had confessed Christ's Divinity, and now as the 
 autumn evening closes in, Jesus, taking with Him Peter, James, 
 and John, the privileged three, went up the mountain to 
 spend the night in prayer. While He prayed. He was trans- 
 figured, and Moses and Elias appeared with Him in glory. 
 The three Apostles were the chosen witnesses of this wondrous 
 vision ; they heard the conversation concerning our Lord's 
 decease, which He should accomplish in Jerusalem, and as 
 they came down from the mountain the next morning, Jesus 
 again referred to His Passion : "He charged them not to tell 
 any man what things they had seen till the Son of man shall 
 be risen from the dead."* 
 
 In these words, we have a direct allusion to Christ's Resur- 
 rection, which necessarily contained an indirect x clarence to 
 His death. This time, too, the prediction had been endorsed 
 by Moses and Elias, the two great lawgivers of Israel. 
 
 * St. Mark ix 
 
" THEY UNDERSTOOD NOT THIS WORD " 69 
 
 How was the announcement received by the three witnesses 
 of the vision ? With astonishment and dismay. They obeyed 
 the Divine command : " They held their peace, and told no 
 man in those days." But having " kept the word to them- 
 selves," they could not refrain from " questioning together 
 what that should mean — ^when He shall be risen from the 
 dead." They have advanced a step at least, since they no 
 longer totally reject the idea of a suffering Messias. They 
 wonder, they discuss our Lord's words, but as yet they do 
 not accept them in their literal signification. 
 
 A little later, and Jesus leaves the district of Mount Thabor, 
 and travels secretly through Galilee in the direction of 
 Capharnaum ; for in view of the hostile attitude of the Jews, 
 *' He would not that any man should know it. But while 
 they all wondered at all the things which He did, He taught 
 His disciples, and said to them : The Son of man shall be 
 betrayed into the hands of men ; and they shall kill Him, and 
 after He is killed. He shall rise again the third day." This 
 prediction amplified the previous one, for Jesus referred 
 explicitly to the betrayal, to His death and Resurrection. 
 What effect has this third solemn prediction ? The Evange- 
 lists answer this question very decisively : " They understood 
 not the word, and it was hid from them, so they perceived it 
 not. And they were afraid to ask Him concerning this word ; 
 they were troubled exceedingly.'' Again we see that the 
 prediction was not grasped, and that fear was their dominant 
 sentiment. But at least they are getting nearer the confines 
 of faith, for men do not fear that of which they deny the 
 existence. Slowly and painfully the terrible reality is dawning 
 upon them. 
 
 We now come to the most detailed and solemn announce- 
 ment of the Passion. It was uttered during the last sad 
 journey to Jerusalem, very shortly before the triumphal entry ^ 
 into the Holy City. The Scriptures relate the incident in a 
 most touching, vivid manner. Harmonizing the narratives 
 of the Synoptists, we read : " And they were in the way, going 
 up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went before them ; and they were 
 astonished, and, following, were afraid." Their Master spoke 
 on this occasion very " openly " ; He revealed the betrayal, 
 
70 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the condemnation, His delivery to the Gentiles, the mocking, 
 and the scourging. He concluded, as usual, with the one ray 
 of hope — " the third day He shall rise." How was this detailed 
 prediction received ? St. Luke supplies the answer : " They 
 understood none of these things ; this word was hidden from 
 them." As the moment approached, they were more per- 
 plexed than ever ; their fear made them incapable of reasoning, 
 and the depth of their grief, at the thought of losing their 
 Lord and Master, absorbed all other thoughts. They appear 
 to have been, as it were, stupefied with grief and apprehensions. 
 
 Do we not often act precisely in the same manner ? Let 
 us examine our own shortcomings, and make our sincere 
 act of contrition for past faults. We are just as slow to com- 
 prehend that which goes against our natural desires, as the 
 Twelve were to believe the prophecies of the Passion. Yet 
 they had frequently heard the prophecies of Isaias read in the 
 synagogues, and the prophet speaks clearly enough of a suffer- 
 ing Messias, who should " divide the spoils of the strong " 
 precisely because " He had delivered His soul unto death." 
 
 In the Old Testament the sufferings of the Lord's Anointed 
 were most clearly revealed. But still the Apostles could not 
 grasp the meaning of the inspired words, of truths which they 
 had learned from childhood. They read in these passages 
 what they desired them to mean. 
 
 We must all plead guilty to the same incredulity and in- 
 consistency. To prove this, we have only to take the Beati- 
 tudes and examine ourselves as to their practical bearing on 
 our daily lives. They were promulgated for all Christ's 
 disciples, for Christians of all nationalities and of all ages. 
 They were not a special moral code for the Apostles and the 
 primitive Christians. Saints in every century have taken 
 them to heart, and have striven to put them in practice, but 
 how rarely do we find among the faithful of " the rank and 
 file," so to say, those who even aim at taking these moral 
 laws laid down by the great Lawgiver as the standard of their 
 actions ! 
 
 We know and profess to believe that poverty, meekness, 
 sorrow, spiritual hunger and thirst, mercifulness, purity, and 
 persecutions procure the highest and truest blessings. Do 
 
"THEY UNDERSTOOD NOT THIS WORD " 71 
 
 we value them " above gold," which procures all earthly 
 comforts and luxuries ? No, we shrink from these means of 
 obtaining blessedness, and if we inquire why we act so foolishly 
 we shall find that it is because, like the Apostles, we fail to 
 comprehend that which is naturally repugnant to our nature 
 or difficult to practise. Moreover, if we examine ourselves 
 carefully, we shall find that there is one special point or 
 special practice which we cannot bring ourselves to accept. 
 For one it will be poverty, and, to justify its rejection, it is 
 stigmatized as " degradation." In like manner, meekness is 
 regarded as " want of spirit," zeal for personal sanctification 
 is condemned as " fanaticism," and persecution is considered 
 an unmitigated evil." 
 
 If we would reform our lives, we must first reform our views 
 and learn to " covet earnestly the best gifts." In order to do 
 this, we must study in the Person and life of Jesus, the virtue 
 or truth which we find most difficult to accept. Let us take 
 humility as a concrete example. Those who are naturally 
 proud have an intense repugnance for this virtue ; they reject 
 it even in theory. Now, suppose that they become Catholics, 
 and that they begin to see something of the beauty of humility 
 and the grandeur of soul which it exacts and manifests. How 
 are they to rectify their views, so as to have the desire to 
 become humble, for this is the very first step towards the 
 acquisition of humility ? 
 
 They must learn of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. 
 Then, seeing how He practised this virtue, they must strive 
 to imitate Him in their feeble measure, choosing first those 
 acts which are obligatory if they would avoid sin, and then 
 advancing gradually to the performance of voluntary acts of 
 humility. 
 
 To earnest efforts we must join fervent prayer. Thus shall 
 We learn our difficult lessons, and, in proportion as we master 
 them, " the word " will be no longer hidden from us, and we 
 shall be docile pupils of our Divine Master. To all who are 
 sincerely desirous to learn the inner meaning of our Lord's 
 words, the promise is made : " I will give thee understanding, 
 and I will instruct thee in this Way, in which thou shalt go."* 
 
 * Ps. xxxi. 
 
72 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Lord as He goes oi ahead 
 along the road to Jerusalem. The disciples, following, are 
 afraid. They question among themselves as to the meaning 
 of the last solemn prediction of the Passion. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of spiritual intelligence 
 of the things of God, that you may not be " slow of heart " to 
 believe what He reveals. 
 
 First Point. — ^The causes of the Apostles' want of compre- 
 hension — namely, (i) their erroneous preconception concerning 
 the Messias ; (2) their natural horror of suffering and humili- 
 ation. 
 
 Second Point. — Contrast of the Messianic views taught by the 
 Jewish Rabbis with the predictions of Jesus touching His 
 Passion. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The Apostles rejected the predictions. They 
 were astonished and perplexed. They were troubled, and 
 feared exceedingly. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Acknowledge humbly at the feet of Jesus that 
 for long years you have been incredulous, perplexed, and 
 troubled by His teaching. Ask for the grace to understand 
 it better. Pray for a deep spiritual insight, for the grace to 
 master so thoroughly the one truth that is most repugnant to 
 your views and inclinations, that you may be urged on to 
 practise it. Thank our Lord for His patience in bearing with 
 your dulness and indocility. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 73 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE TRANSFIGURATION 
 Part I. 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " And six days after these words Jesus 
 taketh with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and bringeth 
 them up into a high mountain apart to pray. And whilst He prayed, 
 He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun ; 
 and His garments became shining, and exceeding white as snow, so 
 as no fuller on earth can make wliite." — St. Matt. xvii. ; St. Luke ix. ; 
 St. Mark ix. 
 
 Before commencing our meditation on the Transfiguration, 
 it will be well to consider the sequence of events which led 
 up to it, and also to place before our minds a picture of the 
 place where this wondrous scene was enacted. 
 
 The Transfiguration took place early in the month of 
 August, A.D. 33, about seven months before Jesus was crucified. 
 But a short time previous to His Transfiguration, Jesus had 
 been greatly opposed and rejected by the Pharisees. They 
 even came from Judea to Galilee, where He was in such 
 renown, that they might oppose his mission and win over 
 His adherents. In view of their bitter hostility, our Lord left 
 Galilee, and travelled northward to Caesarea Philippi, where 
 St. Peter had made his glorious confession of faith in the 
 Divinity of Christ. 
 
 On this occasion, Jesus conferred on him the dignity of being 
 the Head of the Church. But, as we have seen, it was neces- 
 sary for the Apostles to have right views concerning the 
 kingdom of the Messias, and the means by which it was to be 
 established. Consequently, in the very moment of the 
 Apostles' elation and joy at having found the ]\Iessias, they 
 were taught that this kingdom w^s one which could only be 
 established by the death of its Divine Founder. Not only 
 He, but also His disciples, would have to tread the path of 
 suffering. 
 
 This was a terrible blow to their hopes, a hard trial for their 
 I faith and loyalty, and, in order to strengthen them for the 
 hour, when their Master should be taken from th3m, three 
 favoured Apostles were allowed to bahold Jesus in glory, and 
 
74 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 to hear from the Eternal Father an expHcit testimony to His 
 Divinity. Simon Peter had confessed that Jesus was " the 
 Son of the living God," and he and his companions, James 
 and John, now heard this title given to our Lord by God 
 Himself. 
 
 The most ancient tradition gives Mount Thabor as the scene 
 of the Transfiguration. Modern writers prefer Mount Hermon, 
 but there are no good reasons for rejecting the traditional site. 
 Mount Thabor fulfils all the requirements of the Gospel 
 narrative. It is some twenty hours' journey from Caesarea 
 Philippi, and our Lord and His Apostles could easily have 
 performed this journey in six days. Origen (third century), 
 St. Jerome,* St. Cyril of Jerusalemf (fourth century), St. Bede 
 (eighth century), all accept the Mountain of Thabor as the 
 place where Jesus was transfigured. The fact that two 
 churches, now in ruins, were built on Mount Thabor, one by 
 St. Helena (fourth century), the other by the Crusaders, shows 
 that the ancient tradition was very firmly established. | 
 
 There are two other considerations which point to the same 
 conclusion — namely, that after the Transfiguration, when 
 Jesus came down from the mountain. He found His Apostles 
 endeavouring to exorcise " a dumb spirit." Now, we know 
 that our Lord had particularly forbidden His disciples to 
 exercise their ministry in the territory of the Gentiles. Had 
 the mountain in question been Hermon, they would have been 
 in the Gentile territories. Nor is it likely that at the foot of 
 snow-clad Hermon, which stands some ten miles north of 
 Caesarea Philippi, there would have been gathered together 
 " a great multitude," or a number of " scribes," such as were 
 found " questioning " with our Lord's disciples. So large 
 an assembly could hardly have been found gathered at the 
 foot of Mount Hermon, in the comparatively desert region of 
 Abilina. 
 
 Mount Thabor lies due east of Nazareth, in the north- 
 eastern angle of the vast Plain of Esdraelon, which stretches 
 out between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 * " Ep. xliv. ad Marcell." f " Catech.," xii. i6. 
 
 I It is also accepted by the Greek Church, in whose calendar we 
 find the Feast of the Transfiguration placed on August 6, as in the 
 Catholic Church, but under the name of " The Thabor " (To Qa^ihpLov). 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 75 
 
 Tristram has thus described it :* " Between a gap in the 
 Hills of Galilee, just behind us, the snowy crest of Great 
 Hermon glittered in the sunlight, athwart the bright green of 
 Tabor. The contrast was striking. . , . Tabor, with its 
 bright green foreground, dotted all over with grey trees, 
 contrasted finely with the dazzling white of the former. 
 Somewhere near this the sacred poet may have passed when he 
 exclaimed, ' Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Thy Name.' 
 They are eminently the two mountain features of Galilee. . . 
 Griffon vultures were wheeling in circles far over the rounded 
 top of Tabor ; and, here and there, an eagle was soaring 
 beneath them in search of food." 
 
 Dean Stanley has also a picturesque description of this 
 mountain. He writes : " Two mountains (Tabor and Carmel) 
 . . . stand out among the rugged, bare hills of Palestine . . . 
 remarkable for the verdure which climbs — a rare sight in 
 Eastern scenery — to their very summits. One of these is 
 Tabor. This strange and beautiful mountain is distinguished 
 alike in form and character from all around it. . . . From 
 the north-west of the plain it towers like a dome ; as seen from 
 the east, like a long arched mound, over the monotonous 
 undulations of the surrounding hills, from which it stands 
 completely isolated, except by a narrow neck of rising ground, 
 uniting it to the mountain-range of Galilee. ... Its trees 
 stand all apart from each other. But it is so thickly studded 
 with them as to rise from the plain like a mass of verdure. 
 Its summit, a broken oblong, is an alternation of shade and 
 green sward. . . . broad and varied, and commanding wide 
 views of the plain from end to end."t 
 
 From these graphic descriptions of two eyewitnesses, the 
 reader will be able to picture to himself the Mountain of 
 Thabor, where Jesus was transfigured. He will see it rising 
 in solitary grandeur some 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
 He will note the road that leads up to its gentle, well-wooded 
 slopes, from the north (the route taken by our Lord), and also 
 the rivulets that have tracked out channels for themselves 
 on the undulating Plain of Esdraelon. If to these details he 
 
 * " The Land of Israel," chap, vi., passim. 
 
 t " Sinai and Palestine," chap, ix., p. 350, ed. 1875. 
 
76 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 adds the ruins of the fortress* which stood on the summit in the 
 times of our Lord, the view of Thabor will be fairly complete 
 in the reader's mind. 
 
 Just eight days inclusivcj after Simon Peter's confession of 
 faith at Csesarea Philippi, Jesus and the Twelve might have 
 been seen on the northern road directing their steps towards 
 Mount Thabor, where He had decided to pass the night in 
 prayer, as was His wont. How often " Jesus went up into a 
 mountain to pray " ! This evening was one that would often 
 be spoken of, for the event that happened during our Lord's 
 prayer has been handed down to the Church, enshrined in her 
 Sacred Scriptures. The sun was setting on that August day 
 when Jesus, leaving nine of the Apostles at the foot of the 
 mountain, went up the green slope in company with Peter, 
 James, and John. Having reached the summit, we may 
 presume that Jesus told them to watch with Him, for He 
 knew that a great privilege was about to be granted to them. 
 The words of the sacred text seemed to imply that they 
 watched with Christ, although they were " heavy with sleep," 
 for the passage in St. Luke's Gospel, " waking, they saw His 
 glory," would be better translated " nevertheless, remaining 
 awake," or " having kept themselves awake throughout " 
 
 We do not know how long Jesus and His Apostles prayed 
 before the wondrous Vision was seen by the three chosen ones. 
 We are simply told that, having taken " them up into a high 
 mountain apart, whilst He prayed. He was transfigured before 
 them. And His face did shine as the sun, and His garments 
 became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller 
 on earth can make white." 
 
 Jesus was transfigured (lit. " metamorphosed," fi€Tefjiop(fno67])^ 
 His outward appearance was changed, though, as St. Jerome 
 tells us, " He did not lose His form and aspect, but He appeared 
 to His Apostles, as He will appear to all at the Day of Judg- 
 ment." Although Jesus was glorified, His Apostles did not 
 fail to recognize Him. After the resurrection, all the redeemed 
 
 * These fortifications were built by Antiochus the Great {circa 2 18 B.C.). 
 t Some commentators are of opinion that the Apostles actually slept, 
 and that the voices aroused them. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 77 
 
 will possess glorified bodies — their very own earthly tenement, 
 endued with the four qualities of clarity, agility, impassibility, 
 and subtlety. '* Then shall the just shine as the sun in the 
 kingdom of their Father."* The body sown in corruption 
 will be raised a spiritual incorruptible body — " It is sown in 
 dishonour; it shall be raised in glory. "f On this occasion 
 Jesus allowed His Apostles to see His glorified Humanity. 
 Its clarity rendered It visible to them in the darkness of night. 
 The Divine Nature, habitually concealed, now revealed Itself 
 by glorifying the Sacred Humanity of Christ. It was less a 
 miracle than a cessation of the miracle, which had kept the 
 Divinity concealed since the moment of the Incarnation. 
 
 Let us worship our glorified Lord, and tell Him how we long 
 for the hour when we shall be permitted to gaze upon His 
 sacred features, to see Him as He is, to kneel at His feet, to 
 worship Him without ceasing. Meanwhile, He is With us 
 under the sacramental species, which conceal alike from our 
 view His humanity and His Divinity. Here^ too, God works 
 a continual miracle in order that Jesus may remain hidden, 
 so that the faithful may have the merit of believing without 
 seeing. We know by faith, by the testimony of the Church, 
 and of the Son of God Himself, that He is really and truly 
 present. It is not God's will that we should, while on earth, 
 pierce by our senses the veils that hide our Lord, but faith 
 can penetrate those veils which conceal His glorified Body. 
 He is there on the altar, under the appearances of bread and 
 wine, as truly as He was present on Mount Thabor when He 
 was transfigured. We may take this consideration as our 
 preparation for our next Communion. The altar-rails will 
 be our Thabor, the accidents of the Sacrament will constitute 
 the veil, and our glorified Lord Himself will be the Guest of 
 our souls. 
 
 The Transfiguration took place " whilst He prayed." This 
 gives us another subject of meditation. It is in prayer, in 
 intercourse with God, that the soul is transfigured, though 
 the body remains unchanged.^We cannot offer one fervent 
 prayer while in a state of grace without rising to a higher 
 degree in the spiritual life, for every good action performed in a 
 * St. iVIatt. xiii. -f i Cor. xv. 
 
78 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 state of grace brings us nearer to God. Often the holiness of 
 the soul seems to overflow to the body, and interior joy, peace, 
 faith, and courage leave their imprint on the human features 
 as surely as vice stamps its traits there. Some Saints in 
 ecstasy have been, as it were, transfigured so as to fill the 
 spectators with awe. We read, for example, of the face of 
 Moses being illumined when he " came down from Mount 
 Sinai ; he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not 
 that his face was horned (i.e., with rays of light) from the 
 conversation of the Lord. Aaron and the children of Israel 
 . . . were afraid to come near . . . and Moses put a veil upon his 
 face ... if at any time he spoke to them."* Such was the 
 marvellous effect of prayer in the case of Moses. 
 
 When Zachary came forth to the people from the Holy 
 Place, after having ministered before the Lord and received a 
 communication from Him through the ministry of an Angel, 
 he was so awe-struck that the people " understood that he had 
 seen a vision in the Temple," though, being unable to speak, 
 he could not tell them of it. How often, too, are the faces of 
 the just lit up with an expression of joy and peace on their 
 death-beds ! They are close to the gates of Paradise, and the 
 glorious light of that blessed city seems to illumine their 
 features with its rays. 
 
 But, though it is not necessary that the features should 
 reveal the secrets of the soul, it is necessary that, in imitation 
 of our Emmanuel, we should pray with fervour. By prayer 
 we are preparing our future glorification. ** The resurrection 
 of the body " is an article of faith ; it will come to pass when 
 " time shall be no more." Meanwhile, the Holy Eucharist 
 and prayer shall be our Mount Thabor. There we, too, can 
 be " with Jesus of Nazareth," and in His blessed Presence, 
 even here on earth, *"' there is fulness of joy." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent to yourself, as far as you can, 
 the scene of the Transfiguration, the Mountain, the road that 
 leads to the summit, Jesus in prayer, the Apostles struggling 
 
 * Exod. xxxiv. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 79 
 
 with drowsiness, " yet remaining awake." Then comes the 
 glorious vision of Jesus ** metamorphosed " — transfigured and 
 yet recognizable. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for grace to find your Mount Thabor 
 in prayer and in the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 First Point. — Consider the events which led up to the 
 Transfiguration, the rejection of Jesus by the Pharisees, 
 St. Peter's confession of faith, and the predictions of the 
 Passion. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist with 
 His glorious Body ; our faith can pierce the veils. 
 
 Third Point. — Intercourse with Jesus transfigures the soul. 
 We can also, by prayer, prepare our own glorious resur- 
 rection. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore your glorified God and Saviour, Ask that 
 in His own good time you may " be numbered with His 
 Saints in glory everlasting." Beg Him to pour out upon you 
 the spirit of prayer. Ask for a lively faith in the Holy 
 Eucharist, and for the grace to " pray without ceasing " by 
 interior union with Jesus, and a continual remembrance of 
 His indwelling. Beg Him often to make your soul His Thabor 
 by permitting you frequently to approach the Altar. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE TRANSFIGURATION 
 Part II. 
 
 Harmonized Narrative (continued). — " But Peter and they that 
 were with him were heavy with sleep. And, waking, they saw His 
 glory, and the two men that stood with Him. They were Moses and 
 Elias, appearing in majesty. And they were talldng with Jesus, and 
 they spoke of His decease that He should accomplish in Jerusalem. 
 And as they were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus : Lord, 
 it is good for us to be here. If Thou wilt, let us m"ake here three taber- 
 nacles, one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Ehas. For he knew 
 not what he said, for they were struck with fear. And as he was yet 
 speaking, there came a bright cloud overshadowing them. And they 
 were afraid when they entered into the cloud. And a voice came out 
 of the cloud, saying : This is My most beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 
8o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 pleased : hear ye Him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, 
 and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them ; and 
 said to them : Arise, and fear not. And immediately Ufting up their 
 eyes and looking about, they saw no one, but only Jesus. He was 
 alone." — St. Matt, xvii.; St. Mark ix.; St. Luke ix. 
 
 We will continue our meditation on the beautiful scene of the 
 Transfiguration, that we may learn from this mystery those 
 lessons which we most need. Our Emmanuel, robed in 
 His garments of light, stands on Mount Thabor. "He is 
 clothed with light as with a garment, because in that eternal 
 light He will be clothed, with all His Saints, to whom it is 
 said : ' Ye are the light of the world.' "* Perhaps the snow- 
 capped heights of Lebanon, glistening in the distance, may 
 have suggested to the Evangelist the comparison *' white as 
 snow." All the Synoptists seem to seek for fitting words to 
 express the dazzling brightness of our Lord's Person and 
 clothing. Yet, as St. Jerome remarks, nothing was changed 
 in substance, though all was transformed by the glory of the 
 Divine Word : " When Jesus was transfigured, He did not 
 lose His form and aspect ; He appeared as He will show 
 Himself at the Day of Judgment." 
 
 But our glorified Saviour was not alone, for " behold two 
 men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elias 
 appearing in majesty, and they spake of the decease that He 
 should accomplish in Jerusalem." St. John Chrysostom, in 
 his homily on this subject, quaintly asks, ** Why did He bring 
 Moses and Elias ?" and the Saint finds five reasons : 
 
 " First, because men said that Jesus was Elias, or one of 
 the old prophets, therefore He conducts the chief Apostles to 
 the Mount, that they may discriminate between the prophets 
 and the Lord of the prophets. Next, that they know that He 
 was not contrary to the Law and the prophets, as some men 
 thought. . . . Next, that they might learn that Christ has 
 power over life and death ; therefore He brings forth Moses, 
 who had died, and Elias, who had never seen death. Next, 
 that they might understand the glory of the Cross ; and that 
 He might quell the fears of Peter shrinking from the Cross, 
 and might elevate the thoughts of the rest. For Moses and 
 Elias spoke of His glory {i.e., of His exodus or going forth, * a 
 
 * St. Gregory the Great. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 8i 
 
 weighty word involving His Passion, Cross, Death, Resur- 
 rection, and Ascension '), which He would accomplish in 
 Jerusalem. He also brings forward Moses and Elias as 
 examples of suffering for God, and of consequent reward in 
 glory." In these pregnant words, St. John Chrysostom gives 
 weighty reasons for God's choice of the two glorified witnesses 
 which we should do well to ponder over. 
 
 Moses, the meekest of men, the great lawgiver of Israel, 
 was a marked tj^pe of Christ. For Moses fasted during forty 
 days and nights on Mount Sinai ■ he led the Israelites through 
 the desert, and when they rebelled he was in danger of death 
 from their hands. His manner of death was mysterious, and 
 his place of sepulture was confided to the care of the Arch- 
 angel St. Michael, whom St. Jude represents as contending 
 with the devil over the body of Moses. Likewise, Moses had 
 predicted the coming of Christ in these words : *' The Lord 
 thy God will raise up to thee a Prophet of thy nation, and of 
 thy brethren : Him thou shall hear." Now the aged seer 
 appears in glory. The lawgiver, of whom the Jews spoke as 
 " He who died of a kiss from the Eternal," stands beside that 
 prophet, whom the Eternal bids men hear. 
 
 Elias was the great reformer of Israel. He, too, had fasted 
 forty days and forty nights, when fleeing from the anger of 
 Jezabel. He was fed miraculously by an Angel, who touched 
 him, as he slept in the shadow of a juniper-tree in the Desert 
 of Judea, and said : " Arise, eat, for thou hast j^et a long way 
 to go. And he arose, and ate and drank, and he walked in 
 the strength of that food unto Horeb, the Mount of God."* 
 His *' exodus " from this world was miraculous, for we are 
 told that " he was taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot 
 of fiery horses. . . . No man was more powerful than he. In 
 his life he did great wonders, and in death he wrought 
 miracles."! Truly this great prophet and thaumaturge is a 
 striking type of Christ and a fitting witness of His Trans- 
 figuration ! 
 
 In the choice of these two Saints of the Old Law some 
 commentators, besides St. John Chrysostom, have seen an 
 allusion to Clirist's power over the living and the dead, for 
 ♦ 3 Kings xix. f Ecclus. xlviii. 
 
82 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Moses had died, while Ehas had been translated. Hence 
 Moses represented those who die before Christ's second Advent, 
 Elias, those who live until the Day of Judgment. The two 
 leaders of Israel stand with the Messias- on Mount Thabor ; 
 they appear in majesty — i.e., in glorified bodies. But this 
 event took place before " many bodies of the Saints that had 
 slept " arose from their tombs on Easter Day, therefore we 
 may conclude that Moses had only the appearance of a body, 
 or perhaps his own body was raised from the dead for this 
 occasion. 
 
 Elias had not died, consequently it seems probable that he 
 appeared in his own body. He has yet to die (according to a 
 passage in the Apocalypse, as explained by some commen- 
 tators), after having returned to earth to prepare men for 
 the second Advent of Clirist. To the three Apostles, all of 
 whom were devout Jews, the presence of Moses and Ehas 
 must have harmonized with their Messianic beliefs, for in the 
 Jerusalem Targum on Exod. xii., Moses, the lawgiver, is repre- 
 sented as the companion of the Messias, while another Jewish 
 tradition gives Elias as His companion. 
 
 Both were now present before the awe-struck Apostles. 
 We may ask here how the Apostles recognized them as 
 '' Moses and Elias.'' We do not know ; the inform.ation 
 respecting their identity may have been intuitive, or conveyed 
 by a special revelation. Perhaps the conversation revealed 
 who they were, or they may have appeared in some con- 
 ventional form, usually ascribed to them by the Jews. It is 
 certain that the Apostles recognized the personalities of the 
 two heavenly witnesses immediately, for St. Peter mentions 
 them by name. Some of the lessons this vision was intended 
 to convey depended on the Apostles' knowing with whom 
 their Master was speaking. 
 
 Shall we recognize our loved ones in glory ? Surely the 
 answer must be " Yes." How we shall recognize God's Saints 
 cannot be determined, but we shall know each and all. The 
 Apostles recognized Jesus although He was transfigured ; 
 Dives knew Abraham in Limbo (though he had never seen 
 him on earth), and likewise Lazarus, and all three were dis- 
 embodied spirits. Saints favoured with celestial visions 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 83 
 
 appear to have had a certain instantaneous intuitive know- 
 ledge as to the personalities of their heavenly visitants. In 
 Heaven we shall know our own, and this knowledge will be 
 one of our secondary joys, that of seeing God being the 
 greatest. 
 
 Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, Elias, the prophet of the 
 Lord, and Jesus, the Messias — the Lord and end of both the 
 Law and the Prophets — stand conversing on Mount Thabor. 
 He who fulfilled all types and prophecies to the last iota 
 stands in the central place conversing with His two witnesses. 
 Jesus, too, by His Transfiguration, bore witness to Himself. 
 The Divinity no longer suspends its operations ; it produces 
 visible effects in His Sacred Humanity. Therefore as the 
 sun in the heavens proclaims its own existence, shines by its 
 own light, and reveals its nature and power, so Jesus reveals 
 Himself as the King Messias, the Son of God. In this solemn 
 moment Mount Thabor was Heaven upon earth, for God was 
 present there. 
 
 But we are told that Jesus was conversing with His servants, 
 and the subject was " the exodus " which He was to accom- 
 plish in Jerusalem. They spoke of the Passion ; of the trans- 
 cendent value, of the necessity, of the proximity of the 
 sufferings and death of Christ. In the Basilica at Ravenna 
 there is a mural mosaic of the sixth century. It represents, in 
 emblematical form, the Transfiguration of our Lord. The 
 artist has placed a jewelled Cross, in a circle of blue studded 
 with golden stars. In the centre of the Cross may be seen 
 the head of Christ. Clouds surround the blue ground, and 
 from them a hand is thmst forth, pointing to the Cross. This 
 old Catholic artist's conception was correct. " The Trans- 
 figuration sets the Cross of Christ in the centre, surrounds it 
 with the radiant firmament of God's promises, and of the 
 prophecies of the Old Testament, and shows us the hand of 
 God Himself emerging from the cloud of glory and pointing 
 to the Cross, as though God the Father would say to man 
 what John the Baptist said : ' Behold the Lamb of God, 
 behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world !' " 
 
 The Cross which Simon Peter had so vehemently rejected, 
 to which James and John, but a little later, would have 
 
84 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 preferred a throne in Christ's Messianic kingdom — and even 
 petitioned for it — that Cross was accepted, as the only true 
 instrument and means of the Redemption, by the two heavenly 
 witnesses, and by Jesus Himself. The Cross is the theme in 
 the midst of glory ! So will it be when the sign of the Son 
 of man shall be seen in the heavens, when He comes to judge 
 the world. So is it now in Heaven, where the ancients sing 
 the new canticle : " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the 
 book and to open the seals thereof ; because Thou wast slain, 
 and hast redeemed us to God, in Thy blood, out of every 
 tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation."* So must it be 
 during our earthly pilgrimage, for ever here below will our 
 joys and sorrows intermingle, the sWeet and the bitter waters 
 blending in their course to the ocean of eternity. When shall 
 we have the common sense to accept the inevitable ; the virtue 
 to carry our cross with fortitude, willingness, and joy ? When 
 " caritas Christi urget nos " — when our souls are enkindled 
 with the love of God. 
 
 The three Apostles were aroused from their stupor by the 
 clarity of our Lord's Body and by the voices. They appear 
 to have gazed on the entrancing scene, too awe-struck to speak 
 at first, as they listened reverently to the conversation. The 
 " sign from Heaven," which was denied the haughty Pharisees, 
 was granted to the three humble fishermen of Galilee. The 
 three earthly witnesses of the Transfiguration apparently 
 listened in silence, until they perceived that Moses and Elias 
 were departing, when Peter, eager to prolong the joy of that 
 hour, exclaimed, with his usual impetuosity : " Lord, it is 
 good for us to be here : if Thou wilt, let us make here three 
 tabernacles, one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias." 
 His suggestion was that the three Apostles should set up three 
 tents made from the branches of trees, such as the Israelites 
 used on the Feast of Tabernacles, or when camping on a 
 journey — tents of branches as shelters for glorified bodies If 
 
 But Simon Peter " knew not what he said," and in all 
 
 * Apoc. V. 
 
 f As St. Augustine aptly remarks : " Three tabernacles were not 
 required, for Christ is the Word of God, the Word of God in the Law, the 
 Word in the Prophets. These three make but one," and the cloud made 
 one tabernacle " not made with hands" (Horn, xxviii.). 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 85 
 
 probability he himself dictated this humble acknowledgment 
 of his foolish proposition, for St. Mark wrote his Gospel " as the 
 interpreter — i.e., the penman of Peter," according to Papias, 
 Bishop of Hieropolis, circa a.d. 169, and other very early 
 writers — e.g., St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, and St. Clement 
 of Alexandria. 
 
 " He knew not what he said," for his wish was opposed to 
 the predictions of Christ concerning His Passion, and to the 
 subject of the conversation which the three had just heard. 
 To live apart on the mountain in the company of our Lord, 
 of Moses, and Elias, would be to enjoy the reward without 
 having laboured. When " struck with fear " St. Peter made 
 his request, he had forgotten that the Christ must suffer, and 
 that His disciples, taking up their cross, must follow in His 
 footsteps. He had forgotten that man's life is destined to be 
 one continual warfare, that only the " violent " can enter 
 into possession of the kingdom of God. All these things were 
 forgotten because he feared, and " fear is nothing else but a 
 yielding up of the succours from thought." 
 
 While Peter " was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud came 
 and overshadowed them." Moses and Elias had disappeared ; 
 now Jesus and His three Apostles were " overshadowed " by 
 the bright cloud. In all probability it was the Shechinah, or 
 visible Presence of God, who is frequently represented in the 
 Scriptures as revealing His Majesty and Presence by a cloud. 
 C/. " Behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud."* 
 ** Who makest the clouds thy chariot." | 
 
 Some thirty-five years after, St. Peter had still a most vivid 
 recollection of this Vision. He speaks of the " bright cloud " 
 as the " excellent glor}^" a phrase which is equivalent to the 
 Hebrew word " Shechinah." The passage runs thus : " Having 
 been made eyewitnesses of His Majesty. For He received 
 from God the Father honour and glory ; this voice coming 
 down to Him from the excellent glory : This is My beloved 
 Son, in whom I have pleased myself, hear ye Him. And this 
 voice we heard brought from Heaven, when we were with Him 
 in the holy mount." J 
 
 Well may the Apostles have fallen to the ground and veiled 
 * Exod. xvi. I Ps. ciii. J 2 St. Pet. i. 
 
86 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 their faces when the glory of God — the sign of His Presence — 
 enveloped them on that " holy mount !" " There was solitude 
 and height, and great quietness, and a transfiguration full of 
 awe. There was a pure light and a far-reaching cloud. . . . 
 Amazement came crowding on every side, and they fell on 
 their faces both in fear and adoration."* 
 
 They heard the Divine Proclamation, and as it was made 
 " Jesus was found alone." The announcement concerned 
 Christ, not Moses and Elias : " This is the Son of Mine, the 
 Beloved in whom I am well pleased : hear ye Him." The 
 Eternal Father employs the same words which He had 
 revealed to Peter : Jesus was ** the Christ, the Son of the 
 living God " — the beloved Son, This was the third solemn 
 exterior witness to the Divinity of Christ. At His Birth, the 
 Angels had announced Him as " Christ the Lord," and at His 
 Baptism, God the Father had revealed Him to be His beloved 
 Son. In Him God was always " well pleased " — as the only- 
 begotten Son ; with Him who hath said : " I do always the 
 things that please Him, who was obedient to His Heavenly 
 Father even unto death, and who sought in all His actions 
 the glory of God." '' Hear ye Him.'' The Divine command 
 referred to Jesus only, and it was given for all men and for all 
 time. He is the Prophet predicted by Moses, the One whom 
 Israel should hear. If we hear Him, " our souls shall live."f 
 It is a mark of the sheep of Christ's Fold that " they hear His 
 voice." Jesus reveals to us the Will of God. Frequently He 
 reminded His disciples of this truth. C/. " The word which 
 you have heard is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."t 
 
 How does that Divine voice of Jesus make itself heard ? 
 It speaks through His Vicar on earth, to whom He has given 
 the gift of infallibility, that men might have no uncertainty 
 as to the revelations made by God. As docile sheep of His 
 Fold, it is our duty to hear the Church ; in hearing her 
 teaching, we hear Christ Himself. Hence it is our duty, as 
 we value our eternal salvation^ to accept what the Church 
 proposes to our belief, and to reject what she condemns. 
 When the body of a Catholic is laid to rest in its last earthly 
 
 * St. John Chrysostom, Horn. Ivi., § 6. 
 I Isa. Iv. X St. John xiv. 
 
THE TRANSFIGURATION 87 
 
 home, the Church, in her solemn funeral rites, asks that God's 
 " servant departed may not receive the punishment due to 
 his sins " ; she prays that *' as true faith united him to the 
 company of the faithful " on earth, so he may be united in 
 Heaven with the angelic choirs. 
 
 Over whom can these words be truthfully uttered ? Over 
 all who have obeyed the Divine command " Hear ye Him," 
 for to hear the Church is to hear the Son of God. Therefore 
 let us hold fast our profession of faith, and watch carefully 
 lest the cavils of hostile critics and their plausible antagonistic 
 arguments should rob us of the precious heritage of the 
 Saints — of our Catholic Faith. 
 
 Again, we hear the Son of God when we listen to sermons 
 and instructions, and when we read spiritual books (which 
 bear the '* Imprimatur " of the Bishops). Do we resemble 
 those eager multitudes who pressed upon Jesus to hear His 
 instructions as He stood by the Lake of Genesareth ? There 
 is a very special blessing promised to those who " hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness." " They shall be filled." Here, on 
 earth, they shall receive a deep insight into the things of God 
 and Heaven ; they will know something of " the depth of the 
 riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God."* 
 
 We must also hear the voice of Jesus when He speaks to 
 us interiorly by the Holy Ghost. Our Lord has promised 
 that we shall '* be taught of God." Cf. " The Paraclete . . . 
 whom the Father will send in My name ; He will teach you 
 all things." f Whatever be the means by which the words of 
 Jesus are revealed, it is the duty of the faithful to accept 
 them with joy, docility, and obedience : " Speak, Lord, for 
 thy servant heareth." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — We will hx our attention on Jesus standing 
 with Moses and Elias in glory. The three Apostles, trembling 
 and awe-struck, are prostrate on the ground. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for grace to understand this mystery, 
 to accept the doctrine of the Cross, and to be docile to the 
 voice of Jesus. 
 
 * Rom. xi. I St. John xiv. 
 
88 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 First Point. — Moses and Elias appear with Jesus in glory. 
 They Were fitting witnesses, since Moses represented the Law, 
 Elias the Prophets. Both these heavenly witnesses were 
 types of Christ. 
 
 Second Point. — ^They speak of His decease in the midst of 
 glory. Peter proposes to remain on the Mountain. The 
 Heavenly Voice proclaims the beloved Son of God. 
 
 Third Point. — " Hear ye Him." This is a command given 
 by God to all. Jesus speaks through the Church, by the instru- 
 mentality of His priests, by the voice of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Adore your glorified Lord. Ask for grace to 
 learn the difficult lesson of the Cross, and for courage to accept 
 sufferings. Pray for the grace of a docile heart, and for the 
 gift of final perseverance, that you may see Christ in glory with 
 all His Saints and Angels. 
 
 CHAPTER Xn 
 
 THE DESCENT FROM MOUNT THABOR 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — "And whilst the voice was uttered, 
 Jesus was found alone. And the disciples, hearing, fell upon their 
 face, and they were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched 
 them, and said to them : Arise, and be not afraid. And when they 
 lifted up their eyes, immediately, looking about, they saw no man any 
 more, but Jesus only with them. As they came down from the moun- 
 tain, Jesus charged them, saying : Tell the vision to no man, till the 
 Son of man be risen from the dead. They held their peace, and told 
 no man in those days any of these things which they had seen, question- 
 ing together what that should mean : when He shall be risen from the 
 dead." — St. Matt. xvii. ; St. Mark ix. ; St. Luke ix. 
 
 The wondrous night vision of the Transfiguration is over, 
 and the day begins to dawn. The shadows roll away as the 
 sun rises behind the Mountains of Gilead, and tints the eastern 
 slopes of the Mountains of Lebanon with gold and crimson 
 hues. The birds sing their morning song of praise to their 
 Creator before they go forth to seek their food. The griffon 
 vultures, deserting their nests in the old fortifications, are 
 wheeling above Mount Thabor in ever-widening circles. The 
 eagles are seeking their prey. The ground is wet with the 
 heavy night dews ; the mountain streams trickle musically 
 
THE DESCENT FROM MOUNT THABOR 89 
 
 along the mountain slopes. The cool morning breezes blow 
 softly. They are laden with the perfume of the flowers of the 
 field and the scented shrubs. All Nature rejoices on this 
 bright August morning. 
 
 Jesus, the Son of God, stands upon Mount Thabor. Moses 
 and Elias have departed, and the three Apostles, Peter, James, 
 and John, are lying prostrate on the ground, for having heard 
 the Heavenly Voice they were " very much afraid." The 
 original Greek is very expressive ; it implies very great terror. 
 The Vision had overwhelmed them with dread. " Human 
 weakness could not bear such refulgent beams of glory and 
 trembling in every limb ; they fell prostrate to the ground."* 
 The Shechinah, the visible token of the Presence of God, had 
 overshadowed them. The intense awe which men instinctively 
 feel when they come into direct contact with the supernatural 
 was oppressing them. Man cannot see God and live, and 
 " the touch of the heavenly strains, almost to breaking, the 
 bond betwixt soul and body." 
 
 Thus when God manifested His Presence to the Israelites 
 on Mount Sinai, we read : " All the people saw the flames . . . 
 and the mountain smoking, and, being terrified, and struck 
 with fear, they stood afar off, saying to Moses : Speak thou 
 to us, and we will hear ; let not the Lord speak, lest we die."t 
 When Solomon dedicated the Temple " the priests could not 
 stand to minister because of the cloud {i.e., the Shechinah) ; 
 for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. "J 
 Daniel, when in captivity in Babylon, saw a vision of a glorious 
 Angel, and he thus records his terror : "There remained no 
 strength in me, and the appearance of my countenance 
 was changed . . . and I fainted. I heard the voice of 
 his words, and I lay in a consternation upon my face, 
 and my face was close to the ground, and behold a hand 
 touched me."§ 
 
 The books of the Prophets were familiar enough to the 
 Apostles, and doubtless when, in after-years, they read this 
 passage, it reminded them of their experience upon " the holy 
 mount." They had seen the Son of God glorified, and had 
 heard the Eternal Father proclaim Him as His Son, " the 
 
 * St. Jerome. | Exod. xx. % 3 Kings viii. § Dan. x. 
 
90 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Beloved " — no wonder that they lay " in consternation close 
 to the ground." 
 
 Jesus looked lovingly upon His terrified Apostles, and, 
 bending over them, He gently touched each one, saying : 
 " Arise, and be not afraid." We know well how the voice of 
 a loved parent has power to allay the terrors of a child, how 
 the touch of a mother's hand soothes that child. 
 
 The hand that touched the Apostles was the one which had 
 been stretched out, but recently, to save Peter, when he was 
 in danger on the lake. That merciful touch brought them 
 back to the natural order of things. It calmed them, and 
 gave them courage : " They lifted up their eyes immediately." 
 There was no hesitation ; they recognized their Divine Master's 
 touch. 
 
 " Arise, be not afraid." His words, too, were familiar and 
 reassuring. When Jesus bids a soul fear not, He speaks with 
 authority, His words are effective ; they bring to pass that 
 which they command. If the touch of the live coal could 
 purify the lips of Isaias and make him a worthy messenger of 
 God's word, how much more would the touch of Jesus be 
 effective, and banish all fear from the souls of His disciples ! 
 
 " It is I, be not afraid." These were the words with which 
 Jesus had reassured His Apostles when, during a storm " in 
 the fouith watch of the night, he came to them walking upon 
 the sea." Then, too, they " were troubled," and " cried out 
 for fear," but " immediately " Jesus allayed their fears by 
 making Himself known. To how many faithful souls have 
 these comforting words of our Divine Master brought calm 
 and relief ! Millions of the children of the Church have read 
 them in the course of the ages, and to each they have been 
 a message from God. 
 
 If we are Christ's, if our souls are united to Him by grace, 
 we may always hear interiorly His Divine Voice, speaking 
 comforting words as we journey along bearing our cross. 
 " It is I, be not afraid." He is ever near, never nearer than 
 when we suffer. He whispers consoling words to us by His 
 Presence after Communion, by a message from His priests, by 
 the " still small voice " of His Blessed Spirit — the Paraclete. 
 
 The three Apostles, having raised themselves from the 
 
THE DESCENT FROM MOUNT THABOR 91 
 
 ground, '* looked about " ; " they saw no man," but " Jesus 
 only." They looked, perhaps, to see whether Moses and Elias 
 had returned, or perhaps they gazed around with no definite 
 intention as they gradually recovered from their extreme 
 terror. They " looked about," and their gaze fell upon their 
 beloved Master. He was standing by them alone. It was 
 His sweet face as they saw it daily. The brightness of 
 Majesty, the glory of His features, had probably disappeared. 
 No exteriQr supernatural tokens distinguished Him from the 
 children of men. Once more Jesus has laid aside His 
 garments of glory that He may work out our salvation. 
 
 Would that it were given us "to see Jesus only," to see 
 Him in the intervention of Divine Providence, in those who 
 are placed over us, in the path that opens out before us ! 
 God works in all His creatures ; in the smallest flower, as in 
 the laws of Nature which govern the mighty earthquakes. 
 The lot of all men is in God's hands, and if we had but a true 
 spirit of faith, we should see '* Jesus only " in all that befalls 
 us by the Will of God, We should be able to address every 
 creature, every event, joyful or sad, with the words of Christ : 
 " Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were 
 given thee from above." The humblest Christian has the 
 right to make these words his own, since God is His Father, 
 and He loves His children with a love that is infinite and 
 eternal. 
 
 But it is time to leave the summit of Mount Thabor, and 
 to rejoin the nine Apostles who are struggling to cast forth 
 the devil from the lunatic. Jesus descends the slopes which 
 led to Galilee, and at the same time He descends into the 
 valley of humiliation. He knows what is awaiting Him. 
 The Transfiguration marks the culminating point in the 
 ministry of Jesus. The Crucifixion is near at hand, and the 
 enemies of Jesus become more and more hostile, so that He 
 conceals Himself at times from them, because His hour is 
 not yet come, Between the Transfiguration and the Passion 
 He appears to have worked fewer miracles. The Gospels 
 record but five. He spoke less in public, and oftener with His 
 disciples, and the Passion was frequently the subject of His 
 instructions. 
 
92 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 From the glory of Thabor, Jesus descended to the Agony in 
 the Garden, and thence He must journey to Calvary. He 
 knew, as He went down the mountain on that bright August 
 morning, that He was going to His death, to the torments of 
 the Cross. His Apostles had been told the terrible truth, but 
 they could not bring themselves to accept it, and their dulness 
 of comprehension added to our Lord's sorrows, for, as Man, 
 He had need of sympathy. 
 
 His Apostles had seen Him in glory ; the day must come 
 when that sacred face would be bruised, buffeted, and dis- 
 figured with spittle. His garments, that glistened like snow 
 on Mount Thabor, would be defiled with mud, and stained 
 with His sacred Blood. The hand, that had touched them so 
 gently as they lay prone, would be nailed to the Cross. They 
 had heard Him proclaimed as the Son of God. But seven 
 short months must elapse, and they would see the Messias, 
 their Redeemer and Saviour, the Holy One of Israel, hanging 
 on the tree of shame, and mocked by the rabble and the Roman 
 soldiers. Jesus knew all this. He knew that His death was 
 close at hand, and He was prepared to face the billows of 
 anguish that would roll over His pure soul — billows of hatred, 
 of contempt, of blasphemy, of fiendish cruelty, of unspeakable 
 tortures. He knew, too, that the three favoured ones by His 
 side on Thabor would desert Llim in Gethsemani, that Peter — 
 would betray Him, and that those who welcomed Him with 
 " Hosannas " on Palm Sunday would join in the cries of 
 " Crucify Him !" " Away with Him !" 
 
 If we can realize something of ail these terrible truths, we 
 shall have some faint idea of the mental sufferings which 
 Jesus must have endured, and more especially as the moment of 
 His death came nearer. The glory of Thabor must have 
 brought prominently to His mind the ignominy of Calvary. 
 He had spoken of His Passion with Moses and Elias, and now 
 as He descends He speaks of it to His disciples. The lips 
 speak of the abundance of the heart, and, moreover, Jesus 
 willed to prepare His Apostles for their hour of trial, when the 
 Good Shepherd having been struck, they, like sheep, would 
 be scattered. 
 
 Jesus charged them, saying : " Tell the vision to no man, 
 
THE DESCENT FROM MOUNT THABOR 93 
 
 till the Son of man be risen from the dead." Not even the 
 other Apostles were to be told. The three obeyed : " They 
 kept the word to themselves," but only " in those days." 
 We may be sure that when Peter, James, and John were 
 together they often spoke of this wonderful event, for we 
 know that " they questioned together what that should mean : 
 When He shall be risen from the dead." 
 
 Why was this prohibition given ? Because of the weakness 
 of men's faith, even of the Apostles', " for the greater the 
 things spoken of Him, the harder they were likely to be 
 received by the generality of people, and the offence of the 
 Cross would be increased thereby."* The torments of the 
 Passion would seem no fitting sequel to the Transfiguration, 
 and, further, it was no part of God's plan to win the submission 
 of all men instantaneously by dazzling them with His glory. 
 
 Had the Jews known that Jesus was the Messias, the Son 
 of God, they would never *' have crucified the Lord of glory," 
 and St. Peter, in his sermon after the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost, excused the Jews on the ground that they had " killed 
 the Author of life through ignorance." Had the rulers of Israel 
 been enlightened, they would not have condemned Christ, and 
 as He had determined to offer Himself as a Victim for our sins 
 by a cruel and shameful death, He willed that they should 
 have no other testimony to His Divinity than His own words 
 and mighty works. 
 
 As Jesus and His Apostles came down from the mountain 
 they conversed together. The Passion was the subject of con- 
 versation, also we are told that the Apostles questioned Christ 
 concerning the coming of Elias : " Why, then, do the scribes 
 say that Elias must come first [i.e., before the l\Iessias] ?" 
 The presence of this prophet on Blount Thabor had evidently 
 reminded them of the scribes' teaching that Elias must 
 precede the Messias. They could not understand how it was 
 he had not already come, since Jesus, the Messias, was now 
 upon the earth. 
 
 Our Lord, in answer to their question, told them that Elias 
 indeed should come (better " cometh ") to restore all tilings. 
 He then goes on to say that " Elias is already come, and they 
 * St. John Chrysostom, Horn. Ivi., § 6. 
 
94 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 knew him not, but they have done unto him whatsoever they 
 had a mind. So also the Son of man shall suffer from them," 
 from that same Herod who had put the Baptist to death. 
 " Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them 
 of John the Baptist." 
 
 The Fathers of the Church, Origen, St. Jerome, St. John 
 Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and other Catholic writers of 
 weight, explain our Lord's words thus : There were two 
 Advents of Christ, His Nativity and His Coming to judge the 
 world. St. John the Baptist came " in the spirit and power 
 of Elias " to prepare the Jews for our Lord's first Advent. 
 " Elias indeed " (i.e., in person) must return to earth as the 
 Precursor of the second Coming of Christ, when He will come 
 to judge the living and the dead. 
 
 Thus conversing on the Passion, Jesus and the favoured 
 three reached the level plain, and there a great crowd was 
 gathered around the nine Apostles, who were striving in vain 
 to cast out a devil ; but we must reserve the consideration of 
 this instructive miracle for our next meditation. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our blessed Lord immediately 
 after His Transfiguration. It is about the hour of sunrise. 
 He stands beside His prostrate Apostles. 
 
 Second Prelude. — ^Ask for grace to recognize our Lord's 
 voice, to obey it^ and to accept practically the doctrine of the 
 Cross. 
 
 First Point. — ^The Apostles' fear when they heard the 
 Voice of God. Man always stands in awe of the preternatural. 
 Examples of this reverential fear : The Israelites, Solomon, 
 Daniel. 
 
 Second Point, — Jesus touches them ; He speaks and reas- 
 sures them ; they see Jesus only. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus predicts His Passion again ; He charges 
 them to keep silence. He knows what awaits Him. The 
 conversation concerning Elias. 
 
 Colloquy. — Ask for the gifts of reverence and holy fear in 
 dealing with sacred things. Pray that you may always 
 recognize the voice of Jesus. Thank Him for the times past 
 
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 95 
 
 when He has comforted you. Pray for those in sorrow. 
 Sympathize with our Lord in His interior sufferings. Ask for 
 grace to go forward bravely into the valley of humiliation 
 when the finger of God points out that path. Humble your- 
 self for past cowardice. 
 
 CHAPTER Xni 
 
 AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 
 
 " Master, I beseech Thee, look upon my son, because he is my only 
 one; for he is a lunatic having a dumb spirit, and suffereth much." 
 — St. Luke ix. 
 
 "When Jesus saw the multitude running together, He threatened 
 the unclean spirit, saying to him : Deaf and dumb spirit, I command 
 thee, go out of him, and enter not in any more into him." — St. Mark ix. 
 
 From the summit of Mount Thabor to the foot ! What a 
 contrast is presented ! Above there was tranquillity, peace, 
 gladness, ecstasy, the society of the blessed, the Voice of God. 
 What do we see at the foot ? Tumult, disputes, sorrow, pain, 
 the society of the devil who dwelt in the poor afflicted boy. 
 Earth offers many such sharp contrasts ; most individuals 
 who have reached the age of maturity can remember such 
 moments in their lives. Our days of pure joys, of unalloyed 
 happiness, are rare and transitory, and they are frequently 
 thrown into vivid contrast by the shadows that steal slowly 
 but surely over our path. Raphael's exquisite picture of 
 the Transfiguration brings out this contrast forcibly, but we 
 know that in reality the events there portrayed were suc- 
 cessive, not synchronistic. Yet the picture represents the 
 two events in their true aspect to a certain extent, for the 
 glorious vision of Thabor was still present to the three Apostles, 
 their thoughts were fixed on it, and thus the contrast was 
 brought out all the more sharply. 
 
 We all have to learn the lesson experimentally that sorrows 
 follow joys, as days give place to nights, and not infrequently 
 the two elements are combined, as when the sun breaks 
 through the clouds and lights up the darkened horizon. Jesus 
 and the three Apostles left the sweetness of contemplation to 
 
96 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 minister again to the needs of suffering humanity. He had 
 suspended His pubHc Hfe for a few days, having withdrawn 
 on account of the scribes* hostihty. Strengthened by the 
 confirmation of His mission by the Father, He again goes 
 about " doing good and healing all who were possessed by the 
 devil, for God was with Him."'^ 
 
 As Jesus came near the foot of the mountain what did He 
 see ? St. Mark gives the most vivid description of the 
 scene : " Coming to His disciples [i.e., to the nine Apostles] he 
 saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes disputing 
 with them, and presently all the people, seeing Jesus, were 
 astonished, and struck with fear, and running to Him, they 
 saluted Him." 
 
 Jesus came most opportunely, most mercifully, to the relief 
 of His harassed, disheartened Apostles, to the succour of the 
 poor boy and his distressed father. He ever times His visits 
 to our hours of greatest need. All was in confusion ; there 
 was a great multitude looking on, and also joining in the 
 conversation. Some spoke with the poor father, others 
 addressed the Apostles. The scribes were disputing vehem- 
 ently with the disciples of Christ. They were attacking the 
 nine in the absence of Jesus, and of Simon Peter, James, and 
 John, the three most prominent members of the little band. 
 
 It was as though a general had left the battle-field for a few 
 hours to the care of his colonels. He returns only to find his 
 soldiers in hopeless confusion. One wing is broken, the other 
 has fled, and the centre is failing. But no sooner does the 
 general return than they rally round their standard ; the lines 
 are reformed, and their chief leads them on to victory. Thus 
 Jesus comes to restore order and peace, to silence the scribes, 
 to cast out the devil, to bring joy to the boy and his afflicted 
 father. " When Jesus is present all is well and nothing 
 seems difficult, but when He is absent everything is hard."t 
 
 What were the dispositions of those who came to meet Jesus ? 
 Surely the nine Apostles " were glad when they saw the 
 Lord !" They had repeated the formula for casting out 
 devils ; it had been successful on previous occasions. They 
 had not presumptuously undertaken to do that which was 
 * Acts X. t " Imitation," ii. 8. 
 
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 97 
 
 beyond their office, for some months before, when they were 
 sent, two and two, to preach the Gospel, their Master had given 
 them " power and authority over all devils, and to cure 
 diseases." Yet they had failed to cast out the mute devil from 
 the boy, and to cure him of epilepsy. Moreover, their failure 
 had taken place in the presence of their Master's bitter 
 enemies, the scribes. They had bidden the devil go forth in 
 the Name of Jesus of Nazareth ; all the nine must have 
 repeated the adjuration more than once. Yet they had all 
 failed ignominiously, and were thereby exposed to the taunts 
 of the scribes, and to the humiliation of hearing them throw 
 discredit upon their Master. Also, this took place in the 
 presence of a great multitude, who believed in Jesus and 
 reverenced His authority. What effect would their failure 
 have on them ? All these considerations must have saddened 
 them ; they knew not which way to turn for help, when 
 suddenly they saw Jesus and His companions coming towards 
 them. Promptly, with the rest of the people, they ran to 
 meet their Master, who came so opportunely to their aid. 
 
 The multitudes, too, were glad, but at the same time they 
 " were astonished and struck with fear." In the original 
 the word denotes extreme terror (e^eOafxISt'jOi]). Why were 
 they so afraid ? Partly, perhaps, because He came so un- 
 expectedly ; yet this would hardly account for their great 
 amazement. Hence commentators have suggested that they 
 saw in His habitually heavenly, majestic features and deport- 
 ment something even more Divine — the fringe of the Shechinah 
 still visibly hovering over Him, as it were. If the face of 
 Moses shone after He had conversed with the Almighty on 
 Mount Sinai, we should not be surprised that our Lord's 
 features retained some traces of the glory of His Transfigura- 
 tion, some heavenly radiance which overawed the multitude. 
 They feared, yet they rejoiced to see again the great Prophet 
 of Galilee, whose authority the devils even acknowledged. 
 
 How did the scribes receive our Lord ? Certainly they 
 were not glad. He had left them but recently at Dalmanutha, 
 and refused to discuss with them when they asked for a sign 
 from Heaven. Now they had attacked the weakest disciples 
 in their hour of failure. They had striven to undermine 
 
 7 
 
98 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Christ's influence. On seeing Him we may conclude that 
 they drew back, unwilling to enter the lists again with Him, 
 for not one word is said of their behaviour, nor do the 
 Evangelists record that Jesus even spoke to them on this 
 occasion. 
 
 We can reconstruct this impressive scene by combining the 
 accounts of the Synoptists. St. Matthew represents our Lord 
 coming to the multitude, while St. Mark represents them 
 running to Him and saluting Him. St. Luke also speaks 
 of the multitude meeting Jesus. Some evidently remain 
 stationary in the crowd around the dumb demoniac, others 
 hasten to meet our Lord. The scribes stand aloof. With 
 their inveterate hatred of Christ and their expectation of what 
 would now follow, they would not come forward when Jesus 
 was about to exercise His power, and thereby refute their 
 assertions. The disciples gather round Jesus ; they would be 
 the first to greet Him, and as He comes near the crowd that 
 stand around the poor boy, they find time to tell Him of their 
 efforts and of their common failure. 
 
 Jesus now addresses the multitude : " What do you question 
 about among yourselves ? " Hardly has He asked the question 
 than one stands forth " out of the crowd " — the one man who 
 had the most right to speak, for indirectly he was the cause of 
 the disputes that were being carried on. Harmonizing the 
 three accounts, we may give his words thus : " Master, I 
 beseech Thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one ; 
 for he is a lunatic, having a dumb spirit, and sufiereth much. 
 Wheresoever he taketh him, he dasheth and throweth him 
 down ; and he suddenly crieth out, and he foameth and 
 gnasheth with the teeth and pineth away. And bruising him 
 he departeth from him. And I brought my son to Thee and 
 I desired Thy disciples to cast him out, and they were not able 
 to cure him." 
 
 How man's faithlessness grieves our Lord ! A man of 
 honour is cut to the quick when his truthfulness is impugned. 
 He deems it an insult, yet Christians so often treat thus the 
 Son of God — the Tndh and the Life — who died for their 
 redemption. On this occasion, our Lord's reply reveals His 
 sadness : " O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long 
 
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 99 
 
 shall I be with you, and suffer you ? Bring him unto me." 
 The thought of the Passion is ever present : " How long shall 
 I be with you ?" His life on earth had been one long period 
 of tolerance with men's unbelief, perversity, and dulness. 
 Even the chosen Twelve were unbelieving and " slow of 
 heart." Jesus here rebukes the whole Jewish nation, though 
 He addresses Himself to the father of the boy. " How long 
 shall I suffer you ?" With infinite patience, condescension, 
 and love, Jesus had borne with men's perversity ; they perse- 
 cuted Him and plotted to kill Him, yet He ceased not to heal 
 their diseases, and to instruct them. Jesus was Perfect Man, 
 hence it follows that He felt most keenly the sterility of His 
 labours. The Son of man must have experienced a sad feeling 
 of weariness that the very creatures, for whom He was about 
 to give His life's blood, responded so faintly to His teachings 
 or opposed Him so bitterly. 
 
 Shall we harshly condemn these perverse Jews, these 
 wavering disciples ? Not until we have looked at our own 
 conduct, and asked ourselves if we have never grieved our 
 blessed Lord by our indocility and feeble faith. At least it 
 would ill beseem us " to cast the first stone." As Jesus looked 
 round at the Pharisees in the synagogue, and was " grieved 
 for the blindness of their hearts," so, to use our poor human 
 language, does He not look down upon the children of men, 
 and find cause for complaint and grief ? The prophet Isaias 
 tells us, Jesus " hath borne our infirmities," as well as our sins 
 and our sorrows, and may we not say that man's dulness of 
 comprehension, his indocility and natural tendency to distrust 
 God, formed a very large part of that burden of man's 
 infirmities, which so afflicted the soul of Jesus ? 
 
 " Bring hither thy son." At once hope must have sprung 
 up in that father's breast. " They brought him ; " the father 
 alone could not have led the boy to Christ, so kindly hands 
 grasp the poor lad, and he is forcibly brought to Jesus. But 
 the moment the boy saw Him, immediately the devil began to 
 torment him. A terrible attack of con\ailsions ensued, so 
 that, '' being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about 
 foaming." The evil spirits frequently tormented their victims 
 thus, when in the presence of Jesus. St. Luke adds : " The 
 
100 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 devil tore him." Recognizing Christ's power, the devils 
 feared lest they should be cast out. 
 
 In this narrative the dual personality is strongly brought 
 out. Now the boy is mentioned, now the devil, and the body 
 of the child is absolutely an instrument through which the 
 devil works. For the time he is master there. 
 
 What a pitiable case ! An only son — whose birth had given 
 such joy to the parents — was afflicted with epilepsy, and 
 possessed by a dumb devil. He was now a young lad, no 
 longer a mere child, and his infirmities were a continual source 
 of anxiety and terror for all the household — madness, con- 
 vulsions, dumbness, and atrophy, were all united in one poor 
 boy. Those who have nursed bad cases of epilepsy will 
 realize something of the sufferings of the parents, and to the 
 disease we must add the fact that the child was actually 
 possessed by a dumb devil, an unclean spirit. The parents had 
 rejoiced at his birth, had watched for the dawn of reason, but 
 it came not. Violent convulsions racked their babe. How 
 terrible for the father and mother to see their child thus 
 tormented ! A few years passed, and it is borne in upon them 
 that the child is dumb. His infirmities gradually transform 
 his features, and his terrible affliction is revealed to all by the 
 vacant look, the bloodshot eyes, the withered body. Yet 
 the father loves that child, who has never recognized him, 
 never called him by name, never heard his voice, but such is 
 a father's love ; the more the child is afflicted, the greater the 
 parental love, the more tender his devotedness to that suffering 
 child. Such an affliction surpassed by far the death of the 
 firstborn, and we know how the Jews mourned for the loss 
 of the eldest son. 
 
 Jesus looks with infinite compassion upon the distressed 
 father and upon the child, who is convulsed with pain. He 
 asks one question, not for His own information, but that the 
 multitude around might know the sad facts of the case : " How 
 long time is it since this hath happened to him ?" The father 
 replies : " From his infancy, and often times hath he cast 
 him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if 
 Thou canst do anything, help us, having compassion on us." 
 The words show a weak faith, and the man appears to be 
 

 AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR loi 
 
 conscious of its weakness. He does not, like the Jeper, question 
 our Lord's willingness ; he doubts His power. " Will He 
 succeed when the nine Apostles have failed ?" According to 
 the teaching of the Rabbis, his loved child was possessed by 
 Shibta, " an evil spirit, who, taking hold of the necks of infants, 
 dries up and contracts their nerves." " Will Jesus, the 
 Prophet of Galilee, be able to prevail over this evil spirit ? 
 Hence the doubt expressed by the words : "If Thou canst. 
 The man had evidently brought his child in hopes of finding 
 our Lord, but, as He was absent, he then " spoke to " His 
 disciples. The failure of the Apostles has diminished his faith 
 in Christ. 
 
 As Jesus had proved to the leper that He was willing to 
 heal, so now He shows that He is able to cure the poor lunatic 
 boy. The pronounced sj^mptoms, their duration, their 
 nature — at once natural and preternatural — offer no insuper- 
 able barrier to the power of Jesus. All depends on the father's 
 faith ; his child's cure is in his own hands. Jesus therefore 
 reveals to him this one condition, and, taking up the man's 
 own words. He replies : " // thou canst believe, all things are 
 possible to him that believeth." This poor man (like so many 
 since) was attributing man's limitations to our Lord, who is 
 not circumscribed by our weakness and impotency, as we so 
 often tacitly and practically imagine. We should not dare 
 put our doubts in this form : " I cannot do it ; human agents 
 cannot; therefore will it not be beyond God's power?" Yet 
 in very truth this is what our faintheartedness and faithless- 
 ness amounts to. When men are powerless to assist us, we 
 lose faith in God, forgetting that Christ " is able to save for 
 ever them that come to God by Him, alwa^^s living to make 
 intercession for us " ;* that " He is able to do all things more 
 abundantly than we desire or understand."! 
 
 While the father of the afflicted boy, " crying out with 
 tears," makes his protestation of faith, and begs Jesus to 
 increase it, the multitude gather round closer. They come 
 "running together," to look at the poor boy rolling, foaming 
 at the feet of Jesus, and to see what will happen. 
 
 Jesus speaks ; He utters one brief word of power : " Deaf 
 * Heb. vii, f Eph. iii. 
 
102 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him, and enter 
 not any more into him." Forced to obey, the devil quits his 
 stronghold. He makes, however, one more effort to kill the 
 boy, for " crying and greatly tearing him, the spirit went out 
 of him, and he became as dead, so that many said : He is 
 dead." 
 
 Christ allowed the devil to wreak his impotent rage upon 
 the child that the miracle might be more evident. Satan 
 never loses opportunities of doing his evil works. It was 
 characteristic of him to rage thus in presence of Christ. Cf. 
 " Having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short 
 time."* Having allowed the devil to go thus far, Jesus then 
 stooped down over the prostrate child, and lifted him up. 
 But the child also *' arose " of himself ; he was perfectly cured, 
 and Jesus " restored him to his father." 
 
 How powerless words are to convey some faint idea of that 
 father's joy ! After years of suffering his child is now per- 
 fectly cured. He hears and speaks, his very features are 
 changed, intelligence gleams in his eyes, and his bodily health 
 is restored. To the father it is as though on that day his 
 son had been born to him ; in an ecstasy of joy he clasps his 
 boy to his breast. It is the father who for the moment is deaf 
 to all that is passing around — to the tears and comments of 
 the multitude, to their congratulations. He hears nothing, 
 he is so overwhelmed with happiness. The father, too, is 
 speechless with wonder and delight. Clasping his child in his 
 arms, he kneels at Jesus' feet, and his silence and tears of joy 
 express to the great Prophet of Nazareth all the words which 
 deep emotion will not permit him to utter. The boy looks 
 up at his Saviour with amazement ; for the first time he has 
 the use of reason ; exterior objects have some meaning now, 
 and as he gazes upon Jesus, who can tell what miracles of 
 grace our Lord worked in that child's soul ? Happy indeed 
 was that father in this solemn moment ; happy, too, are 
 those parents who have so brought their children to Jesus by 
 careful early training that at the dawn of reason, their first 
 conscious act, is directed to our blessed Lord. 
 
 " All were astonished at the mighty power of God," and, 
 
 * Apoc. xii. 
 
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 103 
 
 praising the great Prophet, the multitudes departed. The 
 scribes hastened to withdraw. They could not deny the 
 miracle ; they would not applaud it, nor accept it as an 
 evidence of our Lord's being the Messias. In all probability 
 they took refuge in their previous subterfuge of a diabolical 
 intervention, in order to avoid confessing that they had been 
 defeated by the Master, although they had questioned and 
 denied His power and authority. 
 
 Jesus, with His Apostles, now retired to a house in one of 
 the villages near at hand, and as soon as they were alone 
 His disciples came to Him, and asked Him secretly : " Why 
 could we not cast him out ?" 
 
 " Jesus said to them : Because of your unbelief. For, 
 amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, 
 you shall say to this mountain : Remove from hence hither, 
 and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to 
 you. But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and 
 fasting." 
 
 Evidently Jesus, when He spoke, pointed to the Mountain 
 of the Transfiguration. St. John Chrysostom thus comments on 
 this passage : " Now, if you say, * Where did they remove a 
 mountain ? ' I would make this answer : ' They did far greater 
 things, having raised up innumerable dead.' For it is not at 
 all the same thing to remove a mountain and to remove death 
 from a body, and, indeed, certain Saints after them, far 
 inferior to them, did actually remove mountains when necessity 
 called for it." * Perhaps the Saint was thinking of the miracle 
 worked by St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Neo- 
 Caesarea, who, in the third century, by his faith and prayer, 
 did actually remove a mountain in order to obtain a suitable 
 site for a church. But although the words regarding the 
 translation of a mountain can be taken literally, we may also 
 apply them in a spiritual sense — i.e., to any undertaking 
 which may appear as difficult to overcome as it would be to 
 remove a mountain. 
 
 The promise " Nothing shall be impossible " must not be 
 taken literally. Saints had not the power to work miracles 
 merely to please men or satisfy their curiosity. But " nothing 
 
 * Horn. Ivii,, iv. 
 
104 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 shall be impossible " to faith, provided the favour asked is in 
 accordance with the Will of God, and for our own or our 
 neighbour's real good — i.e., his spiritual welfare. From our 
 Lord's reply to His Apostles, we learn that some devils are 
 more powerful than others. Thus Satan himself has more 
 power than his satellites. As there are Angels of different 
 degrees of power and glory, so there are demons who surpass 
 others in malice, strength, and intelligence. 
 
 In order to expel these more powerful devils, prayer and 
 fasting are required. By " prayer " we must here under- 
 stand a lively faith intensified by fervent prayer. Union with 
 God brings the flesh into subjection to the Holy Ghost, and 
 fits it for wrestling with the devil. 
 
 To prayer we must add " fasting," which, by withdrawing 
 the soul from the thraldom of the body, makes it a more fit 
 instrument in the hands of God. *' Faith expels the demon 
 by believing ; prayer by petitioning ; fasting by tormenting 
 and starving him, as an enemy is driven out of a fortress, not 
 only by force, but by starving him out." Hence the Church 
 prescribes that before exercising this ministry of exorcism 
 her ministers shall pray and fast. Jesus fasted and prayed 
 continually, especially before undertaking some work of 
 great importance, and He has declared that His disciples 
 must also fast, when the Bridegroom shall have been taken 
 away. 
 
 We may apply this same principle to spiritual difiiculties. 
 The Saints recommend praj^erand fasting as antidotes to the 
 venomous sting of the devil. He may obsess the soul sorely, 
 and pursue it with violent temptations, which require more 
 than a simple sign of the cross or an act of the opposite virtue 
 to overcome. In this case penance in some form must be 
 added to prayer, if the soul would gain a decisive victory over 
 Satan. To bid him effectually " begone " the Christian must 
 have faith, at least as " a grain of mustard-seed." By this we 
 are to understand a living faith, for this seed, though tiny, has 
 the germ within it, whicli will cause it to expand and develop. 
 By means of true faith and penance, the Christian can cope 
 with all his spiritual difiiculties, and come off victorious. 
 As Jesus came to His disciples' aid, and completed what they 
 
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT THABOR 105 
 
 had begun with good intentions, though their faith was weak, 
 so He comes to our assistance after we have shown our good 
 will. We shall not be spared the combat, but He will be 
 near to sustain, protect, and deliver. St. Peter's beautiful 
 exhortation to the Christians of Asia Minor reads almost like 
 a commentary on our Lord's words to His Apostles concerning 
 fasting and prayer. We may take them as our last thought : 
 " Be sober and watch : because your adversary, the devil, as 
 a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. 
 Whom resist ye, strong in faith , . . the God of all grace, who 
 hath called us to eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have 
 suffered a little, will himself perfect and confirm and establish 
 you. To Him be glory and empire for ever. Amen."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — ^The scene at the foot of the mountain when 
 Jesus went towards the multitude, and some came to greet 
 Him. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray for a lively faith which will enable 
 you to overcome all your spiritual foes. Ask, too, for the graces 
 of temperance and mortification. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus goes to meet the crowd. Note the 
 dispositions of the disciples, the multitude, the scribes. 
 
 Second Point. — Christ questions them. The father of the 
 demoniac replies. Note his distress, his weak faith, which 
 elicits our Lord's rebuke. The devil is cast out. 
 
 Third Point. — The disciples question Jesus as to the cause 
 of their failure. He tells them that their faith was weak, 
 and that this particular kind of devil could not be driven 
 forth except by prayer and fasting. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Ask pardon for your lack of faith. Thank our 
 Lord for this beautiful lesson, which reveals His mercy and 
 power. Ask that you may always s^Tnpathize with those in 
 sorrow. Beg that in your hours of combat with the powers 
 of evil. He may enable you to say : " Dear Lord, Thou canst 
 do all things, have compassion on us and help us." Pray for 
 those who are afflicted, and for their relatives. 
 
 * I St. Pet. V. 
 
io6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 * 
 
 THE STATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE FISH 
 
 After Jesus had cast out the deaf and mute devil from the 
 lunatic, we are told that He and His disciples '' abode to- 
 gether " in Galilee. This in the original Greek reads " going 
 to and fro " ; hence He was journeying from one place to 
 another, having no settled abode. It is probable that He 
 chose unfrequented roads, and that the greater part of His 
 time was devoted to instructing the Apostles. This was now 
 the third year of Christ's ministry, and but a few months 
 remained in which to complete their training — to teach them 
 all those things which, though not grasped by them at the 
 time they were uttered, nevertheless bore fruit later, when 
 the Holy Ghost, having descended upon them, brought to 
 their remembrance the words of Jesus, and enabled them to 
 comprehend their meaning. 
 
 They did not remain long in the little village of Cheseleth- 
 Thabor, at the foot of the mountain, for Jesus did not wish 
 to keep great multitudes around Him. So '' departing from 
 thence, they passed through Galilee, and He would not that 
 any man should know it.'** St. John gives our Lord's 
 motive for retiring to Galilee, and journeying thus secretly : 
 " Jesus walked in Galilee, for He would not walk in Judea, 
 because the Jews sought to kill Him."t 
 
 Immediately after the miracle worked at the foot of Thabor, 
 we must place the second solemn prediction of the Passion, 
 made to all the Twelve ; that uttered by Jesus after the 
 Transfiguration was known only to the chosen three. Perhaps 
 the mighty deed, which their Master had wrought, coupled 
 with the astonishment of the multitude " at the mighty power 
 of God," had encouraged their vain hopes of a temporal 
 Messianic kingdom. 
 
 Jesus could not do otherwise than shatter these false 
 expectations. Consequently once more He strove to impress 
 upon them the unwelcome, and to them the unintelligible, 
 * St. Mark ix, f St. John vii. 
 
THE STATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE FISH 107 
 
 truth that " the Son of man must be betrayed into the hands 
 of men." (Note the expression — Jesus, the Son of man, must 
 fall into the hands of men) To the Jew these words connoted 
 the greatest of misfortunes. David preferred to accept the 
 scourge of pestilence rather than war, saying : " It is better 
 to fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are many, 
 than into the hands of men." Once more the Apostles were 
 " troubled exceedingly " ; " they understood not the word," 
 for " it was hid from them so that they perceived it not," 
 and " they were afraid to ask Him." These words show us 
 the mental state of the Apostles. They were troubled, yet 
 dared not ask their Master for an explanation, lest their 
 worst fears should be confirmed. 
 
 Jesus, still teaching His disciples, travelled due north 
 through Galilee, past Dalmanutha, Magdala, Bethsaida, and 
 on to Capharnaum, " His own city," which stands on the north- 
 west of the Lake of Genesareth. During our Lord's public 
 life, Capharnaum was His headquarters. Evidently, St. 
 Peter and some of the other Apostles had homes and relatives, 
 or at least friends there. On this particular occasion Jesus 
 appears to have abode with St. Peter ; the rest were dwelling 
 elsewhere in the town, though they probably spent their days 
 with our Lord. While Jesus and His disciples were staying 
 for a short time in Capharnaum, we read that those " that 
 received the didrachmas, came to Peter, and said to him : 
 Doth not your Master pay the didrachmas ? He said : Yes." 
 (St. Matthew alone relates this incident.*) 
 
 '' Those that received the didrachmas " were the " Sheli- 
 him.," or Temple messengers, not the publicans who collected 
 the taxes for the State. This tax was imposed by the spiritual 
 authorities of Israel, and indirectly it had the Divine sanction, 
 since originally it was imposed by God Himself. We read in 
 the Book of Exodus if 
 
 " The Lord spoke to Moses, saying : When thou shalt take 
 the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, 
 every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the 
 Lord . . . half a side shall be offered to the Lord. He that is 
 counted in the number from twenty years upwards, shall give 
 
 * Chap. xvii. t Chap. xxx. 
 
io8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the price. The rich man shall not add to half a side, and 
 the poor man shall diminish nothing, and the money received, 
 which Was contributed by the children of Israel, thou shalt 
 deliver to the uses of the tabernacle." ' In these words we 
 have a very clear statement of the contribution exacted, the 
 use to which the money was to be put, and the persons who 
 were bound to offer their share. 
 
 Originally there was no question of an annual collection 
 for the service of God, but we find that voluntary offerings 
 Were made as the necessity arose. For example, when Athalia 
 had '* destroyed the house of God, and adorned the temple 
 of Baal with all the things that had been dedicated* to God 
 in His Temple, King Joas commanded that " every man 
 should bring to the Lord the money which Moses had 
 appointed for all Israel in the desert. And all the princes and 
 all the people rejoiced . . . and cast in so much into the chest 
 of the Lord, that it was filled." 
 
 After the return from the Babylonian captivity, the Jews 
 freely offered to pay " the third part of a side every year " for 
 the house of the Lord, f but in our Lord's time the Temple tax 
 was made obligatory by the Pharisees, in spite of the opposi- 
 tion of the Sadducees, who would have preferred voluntary 
 contributions, as being more in harmony with the primitive 
 custom. The great wealth of the Temple treasuries was 
 drawn partly from this source and partly from generous 
 donations. Each Jew, " as the price of his soul " — i.e., for 
 his deliverance out of Egypt, and that no scourge might afflict 
 him in the desert (see Exod. xxx.)— paid half a side, or shekel, 
 which amounted to about is. 2d. of our money, though the 
 half-shekel would have had the greater purchasing value. 
 The tax was due at the Feast of the Passover, but the mes- 
 sengers, charged to collect the money, set up their open stalls 
 in each town on the 13th of the month Adar (which corre- 
 sponds to our March approximately). Those that did not pay 
 their half-shekel could be compelled to do so, and the Shelihim 
 could even take a man's coat as security for the amount. 
 
 In the Temple, a special chest was set apart for payments of 
 arrears. The money might not be paid in Roman nor any 
 * 2 Para. xxiv. | 2 Esdras x. 
 
THE STATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE FISH 109 
 
 other State coins, but in Temple shekels, manufactured 
 expressly for the purpose, after the pattern of those issued 
 by Simon Machabeus. The males only were bound to con- 
 tribute, and house-to-house collections were made. As Jesus 
 and His disciples were at Jerusalem for the Pasch, they would 
 not have been able to give their contribution in the month of 
 March. This was therefore a collection of arrears, which the 
 messengers would present to the Temple authorities at the 
 coming Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 These compulsory contributions were devoted to defraying 
 the heavy expenses of the Temple — to purchasing sacrificial 
 animals, wood, incense, flour, etc. Vast sums were also 
 required to pay the Rabbis, judges, copyists, to repair the 
 Temple, and to maintain the large water-supplies. Edersheim 
 calculates that in our Lord's time, this tax produced £75.000 
 annually. Such is the history of the Temple tax, which 
 incidentally played a great part in the history of the Jewish 
 people, inasmuch as the desire to seize the Temple treasures 
 of gold and silver led their enemies to oppress them. Thus, 
 in 54 B.C., Crassus took possession of two thousand talents, 
 as well as of a quantity of solid beaten gold. Sabinus and 
 Pilate also pillaged the treasuries, and the destruction of 
 Jerusalem and of the Temple originated in the covetousness of 
 Florus, who desired to appropriate the Temple wealth to his 
 own ends. 
 
 But it is time to return to St. Peter. He has been asked a 
 question, one which from the very form required an affirma- 
 tive answer : " Your Master, pays He not the didrachmas ?" 
 We may presume that Jesus had paid this tax in previous 
 years, although priests and eminent Rabbis could claim 
 exemption, and Peter at once concludes that his Master 
 will continue to do so. He goes into the house, therefore, 
 with the intention of informing our Lord of what had 
 happened. 
 
 Jesus, knowing all in virtue of His Omniscience, " prevented 
 him " — i.e., He anticipated Peter's question. The word " pre- 
 vented " is here used in its original meaning {prcBvenire). 
 " What is thy opinion, Simon ? The kings of the earth, of 
 whom do they receive tribute or custom ? of their own children, 
 
no LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 or of strangers?" (Better "of their own sons," as in the 
 Greek manuscripts and the Vulgate.) 
 
 " And he said : Of strangers. Jesus said to him : Then 
 the children are free. But that we may hot scandalize them, 
 go to the sea, and cast in a hook : and that fish which shall 
 first come up, take ; and when thou hast opened its mouth, 
 thou shalt find a stater. Take that, and give it to them for 
 me and thee."* 
 
 On the prima-facie evidence of this narrative, there seems 
 no authority for the supposition that the Temple messengers 
 were actuated by any hostile intentions in asking for the 
 payment of this tax from our Lord. All Jews were commanded 
 to pay the half-shekel, and the collectors were bound therefore 
 to collect this tax, and to ask for arrears when the contri- 
 butions had not been forthcoming ; but Peter, in replying so 
 promptly in the affirmative, had spoken with his usual 
 impetuosity. It is possible that he may have been actuated 
 by the desire to avoid any collision between his Master and 
 the Temple messengers ; to diminish as far as it lay in his 
 power, any menace of danger to his beloved Lord, who had 
 so recently spoken of His coming Passion and death. 
 
 Had Peter forgotten his own confession of faith and what 
 this confession involved ? He had said to Jesus : " Thou art 
 the Christ, the Son of the living God." Surely, then, He was 
 not bound to contribute to the upkeep of His Father's 
 Temple ! The Temple tax was redemption money for the 
 soul of each contributor — " a price for their souls to the 
 Lord." Jesus, our sinless Emmanuel, had no need to offer 
 a price for His Soul. He came to redeem us, to pay the price 
 for our souls with His Precious Blood. He, too, was Himself 
 the living Temple of God. Being the Son of God, He could 
 not be bound by the obligations of creatures. 
 
 Such were the truths which Jesus strove to bring home to 
 Peter by His question regarding the kings of the earth, and 
 the answer was correctly given : "Of strangers." But our 
 Lord, although not bound to comply with the tax-gatherers' 
 demand by any claim of duty, resolved to comply lest His 
 abstention should give scandal. He was willing to pay that 
 
 * St. Matt. xvii. 
 
THE STATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE FISH iii 
 
 which He did not owe, to atone for His sinful children who 
 owe and cannot pay. Were we asked individually, " How 
 much owest thou, my lord?" what would be our reply? 
 " Lord, Thou and Thou alone knowest, for Thou hast stood 
 surety for us." 
 
 Jesus worked a miracle that scandal might not be given. 
 Had He refused to pay this tax. His zeal for the Temple 
 might have been questioned. Possibly His enemies would 
 have profited to accuse Him of imitating the conduct of Judas, 
 the Galilean, the founder of a Jewish sect, who held that as 
 long as the Romans defiled the Holy City, it was unlawful to 
 contribute to the taxes imposed by them. By complying with 
 the request of the Shelihim, our Lord teaches us not to exact 
 our rights whenever, by so doing, we may give scandal, and 
 cause men to blaspheme God or to revile the Catholic Faith. 
 Things lawful are not always expedient, neither do they 
 always edify,* as St. Paul tells us. 
 
 It may happen that one person's rights cannot be secured 
 without injury to others, and Christian charity bids us in 
 such cases renounce what is our due, provided we do not 
 thereby sacrifice any principle laid down for our guidance as 
 disciples of Christ. If this point be safeguarded, we need 
 not fear to yield our rights, rather than be a cause of scandal 
 to our weaker brethren. Jesus therefore resolved to work a 
 miracle which will provide the necessary means of paying the 
 tax, and at the same time be compatible with His dignity as 
 the Son of God. He employs as usual a natural base for this 
 miracle. We need not suppose that either the fish or the 
 stater were miraculously created. Both existed in the 
 ordinary course of events, and there was nothing extra- 
 ordinary in the mere finding of a stater in the mouth of a fish. 
 It will suffice to cite the well-known instance of Polycrates' 
 ring. In the sixth century B.C., this tyrant of Samos threw 
 into the sea an emerald signet set with gold, the work of 
 Theodorus, a Samian artist. Some months later, a fisherman 
 brought, as a present, a large fish to Polycrates' cook. Inside 
 the fish was found the signet-ring, which Poljxrates had thrown 
 into the sea in order to insure himself against misfortune. 
 
 * See I Cor. vi. 12, k. 2^. 
 
112 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 The miracle recorded in this Gospel narrative consisted in 
 our Lord's ordaining that out of all the thousands of fishes in 
 the teeming Sea of Galilee, just the one which had the stater — 
 the exact sum required — should be tak^n immediately. St. 
 Matthew does not relate the conclusion of this incident, how 
 Peter found the stater and paid the tax, but the Evangelist 
 does tell us that Jesus said to Peter : " Thou shalt find a 
 stater," and the Son of God never speaks in vain. 
 
 We may contemplate St. Peter hurrying down to the lake, 
 casting in his hook, and catching the fish. He had seen his 
 Master calm the tempest, walk upon the sea, feed the four 
 thousand in the desert, and raise the dead. Nothing 
 doubting, he obeys Christ's commands, and his obedience is 
 rewarded. The stater was found as Jesus had predicted, 
 and Peter took it at once to the open stall where the payments 
 were received. It sufficed to pay for Jesus and for himself. 
 Nothing is said of the others ; probably they had previously 
 paid, or their friends gave them the money to settle the debt. 
 
 This miracle brings out into relief the real poverty of Jesus. 
 Neither He nor Peter had the required shekel. Judas, who 
 kept the alms, was evidently not in the same house as our 
 Lord and St. Peter, and perhaps Christ knew that he had not 
 the required sum, for lately they had gone by unfrequented 
 paths ; they had not been in contact with many people, and 
 the alms must have been less abundant in consequence. 
 Jesus' treasury, on this occasion, was the mouth of the fish ; 
 its contents just sufficed to pay the sum asked. He could as 
 easily have commanded a large sum of money, but He would 
 teach us not to covet superfluities. " Having food and 
 wherewith to be covered, with these we are content," should 
 be the motto of Jesus' disciples. We belong to Him, who, 
 although He was the Son of God, was content to share man's 
 hard lot, to harden His hands with rough toil, and He did this 
 that He might share our sorrows, and be made like unto us 
 His brethren. We may note, too, that our Lord's omnis- 
 cience is clearly shown in this miracle. He forestalled Peter's 
 request, and knew which fish had taken that stater, or He 
 caused one particular one to pick it up. He who cares for 
 the smallest sparrow, who pitied the cattle of Nineve — " the 
 
THE STATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE FISH 113 
 
 many beasts " which would be destroyed if the city was not 
 spared, will assuredly have compassion on His children, who 
 are " of much more value " than the birds of the air or the 
 beasts of the field. 
 
 Lastly, we may consider how Jesus is glorified in His conde- 
 scension and humiliation. He submits to that which in 
 reality does not bind Him, and in the very act of submission 
 He asserts His Divinity by a double miracle, one of prescience 
 and one of power over the animal kingdom. The first fish 
 that was taken held in its mouth the stater needed. Although 
 it may seem at first sight that the miracle was worked for an 
 insignificant object, and that it was known only to St. Peter, 
 yet it has been enshrined in the sacred pages of God's Word, 
 and has served as a proof to all ages that Jesus is the Omnipo- 
 tent Son of God, in whose power " are both we, and our words, 
 and all wisdom and the knowledge and skill of works." " He 
 that maketh the earth by his power, and prepareth the world 
 by his wisdom,"* rules absolutely over Nature. To Him are 
 known " the virtues of the elements, the beginning, the ending 
 and midst of times, the alterations of their courses, and the 
 changes of seasons . . . the natures of living creatures, the 
 rage of wild beasts, the force of winds . . . the diversities of 
 plants. "f To the Son " all power is given ... in heaven and 
 in earth." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate Jesus and His Apostles as 
 they travel through Galilee by unfrequent ways. Jesus 
 instructs them on the road. They reach Capharnaum, and 
 Jesus dwells there with Peter. 
 
 Second Prelude. — ^Ask for the grace to go at once to our Lord 
 in all your difficulties, to be ready to follow Him in His practice 
 of poverty, if He so wills it. 
 
 First Point. — ^The Temple messengers ask for the didrach- 
 mas. Peter goes to tell Jesus. 
 
 Second Point. — Our Lord prevents him, and proves His 
 Omniscience. He commands him to go to the sea, and to 
 take up the first fish that rises. 
 
 * Jer. X. t Wisd. vii. 
 
 8 
 
114 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus works a miracle to avoid giving scandaL 
 This incident proves His real poverty and His power. It turns 
 to His glory in all ages. 
 
 Colloquy. — Ask that you, too, may profit by our Lord's 
 secret instructions to His disciples. Pray for the grace to 
 trust our Lord for all things — for daily bread and for the food 
 of your soul. Beg that you may be ready to sacrifice your 
 rights rather than give scandal. Tell our Lord that you are 
 willing to follow Him in His poverty should He so will it. 
 Pray for those who are in need of daily bread. Ask for the 
 grace of being generous in God's service, both in giving alms 
 and in personal service. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 OUR LORD'S INSTRUCTION TO HIS APOSTLES 
 
 ON HUMILITY 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " And there entered a thought into them, 
 which of them should be greater. And when they were in the house, 
 Jesus, seeing the thoughts of their heart, asked them, What did you 
 treat of in the way ? But they held their peace, for in the way they 
 had disputed among themselves which of them should be the greatest 
 in the kingdom of heaven. And sitting down, He called the twelve, an, 
 saith to them : If any man desire to be first, he shaU be the last of all 
 and the servant of all." — St. LuKEix. ; St. Mark ix. ; St. Matt, xviii. 
 
 In these words, the Gospel narratives relate an incident that 
 reveals to us a dispute that was not to the Apostles' credit ; 
 they had warmly discussed among themselves which of them 
 should be the greater, or, as it might be more correctly 
 rendered (as regards the sense of the original), " the greatest." 
 The Evangelists might have suppressed this incident, since 
 it showed the Twelve in an unfavourable light. But when 
 they penned their Gospels, they thought rather of what would 
 exalt Jesus by revealing His Omniscience, than of that which 
 would abase them by betraying their weakness. 
 
 We have seen how their " little faith " was the cause of 
 their failure to cast out the dumb devil from the lunatic boy ; 
 now we are told of their having disputed " by the way," and 
 such a subject as the prior place would lend itself to a hot 
 
OUR LORD'S INSTRUCTION TO HIS APOSTLES 115 
 
 and prolonged discussion. How consoling it is to know their 
 frailties, to see that they were so like ourselves, at least, during 
 the period of their training ! To each soul discouraged by 
 infirmities, failures, and faults, the words of St. Peter may 
 come as an encouragement and a consolation : " Arise, I 
 myself am also a man."* 
 
 In the narrative on which we are meditating, truly, all the 
 Twelve are also men — not unfallen, perfect Angels ! This 
 being so, it is not astonishing that an evil thought of ambition 
 should enter " into them." The mere thought was no sin. 
 It came from the devil who tempted the Twelve collectively 
 on this occasion. " It is one thing to be tempted, another to 
 yield." The sin originates, not with the suggestion of evil, but 
 with its acceptance. This thought entered " into them " 
 — i.e., they accepted and acted upon it by disputing — each 
 one putting forth the claim of one of the Twelve, or of himself, 
 to the coveted position of " the first," for ambition brooks no 
 rival. 
 
 James and John were related to our blessed Lord, according 
 to the flesh ; John was His beloved Apostle. Peter, James, 
 and John had been specially favoured ; they knew secrets 
 which the others had not been told ; they would not answer 
 any questions as to what had happened when Jesus took 
 them apart and went up Mount Thabor. The first four 
 whom Jesus called to follow Him would surely be the privi- 
 leged ones ; again, what of Andrew ? He was the first to follow 
 Christ ; had he not greater claims than Peter ? Yes, but 
 Jesus had made special promises to Peter ; Judas, too, had a 
 post of confidence ; he was the trusted treasurer. These and 
 many other incidents must have been brought forward as 
 the Apostles, journeying along the quiet roads, threshed out 
 warmly the disputed question as to who should be chosen for 
 the first post of honour. Some were in favour of John, others 
 of Peter, others of James, and each brought forth his 
 arguments. Peter would certainly have claimed it, while 
 neither James nor John, who coveted respectively the seat on 
 the right, and on the left of the Messias, would have yielded 
 to Peter. 
 
 * Acts X . 
 
ii6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 The dispute must have passed thus, for men are ever the 
 same — it was all so human, so like ourselves — yet all these 
 men who were thus manifesting their unworthy jealousies 
 and ambitions — all, except the son of perdition, became great 
 Saints, and gave their lives for the Faith. We may include 
 St. John among the witnesses who shed their blood, since it 
 was owing to a miracle that he was not killed when thrown 
 into the caldron of boiling oil. Eleven future Saints, 
 witnesses to Christ and martyrs, all angrily discussing and 
 quarrelling over the question of the priority of one of them ! 
 Once more, how consoling this scene is for us ! We know 
 what we are ; we do not know what we may yet be by the 
 grace of God. This much we are certain about — we are all 
 " called to be Saints " in virtue of our baptism, while to some 
 the special vocation to a consecrated life is vouchsafed, and 
 blessed are they who hear and obey the Divine command : 
 *' Friend, go up higher." 
 
 The events of the past two or three weeks, as the Apostles 
 with their false views of Christ's kingdom interpreted them, 
 seemed to confirm their expectations of the speedy establish- 
 ment of a Messianic kingdom of unrivalled splendour. All 
 these events were vividly present before their minds, as well 
 as the promises made to Peter at Cassarea Philippi. Peter, 
 James, and John, had seen Jesus transfigured. The Twelve 
 were witnesses of the miracle worked at the foot of Thabor, 
 and of the astonishment of the multitude at this manifestation 
 " of the mighty power of God." Several times Jesus had 
 spoken of His death, but that prediction was always accom- 
 panied with a promise of His Resurrection, and this the 
 Apostles appear to have taken as a promise that the temporal 
 kingdom of the Messias would certainly be established in their 
 lifetime, and that speedily. Consequently each prediction of 
 the Passion and Resurrection seems to have aroused their 
 desire to possess themselves of the best places. 
 
 Thus it was immediately after the fourth and most solemn 
 prediction of the Passion that " the mother of the sons of 
 Zebedee " petitioned Jesus that her two sons might have the 
 posts of honour in His kingdom.* In like manner, when 
 
 * See St. Matt. xx. 
 
OUR LORD'S INSTRUCTION TO HIS APOSTLES 117 
 
 Jesus at the Last Supper warned His disciples that His death 
 was now very close at hand, we find this startling context : 
 " There was also a strife amongst them which of them should 
 seem the greater."* These three consecutive misconceptions 
 of our Lord's words give us an insight into the peculiar 
 mental errors and unspiritual attitude of the Apostles. Their 
 fond dream was of an earthly kingdom, not of the kingdom of 
 heaven. So far the teachings contained in the Sermon on 
 the Mount had not penetrated into their souls. They realized, 
 however, one thing — the kingdom of which their Master spoke 
 was near at hand, and so far they were right. 
 
 Our Lord knew that on the journey there had been strife 
 among them. He had walked on ahead, engaged in prayer 
 or meditating on what awaited Him ; the Apostles in groups 
 fell behind, and the more animated their discussion waxed, 
 the more they would have kept in the background. Forgetting 
 that " Jesus knew their thoughts," they did not wish Him to 
 overhear the conversation. But it was not their Master's 
 intention to rebuke them at once. He preferred to let their 
 excitement cool down ; hence He waited until " they were in 
 the house " in Capharnaum before putting to them the 
 searching question : " What did you treat of in the way ?" 
 He had seen and heard all ; He knew every detail and argu- 
 ment, and that the subject had been " who should be the 
 greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Self-convicted, " they held their peace." Peter no longer 
 came forward with an impetuous answer. ' ' They held their 
 peace." Conscience doth indeed " make cowards of us all." 
 If, after a visit to a friend, a conversation by the way, an 
 evening's amusement, we were asked by our Lord, " What did 
 you treat of in the way ?" how often, like the Apostles, we 
 should be forced to keep silence, or confess that pride, vanity, 
 rebellion, or malice had not lacked in our words ! ^^'ould 
 that, like the two disciples who as they journeyed to Emmaus, 
 " talked and reasoned " together of their beloved Master, we 
 might often be found speaking and thinking of Him, as we 
 travel along life's highway ! 
 
 Then, sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve around Him, 
 
 * St. Luke xxii. 
 
ii8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 and said : " If any man desire to be the first, he shall be the 
 last of all, and the servant of all." The Apostles now knew 
 how to obtain the first places in the kingdom. In these few 
 pregnant words, Jesus shattered all their fond delusions of 
 temporal greatness. It was a repetition of the Sermon on 
 the Mount : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall 
 possess the land." 
 
 It seems to us, as we read the Gospel, that they ought to 
 have learned these truths from their Master's life. They 
 were witnesses of the wondrous beauty of that spotless, 
 Divine life. They saw Him humbling Himself, living among 
 the poor and uneducated, as one of them. He was ever the 
 friend of publicans and sinners. When men acclaimed Him, 
 He retired into desert places. He sought no glory from 
 them. Never man spoke and acted like Jesus, and yet, not- 
 withstanding His mighty deeds. He ever practised the most 
 perfect humility. As He told them on the eve of His death : 
 " I am in the midst of you, as He that serveth." 
 
 The Apostles "understood none of these things" for the 
 time being. The meaning of His life and teaching came to 
 them later, after the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pente- 
 cost. Then their minds were enlightened — no longer 
 " fashioned according to the former desires "* of their 
 ignorance. Then St. Peter set the example of the precept 
 he inculcated : "Be ye subject therefore to every human 
 creature for God's sake."| St. John taught men that Christ's 
 disciples ought themselves " to walk even as " their Master 
 walked. St. James taught the faithful the way to the king- 
 dom in these words : " Blessed is the man that endureth 
 temptation, for when he hath been proved he shall receive the 
 crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love 
 him." + 
 
 The transformation which time and God's grace worked 
 in the Apostles, should be a consolation to us, who so often 
 have to confess, with shame, that we are both in and of the 
 world. We allow its currents to draw us from the paths of 
 justice ; we accept its faulty views, its specious maxims. 
 * 2 St. Pet. ii. t I St. John ii. + St. Jas. i. 
 
OUR LORD'S INSTRUCTION TO HIS APOSTLES 119 
 
 Will time revolutionize our misconceptions ? Yes, provided 
 we give the grace of God free entrance into our souls, and are 
 prepared for the practical consequences — for the self-sacrifice 
 which the pursuit of a spiritual life involves. Meanwhile we 
 must strive to put in practice our Saviour's teaching, and to 
 find our joy in ministering to others " as unto the Lord." 
 
 How many there are who have a claim on our services ! 
 Those of our own family circle — parents, relatives, the aged. 
 Outside this circle we have personal friends — the poor, all who 
 profess the Catholic Faith, those whose lives are lonely, and 
 burdened, whose bodies are afflicted. 
 
 We can minister to them by prayer, by constant devoted 
 personal service, and by alms. We minister, too, by good 
 example, and by instructing our fellows whenever an occasion 
 offers itself. We can minister to the little ones who are very 
 dear to Christ ; and as we persevere in our lowly work of self- 
 sacrificing devotedness, humility will grow apace in our souls 
 and we shall be procuring for ourselves a high place in that 
 eternal kingdom — one to which it is lawful to aspire, since 
 we are bidden to "be zealous for the better gifts,"* and 
 above all, for charity, which opens the way to the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 Jesus came to be the servant of all, that He might redeem 
 us ; it behoves us to walk in His footsteps if we would profit 
 by His redemption, for " the servant is not greater than his 
 master." If at times the path to the kingdom seems steep 
 and narrow, if the life of humble, patient, devoted service 
 seems monotonous, and we long for labours that bring credit 
 and renown, then, lest we faint under our burden, let us raise 
 our eyes and contemplate Him " w^ho goeth before." If we 
 persevere in " looking on Jesus," we shall have the courage 
 to subject ourselves to every human creature for God's sake. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate in spirit our blessed Lord and 
 the Twelve as they travel through Galilee. Jesus walks on in 
 front ; the Apostles are disputing now in groups of twos and 
 threes, now all together. 
 
 * I Cor. xii. 
 
120 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to learn the lesson of 
 humility aright, and of a life of loving, self-sacrificing, devoted 
 service. 
 
 First Point. — ^The Apostles dispute " by the way." Each 
 brings forward reasons for his own choice. They remain at 
 a distance from their Master. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus questions them. Conscience-stricken 
 they hold their peace. 
 
 Third Point. — He instructs them how to obtain the coveted 
 place of honour — they must be servants of all. We, too, can 
 only reach heaven by taking the road of humility. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for this lesson ; ask that you 
 may profit by it. Beg Him to remove your dulness of intel- 
 lect, that you may apprehend the practical truths of Chris- 
 tianity. Pray that you may not yield to the spirit of ambi- 
 tion, to worldliness, or selfishness. Ask that you may ever 
 be ready to be a servant to all. Beg Him to furnish you to-day 
 with some opportunity of rendering service or brightening 
 someone's life for His sake. Ask pardon for your negligence 
 in failing to profit by past opportunities. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 " JESUS KNEW THEIR THOUGHTS " 
 
 " No thought is hid from Thee." — Job xUi. 
 
 " Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off." — Ps. cxxxviii. 
 
 " Doth thy thought seem right to thee ?" — Job xxxv. 
 
 We have seen how the Gospel narrative of the Apostles' con- 
 tention brings into relief our Lord's Omniscience : " He knew 
 their thoughts." Frequently the Evangelists call attention to 
 the fact that Jesus could read the thoughts of men. Generally 
 speaking, these references to our Lord's power of penetrating 
 into men's conscience are connected with the Pharisees, who 
 were continually watching our Saviour with hostile inten- 
 tions — " that they might accuse Him." 
 
 When Jesus cured the man sick of the palsy, when He healed 
 the man with the withered hand, and again when He cast out 
 
" JESUS KNEW THEIR THOUGHTS " 121 
 
 a dumb devil, St. Luke tells us that " Jesus knew their 
 thoughts." The Apostles learned this truth gradually, as one 
 incident after another brought it home to them ; so that at 
 the close of their three years' training we find them making 
 this confession in their Master's Omniscience : " Now we know 
 that Thou knowest all things, and Thou needest not that any 
 man should ask Thee. By this we believe that Thou comest 
 forth from God."* 
 
 Yet it was only after the Resurrection of Christ, when the 
 mists of doubt and sadness had been dissipated, that they 
 realized all that this spontaneous confession really involved. 
 
 ** Jesus, seeing the thoughts of their heart, took a child 
 and set him by Him." Let us fix our minds on this beautiful, 
 touching incident. In the house in which Jesus and His 
 Apostles were dwelling there was a little child ; a tradition 
 tells us that his name was Ignatius, and that later, having 
 been made Bishop of Antioch, he was martyred, circa a.d. 107. 
 Jesus had often spoken to this little boy and caressed him, 
 and, as it was customary among the Jews, each time our Lord 
 came to that house that little child would have been brought 
 to Him, in order to receive His blessing. This time Jesus 
 calls the child, and, having embraced him tenderly, He sets 
 the child in their midst ; probably He took him on to His 
 knee. Sitting thus in the centre, Jesus proceeds to rebuke 
 His Apostles for their ambition. He loves them too well to 
 let their faults pass unnoticed, and in order to impress that 
 rebuke upon them, He illustrates His words by a significant 
 action. Pointing to the child, who looks around, astonished 
 at finding himself thus singled out, Jesus solemnly addresses 
 the Twelve : " Amen I say to you, unless you be converted 
 and become as little children, you shall not enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble 
 himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom 
 of heaven, "t 
 
 The disciples of Christ are here told the conditions on which 
 
 they can enter, and even obtain the highest places in the 
 
 spiritual kingdom of Christ. Jesus turns away the Apostles' 
 
 thoughts from their strife for posts of honour in the Messianic 
 
 * St. John xvi. f St. ISIatt. xviii. 
 
122 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 kingdom, and shows them that the path to true greatness — 
 i.e., to the enjoyment of the special love and favour of God — 
 lies through the valley of self-abasement and humiliation. 
 It was the road chosen by their Master, and if they would share 
 His kingdom they must walk in His footsteps. In proportion 
 as the disciples acquired the childlike virtues of humility, 
 simplicity, unworldliness, and docility, would they be great 
 in God's esteem — first in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 A child does not consciously humble itself : it is humble 
 and subject by its very nature and its weakness ; and the 
 Christian can become by grace what the child is in virtue of 
 its childhood. The more exalted a man's position on earth 
 the greater his intellectual powers, the more humble should he 
 be, because these gifts entail heavy responsibilities. 
 
 The bed-rock of humility consists in this truth : we are 
 what we are by the grace and power of God. Of ourselves 
 we can do nothing ; we are but instruments in God's hands. 
 Works that are " begun, continued, and ended " for God, 
 and by His power, leave no place for pride. 
 
 The Apostles now had a complete answer to their question : 
 *' Who, then, thinkest Thou is the greater in the kingdom of 
 heaven ?" They had asked it to cover their confusion, as a 
 counter-question. Their Master answered it plainly, and He 
 also gave them a model to copy — the simplicity and humility 
 of a little child. They must be converted — i.e., reverse 
 their ideas of greatness and learn in what it really 
 consists. 
 
 This is a lesson, too, for all the faithful. We need to learn 
 it, for the germs of pride exist in the soul of every fallen 
 child of Adam, and if not uprooted by prayer and earnest 
 effort, they bring forth their evil harvest of ambition, vanity, 
 and self-seeking. We, long to follow our beloved Lord, to be 
 living members of His kingdom. Thank God, the way has 
 been pointed out by Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the 
 Life — by Him whom, if we follow, we shall not walk in dark- 
 ness. Henceforth we will strive to put this precious lesson in 
 practice, to lay up His words in our hearts. If we are child- 
 like — humble, trusting, and innocent — His words will " come 
 to pass " for each of us ; we shall be great in the kingdom of 
 
(< 
 
 JESUS KNEW THEIR THOUGHTS " 123 
 
 heaven. Provided we secure our places there, our status 
 in the kingdom of this world matters but little. 
 
 " Jesus knew their thoughts," and He gave proofs of His 
 knowledge of them to His Apostles. Job confesses the same 
 truth : " No thought is hid from Thee ; " and David exclaims : 
 "Thou hast known my thoughts afar off." He is the Son 
 of God ; He knows the thoughts of every human creature 
 " afar off "; before His Omniscience all things are open. He 
 knows my thoughts now, and at each hour, each moment of 
 my life. 
 
 A man's thoughts — my own thoughts — what a vista they 
 open out ! Let us consider this subject for a few moments. 
 We notice their multiplicity ; from the dawn of reason on till 
 old age, our thoughts roll on like the ever-flowing river, which 
 rushes on to the ocean, bearing its ships laden with precious 
 merchandise, and also its debris. There are thousands of 
 thoughts daily hurrying through the mind. Quicker than 
 lightning some flash through, giving place to others, that in 
 their turn are superseded. They pass from the human soul, 
 but they remain photographed in the memory of God. " If 
 the flow of a day's mind and heart experience were written, it 
 would be a volume, and one's life a Bodleian Library ; but the 
 book of remembrance is yonder, and the life is daguerreo- 
 typed on the sensitive pages of the future." How continually 
 our thoughts flow ; now we are conscious as to the subject of 
 them ; now we dream on subconsciously ! Sleep does not 
 completely arrest their course ; our thoughts influence our 
 dreams, and the first thought of our waking moments pieces 
 in harmoniously with our last thought of the preceding night. 
 
 If we consider the subjects on which our thoughts dwell, 
 we are struck with the countless variety of objects that present 
 themselves as food for thought ; one engenders another. 
 Environment, education, influence, the power of suggestion, 
 the remembrance of resemblances and of contrasts — all con- 
 tribute to the differentiation of our thoughts and add to their 
 complexity. We travel along a given line of thought ; a 
 word or an image is suggested, and we are, as it were, switched 
 along another path, and all this comes about so spontaneously, 
 so unexpectedly. For the human mind is a fathomless abyss, 
 
124 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 except for the Creator ; it brings into being thoughts that 
 " lie too deep for words "; it has depths which we ourselves 
 cannot fathom. 
 
 Consider the pregnancy of our thoughts A career of vice or 
 a life of holiness is, in its inception, the deliberate acceptation 
 of a thought, with all its inherent consequences. Our thoughts 
 are responsible for our words and deeds. ** Out of the abun- 
 dance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." As we sit silently 
 engrossed in thought, we are furrowing out the channels along 
 which words and actions will flow. The man whose thoughts 
 ever revolve around himself and his interests will be selfish 
 and exacting. He who meditates continually on his own 
 excellence will be proud and ambitious ; while another who 
 cherishes the memory of a grievance will become hard, 
 cynical, and revengeful. 
 
 These myriads of thoughts are all open to Him who created 
 us. Some are good, others indifferent ; others again are bad. 
 There are thoughts that come from God ; they tend to make 
 us live for Him and for our neighbour. " By their fruits " 
 we recognize them, for a good tree cannot bring forth bad 
 fruit. We need not be so foolish as to take to ourselves the 
 credit of our good thoughts ; they are from above, from the 
 Giver of all good gifts. 
 
 " For every virtue we possess, 
 And every victory won, 
 And every thought of holiness. 
 Are His alone." 
 
 The Holy Ghost sows the good seed in the souls of men, 
 and He bestows all that is necessary to make it fertile. When 
 we think of the thousands of good thoughts, holy desires, 
 aspirations heavenward we have had in our lives, how much 
 we have to thank God for ! Each was a precious gift, many 
 of which have been profitable unto eternal life. Good thoughts, 
 sweet messengers from God ! They are sent as bountifully 
 as the wind scatters the seeds. Just because man is too weak 
 to utilize all that God gives, and because the " birds of the 
 air " — i.e., the powers of evil — are ever on the alert to swoop 
 down and bear off the good grain, for these very reasons 
 God lavishes the seeds of good thoughts so abundantly. As 
 
" JESUS KNEW THIER THOUGHTS " 125 
 
 we grow in love, our thoughts become more and more pure, 
 for " charity thinketh no evil." The good thought of giving 
 a cup of cold water to one who needs it, in the Name of Christ, 
 shall not lose its reward. 
 
 We have " thought for the morrow." God has willed that 
 we should provide for the future with reasonable foresight, 
 that we should think of our temporal concerns. We pass in 
 the streets, and as various objects meet our gaze we find 
 thoughts springing up in connection with these things. This 
 class of thought may be termed " indifferent," but, even so, 
 they may be sanctified by purity of intention. The meanest 
 actions — even eating, drinking, and sleeping — can be per- 
 formed for God, and thus they become ennobled. 
 
 Alas ! there are other thoughts to which we are all subject. 
 The devil often harasses souls by evil suggestions. Fre- 
 quently, were we asked, " Doth thy thought seem right to 
 thee ?"* like the Apostles, we should be reduced to holding 
 our peace. All thoughts that are bad in themselves are not 
 sins. Evil thoughts only become sins when they are accepted 
 by the one who is tempted. As long as the soul rejects them 
 they are a cause of merit. Sometimes our thoughts are 
 mixed — good and bad and indifferent mingle. The mind is 
 in a kind of fog, " the thoughts between themselves accusing 
 or also defending one another, "f 
 
 " Jesus knew their thoughts." He knows ours, but for our 
 consolation we must remember that He distinguishes between 
 those that are without us, persistently seeking an entrance, 
 and those which, by opening the door and admitting them, 
 we have made our own. Can we legislate for the thousands 
 of thoughts that daily seek admittance ? Yes ; by God's 
 grace, we can control them. We have a will, which has power 
 to reject and accept, and we can train ourselves to concentrate 
 our minds on a given subject. Some writers have so trained 
 themselves to concentrate all their attention on their work 
 that they are oblivious to all around, and can work as well 
 in the midst of the bustle and hustle of life as in a desert. 
 
 Are you in the habit, dear reader, of fretting over some 
 past injustice ? You have some real cause of complaint ? 
 * Job XXXV. I Fom. i. 
 
126 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Granted ; but this does not justify you in saddening your 
 life, wasting your energies in self-pity, and paralyzing all 
 initiative for good. You have, perhaps, made your existence 
 a burden for months by going over and over again in your 
 mind all the injustice of which you have been the victim. 
 You have examined all its facets ; you have added to your 
 wrongs by bringing a vivid imagination to bear upon them. 
 This injury is the one subject of your thoughts, the one topic 
 of your conversation. 
 
 What answer would you make if, from the Tabernacle as 
 you kneel at the altar rails, our Eucharistic Lord were to ask 
 you this question : " Doth thy thought seem right to thee ?" 
 You know well that it is not " right " even to you yourself. 
 How, then, can it be right in His sight, to whom all things 
 are naked and open ? Can you escape from the thraldom of 
 these wearying thoughts ? Yes, you can force yourself to 
 think of something else. Switch off these miserable reflec- 
 tions by applying yourself actively to something that will 
 absorb your thoughts. It will not be an easy task, but it can 
 be accomplished with God's grace, and with a strong will to 
 expel these unwelcome suggestions of the Evil One. 
 
 Give this remedy a fair trial ; your life will be all the brighter, 
 and, what is more, it will be pleasing to God. To live out- 
 side of ourselves, for God and our neighbour, is the great 
 secret of regulating our thoughts, so that they shall not be. 
 displeasing to God. As the waters of the ocean, when they 
 evaporate lose their saltness and bitterness, and fall upon the 
 earth in fertile showers, so the thoughts that rise to God 
 descend again in acts of loving-kindness towards our fellows. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Fix your thoughts on our Lord and His 
 Apostles in the moment when, calling them around Him, He 
 asks : " What did you treat of in the way ?" Notice their 
 silence and confusion, their counter-question. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to profit by the lesson 
 of humility which Jesus gave His Apostles. Pray for a child- 
 like spirit. Ask that your thoughts may all be for the good 
 of souls, and for the glory of God. 
 
" JESUS KNEW THEIR THOUGHTS " 127 
 
 First Point. — Jesus knew the thoughts of His Apostles, 
 hence He reproves their ambitious desires and sets before 
 them an example of humility, docility, and unworldliness in 
 the person of a little child. It is His answer to their question 
 as to who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Second Point. — Our thoughts are multiple, varied, pregnant. 
 They may be good, bad, or indifferent, but they will be 
 whichever of these three we choose. It is possible to control 
 our thoughts to a certain extent. 
 
 Colloquy. — Humble yourself for all past sins of pride, and 
 resolve firmly to conquer this fault. Ask that you may at 
 once detect and resist any temptation to pride. Pray for 
 grace to resist evil thoughts instantly, calmly, and perse- 
 veringly. Ask that all your deliberate thoughts may seem 
 right to our Lord. Pray for the grace of simplicity, that you 
 may live for God alone. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 JESUS' REFUSAL TO GO PUBLICLY TO THE FEAST OF 
 
 TABERNACLES 
 
 " Go you up to this festival day, but I go not up . . . because My 
 time is not accomplished." — St. John vii. 
 
 Our Lord's Galilean mission was now drawing to a close ; 
 only a few days must elapse, and He will leave Galilee, never to 
 return there until after His death and Resurrection, when 
 He " showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of 
 Tiberias,"* in fulfilment of the angelic promise: " TeU His 
 disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee, "f 
 It was now the beginning of September, a.d. 33, and the 
 caravans were starting from Galilee, for the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles was at hand. The time of the departure of the great 
 pilgrim bands bound for the Temple was a moment of great 
 excitement. While the preparations were progressing actively 
 we read that our Lord's " brethren " sought Him out in order 
 to persuade Him to go up to the Temple to keep the Feast of 
 Tabernacles. 
 
 * St. John xxi. f St. jNIark x\i. 
 
128 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 By *' brethren " we must understand our Lord's cousins, 
 according to the flesh. The Jews frequently spoke of cousins 
 as " brethren "; thus Abraham said to Lot, " We are 
 brethren,"* and Laban speaks of his nephew Jacob as " my 
 brother, "f Some Greek writers have concluded that these 
 brethren were the sons of St. Joseph by a previous marriage, 
 but this is contrary to the Catholic tradition, which states 
 that this Saint lived and died a virgin. In St. Matthew's 
 Gospel, where we also find a reference to our Lord's "brethren," 
 their names are given as James (afterwards Bishop of Jeru- 
 salem), Joseph, Simon, and Jude. These brethren were 
 probably the sons of Mary, wife of Cleophas (also called 
 Alphseus), who appears to have been our Lady's first cousin, 
 since the blessed Virgin is supposed to have been an only 
 child. 
 
 Our Lord may have had other relatives. In any case, some 
 of His earthly family came to Him on this occasion. Pre- 
 suming on their kinship and disbelieving in His assertion that 
 He was the Messias, they presumed to point out what they 
 conceived to be the fitting line of action : " Pass from hence 
 and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also may see Thy works 
 w^hich Thou doest. For there is no man that doth anything 
 in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If 
 Thou doest these things, manifest Thyself to the world. "J 
 
 Evidently they did believe in His wonderful powers, and 
 perhaps they thought that if Jesus worked some of His mighty 
 miracles in Judea, a certain glory might accrue to them as 
 His relatives. The words, " If Thou doest these things," 
 do not imply doubt on this point, the " if " being equivalent 
 to " since." They pressed Him "to be known openly " 
 (literally, "to be in boldness "), to press His claims without 
 reserve, to renounce the secrecy which He had practised of 
 late. 
 
 Sadly the words of the context fall upon our ears : " Neither 
 did his brethren believe in Him." They recall our Lord's 
 words : " A prophet is not without honour, save in his own 
 country, and in his own house." His " brethren " believed 
 not in Him, and in making this statement the beloved disciple 
 * Gen xiii. f Gen.xxii. % St, John vii. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 129 
 
 is corroborating what he had said in the Prologue of his 
 Gospel. The Word " came unto His own and His own received 
 Him not." It does not seem probable that any of our Lord's 
 ** brethren," who were members of the chosen band of Twelve 
 were included among those who thus peremptorily addressed 
 our Lord. These Apostles — James and John, and James the 
 Less — were exceptions ; they did believe in Jesus' Messias- 
 ship ; nor would they have presumed to address Him thus, 
 nor to have sought to impose their will on their Divine Master. 
 
 What were these " brethren " of Jesus suggesting ? That 
 He should acquire renown by publicly working miracles in the 
 centre of the Theocracy — in Jerusalem — where many of His 
 Galilean disciples would certainly be present, and also many 
 who had but rarely had occasion to see and hear the great 
 Prophet of Galilee. Was not this another form of the old 
 temptation : " All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou 
 shalt adore me " ? An easy road to victory was put before 
 Him, the substance of the proposition being, " Compel men to 
 believe by your mighty deeds." As a short time previously, 
 Jesus had *' fled again into a mountain^ Himself alone," when 
 " He knew that they would come to take Him by force and 
 make Him King,"* so now He resists their entreaties and 
 specious forecasts by refusing to accede to their proposition. 
 
 He replies sternly, and declines to go publicly ; He even 
 refuses to say whether He intends to go or not, and His answer 
 contains a rebuke for their want of faith in His Divine Mission. 
 
 Jesus said to them : " My time is not yet come, but your 
 time is always ready. The world cannot hate you ; but Me 
 it hateth, because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof 
 are evil. Go you up to this festival day, but I go not up to 
 this festival day, because My time is not yet accomplished. 
 When He had said these things, He Himself stayed in Galilee ; 
 but after His brethren were gone up, then He also went up to 
 the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret."! 
 
 Let us examine our Lord's answer in detail, and meditate 
 a while on the precious lessons it contains. We see that He 
 declined to go with the public caravan, neither did He tell 
 His brethren that He would join them later. He knew how 
 
 * St. John vi. f St. John vii 
 
 9 
 
130 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 eagerly the people would be looking for Him in Jerusalem, 
 some favourably and others antagonistically. The Galilean 
 pilgrims would certainly be eagerly questioned as to His 
 whereabouts. It would be easier for them to answer, if they 
 were really ignorant as to His movements. He foreknew 
 that the Jews would seek Him " on the festival day," asking, 
 "Where is He ?" — that there would be "much murmuring 
 among the multitude concerning Him," some declaring " He 
 is a good man," while others, contradicting, replied : " No, 
 but He seduceth the people." And all these questionings 
 would be carried on with bated breath, because " no man 
 spoke openly of Him, for fear of the Jews."* Jesus gives 
 His reasons clearly : He will not go up publicly because His 
 time is not yet come ; it is not yet accomplished. What are we 
 to understand from these words ? 
 
 Three meanings have been given to them. First, it was not 
 yet the time for Him to receive a public ovation. That would 
 come later, though, indeed, it would begin at this very Feast 
 of Tabernacles, on the last day of the festival ; it would be 
 continued at the Feast of the Dedication, three months later, 
 and attain its apogee at the last Passover, when the Hosannas 
 of the multitudes would rend the air, as they came to meet 
 and to conduct Him in triumph into the Holy City. 
 
 Secondly, " All things have their season, and in their times 
 all things pass under heaven. "f The Jews had already 
 decreed His death ; " He could not walk in Judea because the 
 Jews sought to kill Him." Consequently He had journeyed 
 about secretly in Galilee for some months, and had not even 
 gone up to the Paschal Feast that year. It was not the 
 Father's Will that He should give His life yet. He had a 
 work to finish, and then, when the time appointed unto Him 
 to die " passed," in " its season, under heaven," He would 
 " steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem," to offer Him- 
 self as the Victim for our salvation. 
 
 Thirdly, the words may be taken in their literal meaning : 
 
 He would not go up yet. Many ancient manuscripts and 
 
 versions have this particle {nondum, ouVco), and St. John 
 
 Chrysostom also read it in his manuscript copy of the New 
 
 ♦ St. John vii- f Eccles. iii. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 131 
 
 Testament. In any case, the sequence shows that Jesus did 
 intend to go later, but He had decided to go quietly with the 
 Twelve, not as the great Rabbi of Galilee, surrounded by 
 crowds of His enthusiastic followers. 
 
 " Your time is always ready.'' For these " brethren " of 
 Jesus there was no risk if they went up with the great national 
 pilgrimage. No enemies were plotting to take their lives, no 
 enthusiastic disciples were ready, with mistaken though well- 
 meaning zeal, to raise them forcibly to the dignity of a throne. 
 Their presence in Jerusalem would not be likely to bring 
 about any collision between them and the rulers of Israel, 
 nor with the Roman authorities, who kept such close watch 
 over the Holy City during the festal seasons. 
 
 " Go you up.'' Yes, they could go in safety ; and Jesus 
 gives the reason of their security — " The world cannot hate 
 you." They were " of the earth, earthy." They shared the 
 mistaken views of the world, and had no sympathy nor 
 thought even for a suffering Messias. They looked, indeed, 
 for " the redemption of Israel," but by a King who should 
 fulfil their erroneous conceptions of temporal sovereignty. 
 The world does not hate its own ; its enmity is reserved for 
 those who presume to differ from and actively oppose its 
 policy — for Christ's disciples who live up to their high calling. 
 
 The world hated Christ because He rebuked its evil deeds. 
 In Him the world found its censor, and it rejected His judg- 
 ments. His accusations against the Pharisees, His revela- 
 tion of their depravity and self-seeking. His denunciations 
 of their harsh tyranny, had aroused the deepest animosity. 
 The world could not do otherwise than hate Christ, as an evil- 
 doer hates him who unmasks his wrongdoing and brings him 
 to judgment ; and as the world hated Jesus with a deep, 
 implacable hatred, so it hates His followers — so it ever will 
 pursue them with its vengeance. Jesus has warned us that 
 it must be so : " Because I have chosen you out of the world, 
 therefore the world hateth you." " If the world hate you, 
 know ye that it hath hated Me before you." 
 
 Jesus, having dismissed His brethren, " stayed in Galilee " 
 for some three weeks, after which " He also went up to the 
 feast, not openly, but as it were in secret." 
 
132 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Meanwhile His brethren went their way, discomforted at 
 their failure to secure their own aggrandisement, and vexed 
 that they had exposed themselves to a refusal. Like most 
 men whose plans to promote their own selfish interests have 
 failed, these brethren were angry, too, with Him who had 
 refused. He had not even told them whether He was going 
 up or not, and it would lessen their importance on arriving 
 at Jerusalem, if they could give no information concerning 
 Him. Thus they reasoned among themselves, heedless of 
 the Divine Wisdom which regulated every incident in the 
 life of Jesus, even questioning that Wisdom and taxing it 
 with folly, just as men — ay, even Christians — do in our own 
 times ; just as we ourselves in our ignorance have often done. 
 
 The soul that can unhesitatingly accept God's choice as the 
 best, has already made good progress in the spiritual life. 
 Yet, surely, to seek to impose our will on God, to imagine that 
 our short-sighted human policy is preferable to His Infinite 
 Wisdom, is the height of folly ! Let us be well content to 
 leave our lot in God's hands, to accept His decisions as 
 revealed by Divine Providence, and by the voice of those 
 who exercise a legitimate authority over us ; for " Saith the 
 Lord : As the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My 
 ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your 
 thoughts."* 
 
 We will now endeavour to reconstruct the scene which took 
 place in Galilee on that September morning in a.d. 33, more 
 than 1,800 years ago, when the caravan set out for Jerusalem, 
 with not less than 1,000 pilgrims. The province was crossed 
 by two main arteries, along which passed all commerce of 
 the East and the West. Both these roads started from Accho. 
 One led through Upper Galilee to Jacob's Bridge on the 
 Jordan, just half-way between the Waters of Merom and the 
 Sea of Galilee. The other road led to a bridge over the Jordan 
 through Lower Galilee, at a spot a few miles south of the Lake. 
 Both these highways joined the road that led from Damascus 
 and through Perea along the east bank of the Jordan. Along 
 these roads, caravans were continually passing to the Galilean 
 centres of commerce. The province was thickly populated. 
 
 ♦ Isa Iv. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 133 
 
 Josephus gives as many as 240 cities, each having about 
 15,000 inhabitants. He evidently exaggerates, but we may 
 conchide that some 3,000,000 would not be too high a 
 figure. " Considering the fact that Galilee had a large number 
 of large cities, and that the whole Province was dotted with 
 important towns, its 2,000 square miles may have supported 
 3,000,000."* Manyof the cities were walled, and certainly most 
 of the trades practised by the Jews were carried on in Galilee. 
 
 Wheat, barley, and other cereals were cultivated on the 
 shelving terraces. Olive groves and vineyards abounded. 
 Fruits famed for their lusciousness, nuts, and gorgeous flowers, 
 were plentiful. From these facts concerning the highways, 
 and the important position of Galilee as a commercial centre, 
 from its large population and its proverbial fertility, we can 
 realize that this northern division of Palestine was a scene of 
 increasing activity. 
 
 The bracing air of the Galilean hills and mountains, the 
 active outdoor employments of fishing and agriculture, com- 
 bined to form an energetic, vigorous people. The highways 
 were traversed by men of various nationalities, and the khans 
 or caravanserais were important centres of commerce. Close 
 by, there were inns for the convenience of the merchants and 
 warehouses for receiving their goods. The poorer traders con- 
 tented themselves with the caravanserai. This was simply 
 a shelter ; the travellers provided their own food, or pur- 
 chased it of the khan-keepers. No charge was made for the 
 use of the khan. The caravanserai consisted of a leewan, or 
 raised platform, which was built around an open court. Upon 
 this leewan, alcoves were partitioned off, which opened on to 
 the court. A traveller might take possession of any one of 
 these recesses, at least during the busy seasons, while the 
 animals could be tethered in the court or in some adjoining 
 stables or natural caves. 
 
 Now we are in a position to understand better the im- 
 portance of the Galilean caravan which thrice yearly set out 
 for Jerusalem — namely, at the Feasts of the Pasch, of Pente- 
 cost, and of Tabernacles. The Jews combined commerce and 
 
 * "Galilee in the Time of our Lord," by S. Merrill, D.D., chap, iv., 
 p. 19. 
 
134 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 devotion, and thus the preparations for the journey had to 
 be made some time before the date fixed for the departure 
 of the pilgrims. 
 
 The depots near the chief caraVanserai would be over- 
 flowing with manufactured goods, such as textile fabrics, both 
 linen and woollen, dyes, earthenware, glass, spices, and per- 
 fumes. Wines, oil, fruits, and fish would be brought there. 
 Camels and mules had to be provided. The head of the party 
 of merchant pilgrims would be on the alert, and the caravan- 
 serai would be full up. To the traders we must add the poor, 
 who had nothing to sell, and who simply went up to fulfill 
 their obligations as Jews, for all males not legitimately hin- 
 dered were commanded to attend the Temple services at the 
 three great feasts. The pedlars, too, formed a goodly com- 
 pany. When the day came for starting, what a scene of 
 bustle and confusion there was at the khan ! The camels and 
 asses had to be laden, each owner looking after his own. The 
 poor carried their packs, and they needed a change of raiment, 
 food, and cooking utensils. Sometimes they required tents. 
 All the men carried weapons for self-defence, as the roads, 
 especially near Jericho, were known to be infested by robbers. 
 In this caravan in which the brethren of Jesus joined, as 
 well as so many who believed in Him, there were certainly 
 some priests, for Nazareth was a priestly dwelling-place, and 
 all the twenty-four courses of priests and the Levites had to 
 take part in these solemn festivities. The latter took their 
 silver flutes, on which they accompanied the singing of the 
 psalms, especially when the pilgrims drewnear to the Holy City. 
 
 The work of the organizer of the caravan was no sinecure. 
 He had to marshal all in order, to see that those on foot were 
 in their ranks, and that reliable men and camels were at the 
 head of the file, which might extend for some two or three 
 miles when there was much merchandise. Crowds gathered 
 round to see them off ; some went with them for a short 
 distance. The signal having been given, the caravan started 
 off at early morning for its first day's march. The route 
 through Upper Galilee led due east towards the Jordan, for 
 the Jews avoided Samaria ; moreover, the road east of the 
 Jordan was safer and less hilly. There were fixed halting- 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 135 
 
 places, and thus after some four or five days' journey the 
 pilgrims would reach Jerusalem. 
 
 Of all the feasts of the Jewish year, that of Tabernacles 
 was the most joyful. So festive was this feast that the Jews 
 had a proverb which ran thus : " He who has never seen the 
 rejoicing at the pouring out of the water of Siloam has never 
 seen rejoicing in his life." 
 
 The caravan wended its way, and soon it reached Jacob's 
 Bridge, which crossed the Jordan about half-way between 
 the Waters of Mcrom and the Sea of Galilee.* 
 
 There would be some delay when the pilgrims reached the 
 bridge, for the tolls had to be paid, both for travellers and 
 goods. Here, too, they may have been joined by the caravan 
 from Damascus, just as below the Sea of Galilee they would 
 probably have fallen in with the pilgrims who had taken the 
 Lower GaHlean road. The Jews preferred large caravans, as 
 robbers were less apt to lie in ambush when the pilgrims were 
 numerous. Having crossed the bridge, the caravan turned 
 due south by the road that skirted the east bank of the Jordan. 
 During the heat of the day the pilgrims rested, and very 
 early all were afoot in order to profit by the cool morning 
 hours. The method of encamping differed with the social 
 position of the pilgrims. Some could afford the luxury of a 
 tent, while others had to content themselves with a simple 
 covering. Prayers were said at regular intervals, and the 
 psalms chanted in Hebrew to the music of the silver flutes^ 
 and taken up by a thousand or more pilgrims, resounded 
 sweetly as they were borne on the breezes. Frequently these 
 chants gave the first notice of their arrival, and on the way 
 the inhabitants came forth to meet relatives and to transact 
 business. 
 
 The caravans from Galilee recrossed the Jordan by the 
 fords of Jericho, and then travelled due south, near Bethania, 
 past Bethphage and along the Mount of Olives, and thus they 
 would reach Jerusalem, which they entered by the " Gate of 
 the Tribes," afterwards known as "St. Stephen's Gate,** 
 
 * We may reasonably conjecture that our Lord's brethren joined 
 the caravan that passed through Upper Galilee, since it was in Caphar- 
 naum tliat they made their request to our Lord. 
 
136 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 situated at the north-eastern angle of the Temple area. Here 
 the caravan halted and broke up, for no Jew was allowed to 
 ascend to the House of the Lord in travelling attire or with 
 dusty feet. 
 
 The Galilean pilgrims also received a hearty welcome in 
 Jerusalem. Their brethren came forth processionally to greet 
 them, singing well-known psalms,* to which the pilgrims 
 replied after each verse with some refrain proper to the Feast 
 of Tabernacles. On this occasion, the pilgrims must have 
 arrived a few days before the feast, as certain preparations 
 had to be made. It was not unusual for them to be there a 
 week earlier, for business as well as devotion claimed their 
 attention. 
 
 On the road, many inquiries had been made concerning 
 Jesus of Nazareth ; His brethren had been questioned both 
 by His friends and foes. Some hoped to find Him among the 
 pilgrims from Lower Galilee ; others anticipated that He would 
 be in Jerusalem before them, having preferred to take the 
 nearer route through Samaria, for perhaps He would have 
 wished to be at the Temple services on the loth of Tishri — 
 i.e., on the solemn day of Atonement. His brethren could 
 give no information to their circle of friends and relatives 
 beyond the fact that Jesus was in Galilee when they left. 
 
 In Jerusalem great v/as the eagerness and expectation of 
 His disciples. They hoped their beloved Master would come 
 to assert His claims. But recently, they had tried to proclaim 
 Him as their King, and He had fled from them ; but now, in 
 Jerusalem, when so many were present, who had heard His 
 mighty words and seen His marvellous miracles^ would it not 
 be possible to establish Him in His kingdom, and to cast off 
 the Roman yoke ? Thus His followers reasoned, not know- 
 ing that His time had " not yet come," nor was it ever to 
 come in the way in which they anticipated. Once more, false 
 hopes had given birth to fond illusions. The disciples had 
 forgotten their Master's words, uttered but a short time 
 previously : " Lay you up in your hearts these words, for it 
 shall come to pass " that " the Son of man shall be betrayed 
 into the hands of men and they shall kill Him." 
 
 * Ps cxii cxvi , cxvii. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 137 
 
 Great, too, was the " fear of the Jews " — so great that in 
 the Holy City " no man dared speak openly of Him," The 
 rulers of Israel sought to kill Him, and doubtless they hoped 
 to catch Him in His words during this feast, and rid them- 
 selves of Him. So in the city at this festival " there was 
 much murmuring of the multitude concerning Him." To 
 some He was the Prophet of Galilee, the Messias ; to others 
 He was a seducer of the people. Holy Simeon's prophecy 
 was being accomplished. Jesus was " set for the fall and the 
 resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign " of contradic- 
 tion. Isaias, in prophetic vision, had spoken of this time 
 when the Lord should be a " sanctification " to some, but a 
 " stone of stumbling " and " a rock of offence " to the two 
 houses of Israel.* 
 
 Hatred of Jesus and admiration for His Divine Person were 
 respectively doing their work in Jerusalem at this Feast of 
 Tabernacles, leavening the masses, but with opposite results. 
 The disciple is not greater than his Lord, and every Christian 
 who walks in the footsteps of Jesus experiences in his feeble 
 measure that he, too, is " to the one, indeed, the odour of death 
 unto death, but to the others the odour of life unto life."| We 
 find this constantly in our daily lives — in our own family 
 circle, in our places of business, in our social circle. Thank 
 God, Catholics are tolerated and even favourably received 
 in our days, in a way that the prejudices of the eighteenth 
 century could never have accepted ; yet, even in a land where 
 all are Catholics, there must be enmity between those who 
 serve God and the slaves of Mammon. 
 
 The world which cannot hate its own is equally under the 
 obligation of hating those who are not its citizens. The 
 world cannot love Christ, hence it cannot love His disciples. 
 Looked at in its true light, the world's hatred is an honour, 
 since it recognizes us as Christ's. This being so, far from 
 repining when, on account of our Catholic Faith, temporal 
 disadvantages and reverses fall to our share, we shall rejoice. 
 The world hated and persecuted our Lord ; far be it from 
 us to cringe for its favours, or to seek its esteem ! Its anta- 
 gonism to Christ's disciples is an unequivocal proof that 
 ♦ Isa. viii. f 2 Cor. ii. 
 
138 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 they, like their Master, are by their Christian lives " a 
 testimony " against the world, because " the works thereof 
 are evil." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our blessed Lord at the 
 moment when His brethren approach Him, and urge Him to 
 go to Jerusalem. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of conformity to God's 
 Will, to make His choice yours. 
 
 First Point. — His brethren beg Him to show Himself in 
 Jerusalem. Note their selfish, imperfect motives, their pre- 
 sumption, their want of faith. 
 
 Second Point. — Consider our Lord's refusal. His motives, 
 His rebuke on account of their worldliness. 
 
 Third Point. — The caravan journey from Galilee to Jerusa- 
 lem. The pilgrims, their views of Christ — both of friends and 
 foes. Christ is a stumbling-block to His own, on account of 
 their wilful blindness. 
 
 Colloquy. — Ask that you may profit by our Lord's lesson 
 to His relatives, that you may learn to respect God's times. 
 Pray that you may escape from the evil influence of the world. 
 Ask for courage to stand up for the Faith, and to be prepared 
 for the consequences. Ask that opposition may never dis- 
 courage you, but rather strengthen your soul. Pray for those 
 Christians whom the world has ensnared, for those who are 
 scandalized by the Cross of Christ. Thank God for having 
 revealed to you the mystery and inestimable value of suffering 
 for God. 
 
 CHAPTER XVni 
 
 JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM PRIVATELY 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " And it came to pass, when the days of 
 His assumption were accompHshing, that He steadfastly set His face 
 to go to Jerusalem. And after His brethren were gone up, then He also 
 went up to the feast, not publicly, but as it were in private. And 
 rising up. He departed from Galilee, and He sent'messengers before His 
 face ; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans to prepare 
 for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one 
 
JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALExM 139 
 
 going into Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John, had 
 seen this, they said : Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come 
 down from heaven and consume them ? And turning. He rebuked 
 them, saying : You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of man 
 came not to destroy souls, but to save. And they went into another 
 town." — St. John vii. ; St. Luke ix. ; St. Mark x. ; St. Matt. xix. 
 
 In the harmonized narrative given in the preceding para- 
 graph, we have an account, taken from the four Evangehsts, 
 of our Lord's departure from Galilee, and of His rejection by 
 the Samaritans. St. Luke, looking towards the goal, speaks 
 not of our Lord's death and Passion, but of " the days of 
 His assumption " — i.e., of His Ascension. The noun here 
 used in the original Greek is derived from the verb employed 
 by St. Mark to describe the Ascension. He writes : " The 
 Lord Jesus , . . was taken up into heaven."* St. Paul also 
 speaks of Him as having been "taken up in glory. "f It 
 was thus that our Lord looked forward to His death, and 
 beyond it to His Resurrection. During this meditation, then, 
 let us bear this in mind for our encouragement : we are 
 " looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who 
 having joy set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the 
 shame, and now sitteth on the right hand of God." J 
 
 Six months must elapse before His death ; meanwhile " He 
 steadfastly set His face to go to fenisalem." Note the energy of 
 this expression ; what determination and steadfastness of 
 purpose it contains ! Jesus goes forward with a bold, resolute 
 will, which is revealed by His gait and carriage. Isaias had 
 represented the Messias thus. Looking down the vista of 
 800 years, he saw Him in spirit, and placed upon His lips 
 these words : " The Lord is My helper, therefore am I not 
 confounded ; therefore have I set My face as a most hard 
 rock, and I know that I shall not be confounded. "§ 
 
 " To set one's face " was an Hebraic idiom ; we find it fre- 
 quently in the Old Testament. One citation has been given 
 from Isaias, and in the Book of Jeremias we read : " I have 
 set my face against this city, saith the Lord."|| Also in 
 Ezechiel it occurs — e.g., " Set thy face resolutely against it 
 {i.e., Jerusalem), and it shall be besieged."^ 
 
 * St. Mark xix. f i Tim. iii. % Heb. xii. 
 
 § Isa. 1. II Jer. xxi. II Ezech. iv. 
 
140 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 With perfect clearness of view Jesus looked to the inevitable 
 goal which He must reach, if He would accomplish His mission. 
 He accepted willingly all that our redemption involved, and 
 for our consolation it is recorded that " He set His face." 
 The words show that there was an internal conflict, a struggle 
 against that repugnance which any innocent man would feel 
 for a cruel death of shame. His strong will upheld Him. 
 " This beautiful One in His robe, walking in the greatness of 
 His strength," is the "defender to save,"* to redeem man- 
 kind. His firm purpose overcame every obstacle. Yes, 
 " Jesits set His face " because He was Man, and human nature 
 shrinks from suffering and disgrace ; having taken that mighty 
 resolution, we see Him walking " in the greatness of His 
 strength "f along the appointed road. All along that conse- 
 crated road He walked ; every step represents a separate 
 act of will, and each separate act of will represents a triumph 
 over the reluctance of flesh and blood. In no son of Adam 
 did heroism ever reach the height to which it attained in 
 Jesus. 
 
 It is said that Cromwell's " Ironsides," before an engage- 
 ment, would look at their General, and whisper, " See, he 
 has his battle face !" and they knew that this pointed to 
 victory. The same might have been said of Bonaparte and 
 of Wellington. A leader in battle has need to put on " his 
 battle face," to arm himself with a steadfast purpose. 
 
 Jesus is the Lord of Hosts, the Leader of the saints and 
 martyrs, of His disciples in all ages ; but His path to victory 
 lay in apparent defeat, in the terrible humiliation and agony 
 of the Passion. He who trod the wine-press alone, was Him- 
 self trodden underfoot by sinners, as St. Paul tells the Hebrews 
 when he writes : " How much more, do you think, he deserveth 
 worse punishments who hath trodden underfoot the vSon of 
 God ?"J How much more heroism it requires to suffer 
 passively than to combat on the battle-field ! Yet Jesus 
 deliberately chose the former for love of us ; He spared not 
 Himself. 
 
 Our Lord set His face " towards Jerusalem " — towards 
 that city where His enemies reigned supreme, and of whom 
 * Isa. Ixiii. I Ibid. X Heb, x. 
 
JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM 141 
 
 His followers stood in such awe that they dared not speak 
 of Him openly. He foresaw well what effects His words and 
 miracles would have on the Jews ; they could but increase 
 their hatred. Yet " He set His face " and went forward, 
 and from His example we learn how to march unflinchingly 
 along the narrow path, resolved to accomplish our duty at 
 any cost ; and this we shall do, by God's grace, if our faces 
 are steadfastly set, firm as a rock, to go to the heavenly 
 Jerusalem. In the life of the true Christian there is no time 
 for indifference, for vain, unrealized speculations, and ideals. 
 If we would reach our goal, we must be prepared to face and 
 overcome seeming obstacles, to make our way against the 
 world's currents, to deny our passions and hold them well in 
 hand. Is it too hard a task, one impossible to man ? Look 
 up at God's Saints : how did they reach their goal ? They 
 overcame all obstacles " by the blood of the Lamb, and by 
 the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto 
 death."* Their three means — the Blood of the Lamb, faith, 
 and generosity can be ours, if we only resolutely determine 
 to make use of them ; and the whole Christian course may be 
 resumed in our Saviour's exhortation : " Seek ye . . . first 
 the kingdom of God." 
 
 His brethren had already gone up to the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles, when Jesus and His Apostles left Galilee and bade 
 farewell to the province in which His ministry had been most 
 fruitful. Nazareth, Bethsaida, Capharnaum, would see Him 
 no more ; His work there was finished, and the remaining six 
 months He devoted to evangelizing in Judea and in Perea. 
 As it was His intention to go privately up to the Temple, He 
 directed His steps towards the Province of Samaria. This 
 was the shorter and less-frequented route. We know that 
 the Apostles were with Jesus, and some of the ministering 
 women may have been with them, and also other disciples. 
 Even a party of twenty pilgrims could hardly expect to find 
 food and shelter on the way, unless some special provision 
 had been made for them. The little band would have to 
 lodge at least one night in some town or village, for the road 
 through Samaria was over twenty miles in length. Conse- 
 
 ♦ Apoc. xii. 
 
142 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 quently, we are told that Jesus " sent messengers before His 
 face, and, going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, 
 to prepare for Him."* 
 
 Who were these messengers ? Many commentators ihink 
 that they were some of the seventy-two disciples, whose 
 mission is recorded in St. Luke x. In any case, they were 
 His followers, for He would not have sent out very recent 
 converts to evangelize. These messengers had a double mission 
 — to announce the arrival of Christ, whom some two years 
 previously the inhabitants of Sichar had confessed to be the 
 Messias, saying : " We now believe . . . and know that this 
 is indeed the Saviour of the world ";t and also to prepare 
 food and shelter for Jesus and His band of followers. These, 
 as we have seen, must have been fairly numerous, though 
 such a retinue was insignificant compared with the caravans 
 and their thousands of pilgrims. Moreover, Jesus probably 
 chose the less-frequented routes, as far as possible, for He 
 was going up " as it were in secret." 
 
 Leaving the city of Capharnaum, the road to Samaria lay 
 south past Mount Thabor, on to Little Hermon, opposite to 
 which was the city of Naim, where Jesus had raised the 
 widow's son about one year and a half previously. The 
 Apostles would have reminded our Lord of this miracle as 
 they passed by the town, for it was the first miracle of resurrec- 
 tion which they had witnessed. Perhaps they spent the 
 night there and met that widow and her son. The next 
 important landmark was the mountain range or group of 
 Gilboa, opposite the ancient town of Jezreel. Next, Jesus 
 and His disciples would have passed through the green Plain 
 of Esdraelon, the great highway in Old Testament times. 
 Across this Plain one road led up the slopes of Mount Carmel 
 from the banks of the Jordan ; the other intersected it at 
 right angles, and led to the village of En-Gannim (the Foun- 
 tain of Gardens), now called Jenin. It stands at the first 
 pass into the Samaritan Hills. When our Lord journeyed 
 over this plain in the month of September, the land was 
 bare, for the harvest was over, and the immense tracts of 
 waving corn no longer delighted the eye. Here and there a 
 * St. Luke ix. f St. John iv. 
 
JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM 143 
 
 few olive-trees stood out against the horizon, and, backed 
 against the mountain-sides, a few villages nestled. The dis- 
 trict was not a safe one in our Lord's time, nor is it now. 
 Speaking of this vast fertile plain, Canon Tristram says : 
 " Its tame monotony is never relieved by a single village. 
 These are all hidden in the nooks of the mountains ; for no 
 fellahin or cultivators would venture to dwell where, any 
 night, they might be harried by a party of Bedouin troopers, 
 and to this risk they gladly prefer an hour or two's weary 
 climb added to their daily toil ; while no traveller would 
 dream of encamping even for a night in the open 
 plain."* 
 
 Jenin was the first Samaritan village that Jesus and His 
 disciples would have reached. We do not know for certain 
 whether this was the village whose inhabitants refused to 
 receive our Lord, but it is extremely probable, since Jezreel, 
 the last town our travellers passed when entering the Plain 
 of Esdraelon, was ten miles north of Jenin, and, as we have 
 said, no villages stood on the plain. In our own days, the 
 inhabitants of this hamlet are described by a modern traveller 
 as " fanatical, rude, and rebellious. "f Hence their treatment 
 of our Lord on this occasion was in keeping with their reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 Jesus had sent His messengers on ahead, and we are not told 
 at what part of the road they met our Lord and reported their 
 failure. Very crestfallen, they came to their Master and 
 related what had happened. The Samaritans " received Him 
 not." This was their message^ and they give the reason : 
 " His face was of one going to Jerusalem." 
 
 A brief glance at the origin and histoiy of the Samaritans 
 will explain why they refused hospitality to Him who an- 
 nounced Himself to be the Messias. The well-known recip- 
 rocal hatred of the Samaritans and Jews was deep-seated 
 and of long-standing, and, as we know, all ancient racial 
 feuds die hard. The Samaritans were a mixed race, partly 
 Jewish, partly Gentile. The Assyrians had led the majority 
 of the Jews into exile in Babylon, during the reign of King 
 
 * "Land of Israel," by H. B. Tristram, chap, xix., p. 421, ed. 1865. 
 t Thomson, " The Land and the Book," chap, ii., p. 30. 
 
144 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Osee, the last King of Israel. A few, however, having escaped, 
 returned to their native towns, only to find them repeopled 
 by colonists " from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava 
 and from Emath."* These now occupied the towns of 
 Samaria. The colonists were idolaters, and the Jews who had 
 straggled back mixed with them. A priest was sent from 
 Babylon to minister to these Israelites in Samaria, and some 
 of the colonists accepted the Jewish faith, though they con- 
 tinued to worship idols. This mixed people were known as 
 Samaritans, and when the remnant of the Jews returned from 
 captivity, these Samaritans offered their services towards the 
 rebuilding of the Temple. The Jews would not accept their 
 offer, and from that time Jews and Samaritans were avowed 
 enemies. 
 
 A priest, having been expelled from the services of the 
 Temple, on account of his marriage with the daughter of 
 Sanballeth, chief of the Samaritans, took up their cause, and 
 taught them the Mosaic Law. A rival temple was then 
 built on Mount Garizim in Samaria. The Samaritans ac- 
 cepted only the Pentateuch, the Books of Josue, and the 
 Judges. 
 
 The enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans increased 
 as time went on. As the Jews were accustomed to light up 
 beacons to announce the great festivals, the Samaritans mis- 
 led the people by lighting false beacons. They refused to 
 allow Jewish pilgrims bound for the Temple of Jerusalem, 
 to traverse Samaria, nor would they permit food or shelter 
 to be given them. The Samaritans were rich and powerful 
 in our Lord's time. They had synagogues at home, and also 
 in Rome J Cairo, and Damascus. At the present day, very few 
 Samaritans remain, but they still inhabit Nablousj the ancient 
 Sichem. They continue to keep the Pasch and to follow the 
 chief precepts of the Mosaic Law. 
 
 We can now understand better why the Samaritans refused 
 to receive our Lord. He was on His road to the Temple in 
 Jerusalem. Had He favoured them by going to their Temple 
 on Mount Garizim, they would probably have accepted Him. 
 But Jesus could not countenance their schismatic worship, 
 
 ♦ 4 Kings xvii. 
 
JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM 145 
 
 even though He would have obtained a favourable reception ; 
 thus He teaches us that we may not do evil that good may 
 come. 
 
 James and John, " the sons of Thunder," were with our 
 Lord when the messengers retraced their steps. They 
 resented this insult to their Divine Master, and, eager to 
 avenge it, they exclaimed : " Lord, wilt Thou that we com- 
 mand fire to come down from heaven and consume them ?" 
 Jesus, checking their impetuosity, " rebuked them, saying, 
 You know not of what spirit you are." Perhaps these two 
 Apostles were thinking of an act of punishment which Elias 
 had executed against the Samaritans when Ochozias sent a 
 captain and fifty men to take him prisoner. These two 
 Apostles remembered the reception which the inhabitants of 
 Sichar had given their Lord ; they were angered, too, because 
 the laws of hospitality, so cherished in Palestine, had been 
 infringed. They did not reflect that never had Jesus worked 
 a miracle in order to punish, and that " the anger of man 
 worketh not the justice of God."* 
 
 We can understand their indignation, for both dearly loved 
 their Divine Master. They had accepted Him as the Messias ; 
 they had seen His wonderful miracles, and heard Him who 
 spake as no man had ever spoken. They realized the blessing, 
 the glorious privilege, of a message from Jesus, of a visit 
 promised by Him. Yet these uncouth Samaritans had gone 
 so far as to reject His loving-kindness with contempt, and 
 to refuse Him food and shelter. Yes, James and John 
 realized all this, but the Samaritans did not. They did not 
 know that never again would the Messias repeat His offer ; 
 they were ignorant of what their incivility really involved — 
 the rejection of the Son of God. How they must have 
 regretted their inhospitality about a year later, when St. John 
 went down to Samaria to confirm those whom Philip the 
 deacon had baptized ! Then they realized the true import 
 of their refusal. So it happens frequently that we know not 
 the day of our visitation ; we decline our Lord's visit in the 
 Holy Eucharist, perhaps because it involves some petty in- 
 convenience, not realizing how we frustrate His merciful 
 
 * St. Jas. i. 
 
 10 
 
146 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 designs and act against our highest interests. How many 
 Christians imitate the Samaritans, refusing to open to Him 
 when He stands at the door and knocks ! With long waiting, 
 He complains : " My head is full of dew, arid My locks with the 
 drops of the night."* Still He ceases not to plead with the 
 sinner : '* Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any 
 man will hear My voice, and open to Me the door, I will come 
 in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me."f 
 
 But we must dwell for one moment on our Lord's rebuke, 
 when, " turning " towards them as they broke in with their 
 inopportune request, He said : " You know not of what 
 spirit you are." These words may mean, " You know not at 
 whose instigation you are speaking," or " You know not that 
 I will have mercy rather than vengeance." Their impatience 
 sprang from a human motive, yet they were called to follow a 
 Master whose law was that of love and mercy. 
 
 ** The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save." 
 In these words Jesus concludes His rebuke. He shows His 
 offending Apostles how unlike their conduct was to His. He 
 came to save souls ; they wished to destroy the Samaritans, 
 to cut them off in their sins. Clemency, patient endurance 
 of injuries, and forgiveness, are the distinguishing features of 
 Christ's doctrine. Jesus came to save ; His Apostles and 
 disciples must not seek to destroy. 
 
 While the messengers delivered the Samaritans' answer to 
 our Lord's request for hospitality, Jesus and His followers 
 had halted for a few moments. Then we may picture them 
 quietly retracing their steps towards the nearest village, or 
 at once turning eastward along the road that led to the ford, 
 by which they could cross the Jordan ; and so Jesus and His 
 disciples meekly ** went into another town " in the confines 
 of Galilee, seeking there that hospitality which the Samaritans 
 refused. On the way our Lord would comfort the messengers, 
 who were sorely distressed at the failure of their attempt to 
 procure shelter and food for their Master and brethren. 
 
 May we not learn one more lesson here ? We, too, are 
 God's messengers, sent into our families, into the world, to 
 seek for souls that are ready to respond to His invitation to 
 
 * Cant. V. I Apoc. iii. 
 
JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM 147 
 
 open their hearts to Him. But many refuse ; they reject the 
 visit of Jesus, and in their ignorance we must find an excuse. 
 Anger and indignation will never gain their consent. We 
 must be content to labour on, to wait patiently, knowing 
 that no effort is really lost, if made for God. We, too, can 
 go and tell Jesus of our failures. He will not blame us for 
 them, if we have done our best ; He will bid us hold out and 
 continue our labour of love. He will give the strength to 
 obey Him. " Looking on Jesus," and noting how lovingly 
 and patiently He deals with men's sins and ignorance, we 
 shall be encouraged to follow the inspired precept : " In the 
 morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thine hand 
 cease, for thou knowest not that which may rather spring 
 up, this or that : and if both together, it shall be for the 
 better."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prehide. — Contemplate our Lord and His Apostles, 
 as they journey along the highway leading southward to 
 Samaria. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may profit by Christ's 
 visits. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus sets His face steadfastly to go to Jeru- 
 salem. In this He is our Exemplar. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The Samaritans refuse hospitality to Jesus 
 and His Apostles. 
 
 Third Point. — St. John and St. James desire to avenge their 
 Master. Jesus rebukes them, and turns aside into another 
 town. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our Lord and sympathize with Him in 
 the insults He endured for love of you. Pray that you may 
 always receive Him gladly. Ask for courage to accomplish 
 painful duties, to practise meekness and forbearance. Beg 
 Jesus to send you as His messenger to win souls for Him. 
 Pray for grace never to be discouraged by failures. 
 
 * Eccles. xi. 
 
148 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE DURING THE FEAST 
 
 OF TABERNACLES 
 
 St. John vii. 14-26. 
 
 Three highways passed through Samaria communicating 
 with Gahlee and Jerusalem. The most western led along the 
 coast of the Mediterranean Sea, by Ptolemais, Caesarea, and 
 Joppe, and thence inland over the Plains of Saron and Lydda 
 into the Mountains of Judea. The central one was the most 
 direct, since it passed straight through the Province of Samaria 
 and the chief towns. The third turned twice to the east, 
 once in Galilee and again farther on in Samaria. Both these 
 turnings led direct to a ford on the Jordan, the upper one in 
 Galilee, the lower in Samaria. Travellers could pass by these 
 fords to the western bank of the Jordan, or continue their 
 road along the east bank of the river to Jericho, through the 
 desert of Judea, over Bethania and the Mount of Olives, until 
 they came to Jerusalem. 
 
 From St. Mark's account of this journey it is evident that 
 Jesus took the eastern route, and crossed the fords of the 
 Jordan either in Galilee or in Samaria, and then travelled 
 through Perea. As we do not know whether the messengers 
 who brought back news of the Samaritans' refusal to receive 
 Jesus met Him in Galilee or in Samaria, we cannot decide 
 which ford He crossed. In all probability, it was the Galilean 
 ford, since, as we have seen, the Plain of Esdraelon could offer 
 no shelter to pilgrims, and Jenin would be the first halting- 
 place in Samaria. 
 
 St. Mark says that Jesus, " rising up from thence " (i.e., 
 Galilee), " cometh into the coasts of Judea beyond the Jordan. 
 Here " the multitudes flock to Him again, and, as He was 
 accustomed. He taught them again."* St. Matthew gives the 
 same route. He says : " Jesus departed from Galilee and 
 came into the coasts of Judea beyond the Jordan " ; f and 
 this Evangelist also draws attention to the crowds that cam^ 
 * St. Mark x. t St. Matt. xix. 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 149 
 
 to hear Christ. He tells us that " great multitudes followed 
 Him, and He healed them there." The warm reception given 
 to our Lord in Perea was some slight compensation for the 
 rejection by the Samaritans. Jesus " healed them there 
 again," as He had previously healed the sick in Galilee. The 
 seventy-two disciples had been sent to visit the towns and 
 villages of Perea, a district which was inhabited chiefly by 
 Jews. They were at this moment on their mission, and this 
 may explain why such multitudes flocked to hear our Lord. 
 These messengers of Christ, the Messias, had preached the 
 Word of God ; they had announced that Jesus was the Messias, 
 and their miracles of healing were their credentials. No 
 wonder that the multitudes flocked to hear Christ, when His 
 disciples had been so powerful ; for when their mission was 
 accomplished, we are told they " returned with joy, saying : 
 Lord, the devils also are subject to us in Thy name."* 
 
 We may contemplate our Lord travelling through the 
 elevated tableland of Perea, which rises abruptly from the 
 Jordan Valley, and is broken by numerous gorges and rapid 
 mountain torrents. The climatic conditions were favourable 
 for agriculture, and the plains were well adapted for the 
 cultivation of fruits and trees, such as the palm, olive, and 
 vine. During this journey, Jesus related the parable or 
 incident of the Good Samaritan — perhaps when He was near 
 Jericho. At the close of His journey we have the beautiful 
 account of His visit to Bethania — to His friends, Martha and 
 Mary — and it was on this occasion that Mary sat at Jesus' 
 feet, listening to His words, while Martha was busy with 
 " much serving," Here, in the peaceful seclusion of Bethania, 
 Jesus appears to have rested a while after His long journey 
 and His frequent discourses. We may conjecture that He 
 arrived there just when the Feast of Tabernacles had com- 
 menced, though He did not appear in Jerusalem until the 
 middle of the feast — i.e., about the fourth day. 
 
 Meanwhile, Jerusalem was the scene of joj'ous exuberance, 
 for the feast was being kept with all the time-honoured rites. 
 It was to the Jews " the Feast," the most joyful of all their 
 feasts, and the last of the sacred cycle. Its threefold character 
 
 * St. Luke X. 
 
150 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 is represented by the three names given to it. As a thanks- 
 giving for the fruits of the earth, it was called " the Feast of 
 the Ingathering," and, like the other two great festivals;,' it 
 was of Divine precept. Thus, we read in the Book of Exodus : 
 " Thou shalt keep . . . the feast when the time of the year 
 returneth that all things are laid in."* This was one of the 
 three solemn feasts when all males were bound to " appear 
 before the Lord." Another title, " the Feast of Tabernacles " 
 (or booths), is given to this festival, since for seven days 
 the Jews lived in booths made of green branches, in memory 
 of their sojourning in tents in the desert. It was also called 
 emphatically '* the Feast of Jehovah," because it typified 
 that great day of Messianic glory, when all Israel should be 
 again gathered together, and when all the nations of the earth 
 should be converted to the Jewish rehgion. 
 
 This feast began on the 15th of Tishri, the seventh month 
 of the Hebrew calendar ; it was kept up until the 23rd in- 
 clusive, and the octave was a great day of joy, although the 
 real Feast of Tabernacles, as far as the Jews' dwelHng in booths 
 was concerned, closed on the seventh day. As " the Feast of 
 Ingathering," or harvest festival, these eight days were cele- 
 brated with lavish hospitality, in accordance with the Mosaic 
 precept : " Thou shalt make merry in thy festival time, thou, 
 thy son, thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid- 
 servant, the Levite also and the stranger, and the fatherless 
 and the widow that are within thy gates, "f The poor through- 
 out the land were feasted generously. The people also gave 
 offerings to the treasury ; none were to " appear with his 
 hands empty before the Lord."t Each must offer " accord- 
 ing to what he hath " by the blessing of God. 
 
 As a feast in commemoration of their having dwelt in tents 
 in the desert, the Jews constructed bowers or booths of 
 boughs of living trees. These bowers were put up on the day 
 before the feast, and taken down on the seventh day. The 
 Rabbis laid down strict rules as to the construction and size 
 of these tents. Dr. Edersheim writes thus on this subject : 
 " Three of its walls must be of boughs ; it must be fairly 
 covered with boughs, yet not so shaded as not to admit sun- 
 
 ♦ Exod. xxxiv. I Deut. xvi. J Ibid. 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 151 
 
 shine, nor yet so open as not to have sufficient shade. . . . 
 These booths, and not their houses, were to be the regular 
 dweUing of all in Israel during the week, and . . . except 
 in very heavy rain they were to eat, sleep, pray, study — in 
 short, entirely live in them."* Only the sick, little children, 
 and their respective attendants, were exempted from living 
 in tents. 
 
 These green bowers were to be seen everywhere during the 
 feast — on the roofs of houses, in gardensj courtyards, city 
 walls, even on waggons and on the backs of camels. The 
 slopes of Olivet would look like one vast encampment, and 
 the house of Martha and Mary would also have its tent of 
 boughs on the roof. The whole city was transformed by 
 these bowers, for the flat white roofs were covered with 
 verdure. Jerusalem appeared transformed into a forest. 
 On each day of the feast there were special sacrifices offered, 
 at which all who were able assisted. Every worshipper (even 
 children) carried the lulahh — i.e., a palm branch, with a 
 myrtle and a willow branch on either side of it. The palm 
 and myrtle recalled the memory of the fertile districts through 
 which the Israelites had passed in their wanderings, and the 
 willow represented the brooks which had quenched their 
 thirst. A citron " without blemish " was carried in the left 
 hand, as typical of the fertility of the land which God had 
 given them ; it was a '* goodly fruit.*' 
 
 The lidahhs were used in the Temple during the services. 
 At certain times men, women, and children waved them 
 simultaneously. 
 
 Numerous sacrifices were offered daily, consisting of sin- 
 offerings of a kid, and burnt offerings of bullocks, rams, and 
 lambs. One peculiarity of the festival consisted in the daily 
 change made in the number of bullocks offered. It decreased 
 from day to day, so that, while thirteen were offered on the 
 first day, by the seventh day the number was reduced to 
 seven. The total number of bullocks offered was seventy, 
 and the Rabbis held that these corresponded with the seventy 
 nations of the world. 
 
 The pilgrims, having made their bowers on the 14th and 
 * " The Temj^e," chap, xiv., p. 274. 
 
152 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 prepared their gifts, were ready to celebrate the feast. As 
 the sun set, the sound of the priests' trumpets, from the Mount 
 of the House of the Lord, informed all the inhabitants that 
 the feast was about to be inaugurated. The Temple gates, as 
 at other great feasts, were opened at midnight, so as to allow 
 of the sacrifices being examined. At sunrise, the hour of the 
 morning offering, the Temple was crowded with thousands of 
 worshippers, for the distinctive ceremony of the feast took 
 place during this service. While the priests appointed pre- 
 pared the morning sacrifice, two processions left the Temple. 
 One priest, accompanied by Levites, who sang psalms and 
 played their flutes, descended the Mountain of the House of 
 the Lord, and, passing through the Water Gate, the pro- 
 cession turned to the south and proceeded past Absalom's 
 tomb to the Pool of Siloam. The priest filled his golden 
 pitcher, which contained about one quart of water. The 
 other procession went to the Valley of Cedron, where they 
 cut down willow branches. 
 
 On their return, and while the priests blew their silver 
 trumpets, they placed these branches on both sides of the 
 altar of holocausts. The boughs were bent so as to form a 
 kind of bower over the altar. The priest charged to fetch the 
 water had to regulate his pace, in order to return just when 
 the priests in procession were carrying the pieces of the victim 
 to the altar. He then poured the water into a silver funnel, 
 fixed on the side of the altar. This ceremony was a tacit 
 prayer for rain, as the water poured into the funnel from the 
 golden pitcher was conveyed by pipes into the Valley of 
 Cedron, and, having been in contact with the altar, the water 
 was supposed to bring fertility to the soil. 
 
 The priest was careful to raise his hand, so that the people 
 might see that he was pouring the water into the funnel. 
 Wine was poured also through another funnel on the same 
 side of the altar, and while these rites were being accom- 
 plished the Temple choristers began their chants. The Hallel* 
 was sung, and when the words " Give praise to the Lord, for 
 He is good," and " O Lord, save me, O Lord, give good 
 success," all the worshippers waved their lulahhs in the 
 
 * Ps. cxi.; cxviii. 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 153 
 
 direction of the altars. The words of these psalms are singu- 
 larly appropriate, as may be seen from the subjoined passages : 
 " The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles 
 of the just." " Appoint a solemn day with shady boughs, 
 even to the horns of the altar." 
 
 The pouring out of the water had also a mystical significa- 
 tion. It represented the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the 
 true source of all joy. The Jewish Talmud applies in this 
 sense the words of the prophet Isaias : " You shall draw 
 waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains."* 
 
 The reader will now have a faint idea of the joyful scenes 
 that took place in Jerusalem at the Feast of Ta1:)ernacles. 
 Jesus' brethren. His disciples, and His foes, were all celebrating 
 this feast when, on this special occasion, Jesus Himself " in 
 the midst of the feast went up into the Temple and taught." 
 Joyfully His disciples must have greeted Him, although they 
 dared not give Him the ovation which they knew to be His 
 due. His presence rendered the dissensions concerning Him 
 more acute. St. John represents the scene very vividly ; he 
 brings out the sharp contrasts. The doubts, divisions, 
 jealousies, carping criticisms, and wavering hopes of the 
 different parties that made up the vast multitudes are well 
 delineated. The scene is no longer enacted in the towns and 
 villages of Galilee ; it has changed to the vast metropolis, 
 with its thousands of worshippers. The Jewish leaders are, 
 as a body, hostile, but some Jews beHeve in Him. The people 
 are divided, some being for, others against Jesus. He speaks 
 openly in the Temple courts ; His audience interrupt Him ; 
 and, though the Jews desire to apprehend Him both " in the 
 midst of the feast " and on the eighth day. yet " no man laid 
 hands on Him." His eloquence subdued them ; He would not 
 allow Himself to be arrested. St. John shows so clearly that 
 Jesus was master of the situation. His enemies are eager to 
 seize Him, but " His hour was not yet come." 
 
 Jesus pronounced a discourse " in the midst of the feast." 
 How difficult it must have been to speak before a multitude 
 made up of such varying classes and opinions ! Some present 
 hailed Jesus as the Messias, the Son of God ; others derided 
 
 * Isa. xii. 
 
154 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Him as a seducer, as possessed with a devil. Some would 
 proclaim Him King of Israel ; others desired to take His life, 
 had they been at liberty to act in accordance with their con- 
 victions. How the multitudes flocked around Him — in- 
 habitants of Judea, Hellenistic Jews of the Dispersion, and 
 pilgrims from Galilee ! Jesus had been, so to say, the " storm 
 centre " during the feast even before He appeared " in the 
 midst of the feast." Strife concerning Him was the dominant 
 feature of this special feast, and it was all the keener owing 
 to the action of the rulers and Pharisees, who prevented His 
 Name being publicly mentioned. Emotions were tense, and 
 a little spark would kindle a vast conflagration. In the midst 
 of all this subdued murmuring and excitement, Jesus came 
 from His brief retirement in Galilee, and took His place in 
 the Temple as a Teacher sent from God. He spoke openly ; 
 He taught the vast crowds, who had so much to learn, and 
 yet who profited so little by the instructions of our Divine 
 Master. 
 
 St. John calls special attention to the fact that, during our 
 Lord's last three visits to Jerusalem, He challenged His 
 enemies in the Temple, taking up His place as the Teacher 
 of Israel. Thus we read : " Jesus spoke in the treasury, 
 teaching in the Temple."* At the Feast of the Dedication 
 " Jesus walked in the Temple," and taught the Jews gathered 
 round Him in Solomon's Porch. When questioned during 
 His Passion by the High-Priest concerning His doctrine, Jesus 
 Himself referred to His frequent instructions in the Temple, 
 saying : " I have spoken openly to the world. I have always 
 taught in the synagogue, and in the Temple, whither all the 
 Jews resort. "t 
 
 On this Feast of Tabernacles, too, Jesus spoke very 
 " openly." His tirne was drawing near. It behoved Him to 
 press His claim to their allegiance, even though it aroused the 
 fury of His enemies and hastened His death. It was His 
 Will to bring matters to a climax, for God had decreed that 
 His Son must die for the people, and Jesus was " straitened " 
 until that Will should " be accomplished." He longed for His 
 fiery baptism, by which He had determined to redeem the world. 
 * St. John viii. f Ibid., xviii. 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 155 
 
 Contemplate Jesus as He teaches in the Temple ! What a 
 sea of faces is turned towards Him ! The various parties 
 are more or less gathered together ; all hold their lulahhs and 
 citrons. The rulers and head Pharisees seem to have held 
 aloof j but they sent their spies ; Pharisees of inferior rank 
 are there assembled, probably in Solomon's Porch. These 
 emissaries can, without compromising the rulers, take their 
 places in the crowd, in order to hear the Galilean Teacher. 
 Rage, hatred, and vengeance are depicted on their features. 
 Now they listen, now they confer with one another. They 
 make their plans, and seek information for their masters. 
 Yonder press a numerous group of strangers — Hellenistic 
 Jews, and proselytes. Listen to their words : " Is not this 
 He whom they seek to kill ?" " Behold, He speaketh openly, 
 and they say nothing to Him." " Have the rulers known 
 for a truth that this is Christ ?" " We know this man whence 
 He is, but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence 
 He is." The sturdy Galilean pilgrims press close to Jesus, 
 some beheving, others scoffing, for the various classes are 
 divided in their opinions, some of the multitude confessing, 
 " This is the Prophet indeed ; " others asking, " Doth the 
 Christ come out of Galilee ?" . . .so there arose a dissension 
 among the people because of Him." 
 
 Listen to our Lord's words ; they are brief, concise, and 
 to many of His audience startling. Frequently His hearers 
 interrupt Him, and He deigns to answer each one. " My 
 doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will 
 do the will of Him, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
 be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of 
 himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh the glory 
 of him that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in 
 him."* 
 
 In these plain words, Jesus declares that He is Divinely 
 commissioned by the Father ; that a sincere desire to do 
 God's will is a condition of being enlightened as to the truth ; 
 and, further, that a messenger must act with singleness of 
 purpose, seeking the glory of his master, and not his own. 
 Apparently, at this point some of His hearers objected that, 
 
 ♦ St. John vii. 
 
156 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 by working miracles on the Sabbath, Jesus had infringed the 
 law ; consequently our Lord here proceeds to justify His good 
 deeds on the Sabbath, and to demonstrate that His act of 
 healing on the Sabbath is no more a breach of the law than 
 their custom of circumcising on the Sabbath, " that the law 
 of Moses may not be broken." 
 
 Jesus then proceeds to assert even more emphatically His 
 Divine origin and mission. Only those close to Him could 
 have heard the objections which He was answering, but Jesus 
 determined that all should hear His reply, in which He 
 asserted His Messiasship. " Jesus therefore cried out in the 
 Temple, teaching and saying : You both know Me, and you 
 know whence I am, and I am not come of Myself, but He 
 that sent Me is true, whom you know not. I know Him, 
 because I am from Him and He hath sent Me." This plain 
 assertion of His claims was understood, since St. John adds : 
 " They sought therefore to apprehend Him ;" and one effect 
 of His words was to win over some who had previously 
 wavered in their opinions, for " many of the people believed 
 in Him, and said : When the Christ cometh, shall He do more 
 miracles than these which this man doeth ?" 
 
 More enraged than ever at the plain words of Jesus and 
 their effect on the people, the rulers and Pharisees, on the 
 report of their spies, decide that the time has come for them 
 to act. Therefore, when they " heard the people murmuring 
 these things concerning Him " (for these people dared not 
 express their views openly), " the rulers and Pharisees sent 
 ministers to apprehend Him." It does not seem probable 
 that the Temple guards actually presented themselves, but 
 that they had received orders to arrest our Lord on the first 
 plausible occasion. Jesus knew their plots, and we may con- 
 jecture that, noting the spies who watched His movements 
 and the believing disciples who followed their Master, actuated 
 by love and 103/alty, He addressed them collectively, and told 
 them that His time with them was nearly fulfilled. " Yet a 
 little while, I am with you, and then I go to Him that sent Me. 
 You shall seek Me and shall not find Me, and where I am, 
 thither you cannot come." Jesus referred to these words 
 later, when He addressed them exclusively to the Apostles 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 157 
 
 at the Last Supper : " Little children, yet a little while 
 I am with you. You shall seek Me, and as I said to 
 the Jews, whither I go you cannot come, so I say to 
 you now."* 
 
 These words contain an implied exhortation to all — Jews, 
 Pharisees, multitudes, and disciples — to profit by Christ's 
 teaching while He was with them. He was about to return 
 to His Father, and even His faithful disciples would be 
 separated from Him, until death released them from the 
 servitude of the body ; they would ** follow hereafter." Once 
 more, Jesus' words are misunderstood, for the Jews said 
 among themselves : " Whither will He go, that we shall not 
 find Him ? Will He go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, 
 and teach the Gentiles ?" Those who uttered these words 
 evidently meant them as a hostile attack, for no Jew could 
 conceive that the Messias would deign to enter the Gentile 
 lands and preach to them. In their minds, these very acts 
 would prove that He was not the Messias of Israel. What 
 they thought so improbable actually did happen, when, in 
 the person of His Apostles, Christ's teaching was offered both 
 to the Jews of the Dispersion and, on their rejecting it, to the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 The assembly in the Temple broke up, and we may conclude 
 that Jesus and His Apostles found hospitality in Bethania, 
 in the house of Martha and Mary. As they pass through the 
 Gate of the Tribes (St. Stephen's Gate), and along the slopes 
 of the Mount of Olives, the disciples talk over the events of 
 the day with their Master. What lessons had they learned, 
 and what lessons may we learn, from this Gospel scene ? 
 We will choose three out of many others. First, we get a deep 
 insight into Jesus' tender love and burning zeal for the souls 
 of men. In His journey through Perea He heals all w^ho are 
 brought to Him, and those who come asking to be cured. 
 That all might profit by His brief passage through this dis- 
 trict. He sent out His disciples to tell the inhabitants that the 
 Messias would shortly be passing through their midst. In the 
 Temple, in the earnestness of His zeal, He cries out His message 
 to men, that all may hear. At Bethania, as on the journey 
 
 * St. John xiii. 
 
158 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 through Perea, Jesus is indefatigable in preaching the Word 
 of God. 
 
 Secondly, Jesus, having " set His face steadfastly to go to 
 Jerusalem," perseveres in His purpose. He proclaims un- 
 flinchingly His Divine Mission and His relation to the Eternal 
 Father, although He well knows that, by so doing, His 
 enemies will be more embittered than ever against Him. 
 Hereby He teaches us to persevere in the path of duty, 
 knowing that, when we are doing God's Will, the responsibility 
 of the consequence is not ours, but His. 
 
 Thirdly, from the words of Jesus in the Temple, and from 
 the contradictory results which followed, we learn that a 
 certain docility is a necessary condition of hearing God's 
 Word with fruit to our souls. The gift of faith, of spiritual 
 insight into the paths of holiness and Christian perfection, 
 is only granted " to men of good will." If the attitude of 
 the soul be that of Isaias the Prophet, who, when he " heard 
 the voice of the Lord, saying. Whom shall I send ?" replied 
 instantly, " Lo, here am I, send me,"* that soul shall assuredly 
 " know of the doctrine." It was the frame of mind in which 
 the child Samuel said to God : *' Speak, Lord, for Thy servant 
 heareth."f Finally, it was the disposition of Saul, the perse- 
 cutor, when struck down on the road to Damascus ; " trembling 
 and astonished," he said : " Lord, what wilt Thou have me 
 to do ?"t 
 
 All these examples may serve as illustrations of our Lord's 
 words : " If any man will do the will of Him [i.e., God], he 
 shall know of the doctrine." Let us ask ourselves if we have 
 this good will. It can be had for the asking, since St. Paul 
 tells us that it is God who works in us, " hoth to will and to 
 accomplish, according to his good will.'' Therefore, with con- 
 fidence in the Divine assistance, we can say with all earnest- 
 ness of purpose : " Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever 
 Thou goest." Walking thus in the footsteps of our Saviour, 
 we " shall know of the doctrine," for He has said : " He that 
 followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the 
 light of life. "§ 
 
 * Isa. vi. I I Kings iii. J Acts ix, § St. John viii. 
 
JESUS TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE 159 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate Jesus and His chosen band 
 at the moment when He shows Himself to the multitudes in 
 the midst of the feast. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to desire earnestly to 
 know the Will of God, in order that you may accomplish it 
 faithfully. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus passes through Perea, healing and 
 teaching as He goes. He retires to Bethania. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The Feast of Tabernacles : its origin, cere- 
 monies, and signification. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus teaches in the Temple. His words 
 have different effects, according to the dispositions of the 
 individuals. We may learn from this Gospel scene to know 
 our Lord's love better, to imitate in our measure His courage, 
 to have a sincere good will to follow Christ. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank Jesus for the precious lessons He deigns 
 to teach you. Ask that you, too, as far as it lies in you, may 
 pass your life in doing good, and in spreading the knowledge 
 of the truths of the Gospel. Ask that you may daily learn 
 to know Christ better, that you may follow Him more closely. 
 Pray for courage in face of difficulties. Pray for those who 
 grieve our Lord by their want of generosity. Beg pardon for 
 past tepidity and ask for the grace of fervour. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 OUR LORD'S DISCOURSE IN THE TEMPLE ON THE LAST DAY 
 OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 
 
 St. John vii. 37-53. 
 
 Special rites characterized the seventh day of the Feast of 
 Tabernacles. Each preceding day, before the sacrifices were 
 kindled, the priests walked in procession once round the 
 altar ; on the seventh day they walked round it seven times, 
 while the voices of the Levites and of the worshippers were 
 
i6o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 heard singing the 8ist Psalm to the accompaniment of 
 flutes, cymbals, harps, and trumpets. This ceremony had 
 reference to the taking of Jericho, and the Psalm chanted 
 alludes to the day when all the nations shall do homage to 
 Jehovah. (Cf. " Arise, O God, judge Thou the earth, for 
 Thou shalt inherit among the nations.") For the last time 
 the lulabhs were carried, and as the worshippers left the 
 Temple they shook off all the leaves of the willow and myrtle 
 branches, and beat the palm branches to pieces by striking 
 them against the altar. Jesus and His Apostles were present 
 at this ceremony, and took part in it, for the seventh day 
 of the feast was kept as a Sabbath, and the concourse of pil- 
 grims was unusually great. 
 
 The booths were all removed in the afternoon on the seventh 
 day ; but the feast had a complement, an eighth day or 
 octave was added, which was regarded as a special feast in 
 itself. It, too, was kept as a Sabbath. On this day no 
 water from the Pool of Siloam was poured out of the golden 
 pitcher into the altar funnel ; on the whole, although a joyful 
 tone dominated the services of this eighth day, the ceremonial 
 was less imposing than those of the first and seventh day of 
 the feast, less festive than even the minor days of this week 
 of joyous celebrations. 
 
 Opinions are divided as to whether the expression " the 
 last and great day of the festivity " refers to the seventh or 
 the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The more 
 generally received opinion is that we are to understand the 
 eighth day. Jerusalem was still thronged with pilgrims, 
 and when the Temple services were over, and before the 
 multitudes had dispersed, we may picture our Lord, as He 
 "stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come 
 to Me and drink. He that believeth in Me, as the Scripture 
 saith : Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 
 
 St. John calls attention to our Lord's earnest, solemn 
 words, to the majesty and energy of His demeanour. He 
 had a blessed invitation to make, and He willed that all 
 should hear it. His voice resounded throughout the vast 
 cloisters, and all eyes were riveted on His Divine Person. 
 The " day of the great Hosannas," the seventh day, had just 
 
JESUS, THE SOURCE OF LIVING WATER i6i 
 
 passed. The thoughts of all the Jews present in that Temple 
 were steeped in the peculiar rites of the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 They knew that the outpouring of the water was symbolical 
 of the outpouring of the Spirit on all true servants of God. 
 The words sung by the priests and Levites as the water was 
 poured into the funnel, by the side of the altar, were still 
 ringing in their ears : " You shall draw waters with joy out 
 of the Saviour's fountains."* Precisely on this day, so 
 opportune, when the libation of water was no longer made^ 
 Jesus " stood and cried " in the Temple. He made known 
 His claim ; He was the Saviour who alone could give the 
 living water. This blessed gift was to flow as rivers from 
 Him to all who thirst, and they in their turn were to be the 
 means of blessing others by spreading the knowledge of that 
 heavenly gift. It was a free gift, offered to all who thirsted 
 for it. The comparison is taken from the human need so 
 often acutely experienced in Palestine. Travellers and 
 animals hasten their steps to reach the wells and springs^ 
 for thirst is one of the greatest torments of the desert. 
 
 The Sacred Scriptures abound in passages, in which the 
 metaphor of thirst is applied to the deep, instinctive longing 
 of the human soul for God. " As the hart panteth after the 
 fountains of water, so my soul panteth after Thee, O God. 
 My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God."f ''All 
 you that thirst come to the waters. "{ "Thus saith the 
 Lord ... I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground. . . . 
 I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed."§ These passages 
 were all familiar to Christ's hearers ; they had read, too, of 
 the vision of Ezechiel, in which the mighty river flowed 
 from the altar of the Temple, and carried with it food and 
 healing for all nations. 
 
 The manifold operations of the Spirit are fittingly repre- 
 sented by water, since, without it, the earth cannot bring 
 forth her fruits, nor can the life of man be sustained when 
 water fails. Jesus had spoken of this " living water " to 
 the woman of Samaria : ' * The water that I will give . . . shall 
 become ... a fountain of water, springing up into life ever- 
 lasting." The water taken from the Pool of Siloam typified 
 
 * Isa. xii. t Ps. xli. J Isa. Iv. § Ibid., xliv. 
 
 II 
 
i62 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 that which God supphed to the Israehtes when Moses, having 
 struck the rock, water gushed forth, and St. Paul speaking 
 of that miracle says : " That rock was Christ." No prophet, 
 not even Moses, could have made such a promise as that made 
 by Christ, when He claimed to be the source of *' living 
 waters." 
 
 The Evangelist himself explains our Lord's words. He 
 adds : " Now this He said of the Spirit, which they should 
 receive who believed in Him, for as yet the Spirit was not 
 given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." " The Spirit 
 was not yet given " — i.e., as St. Thomas Aquinas and other 
 commentators explain, the Spirit was not yet given in all 
 His fulness, with the plenitude of His gifts, as He was given 
 after the Ascension of our Lord, when He descended on the 
 Apostles and disciples in the visible forms of tongues of fire. 
 The Holy Spirit, indeed, was given to the Saints of the Old 
 Testament, but He was not communicated to them so uni- 
 versally nor so abundantly as He was to the Christian Church 
 on and after the Day of Pentecost. One condition only is 
 laid down : " If any man thirst." Once more, in other words, 
 we have the promise, '* If any man will do the will of Him, 
 he shall know of the doctrine." Jesus gives these living 
 waters to those who desire them, who thirst for spiritual 
 gifts — in a word, for an iticreased knowledge of God and a 
 deeper union with Him. 
 
 The thirst of the human soul for God ! Who can describe 
 its intensity ? Our souls are created for Him, and by Him 
 alone can they be satisfied. Here on earth, glittering 
 baubles take off our attention from God, and the world pre- 
 sents its poisoned goblets, which men quaff eagerly ; but in 
 the realms of Purgatory, where the disembodied spirits are 
 being purified, what must be their thirst for the living God ? 
 During this life, we cannot realize how great their thirst must 
 be, nor can we attain to their intense desire to possess God, but 
 we can, in varying degrees, " hunger and thirst after justice," 
 and blessed, indeed, are they whose desires are keenest, for 
 to them the greatest fulness of joy is reserved. 
 
 The Holy Spirit is promised to those who believe in Christ 
 — that is, to those who to faith add good works, which are 
 
JESUS, THE SOURCE OF LIVING WATER 163 
 
 the fruits of the three theological virtues. To him who 
 hath, more is given ; but every gift, the initial and the final 
 alike, comes from God. None can believe unto salvation, 
 unless he receive that faith from God. 
 
 What effect had our Lord's words on this solemn occasion ? 
 St. John answers the question. First he tells us how they 
 affected the multitude : " There arose a dissension among 
 the people because of Him." Some of those who heard these 
 words were willing to accept Him as " the Prophet," others 
 as " the Christ." By " the Prophet " some understood the 
 one who should come as the Precursor of the Messias ; others 
 identified " the Prophet " with the Messias. Moses had 
 promised of old to the Israelites : " The Lord thy God will 
 raise up to thee a Prophet of thy nation and of thy brethren 
 like unto me ; Him thou shalt hear."* This passage was 
 evidently in the minds of the multitude, who dissented 
 among themselves concerning our Lord. Moses clearly re- 
 ferred to our Lord, though there are references elsewhere in 
 the Old Testament to a prophet, who should precede the 
 Messias " in the spirit and power of Elias." 
 
 Jesus was once more " a sign of contradiction." The 
 assertion of His Messianic claims had brought about a dissen- 
 sion — literally, " a tearing " or " rending " (from the Greek 
 noun, which we translate " schism "). Some were favourably 
 disposed towards Christ, others prepared to aid the Temple 
 guards in arresting Him. These guards or " ministers " 
 {i.e., servants of the Temple) had received orders, some three 
 or four days previously, to arrest Jesus, but, so far, they do 
 not appear to have attempted to execute these commands 
 of the Pharisees and rulers. We may be certain that they 
 shadowed Him, and duly reported to their chiefs all that 
 happened. They mingled with the crowds and observed all. 
 In relating the visits of Jesus to the Temple on the Feast of 
 Tabernacles, St. John refers three times to the rulers' desire 
 to kill Him (see verses i, 20, 25), and four times to their 
 efforts or desires to apprehend Him (see verses 30, 43, 44). 
 As regards those who rejected Christ, we find they based their 
 rejection on two errors : they concluded that He was not of 
 
 * Deut. xviii. 
 
i64 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the seed of David, and that He was not born in Bethlehem. 
 Yet a question addressed to Christ, an examination of the 
 registers of Bethlehem, would have removed these difficulties. 
 The truth was, they did not wish to investigate our Lord's 
 claims ; they did not desire to have to own Him as their 
 Messias. The Galilean Prophet, who knew " no letters, 
 having never learned " in the Rabbinical and Pharisaical 
 schools of casuistry, was not acceptable to them. Their 
 prejudices and their pride prevented them from receiving 
 Him — " His own received Him not." How often in the lapse 
 of ages has Christ's doctrine been a cause of schism ! Men 
 study this Divine doctrine with erroneous preconceptions ; 
 they come to the Church of Christ, not to find the truth, but 
 to obtain the corroboration of what their judgment and reason 
 are prepared to accept. 
 
 So great was the dissension that "some of them" — i.e., 
 of the multitudes — " would have apprehended Him, but no 
 man dare lay hands upon Him." His majestic Personality, 
 His Divine eloquence, subdued them, and forced even His 
 enemies to confess : " Never did man speak like this man." 
 If, when St. Stephen set forth the claims of His Divine 
 Master, " all that sat in the council looking upon him saw his 
 face, as if it had been the face of an angel,"* what must have 
 been the transcendent beauty of our Lord's features on this 
 occasion ? Until He so willed it, no man could lay hands upon 
 Him, and when, in the Garden of Gethsemani, Jesus per- 
 mitted the soldiers to arrest Him because His hour was com^e, 
 His majesty so overawed " the band of soldiers and servants 
 from the chief priests and Pharisees " that, when in answer 
 to their question, He replied, " I am He," " they went back- 
 ward and fell to the ground." f It was thus that He showed 
 those sent to take Him, that He delivered Himself up to them 
 of His own free-will. It was not until He had so signally 
 manifested His power that the soldiers " laid hands on Him 
 and held Him."t Countless generations of men in all ages 
 and lands have, by their acceptation of Christianity, verified 
 the words of Christ's enemies. Never did any human being, 
 never can any human being, speak like the Man, Christ Jesus. 
 * Acts vi. f St, John xviii. % St. Mark xiv. 
 
JESUS, THE SOURCE OF LIVING WATER 165 
 
 No other doctrine can satisfy the souls of men, and as CathoHcs 
 the cry of our souls is : " Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou 
 hast the words of eternal life." 
 
 Secondly, St. John relates how our Lord's words in the 
 Temple a^ected the rulers and Pharisees. They were more 
 enraged than ever. As the recognized leaders of Israel, 
 their position was becoming more and more critical, for 
 thousands of the Jews were ready to accept Christ as the 
 Messias, and were only prevented from so doing by fear of 
 the chief priests and head Pharisees. Therefore, although 
 it was a solemn day of rest, the chief priest and his colleagues 
 deemed it justifiable to convene a meeting of the Sanhedrin 
 in the Gazith, a hall within the Temple Court. There they 
 awaited the arrival of the Temple guards, whom they had 
 sent to apprehend Jesus. They waited and beguiled the time 
 by discussing the situation, and the developments of the 
 last four days. Presently the tramp of the guards was heard. 
 With eager expectancy the authorities prepared to receive 
 the Divine Prisoner ; but He was not in the company of the 
 guards, and, balked of their prey, the rulers of Israel ex- 
 claimed angrily : " Why have you not brought Him ?" The 
 answer must have been unexpected : " Never did man speak 
 like this man.'' Jesus had not miraculously disappeared ; 
 the multitudes had not interfered to prevent Him from being 
 arrested. The guards had to confess the truth, and we can 
 now realize better how the acknowledgment must have 
 compromised them ; they had been too impressed to venture 
 to lay hands upon Him ; His eloquence had captivated them. 
 
 Great as was the wrath of the members of the Sanhedrin 
 before, it was greater now. What ! Their very officers have 
 been subdued by the deceits of the Galilean ; the seducer of 
 the people has won them over ! Hence their reply : " Are 
 you also seduced ?" Then they go on to appeal to the 
 example of their own incredulity : " Hath anyone of the 
 rulers believed in Him, or of the Pharisees ?" Yet while 
 these rulers and Pharisees, who were so learned in the Law, 
 priding themselves on their wisdom and prudence, proclaimed 
 those " accursed " who believed in Jesus, they were in reality 
 blinded by their prejudices, hypocrisy, ambition, and for- 
 
i66 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 malism. For them, the letter of the Law interpreted Hterally 
 was everything ; the spirit of the Law was nothing. Those 
 " people of the earth," the illiterate, whom they despised, 
 far from being accursed, were blessed by God with faith unto 
 salvation. 
 
 But among the members of the Sanhedrin there was one 
 who had come " to Jesus by night," some two years pre- 
 viously, and who was a secret disciple of Christ. Less timid 
 than then, but still fearful of expressing his own belief, 
 Nicodemus ventured to make a feeble protest. He said to 
 them : " Doth our Law judge any man, unless it first hear 
 him and know what he doth ?" The rulers knew well the 
 laws for judges, the principles which God would have them 
 follow were clearly defined : " Thou shalt not receive the 
 voice of a lie. . . . Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do 
 evil, neither shalt thou yield in judgment to the opinion of 
 the most part, to stray from the truth. The innocent and 
 the just person thou shalt not put to death."* 
 
 These leaders of Israel, nevertheless, without having 
 examined the facts, "sought to kill Jesus," and their inten- 
 tions were so well known, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 at the Feast of Tabernacles, were asking one another, " Is 
 not this He, whom they seek to kill ?" The very first prin- 
 ciple of justice — that of fair inquiry — has been passed over 
 by the Sanhedrin, and they have determined the death of 
 the Innocent and the Just Man. 
 
 There were rules, too, bj^ which any claim to prophetic 
 powers were to be tested. Moses had laid them down very 
 clearly. After exhorting the people, in the Name of God, 
 to hear the true prophets and to reject the false ones, Moses 
 continues : " If in silent thought thou answer : How shall I 
 know that which the Lord hath not spoken ? Thou shalt 
 have this sign : Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth 
 in the name of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass, that thing 
 the Lord hath not spoken."! 
 
 Manifestly the converse obtained : If the prophecy came 
 to pass, then that prophet who uttered it was sent from 
 God. Had the rulers of Israel judged our Lord's words by 
 * Exod. xxiii. f Deut. xviii. 
 
JESUS, THE SOURCE OF LIVING WATER 167 
 
 this standard, how easily they could have been convinced 
 of the truth of His assertions ! It was prophesied of the 
 Messias that He should spring from the seed of David, be 
 born in Bethlehem, visit Egypt, heal the sick, and give sight 
 to the blind. A little examination would have revealed that 
 all these conditions were fulfilled in Jesus. 
 
 Blinded by hatred and prejudices, these judges answer 
 the just remonstrance of their colleague with scorn and 
 contempt : " Art thou also a Galilean ?" Nicodemus' cautious 
 objection has brought down an attack upon himself. Is 
 he a Galilean that he has the honour of Jesus of Nazareth 
 so much at heart ? Then they repeat the objection put 
 forth by the " accursed " people : " Search the Scriptures, 
 and see that out of Galilee a prophet ariseth not." At least 
 one prophet, Jonas, had come forth from Galilee ; moreover, 
 their answer to Nicodemus begged the question, since his 
 point was that to condemn a man unheard was contrary to 
 the Mosaic Law, and this question the Sanhedrin leave 
 unanswered. 
 
 Nicodemus' intervention had at least one good effect : it 
 averted all immediate danger from our Lord. The assembly 
 of the Sanhedrin was broken up, and no fresh plots were 
 made to seize Jesus. It was not yet His hour, though that 
 w^as fast approaching, and therefore their stratagems and 
 plans were fruitless. 
 
 The octave of the Feast of Tabernacles is over, the days of 
 rejoicing have come to an end, the pilgrims leave the Holy 
 City, " every man returned to his own house." Jesus and 
 His disciples owned no dwelling, but Lazarus and his sisters 
 were always ready to receive them, and as we are told that 
 " Jesus went unto Mount Olivet," we may conjecture that 
 He retired, as was His custom, to the hospitable shelter in 
 Bethania, or to a dwelling on the Mount of Olives, since we 
 learn from St. Luke that when Jesus was in Jerusalem, " in 
 the day-time He was teaching in the Temple, but at night 
 going out, He abode in the mount that is called Olivet."* 
 
 * St. Luke xxi. 
 
i68 LOOKING ON JESUSj THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord as He " stood and 
 cried " in the Temple " on the last and great day of the feast." 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may have an unquenchable 
 thirst for the " living waters " of truth, and of union with God. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is the source of living water. He 
 gives it freely to all who thirst. Those who receive these 
 living waters are to be, in their turn, the means of distributing 
 these waters. 
 
 Second Point.- — The effect of Christ's words on the multi- 
 tude. They cause a dissension ; some believe, others reject. 
 The guards dare not apprehend Jesus ; they are awed by His 
 eloquence. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The effect of Christ's words on the rulers 
 when they hear of them is twofold : (i) His discourse arouses 
 more vehemently their anger and opposition ; (2) it brings 
 forth a remonstrance from Nicodemus, a secret disciple. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our Lord as He stands in the Temple. 
 Ask Him to bestow on you these living waters. Pray that 
 you may profit by the various means of spreading the true 
 Faith. Ask that you may always receive our Lord's words 
 in a good and true heart ; that by the eloquence of His voice 
 within you He may subdue your passions, which are so prone 
 to revolt. Pray for courage to stand up for Christ. Pray, 
 too, for Christ's secret disciples, for those who lack the courage 
 to enter the Church. Beg that you may never be blinded 
 by prejudice and ambition. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 
 St. John viii. 
 
 " Early in the morning " after the Feast of Tabernacles, 
 Jesus came " again into the Temple." Possibly He was 
 present at the ordinary morning sacrifice. ** All the people " 
 
A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 169 
 
 were gathered there, and in all probability these multitudes 
 included the inhabitants of Jerusalem and numerous pilgrims 
 who had not left the city after sunset on the preceding day 
 of Sabbath rest. Those who returned in caravans did not 
 leave Jerusalem on the octave of the feast, as so much prepara- 
 tion was required, which could not be made on a Sabbath 
 or " day of holy convocation." 
 
 The people having assembled in the most frequented part 
 of the Temple — the Women's Court — Jesus, taking the usual 
 position of a teacher, sat down on a low seat and " taught 
 them." In the midst of His discourse there was an inter- 
 ruption. It was caused by the enemies of Christ, who, 
 having again plotted, again " came tempting Him, that they 
 might accuse Him." This time they did not come alone. 
 The scribes and Pharisees brought " unto Him a woman 
 taken in adultery." What a cruel action ! The woman 
 had disgraced herself, and these scribes and Pharisees force 
 her to enter the Temple court ; they drag her into the presence 
 of Jesus, and expose her to the ridicule and scorn of the 
 people. To any woman this would have been a terrible 
 humiliation, but to an Oriental woman it was the acme of 
 shame and degradation to be exposed thus to the gaze of 
 the multitude. It was also an insult to our Lord, whom 
 so many of the people respected as the great Prophet of 
 Galilee. 
 
 These scribes and Pharisees could not have been deputed 
 by the Sanhedrin to submit this case to our Lord's judgment, 
 which the members would not have deigned to ask or accept. 
 They were evidently acting of their own accord, and hoped to 
 obtain from our Lord some words or deeds, which might 
 serve as a ground of accusation, and, possibly, further their 
 own interests with the members of the Sanhedrin. Could 
 they obtain proofs of wrong-doing on the part of Christ, and 
 so justify the rulers in arresting Him, they would doubtless 
 receive praise and perhaps promotion for their zeal. 
 
 Having brought the woman before Jesus, they proceeded 
 to charge her, and to ask our Lord's opinion : " Master, this 
 woman was even now taken in adultery. Now Moses, in 
 the law, commanded us to stone such a one ; but what 
 
170 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 sayest Thou ?" Examine the words of these hypocrites. 
 They professed great zeal for the Law and morals, while they 
 themselves sinned against both ; they saluted Christ as 
 " Master/' while they were seeking to ensnare Him in His 
 words. They pretended to be in doubt, when, in reality, 
 they were not ; for the woman's guilt was certain, and it was 
 equally certain that the Law, which enjoined that, if a be- 
 trothed virgin sinned against chastity, she should be stoned, 
 had long since become a dead-letter. Even if a Jewish 
 tribunal had passed sentence of death, the Roman judges 
 would not have sanctioned its execution. In truth, their 
 pretended difficulty was but a cruel, cunning device, worthy 
 of its authors, to bring our Lord into disrepute with the 
 people, and to have an occasion to accuse Him of breaking 
 or speaking against the Law of Moses. 
 
 Jesus had heard their question, but He answered not a 
 word. " Bowing Himself down," He " wrote with His 
 finger on the ground." It was an action by which He ex- 
 pressed that He did not wish to have anything to do with 
 the matter, and to Orientals the movement was expressive 
 and familiar enough. But, seeing this, the woman's accusers 
 became more urgent in pressing their question : " When 
 therefore they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, 
 and said to them : He that is without sin among you, let 
 him cast the first stone at her." Then, " again stooping down. 
 He wrote on the ground." 
 
 How marvellously this vivid description of the scene in 
 that Temple cloister brings into relief the perfections of Christ ! 
 He shows His supernatural knowledge of their thoughts, 
 evil motives, and hidden sins. Truly *' Jesus knew their 
 thoughts," and in their shame and confusion at being brought 
 themselves before a higher tribunal than an earthly one — 
 that of God and their own conscience — these men shrink 
 away one by one, each anxious to escape from the humiliating 
 position in which his hypocritical action has placed him. 
 " They, hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the 
 eldest." He, to whom all hearts are known, saw that these 
 men, who made such professions of zeal and holiness, were 
 themselves law-breakers and hypocrites. 
 
A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 171 
 
 Notice, too, how wisely Jesus acted. It seemed as though, 
 whichever way He decided, His enemies would find matter 
 of accusation, but they had not counted with the unerring 
 Divine wisdom of Christ. As it happened on a later occasion, 
 we may feel sure that as Jesus did and " said these things, all 
 His adversaries were ashamed, and all the people rejoiced 
 for all the things that were gloriously done by Him."* 
 
 How mercifully He deals with the sinful woman ! She 
 stands there before Jesus. " Misery and Mercy remain face 
 to face ;" the scribes and Pharisees, self-convicted, have 
 silently retired ; the people watch in silence to see the de- 
 nouement of this impressive scene. The Evangelist thus 
 relates it : " Jesus remained alone, and the woman standing 
 in the midst. Then Jesus, lifting up Himself, said to her : 
 Woman, where are they that accused thee ? Hath no man 
 condemned thee ?" This was the second time our Lord had 
 spoken. His first words were for the self-righteous accusers ; 
 His second, for the poor sinful woman. Jesus then said : 
 "Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more." He 
 does not question her further ; He admits that she has sinned, 
 but He speaks gracious words of pardon ; He absolves her, 
 and bids her lead a new and better life henceforth. 
 
 From this touching incident we may learn one precious 
 lesson — viz., the judgments of Jesus are infinitely more merci- 
 ful than those of men. Where they see no palliating excuse. 
 His Omniscience finds motives for clemency in the offenders' 
 frailty, their ignorance, their upbringing, their environment, 
 and the force of the temptation. It is better to fall into the 
 hands of God than of men. Let us remember this when 
 men, misinterpreting our words and deeds, judge us hastily. 
 Above all, let us bear this example in mind when we are 
 tempted to sit in judgment upon our fellows. If their Master 
 deals mercifully with them, who are we that we should con- 
 demn them ? This thought should " give us pause " when 
 we are on the point of throwing the stone at some erring 
 human being, since we serve Him who will "have mercy 
 rather than judgment." 
 
 Apparently, Jesus now continued the discourse which had 
 
 * St. Luke xiii. 
 
172 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 been interrupted by the arrival of the scribes and Pharisees, 
 who presented the woman to Him. " Again, therefore, 
 Jesus spoke to them, saying : I am the hght of the world ; 
 he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall 
 have the light of life." We have evidently here another 
 allusion to one of the ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 Jesus had proclaimed Himself to be the source of living 
 waters, the One in whom the rites of the joyful seven days' 
 feast found their accomplishment. Now He applies to 
 Himself one of the typical miracles worked for the Israelites 
 in the wilderness, when they were led by a fiery pillar during 
 the night hours. As the Jews commemorated the miracle 
 of the water supplied to them miraculously from the rock, 
 by the libation of the water from the Pool of Siloam 
 during the seven days of the feast, so they had special 
 rejoicings in memory of the pillar of fire, which had led 
 their forefathers during their forty years' wandering in the 
 desert. 
 
 This ceremony took place in the Women's Court in the 
 Temple, on the evening of the first day of the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles, in that same Court in which our Lord was then in- 
 structing the people. Jesus had certainly been present on 
 other occasions at this festive assembly, although, at this 
 particular feast, He did not come to the Temple until the 
 feast days were half over. Its essential feature was the 
 lighting of the four golden candelabra, each containing a 
 golden bowl which held a large quantity of oil (120 logs — 
 i.e., about 30 gallons). These oil-lamps stood so high that 
 the four youths (the sons of priests), who were charged to 
 fill the golden bowls simultaneously, had to mount up on 
 ladders to perform their task when the signal was given. 
 The lighting up of these four lamps, which could be seen 
 from all parts of the city, was a sign to the inhabitants to 
 light up the various illuminations which had been prepared 
 in their dwellings and on the mountain tops around. The 
 whole city was a blaze of light. The men, holding lighted 
 torches, danced before the people and sang hymns and psalms. 
 The Levites stood ranged upon the lifteen steps which 
 separated the Court of Israel from that of the Women. Two 
 
A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 173 
 
 priests stood at the top of this flight of steps — i.e., by the 
 Nicanor Gate. At the time of the first cock-crowing, they 
 sounded their trumpets three times ; descending to the tenth 
 step they did Hkewise, and then, still blowing their trumpets, 
 these two priests went as far as the Eastern or Beautiful Gate, 
 which stood between the Women's Court and the Chel (a 
 boundary Court). On reaching this spot they turned towards 
 the west, so as to face the House of the Lord, and said : 
 " Our fathers, who were in this place, they turned their backs 
 upon the Sanctuary of Jehovah, and their faces towards the 
 east, and they worshipped the rising sun ; but, as for us, 
 our eyes are towards the Lord." 
 
 Such was the festival ceremony of the universal illumina- 
 tion. It typified the fiery column, and was also a symbol 
 of the Shechinah which, at the Dedication of Solomon's 
 Temple, had enveloped and so terrified the worshippers that 
 the priests were unable " to stand to minister before the 
 Lord." It was also symbolical of the Messianic Age, of 
 which Isaias spoke when He said : " The people that walked 
 in darkness have seen a great light ; to them that dwelt in 
 the region of death, light is risen."* 
 
 Jesus is indeed the " Light of the World ;" in Him, too, 
 was life and '* the life was the light of men." Constantly 
 we find the metaphor of hght used to describe the effects of 
 the knowledge of the truth, while error is typified by dark- 
 ness. Jesus discoursing in the Temple, shone on the darkness 
 of incredulity and sin, and " the darkness comprehended it 
 not." He was indeed " the true Light," but " the world knew 
 Him not ;" " His own received Him not." Most fittingly 
 as regards time and place then did Jesus proclaim Himself 
 to His people as " the Light of the World," and His words 
 were understood by those who were accustomed to speak of 
 the King Messias, the coming One, as He who would be " a 
 light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of His 
 people Israel." We will examine very briefly the discourse 
 of our Lord, that we may gather up for our souls a few 
 precious lessons. 
 
 First, however, we notice that it was uttered " in the 
 
 * Isa. ix. 
 
174 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Treasury," which stood near the Women's Court, where Jesus 
 had sat teaching " early in the morning," for St. John says : 
 " These words Jesus spoke in the Treasury in the Temple, 
 and no man laid hands on him, because His hour was not 
 yet come." A passage in Dr. Edersheim's " Life and Times of 
 Jesus the Messiah " throws a light on these words of St. 
 John. " The narrative transports us into " the Treasury " 
 where *' the Pharisees " — or leaders — would alone venture to 
 speak. It ought to be specially marked that if they laid 
 not hands on Jesus when He dared to teach in this sacred 
 locality, and that such unwelcome doctrine, His immunity 
 must be ascribed to the higher appointments of God, because 
 His hour had not yet come."* 
 
 The discourse, however, was not ended in the Treasury, 
 but in one of the Temple Courts near the exits. This seems 
 clear, from the last verse, in which we are told that the Jews 
 " took up stones " to cast at Him, but " He hid Himself and 
 went out of the Temple." No stones would have been at 
 hand in the Treasury, whereas some of the Porches not yet 
 being completed, stones could easily have been procured in 
 the outer Courts, and also Jesus would more easily have 
 escaped observation, quickly passing among the crowds of 
 people who were leaving the Temple. 
 
 The one great subject of the discourse pronounced by 
 Jesus on this day — the one when the first act of violence on 
 the part of the Pharisees and in the Temple is recorded — 
 was His Messianic claim and His Divine origin. As the time 
 of the Crucifixion drew nearer, Jesus spoke more and more 
 explicitly on this point. His enemies frequently interrupted 
 Him. He answered each objection ; but again returned to 
 the same subject. Take the subjoined passages as proofs of 
 this statement : " I am not alone, but I and the Father that 
 sent me " (verse i6). "I am from above. ... I am not of 
 this world " (verse 23). "I am He " (verse 24) (which in the 
 Aramean tongue is equivalent to " I am the Messias "). " You 
 shall know that / am He" (verse 28). "The Son abideth 
 for ever " (verse 36). " From God I proceeded and came " 
 (verse 42). " Before Abraham was made, I am " (verse 58). 
 
 * Vol. ii., chap, viii., p. 165. 
 
A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 175 
 
 Jesus spoke, too, of his death, and in such a way as to 
 show them that it was to come through their instrumentaUty : 
 "When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then you 
 shall know that I am He." St. Luke records the fulfilment 
 of this Divine promise, when he relates the conversions of the 
 Jews, which followed the descent of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 If there was greater development in the setting forth of 
 our Lord's claims, there was also a marked increase of Jewish 
 hatred and intolerance. Continually they interrupted our 
 Lord during His discourse with their captious objections, 
 and their legal quibbles. His words were hidden from them, 
 because pride and sin held possession of their hearts. They 
 understood perfectly what Jesus was endeavouring to teach 
 them, otherwise they would not have taken up stones to cast 
 at Him, for this was a mode of death meted out to blas- 
 phemers. Their jealousy and hatred prevented their giving 
 Him a fair hearing. They could not hear Christ's words 
 aright because they were " not of God." How constantly 
 Jesus lays down the all-important truth that spiritual recep- 
 tiveness is a gift of God ; without His preventing gift of 
 faith none can accept the truths of the Gospel. The human 
 intellect, unaided by grace, unenhghtened by God, can never 
 suffice to lead men to salvation. As the Jews of old rejected 
 the teaching of Christ, through pride, prejudice, and hatred^ 
 so there are thousands in our days who reject the doctrines 
 of the Catholic Church, which teach what her Master 
 taught. 
 
 If, to those who were evilly disposed, Christ's words were 
 an incentive to deeper antagonism and open violence, there 
 were, on the other hand, " many " who believed in Him 
 when " He spoke these words " in the Temple. Turning to 
 these " many " who, at least, were won over for the time being, 
 Jesus addressed a word of warning and of consolation to them : 
 " If you continue in My word, you shall be My disciples 
 indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
 make you free." We may take these blessed words for our 
 instruction, since we do sincerely desire to be His " disciples 
 indeed." How much this means ! Surely it connotes being 
 His disciples in very deed — striving to live up to our Faith, 
 
176 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 to the teachings of our Holy Mother the Church. The Saints 
 were His disciples indeed, consequently they knew the truth ; 
 they gauged the things of earth aright, they counted them as 
 nought that they might win Christ. Wef are called to walk 
 in their footsteps, therefore let us pause and ask ourselves if 
 the truth indeed makes us free, or whether by any one created 
 thing or sinful affection we are held in bondage. Does the 
 world's opinion — does pride or prejudice enslave us ? If 
 so, earnest prayer and effort will secure our freedom, and with 
 the Psalmist we shall be able to say : "0 Lord, I am Thy 
 servant. . . . Thou hast broken my bonds."* 
 
 Jesus, having given His public testimony, and rebuked the 
 wilful blindness of His enemies, their exasperation reached a 
 climax. The day had been a series of defeats for them. The 
 humiliating reproof, which their question concerning the sinful 
 woman brought forth, was the first defeat. Jesus' plain denun- 
 ciation of their national and personal defects ; their vain 
 attempts to catch Him in His words ; their humiliation before 
 the people ; the adhesion of many to Christ — all these events 
 lashed up their fury to madness. That Light of truth shone in 
 the darkness, and " the darkness did not comprehend it." 
 The Baptist's prophetic words had been fulfilled. What the 
 Christ " had seen and heard," that He had testified, and no 
 man received His testimony. A certain number, indeed, 
 believed, but the acceptance of the light does not appear to 
 have had any permanent effect. Those who had rejected 
 the words of Christ, the Light of the World, had intensified 
 their own darkness, for light rejected, ever increases the soul's 
 guilt. These pattern scribes and Pharisees were ready to put 
 Jesus to death with their own hands. They thereby proved 
 the truth of the words which had so stirred up their wrath : 
 " You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your 
 father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning." 
 
 Christ's enemies and persecutors " wish to stone the 
 Messias in the midst of His Temple, and thus to extinguish 
 the Light of the World with their own hands. How mar- 
 vellously beautiful and majestic the figure of our Saviour 
 appears against this dark background, in His calmness and 
 
 * Ps. CXV. 
 
A STORMY DAY IN THE TEMPLE 177 
 
 self-possession, His childlike fidelity and love of His Father ; 
 in His pure zeal for the honour and mandate of His Heavenly 
 Father ! Lastly, in the courage He displays in the midst of 
 the infuriated people, and in His Divine power, since He 
 does not flee or bend down to avoid the stones cast at Him, 
 but simply withdraws from them, like the light which cannot 
 be seized and stoned !* The Godhead was His shield and 
 
 refuge, "t 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Fix your mind on our Lord at the moment 
 when His enemies bring the sinful woman before Him and 
 ask Him to pronounce judgment on her. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may be merciful in your 
 judgments, and that you may receive with docility the 
 teachings of Christ. 
 
 First Point. — The story of the woman taken in adultery. 
 Jesus' words and actions. His mercy to her. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus is the Light of the world. The 
 allusion to the festal rite. Our Lord's assertion of His 
 Messiasship and Divine origin. 
 
 Third Point. — Christ's enemies become more embittered. 
 They seek to stone Him ; He passes out of the Temple. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore your merciful Saviour. Thank Him for 
 the mercies you have received. Pray for the grace to 
 accept our Lord's doctrine fully, that you, too, may be 
 free. Promise to give up whatever bad habit or sin holds 
 you in bondage. Pray for those who are held in the 
 bondage of slavery by the devil. 
 
 "Sweet Light, so shine on us, we pray, 
 That earthly things may fade away." 
 
 * The question has often been asked whether Jesus worked a miracle 
 in thus avoiding His enemies' missiles, and it is more generally answered 
 in the negative. St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine both take 
 the negative view, and this is more in keeping with our Lord's conduct 
 on similar occasions — for example, at the Feast of the Dedication, 
 when " He escaped out of their hands " (St. John x.) 
 
 t "The Life of our Lord Jesus Christ," by Maurice Meschler, S.J., 
 vol. i., p. 595. 
 
 12 
 
178 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND 
 
 St. John ix. 
 
 We do not know for certain when this miracle was performed, 
 but we may reasonably conjecture that it was very shortly 
 after the close of the Feast of Tabernacles. It scarcely 
 seems probable that the many incidents, which are given of 
 this narrative, could have occurred on the evening of the day 
 on which the Jews tried to stone our Lord. Possibly it was 
 worked on the next Sabbath. St. John, who alone relates this 
 miracle, and who does so at greater length than any other 
 recorded by him, teUs us that as " Jesus was passing by," 
 He " saw a man, who was blind from his birth." 
 
 As the vicinity of the Temple gates, and the road which 
 led up to the Temple Mount were the chosen, because the most 
 profitable, resorts for beggars, it is probable that our Lord 
 and His disciples passed this man as they were going to or 
 from the Temple. Jesus looked at this poor beggar tenderly 
 and pityingly, and, as He fixed His gaze upon him, unknown 
 to the poor man, the whole life-history of that man, with his 
 chronic affliction and all the sufferings it had entailed, was 
 present to Him. Strangely enough, a chronic sufferer often 
 receives less compassionate consideration and charity than 
 one whom a passing sorrow has overwhelmed. 
 
 The disciples, noticing that Jesus had slackened His pace 
 and was looking earnestly at the blind man, proposed a 
 question to their Master, one which reveals the belief held by 
 the Jews touching the immediate connection between sin and 
 temporal punishment : " Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man, 
 or his parents, that he should be born blind ?" They take 
 it for granted that one or the other must have committed 
 some great sin. They had read passages of the Old Testa- 
 ment, in which God is said to visit the sins of the parents 
 upon the children ; they probably knew the Rabbinical 
 doctrine of pre-natal sin ; and they had heard Jesus say to 
 the man, who had been afflicted for thirty-eight years, and 
 
JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND 179 
 
 whom He cured at the Pool of Bethsaida : " Sin no more, lest 
 some worse thing happen to thee." Hence their belief 
 appeared to have good grounds. 
 
 They were right in a sense : some afflictions are punishments 
 for certain definite sins ; such was the leprosy of Eliseus' 
 servant Giezi, and the blindness of Elymas, the magician, 
 a man whom St. Paul censured as " a child of the devil, 
 enemy of all justice." It is true that " there is a chain that 
 joins men's crimes and their calamities, but the links are not 
 visible to us." Often, tribulations are simply instrumental, 
 in God's hands, in perfecting the virtues of the just, and of 
 this, the afflictions of Job are an example. 
 
 Jesus, by His reply, showed His disciples that their belief 
 was erroneous : " Neither hath this man sinned, nor his 
 parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest 
 in him." God, who is free to give or withhold natural gifts, 
 as He pleases, had either ordained or permitted (by not inter- 
 fering with the laws of nature) that this man should be so 
 afflicted, and, in His infinite love, He had resolved that the 
 man's blindness should be the means of bringing into relief 
 the mercy and power of Jesus ; that its cure should be a proof 
 of His being the Messias, and that the man himself should 
 receive from His Saviour natural and spiritual fight. 
 
 This affliction was a great sorrow to the man, and to his 
 parents. Unkind neighbours had often reproached them 
 with the evil they had brought upon their boy. It was a sad 
 day for the parents when that sightless babe was born, and 
 perhaps the mother thought it was indeed her fault that her 
 child was denied the gift of sight. How many sacrifices 
 blindness had brought to that poor man ! He could not earn 
 his living ; he knew nothing of the beauties of Nature, for 
 the windows, through which God enlightens the soul by the 
 contemplation of His works, had never been opened. Day 
 by day he sat begging with his companions in affliction, and, 
 doubtless, Jesus and His disciples had often passed him. since 
 the latter knew that his was a case of congenital blindness. 
 
 The question may arise to our lips : " Why was he not cured 
 before ?" Because " all things have their season, and in 
 their times all things pass under heaven." There is " a time 
 
i8o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 to mourn and a time to dance." The cure of the Wind, the 
 lame, and the raising of the dead were miracles which it was 
 prophesied the Messias would work. Jesus timed each miracle 
 to fit in with His Divine plan, and that of giving sight to a 
 man born blind was destined to prove our Lord's claim to 
 be the " Light of the World." As there were " many widows 
 in Israel " when Elias was sent to the widow of Sarephta of 
 Sidon, and " many lepers " in the times of Eliseus who were 
 not cured, so there were many blind in Jerusalem in the days 
 of Christ, whom it was not His will to heal. He chose out 
 certain sufferers to be the objects of His charity and the 
 proofs of His power and mission. 
 
 It was on a Sabbath day, when work was for^bidden and 
 rest enjoined, that Jesus passed by this blind man. So 
 strictly did the Rabbis enforce the Sabbath rest, that it was 
 held to be a grievous sin to apply even an eye-salve on the 
 Sabbath, unless the disease involved great danger to the 
 eyesight. But our Lord had a lesson to teach these rigid 
 Sabbatarians. He was the Messias, the Prophet ; His works 
 proved His claims, and a prophet could overrule the law 
 of Sabbath rest and dispense others from it, as the Rabbis 
 themselves taught. Hence Jesus, the Prophet, was " Lord 
 of the Sabbath." He would have them learn, too, that " the 
 Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath ;"* 
 moreover, His time on earth was rapidly drawing to a close ; 
 therefore. He said to His disciples : " I must work the works 
 of Him that sent Me, whilst it is day ; the night cometh, 
 when no man can work." These words hold good, in their 
 measure, of every human being, for each has his allotted task, 
 and appointed span of time. The " night " must come, 
 when all labour is bound to cease. 
 
 Jesus' night was the time which would follow His Ascen- 
 sion, for then He could no longer work and teach visibly 
 among men. The Church is destined to take His place — 
 to carry on the work confided to her — and by His Holy Spirit 
 and the Holy Eucharist, He still remains with her, and will 
 do so, " even unto the end of the world." 
 
 Having answered His Apostles, Jesus proceeded to cure 
 
 * St. Mark ii. 
 
JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND i8i 
 
 the blind man, " He spat on the ground, and made clay of 
 the spittle, and spread the clay upon his eyes." The action 
 must have seemed strange to the poor beggar. Jesus then 
 gave the command, " Go, wash in the Pool of Siloe," but He 
 did not make any formal promise. What did the blind man 
 expect, as he groped his way down the steps that led to the 
 south-western gate, and then beyond the city wall to the 
 Pool ? He had certainly heard of Jesus, and although Jesus 
 did not ask him for a confession of faith, on which his cure 
 would depend, yet He did ask for that confession later, and 
 probably the germs of that virtue were already planted in 
 that man's soul. 
 
 The Evangehst relates the actual cure very briefly : " He 
 went, therefore, and washed, and came seeing." Such simple 
 exterior means and such great results ! Yes, but accom- 
 panying these means, and giving them their efficacy, was the 
 omnipotence of the Son of God. So it is in the Sacraments, 
 by which grace is conveyed to the soul. Had the man 
 refused to allow the clay to be placed on his sightless eyes, 
 had he declined to go to the Pool and wash, would he have 
 been cured ? Certainly, we may reply in the negative, for 
 God does not force His gifts and miracles either of Nature 
 or grace upon unwilling souls. Who can picture the joy 
 and astonishment of that man when he " came seeing." 
 His own terse description points to his deep emotion : " I 
 went, I washed, and I see." Science has effected cures, even 
 in cases of congenital blindness (where the visual organs 
 existed), but when such cures have been wrought, the patients 
 have been incapable of immediately putting their newly- 
 found sense of sight to an intelligent use. They have been 
 known to deliberately shut their eyes, in order to walk with 
 assurance, or to recognize an object. The blind man, whom 
 Jesus cured, " came seeing." It was no partial and slow 
 acquisition of a bodily sense : Jesus did His work completely. 
 
 Doubtless, the man after his cure returned to the spot where 
 he had spoken with our Lord, but His Deliverer was no longer 
 there. Meanwhile, the man's friends gather round eagerly 
 questioning him, some affirming, others denying his identity. 
 But he said : " I am he." They take him to the Pharisees ; 
 
i82 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 it is not possible to decide whether they were actuated by 
 devout, friendly, or hostile motives. These Pharisees question 
 the man, and their examination brings out three facts clearly : 
 (i) The man was really born blind. (2) Jesus had cured 
 him. (3) The man did not know where Jesus had gone. 
 
 The Pharisees, as usual, tried to throw discredit on Jesus, 
 saying : " This man is not of God, who keepeth not the 
 Sabbath," and the expression, " this man " in the original, 
 implies contempt — " this fellow." Once more, there is " a 
 division among them," another '* schism," for some put forth 
 the opposite argument : " How can a man that is a sinner do 
 such miracles ?" 
 
 The parents are called, and while they answer two of the 
 questions put to them, they decline to say how their son has 
 been cured. They reply cautiously : " We know that this 
 is our son, and that he was born blind, but how he now seeth 
 we know not, or who hath opened his eyes we know not. 
 He is of age, let him speak for himself." Undoubtedly, their 
 son had told them of his having been healed by Jesus, but 
 here was precisely the danger. His " parents feared the Jews," 
 whose opposition to Jesus had reached that point, when they 
 no longer concealed their intention of compassing His death, 
 and of punishing any who became His disciples. All in 
 Jerusalem knew that " the Jews \i.e., the rulers] had already 
 agreed among themselves that if any should confess Him to 
 be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." 
 
 These Pharisees wielded the rod of spiritual power, and their 
 sentence of excommunication was greatly feared. There 
 were three degrees of excommunication — the " Neziphah," 
 or " rebuke "; the " Niddui," or " casting forth "; and the 
 "Cherem," or "ban." The "Neziphah" excluded the 
 culprit from the synagogue services for a period of seven or 
 thirty days according to the dignity of the one who pronounced 
 the sentence. During this period, the culprit might not 
 approach within four cubits of anyone, not even his v/ife. 
 
 The " Niddui " could not be pronounced by an assembly 
 of less than ten rulers or authorities. It was accompanied 
 with solemn curses and proclaimed with blasts of a horn. 
 The man thus " separated " for thirty days would " sit on 
 
JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND 183 
 
 the ground and bear himself like one in deep mourning. 
 He would allow his beard and hair to grow wild and shaggy ; 
 he would not bathe, nor anoint himself ; he would not be 
 admitted to any assembly of ten men. . . . Nay, as if he were 
 a leper, people would keep at a distance of four cubits from 
 him. If he died, stones were cast on his coffin, nor was he 
 allowed the honour of the ordinary funeral." 
 
 " Still more terrible was . . . the ' Cherem,' when a ban of 
 indefinite duration was laid on a man. Henceforth he was 
 like one dead. He was not allowed to study with others, no 
 intercourse was to be held with him, he was not even to be 
 shown the road. He might, indeed, buy the necessaries of 
 life, but it was forbidden to eat and drink with him."* One 
 terrible part of this " ban " was that it extended to all places. 
 There were twenty-four grounds on which a man could be 
 excommunicated, but as one of these consisted in " deahng 
 lightly with any Rabbinic or Mosaic precept," it is readily 
 seen how easily the Pharisees could bring within the power 
 of the Law those who accepted Jesus as the Messias. The 
 Pharisees, foiled by the prudent answers of the parents, turn 
 again to the son, who, being " of age," could relieve them from 
 all responsibility. 
 
 They therefore called the man again that had been blind, 
 and said to him : " Give glory to God. We know that this 
 man is a sinner." By these words they adjure him to 
 speak the truth, and by accusing our Lord of being a 
 " sinner " they hoped to prevent the man from giving Him 
 any honour or credit. But he who had been so wonderfully 
 cured, who had already confessed Jesus to be a prophet, was 
 more than a match for his questioners. His answer is direct 
 and shrewd : " If he be a sinner, I know not ; one thing I 
 know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." The miracle 
 was evident ; there was no gainsaying that ; therefore the 
 Pharisees renew their questions as to how the cure was worked, 
 to which the man replies by referring to his previous answers, 
 and he concludes with the ironical question : " Will you also 
 become His disciples ?" 
 
 Then these judges of Israel " reviled " the poor beggar^ 
 
 * Edersheim's "Life and Times," etc., book iv., chap, ix., p. 184. 
 
i84 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 and exclaimed : "Be thou His disciple ; but we are the 
 disciples of Moses." Then, contradicting a previous state- 
 ment (" We know this Man whence He is _"), they proceed to 
 say : " We know that God spoke to Moses, but as to this Man, 
 we know not whence he is.'' 
 
 Then the man speaks for the last time, and his reply is 
 an admirable logical summing-up of the case. He argues 
 thus : ** Jesus has undoubtedly worked a wonderful miracle, 
 which proves Him to be no sinner, but a prophet acceptable 
 to God, and it is strange that they, the rulers of Israel, should 
 not know anything of this wonder-worker — * herein is a 
 wonderful thing ' indeed." The Pharisees reply by taunting 
 him with having been born afflicted as a punishment of sin, 
 and they roughly " cast him out " — i.e., they drive him from 
 the hall in which the interrogation has taken place. It 
 does not seem probable that this " casting out " refers to 
 any form of excommunication, for the man did not make 
 any profession of being our Lord's disciple. He who had 
 thus bravely spoken up for Christ, went out from the presence 
 of his blind judges, and we may follow him in spirit, as he 
 retires to the Court of Israel, or some more secluded cloister, 
 in order to pour out his soul in thanksgiving to God. He has, 
 so far, not seen our Lord, for the miracle was worked at 
 the Pool, nor does he know His abode. We may presume 
 our Lord found him in the Temple there ; the poor beggar 
 saw His Saviour for the first time. There Jesus, " the Light 
 of the World," shone upon his soul and mercifully worked 
 a miracle, of which the gift of bodily sight was the type. 
 
 So it happens in our own days. How many souls find 
 Jesus, the true Light, in His sanctuaries ! He enlightens them 
 from the Tabernacle, from the baptistery, the pulpit, the con- 
 fessional. The words are His ministers, but the power, the 
 Divine illumination, is His alone. None can open the eyes 
 of the spiritually blind but God. At times He even dispenses 
 with human agency, and men are drawn to the Catholic 
 Church, by the virtue which goes forth from our Eucharistic 
 Lord to the soul that is honestly seeking Him. Many are 
 attracted by that silent, mysterious, influence which He 
 
 * St. John vii. 
 
JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND 185 
 
 exercises over souls, who have never even heard of the doctrine 
 of the Holy Eucharist. They have felt a powerful attraction^ 
 a strange, unwonted feeling of awe, the influence of some 
 supernatural agency when in a Catholic Church. They could 
 not explain whence it proceeded, but providentially, a book 
 or a Catholic friend taught them the doctrine of the Real 
 Presence, and then all became clear. Jesus was drawing 
 them to Himself, that in His Light they might see light. 
 Hundreds of our converts could endorse this experience. 
 For all, it is good to seek Jesus in His Temples, where He 
 abides unceasingly for the comfort of souls. If we have the 
 conversion or salvation of anyone dear to us at heart, it is 
 well to persuade that person to visit a church where Jesus 
 dwells in His tabernacle, that, being in the very presence of 
 the source of all light, some rays falling upon that soul, may 
 enlighten it unto salvation. 
 
 " Jesus heard that they had cast him out." He knew the 
 fact as God, and He knew it because men had related this 
 incident. The poor beggar had suffered for his fidelity to 
 Jesus, who willed to reward him by bestowing even a greater 
 gift, and, indeed, from the man's loyalty, it was clear that he 
 ** was not far from the kingdom of God." The Good Shepherd 
 therefore sought out this sheep, and " when He had found 
 him, He said to him : Dost thou believe in the Son of God ? 
 He answered, and said : Who is He, Lord, that I may believe 
 in Him ? And Jesus said to him : Thou hast both seen Him, 
 and it is He that talketh with Thee. And he said, I believe, 
 Lord, and falling down he adored Him." 
 
 How plainly Jesus asserted Himself to be the Messias ! 
 The words recall His revelation of Himself to the Samaritan 
 woman. To the Jews, His enemies, He had spoken just as 
 openly, but with what different results ! They " took up 
 stones to cast at him," the poor beggar fell at His feet and 
 ** adored." The verb in the orginal Greek does not signify 
 anything more than an act of profound respect, but St. John 
 uses it of the adoration due to God. (C/. " God is a Spirit, 
 and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in 
 truth."* " Certain Gentiles . . . came up to adore on the 
 
 * Chap, iv. 
 
i86 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 festival day."*) Hence, most commentators are of opinion 
 that the man really worshipped our Lord as God, and the 
 wonderful miracle worked in his favour would have prepared 
 him to receive the supernatural gift of faith. 
 
 As this touching incident took place in the Temple, and as 
 Jesus was always a centre of attraction, we may suppose 
 that some people had gathered round, or that these Pharisees 
 were dogging His footsteps, as spies sent by the rulers. Jesus 
 therefore said : " For judgment I am come into this world ; 
 that they who see not may see, and that those who see may 
 become blind." Manifestly, our Lord did not come ex- 
 pressly to condemn these blind Jews, but the inevitable 
 effects of His Presence on earth would be that some, blinded 
 by ignorance, would be enlightened, while those who were 
 blinded by prejudice^ passions, and sin would remain in their 
 blindness — the darkness comprehended not that Divine Light. 
 The Pharisees, some of whom " were with Him," heard His 
 words, and " they said to Him : Are we also blind ?" and the 
 passage in the original reads more emphatically : " Surely, 
 we are not also blind !" " Jesus saith to them : If you were 
 blind, you should have no sin : but now you saj^, We see. 
 Your sin remaineth." By these words we must understand 
 that our Lord meant to bring home to them the truth we 
 embody in a familiar proverb : " There are none so blind as 
 those who will not see." Had these Jews been invincibly 
 ignorant as regards our Lord's claims and His miracles, their 
 ignorance would have excused them from guilt. But, priding 
 themselves on their own infallibility, they refused to examine 
 one or the other, and attacked both in a hostile, prejudiced 
 spirit ; hence their sin remained. They were guilty of " re- 
 sisting the known truth," which is one of the six sins against 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Men still commit this sin when they calumniate, attack, 
 or misrepresent the Faith ; when they refuse to become 
 Catholics through fear of men, or dread of temporal losses, even 
 though they are persuaded that the Church's claims are Divine. 
 Also, men continue in their blindness and intensify it, whenever 
 they stifle their conscience against truth and justice in any 
 
 * Chap. xx:. 
 
JESUS GIVES SIGHT TO A MAN BORN BLIND 187 
 
 form whatsoever. It is a terrible thing to reject the " Light 
 of Life," since to reject it, is to reject the Holy Ghost who 
 imparts it, and who can say if that Light shall ever be offered 
 again ? 
 
 Let us therefore ask for the gift of fidelity to the inspira- 
 tions of the Holy Ghost, that we may hear and obey His gentle 
 voice, and that, no matter how difficult the proposed task 
 may be, we may not " harden our hearts," but ever be willing 
 to " hear his voice." At times, at least, such is the inherent 
 pride of man, we all have need to pray in the words of the 
 Church : 
 
 " Flecte quod est rigidum, 
 Fove quod est f rigidum, 
 Rege quod est devium." 
 
 And in answer to our earnest prayer, the Holy Ghost will 
 bend our stubborn wills, warm our tepid souls, and mle our 
 crooked wills. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our blessed Lord as He stands 
 with His Apostles, looking compassionately upon the blind 
 beggar. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may always be spiritually 
 enhghtened, that you may never refuse to face an unpleasant 
 truth. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus sees the blind beggar. His disciples 
 question their Master. Jesus answers them. He then sends 
 the man to the Pool of Siloe. 
 
 Second Point. — The man, having been cured, is questioned 
 by his friends, who take him to the Pharisees. He is loyal 
 to his Saviour. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus seeks and finds the man. He asks 
 from him a confession of faith. The poor beggar adores 
 Christ, who thereupon rebukes the Pharisees for their bHnd- 
 ness. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our blessed Lord as He stands looking 
 tenderly upon the bhnd beggar. Pray for grace to sjTnpathize 
 with those who suffer. Ask that you may always be ready 
 to confess Christ. Pray that you may always be docile to 
 the voice of the Holy Spirit of God. 
 
i88 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XXni 
 
 INSTRUCTION ON PRAYER : PARABLE OF THE 
 IMPORTUNATE FRIEND 
 
 St. Luke xi. 
 
 St. Luke records that once, when Jesus " was in a certain 
 place praying, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to 
 Him : Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his 
 disciples." In answer to this petition, Jesus taught His 
 disciples the " Our Father," probably for the second time, for 
 in the Sermon on the Mount in Galilee at the commencement 
 of His Ministry, Jesus had taught this sublime prayer — " the 
 summary of His Gospel " — to His Apostles and to the multi- 
 tudes. Further, this conjecture of a twofold teaching of the 
 " Our Father " is favoured by the existence for a chapel on 
 the western slope of Olivet, facing Jerusalem, built to keep 
 in memory the local tradition that this was the place where 
 Jesus had prayed Himself, and where He had acceded to the 
 request of His disciple. In the cloisters of this chapel, erected 
 by a French princess, the " Our Father " is written in thirty- 
 one different languages. 
 
 Having given this Divine formula of prayer, which is the 
 heritage of the Church for all time, and the model of all true 
 prayer, our Lord goes on to explain the qualities that render 
 our petitions efficacious. " Lord, teach us to pray." How 
 much we have need to utter this prayer since, so often, as 
 St. James tells us, we " ask and receive not " because we " ask 
 amiss "!* In this parable of " the Importunate Friend " we 
 are taught that perseverance is an essential condition of 
 prayer. 
 
 Let us try to bring home to ourselves the beautiful scene 
 which St. Luke relates so succinctly. We may conjecture 
 that Jesus had passed some time in prayer on the Mount of 
 Olives. If the very features of the Saints have been trans- 
 formed, and have exhibited a supernatural beauty when they 
 knelt in prayer, what must have been the Divine expression 
 
 * St. Jas. iv. 
 
INSTRUCTION ON PRAYER 189 
 
 on the sacred features of Jesus when He communed with His 
 Heavenly Father ! How we should have rejoiced to have 
 shared the privilege of those who watched our blessed Lord, 
 who saw Him " in the days of His flesh with a strong cry and 
 tears offering up prayers and supplications to Him that was 
 able to save Him from death, and was heard for His rever- 
 ence "!* What a lesson for us,, one from which we can reap 
 precious spiritual fruit ! 
 
 Silently and reverently the disciples watched Jesus as He 
 prolonged His prayer. They would not dare to interrupt 
 Him, for the Jews were very strict about never disturbing one 
 who was praying. Both the Mishnah and the Talmud laid 
 down the precept that a Jew might not interrupt his prayer 
 to salute a king, nor even to uncoil a serpent that had coiled 
 itself around his foot. 
 
 When He had ceased — when that " prayer of God " was 
 ended — one of our Lord's disciples (it is not said that this man 
 was an Apostle) approached our blessed Lord reverently, 
 awed by what he had just witnessed, and said to Him, " Lord, 
 teach us to pray. ' ' He pleaded for himself and for his brethren, 
 and we note that the parable in which Jesus taught His 
 disciples to pray, inculcated also the duty of intercessory 
 prayer. 
 
 Our Lord then taught this disciple and his companions the 
 " Our Father," and He went on to give the conditions which 
 should accompany all prayer : " He said to them : Which of 
 you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight 
 and shall say to him : Friend, lend me three loaves, because 
 a friend of mine is come on his journey to me, and I have not 
 what to set before him." 
 
 The petitioner was in a difficulty. As it often happens in 
 the East, pilgrims travel late because of the heat of the day. 
 This traveller had arrived at midnight, counting on the tra- 
 ditional hospitality of his race, and the personal devotedness 
 of his friend. But the friend had no bread, and three loaves 
 were required, one for the traveller, one for the host, who, 
 by courtesy was obliged to eat with the traveller, and one 
 in reserve. In this dilemma, the host applied to a neighbour 
 
 * Heb. V. 
 
190 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 but he was not well received. His neighbour replied churlishly : 
 "Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are 
 with me in bed." Houses in the East were often opened 
 almost their whole width during the day, and curtains, if 
 required, prevented passers-by from seeing into the one large 
 room. At night-time the frontage had to be barricaded, 
 which involved time and labour. The man had no desire to 
 unbarricade his house, nor to awaken his children, who were 
 quite young (TratSm), so he continued: "I cannot rise and 
 give thee." He meant " I will not," and we notice that the 
 man begrudged the trouble rather than the loaves. 
 
 Did the host retire discomfited ? No ; our Lord repre- 
 sents him as continuing to knock. He persists in asking for 
 the loaves, until the householder, wearied with his impor- 
 tunity (lit, shamelessness), rose and gave him as much as he 
 needed. Jesus Himself draws the lesson He would have us 
 learn : " I say to you : Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, 
 and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
 Then He goes on to compare God to an earthly father who 
 will not refuse food to his children, nor give them a scorpion 
 in place of an egg — i.e., that which is harmful — and the con- 
 clusion is : "If you, then, being evil, know how to give good 
 gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from 
 heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask Him ?" 
 
 Here we have a formal promise that persevering prayer will 
 not be offered in vain. God will answer our petitions provided 
 what we ask is in accordance with God's conditional or abso- 
 lute Will ; and St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that God's condi- 
 tional Will is manifested by precept, counsel, prohibition, 
 operation, and permission. 
 
 If we pray for what would be harmful, then God merci- 
 fully refuses that petition, and substitutes something better. 
 The present imperative used — " ask," " seek," " knock " — 
 indicates a repeated asking, seeking, and knocking, and these 
 three terms imply different and increasing degrees of fervour. 
 The lesson of the parable is evident : If a selfish man yields 
 to his friend's importunate requests, how much more will God 
 give the best gifts to His beloved children ! The words 
 "ask," "seek," "knock," have been differently interpreted 
 
INSTRUCTION ON PRAYER 191 
 
 by Christian writers as applying to the object of prayer or the 
 mode of prayer. Thus, persevering prayer may obtain the 
 triple graces of " health and strength, knowledge of the truth, 
 and entrance into life,"* or a knowledge more and more inti- 
 mate of Jesus, " the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Or we 
 may understand them as applying to " spiritual desires, vocal 
 prayer, and an unblemished life." It is thus that Dionysius 
 explains them. 
 
 But it is sometimes asked : " Why need we pray since God 
 our Father knows our needs ?" To this question St. John 
 Chrysostom replies : " Not to instruct Him, but to prevail 
 with Him, to be intimate with Him by continuing in supplica- 
 tion, to be humbled, to be reminded of our sins."| St. Augus- 
 tine asks and answers this question also : " Why should we 
 pray at all ? He knoweth Himself. Let Him, then, give 
 what He knoweth to be needful. Yes, but it is His will that 
 thou shouldst pray, that He may give to Thy longings, that 
 His gifts may not be lightly esteemed, seeing that He Himself 
 hath formed this longing desire in us."t Moreover, as crea- 
 tures, we owe a debt of adoration to God, so that, had we no 
 need to offer up the prayer of supplication, we should still be 
 bound to discharge our duty of praising God, and this we shall 
 continue to do in Heaven, when all the heart's desires will 
 have been satisfied a hundredfold. 
 
 " Lord, teach us to pray." Let us repeat this prayer often, 
 
 for prayer is the source of all graces and supernatural favours. 
 
 God reveals Himself to the clean of heart, to the humble, to 
 
 men of desires. St. Thomas Aquinas was once asked by his 
 
 friend Daniel d 'Augusta what he considered to be the greatest 
 
 gift he had ever received apart from sanctifying grace. The 
 
 Saint replied that it was the gift of understanding all that he 
 
 had ever read, and he disclosed to his intimate friends that 
 
 he learned far more by prayer than by study. Sometimes, 
 
 when he was meditating on the majesty of God. he was so 
 
 overwhelmed that his soul seemed dazed and stupefied, just 
 
 as a man, who looks over into a fathomless abyss, is seized 
 
 with giddiness. He regained his mental self-control by prayer. 
 
 His biographer' states that in these times of intellectual pros- 
 
 * St. Augustine. f Horn. xix. 5. X Ser., vi. 4. 
 
192 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 tration the Saint used to go to the tabernacle of the monastery 
 chapel, take off the lid of the ciborium, and reverently gaze 
 upon the Sacred Host. He knew that this was the means to 
 solve his difficulties, to grasp things hard to understand. He 
 believed the inspired words : " If any of you want wisdom, 
 let him ask of God ... in faith, nothing wavering."* After 
 a fervent prayer, St. Thomas returned to his studies enlight- 
 ened by God as to the most stupendous mysteries, and capable 
 of revealing their meaning to others. 
 
 He has left us the prayer which he composed and used 
 habitually before studying or lecturing to his pupils : " Creator, 
 beyond human utterance, who out of Thy wisdom's treasures 
 didst establish the hierarchies of Angels, setting them in 
 wonderful order to preside over the empyrean heaven, and 
 who hast most marvellously assorted the parts of the uni- 
 verse ; Thou who art called the fountain head of life and of 
 wisdom, and the one ruling principle ; be pleased to shed the 
 ray of Thy brightness over the gloom of my understanding, 
 so as to dispel the double shadow of sin and ignorance in which 
 I was born. Thou who makest eloquent the tongues of babes, 
 instruct my tongue, and shed the grace of Thy blessing upon 
 my lips. Bestow on me keenness of intellect to understand, 
 the power of retentive memory, method, and ease of learning, 
 subtility for explaining, and the gift of ready speech. Teach 
 me as I begin, direct me as I advance ; complete my finished 
 task for me, Thou who art truly God and man, who livest 
 and reignest for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 Not only is prayer the great source of intellectual light and 
 spiritual illumination, as the lives of many unlettered Saints 
 also prove, but prayer is a source of strength. Our earnest- 
 ness in prayer will be the measure of our progress in holiness : 
 " Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." The 
 dewdrop exposed to the sun's rays sparkles with the light that 
 falls upon it. In prayer we place ourselves in the presence of 
 the Sun of Justice, and this explains why " the path of the 
 just, as a shining light, goeth forward and increaseth even to 
 perfect day "f — even to that of eternity, when in His light 
 we shall see light." The Christian who prays is " able to 
 * St. Jas. i. t Prov. iv. 
 
INSTRUCTION ON PRAYER 193 
 
 stand against the deceits of the devil," for prayer is "the 
 strength of man and the weakness of God."* 
 
 But prayer that brings spiritual illumination, progress in 
 holiness y and strength of soul, must be made with perseverance. 
 This is the lesson inculcated by the parable of the Importunate 
 Friend. Whether we are presenting our own needs to the 
 Divine gaze, or those of our fellows, we must " pray without 
 ceasing," without being deterred from continuing by the 
 apparent fruitlessness of our petitions. "It is precisely 
 because God loves us that He defers to answer our petitions, 
 and thereby forces us to persevere. The love which delays 
 the reply is, at the same time, a pledge that our prayers are 
 not useless, and a gauge of His condescension." 
 
 There are in the spiritual life, as in the natural, varj^ing 
 seasons — times of joy and times of desolation, and, midway, 
 the ordinary prayer that neither abounds in consolation nor 
 is borne down by spiritual aridity. Yet, whatever be the 
 state of the soul, the duty of prayer remains. Inasmuch as 
 prayer is a deliberate act of the will and not simply a pious 
 sentiment, it follows that a disinclination for prayer is no valid 
 excuse for omitting our customary devotions. St. Ignatius 
 of Loyola, in his " golden book " of the Spiritual Exercises, 
 recommends those who are in desolation to prolong their 
 prayer, even as Jesus, their Master, prolonged His in the 
 Garden of Gethsemani : " Being in an agony, He prayed 
 the longer." The soul, crushed by the burden of sorrow, is 
 often speechless in the presence of God, but that silence is 
 more eloquent than words. A sorrow that can be fully ex- 
 plained does not lie very deep in the human soul. The silent 
 act of passive resignation has great merit before God. 
 
 But with the Catholic Church our Mother, who chants her 
 Lauds, her Te Deum, and her Gloria in Excelsis continually, 
 we should not forget to rise above our petty interests and 
 needs in order to praise God — to give thanks to Him for His 
 great glory. Praise will be our only prayer throughout eter- 
 nity, and, if we are wise, we shall strive to begin on earth 
 what we shall do for ever in Heaven. Even here below we 
 are bidden to " pray without ceasing." How can we accom- 
 
 * St. Augustine. 
 
 13 
 
194 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 plish this ? By keeping our souls free from mortal sin ; for 
 the soul that possesses sanctifying grace is united to God, 
 and prayer is the union of the soul with God. We " pray 
 without ceasing " when we act with purity of intention, and 
 this is the meaning of the oft-quoted spiritual maxim, " Work 
 is prayer " — i.e., a prayer interrupted by some work for God 
 is a prayer prolonged. 
 
 There is another excellent method of prayer — i.e., living in 
 the presence of God, frequently raising our hearts to Him, 
 and making some little agreement with Him that, each time 
 our glance falls upon our crucifix or some statue of our Lord 
 that we have the intention to praise and worship Him. 
 The Saints were ingenious in making these little secret 
 contracts. 
 
 " Lord, teach us to pray." When we have meditated on 
 prayer and looked at it in its various aspects as a duty, a 
 pleasure, and a privilege ; when we have considered the 
 different states of the soul, the different degrees of prayer, 
 and the various methods, we must still come back to the bed- 
 rock of the matter. Prayer, the science of the Saints, is a 
 gift of God. Like every other supernatural endowment, it 
 comes from the Father of Light, and the soul must ask, seek, 
 and knock for the gift of prayer. With prayer every good 
 gift comes to the soul. Man's strength then prevails over 
 " God's weakness," as St. Augustine so beautifully says ; and 
 to the prayer of faith — to humble, persevering prayer — may 
 we not say that " all power is given ... in heaven and 
 earth " ? ** To Him who is able to do all things more abun- 
 dantly than we desire or understand, according to the power 
 that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church."* 
 
 Yes, He can do, and does do, far more than we are able to 
 conceive. The prayer of a little child can encircle the earth 
 and obtain blessings for a loved parent beyond the seas ; 
 prayer penetrates to the throne of God and brings down bless- 
 ings ; it can reach to the depths of hell, for many a time a 
 simple prayer of faith has overcome the devil ; and miracles, 
 times without number, have been worked by the sign of the 
 Crass. As Cardinal Newman has so eloquently said : 
 
 ♦ Eph. iii. 
 
INSTRUCTION ON PRAYER 195 
 
 " Whene'er across this sinful flesh of mine 
 I draw the holy sign, 
 All good thoughts stir within me, and renew 
 
 Their slumbering strength divine, 
 Till there springs up a courage high and true 
 
 To suffer and to do. 
 And who shall say, but hateful spirits round. 
 
 For their brief hour unbound. 
 Shudder to see, and wail their overthrow. 
 
 While, on far heathen ground. 
 Some lonely Saint hails the fresh odour, though 
 Its source he cannot know," 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prehide. — Represent to yourself the moment when 
 the disciples approached our Lord reverently, saying, " Lord^ 
 teach us to pray," 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the gift of the spirit of prayer. 
 
 First Point. — Consider the circumstances under which Jesus 
 uttered .the parable, and the two persons interested — the 
 importunate host and his churlish friend. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus teaches His disciples to persevere in 
 prayer. Prayer is a duty, a source of spiritual illumination^ 
 of strength, of holiness. 
 
 Third Point. — ^There are various states of soul as regards 
 prayer. We should " pray without ceasing." Prayer has 
 far-reaching effects on earth, in Heaven, in hell. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for this beautiful lesson. Pray 
 that you may receive the gift of praying with faith and con- 
 stancy. Ask that desolation may not discourage you. Ask 
 that in all your doubts and difficulties you may always have 
 recourse to God. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE INCREASING HOSTILITY OF THE PHARISEES 
 
 TOWARDS JESUS 
 
 In this chapter we will endeavour to take a comprehensive 
 survey of the principal occasions recorded in the Gospels 
 when our Lord came into collision with the Pharisees and 
 rulers of Israel, taking the period between the Feast of 
 
196 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Tabernacles in October, and that of the Dedication in 
 December (a.d. 33). 
 
 But first it may be useful to say a few words on our Lord's 
 position as a religious teacher. On reading the Gospel 
 narratives, especially those which deal with the last year of 
 our Lord's public ministry, we are struck by the fact that 
 the priests are rarely mentioned as the enemies of Christ. 
 Until the time of the Passion there is little or no allusion to 
 the Jewish Hierarchy. The High-Priests only appear on the 
 scene in Holy Week. How are we to account for their con- 
 spicuous absence ? Very easily, since in the Jewish faith 
 the teaching office was always separated from the priestly 
 office. The duties of the Aaronic priests consisted in carry- 
 ing out the ritual of the Temple services, in offering sacrifices, 
 and presiding at various religious ceremonies, such as the 
 burning of incense, the daily sacrifices, the ceremonies in 
 thanksgiving for the cleansing of a leper, for the birth of 
 a child, the redemption of the first-born, and the promulgation 
 of the Jewish feasts and fasts. The care of the Temple buildings 
 also devolved on them. The Levites assisted them in these 
 duties. We must therefore think of the Jewish priesthood 
 as a sacred body of men, called, by their birth heritage as 
 the seed of Aaron, to offer sacrifice and to preside over the 
 devotional assemblies in the Temple. 
 
 The teaching office was generally held by men who did 
 not belong to the family of Aaron. Even in the times of the 
 judges these two offices were separated ; it was the leaders 
 of the people, such as Othoniel, Aod, Samgar, Barac, and 
 Gedeon, who waged war against idolatry, and restored the 
 pure worship of the Israelites. In the days of the Kings, 
 prophets were raised up sporadically. There was no prophetic 
 family. As teachers were needed, and in obedience to some 
 exterior call or interior impulse, men like Elias and Eliseus 
 appeared as teachers of Israel. Their plain denunciations 
 were needed to arouse the people from their indifference 
 and ignorance. Often these prophets came to an enslaved 
 people with a message of love and pardon from God, and a 
 promise of deliverance. The prophets, in their journeys up 
 and down the land of Israel, founded " schools " — i.e., they 
 
INCREASING HOSTILITY OF THE PHARISEES 197 
 
 gathered together bands of young men, whom they instructed, 
 and from whose ranks God frequently called forth other 
 prophets. But these " schools " were peripatetic ; the pupils 
 followed their prophetic leaders from town to town, and 
 their arrival in a city was a signal for the inhabitants to 
 flock around the prophet. These " sons of the prophets " 
 were often sent on ahead to prepare a lodging and inform 
 men of their master's arrival, and their visits were a powerful 
 means of arousing the Jews to a better realization of their 
 duties as Israelites. 
 
 After the Captivity, the teaching ofBce fell to certain 
 Rabbis, or teachers, learned in the Law. There were fixed 
 centres where eminent Rabbis taught habitually, and Jerusalem 
 was the most celebrated of these and the most frequented. 
 Gamaliel, at whose feet St. Paul sat, may serve as an example. 
 The Pharisees, or " separated," as the name implies, were a 
 sect which arose after the Captivity. 
 
 During the exile in Babylon, the Jews had lived among 
 idolaters, and this had made them cling more than ever to 
 the purity of the Jewish faith. These Pharisees, zealous for 
 God and sincere in their religious professioUj separated them- 
 selves from whatever savoured of heathenism, and held out 
 for the worship of the one true God, for the observance of 
 the Law of Moses, and strict obedience to the law of Sabbath 
 rest. We may compare them to the Puritans among Protes- 
 tants ; they desired to be totally separated from everything 
 heathen or legally impure, in order to be as ceremonially 
 pure as the priests in the Temple. 
 
 But just as the Puritans in America degenerated into perse- 
 cutors of all who held beliefs contrary to theirs, so the 
 Pharisees gradually deteriorated. They so " hedged in the 
 Law " by their precepts that its yoke became intolerable. 
 They were legal formalists, who placed their prescriptions 
 and interpretations of the Law above the spirit of the Law. 
 They became narrow, prejudiced, and egotistical. The 
 respect paid to them developed their pride and ambition. 
 Their great aim was to enjoy a universal reputation for 
 holiness and, at the same time, they made their profession 
 a means of enriching themselves. Under pretence of religion 
 
198 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 they " devoured widows' houses," and their private hfe was 
 immoral. There were honourable exceptions, such as Hillel 
 and Nicodemus, but our Lord's denunciations apply to the 
 Pharisees as a class. As Bossuet truly remarks : " Later 
 Judaism is through and through Pharisaism and nothing but 
 Pharisaism," and without an accurate knowledge of this 
 sect of " separatists " it is impossible to understand the 
 Gospel narratives of the conflict between our Lord and these 
 self-righteous, self-blinded, hypocritical Pharisees. 
 
 Jesus' method of travelling about with His disciples an- 
 nouncing " the kingdom of God " was therefore no innova- 
 tion that clashed with Jewish customs and ideas. The 
 Pharisaical Rabbis had their centres, and also their travelling 
 schools and we find them dogging our Lord's steps (par- 
 ticularly in the third year of His Ministry) , disputing publicly 
 with Him, and striving to throw discredit upon His words 
 and deeds. There were, in addition, Pharisees in all the 
 principal towns. Their great stronghold, however, was 
 Jerusalem. As Perea was largely inhabited by Jews from 
 Judea and Hellenists (in the northern district) > there were 
 many Pharisees living therC) and when, between the two 
 feasts mentioned above, Jesus travelled about Perea or taught 
 in Jerusalem, we can understand readily how it was that He 
 came so continually in conflict with the Pharisees. Some 
 dogged His footsteps openly, others shadowed Him stealthily ; 
 others, again, dwelt and taught habitually in the cities and 
 hamlets which He visited. 
 
 We are now in a better position to understand the four 
 chief contests between the Pharisees and our Lord that are 
 recorded as having taken place between the Feasts of Taber- 
 nacles and of the Dedication inclusive — i.e., during the last 
 four months of a.d. 33. In each, we will consider briefly the 
 cause and the result of the collision. 
 
 In the preceding chapter, we treated of the healing of the 
 man who was born blind. When Jesus asked this man for 
 a profession of faith, some Pharisees were close at hand and 
 they resented our Lord's words to the poor beggar, as an 
 accusation of blindness addressed to them. " Surely we are 
 not also blind !" Jesus profited by their question, and for 
 
INCREASING HOSTILITY OF THE PHARISEES 199 
 
 their instruction He uttered the beautiful parable of the 
 Good Shepherd. His discourse on this occasion dealt with 
 the parable of the sheep-fold, and its application to Himself. 
 In the East these sheep-folds consist of an enclosure sur- 
 rounded by a stone wall or a hedge of wattled boughs. The 
 entrance was guarded by a porter. 
 
 In this exquisite parable, Jesus compares Himself to the 
 door, through which shepherds and sheep alike must enter. 
 Those who enter " through " Christ — i.e., who accept His 
 person and teaching as Divine — "shall be saved " ; "shall 
 go in and out " at will, and " shall find pastures." He then 
 contrasts the true shepherd with the hireling, " whose own 
 the sheep are not." The good shepherd protects his sheep ; 
 he thinks of their safety ; he is ready to sacrifice himself for 
 them. The hireling, on the contrary, thinking only of saving 
 his own life, abandons the sheep to their fate when the wolf 
 attacks the fold. 
 
 Jesus then goes on to explain that He is about to lay down 
 His life freely for His sheep. The metaphor of the sheep- 
 fold, as applied to Israel, was very familiar to the Jews, and 
 God Himself had, by His prophets, explained the meaning of 
 the simile, for in the book of Ezechiel we read these beautiful 
 words : " I will set up one shepherd over them, and He shall 
 feed them . . . and He shall be their shepherd. . . . And you, 
 my flocks, the flocks of my pastures, are men, and I am the 
 Lord your God."* 
 
 Jesus, the Good Shepherd, stood before these Pharisees, 
 to whom the words of the prophet Ezechiel were so familiar — 
 the Good Shepherd who by His deeds of might substantiated 
 His claim to be the Messias. How were His words received ? 
 What effect had they on His enemies, whom bitter hatred 
 had plunged in such deep darkness of soul — darkness like 
 that of old in Egypt, " that might be felt." 
 
 " A dissension rose again among the Jews for these words, 
 and many of them said : He hath a devil and is mad ; why 
 hear ye Him ? Others said : These are not the words of one 
 that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind ?" 
 Once more our Lord's attempt to enlighten the Jews failed ; 
 
 * Ezech. xxxiv. 
 
200 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 once more His gracious words provoked fresh blasphemies, 
 but some, at least, received them more profitably, 
 
 A little later on we find that the Pharisees again attacked 
 our Lord. Jesus was probably evangelizing in Perea, and 
 when He was " in a house," so pressed by the multitude that 
 " He could not so much as eat bread,"* a man " possessed of 
 a devil, blind, and dumb," was brought unto Him. Three 
 calamities had overtaken this poor man, for " the devil had 
 shut up every entrance to his soul, by which the demoniac 
 might come to faith — his sight and his hearing "f But the 
 Messias, who could give sight to the blind, and cause the deaf 
 to hear, had power over the devils also, and Jesus " healed 
 him, so that he spoke and saw." Doubtless the Jewish 
 exorcists had tried to cast out this demon, but they had 
 failed. Our Lord effected the cure instantaneously without 
 using any of the Jewish methods generally employed. 
 
 Once more the opinions of the multitude were divided. 
 The people were being won over to Christ, the Pharisees be- 
 coming more estranged from Him. All " the multitudes 
 were amazed " (literally, " out of themselves "), and said : Is 
 not this the Son of David ?" His unbelieving brethren, 
 hearing of this concourse of people pressing upon Him, " went 
 out to lay hold on Him ; for they said : He is mad."* The 
 Pharisees and " certain scribes who were come down from 
 Jerusalem " apparently caught up the words of Christ's 
 hostile brethren, and as the Jews attributed madness to 
 diabolical agency, they said : *' He casteth out devils by 
 Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." J 
 
 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees, tempting, asked of 
 Him a sign from Heaven. " It was no new request, for at 
 the Feast of the Pasch, more than two years previously, 
 when Jesus cast the buyers and sellers out of the Temple, 
 the Jews had asked : What sign dost Thou show unto us, 
 seeing that thou dost these things ?" § 
 
 Jesus replied by a discourse, in which He proved that their 
 accusation was false, since Satan would not work against 
 his own interests and expel his own satellites. Moreover, 
 
 * St. Mark. iii. t St. John Chrysostom. 
 
 J St. Luke xi. § St. John ii. 
 
INCREASING HOSTILITY OF THE PHARISEES 201 
 
 the Pharisees exorcised, and in whose power did they drive 
 out devils ? Lastly, Jesus tells them that results are in direct 
 relation to the causes that bring them about ; a good tree 
 brings forth good fruit, but this " generation of vipers," 
 being evil, can only bring forth evil fruit. 
 
 The Pharisees, by attributing Christ's miracles to dia- 
 bolical agency were guilty of an awful sin of blasphemy, a 
 sin which. He tells them, shall neither be forgiven in this 
 world nor in the next. The necessary graces of salvation 
 are denied to none, but the sin of resisting the known truth 
 is rarely forgiven, because it so hardens the heart and blinds 
 the intellect, that the sinner refuses to receive the graces 
 which would lead him to repentance and salvation. 
 
 Not long after the Pharisees had asked for a sign, we read 
 that a certain Pharisee invited our Lord to breakfast with 
 him. This invitation was evidently not made in a friendly 
 spirit, since the host immediately began to criticize our 
 Lord's omission of the washing of hands. " The Pharisee 
 thought within himself, he did not speak. Nevertheless, 
 He who sounds the depths of the soul, heard the man's 
 thoughts."* Formerly our Lord's Apostles had been accused 
 of this breach of Pharisaic ceremonial. The strict Pharisees 
 held that to eat without having previously washed hands, 
 was as grievous as a sin of impurity. It is expressly stated 
 that there were Pharisees and lawyers present on this occasion, 
 besides the host, and some commentators think that the 
 invitation made to Jesus to take food was the outcome of a 
 plot. These Pharisees and lawyers doubtless hoped to find 
 matter of accusation against our Lord, if they came more 
 closely in contact with Him. 
 
 Our Lord, perceiving their malice, uttered one of His most 
 severe denunciations and reproached them with their trivial 
 scrupulosity, hypocrisy, pride, and ambition, and with 
 corrupting the morals of their neighbours. We can well 
 imagine what effect these stern words of rebuke had on those 
 to whom they were spoken. There were evidently no dis- 
 ciples present, none of the multitudes who esteemed Him 
 as the Son of David ; Jesus was surrounded by enemies, and 
 
 * St. Augustine 
 
202 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 " while He was saying these things to them/' or as several 
 ancient manuscripts read : " When He had gone forth from 
 thence," the lawyers and the Pharisees " began vehemently 
 to urge Him, and to oppress His mouth about many things, 
 lying in wait for Him and seeking to catch something from 
 His mouth that they might accuse Him."* 
 
 We can picture the scene ; as Jesus leaves the house, His 
 enraged enemies follow Him. They press round and question 
 Him in threatening, excited manner. It seems as though 
 they will use open violence. They ask difficult and perplex- 
 ing questions, and by so doing they hope " to catch " (liter- 
 ally, " to hunt ") Him, as a hunter entraps a wild beast in 
 a snare. Jesus leaves them, still His hour is " not yet come," 
 but their defeat has aroused deeper and stronger desires of 
 vengeance. The storm-clouds are gathering more thickly 
 than ever around our Divine Lord ; soon they will burst 
 over His sacred head, and then it will for a brief moment be 
 their hour, and that of the powers of darkness. Meanwhile 
 He passes thence. 
 
 A few weeks elapsed, during which Jesus appears to have 
 been chiefly engaged in teaching His disciples. Towards the 
 end of His ministryj we do not find Him preaching so often 
 in the synagogues, and it has been conjectured that the 
 rulers refused to allow Him to do so ; but, on one particular 
 Sabbath, He was teaching in a synagogue when His eyes 
 fell upon " a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen 
 years." In consequence of this curvature of the spine " she 
 was bowed together, neither could she look upwards at all,"f 
 and the Evangelist, by calling it " a spirit of infirmity " 
 clearly attributes this affliction to Satanic agency. Jesus 
 speaks, too, of her having been bound by Satan. 
 
 He called this poor woman to Him, laid His blessed hands 
 upon her, and " immediately she was made straight and 
 glorified God." He first said, however : '* Woman, thou art 
 delivered from thy infirmity ;" then He gave her the strength 
 to stand upright. 
 
 The ruler, seeing this evident miracle, rebuked the multi- 
 tude and said : " Six days there are wherein you ought to 
 * St. Luke xii. t I^^^- 
 
INCREASING HOSTILITY OF THE PHARISEES 203 
 
 work. In them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on 
 the Sabbath day." Jesus, answering him and all those who 
 held a like doctrine, rebuked them and convinced them of 
 their inconsistency^ since on the Sabbath they were accus- 
 tomed to loose an ox or an ass, and to lead them to water. 
 Then He asksj with just indignation : " Ought not this 
 daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these 
 eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath 
 day ?"* 
 
 Not a voice was raised ; none dared answer or refute our 
 Lord's question, so " when He said these things all His 
 adversaries were ashamed, and all the people rejoiced for all 
 the things that were done gloriously by Him." It is a 
 repetition of the old story. The Gospel is gradually gaining 
 ground among the people, and their enthusiasm will attain 
 its climax on Palm Sunday ; and, in the same proportion, 
 the anger of our Lord's enemies gains daily in intensity. 
 Truly, He was set for the rise and the fall of many in 
 Israel, and that the thoughts of many hearts might be 
 revealed ! 
 
 What is the principal lesson which this general survey of 
 our Lord's relations with the Pharisees brings home to us ? 
 Is it not the terrible consequences of closing our eyes to the 
 light ; of hardening our hearts against those truths which 
 condemn our mode of life ? It is so much easier to say, " I 
 do not believe," than it is to acknowledge a fault and to 
 resolve to amend. Even good Catholics sometimes close 
 their eyes and refuse to hear some unpleasant truth about one 
 particular passion, evil inclination, or bad habit. It is thus 
 that many a man has degenerated into an apostate, a 
 drunkard, a gambler, a thief, or a worldling. The beginning 
 was small ; the goal to which it might lead if not corrected 
 was deliberately ignored. The evil grew, and perhaps when 
 it was too late, the victims of sin awoke to their danger. 
 
 There is a golden rule to which, if we are faithful, we 
 shall never be guilty of hardening our hearts against the 
 truth. It is to be ever ready to hear God's voice, and to be 
 prepared to follow its teachings, even though our obedience 
 
 * St. Luke xiii. 
 
204 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 may involve self-crucifixion, assured that if we mount the 
 hill of Calvary, we shall find our Master there. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude.- — Contemplate our Lord as He stands 
 teaching in the Temple surrounded by His disciples, the 
 wavering multitudes, and the arrogant, inimical Pharisees. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may always, " with meek- 
 ness, receive the engrafted word, which is able to save your 
 souls."* 
 
 First Point. — The teaching and the priestly office were 
 separated in the Jewish rehgion, before the Captivity, after 
 it, and in the time of our Lord ; God never left His people 
 without teachers. 
 
 Second Point. — The contest with the Pharisees about their 
 blindness and obstinacy led our Lord to utter the parable of 
 the Good Shepherd. Jesus healed a demoniac who was 
 blind and dumb ; the Pharisees accused Him of doing so by 
 Satanic agency. 
 
 Third Point. — The Pharisees asked for a sign from Heaven. 
 Jesus takes food in a Pharisee's house. They try to entrap 
 Him in His words. He heals an infirm woman in a Perean 
 synagogue on the Sabbath. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord that He has amply provided 
 His Church with teachers. Ask that you may be a docile 
 disciple. Pray that you may never attribute to men or the 
 devils, that which befalls you by God's permissive Will ; that 
 you may always look higher than the human agent. Worship 
 the Good Shepherd and thank Him for His loving care. 
 Pray for those who have strayed from the one fold, and for 
 those who have never entered it. Beg the grace of com- 
 passion for all who suffer spiritually, morally, or bodily. 
 
 ♦ St. Jas. i. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 205 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE 
 
 St. John x. 22-42. 
 
 The German writer, Wieseler, has calculated that in the year 
 A.D. 33 the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles ended on October 19, 
 and the Feast of the Dedication opened on December 20. 
 This gives us an interval of two months, which, as we have 
 seen, Jesus spent in Jerusalem and its suburbs, or in Perea, 
 east of the Jordan. We may presume that it was during 
 this period that the seventy-two disciples returned from their 
 evangelical mission in Perea, and in the fulness of their joy 
 related how even the devils had been subject to them in the 
 name of their Master.* 
 
 St. Luke thus describes this journey through Perea : "He 
 went through the cities and towns teaching, and making His 
 journey to Jerusalem."! He was going there to keep the 
 Feast of the Dedication, and to give the multitudes another 
 opportunity of hearing the Word of God. It was still His 
 '* day," during which He must work, but the " night " was 
 fast closing in. 
 
 We may follow our Lord in spirit as He travelled south- 
 ward along the eastern bank of the Jordan. The seed-time 
 was in full vigour during the ninth month (Bui or Marchesvan), 
 for this was the rainy season ; but men found time to leave 
 their work in order to hear the great Prophet of Galilee. 
 By the time Jesus reached Jerusalem with His Apostles and 
 disciples, winter had set in and already the snow lay thick 
 on the mountains of Gilboa and Judea. 
 
 " It was the Feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem, and it 
 was winter."! This feast, hke that of Tabernacles, which in 
 certain features it resembled, was of post-Mosaic institution. 
 Its object was to commemorate the purifying of the Temple 
 and altar, after it had been so terribly desecrated by Antiochus 
 Epiphanes during the three years (167-164 B.C.) when the 
 
 * St. Luke X. t Ibid., xiii. X St. John x. 
 
2o6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Jews were under the Syrian yoke. In the books of Macha- 
 bees the sacrileges of the conqueror are thus graphically 
 described : 
 
 " Antiochus went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude, 
 and he proudly entered into the sanctuary {i.e., the Holy 
 Place, into which none but priests and Levites might enter), 
 and took away the golden altar, and the candlesticks, and all 
 the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition (on which the 
 twelve loaves were placed weekly), and the pouring vessels, 
 and the vials, and the crowns, and the golden ornament that 
 was before the Temple, and he broke them all in pieces. He 
 took the silver and gold and the precious vessels, and he took 
 the hidden treasures which he found . . . and departed to 
 his own land."* 
 
 Great indeed was the desolation of the Jews when they 
 saw their Temple stripped of its treasures, the Holy Place 
 dismantled by sacrilegious hands, and the Treasury rifled. 
 But the worst was yet to come, when two years later King 
 Antiochus commanded that " all the people should be one, 
 and every man should leave his own law." As usual, this 
 command brought about apostasies, for might ever prevails 
 over right, except in the case of the martyrs and those who 
 possess their spirit ; so we are not surprised to learn that 
 " many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed 
 to idols and profaned the Sabbath." Then, seeing the ad- 
 vantage he had gained, " he commanded altars to be built, 
 and temples, and idols and swine's flesh to be immolated." 
 Sacrifices to idols were offered on the altar of holocausts, and 
 " the books of the law were burnt." 
 
 There were many martyrs in those days, and God raised 
 up the heroic family of the Machabees to deliver His people. 
 In 164 B.C. Judas Machabeus gained a signal victory over 
 Antiochus at Bethsura. His brave soldiers, " ready to die 
 manfully," fought for their country and their religion. God 
 blessed their efforts, and three years after the altar of God 
 had been desecrated, on the 25th of the month of Chisleu, 
 the Jews re-dedicated their Temple, after having cleansed it 
 and removed the idols. Sacrifices were offered to Jehovali on a 
 
 * I Mac. i. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 207 
 
 a new altar of holocausts. The stones of the previous altar, 
 which had been desecrated, were laid up "in the mountain 
 of the temple in a convenient place, till there should come a 
 prophet and give answer concerning them."* This arrange- 
 ment throws a sidelight on the separation between the teach- 
 ing and the priestly office : these devout Jews awaited a special 
 messenger from God, who should enhghten them in their 
 difficulty ; they did not ask their priests to decide the 
 question. 
 
 This Feast of the Dedication was kept up for eight days, 
 beginning on the 25th of Chisleu — the double anniversary of 
 the desecration of the old altar and the consecration of the 
 new altar of holocausts. At this original Feast of the Dedica- 
 tion there was "exceeding joy among the people," and 
 " Judas, and his brethren and all the church of Israel decreed 
 that the day of the dedication of the altar should be kept 
 in the season, from year to year, for eight days from the five- 
 and-twentieth day of the month of Casleu (or Chisleu) with 
 joy and gladness.'' ■\ 
 
 This last phrase gives the keynote of the feast, and hence 
 we find it offers a striking resemblance with the Feast of 
 Tabernacles. Like it, the Dedication was kept up for eight 
 days, the HallelX was chanted, palm and other branches were 
 carried, and there was a grand illumination of the Temple. 
 The Jews also lit up their dwellings ; on the first day of the 
 feast the head of the family lit one candle for the whole house- 
 hold', or one for each member ; the second evening the number 
 was raised to two ; then, by each day adding one candle, on 
 the eighth day the number lit would be eight for each person, 
 and in a house where ten people dwelt this would give eighty 
 candles. These lights were placed " at the entrance to the 
 house or room, or, according to circumstances, in the window, 
 or even on the table. According to modem practice, the 
 light is placed on the left on entering a room (the Mezuzah§ 
 is on the right). Certain benedictions are spoken on lighting 
 
 * Chapter IV. f ^ Mac. iv. X See Chapter XIX.. p. 152 
 
 § A leathern case containing a rolled strip of parchment, on which 
 was written the words of Deut. iv. 4-9 and xi. 13-21. The Jews took 
 hterally the precept touching the Law of God : " Thou shalt write them 
 upon the posts and the doors of thy house." 
 
2o8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 these candles, all work is stayed, and the festive time 
 passed in merriment."* 
 
 All Jews were not bound to visit Jerusalem for this feast, 
 but those who could made a point of so doing. The fact that 
 only in the Temple could sacrifices be offered — and sacrifice 
 was the characteristic feature of Judaism, as it is of Chris- 
 tianity — explains why the Temple was the centre of their 
 devotion. 
 
 The illuminations were so essentially a feature of this feast 
 that Josephus speaks of it as " the Feast of Lights," and the 
 practice of illuminating the Temple, and even private dwell- 
 ings, appears to have been based on a tradition which runs 
 thus : When the sacred candlestick or lamp was restored, or 
 rather renewed, in the Holy Place, the priests had only one 
 flagon of pure oil, sealed with the High-Priest's signet. This 
 quantity was barely sufficient to feed the seven lamps for 
 one day, but, by a miracle, the flask did not cease to give oil 
 until the eighth day. In memory of this miracle, the Israelites 
 adopted the custom of the festival illuminations. It was 
 also laid down that, during this feast, private mourning alone 
 was permitted, but no public fast might be observed. 
 
 Such was the Jewish festival which Jesus went to Jeru- 
 salem to keep. As a little Child, He had seen the candles lit 
 up in the little home at Nazareth : three on the first night, 
 representing the faith and devotion of Jesus, Mary and 
 Joseph. As a Child, too, He had learned the meaning of this 
 feast from His blessed Mother's lips, and often He had read 
 the sacred pages in which the heroic deeds of the Machabees 
 were recorded. The feast recalled the rekindling of the sacred 
 lamps in the Temple, and the lights from every Jewish home 
 lit up the whole town or hamlet — a figure of the Messias, 
 who should appear in the Temple, and from that consecrated 
 centre, illumine the whole earth and overthrow the idols of the 
 nations that knew not God. 
 
 Jesus appears to have spent most of His time during this 
 feast in the Temple. St. John tells us that He " was walking " 
 in Solomon's Porch. It was the winter season, and there is 
 
 * Edershcim's "Life and Times," etc., book iv., vol. ii., chap. xiv. 
 p. 228, ed. 1901. 
 
 # 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 209 
 
 another coincidence which is not without its significance. 
 According to a CathoHc tradition, dating from the fourth 
 century, and accepted by St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, and 
 St. Ambrose, Jesus was born on December 25. On that day 
 the Light of Life, the true Temple of God, Jesus, the Word 
 Incarnate, appeared amongst men. On that same date, thirty- 
 three years later, Jesus was teaching the people. He kept 
 His last birthday in the Temple precincts, about His Father's 
 business. 
 
 Our blessed Lady's thoughts were with Him in a very 
 special way on that day, for what mother ever fails to re- 
 member the birthday of her child ? What remembrances 
 that day brought back to her of the lowly grotto, the Angels' 
 hymns of triumph, her own ecstatic joy as she gazed on the 
 Word made flesh ! Thirty-three years had sped on their 
 course since that Christmas night. Did the blessed Mother 
 of Jesus know that this was His last birthday on earth ? 
 Probably, for He, who spoke so plainly to His Apostles as 
 the time of His lifting-up drew near, would not have left His 
 holy Mother in ignorance. The words of Jesus were not 
 hidden from " the handmaid of the Lord," as they so often 
 were from His disciples. Mary, divinely enlightened, knew 
 and interpreted the sacred Scriptures aright ; she, at leasts 
 realized that her Son was to be the suffering Messias foretold 
 by the prophets. 
 
 " Jesus walked in the Temple in Solomon's Porch." The 
 substructures of this ancient colonnade still exist. It formed 
 the eastern boundary of the Temple^ and was pierced in the 
 centre by the celebrated Shushan Gate, the principal entrance 
 into the most-frequented Court of the Temple^ known as the 
 Women's Court, though men were not excluded from it, as 
 women were from the Court of Israel. As Jesus entered 
 Solomon's Porch by the Shushan Gatej with its carved repre- 
 sentation of the city of Susaj which recalled the Eastern 
 Dispersion of the Jews^ did He think of His many straying 
 sheep scattered over the face of the earthy of the lost tribes 
 of Israeli whose fate was known to God alone ? 
 
 How beautiful the Temple looked, as it stood there against 
 the heavens on that winter day ! To the group of pilgrims 
 
 14 
 
210 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 standing in the middle of the gateway, the House of the Lord 
 was seen in all its beauty. To the right and left the colonnade 
 known as Solomon's Porch stretched out with its double row 
 of Corinthian pillars, each a monolith, 37J feet high. The 
 outer row of columns was inserted in the boundary wall, and 
 the beautiful carved cedar roof rested upon this wall and the 
 inner row of pillars. In these cloisters, a few low benches 
 were placed for the convenience of the worshippers. 
 
 Beyond the cloister the pilgrims would have a good view 
 of the Gentiles' Court, of the Soreg, or low boundary wall, 
 with its large tablets, on which was inscribed, in Greek and 
 Latin, the prohibition for any Gentile to pass that wall, under 
 pain of death. Gates led from the Soreg into the Chel, or 
 terrace, and in front again there was a flight of twelve steps, 
 upon which '* the Beautiful Gate " of the Temple probably 
 stood. This gate led into the Women's Court, and exactly 
 opposite it, stood the Nicanor Gate at the top of a flight of 
 fifteen steps. Farther back and higher still, was the Court of 
 the Priests (behind the Court of Israel) . In this, was the altar of 
 holocausts — the central object, — and the brazen laver. Twelve 
 more steps were seen in the background, sufficiently large and 
 wide to accommodate 500 priests, who, at the great feasts, 
 simultaneously blessed the worshippers. These were the steps 
 leading up to the House of the Lord, and they supported the 
 immense columns of the covered portico, which was connected 
 with the roof of the Temple. The front of the Holy Place 
 was decorated with a golden vine, each cluster of grapes 
 being six feet long. 
 
 Josephus tells us that the Temple buildings were much 
 higher than those built by Solomon, and that they " were 
 visible to those that dwelt in the country for a great many 
 furlongs, but chiefly to such as lived over against them, 
 and those that approached to them."* The House of the 
 Lord, or Temple proper, stood on the highest terrace. 
 
 This brief description will enable the reader to realize 
 something of the beauty of the scene on which Jesus and His 
 disciples gazed as they entered the Shushan Gate. Crowds 
 of Jews pressed into the Temple by the various gates, each 
 
 * " Antiquities," XV., xi. 3. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 211 
 
 worshipper bearing his palm-branch, and wearing his festal 
 garments. Jesus remained in the eastern cloister, and as 
 He was walking, probably with His disciples, suddenly He 
 found Himself surrounded by a number of Jews. They 
 barred His passage, and, with a certain determination and 
 suppressed excitement, they asked this vital question : " How 
 long dost Thou hold our souls in suspense ? If Thou be the 
 Christ, tell us plainly." 
 
 The question betrayed the Jews' irritation, and the motive of 
 the interrogation was an evil one. They asked Jesus to declare 
 plainly if He were the Messias. Now, the King Messias was 
 regarded by the Jews as a temporal Prince, and the Romans 
 knew that the Jews were expecting the advent of an earthlp 
 sovereign. If our Lord answered plainly in the affirmative, 
 they would have a cause of accusation at the Roman Court, 
 and this was probably what they desired. Later on, the 
 Sanhedrin addressed this same question to our Lord, and 
 when He replied clearly in the affirmative, they at once " led 
 Him to Pilate."* 
 
 It was an insidious question which these enemies of Christ 
 put to Him, and they ask it in the very place where tradition 
 held that the Messias would reveal Himself — in the Temple. 
 Moreover, it is put in a threatening manner. How does Jesus 
 reply ? With Divine forbearance, our Lord avoided a direct 
 answer. His time for going before Pilate " is not yet ful- 
 filled." Therefore He appeals to what He has previously 
 said : " I speak [better " I told "] to you, and you believe not ; 
 the works that I do in the name of My Father, they give 
 testimony of Me." Jesus appeals therefore to His works, 
 to the miracles He had wrought, and He reproves them for 
 their incredulity. With all the perv^ersity of prejudice and 
 hatred, they ask now for what previously they had rejected 
 as untrustworthy. When He had declared Himself to be 
 " the Light of the world," they retorted : " Thou givest testi- 
 mony of Thyself ; Thy testimony is not true." When He 
 testified to His Divine Mission, they asked for a sign : " What 
 sign dost Thou show us, seeing Thou dost these things ?"f 
 
 Jesus was the true Messias, but He was not such a one as 
 * St. Luke xxii. | St. John ii., vi. 
 
212 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the Jews expected and were prepared to welcome. He had 
 told them plainly on various occasions that He came from 
 God. Thus, when He healed the man at the Pool of Bethsaida, 
 He said to the Jews in the discourse which followed : " As 
 the Father hath life in Himself, so He hath given also to the 
 Son to have life in Himself."* On another occasion He said 
 to them : " Before Abraham was made, I am ";| and the Jews 
 understood His meaning, since they treated His words as 
 blasphemy, and would have stoned Him. 
 
 Having referred them to His previous words and works, 
 Jesus then goes on to explain the reason of their incredulity : 
 " because you are not My sheep." He refers evidently to the 
 parable of the Good Shepherd, which He had uttered for their 
 instruction but a short time previously, and in His allusion 
 He brings into relief what He does for His sheep, and how the 
 benefits they receive from Him call forth certain virtues in 
 them, which are lacking in those who are not His sheep. 
 
 The words of Jesus concerning the relation between Him 
 and His sheep are thoroughly Hebrew in form. They are an 
 example of rhythmic synthetic parallelism ; in a word, they 
 are written in poetic form, and the parallelism is synthetic 
 or constructive — i.e., the second member of each couplet 
 supplements or completes the thought expressed by the first 
 member. Our Lord's words form a triplet of couplets : 
 
 " My sheep hear My voice, 
 
 And I know them, 
 And they follow Me, 
 
 And I give them everlasting life, 
 And they shall not perish for ever. 
 
 And no man shall pluck them out of My hand." 
 
 The docility of the sheep merits, as it were, the personal 
 knowledge and interest of the Good Shepherd ; their obedience 
 obtains for them eternal life ; they can never perish, because 
 their Shepherd is all powerful. 
 
 The sheep have precisely those traits and privileges which 
 the enemies of Christ lack. The latter are stubborn, dis- 
 obedient, and if they do not repent, they will perish in their 
 sins. Jesus then explains why the sheep are so secure ; it is 
 ♦ St. John V. f J bid., viii. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 213 
 
 because " the Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than 
 all,* and I and My Father are one/' Thus Jesus declares 
 Himself to be equal to the Father in power. They understand 
 His words, since " they took up stones to cast at Him," as 
 though He had been guilty of blasphemy. We can see them 
 casting down their palm-branches, and rushing without the 
 gate to procure the stones. The Temple cloisters were not 
 yet completed, and plenty of large fragments of marble lay 
 close at hand. Those on the outskirts of the crowd would 
 have rushed first to procure these deadly missiles, and to 
 hand them to their leaders. Once more it was a case of 
 lawless violence. Christ's enemies hoped that their stones, 
 the arma multitudinis^ would prevail where their arguments 
 had failed. 
 
 This was the second time that a plain declaration of our 
 Lord's Messianic claims, put forth in the Temple, had resulted 
 in an attempt to kill Him. These rulers doubtless considered 
 themselves justified — in their blindness they knew not what 
 they did. A prophet had once been stoned in the Courts of 
 Solomon's Temple — Zacharias, the son of Joiada, the priest, 
 This prophet had denounced the people for their idolatry, 
 and by the King's order he was stoned in the Temple, f As 
 King Joas rid himself of the prophet, who had been bold 
 enough to rebuke him, so these spiritual rulers of Israel 
 desired to rid themselves of Jesus, who had so often denounced 
 their crimes. 
 
 But *' they took up stones " to cast at Him in vain. A 
 more cruel form of death had been deliberately chosen by 
 the Son of God, and He " who hath measured the waters in 
 the hollow of his hand . . . and weighed the mountains in 
 scales and the hills in a balance, "J would not allow these 
 intending murderers to carry out their evil projects. 
 
 Jesus stands with calm majesty, with a deportment of 
 steadfast courage, and ironically asks, as they are about to 
 throw their stones : " Many good works I have showed you 
 from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me ?" 
 Yes, they had been witnesses of many of His "good " (literally, 
 
 * This is the more generally accepted reading of the Greek manuscripts. 
 I 2 Para. xxiv. + Isa. xl. 
 
214 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 " beautiful ") works. Some had been worked in the Temple. 
 He had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing 
 to the deaf, and speech to the dumb. He had raised the dead, 
 fed the hungry miraculously, and walked upon the waves. 
 Now He asks His enemies for which kind of these good works 
 they would proceed to stone Him. 
 
 His words to a certain extent calm their mad fury, and 
 they reply : " For a good work, we stone Thee not, but for 
 blasphemy and because that Thou, being a man, makest 
 Thyself like God." These words are a clear proof that the 
 declaration for which they had asked had been given and 
 rejected. How does Jesus answer this charge of blasphemy ? 
 By an argumentum ad hominem. He appeals to their own 
 judges, who, as representatives of the Divine authority, in 
 their official capacity (although in themselves sinful men) are 
 called '«gods " in the Law, and "the Scriptures cannot be 
 broken." Jesus then goes on to confirm what He had said 
 concerning His Divine Sonship : " Do you say of Him whom 
 the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou 
 blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God ? If I do 
 not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, 
 though you will not believe Me, believe the works, that you 
 may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." 
 Jesus, therefore, again puts forward His Divine claims — He 
 and the Father are One. 
 
 Once more the Jews would resort to violence — " they sought 
 therefore to take Him " — but once more " He escaped out of 
 their hands." The Greek codices add " again," which refers 
 to His previous escape (see St. John viii. 50). 
 
 After the stormy hours in the Temple, and towards the close 
 of Jesus' ministry, there is a brief hour of calm, a rift in the 
 clouds. As though to strengthen Him for the final contest 
 with the powers of evil, Jesus has the joy of seeing His mes- 
 sage received elsewhere. Leaving Jerusalem, " He went again 
 beyond the Jordan into that place where John was baptizing 
 first, and there He abode. And many resorted to Him, and 
 they said : John indeed did no sign. But all things, whatsoever 
 John said of this man were true. And many believed in Him."* 
 
 * St. John X. 
 
JESUS AT THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION 215 
 
 Jesus travelled through Perea as far as Bethany or Beth- 
 abara, where the Baptist commenced his mission as the Pre- 
 cursor. There the Sanhedrin and the multitudes of all classes 
 had flocked to hear him. There John spoke of One mightier 
 than himself, and in that same region he had pointed out 
 Jesus as the Lamb of God. The banks of the Jordan recalled 
 the Baptism of Jesus, the Temptation which followed, and 
 the interior call of the first disciples of Christ. 
 
 The people in Perea had welcomed the Baptist, and now 
 the One, of whom John had spoken, was in their midst. The 
 seventy-two disciples had but recently announced the visit of 
 their Master. The seed sown by the Precursor was bearing 
 fruit after his death by martyrdom. So it is with many a 
 Christian, who, after a long life of incessant toil and sacrifice, 
 of daily martyrdom in the accomplishment of his duty, goes 
 home to his God. On earth, that brave soul reaped little or 
 no fruit in return for countless labours and tribulations, but 
 his works follow him. Children rise up and call their parents 
 blessed ; a man realizes that his conversion is due to the 
 fervent prayers of his dead wife ; persecutors owe the light 
 of faith to the sufferings and prayers of their victims. 
 
 John had prepared the way for his Divine Master. Jesus 
 came at length, and He more than realized the highest expec- 
 tations of John's disciples. In astonishment, they compared 
 the words of John with the words and miracles of Jesus. 
 They were struck by the truth of the portrait which the Pre- 
 cursor had drawn of the Messias, and by the contrast offered 
 by the signs of Jesus. They kept on saying : " John did no 
 sign." Thus Jesus increased in their estimation. His Divine 
 Personality won their attention, and His grace touched their 
 souls. Here, at least, our Saviour found some little com- 
 pensation for the hatred and incredulity of Israel's rulers. 
 
 In Perea " many believed in Him." The fields were ripe 
 for the harvest, and the Lord of the harvest went Himself to 
 reap what His labourers had sown. " Many believed," and 
 this must have been a real joy to Jesus, a consolation for the 
 past, and a source of strength for the future. He, the Elect 
 of God, has not laboured in vain, nor shall His servants ; 
 
 therefore they should be mindful of the inspired words : "In 
 
2i6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the morning sow thy seed^ and in the evening let not thine 
 hand cease, for thou knowest not which may rather spring 
 up, this or that ; and if both together, it shall be the better."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord at the moment when 
 His enemies surround Him in Solomon's Porch. 
 
 Second Prelude.' — Ask for courage to persevere bravely in 
 doing right, in spite of opposition and failures. 
 
 First Point.' — Jesus attends the Feast of Dedication. His 
 enemies surround Him in Solomon's Porch, and ask Him to 
 say plainly if He be the Messias. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus replies by referring them to His former 
 testimony, and to His works. He rebukes their incredulity 
 and contrasts their conduct with that of His sheep. 
 
 Third Point. — The Jews prepare to stone Him. Jesus stops 
 them by a question concerning their judges. He reiterates 
 His Messianic claims. The Jews strive to take Him prisoner. 
 He escapes and goes to Perea, where " many believe in Him." 
 
 Colloquy.' — Worship our Lord as He stands in the midst of 
 the angry multitude. Pray that you may always recognize 
 His claims to your love and service, that you may be wholly 
 His. Ask that you may ever be one of His docile sheep, and 
 so arrive at eternal life. Pray for the courage and devoted- 
 ness to profit by all the opportunities of doing good, that you 
 may learn to work for God, content to leave results to Him, 
 content that others reap, where you have sown. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 
 St. John xi. 
 
 In the preceding meditation, we learned that Jesus and His 
 little band of faithful disciples had retired to Perea on account 
 pf the enmity of the Jews of Jerusalem and their rulers, and 
 
 * Eccles, xi. 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 217 
 
 that there our Lord reaped the fruit of the labours of His Pre- 
 cursor and of the mission of the seventy-two disciples, whom 
 He had sent to evangelize in that district. In Perea, He 
 taught and worked miracles, and "many believed in Him." 
 In the coldest month — Tebheth, which corresponds approxi- 
 mately to our January — Jesus travelled about this rugged 
 region, visiting the numerous towns and hamlets, heedless of 
 the continual snow and hail storms that prevail in Palestine 
 in January. In Shebat (February) the weather was a little 
 milder, and apparently our Lord was then evangelizing in the 
 northern part of Perea, near the confines of Galilee. His 
 working day was on the decline, and the night of His awful 
 Passion was now very nigh at hand ; but, in spite of its 
 proximity, Jesus must have had occasion to rejoice in the 
 faith of the many who believed, and who, if they failed Him 
 in the dark hour of His sufferings, at least were gathered into 
 the Christian Church after Pentecost, when the Apostles 
 reaped what their Master had sown. 
 
 While Jesus was thus preaching the kingdom of God, 
 Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was taken ill. 
 " Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus." 
 He had spent many peaceful hours in the seclusion of their 
 home in Bethania. There He and His disciples found a hearty 
 welcome and generous hospitality. In the home of " Lazarus, 
 our friend," as Jesus calls him, there was great joy whenever 
 word was received that He and His Apostles were about to 
 pay a visit. But now a great sorrow reigns over that house- 
 hold. Lazarus is sick unto death, and to whom can the sisters 
 turn in their grief, but to Him who loved them all so dearly, 
 and who had power over disease and death ? 
 
 From Bethania, therefore, messengers are sent in haste to 
 inform our Lord of that which, by His Prescience, He knew 
 well already. St. John thus relates this touching message : 
 
 " There was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, 
 of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister. (And Mary 
 was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped 
 His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 
 His sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold he 
 whom Thou lovest is sick.'' 
 
2i8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 What paternal affection, humility, and confidence these 
 words of the afflicted sisters express ! The message merely 
 states two facts : Lazarus is very ill, and Jesus is his friend — 
 He loves him. As St. Augustine has so beautifully said : 
 " Sufficit tit fioveris, non enim amas et deserts." Yes ; it suffices 
 that Jesus knows, for He cannot know and fail those who 
 trust in Him ; therefore Martha and Mary, convinced of our 
 Lord's power and firm friendship, sent " and told Jesus." 
 
 They ask no favour ; they do not beg Him to come to their 
 aid at once ; they simply tell Him of their sorrow, knowing 
 that He will not fail them in their hour of trial, though, indeed, 
 He often, as in this case, tries the faith of His disciples. 
 What reply does the Master make ? One which, for a time 
 and in the light of subsequent events, was somewhat enig- 
 matical : " Jesus, hearing it, said, This sickness is not imto 
 death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be 
 glorified by it." 
 
 He promises no visit or cure ; He simply says it is " not 
 unto death, hut for the glory of God." Yet the very day the 
 messengers reached the town where Jesus was evangelizing, 
 Lazarus died. How are we to understand our Lord's answer ? 
 Commentators give various explanations. St. Augustine says 
 that this death of Lazarus had not death in view, but the 
 working of a miracle. Others explain our Lord's words as 
 referring to His own death. The raising of Lazarus would 
 be the proximate cause of our Lord's own death and Resur- 
 rection, by which He would enter into His glory. Or, again, 
 some interpret the words as meaning that Lazarus, raised 
 from the dead, would glorify God, and that those who wit- 
 nessed his raising from the dead, or heard of it afterwards 
 would glorify God, who had wrought this mighty sign. 
 
 Strangely the context falls upon our ears : " When He had 
 heard, therefore, that he was sick, He still remained in the 
 same place two days." We contrast these words with another 
 passage in St. John's Gospel in which we are told that a 
 certain ruler — no special friend of our Lord's — said to Him : 
 " Lord, come down before that my son die." What answer 
 did Jesus make ? One brief sentence : " Go thy way ; thy 
 son liveth." How are we to account for the difference in our 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 219 
 
 Lord's conduct ? We find His motive in His words to the 
 messengers, and in the very fact of His love for Martha, Mary, 
 and Lazarus. He delayed that He might bestow a greater 
 favour. Just because they were His intimate friends, He 
 tried their faith and love. Just because He was sure of their 
 faith and loyalty, He could try them thus. God's Saints have 
 always more to suffer than the " rank and file " of ordinary 
 Christians. Their tribulations are the sine qua non of their 
 sanctity. 
 
 " Jesus loved Martha and Mary." If we had never been 
 told the sequel to the two days' delay, we might have doubted 
 that love, as, indeed, we often do doubt it when our Lord puts 
 our faith to the test. But all was well with the friends of 
 Jesus. " What majestic calm, what self-restraint of human 
 affections, and sublime consciousness of Divine Power in this 
 delay. It is once more Christ asleep while the disciples are 
 despairing in the barque, almost swamped in the storm ! 
 Christ is never in haste — least of all on His errands of love — 
 and He is never in haste, because He is always sure.* Let us 
 learn, therefore, to be sure of our Lord and of His help. " If 
 it make any delay, wait for it, for it shall surely come, and 
 it shall not be slack : the just shall live in his faith, "f for " the 
 vision " of God's mercy " shall appear at the end." 
 
 " He still remained two days in the same place." There 
 were souls to save in Perea, some who would never again be 
 privileged to see Jesus on earth. The harvest was ripe there 
 for the sickle. Perhaps some of our Lord's Apostles — Peter, 
 Andrew, Philip, and Matthew — had gone to see their friends 
 in Galilee, and Jesus was waiting for their return. 
 
 Meanwhile, He follows every detail in that sorrowful home 
 in Bethania. It is all present to His Omniscience, and He is 
 with them, invisibly strengthening them in proportion as the 
 cross presses more heavily, and the shadow of death planes 
 over that dwelling. He sees that all the sorrowful circum- 
 stances are working together to bring about the desired end 
 — the glory of God, the one aim of His life on earth, as it 
 should be of ours. 
 
 * Edersheim, "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," vol. ii., 
 chap, xxi., p. 314. t Hab. ii. 
 
220 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Let us fix our attention on that loved home in Bethania, 
 which Jesus had so often sanctified by His Divine Presence. 
 Lazarus is taken ill. Perhaps it is " the great fever " so 
 prevalent in Palestine, and of which sleep is one of the six 
 specified symptoms of improvement. Mary and Martha 
 devote themselves to nursing their brother. They are wealthy 
 and no expense is spared. The illness progresses, and the 
 loving sisters become more and more anxious. The moment 
 there are fears for the worst, messengers are sent to inform 
 our Lord. The sisters probably know whereabouts Jesus is 
 preaching — some twenty or more miles from Bethania — since 
 it is a day's journey. The messengers depart, and Martha 
 and Mary take up their duties in the sick-room. News spreads 
 that Lazarus is very ill. Kind friends come or send to inquire, 
 but there is no good news to give. 
 
 It is clear that Lazarus is sinking fast, and the Master is 
 not yet come. Have the messengers found Him ? Will He 
 arrive in time ? If only He were here^ He would cure 
 Lazarus ! Such must have been their thoughts and feelings, 
 and many a time the sisters looked anxiously along the road, 
 hoping to catch a glimpse of the messengers or, better still, 
 of the Master Himself. 
 
 Still He delays, while death hastens. Nearer still it comes, 
 and while Martha and Mary are praying and weeping by their 
 brother's bedside, and kindly friends are gathered round, 
 Lazarus in peace gives up his soul to God. 
 
 All is over ; the end has come, Mary remains absorbed in 
 her grief ; Martha arouses herself, for she is the eldest — the 
 head of the house — and the funeral arrangements have to be 
 carried out. The dead are buried on the day of their death 
 in the East, and if the person dies after sunset, the funeral 
 takes place by torchlight. Thus it was, too, in the days of 
 Jesus. 
 
 No elaborate preparations are required, since the family 
 in Bethania has a private vault in readiness — *' a cave with 
 a stone laid over it." Lovingly Martha and Mary swathe 
 the limbs of their dead brother, aided by the women whose 
 profession it was to prepare the dead for burial. Spices are 
 sprinkled in the folds of the cerecloth, and probably each 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 221 
 
 limb is swathed separately. Lazarus is then clad in his 
 best outer garments. All this is done with loving care, while 
 his body is still warm. The hired mourners' lamentations 
 are heard as they wail in an adjoining chamber. Now the 
 bearers arrive, and they are numerous. Lazarus is placed 
 in an open wicker coffin, which is put upon a bier. His face 
 is bound round with a napkin, but not covered. 
 
 The Jews regarded the burial of the dead as a sacred duty, 
 and he who neglected it was said to reproach his Creator ; 
 it took precedence of prayer and the study of the Law. Those 
 who could not follow the bier to the grave were enjoined to 
 stand respectfully, when the deceased was carried past them. 
 The funeral orator delivered his oration on the virtues of the 
 dead, either in the house of mourning, or at one of the halts 
 on the way to the tomb, when the bearers changed, or in front 
 of a synagogue, if the funeral procession passed one. There 
 would be no lack of bearers, for it was considered an honour 
 to carry the deceased to " the house of silence " or " the 
 hostelry " (literally, " the place where you spend the night ") 
 or " the house of eternity," as the Jews styled the grave. 
 
 The bearers walked barefooted, and at the halts made 
 when the bearers were changed, the lamentations were 
 increased, and their dirges were accompanied by the wailing 
 of the flutes, and the clanging of the cymbals. All this 
 customary ritual would have been duly carried out, for 
 although the inmates of this stricken household were disciples 
 of Jesus of Nazareth, Christian burial customs had certainly 
 not yet obtained and displaced Jewish rites. 
 
 Relatives and friends followed the corpse, and crowds of 
 Jews joined them. As the dead man was carried out, all the 
 tables, couches, and beds were reversed, this disorder being 
 a customary sign of mourning. As the procession returned 
 to the house, all the friends formed into two lines between 
 which the mourners passed. It was the custom to halt seven 
 times on the road home, and each time condolences were 
 offered to the deceased's relatives. 
 
 The first three days after the death were times of wailing, 
 and the mourners sat in their houses on low stools, while 
 their consolers sat around them, speaking only when the 
 
222 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 mourners had first broken silence. After these three days 
 of most solemn mourning, there followed seven of special 
 mourning, but less intense, since the partial fast was no longer 
 observed. After this week of great sorrow; the Jews observed 
 twenty days of mourning, during which visits were paid both 
 to the relatives and to the grave. 
 
 Thus Lazarus was laid in his own tomb, and the messengers 
 returned only to find their worst fears realized. They took 
 their part in the general sorrow, and the three days' solemn 
 mourning were nearly over, when the longed-for news was 
 brought to Martha, that Jesus was close at hand. These 
 mourners^ so dear to Jesus, who had gazed so often down the 
 road that led round the slope of Olivet, in hopes of seeing 
 Him approach, were to hear His blessed voice once more, and 
 to be consoled, as only our Emmanuel can console His owm. 
 But we must return in spirit to the moment when Jesus set 
 out for Bethania, that we may profit by the instructions which 
 He gives His Apostles. 
 
 " He still remained in the same place two days. Then, 
 after that He said to His disciples : Let us go into Judea 
 again." On hearing these words, the disciples were greatly 
 distressed. They had a vivid recollection of that day in the 
 Temple when, but recently, the Jews took up stones to cast 
 at Him, and afterwards strove " to take Him, and He escaped 
 out of their hands." Hence, in consternation, they replied : 
 ** Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone Thee, and goest 
 Thou thither again ?" 
 
 They still fail to grasp the purport of the Predictions of 
 the Passion ; they fear danger for their Master and for them- 
 selves. All is going on so well in Perea, why leave it to expose 
 Himself to the vengeance of His enemies ? Jesus hastens 
 to reassure them — the end is not yet. Therefore, He answered : 
 " Are there not twelve hours of the day ? If a man walk in 
 the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this 
 world. But if he walk in the night he stumbleth, because 
 the light is not in him." 
 
 Our Lord speaks figuratively, and His hearers knew by 
 experience, the danger of journeying through Oriental 
 streets at night-time. They are crooked, narrow, and uneven. 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 223 
 
 Loose stones of varying sizes lay scattered about in all 
 directions. Even by daylight, an Eastern road " craves 
 wary walking," but the difficulties are increased a hundred- 
 fold by night. Our Lord's meaning is clear. He could 
 return to Judea without danger from His foes, because the 
 *' day " appointed by the Father, had not yet run its course. 
 While He was doing His Father's bidding, He was walking in 
 the light of day. So it is with Christ's disciples. God ordains 
 the direction and the length of their life's pilgrimage, and until 
 the divinely appointed end comes, no human nor diabolical 
 agency can cut their career short. Our " times " are in our 
 Father's hands, and we are in His safe keeping. 
 
 " These things He said, and after that He said to them : 
 Lazarus, our friend, sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him 
 out of sleep." Misunderstanding our Lord's words, and eager 
 to grasp at any motive for dissuading Him from going to 
 Jerusalem, the disciples said : " Lord, if he sleep, he shall 
 do well" (literally, "he will be saved" — i.e., recover). But 
 Jesus spoke of his death ; and they thought that He spoke 
 of the repose of sleep." 
 
 Note how tenderly Jesus speaks of " Lazarus our friend " — 
 dear to Him and to His Apostles. He is still " our friend,'' 
 although dead ; death cannot annihilate friendship, it survives 
 the tomb. For the Christian, death is the appointed means 
 of bringing the soul into closer intimacy with God. Jesus, 
 seeing that His words had not been understood, then said 
 plainly : " Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that 
 I was not there, that you may beheve ; but let us go to him." 
 
 From the days of Homer, both in secular and sacred litera- 
 ture, " sleep " has been a favourite metaphor for its twin 
 sister " death." Lazarus was indeed dead to his sisters and 
 his friends, but he was alive unto his God. How often we 
 speak of " the sleep of death," from which the trumpet of 
 the archangel shall awaken the sleepers ! St. Paul refers to 
 those Christians who were dead, as having " fallen asleep in 
 Christ,"* and our loved dead repose in the cemetery — i.e., 
 *' in the sleeping-place." 
 
 " Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes." Yes, 
 
 * I Cor. XV. 
 
224 LOOKING ON JESUS^ THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 because the miracle that Jesus intended to work in his favour 
 would so greatly strengthen their faith. Had our Lord been 
 there, He would probably have restored Lazarus to health. 
 He could not have disappointed the prayer of the two grief- 
 stricken sisters. Hence He remained absent, and having 
 sent a message of hope to Martha and Mary, He let death seize 
 its prey. Meanwhile, events were all tending to make the 
 miracle incontestable, when His time came to speak the word 
 of power. 
 
 " Let us go to him." Jesus speaks of Lazarus as still 
 living, though He knows that his burial took place two days 
 previously. To Jesus, Lazarus was present, for, to be 
 " absent from the body " is for the true disciple " to be present 
 with the Lord."* 
 
 " Thomas, therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his 
 fellow-disciples : Let us also go, that we may die with him." 
 Thomas loved our Lord, but he was naturally a pessimist. 
 He appears to have had but little faith in our Lord's Messianic 
 Mission, and his incredulity was one of the means which, in 
 the Providence of God, was to strengthen men's faith in 
 Christ's Resurrection. It would seem as though these words 
 would have come more fittingly from Simon Peter, and the 
 fact that no words of his are recorded seems to point to his 
 not having been present on this occasion. 
 
 Jesus and His disciples set out on the journey to Bethania— 
 a distance of twenty- five miles at the most — and their road 
 lay along the eastern bank of the Jordan, which was now 
 swollen with the recent rains and snow. They cross by the 
 fords of Jericho, and then turn south again by the route which 
 led along the ridge of the Mount of Olives, past the eastern 
 wall of Jerusalem. This beautiful mount consists of a ridge 
 one mile long, " curving gently eastward in its northern part^ 
 and rising into three rounded summits, of which the central 
 and highest is more than twenty six hundred feet above the 
 level of the Mediterranean^ and more than a hundred above 
 the highest part of the neighbouring city. In a well-wooded 
 and terraced ravine, high up on the eastern slope of the mounts 
 screened from the summit by an intervening ridge, nestled 
 
 * 2 Cor, V. 
 
SICKNESS AND DEATH OF LAZARUS 225 
 
 the sweet village of Bethany." Travellers reached it by a 
 narrow path which wound over rocks and loose stones. 
 
 In our Lord's time, this prosperous village looked out from 
 groves of oak, olive, fig and almond trees. AU around there 
 was abundant pasturage, and, dotted about at intervals, 
 beyond the village were numerous rock-hewn tombs. A 
 camel route led round by the southern slope. From the 
 village, a beautiful panorama stretched out below the spec- 
 tator. In the spring, the view was particularly rich in colour, 
 and our Lord's eyes had often rested upon that glorious 
 landscape. He had seen the pomegranates in full blossom : 
 " The green hollow below ; the reddish-brown slopes of the 
 Mount of Olives and on the south-east . . . the table land of 
 the Moab hills, pink and grey, beyond the Dead Sea the 
 rough, barren, brown waste of slopes and peaks of the wilder- 
 ness of Judgea ; the flat-topped cone of the Frank Mountain, 
 and the hills of Quarantania, far down in the depression near 
 Jericho."* 
 
 But when Jesus visited Bethania. the land had not yet 
 put off its winter garb, and the snow stiU lay glistening on 
 the hill-tops. One day's journey sufficed for Jesus and His 
 companions to reach the hamlet of Bethania, but before He 
 arrived there, news of His coming had reached Martha, for 
 many times daily had the members of that secluded home 
 in Bethania looked out for the coming of Jesus. No sooner 
 was the welcome news brought to Martha, than she hastened 
 to meet Him, and to repeat, in all the fulness of her grief, the 
 substance of the words, which she and her sister had repeated 
 so often during those three sad days of solemn wailing : 
 ** Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord at the moment when 
 the messengers from Bethania bring Him the message from 
 Martha and Mary. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of a firm confidence in 
 Jesus when sorrows overtake you. 
 
 * " The Holy Land," by Cunningham Geikie, D.D., vol. ii., chap, 
 xxvii., p. 44. 
 
 15 
 
226 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 First Point. — The messengers' arrival. Jesus gives them 
 an answer. Meanwhile, Lazarus dies and is buried. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus delays His visit for two days ; then 
 He tells His disciples of Lazarus' death. " 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus explains how this death is for the glory 
 of God, and the strengthening of the Apostles' faith. He 
 goes to Bethania. Martha meets Him outside the village. 
 
 Colloquy. — Thank our Lord for thus revealing to you His 
 tender love for His friends. Pray that you may always, 
 like the sisters of Lazarus, carry all your sorrows to Christ. 
 Ask that your life and death may be all for the glory of 
 God. Make your act of faith in Christ's Divine Power. Ask 
 that you may be faithful to your Lord in times of tribulation. 
 Pray for constancy to work while it is day. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVn 
 
 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 
 
 St. John xi. 
 
 With the exception of our Lord's own Resurrection, the 
 raising of Lazarus was the greatest miracle which He ever 
 worked upon earth. Like all the seven miracles recorded 
 by St. John, this miracle was symbolical ; it typified our 
 Lord as " the Resurrection and the Life," just as the miracle 
 of giving sight to the man born blind was typical of Jesus 
 in His character of ■'* the Light of the World." All our blessed 
 Lord's titles are names of power ; they represent one or other 
 of His Divine Attributes, and never had His Omnipotence 
 shone out with greater glory. Hence it was the culminating 
 miracle of our Lord's Ministry, and He worked it to declare 
 His Godhead, to arouse faith in His disciples, and, indirectly, 
 it was to be the proximate cause of our Lord's death. There- 
 fore, in the highest sense, this miracle of raising Lazarus from 
 the dead was " for the glory of God." 
 
 All the circumstances were so ordained that Jesus' most 
 bitter enemies were forced to admit the authenticity of this 
 
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 227 
 
 restoration to life. " AU the events that happened beyond 
 the Jordan were a remote preparation for this miracle. They 
 are, as it were, the first act of the great drama, in which the 
 whole play — with its actuating, impelling forces and motives^ 
 and the circumstances of time and place — is introduced, its 
 threads gathered, the plot unfolded and a glimpse of the 
 momentous issues given." 
 
 The miracle is worked for a man of good position, weU 
 known and esteemed in Jerusalem. It takes place in Bethania, 
 which is only fifteen stadia — i.e., less than two miles from 
 the Holy City. Jesus delayed His departure from Perea, 
 that Lazarus might die and be buried for four days. His death 
 was absolutely uncontested ; hundreds of witnesses could 
 have sworn to it, and thus the way was prepared for the 
 mighty deed worked by Christ, when He recalled to this 
 world one, who had been in the grave already nearly four 
 days. 
 
 Father Meschler, S.J., referring to the preparatives for this 
 miracle and to the words uttered by Jesus concerning Lazarus 
 when in Perea, thus concludes : " The whole atmosphere, 
 into w^hich this introductory scene leads us, is so close, sultry^ 
 and ominous, that one already seems to see the flash of the 
 spark which will be followed by the discharge."* 
 
 Jesus, therefore, left Perea and went to Bethania, and as 
 He drew near, Martha " went to meet Him, but Mary sat at 
 home." Martha, as hostess, had to receive her guests, to see 
 that hospitality was offered them, hence, in the discharging 
 of her household duties, she was the first to hear the welcome 
 news of our Lord's arrival. Leaving Mary in the midst of 
 the numerous friends, for " many of the Jews " had come 
 to pay a visit of condolence to the bereaved sisters, Martha 
 hurried to meet Jesus. 
 
 It is always a touching moment after a bereavement to 
 meet a dear friend — one who knew and loved the one we 
 mourn. What must have been the meeting of these desolate 
 sisters with our Lord, who " loved Martha, and her sister 
 Mary, and Lazarus "! Martha wished to meet our Lord 
 privately — to speak to Him alone — and her words express 
 * " The Life of our Lord Jesus Christ," vol. ii., p. 59, 
 
228 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 her inmost thought : " Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my 
 brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever 
 Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee." 
 
 Is there any hope in Martha's soul that Jesus will raise 
 her brother from the dead ? Her words seem to breathe a 
 faint expectation, and then again those later words : " Lord, 
 he is now of four days," appear to belie this vague hope. 
 Are not these vacillations pre-eminently characteristic of a 
 faith that is wavering — now inclining to hope, now giving 
 way to discouragement ? Yet Martha is resigned ; she utters 
 no complaint, no murmur. He is the Lord, let Him do as 
 seemeth best to Him. 
 
 Jesus seeks to animate her faith. His reply is clear and 
 encouraging : " Thy brother shall rise again." The resurrec- 
 tion of the dead was no new doctrine to Martha. All Jews, 
 with the exception of the Sadducees, believed in the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. It was written in their prophetic books ; 
 thus, in Daniel xii. we read : " Many of those that sleep 
 in the dust of the earth shall arise, some unto life everlasting, 
 and others unto reproach." Job, too, had voiced this belief : 
 " For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last day 
 I shall rise out of the earth, and I shall be clothed again 
 with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God."* 
 
 Martha now stands in the very presence of her Redeemer ; 
 she hears from His gracious lips the solemn declaration : 
 " I am the resurrection and the life ; he that believe th in 
 Me, although he be dead, shall live. And every one that 
 liveth and believeth in Me shall not die for ever. Believest 
 thou this ? She saith to Him : Yea, Lord, I have believed 
 that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, who 
 art come into this world." 
 
 Martha believed her Saviour's words, though probably she 
 was far from realizing their significance. What else passed 
 at this interview we know not, but certainly Jesus thought 
 of Mary and asked for her. Martha therefore hastened to 
 the room, in which all the furniture in disorder bespoke the 
 days of mourning, and where Mary sat in silence or uttering 
 fervent prayers. All the time there was in her soul an intense 
 
 * Job. xix. 
 
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 229 
 
 longing for the presence of the One, who alone could comfort 
 her. All those who came to mourn with her ceremonially 
 were but " troublesome comforters." While Mary sits ab- 
 sorbed in prayer and grief, Martha comes in and whispers a 
 welcome message — one from the Lord of Life : " The Master 
 is come, and calleth for thee." Yes, He is here at last. 
 He has tarried, but that delay had a motive, and for that delay 
 those two bereaved sisters would, later on, bless and thank 
 their Master. 
 
 "The Master is come, and calleth for thee;" and Mary, 
 " as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly and cometh to 
 Him." We can watch her as she hastens from the chamber 
 of mourning, across the inner court, and then along the 
 narrow path that led to the outskirts of the village. " For 
 Jesus was not yet come into the town [better, " hamlet," or 
 " village "], but He was still in that place where Martha had 
 met Him." 
 
 Mary, too, longed to meet Jesus, to see Him- alone, but in 
 this she was frustrated, in spite of Martha's whispered mes- 
 sage, for the Jews " who were with her in the house and 
 comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily 
 and went out, followed her, saying : She goeth to the grave 
 to weep there." 
 
 It was the last of the three days of solemn wailing, and 
 these friends had come to condole with the two sisters. 
 From Jewish writings we know how the dead were spoken 
 of on these occasions. Friends quoted passages from the 
 Scriptures bearing on the memory of the just and God's care 
 for them — e.g., " The blessing of the Lord is upon the head 
 of the just ;"* " The just shall be in everlasting remembrance ; 
 he shall not fear the evil hearing ;"f " Let peace come ; let 
 him rest in his bed that hath walked in his uprightness. "J 
 There were also certain formulas in use, such as : " May the 
 Lord of consolation comfort you !" " Blessed be He who 
 comforteth mourners !" 
 
 Thus were " the consolers " comforting Martha and Mary 
 when Jesus, the Supreme Consoler, reached the hamlet and 
 made known His presence there. These friends who followed 
 * Prov, X. f Ps. cxi. I Isa. Ivii. 
 
230 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the sisters simply intended to go to the grave, there to con- 
 tinue their lamentations. But in permitting them to be 
 present when the great miracle was worked, Jesus had another 
 object in view. They were to be the accredited witnesses, 
 some of whom would be all the more powerful, inasmuch as 
 they were the declared foes of Christ, and nothing short of 
 the impossibility of denying the miracle would force them to 
 bear their unwilling testimony to His power over the grave. 
 
 There was nothing strange in Mary's going to the tomb to 
 weep, as it was usual to visit the grave daily during the 
 three days which immediately followed the death. But Mary 
 is now seeking, not the dead, but Him who is " the Life." 
 She reaches the outskirts of the hamlet where Jesus awaits 
 her, and when she comes into His presence she falls at His 
 feet and utters the same heart-broken words as her sister : 
 " Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." 
 Not another word — her heart is too full — but the inmost 
 thoughts and grief of that afflicted sister are all open to Him, 
 at whose feet she kneels. Jesus looks around on the two 
 desolate sisters, and the Jews weeping, and " He groaned in 
 the Spirit, and troubled Himself." 
 
 What are we to understand by the word " groaned "? 
 The Greek verb here rendered " groaned " oftener expresses 
 " indignation " than " grief." Some commentators explain 
 that our Lord's indignation was excited by the foreknowledge 
 He had, that His enemies would use this glorious proof of His 
 Divine Power as a ground of accusation against Him, and a 
 justification of their evil plots to kill both Him and Lazarus. 
 Perhaps, too, the death of Lazarus and the grief of his friends 
 and relatives brought vividly before our Lord's mind the cir- 
 cumstances of His own future death and burial as a criminal. 
 In the grief of Martha and Mary, He may have seen an image 
 of the anguish of His holy Mother, when she would be mourn- 
 ing for her Divine Son. The whole mystery of the hour of 
 darkness that awaited Him seemed to rise up before Him, and 
 He knew that the manifestation of His Sovereign Power at 
 the grave of Lazarus would, as it were, set the agents of Satan 
 to do their worst, and that the torrents of suffering would be 
 let loose by His own act of mercy. 
 
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 231 
 
 Jesus, therefore, " groaned in spirit," and also " He troubled 
 Himself." He had perfect control over His human emotions. 
 In this solemn moment. He allowed deep feelings of tenderness 
 and compassion to inundate His soul, and He willed that men 
 should witness what is so often looked upon as a proof of 
 weakness ; therefore the Scriptures record that our Master 
 deigned to shed tears : " Jesus wept." These tears, too, were 
 shed over a temporal affliction, which He was about to remove 
 and to transform into joy. These tears, then, were a proof of 
 deep love, and it was thus that the Jews construed them : 
 " The Jews therefore said, Behold how He loved him." Then, 
 in astonishment, others said : " Could not He that opened the 
 eyes of the man born blind have caused that this man should 
 not die ?" The question was perfectly natural ; there seems 
 no reason for taking it in a hostile spirit. Jesus had healed 
 many, and these Jews knew that He had cured the blind 
 man. Why, then, had He not cured His friend Lazarus ? 
 We are wiser than they were. This miracle was to be for the 
 glory of God in a way that the restoration to health of a sick 
 person could never have been. 
 
 But Jesus, His disciples, and the mourners are moving now 
 towards the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus has asked, " Where 
 have you laid him ?" and in answer to their invitation, 
 " Lord, come and see," they go to the sepulchre, which, in 
 accordance with the Jewish custom, was without the village. 
 The funeral cave may have been a natural recess or a vault 
 hewn out of the live rock. A Jewish sepulchre consisted of 
 an antechamber, behind which was an inner cave, frequently 
 lower than the antechamber, and in this the bodies were 
 placed in niches or on shelves in a recumbent position. 
 " According to the Talmud, these abodes of the dead were 
 usually six feet long, nine feet wide, and ten feet high, and 
 there were niches for eight bodies, three on each side of the 
 entrance, and two opposite. The entrance to the sepulchres 
 was guarded by a large stone or by a door."* 
 
 " Jesus therefore, again groaning in Himself, cometh to the 
 sepulchre. Now it was a cave, and a stone was laid over it." 
 This stone would necessarily be very large, since it closed the 
 * " Sketches of Jewish Social Life," etc., Edersheim, p. 171. 
 
232 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 entrance, through which the bearers carrying the bier had to 
 pass. Jesus stood before this stone and gave the command : 
 " Take away the stone." He never calls His superhuman 
 Power into exercise when natural means are at hand ; there- 
 fore He neither removes the stone, nor causes Lazarus to come 
 through it by a miracle. Just at this moment Martha's sisterly 
 affection is deeply stirred. She fears to see or to allow others 
 to see her brother after corruption has set in. " Lord, by 
 this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days." 
 
 Her faith is ebbing here again, and for the moment she 
 has no thought of a restoration to life. Lazarus is "of four 
 days " — that is to say, the fourth day was nearly accom- 
 plished, since the hour of his death. The Jews had a curious 
 legend^ which may have been in Martha's mind when she 
 made her objection. It represented the soul of the deceased 
 lingering for three days near the body, hovering over, if per- 
 chance it may enter ; but when on the fourth day the corpse 
 begins to show signs of corruption the soul shudderingly with- 
 draws. Martha's words have revealed a want of faith, and 
 as Jesus is about to work a great miracle, He desires to pre- 
 pare her and all present to witness it. Hence He says to 
 her : " Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe^ thou shalt 
 see the glory of God ?" 
 
 Contemplate this wonderful scene : Jesus, the Prince of Life, 
 surrounded by His Apostles, to whom He had said : "I go 
 that I may awake him out of sleep." Martha and Mary, whose 
 faith and hope are now growing stronger ; the Jews, silent 
 and awe-stricken. There are now no loud lamentations ; all 
 are conscious that some tremendous event is at hand. Eager 
 hands roll away the stone, the cave stands open, and within 
 lies Lazarus dead and swathed in cerecloths. Not a sound 
 breaks the tense silence after the stone has been removed ; 
 then is heard the Divine Voice of the Son of God. He speaks 
 to His Heavenly Father. " Jesus, lifting up His eyes, said, 
 Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me, and I 
 know that Thou hearest Me always, but because of the people 
 who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that 
 Thou hast sent Me." 
 
 One more moment of intense suspense, and then Jesus "with 
 
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS 233 
 
 a loud voice cried, Lazarus, come forth !" " One loud com- 
 mand spoken into that silence, one loud call to that sleeper, 
 one flash of God's own Light into that darkness, and the 
 wheels of life again moved at the outgoing of The Life. And 
 still bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, Lazarus stood 
 forth, shuddering and silent in the cold light of earth's day. 
 In that multitude, now more pale and shuddering than the 
 man bound in the grave-clothes, the Only One majestically 
 calm was He, who before had been so deeply troubled in Him- 
 self, as He now bade them ' Loose him and let him go.' "* 
 
 " And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound 
 feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound 
 about with a napkin." Lazarus alive stood before His 
 Redeemer. Of what followed we are told nothing — how they 
 loosed his bands, how he and his loving sisters prostrated 
 themselves at the feet of Christ in speechless adoration. Nor 
 are we informed what the crowd of friends and mourners said, 
 what their impressions and terror must have been when they 
 saw the one whom they had buried, but three days previously, 
 walk out of his tomb in perfect health. At least those who 
 believed — and they were " many " — did realize that they stood 
 in the presence of the Judge of the living and the dead — of 
 God, who alone has " the keys of death and of hell." 
 
 What had Lazarus seen in the world from which Jesus has 
 summoned him back ? Here, too, there is absolute silence. 
 
 " Behold a man raised up by Christ ! 
 The rest remaineth unrevealed ; 
 He told it not ; or something sealed 
 The lips of that Evangelist. "f 
 
 What results immediately followed this stupendous miracle ? 
 " Many . . . believed . . . but some of them went to the 
 Pharisees, and told them the things Jesus had done," Im- 
 mediately the Sanhedrin is convoked, for the rulers see a 
 danger in the numerous adherents of Jesus, and this incon- 
 testable miracle will raise the people's enthusiasm to the 
 highest pitch. They reproach themselves with their supine- 
 ness. " What do we, for this man doth many miracles ?" 
 
 * Edersheim, " Life and Times," etc., vol. ii., chap, xxi., p. 325. 
 f Tennyson, " In Memoriam." 
 
234 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 They do not attempt to deny His power, and instead of 
 examining if in very truth He be not the Messias, they look 
 to the temporal side of the question. " If we let Him alone 
 so, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and 
 take away our place and our nation." They show their per- 
 plexity and their anger ; yet, although they had previously 
 decided to kill Jesus, it remains for the High-Priest, Caiphas, 
 to speak openly of putting Him to death. This haughty 
 Sadducee broke in curtly upon their reasoning. " You know 
 nothing, neither do you consider that it is expedient that one 
 man should die for the people, and that the whole nation 
 perish not." 
 
 St. John then goes on to explain that this was a prophetic 
 utterance. The High-Priest had unwittingly proclaimed a 
 great truth — it was expedient that Jesus should die for the 
 nation, for all men, " in order to gather together in one the 
 children of God that were dispersed." Thus " Jewish pro- 
 phecy expired with a prediction of Christ's death on its lips." 
 
 " From that day they devised to put Him to death," and 
 in consequence of this formal decree, Jesus was practically 
 outlawed. He " walked no more openly among the Jews," 
 but retired to Ephrem, the modern el-Taiyibeth, a conical 
 hill overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, situated 
 on the eastern slope of the wild hill-country north-east of 
 Jerusalem, and about sixteen miles distant from it, and here 
 in Ephrem " Jesus abode with His disciples " until the sun 
 set on His working day, and the shadows of the Passion 
 enveloped Him in their night. Thus Jesus loved, and still 
 loves, His own " unto the end." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Bring before your mind the scene when 
 Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray for a more intimate knowledge of 
 the love of Jesus for His own. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus reaches the outskirts of Bethania. 
 Martha goes to meet Him, and converses with Him. 
 
 Second Point. — Martha fetches Mary. The Jews follow her. 
 Jesus and the mourners go to the sepulchre. 
 
THE BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO 235 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus weeps at the tomb. He prays to His 
 Father. He calls Lazarus back from the dead. The San- 
 hedrin decree His death. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. 
 Ask that through Him you may attain to eternal hfe. Pray 
 for the gift of faith in our Lord's promises. Ask for confi- 
 dence in the tender loving-kindness of Jesus. Beg Him to give 
 you the grace to sympathize with those who mourn. Pray 
 Him that, when He calls you forth from the tomb, you may 
 rise to the glory of the just. Ask Him to teach you to leave 
 yourself, body and soul, entirely in His hands for time and 
 for eternity. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE HEALING OF THE BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — ■" And they came to Jericho ; and as 
 He went out of Jericho with His disciples, a great multitude followed 
 Him. And behold two blind men, sitting by the wayside begging, (one 
 of whom was) Bartimeus, the blind man, the son of Timeus. And 
 when he had heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant, 
 and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by ; they began to 
 cry out and to say : O Lord, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. 
 And many that went before rebuked them, that they might hold their 
 peace. But they cried a great deal the more : Son of David, have 
 mercy on us. And Jesus stood still, and commanded them to be 
 called. And they called the blind, saying : Be of better com- 
 fort ; arise, He calleth. And casting off their garments, they leaped up, 
 and came to Him. And when near, Jesus answering, said : What will 
 ye, that I should do to you ? They say to Him : Lord, that our eyes 
 may be opened. And Jesus having compassion on them, touched 
 their eyes and said : Go your way ; your faith hath made you whole. 
 And immediately they received sight, and followed Him in the way." — 
 St. Matt. xx. ; St. Mark x. ; St. Luke xviii. 
 
 Jesus did not remain long in the quiet seclusion of Ephrem. 
 The time of His last journey to Jerusalem was at hand, and 
 He had wandering souls to instruct, diseases to cure, and 
 Apostles to train. From the various allusions to this final 
 journey found in the four Gospels, our Lord appears to have 
 travelled northward towards the south of Galilee, teaching 
 and working miracles on the road. When He reached the 
 confines of Galilee, He probably found a large number of His 
 
236 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Galilean disciples, including His blessed Mother and the 
 ministering women, who were preparing to set out for Jeru- 
 salem. This pilgrim band, led by our Lord Himself, passed 
 through the usual route in Perea, and as it was now towards 
 the end of March, and the Pasch was near at hand, we 
 may conclude that our Lord would not sanction inter- 
 ruptions on the journey, other than those which were un- 
 avoidable. 
 
 The Evangelists record various incidents which appear to 
 have taken place on this journey, such as the healing of the 
 ten lepers and the ambitious request of the mother of the sons 
 of Zebedee. Various instructions, too, are mentioned — for 
 example, the duty of continual prayer, the sanctity of the 
 marriage bond, and the danger of riches. We must also place 
 here the parables of the Pharisee and the Publican, and of the 
 Labourers in the Vineyard. 
 
 All these events happened during that last solemn journey 
 to Jerusalem, and St. Mark calls special attention to our 
 Lord's unusual solemnity and reserve, to His desire for soli- 
 tude, and also indirectly to His burning desire to reach Jeru- 
 salem, there to be offered by the hands of His executioners 
 as the ransom for man's salvation. This Evangelist writes : 
 " They were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus 
 went before them, and they were astonished, and following 
 were afraid." 
 
 Instead of sending Apostles on ahead to inform the people 
 of His arrival, Jesus went first, and in His Sacred Heart we 
 may read the words He once uttered : " I have a baptism 
 wherewith I am to be baptized, and how am I straitened until 
 it be accomplished."* His unwonted sadness made them 
 afraid, and His boldness in going up to Jerusalem, where His 
 enemies would seek to kill Him, astonished them. 
 
 The Apostles knew well that " the chief priests and the 
 Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew 
 where He was, he should tell, that they might apprehend Him."f 
 They feared for their Master and for themselves, for the words 
 of their Divine Teacher were still taken figuratively. They 
 did not yet grasp the truth that He was to undergo the tor- 
 * St. Luke xii. | St. John xi. 
 
THE BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO 237 
 
 ments of the Crucifixion. We may watch our Lord as He 
 walks on alone, communing with His Heavenly Father. StiU, 
 as when He left Galilee, He has " steadfastly set His face to 
 go to Jerusalem, for the days of His assumption " are about 
 to be inaugurated. 
 
 The pilgrim band reached the fords of Jericho, and by this 
 time Jesus had a vast multitude following Him, composed of 
 His Apostles, the Galilean disciples, and the ministering 
 women, who were to surpass the Apostles in fidelity when the 
 final trial of their faith was made. Behind these immediate 
 followers were crowds of pilgrims from Galilee and Perea, for 
 at this season, when so many thousands were on their road 
 to Jerusalem, every separate band gathered up recruits on 
 the road, and this was particularly the case when the pilgrims 
 crossed the Jordan near Jericho, since this route led through 
 a desert region infested by freebooters. 
 
 Slowly the multitudes cross the wooden bridge at the fords 
 — pilgrims on foot, on asses, on camels. The merchandise 
 would also be considerable, for the Galilean and Perean Jews 
 brought their goods, for which they found a ready market in 
 Jericho. At the fords we may presume that they encamped 
 for the night. The next morning at daybreak all is bustle 
 and activity. The beasts of burden are laden, the caravan 
 forms up, and the pilgrims start on the road to Jericho. It 
 leads upwards until they reach the Plains of Jericho. The 
 route is dreary and monotonous. At first there is nothing 
 to be seen but " a sea of land-waves, parched and brown, 
 stony, round-topped, featureless hills." 
 
 But as they proceeded on their journey the scene changed, 
 for Jericho was one of the most fertile^ and therefore one of 
 the richest, cities of Palestine — its capital, from a commercial 
 point of view, for it lay on the great caravan road which con- 
 nected Damascus with Arabia. Moreover, it was a military 
 station, for Herod had built there a famous palace, a vast 
 theatre, and an amphitheatre. He had surrounded the town 
 with a strong wall, flanked by forts. Owing to the abundant 
 water-supply, due to an excellent system of irrigation, Jericho 
 was extremely fertile. Josephus speaks of it as an '' earthly 
 paradise." From our knowledge of its chief exports, we can 
 
238 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 picture the groves of palm-trees, its rose-gardens, and balsam- 
 plantations. 
 
 As the pilgrims approached the city walls, they passed 
 Herod the Great's palace, where some thirty years earlier he 
 had retired to die of his loathsome disease. As our Saviour 
 passed that royal residence, did He think of that tyrant's 
 grandson, Herod Antipas, before whom He would be dragged 
 as a criminal, " set at nought " by " the king with his army," 
 mocked and clothed in the white garments of folly ? Surely 
 the scene came before Him, and once more He accepted the 
 chalice for love of men, even hastening to drink of it. 
 
 They reached the gates, and here, as usual, there were rows 
 of beggars stationed, for the pilgrims were generous, and these 
 afflicted creatures had no alternative but to beg, since in the 
 East no provision was made for the destitute ; they were left 
 to the charity of their fellows. On this occasion there were 
 " two bhnd men sitting by the wayside begging," imploring 
 their compassion and blessing by anticipation all who should 
 bestow alms upon them. One, more notable than his com- 
 panion, is mentioned by name — " Bartimeus."* 
 
 Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, had sat for many years in 
 his accustomed place. He had never hoped to regain his 
 sight ; his only ambition was to procure his daily bread, and 
 the festival seasons were the beggars' harvesting times. To 
 the privation of bhndness was added that of poverty and 
 constant exposure to the oppressive heat in summer and the 
 cold blasts of winter. But one day, a ray of hope sprang up 
 in his soul when a friend related to him, or pilgrims conversed 
 in his hearing, of the wonderful deeds wrought by Jesus of 
 Nazareth. News of the miracle worked in Jerusalem in 
 
 * A textual difficulty occurs here, both as regards the number of 
 the blind men and the time of the miracle. St. Matthew speaks of two 
 blind men, whereas St. Mark and St. Luke only mention one. Again, 
 St. Luke says the miracle was worked " when He drew nigh to the city," 
 while the other two Synoptists place this miracle " when they went 
 out from Jericho." Commentators reconcile these apparent dis- 
 crepancies by supposing that, as they entered the city, the blind man 
 called out to our Lord, and that then He did not heed the man's appeal, 
 but that when He was leaving the city, the beggar again implored 
 mercy, and this time successfully. It is certain that the two beggars 
 (for the mentioning of one byname does not exclude a second) sat near 
 the gate, and that Jesus healed them when He passed that way. 
 
THE BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO 239 
 
 favour of the man born blind and of the raising of Lazarus 
 had certainly reached Jericho, and how these bUnd beggars 
 must have longed for Jesus to pass by their way ! 
 
 Then came that blessed day when Bartimeus and his com- 
 panion, hearing "the multitude passing by," asked "what 
 this meant." And they told them that " Jesus of Nazareth 
 was passing by." It was the opportunity for which they had 
 so ardently longed. Jesus of Nazareth was even now passing. 
 No sooner did they grasp the meaning of the words than "they 
 cried out, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us." 
 And since these blind men asked to be healed of their in- 
 firmity, we may be sure that they employed the words " Son 
 of David " as the Jews were accustomed to use them — as a 
 title of the Messias. Isaias had prophesied that in the Mes- 
 sianic days, the blind should receive their sight. He had fore- 
 seen that " in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the 
 book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind 
 shall see."* Frequently in the synagogue services, Bartimeus 
 had heard this consoling prophecy read, little dreaming that 
 the Redeemer of Israel would restore his sight. Therefore, 
 when he and his companion heard that Jesus was passing, 
 we can conceive how earnestly they would endeavour to 
 attract His attention. 
 
 In vain " they that went before rebuked them, that they 
 might hold their peace." These poor beggars " but cried the 
 more. Son of David, have mercy on us." And Jesus, hearing 
 their earnest appeal, answered to His title. The Son of David 
 " stood stiU and commanded them to be called." The multi- 
 tude no longer speak angrily to these importunate blind men. 
 They see that Jesus means to grant their petition, and those 
 who were so keen in repelling them, are now foremost in en- 
 couraging them. " They called the blind, saying, Be of better 
 comfort ; arise, He calleth." Then, casting off their abbas or 
 outer garments, " leaping up " in the joy of their hearts, they 
 stand expectantly before the Mighty Wonder- Worker, the Son 
 of David. The crowd look on, some, knowing that Jesus 
 never calls a soul in vain, awaiting a miracle, one such as they 
 have often seen in Galilee, Perea, or Jerusalem ; others, amazed, 
 
 * Isa. xxix. 
 
240 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 wonder what will happen. They question one another. 
 " Will He heal them ?" *' Shall we really be witnesses of a 
 mighty deed ?" 
 
 Now Jesus addresses the two men. • For the first time, 
 perhaps, they hear His sweet voice, and He asks a question : 
 " What will ye that I should do to you ?" The question is 
 not asked for His information, but He wills to prove to the 
 multitude that Bartimeus and his companion are really 
 blind, and to elicit faith from the souls of these beggars. 
 "They say to Him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened." 
 Then Jesus, " having compassion on them, touched their eyes 
 and saith, Go your way ; your faith hath made you whole, 
 and immediately they received sight," and followed Him, 
 glorifying God ; and all the people, when they saw this miracle, 
 " gave praise to God." Then Jesus passed on His way, fol- 
 lowed by the two men whom He had healed. 
 
 Doubtless they joined the pilgrim band and went up to 
 Jerusalem, there to keep the Pasch in thanksgiving for their 
 sight having been restored. Their cure was instantaneous 
 and absolutely complete — unlike the blind man of Bethsaida, 
 whom our Lord healed by progressive stages. Did these two 
 men gaze on Jesus as He hung upon the Cross ? Did they 
 see the sacred hand, that had touched their eyes, nailed to the 
 tree ? If so, what must have been their sentiments ? With 
 the centurion, they would have given signs of grief and con- 
 fessed Him to be a just man. 
 
 What lessons may we gather from this beautiful narrative ? 
 We will take three points, leaving the others on one side : 
 
 " Jesus of Nazareth was passing by." Does He not often 
 pass by us, inviting us to come to Him, to follow Him ? In 
 the course of the Church's year the details of His life on earth 
 are set before us. He passes by, as it were, that we may 
 learn to know Him better, to love Him more, to follow Him 
 more closely. He passes by when special graces are offered, 
 such as a mission or a retreat, and during these precious 
 seasons, how many spiritually blind receive their sight ! how 
 many who see but imperfectly are enhghtened ! 
 
 Jesus passes, and He imposes a cross as He goes on His way ; 
 but He wills that we should rise and follow Him, bearing that 
 
THE BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO 241 
 
 cross in His train. One day He will pass and call us, and it 
 will be the final summons — the moment when our eyes shall 
 be opened to eternal truths, as they close to the things of 
 earth. Then, like these men, whom our Lord healed we 
 shall gaze on His sacred features and hear His blessed 
 Voice. 
 
 There were many blind in Palestine whom Jesus did not 
 heal. They sat by the wayside, heedless or ignorant, asking 
 for a coin only. So there are souls on the earth, who do not 
 trouble about the world to come, whose whole thoughts are 
 centred in the things of earth. Can we help them ? Yes, by 
 prayer we can bring them to our Lord's feet. We can instruct 
 them as far as it lies in our power, and thus one day — perhaps 
 when we have been gathered to the home of our eternity — 
 faith and the desire of salvation will spring up simultaneously 
 in their souls, and they will profit when Jesus of Nazareth 
 passes by. 
 
 ** Many that went before rebuked them." Can we assign any 
 motives for this apparent heartlessness ? Some, perhaps, 
 were scandalized because these beggars invoked Jesus as the 
 Messias, while the disciples of Jesus may have feared that 
 this acknowledgment might increase the anger of His enemies. 
 Doubtless, Jesus was conversing and teaching on the way, 
 and those who were listening did not think it seemly that two 
 blind beggars should interrupt Him. St. Thomas Aquinas 
 attributes the displeasure of those who rebuked the beggars, 
 to the fact that the caravan pilgrims had to hurry on their 
 journey, and that if these men were cured, many others would 
 present themselves for a like favour, and thus their journey 
 would be delayed. Whatever motive urged these people to 
 rebuke the beggars, our Lord did not approve of it, since He 
 halted, called the beggars, and granted their request. 
 
 We may learn from this example, that it is in our power to 
 
 help or hinder those who are seeking to enter the Catholic 
 
 Church. We can keep them back by our supineness, our 
 
 negligence, our bad examples, or we can assist them actively 
 
 by word and deed. When St. Andrew had found the Messias, 
 
 his first thought was for Simon, and " he brought him to 
 
 Jesus." Are there none whom we can strive to bring ? If 
 
 16 
 
242 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 all other means of apostleship fail, the greatest, that of prayer, 
 always remains. 
 
 " Arise, He calleth." This was the message given by the 
 crowd — one which was sent by Jesus. How did the blind 
 men respond ? " Casting off their garments, they leaped up 
 and came to Him." It was in like manner that Mary hurried 
 to respond to our Lord's invitation when Martha told her 
 that Jesus had come. These blind men threw down their 
 cloaks that they might obey the summons more quickly. 
 True, it was their interest to obey, but every act of obedience 
 on the part of a Christian, performed from a supernatural 
 motive, is for the glory of God and for the good of the doer. 
 
 Our Lord calls us to Him by the voice of duty ; by some 
 special inspiration He asks us to undertake some good work 
 for Him, and when His will is surely made known, like the 
 blind men we must rise promptly, glad to be honoured by a 
 call from our Lord, and at the same time at once sacrifice 
 whatever might impede our onward course. Some are called 
 to sacrifice all for God, and all have sacrifices to make, if they 
 would be faithful, docile disciples. To every intimation of 
 God's Will the attitude of the Christian soul should be: "Lord, 
 here am I ; send me." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Lord as He enters the 
 city of Jericho, surrounded by His Apostles and a great multi- 
 tude. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may be enlightened on the 
 blessedness of following Christ. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus leaves Ephrem and travels to the con- 
 fines of Galilee. He leads the disciples on the journey to 
 Jerusalem ; they follow Him with fear. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus crosses the fords of Jericho. He 
 restores sight to the blind men ; they follow Him. 
 
 Third Point. — ^Three lessons : Jesus is ever passing by ; we 
 must help those who are seeking the truth ; we should obey 
 the voice of Christ promptly and generously. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our Lord, the Light of Life. Ask Him 
 to enlighten you as regards His perfections and your needs. 
 
JESUS ANOINTED IN BETHANIA 243 
 
 Pray for grace to follow Jesus in spite of your fears. Ask for 
 the gift of loving sympathy. Pray for the spiritually blind. 
 Ask for the graces of obedience and detachment. Beg our 
 Lord ever to keep you close to Him, who is " the Light of the 
 World." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 JESUS ANOINTED IN BETHANIA 
 
 St. Matt. xxvi. ; St. Mark xiv. ; St. John xi. et seq. 
 
 From St. John's Gospel we learn that this touching incident 
 took place " six days before the Pasch." Jesus had come 
 from Jericho to Bethania, and many commentators, taking 
 Friday as the traditional day of the Crucifixion, have concluded 
 that Jesus arrived in Bethania on the preceding Friday, the 
 sixth day of the w^eek (the 8th of Nisan). At sunset on that 
 day, the Jewish Sabbath lights were lit and work ceased ; Jesus 
 remained with His friends in Bethania on that Sabbath, the 
 last He passed on earth ; and the supper, to which He and 
 His disciples were invited, took place on the 9th of Nisan 
 after the Sabbath was over. 
 
 Jesus therefore arrived at the ridge of Olivet early in the 
 morning with the Gahlean pilgrims, having joined the large 
 caravan at Jericho, We can reconstiiict the scene from what 
 we know of the Jewish customs. " Coming into Bethania, 
 the nearest point of the great road to the Galileans' Hill, 
 the caravan broke up ; the company dispersed to the south 
 and north, some seeking for houses in which they could lodge, 
 others fixing on the ground where they meant to encamp. 
 Those marched round OHvet to the south, following the great 
 road, crossing the Cedron by a bridge and, entering the 
 Holy City by the Sheep Gate, near Antonia, these mounted 
 by the short path to the top of Olivet, glancing at the flowers 
 and herbage, and plucking twigs and branches as they 
 climbed. 
 
 " Some families, having brought their tents with them 
 from Galilee, could at once proceed to stake the ground ; 
 but the multitude were content with the booths, called 
 
244 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 ' Succoth,' built in the same rude style as those, in which their 
 father Israel had dwelt. Four stakes being cut and driven 
 in the soil, long reeds were drawn, one by one, round and 
 through them. These reeds, being in turn -crossed and closed 
 with leaves, made a small green bower, open on one side only, 
 yielding the women a rude sort of privacy, and covering 
 the young ones with a frail defence from both noontide heat 
 and midnight dew." 
 
 There was plenty to be done, for the Sabbath began at 
 sunset, after which all work must cease, even though the 
 pilgrims were without shelter of any description. '' Conse- 
 quently the poles must be cut, the leaves and branches 
 gathered, the tents fixed, the water fetched from the wells, 
 the bread baked, the cattle penned, the beds unpacked and 
 spread, the supper of herbs and olives cooked before the 
 shofa (which announced the inauguration of the Sabbath) 
 sounded from the Temple wall. ... In two or three hours 
 a new city had sprung up, more noisy, perhaps more populous, 
 than even the turbulent city within the walls." 
 
 This Galileans' Hill was covered with tents ; every province 
 kept to its customary site. "The men of Sharon swarmed 
 over Mount Gideon ; the men of Hebron occupied the Plain 
 of Rephaim. From Pilate's roof on Mount Zion, the lines 
 and groups of this vast encampment could be followed by 
 an observer's eye down the Valley of Gihon, peeping from 
 among the fruit-trees of Siloam, dotting the long Plain of 
 Rephaim, trespassing even on the Mount of Offence, and 
 darkening the grand masses of hills from Olivet to Mizpeh. 
 AU Jewry appeared to be encamped about the Temple Mount. 
 
 " From sundown all was quiet on the hillsides and in the 
 valley, only the priests and doctors, the Temple guards, the 
 money-changers, the pigeon dealers, the bakers of shew-bread, 
 the altar-servants being astir, and at their work, for there 
 was no Sabbath in sacred things."* 
 
 Those who came up early to purify themselves, " that they 
 might eat the Pasch," were in good time if they reached 
 Jerusalem on the 8th of Nisan, for six days was the longest 
 
 * " The Holy Land," Hepworth Dixon, vol. ii., chap, xxiii., p. 243 
 et sea. 
 
JESUS ANOINTED IN BETHANIA 245 
 
 period of probation. Legal defilement was contracted in 
 various ways^^.g., entering the house of a Gentile, touching 
 the dead, or even glancing inadvertently at a corpse, walking 
 on a grave, etc. The ceremonies of purification involved 
 daily prayers, bathing, and sacrifices, varying v/ith the legal 
 defilement incurred. 
 
 When the pilgrims disbanded, Jesus went to the house of 
 Martha and Mary with His disciples. How joyful a welcome 
 they received there ! It was no longer a house of mourning, 
 for Lazarus was now alive again, and all were preparing to cele- 
 brate the Pasch. Our travellers must have reached Bethania 
 early in the morning. There they rested after their tiring up- 
 hill journey from Jericho. At sunset, the Sabbath lights were 
 lit and in the peaceful seclusion of Bethania, in the company 
 of His holy Mother, His Apostles, disciples, and friends, our 
 blessed Lord passed His last Sabbath on earth. When the 
 next Sabbath dawned, Jesus was at rest in the sepulchre. 
 
 On that Sabbath, " six days before the Pasch," or, rather, 
 after sunset on that day, when work was again permitted, 
 Jesus was invited to a supper in the house of Simon the 
 leper. Our Lord accepted the invitation, although He knew 
 well that many of the Jews — " a great multitude " indeed — 
 would come there to see Him, and that His abode would be 
 well known to the High-Priests. 
 
 His hour had now come ; but a few days and He would 
 permit them to seize His Sacred Person, but, much as they 
 desired to do so at once, the presence of such multitudes — 
 many of whom believed in Christ on account of the raising 
 of Lazarus — would not allow them to carry out their evil 
 plans. In Jerusalem, as at the Feast of Tabernacles, there 
 was " much murmuring among the multitude concerning 
 him." Friends and enemies alike " sought for Jesus " during 
 the days which preceded Llis triumphal entry. " They dis- 
 coursed one with another, standing in the temple : What 
 think you, that He is not come to the festival day ?" 
 
 All Christ's followers were also under the ban of the rulers' 
 displeasure, for " the chief priests and the Pharisees had 
 given a commandment, that if any man knew where He was, 
 he should tell, that they might apprehend Him." How was 
 
246 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 it they did not take Him, when He came with the Gahlean 
 pilgrims ? From the human point of view, it was because 
 He was surromided by throngs of enthusiastic disciples, and 
 these rulers " feared the people," hence they waited for an 
 opportunity of taking Him secretly. From a higher point of 
 view, the chief priests' spies could not take Him, because His 
 time, though very close at hand, was not yet fully accomplished. 
 
 Our Lord's friends in Bethania were faithful to Him. 
 Heedless of the dangers which they thereby incurred, a 
 banquet was given in His honour in the house of Simon, who 
 had been a leper formerly, but whom, in all probability, 
 Jesus had cured. 
 
 At this supper our Lord was the most honoured Guest. He 
 was on the right hand of His host ; Lazarus probably reclined 
 on Simon's left hand. All the Apostles were present like- 
 wise ; those messengers who were to be witnesses for Christ 
 and to seal their testimony with their blood. Judas, the 
 traitor, too, reclined at the supper-table. How much all 
 those present owed to Christ ! He had raised Lazarus from 
 the dead, restored Simon to health and to the society of his 
 friends and relatives. He had freely pardoned Mary Magda- 
 lene. To Christ, the Apostles owed their sublime vocation, 
 their life of intimacy with the Son of God, their privilege 
 of being the constant witnesses of His stupendous miracles. 
 Truly, it was a wonderful gathering which met that evening, 
 and over which the Son of God presided.* 
 
 * This meditation is based on the hypothesis that Jesus was anointed 
 twice during His public life, and that " the sinful woman," " Mary 
 Magdalene," and " Mary, the sister of Lazarus," are different designa- 
 tions for the same person. This conclusion is well supported, and a 
 few of the reasons which have led commentators to take this view are 
 subjoined : 
 
 1. The Latin Liturgies, from the sixth to the sixteenth century, 
 apply these three names to one person. 
 
 2. This same identity is assumed in the various passages of the 
 breviary, appointed for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene on July 22. 
 
 3. The Patristic evidence is greatly in favour of identifying Mary of 
 Bethania with Mary Magdalene, who is almost invariably considered 
 to be " the sinful woman " mentioned by St. Luke. This view has the 
 support of St. Ephrem, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St, John Chrysostom, 
 and St. Gregory the Great. 
 
 4. The proofs of love and devotedness to Jesus given by Mary 
 Magdalene, during our Lord's Passion and after His death, are abso- 
 lutely in keeping with what we know of Mary of Bethania. 
 
JESUS ANOINTED IN BET HANI A 247 
 
 At this supper the guests recHned on couches, and the 
 various courses were brought in successively on tables. 
 Three or five persons usually reclined on one side of each 
 table ; at a large banquet there would be many sets of couches 
 arranged in the shape of a horseshoe. The couches were 
 provided with cushions, on which the guests rested the left 
 arm ; the head was turned towards the table, while the bare 
 feet were extended outward. Shoes or sandals were taken 
 off before entering the supper-room, just as in Europe, men 
 remove their hats. 
 
 While the supper was in progress, Mary Magdalene entered 
 the banqueting hall bearing " an alabaster box of precious 
 ointment." It was a mark of esteem to anoint the most 
 distinguished guest by pouring perfumed oil or ointment 
 over his head, as he reclined at table. Mary Magdalene, 
 whose soul overflowed with love and gratitude to Him, who 
 had absolved her so freely, and had raised her brother to life 
 again, determined to give this tribute of affection and respect 
 to her Saviour. She had in her possession a flask of valuable 
 perfume or ointment. These vases were manufactured at 
 Alabastron in Egypt, and the flasks had long narrow necks, 
 of which the lids were carefully corked and cemented. The 
 ointment was made from the Indian or Arabian nard-grass, 
 an aromatic plant exceedingly expensive to cultivate. Only 
 very wealthy persons could afford to use this perfume, since 
 an " Alabastron " was considered a fit offering for a king. 
 
 Mary, rejoicing in having the means of offering one to 
 her Lord and Saviour, came behind Him, and, having broken 
 the neck of the flask, she poured out its contents on our 
 Lord's sacred head, and on His feet. Then, loosening her 
 beautiful tresses, she wiped off the superfluous perfume with 
 her hair. For the second time, Mary gave this public proof 
 of her love ; once immediately after her conversion as a sign 
 of her sincere repentance, and once in thanksgiving for her 
 brother's restoration to life. " The house was filled with the 
 odour of the ointment." Writing on this incident, St. Augus- 
 tine remarks : " And the whole world is now filled with its 
 fragrance." Then the Saint goes on to exhort his hearers : 
 " Do thou also anoint the feet of Jesus, and wipe His feet 
 
248 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 with thy hair. If thou hast more than enough, give to the 
 poor, so thou mayest wipe them with thy hair." 
 
 Did Mary reahze that she was performing a prophetic action ? 
 We know not, but with her woman's quick intuition and deep 
 love of Christ, she may have reahzed more clearly than the 
 Apostles the literal meaning of His words concerning the 
 Passion. He who called the inmates of that peaceful home in 
 Bethania His "friends,'' would not have hidden from them 
 what awaited Him. In the blessed conversations with her 
 Lord, by His sad, solemn demeanour, by the rumours of the 
 crowd and the formal commands of the High-Priests, Mary 
 must have known that some fatal denouement was at hand ; 
 nor was she ignorant of the fact that Lazarus' life also was 
 sought, and that the miracle worked for him had precipitated 
 the accomplishment of the designs of the rulers against our 
 Lord. Knowing all this, and penetrated with gratitude for 
 all she had received from Jesus, Mary therefore came into the 
 midst of that festive scene, and, with the perfume of her oint- 
 ment of spikenard, she poured forth also the treasures of her 
 humility, her faith, and her love for her Saviour. 
 
 Lazarus and Martha most certainly appreciated Mary's 
 motives, and applauded her act, but, as the light ever casts 
 shadows, this profession of devotedness and love called forth 
 murmuring, and the chief murmurer was an Apostle — Judas 
 Iscariot, the son of Simon. St. John, an eyewitness of the 
 scene, records that then — i.e., when the perfume filled the 
 room and revealed Mary's generous act — " one of His disciples, 
 Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray Him, said : Why 
 was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given 
 to the poor ?" Nor was Judas the only one who expostulated, 
 for St. Matthew says that " the disciples seeing it, had in- 
 dignation, saying : To what purpose this waste ? For it 
 might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." 
 
 The Galileans were poor and unaccustomed to such luxuries, 
 hence their displeasure. Judas murmured, " Not because he 
 cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the 
 purse, carried the things that were put therein." True, it 
 might have been sold for much — for a sum equal to about 
 ten pounds of our money — and the disciples who followed 
 
JESUS ANOINTED IN BET HANI A 249 
 
 Judas' evil example probably had the poor in view. But 
 Judas the Apostle, the thief, had his own profit in view. 
 He deemed that he had lost this amount, a sum, the purchasing 
 value of which would have equalled thirty- five pounds accord- 
 ing to our present standard, and this loss enraged him. So 
 great was his anger, that this act of love on the part of Mary 
 appears to have determined Judas to betray our Lord. 
 
 How often has this avaricious Apostle found imitators ! 
 Constantly we see that when a generous act of Christian charity 
 is performed, the world, with its cold, cynical, worldly judg- 
 ment, asks : "To what purpose this waste ?" Yet for world- 
 lings themselves nothing is too good, nothing, indeed, is good 
 enough ! 
 
 But Jesus has heard these murmurs. He has seen the dis- 
 content of His disciples, and He 'takes up Mary's defence. 
 " Jesus therefore said : Let her alone, that she may keep it 
 against the day of my burial." 
 
 " There is something inexpressibly sad, yet so patient, 
 gentle, and tender in Christ's " Let her alone." Surely, never 
 could there be waste in ministry of love for Him ! He spoke, 
 too, of His burial, and seems as though He would hush their 
 murmurs by the thought of His near Passion, and He abases 
 Himself in that He deigns to justify this deed of love. He 
 was going to His death — to redeem mankind — and His own 
 disciples begrudge him this proof of Mary's devotedness, 
 and accuse her of extravagance. 
 
 " The day of My burial." Judas had heard once more the 
 death-knell of his hopes of a Messianic kingdom of power 
 here on earth. If Jesus was about to die, there could be no 
 high places for His Apostles, and, this being so, why not get 
 what he could ? Why not obtain money from the High- 
 Priests ? Thus Judas argued, and the words of our Lord 
 seemed to justify his decision ; at least, so he would fain have 
 persuaded himself. Therefore the traitor no longer hesi- 
 tated ; " thenceforth, he sought opportunity to betray him." 
 
 What a contrast Mary Magdalene and Judas offer ! Mary 
 honours Christ in His death and burial ; Judas, the Apostle, 
 brings that death about. Mary lavishes her flask of perfume — 
 worth three hundred pence — on her Lord ; Judas selJs Him for 
 
250 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 one-third of that sum — for thirty pieces of silver. Mary rejoices 
 to give Jesus that which is precious ; Judas desires to have 
 this treasure for himself. 
 
 ■ 
 
 But our Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, and who 
 wills that Mary's deed shall be handed down the course of 
 ages, as a reward for her generous love, goes on to explain 
 to Judas another reason for His command, " Let her alone." 
 " For the poor you have always with you, but Me you have 
 not always." Yes, the poor are always with us. In spite of 
 all the socialistic prophecies and illusions, the words of God 
 will remain. As long as this earth exists : " There shall not be 
 wanting poor in the land of thy habitation ; therefore I com- 
 mand thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, 
 that liveth in the land."* These words were spoken for the 
 Jews ; and Jesus the Redeemer, confirmed this ancient 
 prophecy when He uttered those memorable words : '* The 
 poor you have always with you." They are with us, that they 
 may by poverty sanctify their own souls, give their wealthy 
 brothers the privilege and merit of ministering unto them, 
 as unto Him, and represent to us the life of poverty which 
 Christ, our Master, chose for Himself. 
 
 St. Mark gives our Lord's words to Judas even more fully. 
 His narrative runs thus : " The poor you have always with 
 you, and, whensoever you will, you may do them good ; but 
 Me you have not always." It is a sacred duty to " do them 
 good," but, alas ! one which so many Christians neglect or 
 accomplish grudgingly, forgetting that the Son of God takes, 
 as a loan to Himself, whatever we do for them. 
 
 But it is also a duty to minister to Christ Himself— to 
 contribute to the support of religion, to beautify God's 
 Temples. If we waited until there were no poor to succour, 
 never would a church be built for the glory of God. If the 
 choice, however, has to be made between decorating the 
 House of God or assisting the poor, then the poor have the 
 prior claim, for they are His living temples. In times of 
 distress, the ministers of God have sold the sacred vessels 
 to purchase bread for the needy. But let us bear in mind 
 that whether we give alms for the support of religion or for 
 
 * Deut. XV. 
 
 -^■\ 
 
JESUS ANOINTED IN BETHANIA 251 
 
 the benefit of the poor, we are to do so from a supernatural 
 motive, otherwise we can expect no supernatural reward. 
 
 Let us ask ourselves seriously how far we fulfil our obUga- 
 tions towards God, who has given us all we possess ; towards 
 Christ, as represented in His suffering poor. Do we give 
 grudgingly that which we do not miss, or are we generous in 
 denying ourselves that we may be able to give ? Perhaps 
 the honest answer to this question will prove that we should 
 do well to read once more, and to meditate prayerfully on 
 the touching incident of the widow's mite. Like Mary 
 Magdalene, this poor woman did " what she could," and 
 her royal gift has likewise merited a record in the sacred 
 pages, that it may be a lesson to all Christians. ^ 
 
 " Me you have not always." No, we have not our Master 
 visibly present. He no longer needs food, drink, and shelter, 
 as during " the days of His flesh." But He is present with 
 us invisibly under the Eucharistic veils. Our Emmanuel 
 dwells in our tabernacles, where He fulfils His sacred promise : 
 " Lo, I am with you always." 
 
 Having justified Mary's act of love, and based His defence 
 of her deed on two motives, Jesus then proceeded to set forth 
 before all there present and all ages, what will be her reward ; 
 and He prefaced His words with that solemn introduction 
 which always preludes some weighty pronouncement : " Amen, 
 I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the 
 whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for 
 a memory of her."* 
 
 St. John Chrysostom has a beautiful passage on these 
 words of Christ. He writes : " Who, then, proclaimed it, 
 and caused it to be spread abroad ? It was the power of 
 Him, who is speaking these words. And while of countless 
 kings and generals, the noble exploits, even of those 
 whose memorials remain, have sunk into silence. Men who 
 have overthrown cities, encompassed them with walls, set 
 up trophies and enslaved many nations, have left no record. 
 Their names even have perished, though they gave countries 
 their statutes and laws. Yet this woman, who had been a 
 harlot, poured out oil in the house of some leper . . . this 
 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. 
 
252 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 all men celebrate throughout the world. So great a time has 
 passed, and yet the memory of that which she did has not 
 faded away, but Persians and Indians, Scythians, and 
 Thracians, and Sarmatians and the race of the Moors, and they 
 that dwell in the British Islands, spread abroad that which 
 was secretly done in a house by a woman."* 
 
 The supper over, we may listen while Jesus pronounces 
 the last words of blessing before the guests depart. Our 
 Lord and His Apostles find shelter in the house of Lazarus. 
 They retire to rest, and they must need it ; moreover, the 
 morrow will be one of the great days in our Lord's life, the 
 one, on which He will be publicly proclaimed in His own city 
 as the Messias, the King of Israel. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent Jesus reclining at supper in the 
 house of Simon. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to be generous with 
 God. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus' arrival at Mount Olivet. His visit 
 to Bethania. The Sabbath rest. Many Jews go to see 
 Him and Lazarus also. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus at table with His friends and Apostles. 
 Mary Magdalene anoints His sacred head and feet. 
 
 Third Point. — Mary's deed of love provokes Judas* 
 anger. Jesus defends her. Our duty to the poor. Mary's 
 reward. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our blessed Lord, as He reclines at 
 table. In union with Mary, offer Him that which you prize 
 most, also that which He prizes most — your soul's love. 
 Pray that you may have a real love and devotedness for the 
 poor. Ask that you may realize the privilege of having our 
 Eucharistic Lord ever present. Pray that you may never 
 begnidge Him anything. 
 
 * Horn. Ixxx. 2. 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM * 
 
 Part I 
 
 St, Matt, xxi, ; St. Mark xi. ; St. Luke xix. ; St. John xii. 
 
 We have seen that at the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus " also 
 went up to the feast, not openly," with the pilgrim bands, 
 " but as it were in secret." But this time, on the occasion of 
 Jesus' last visit to a special feast — that of the Pasch — He 
 willed to go openly, to satisfy for once the enthusiasm of His 
 Galilean followers, and to reveal Himself as the Messias of 
 Israel. He determined, therefore, to make a solemn entry 
 into the Holy City, Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb, entered 
 His Father's House amid the acclamations of the multitude 
 on the very day when the paschal lambs, garlanded and 
 be-ribboned, were set apart and taken to the houses of their 
 respective purchasers, there to remain until they were carried 
 to the Temple, on the 14th of Nisan, to be slain. 
 
 The supper in the house of Simon took place on the evening 
 of the Jewish Sabbath, therefore the following day was the 
 first of the week. The Jews referred to each week-day only 
 in its relation to the Sabbath ; they had no special name for 
 each day — a number sufficed. On this first day of the week 
 • — known to the Christian Church as Palm Sunday — Jesus 
 and His faithful disciples left the house of Bethania, the home 
 of their friend Lazarus, in order to make His public entry 
 into Jerusalem. 
 
 "They drew nigh to Jerusalem, and were come to Beth- 
 phage unto Mount Olivet," It appears, from modern re- 
 searches, that this village was situated about midway between 
 the summit of Mount Olivet and Bethania. and about half a 
 mile south-east of the summit. Therefore, according to 
 
 * In meditating on this mystery of our Lord's life, it will be necessary 
 to harmonize the accounts given by the four Evangelists, and the 
 scriptural quotations, unless otherwise stated, will be found in one or 
 more of the passages cited at the head of this chapter. The various 
 incidents will be taken in the order in which our most approved com- 
 mentators place them. 
 
254 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 recent writers, the caravan road, which led from Jericho to 
 Jerusalem, must have passed by Bethphage. At Bethania 
 the road sloped southward, and two other paths opened out 
 leading to Jerusalem, so that there was a choice of three roads 
 offered to the pilgrims — a winding path between the northern 
 and central summits, a rugged bridle-path which passed over 
 the highest point of the mountain, and the broad main road 
 which wound near the " Hill of Evil Counsel." It is ex- 
 tremely probable that Jesus chose the wide, frequented route — 
 the only one which would offer space for a procession of some 
 hundreds of pilgrims. 
 
 Jesus left Lazarus' house on foot, in company with His 
 Apostles, and turned in the direction of Bethphage. We do 
 not know the exact hour, but probably it was not very early, 
 for the city and suburbs appear to have been full of activity ; 
 hence we may conclude that the morning sacrifices had already 
 been offered. As our Lord approached Bethphage^ He sent 
 on two disciples ahead — perhaps Peter and John — " saying 
 to them : Go ye into the village that is over against you, and 
 immediately at your coming in thither, you shall find an ass 
 tied, and a colt with her, upon which no man yet hath sat. 
 Loose them and bring them to Me. And if any man shall 
 ask you : What are you doing ? Why do you loose him ? 
 you shall say thus unto him : Because the Lord hath need of 
 his service ; and immediately he will let him come hither." 
 The disciples obeyed, and " they found the colt tied before 
 the gate without, in the meeting of two ways." They were 
 questioned, as Jesus had anticipated, but when they replied 
 " The Lord hath need of him," the owner, who was, perhaps, 
 a secret disciple of Christ, immediately gave his consent. 
 
 The two disciples therefore " brought the ass and the colt 
 to Jesus," and, having folded their outer cloaks and placed 
 them upon the ass and the colt, Jesus chose the latter. In 
 the East, horses are used chiefly in war ; and asses, which are 
 far superior to the European asses, are held in high esteem. 
 They are ordinarily used on peaceful expeditions. Having 
 brought the colt and " made Him sit thereon," the procession 
 was formed. As our Lord's retinue was numerous at the 
 outset, and the procession descending the southern slope of 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 255 
 
 Olivet, passed by the tents of the pilgrims, we can readily 
 understand how it soon assumed vast proportions. As He 
 went down the hill and across the brook Cedron and up to the 
 Shushan Gate, a very great multitude spread their garments 
 in the way, and others cut down boughs from the trees and 
 strewed them along the route. It was customary in the East to 
 spread garments in the path of kings, conquerors, and eminent 
 Rabbis ; thus, when Jehu was anointed king of Israel, a royal 
 procession was improvised. " They made haste, and taking 
 every man his garment," laid it under Jehu's feet. Let us 
 reverently contemplate this wonderful scene of our Lord's 
 triumph as, in the hght of day and, in spite of the bitter 
 hatred of His enemies, Jesus, meek and lowly of heart, rides 
 escorted by His jubilant followers. The prophecy of Zacharias 
 is fulfilled : " Fear not, daughter of Sion. Behold, thy King 
 cometh to thee, meek and sitting upon an ass." " They that 
 followed " (as St. Mark records) were composed of the 
 Apostles, the disciples, and the holy women. There, too, were 
 gathered numbers whom Jesus had healed, many also who 
 had " gone out to see Lazarus," as well as pilgrims on their 
 way to Jerusalem, who, hearing the procession coming behind 
 them, or seeing it ahead, had fallen in and brought up the rear. 
 
 The road was carpeted with leaves and branches strewn 
 by the people, and when the procession approached Jerusalem 
 the multitude broke out into joyful Hosannas. The Evan- 
 gelists thus relate the scene : " And when He was now coming 
 near the descent of Mount Olivet, the whole multitude of 
 His disciples began with joy to praise God with a loud voices 
 for aU the mighty works they had seen, saying : Blessed is He 
 that cometh in the name of the Lord :', peace in heaven and 
 glory on earth. Hosanna to the Son of David." 
 
 " Hosanna " signifies " save now," and the words uttered 
 by the multitude were taken from Psalm cxvii. 26, which was 
 appointed to be sung on solemn festivities, such as the Pasch 
 and the Feast of Tabernacles. These chants were also sung 
 when the priests and Jews of Jenisalem went to greet their 
 brethren as the caravans arrived, and it was customary to 
 wave branches of palms in sign of rejoicing, for the palm was 
 a symbol of joy and victory. 
 
256 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 But there was another procession — that which came from 
 Jerusalem to greet our Lord. St. Mark refers to this con- 
 course of people as " They that went before," and St. John 
 thus describes the meeting : "A great multitude, that was 
 come to the festival day, when they heard that Jesus was 
 coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees, and went 
 forth to meet Him, and cried : Hosanna, blessed is He that 
 cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel." This 
 great multitude did not consist wholly of Christ's followers. 
 It contained many pilgrims, who, having heard of Jesus' 
 miracles, were desirous to see Him ; many of His own disciples, 
 who lived in Jerusalem, and who had not seen Him for at 
 least three months ; some Galilean pilgrims, who, having 
 friends in Jerusalem, were dwelling there, and had spread the 
 news of His coming into the city ; and many Pharisees, sent 
 as spies by the members of the Sanhedrin. 
 
 This vast concourse of people met the procession from. 
 Bethania, and then, turning, headed it, and led the way to 
 Jerusalem. We will now pause and consider what were the 
 sentiments of this great multitude — of the friends and foes 
 of Christ. 
 
 The disciples of Christ were filled with joy : at last their 
 beloved Master was receiving a glorious public act of homage. 
 The Valley of Cedron re-echoed with the shouts of their 
 Hosannas. They congratulated one another on this, His 
 great triumph. Perhaps they thought that now He would 
 no longer be persecuted, that all Israel would surely welcome 
 Him as the Messias. Doubtless, fond dreams of a glorious 
 Messianic reign, in all their attractiveness, again filled their 
 minds. Was not this triumph the initial step, and had their 
 beloved Master not entered into His kingdom ? All the pre- 
 dictions of the Passion were forgotten ; the Apostles no longer 
 thought of their Saviour's words concerning His burial, 
 uttered but a few hours before in the guest-chamber of Simon 
 the leper. Even Judas may have imagined that all was not 
 lost ; that his ambition and avarice might still be gratified 
 with emoluments in an earthly kingdom. Could those 
 disciples, loyal to Jesus, but so slow to understand His doc- 
 trine, ever have conceived that these joyous " Hosannas " 
 
£NTRY of JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 257 
 
 were the prelude to the " Crucify Him ! Crucify Him !" of 
 Good Friday ? Could it ever have seemed possible to them 
 that those who were now crying, " Blessed is He that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord " would, in five days, be shouting, at 
 the bidding of the rulers : " Not this man, but Barabbas " ? 
 
 How can we account for this rapid revocation of their 
 acclamations ? The transition is less inexplicable than at 
 first sight it might appear. If, on Palm Sunday, " all the 
 city was moved," all this vast concourse of people were 
 not animated with the same sentiments. Some, indeed, were 
 loyal disciples of Jesus, but many were very recent converts, 
 won over to the Prophet of Galilee by the great miracle of the 
 raising of Lazarus. Part of those pilgrims who sang their 
 Hosannas were attracted by curiosity, or a certain excite- 
 ment — for enthusiasm is easily aroused by such scenes as this 
 Palm Sunday procession. There were generally about three 
 millions of Jews who took part in the Paschal festivities, and 
 of these, a few thousand poor Galileans would form but a small 
 minority. Further, the Jews clung tenaciously to the Law 
 of Moses, and when their spiritual rulers, and the leading men 
 of wealth and position represented Jesus of Nazareth as one, 
 who treated that law with disrespect, as one in collusion with 
 Satan, how could the few faithful disciples of Christ resist the 
 power of their rulers ? The feeble followers of our Lord, the 
 half-hearted converts, the fickle mob, quailed before the might 
 and intimidation of the wealthy High-Priests and Pharisees. 
 In many of those who acclaimed Jesus as the Son of David, 
 the good seed of the Word of God had sprung up, but it had 
 no depth, and when the scorching blast of the Sanhedrin's 
 displeasure made itself felt, the tender plant of their weak, 
 imperfect faith withered away. 
 
 Nor did even the Apostles understand the true significance 
 of that scene, and, in all humility, St. John acknowledges 
 their ignorance. They saw its meaning later, in the light of 
 subsequent events. The Evangelist writes : " Now all this 
 was done that the word might be fulfilled, which was spoken 
 by the prophet," and he goes on to quote the words of 
 Zacharias, which refer to the triumphal entry of the King of 
 Zion into His own city. Frequently, a like obscurity had 
 
 17 
 
258 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 veiled the meaning of Christ's words and deeds, for many had 
 reference to the far future ; but when the Holy Ghost de- 
 scended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, then all that was 
 anticipatory, enigmatical, and prophetical became clear as 
 the noonday. Therefore, as St. John clearly explains, 
 " These things His disciples did not know at first, but, when 
 Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things 
 were written of Him, and that they had done these things 
 unto Him." 
 
 We can perceive that this obscurity must needs be. God 
 willed that they should not see the signification of their act, 
 for the Divine predictions are brought about by the uncon- 
 scious agency of men, not by their set purpose to realize them. 
 
 But among the multitude that followed, may we not in- 
 clude the handmaid of the Lord, the blessed Mother of Jesus ? 
 She ever kept all His words " in her heart," and " wondered 
 at all those things which were spoken concerning Him "* 
 during the whole course of His life. As she shares in her 
 Son's triumph by taking her place among the ministering 
 women, let us reverently ask what was the subject of her 
 thoughts. How far did she penetrate the mystery that was 
 being enacted ? 
 
 Our Immaculate Mother knew the Scriptures well ; she had 
 learned them from her childhood, and during the precious 
 years of Jesus' boyhood and manhood spent in the lowly 
 home of Nazareth, how often had He explained these Scrip- 
 tures to her ! Mary was pure of heart, sinless ; and the pure 
 of heart ** shall see God " in His dealings with men and in His 
 words, far more clearly than those, whose souls are attached 
 to earthly things, and whose spiritual insight has been deadened 
 by the effects of original sin. Thus the Angels' conception of 
 God's attributes far surpasses that of even the holiest of men 
 who are still upon earth. Mary " was full of grace," full of 
 the Holy Ghost, and He ever reveals to chosen souls the 
 Divine secrets. What would He not have made known to 
 this " valiant woman," the Mother of the Word Incarnate ? 
 
 How far did Jesus reveal to our Lady the details of His 
 terrible Passion ? We may reverently conjecture that He 
 
 * St. Luke ii. 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 259 
 
 told her all, as fully as He spoke of it to His Apostles. When 
 God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrha, we read : 
 " The Lord said : Can I hide from Abraham what I am about 
 to do, seeing that he shall become a great and mighty nation, 
 and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed ?"* 
 Having, as it were, deliberated, God told His faithful servant 
 that these cities should be overthrown. Would our Lord 
 have done less for His holy Mother, who was " blessed among 
 women," and in whom " all the nations of the earth " should 
 indeed be blessed, through Jesus, her Divine Son ? 
 
 Therefore, we may presume that Jesus gradually and ten- 
 derly prepared His Mother for the terrible trial that awaited 
 both Him and her, and that on this day when Jesus entered 
 the city amid the joyous shouts of welcome, she shared His 
 sentiments. She looked to the end, and, braver than Deborah, 
 Judith, Esther, or any of the noble heroines of the Jewish 
 race, she prepared her soul to become the Mother of Dolours, 
 — to follow her Son to Calvary. She sympathized with Him, 
 and, consequently, grief filled her soul. She wept in union 
 with her Son and Lord, as the glad Hosannas of the multi- 
 tude were borne upon the breezes down the Valley of Cedron, 
 and re-echoed from the walls of the Holy City. Holy Mother, 
 Queen of Martyrs, pray that thy children may ever prepare 
 generously to follow thy Divine Son — to ascend their re- 
 spective Calvaries ! 
 
 How were the enemies of Jesus affected by the ovation of 
 Palm Sunday ? We are not left to conjecture their senti- 
 ments ; they revealed them by their words and deeds. " The 
 Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves : Do you see that 
 we prevail nothing ? Behold, the whole world is gone after 
 Him. And some of the Pharisees from amongst the multi- 
 tude said to Him : Master, rebuke Thy disciples. And He 
 said to them : I tell you that if these should hold their peace, 
 the stones would cry out." These words reveal impotent rage 
 and jealousy. In their exasperation at seeing Jesus publicly 
 honoured, and knowing that their plots to seize Him were 
 frustrated for the time, these Pharisees turn to Christ and beg 
 Him to silence His followers. But this is His one hour of 
 
 ♦ Gen. xviii. 
 
26o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 triumph, willed by God ; hence His reply that if the disciples 
 ceased to acclaim Him, the stones would cry out. 
 
 Five days later every disciple and partisan of Jesus was 
 silenced, and then the rending of the rocks proclaimed that 
 the God of Nature was suffering, — the stones cried out. 
 
 This was the first attempt of Christ's foes to restrain the 
 people ; they made another effort in the Temple. For " when 
 the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that 
 He did and the children crying in the Temple, and saying : 
 Hosanna to the Son of David, they were moved with indig- 
 nation, and said to Him : Hearest Thou what these say ?" 
 The praises of the children, the welcome given to the Prophet 
 of Galilee, the choice of the Messianic titles, were as gall and 
 wormwood to them. Their existence was overshadowed, 
 none acclaimed them ; all was for the One whom they despised 
 and sought to murder judicially. Instantly Jesus silenced, 
 not the children, but His enemies, by quoting a passage they 
 knew well : " Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings 
 Thou hast perfected praise," and these High-Priests could have 
 continued the quotation which applied so forcibly to them : 
 " Because of Thy enemies, that Thou mayest destroy the 
 enemy and the avenger."* 
 
 Lastly, our Lord's enemies were perplexed and more resolved 
 than ever to put Him to death. St. Mark, after relating the 
 incident of the buyers and sellers being cast out of the Temple, 
 goes on to say : " Which, when the chief priests and the scribes 
 had heard, they sought how they might destroy Him. For 
 ih.ey feared Him, because the whole multitude was in admira- 
 tion at His doctrine." Rage, jealousy, indignation, per- 
 plexity at their inability to take Him, deeper hatred and fear — 
 such were the sentiments of our Saviour's enemies as He rode 
 in low^y triumph into the Holy City. Jesus, our beloved 
 Master, is indeed " a sign that shall be contradicted," and 
 the contradiction stands out strongly in this. His brief hour of 
 triumph. He is set for " the fall " of His enemies, and for 
 " the resurrection of many in Israel " of those who believe in 
 Him, and Palm Sunday has in truth revealed " the thoughts 
 
 of many hearts*" 
 
 * Ps. viii. 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 261 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Saviour riding into 
 Jerusalem, amid the joyful acclamations of a vast multitude. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that hereafter you may be with the 
 redeemed, who wave their palms before the throne of the 
 Lamb. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus leaves Bethania. He sends His dis- 
 ciples to fetch the ass and the colt. The procession forms at 
 Bethphage and starts for Jemsalem. Another procession 
 comes from Jerusalem to meet Christ. 
 
 Second Point. — The sentiments of Jesus' friends — their 
 joy and hopes. The sentiments of our Lady — her grief and 
 courage. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The sentiments of Jesus' enemies — their 
 rage, jealousy, indignation, fear, and increased hatred. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our blessed Saviour in this His brief hour 
 of triumph. Ask that you may share the sentiments of our 
 blessed Lady. Pray for the enemies of God. Ask that you 
 may see through the hollowness of the world's praise, that 
 you may always trust God rather than creatures. Pray for 
 the gift of discernment, for grace to understand spiritual 
 truths. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 
 
 Part II 
 
 We have followed the procession of Palm Sunday from its 
 starting-point at Bethphage. Let us continue to follow our 
 blessed Lord in spirit, that we may learn something concern- 
 ing His thoughts and feehngs, as revealed on this triumphal 
 march by word and deed. It is a procession that differs 
 strangely from the royal progress of an earthly sovereign. 
 No captives grace His triumph, and the notes of joy that fill 
 the air sound no death-knell in the souls of men who have lost 
 
262 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 their dear ones in the din of battle, in order to secure that 
 monarch's victory. Yet Jesus has His spoils — the lame, the 
 sick, the paralyzed, whom He has healed ; the blind, who owe 
 their sight to His power ; the dead whom He has raised to life. 
 Many, too, are there following joyx)usly, to whom He has 
 granted a full pardon. Never again will such a procession 
 be seen. 
 
 It advances slowly, and, moment by moment, the ranks are 
 swelled, for Jesus and His disciples are passing through 
 the encampment of the Galilean pilgrims. The road slopes 
 gradually up the Mount of Olives, past the groves of fruit- 
 trees, and at a given point it curves round to the north, and 
 the descent begins. At this bend, Jerusalem bursts upon their 
 view — not the Jerusalem of to-day, but the Holy City in all 
 its glory. No other spot gives such a splendid view. " Imme- 
 diately below was the Valley of the Cedron, here seen in its 
 greatest depths as it joins the Valley of Hinnom, and thus 
 giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem, seen 
 only on its eastern side — its situation of a city rising out of a 
 deep abyss. It is hardly possible to doubt that this rise and 
 turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the exact point where 
 the multitude paused again, and He, when He beheld the 
 city, wept over it."* 
 
 "It is hard for us to imagine now the splendour of that 
 view. The City of God, seated on her hills, shone at the 
 moment in the morning sun. Straight before stretched the 
 vast white walls and buildings of the Temple, its courts, 
 glittering with gold, rising one above the other ; the steep 
 sides of the hill of David crowned with lofty walls ; the 
 mighty castles towering above them ; the sumptuous Palace 
 of Herod in its green parks ; and the picturesque outhnes of 
 its streets. Over all rested the spell of a history of two 
 thousand years ; of a present which craved salvation in its 
 own perverted way ; and the mystic Holy of Holies linked the 
 scene to the invisible. The crusaders, long centuries after, 
 when the only glory left to the Holy City was its wondrous 
 memories, burst out into a loud cry — * Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! 
 when they first saw it, and the enthusiasm of the Jew could 
 * Stanley, " Sinai a.nd Palestine," chap, iii., p. 193, 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 263 
 
 not have been fainter. The shouts and rejoicings rose higher 
 than ever."* 
 
 Jesus looked upon that fair city, and He knew that, like a 
 " whited sepulchre," all was coiTuption within. The cup of 
 her iniquities was almost full to the brim, the spiritual guides 
 of Israel were preparing to kill the Son of God, and, in punish- 
 ment for this awful act of deicide, the city was doomed to 
 destruction. On the very slopes of Olivet, over which He was 
 passing, the tenth Roman legion would lie encamped. There, 
 too, hundreds would be crucified, and this cruel torture con- 
 tinue to be inflicted until wood for the crosses failed. Famine^ 
 pestilence, fire, and civil war, would do their deadly work. 
 Certainly, many of those youths and children who waved 
 their branches on Palm Sunday, lived to see and suffer the 
 awful torments of those daj;s. All these things were known 
 to Christ ; and the city that was to suffer this fearful punish- 
 ment was His own beloved Jerusalem. Can we wonder that 
 Jesus, who loved His nation, who was about to give His life 
 for the salvation of souls, was so deeply moved as this vision 
 passed before Him that " He wept aloud " ? 
 
 What a contrast ! The crowds are shouting their Hosannas ; 
 Jesus, the Son of God, weeps aloud ! Then, while the crowd 
 halts. He utters His solemn prophecy and reveals the source 
 of His sacred tears. In the hearing of His disciples, He 
 apostrophizes the guilty city, and foretells* her certain doom. 
 " If thou hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things 
 that are to thy peace : but now they are hidden from thy 
 eyes. For the days will come upon thee, and thy enemies 
 shall cast a trench about thee, and shall compass thee round, 
 and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the 
 ground, and thy children who are in thee, and they shall not 
 leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not 
 known the day of thy visitation." From these words we 
 learn something of the unfathomable depths of our Lord's 
 love and compassion for His guilty people. The thought of 
 the temble retribution awaiting them drew tears from the 
 eyes and heart of our Emmanuel. How truly did Jesus 
 
 become like unto us in all except sin ! 
 
 * Geikie, " Life of Christ," vol. ii., chap, iv., p. 397. 
 
264 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Men are apt to speak of yielding to a strong emotion as an 
 act of cowardice, yet why should we be ashamed to let others 
 see us suffer ? Jesus, the God-Man, wept aloud over the 
 sufferings and sins of His people, and He will not rebuke t,hose 
 who weep for their own tribulations or for those of others. 
 Those blessed tears of Jesus have sanctified the tears of His 
 disciples, provided their grief is legitimate. The sight of 
 Jesus weeping aloud over Jerusalem should encourage us, 
 when sorrows bring tears to our eyes, to unite them with His, 
 and He, who gave this mark of human sympathy, will not 
 rebuke us for weeping, but rather bestow upon us the blessing 
 promised to all who mourn — in God's good time " they shall 
 be comforted." 
 
 Addressing the city of Jerusalem, Jesus refers to His labours 
 — His miracles and preaching as " this thy day," and He 
 laments that she has failed to profit by them. To Jerusalem, 
 as to His disciples, Jesus could have said : " Blessed are the 
 eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you that 
 many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that 
 you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that 
 you hear, and have not heard them."* 
 
 Thrice in His lamentation over the guilty city, Jesus speaks 
 of the graces which had been offered her. She had had her 
 day of mercy ; she might have known the things that were for 
 her peace, and God had granted her a merciful time of visi- 
 tation. In the fulness of time, the Messias had come to His 
 people ; in the dark hour of civil and religious tyranny, He 
 came to preach deliverance. He had put forth His claim, 
 and His wondrous deeds of power were His credentials — for 
 three years He continued His Ministry, visiting Jerusalem at 
 regular intervals, and teaching in her Temple. What was 
 the result of His efforts to save His people ? They rejected 
 His teaching and brought about His death. 
 
 He, who sins in the full light of knowledge, is far guiltier than 
 he who offends in the night of ignorance^ and in this lay the 
 heinousness of Israel ; her children " loved darkness rather 
 than light." Therefore the day of grace was followed by a day 
 of blindness, which, in turn, gave place to a day of judgment, 
 
 * St. Luke X, 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 265 
 
 As Jerusalem had " her day," so every man has his day 
 of grace — one on which salvation comes to him, as it came 
 to Zaccheus. To all, God gives the graces necessary for sal- 
 vation, but these graces work in manifold ways. The dis- 
 guises of grace are legion. Perhaps it visits the soul by an 
 illness, a bereavement, a reverse of fortune, a failure, or a 
 bitter deception. It may come through a kindly warning, a 
 good book, a sermon, a retreat, an inspiration, or a striking 
 example of the judgments of God. Sometimes the soul is 
 raised to higher things by a growing desire to seek the things 
 above ; an intense conviction of the emptiness and ephemeral 
 character of all earthly possessions. Whatever be the agency 
 through which God offers His grace, it is man's duty to ac- 
 cept it promptly, gratefully, and generously, though it may 
 involve sacrifices. 
 
 The procession moves on past Gethsemani, over the brook 
 Cedron, through the " Gate of the Tribes," into the city, 
 and on to the foot of the Temple Mount. Jesus is still seated 
 upon the colt, and one of His disciples leads the animal 
 through the steep narrow streets. As the procession enters 
 the Holy City, there is great excitement among the in- 
 habitants : "the whole city z^as moved" (literally, "was 
 shaken ") as by an earthquake. 
 
 " Who is this ?" they ask, as they leaned out of the narrow 
 lattices and looked over from the roofs. " Who is this ?" 
 is constantly repeated, as Jesus and His followers pass 
 through the streets thronged with pilgrims of all nations, and 
 each time the question is put, the answer is promptly given : 
 " This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth of Gahlee." 
 This information is chiefly for the benefit of the strangers, 
 and, at once, these questioners are informed of the mighty 
 deeds which Jesus had wrought. Perhaps they single out 
 Lazanis or Bartimeus, as a proof of their Master's power over 
 disease and death. 
 
 " The whole city was moved " — so it had happened thirty- 
 three years ago, when the Magi and their retinue passed 
 through Jerusalem, inquiring : " Where is He that is born 
 King of the Jews ?" Herod then sought craftily and 
 maliciously to discover that Child, that he might kill Him. 
 
266 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 But now the city is still more troubled ; the excitement is 
 greater, for the interests are far more general and conflicting. 
 The Romans anticipate some public tumult ; the Herodians 
 fear a rival ; the Pharisees and the Sadducees are animated by 
 the most deadly hatred ; nothing but Christ's death will 
 satisfy them ; while the common people rejoice in the advent 
 of Him, who shall deliver them. 
 
 At length the procession reaches the foot of Mount Moriah — 
 the Temple Mount — and as the pilgrims, who have fallen in 
 the rear, as the procession passed along the highway, are not 
 allowed to go up to the house of the Lord in travelling attire 
 nor with dusty sandals, the people disband, and the con- 
 course is less during the last stages of the march. Jesus and 
 His disciples proceed up the steep narrow path that leads to 
 the Shushan Gate, which is one of the entrances to Solomon's 
 Porch. Here the Hosannas still resound, for in this Court, 
 or near it, are the sons of the Levites, the young boys who 
 form part of the Temple choir. They, too, join in acclaimJng 
 Christ, and it is their homage which so provokes the indig- 
 nation of the chief priests. But He, who ever loves and 
 blesses children, silences those who rebuke them, and once 
 more proves Himself to be the Messias by the miracles which 
 He wrought. 
 
 On the steps which led into the various Temple Courts, 
 throngs of poor, afflicted beggars lay appealing to the v/or- 
 shippers for alms, and on this occasion, they came crowding 
 round our Lord, imploring His compassion. Then, in presence 
 of His disciples and of the High-Priests, " He healed them,'* 
 and these grateful beggars joined in the acclamations of the 
 children, " Hosanna to the Son of David !" 
 
 On this memorable day, homage had been paid to the Son 
 of God by His disciples, by the children, and even by His 
 enemies, since " they feared him," thereby paying tribute to 
 His power. Now seme Greeks, probably converts to Judaism, 
 desire to speak with Jesus. As the Jews had received Him 
 as the Messias, so these Gentiles come to offer Him their 
 homage. " Chaldeans from the East had sought His cradle, 
 these Greeks from the West ccme to His Cross." They had 
 come to Jerusalem " to adore on the festival day." 
 
ENTRY OF JESUS INTO JERUSALEM 267 
 
 Philip and Andrew bring them to Jesus, and on seeing 
 them, Jesus is reminded of that hour when He shall be glorified 
 by the conversion of the Gentiles ; but this has to be pur- 
 chased by the sacrifice of His life on the Cross. The Passion 
 comes before Him vividly, and He is " troubled " : " Now is 
 My soul troubled " — and in His anguish He prays : " Father, 
 save Me from this hour." Then, as in Gethsemani, to 
 which this prayer is a prelude, He adds : " But for this cause 
 I came unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Name." 
 
 Then, for the third time during the public Ministry of 
 Christ, the Father set His seal on His Son's Mission — it was 
 the confirmation of the past and the assurance of ultimate 
 triumph. The Voice from Heaven resounded in the Temple 
 Courts, like a peal of thunder : " I have both glorified it and 
 will glorify it again." 
 
 This " sign from Heaven " was differently interpreted ; for 
 some it was thunder. " Others said : An Angel spoke to Him." 
 To Jesus and His Apostles it was perfectly intelligible, since 
 St. John records the words uttered. As the echoes of that 
 mighty voice reverberated in the Temple cloisters, Jesus said 
 to His disciples, and to the Greeks who were present : "This 
 voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes." As the 
 Father had borne testimony to the Son at the commencement 
 of His Ministry, so now again God bears witness to the 
 Divinity of Jesus. God will glorify His Son by bringing in 
 the Gentiles to the Church, and by dethroning Satan. 
 
 All this is to be the result of the sufferings of Jesus. It is 
 when He shall be " lifted up " that He will draw all things 
 to Himself ; and St. John explains : " Now this He said, 
 signifying what death He should die." God reserved also 
 for His Son a special glory in Heaven, which was to be the 
 reward of His obedience unto death ; after the cross of shame, 
 all power in Heaven and on earth was given to Jesus. Already 
 on Good Friday, many confessed Him to be the Son of God. 
 Pentecost was the first harvest season, and from that time 
 onward the Church has continued to bring souls to Him. Like 
 these Greeks, who desired to see Jesus, there are men now 
 who ask for instruction, who are groping their way to the 
 Light. The ministers of the Church are ever ready to point 
 
268 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Him out to those who desire sincerely to know the Truth, 
 and it is to the Cross of Christ that Christianity owes its 
 power over the minds of men. 
 
 But the evening shadows were lengthening, and at sunset 
 the gates of Jerusalem were closed. He, who entered His 
 city in triumph, had no shelter there, so He went to Bethania, 
 to the home of Lazarus. The multitudes had retired to their 
 various dwellings ; vast crowds were flocking out of the city, 
 when Jesus, having gone round the Temple Courts, and 
 " having viewed all things round about " (doubtless as a 
 preparation for the second cleansing of the Temple on the 
 morrow), " when eventide was come, went out to Bethania 
 with the Twelve." They passed through the streets of the 
 city, and, having reached the outskirts, took the short bridle- 
 path which led direct to Bethania. The streets were still 
 strewn with leaves and branches, but Christ's brief triumph 
 was over. 
 
 What has it revealed ? The thoughts of many hearts, as 
 we have already seen ; but, looking at it as a whole, what 
 lesson does it teach us ? The fickleness of human praise : 
 this seems to be the dominant note. Jesus taught and spake, 
 as none other could have taught or spoken. His majestic 
 personality enthralled those who heard Him. His disciples 
 revered Him, His enemies feared Him, and even the Temple 
 guards, sent to apprehend Him, were won by His Divine 
 eloquence. By a word, a question. He caused the Jews to 
 drop the stones which they were preparing to cast at Him. 
 The triumphal entry was a spontaneous offering of enthusi- 
 astic followers. But how quickly was all this changed ! It 
 behoves us to give our Master more than a mere emotional 
 transient homage. He seeks true, devoted followers — men 
 who are v/illing to follow Him to Calvary, to drink of His 
 chalice, to carry their cross. 
 
 We were not in Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday to offer 
 our homage, when vast multitudes proclaimed Him as the 
 Christ, the One sent by the Father, but it is in our power 
 to honour Him in our own daily lives. The great Eucharistic 
 Congress Processions are a triumph for Christ ; but these are 
 not daily incidents, whereas hourly, by self-sacrifice, purity 
 
Entry o^ jesus into Jerusalem 269 
 
 of intention, Christian charity, and fidehty to duty, amid the 
 dust and toil of the daily struggle for existence, we can pro- 
 claim to all who come in contact with us that we are disciples 
 of Jesus of Nazareth, and thus render to Him a very real 
 homage — the one for which He craves. 
 
 And now the triumphal entry is over, and Jesus, weary 
 and sad at heart, has climbed the mountain slope and reached 
 the house of His friends. It has been one of the most event- 
 ful days of our Saviour's life — one in which love and hatred, 
 honour and humiliation, wealth and poverty, hopes and fears, 
 have been strangely blended, and it forms a fitting intro- 
 duction to the great drama of the Passion, which is to be 
 enacted five days hence, without the walls of Jerusalem. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord as He gazes on Jeru- 
 salem and weeps over the city. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may ever be a steadfast, 
 loyal disciple of Christ. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus leaves Bethphage, and arrives at the 
 place where Jerusalem is seen in all its glory. He weeps and 
 laments over the city. 
 
 Second Point. — The cause of His tears — love and zeal. 
 The iniquity of the city. The procession passes through the 
 streets of Jerusalem. 
 
 Third Point. — The arrival at the Temple ; the homage of 
 the children. Jesus heals the lame and blind. Some Greeks 
 ask to see Jesus. The Voice from Heaven is heard. Jesus 
 goes to Bethania. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our blessed Lord as He weeps over the 
 ingratitude and infidelity of His chosen people. Ask that 
 you may never grieve Him, by fickleness or obstinacy in sin. 
 Pray for those who are self-blinded. Ask for a distrust of the 
 world's praise or esteem. Pray for grace to honour your 
 Master in your daily life. 
 
270 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XXXn 
 
 JESUS CURSES THE BARREN FIG-TREE AND CASTS OUT 
 THE TRADERS FROM THE TEMPLE 
 
 Harmonized Narrative. — " And the next day, in the morning, as 
 He returned from Bethania into the city, He was hungry. And when 
 He had seen, from afar off, a fig-tree having leaves, He came to it, if 
 perhaps he might find anything on it. And when He was come to it, 
 He found nothing on it but leaves only, for it was not the time for figs. 
 And answering. He said to it : May no man eat fruit of thee any more 
 for ever. And His disciples heard it. And immediately the fig-tree 
 withered away." — St. Matt. xxi. ; St. Mark xi. 
 
 It is a great consolation for the Christian to be enabled to 
 follow our blessed Lord, step by step, during the last week of 
 His life on earth. Just seven days before His death He 
 arrived at Bethania. The following day was a Sabbath, 
 which He spent in the home of Lazarus. On that same day, 
 after sunset, Jesus went to the house of Simon the leper, 
 where Mary Magdalene anointed Him. The morrow, the first 
 day of the week, was taken up with the triumphal entry, 
 and on the second day Jesus cursed the barren fig-tree, and 
 expelled the traders from the Temple. These last two inci- 
 dents will form the subject of this meditation. St. Matthew 
 and St. Mark relate both these events, while St. Luke omits 
 the former, but records the latter. 
 
 Jesus left Bethania " in the morning " (literally, " very 
 early "), and we may presume that He attended the Temple 
 service when the daily sacrifice was offered. On the road 
 thither He noticed a fig-tree by the wayside, and as "He 
 was hungry," He approached it, seeking figs. He had prob- 
 ably left the house of Lazarus at sunrise, before the usual 
 hour for taking food. How the words " He was hungry " 
 show our Lord's perfect humanity ! He did not feign hunger ; 
 it came to Him naturally, as to ordinary men. 
 
 Seeing this solitary tree, full of leaves, Jesus sought the 
 fruit which the fohage appeared to announce, but He found 
 " leaves only." The figs, which precede the leaves in the 
 case of the fig-tree, were wanting. It was not yet the time 
 
JESUS CURSES THE BARREN FIG-TREE 271 
 
 for figs ; though this particular tree looked so promising, 
 nevertheless it was barren. 
 
 Christ's miracles of mercy were numerous, and they were 
 wrought for men's benefit ; this single miracle of judgment 
 was worked on a tree, not upon a human being. The Fathers 
 of the Church and many modern commentators have pointed 
 out that the cursing of the barren fig-tree was not only a 
 miracle, but a parable in action and a prophecy. 
 
 The fruitless tree, with its abundant foHage, was a figure 
 of the Jewish nation, which, while making great profession of 
 godliness, lacked the essential virtues of mercy, charity, 
 truth, humility, and justice. Our Lord knew well, before 
 going up to the fig-tree, that it was barren, but He acted as 
 a prudent man would act. He willed to teach His Apostles 
 and all men to the end of time a weighty lesson ; therefore, in 
 spite of His Omniscience, He went up to the tree^ and His 
 action was prophetic. Finding no fruit, He cursed the tree, 
 which immediately began to wither away. The tree was a 
 thing ; it could not incur moral guilt ; but just as we speak of 
 a good or had tree and apply moral qualities to it, so Jesus 
 treated this tree as that which it symbolized merited to be treated, 
 and would be dealt with. His anger did not fall upon the 
 barren tree, but upon the Jewish nation. 
 
 God, who is infinitely merciful, is also infinitely just, and 
 He will exact of human beings an account of their steward- 
 ship. Several of the parables bring out into relief the justice 
 of God, but the cursing of the fig-tree is the only miracle 
 which inculcates the lesson, that man will have to give an 
 account of his use or abuse of talents and opportunities of 
 doing good. All God's gifts entail responsibilities ; they are 
 talents given to man that he may trade with them. God 
 continually showers His precious gifts upon each and all. In 
 the order of Nature, He bestows life, the faculties of the soul, 
 the bodily organs and senses. He provides an environment 
 which gives scope for the exercise of men's talents, and the 
 acquisition of moral virtues. In the order of grace, how 
 much souls owe to God's goodness and bounty — the gift of 
 baptismal regeneration, of a Christian education, of countless 
 absolutions, of frequent Communions ! How much is in- 
 
^72 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOt) 
 
 eluded in the privilege of being a member of the Holy Catholic 
 Church ! As we think over these numerous proofs of love 
 bestowed by our Heavenly Father, the words of St. Paul 
 rise spontaneously to our lips : " Thanks be to God for His 
 unspeakable gift !"* 
 
 Jesus, our Master, went to that barren fig-tree in search 
 of refreshing fruit. " He was hungry." He sought in vain, 
 finding " leaves only." So He comes to our poor souls, 
 asking for some return for the many favours bestowed upon 
 us, and how often a like deception awaits Him ! He " finds 
 nothing but leaves only " — i.e., professions of religion, but 
 no corresponding virtues. Sometimes, indeed, He has the 
 joy of finding blossoms and budding fruits, and then He 
 patiently waits and gives more grace, that these may indeed 
 bring forth fruit unto salvation. How He rejoices when 
 He finds a tree bending under the weight of its produce, 
 when He visits the soul of some Saint, who has generously 
 corresponded with God's munificent gifts ! 
 
 Is it in our power to bring forth good fruits ? Yes, with 
 God's help. He bestows the necessary graces ; we have to 
 give our good-will and earnest co-operation. 
 
 Jesus cursed the barren fig-tree, and this action was in 
 harmony with the teaching of our Lord's lament over Jeru- 
 salem. Her day of visitation had come and gone, and hence- 
 forth, for the Jews as a nation, the day of judgment was 
 about to begin. No sooner had He uttered the solemn words 
 of malediction, than they took effect — " immediately the fig- 
 tree withered away." The withering was miraculous in its 
 suddenness, for a tree when cut down does not immediately 
 wither away. The living sap will even continue to produce 
 buds for a time. But this tree was cursed by One, who never 
 speaks in vain. 
 
 The following morning the disciples " saw the fig-tree dried 
 up from its roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him ; 
 Rabbi, behold, the fig-tree which Thou cursedst is withered 
 away." The other disciples, wondering, said: "How is it 
 presently withered away ? And Jesus, answering, saith to 
 them : Have the faith of God. Amen I say to you, if you 
 
 * 2 Cor. ix. 
 
JESUS CURSES THE BARREN FIG-TREE 273 
 
 shall have faith and stagger not, not only this of the fig-tree 
 shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, 
 Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done." The 
 disciples' surprise betrayed their want of faith, for they ought 
 to have been prepared for Christ's words taking effect. From 
 the miracle they had seen, Jesus bade them believe in God. 
 Only later did they see the signification of this parable in action. 
 
 Jesus and His disciples reached the Temple. On the pre- 
 ceding evening, before quitting His Father's House, He " had 
 viewed all things round about," and had seen the traders 
 busily plying their trades in the Court of the Gentiles. For 
 the convenience of the pilgrims, the proselytes of various 
 nationalities, and the Jews of the Dispersion, a kind of market 
 was held in this Court. Booths were set up in great numbers. 
 Here the worshippers could exchange their current coins for 
 the Temple shekels, and purchase whatever was required for 
 the sacrifices and religious ceremonies. At the great feasts 
 this market was crowded with pilgrims^ who bought from 
 these traders the sacrificial victims, oil, incense^ flour, wine, etc. 
 
 As Jesus looked around on this busy scene, He saw that 
 buyers and sellers alike had forgotten the sanctity of the 
 Temple. They were desecrating it with their unseemly 
 disputes, their keen competition, and their fraudulent methods 
 of trading. The chief priests permitted these abuses, since 
 they profited by these business transactions, inasmuch as 
 they received rent from the booth-owners. Jesus saw also 
 the dishonesty of the money-changers, who, instead of ex- 
 changing the foreign money gratuitously, were unlawfully 
 exacting a small sum for each transaction. 
 
 Three years previously, our Lord had been stirred to in- 
 dignation on seeing this desecration of the Temple, and in- 
 flamed with zeal for His Father's House, He had cast the 
 traders and their clients out of the Temple. He now re- 
 peats this act. " He began to cast out all who were selling 
 and buying in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the 
 money-changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves." 
 
 In thus cleansing the Temple, Jesus was insisting on the 
 observance of a law with which every Israelite was acquainted. 
 The High- Priests knew these laws well. They had read that 
 
 18 
 
274 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 reverence was to be paid to God in the sacred precincts, and 
 that the Temple was not to be used as a thoroughfare. There- 
 fore, when our Lord '' suffered not that any man should carry 
 a vessel through the Temple," He was simply insisting on a 
 law being kept — one which the rulers, in view of their own 
 gains, neglected to enforce. 
 
 " And He taught, saying to them : Is it not written. My 
 house shall be called the house of prayer to all nations ? 
 But you have made it a den of thieves." Jesus appears to 
 have dealt more severely with the traders than at the first 
 cleansing of the Temple. How was it that the Temple guards 
 did not strive to hinder our Lord on this occasion ? How 
 was it that both buyers and sellers obeyed, and that in a few 
 minutes the vast Court was cleared ? How can we account 
 for the silence of the High-Priests and the Pharisees ? To 
 all these questions the answer appears to be that Jesus acted 
 with such earnestness, intrepidity, majesty, and authority, 
 that none dared resist Him. 
 
 In thus purging the Temple of those who were defihng it, 
 Jesus once more asserted Himself as the Messias. He speaks 
 of the Temple as His House, and He acts as the Master, and 
 by so doing He teaches us that He came to purify, perfect, 
 and accomplish the faith of Israel. As He commenced His 
 public Ministry by purifying the Temple, so He closes it by 
 a like act. 
 
 How wonderfully this punitive act of zeal brings out our 
 Lord's enthralling majestic Personality ! St. Jerome con- 
 siders the cleansing of the Temple as one of Christ's miracles, 
 and he does so for three reasons : 
 
 I. Jesus was looked upon by the chief priests and wealthy 
 Jews of Jerusalem as the poor Prophet of GaHlee, One whom 
 they despised and desired to put to death ; One with whom 
 they would personally not condescend to have any inter- 
 course, until they were forced to do so by the ascendency He 
 was acquiring over the people. Before this, they treated with 
 Him through their spies. 
 
 3. The Sanhedrin, who were so bitterly opposed to Jesus, 
 would certainly have supported the traders, had they offered 
 any opposition to Christ. Yet these men were cowed before our 
 
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE 275 
 
 Lord, and hastened to do His bidding. They dared not ex- 
 postulate, although we know what vexation the loss of all 
 his gains must have been to a Jewish trader — a race pro- 
 verbially avaricious. 
 
 3. In working miracles over disease, Jesus dealt with in- 
 animate objects, incapable of offering resistance to His will, 
 but when He cast out the buyers and sellers He triumphed 
 over the will of a vast multitude, whose temporal interests 
 were attacked. St. Jerome concludes that their obedience 
 must be attributed to a supernatural light in our Lord's eyes, 
 and to an irresistible splendour that overawed them. 
 
 On the other hand, Jesus may not have used any miraculous 
 power in casting out the traders, for His majesty was great 
 at all times, and if, to it, we add His zeal and indignation, we 
 can clearly see that His commands must have instantly over- 
 come any attempt at resistance. All the great events of the 
 last few weeks, the triumphal entry, and the multitudes of 
 ardent disciples, certainly gave our Lord this wonderful 
 prestige. Moreover, the Ss-nhedrin feared Jesus so much that 
 they dared not openly oppose Him. Finally, the traders were 
 guilty, and the consciousness of wrong-doing makes men 
 timid and docile. 
 
 The Evangelist explains clearly two reasons which pre- 
 vented the Jewish authorities from opposing Jesus, inde- 
 pendently of the awe which our Lord's demeanour inspired, 
 for, having related the cleansing of the Temple, St. Mark 
 continues : " Which when the chief priests and the scribes 
 had heard, they sought how they might destroy Him. For 
 they feared Him because the whole multitude was in admira- 
 tion at His doctrine."* The perplexity of these rulers sprang 
 from a strange cause — they could not accuse Him of any evil 
 deed. Herein lay their great difficulty. They dared not 
 openly admit that en\^ was the true cause of their hostility, 
 and they endeavoured to conceal their malice under the cloak 
 of zeal for the Law of God. The day was drawing in during 
 which Jesus had taught the multitude, who were " in admira- 
 tion." He had still further angered the chief priests by 
 the assertion of His authority, and " when evening was come,' 
 
 * St. Mark xi. 
 
276 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Jesus and His disciples passed out of the Temple, and turned 
 their steps to the peaceful home in Bethania. The second 
 day of the week was over, and the Cross was nearer. But five 
 days, and Jesus, the Lord of Life, will be' numbered with the 
 dead. 
 
 One thought in conclusion. We have meditated on our 
 Lord's zeal for the respect due to the Temple of God, and His 
 anger against those who desecrated the House of the Lord. 
 Would He not thereby teach us that, when we are in the 
 earthly temples of our Eucharistic Lord, we should never 
 forget the respect which we owe to Him ? Just because He 
 abases Himself and conceals alike His Humanity and His 
 Divinity, we owe Him greater reverence. For us He humbles 
 Himself, and it is our duty and privilege to praise Him under 
 the lowly veils of the Eucharistic species. The true Catholic 
 should be penetrated with reverence for God, and all that 
 appertains to His worship. " Blessed are they that have 
 not seen and have believed." Truly blessed, too, are they 
 whose outward demeanour expresses their interior belief, for 
 this exterior reverence honours God and edifies their neigh- 
 bour. 
 
 But God has other temples in which He dwells, and St. 
 Paul speaks of them as "the temples of the Holy Ghost." 
 In the soul of a Christian in a state of grace God dwells, 
 as in His temple. The Christian is consecrated to God at 
 the baptismal font, and nothing short of mortal sin can drive 
 God from His throne in that soul, which is His living temple. 
 Yet how often is this spiritual birthright, which we call " a 
 state of grace," bartered for some fleeting gain or impure 
 pleasure ! But, falling short of this absolute desecration of 
 the Christian soul, there is the state of tepidity and partial 
 indifference for the things that pertain to God's glory and our 
 own peace. There are attachments which sully the purity 
 of God's living temples, and when our Lord visits His own 
 in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, how often would 
 He, after " having viewed all things round about " in that 
 temple, be forced to say: "Take these things hence, and 
 make not the house of My Father a house of traffic !" 
 
 If we will take the trouble to look " round about," in our 
 
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE 277 
 
 turn, we shall doubtless find some attachment or voluntary 
 imperfection, which conscience will bid us " take hence." 
 Frequently it is one special defect — something we have not 
 the courage to overcome. If this be so, we can have recourse 
 to the Sume et Suscipe of St. Ignatius, begging our Lord to 
 take what we have not the generosity to offer, and to accept 
 that which we would fain give Him. 
 
 He who " feedeth among the lilies" loves, protects, and 
 dwells in the pure of heart. To such a soul we may apply 
 the words spoken of the Temple of Jerusalem : " There is 
 undoubtedly in that place a certain power of God. For he 
 that hath His dwelling in the Heavens is the visitor and pro- 
 tector of that place, and He striketh and destroyeth them 
 that come to do evil to it."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord on His way to Jeru- 
 salem, stopping to seek fruit from the barren fig-tree. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for grace to profit by the numerous 
 graces which you receive. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus leaves Bethania early. He goes to the 
 tree in search of fruit. Finding none. He curses it. The 
 tree withers. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus casts out the traders from the Temple. 
 
 Third Point. — The authorities and traders dare not resist. 
 Christ loves to dwell in a pure soul ; inordinate attachments 
 and affections displease Him and stain the soul. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our Lord as He looks upon you at 
 
 this moment of prayer. Pray that you may bear fruit, that 
 
 as His gaze falls on your soul. He may not be moved to anger 
 
 or indignation, as when He looked upon the barren fig-tree 
 
 and the traders. Beg Him to cleanse you more and more, 
 
 that your heart may be less unworthy of His visit. Ask for 
 
 the grace to esteem the purity of your soul above all things 
 
 here below. Make an act of perfect contrition, as a means of 
 
 purifying your soul. 
 
 * 2 Mac, iii. 
 
278 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XXXni 
 
 " THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 
 Part I 
 
 THE DEPUTATION FROM THE SANHEDRIN — THE 
 
 TRIBUTE MONEY 
 
 On the third day of the last week of our Lord's Hfe (the 
 Tuesday in Holy Week), He went as usual to the Temple 
 early in the morning. The Evangelists give a very full 
 account of the events of this memorable day. They record 
 the various questions put to Him by the deputation from the 
 Sanhedrin, the Herodians, and Pharisees, the Sadducces, and 
 " a doctor of the law." In His reply to their questions, Jesus 
 uttered three parables — those of the Two Sons, the Wicked 
 Husbandmen, and the Marriage Feast — each of which, in 
 turn, unfolded more clearly the guilt of the Jewish nation 
 and its ultimate rejection. Then He denounced the Pharisees 
 in the strongest terms in the hearing of His Apostles, and all 
 the multitude. Towards the evening, we must place the 
 beautiful incident of the widow's mite, and the prophecies of 
 the destruction of the Holy City and of the v/orld, which 
 include the parables of the Ten Virgins and of the Talents. 
 
 Scarcely any other day in our blessed Lord's life is related 
 so fully. He comes in contact with all classes, from the 
 highest to the lowest. The events succeed with scarcely any 
 transition, and all the words of Jesus deal with the most 
 weighty interests of the Jews and of the whole world. '* Nor 
 need we wonder at this, when we remember that this was, so 
 to speak, Christ's last working day — the last of His public 
 Mission to Israel, so far as its active part was concerned ; the last 
 day in the Temple ; the last of teaching and warning to Pharisees 
 and Sadducees ; the last of His call to national repentance." 
 
 All the scenes of this eventful day are related with vivid, 
 picturesque details and genuine local Oriental colouring. 
 Four questions are proposed at intervals — questions which 
 dealt respectively with matters of personal authority, political, 
 
"THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 279 
 
 doctrinal and moral interests. All these conversations and 
 instructions took place in one or other of the Temple Courts, 
 and when we read of Jesus delivering a discourse to the people 
 in the Temple, we may picture Him sitting on a low stool, 
 in accordance with the Jewish custom, while His hearers 
 stand around. " From time to time an emissary of His 
 opponents steps up to Him, with Eastern solemnity and cere- 
 moniousness, to propose some well-considered question. 
 Anxiously do the multitude listen for Jesus' answer." Some- 
 times, as at the Feast of Dedication, there is a heated argu- 
 ment and human passions break through the wall of Oriental 
 stolidity ; then we find our Lord hustled by His opponents, 
 and even personal violence is threatened. 
 
 In this chapter, we will briefly consider the four questions 
 proposed by our Saviour's enemies, and His replies to each. 
 The first was asked by a solemn deputation sent by the 
 Sanhedrin, and here it will be useful to say a few words on the 
 composition and functions of this governing body, which 
 formed the highest council of the nation, and exercised both 
 legislative and administrative powers. Its executive powers 
 varied considerably, according as the Jews were independent 
 or tributary to some foreign nation. The Sanhedrin is sup- 
 posed to have developed from the council of the seventy ancients 
 whom Moses appointed to assist him in governing the people. 
 The President was an eminent Rabbi, or the High-Priest. 
 Next to him came the Ah-Beth-Diu, or " father of the house 
 of judgment." The Chacham (i.e., " the sage or interpreter ") 
 was the third in power. 
 
 There were in all seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin, 
 consisting of the ex-chief priests, the priests who were the 
 heads of the different divisions or " courses " of priests, some 
 eminent scribes or lawyers, and the elders or heads of families, 
 who represented the people. Originally, the Sanhedrin was 
 the supreme Jewish court of appeal ; it could even inflict 
 capital punishment ; but this power was considerably dimin- 
 ished in the time of our Lord. The Jerusalem Sanhedrin had, 
 however, the most extensive jurisdiction, both spiritual and 
 civil. There were Sanhedrins also in other towns, as some 
 fifty years before the Christian era Gabinius, the Pro-Consul 
 
28o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 of Syria, had established them in Gadara, Amathus, Jericho, 
 and Sepphoris. 
 
 It was from this highest spiritual and. civil council that a 
 deputation was sent to Jesus early on that spring morning in 
 April, in the year a.d. 34. Jesus was walking in one of the 
 Temple Courts, probably the Royal Cloister, with its four rows 
 of magnificent columns. He was teaching His Apostles and 
 disciples, and " preaching the Gospel." Suddenly a murmur 
 was heard, and all eyes were fixed upon a body of men who 
 were seen advancing towards the Prophet of Galilee. They 
 formed an imposing procession, both as regards their numbers 
 and dignity. They were some of the well-known rulers of 
 Israel. Each member of that deputation wore his distinctive 
 dress, and every constituent class of the Sanhedrin was 
 represented. In all probability, they were preceded by a 
 band of the Temple guards. Undoubtedly, their object was 
 *' to overawe Him, whom they despised as the poor ignorant 
 Prophet of despicable Galilee, by the presence of all that was 
 venerable in age, eminent in wisdom, or imposing in authority 
 in the great council of the nation. The people, whom He 
 was engaged in teaching, made reverent way for them, lest 
 they should pollute those floating robes and ample fringes 
 with a touch ; and when they had arranged themselves around 
 Jesus, they sternly and abruptly asked Him : ' By what 
 authority dost Thou these things ?' "* 
 
 These rulers had chosen their time well. It was early in 
 the morning, and as yet the enthusiasm of the people had not 
 been excited that day by a lengthened discourse uttered by 
 Christ, or by some wonderful miracle. The place was well 
 chosen, for the Sanhedrin was at home in the Temple, where 
 it held its courts habitually. The High-Priest and his im- 
 mediate colleagues were responsible for the maintenance of 
 order in the Temple, and, in the opinion of the members of 
 this deputation, our Lord had troubled the people by casting 
 out the buyers and sellers on the previous day. Also, the 
 circumstances were favourable, for the traders certainly re- 
 sented being cast out ; they undoubtedly desired to return, 
 and the chief priests and Pharisees did not disdain to profit 
 
 * Farrar. 
 
"THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 281 
 
 by any ill-feeling, which these men bore against Christ. Their 
 question was cleverly framed, and it fell within their sphere 
 of action. They should have investigated the matter three 
 years earlier. They inquired by what authority — human or 
 Divine — Jesus had entered the Temple on the first day of the 
 week, and had accepted homage as the Messias of Israel. 
 They asked, too, by what authority He had expelled the 
 traders, saying : " Who gave Thee this authority ?" 
 
 The deputation clearly referred to the Jewish law that no 
 man might teach without having rabbinical authorization. 
 There may be, in the second clause of their question, a refer- 
 ence to the accusation, which they had several times brought 
 against Christ — namely, that He worked miracles by Satanic 
 agency. The deputation carefully avoided all direct refer- 
 ence to His " many miracles," since no law existed which 
 forbade a man to work mighty deeds. Their question dealt 
 mainly with Christ's recent acts, and with His claim to be a 
 teacher in Israel. All Jewish teachers had to pursue certain 
 studies and to pass an examination. They then received 
 " letters of orders," which they could be asked to produce 
 before exercising their office. The Jews held firmly " that 
 authoritative teaching required previous authorization. All 
 teaching must be authoritative, since it was traditional — 
 approved by authority, and handed down from teacher to 
 disciple." The candidates for a Rabbi's certificate were 
 ordained by three members of the Sanhedrin or three eminent 
 Rabbis. " There was regular ordination to the office of Rabbi, 
 Elder, and Judge, for these three functions were combined in 
 one. . . . The title ' Rabbi ' was formally bestowed on the 
 candidate, and authority given him to teach and to act as 
 judge (to bind and loose, to declare guilty or free). Nay, 
 there seem to have been even different orders, according to 
 the authority bestowed on the person ordained. The formula 
 in bestowing/?/// orders was : " Let him teach ; let him teach ; 
 let him judge ; let him decide on questions of first-bom (which 
 involved points of special difficulty in canon law) ; let him 
 decide ; let him judge."* 
 
 From this explanation of Jewish authoritative teaching, we 
 
 * Edersheim, " Life and Times of Jesus, the Messiah," vol. ii., 
 chap, iii., p. 3S2 et seq. 
 
282 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 can grasp the drift of the question put to our Lord. He was 
 asked for His " letters of orders," for the name of the Rabbi 
 under whom He had studied. Jesus repHed, as He had so 
 often done, by a counter-question — one which, if answered 
 honestly, would compel His questioners to answer the ques- 
 tion themselves. " He said to them I also will ask you one 
 thing, which, if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what 
 authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence 
 was it ? from heaven or from men ?"* 
 
 The members of the deputation, who had come to question, 
 not to be questioned, were disconcerted. The attack was 
 unexpected, and they instantly grasped its full import. They 
 saw the difficulty which a reply involved. Moreover, Jesus 
 spoke to them as One having authority. He demanded a 
 reply. " Answer Me."f The deputation therefore retired, 
 and the members discussed with one another. They found 
 themselves in a double dilemma. There were four possible 
 answers: "From Heaven" {i.e., from God); ''from men"; 
 " we know not "; " we decline to answer." So " they thought 
 within themselves," and they conferred together : *' If we 
 shall say from heaven. He will say to us, Why then did you 
 not believe him ? But if we shall say from men, we are 
 afraid of the multitude, for all held John as a prophet." 
 
 We can well imagine the discomfiture of these rehgious and 
 civil authorities. They did not wish to return to their fellow- 
 Sanhedrists and confess their failure, but they feared the people, 
 they feared Jesus ; so at the risk of losing their prestige as the 
 spiritual guides of Israel, they confessed their ignorance — 
 real or feigned — and " answering Jesus, they said : We know 
 not." They feared the stones of the multitude, who would have 
 risen up agamst them had they denied John to be a prophet, 
 more than they feared the anger of God. In reality they had 
 rejected John as they were now rejecting Christ, but the 
 veneration of the people for John was so great that these 
 Sanhedrists were forced to recognize the Baptist as a prophet, 
 though they rejected his message as the Precursor. The 
 answer of these Sanhedrists proved that they knew that John 
 had testified to the presence of the Messias in their midst. 
 * St. Matt. xxi. t St. Luke xx. 
 
"THE DAY OF QUESTIONS '' 283 
 
 Hearing their reply. " Jesus said to them : Neither do I tell 
 you by what authority I do these things." Having thus 
 reduced His enemies to silence, Jesus then uttered two 
 parables — the Two Sons and the Wicked Husbandmen. The 
 former conveyed the truth that " the publicans and harlots," 
 who had accepted John's teaching, would enter into the 
 kingdom of God before the unbelieving and rebellious Jews ; 
 the latter taught these members of the Sanhedrin the terrible 
 lesson of the final rejection of the Jews for their crime of 
 deicide, and the election of the Gentiles in their place. These 
 truths went home, since we are told that, when Christ con- 
 cluded the second parable, they said to Him, " God forbid." 
 But Jesus repeated the awful lesson even more emphatically, 
 warning them that the " Corner-stone " which they, the 
 builders, were rejecting would fall on them and grind them to 
 powder. 
 
 What effect had these words of our Lord ? As usual, these 
 rulers hardened their hearts. The Evangelists relate the 
 sequel : " When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his 
 parables and knew that He spoke of them, they sought to 
 lay hands upon Him the same hour.'' What prevented them ? 
 The fear of the multitude, because they held Him to be a 
 Prophet. Therefore, silenced and humiliated, " leaving Him, 
 they went their way " — back to their fellow-Sanhedrists. They 
 were bound to admit that they had failed, and, more incensed 
 than ever, " they consulted among themselves how to ensnare 
 Him in His speech,"* as a fowler decoys birds by setting traps. 
 While Christ's enemies were plotting in their assembly-room — 
 " the hall of purchase," or Gazith — Jesus continued to teach 
 in the Temple, and He uttered a third parable, the Marriage 
 of the King's Son, which once more proclaimed the rejection 
 of the Jews and the substitution of the Gentiles in their place. 
 
 Whdii fresh plot did Christ's foes make ? They had failed 
 to silence Him when they questioned His authority, so they 
 resolved to bring Him, if possible, into collision with the 
 civil authorities. The Romans, from their fortress of 
 Antonia, were ever jealously alert, lest a tumult should arise. 
 At that very time, as the Pasch was close at hand, the garrison 
 
 * St. Matt. xxii. 
 
284 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 was doubled. Pilate, the Roman Governor, had the interests 
 of Rome, and yet more his own, at heart, and he would 
 tolerate no rival. He was aware that the Jews expected a 
 Messias, who should deliver them from a foreign yoke. Not 
 so very long previously, there had been a massacre of some 
 Galileans in the Temple, " whose blood Pilate had mingled 
 with their sacrifices."* This unscrupulous Roman tyrant 
 was determined to keep his position, and consequently, if the 
 Sanhedrists could prove that Jesus was in opposition to the 
 civil authorities, Pilate would certainly take things into his 
 own hands and rid them of our Lord. 
 
 The chief priests and Pharisees, having failed to dis- 
 credit Jesus as a religious teacher, now plot to entangle Him 
 by a political question, and as they have been defeated, they 
 resolve to send some of their disciples. " Being upon the 
 watch, they sent spies, who should feign themselves just, 
 that they might take hold of Him in His words, that they 
 might deliver Him up to the authority and power of the 
 governor, "f 
 
 These disciples came to Jesus with the Herodians, a Court 
 party who admired and flattered Herod. They were not a 
 religious sect, but a political clique, and between them and 
 the rigid Pharisees there was great antagonism. Once before 
 — when Jesus had healed the man with the withered hand — 
 these two sets of men had joined hands for the same purpose, 
 ** that they might destroy Him. "J The disciples of the 
 Pharisees were young men, who were qualifying themselves 
 to graduate as Rabbis. Their masters, fearing, perhaps, a 
 summary dismissal if they themselves proposed the question 
 agreed upon, sent these disciples, who could put the matter 
 before our Lord in an informal way, and as a subject about 
 which they had conscientious scruples. These Pharisees and 
 Herodians opened up no new subject of debate, but one 
 which had frequently agitated the Jews, for the chief tenet 
 of the Jewish sect, known as the Zealots, was the unlawfulness 
 of paying taxes of any description to a Gentile ruler. 
 
 They approach our Lord deferentially, and lay their doubt 
 before Him : " Master, we know that Thou art a true speaker, 
 
 * St. Luke xiii. f St. Luke xx. J St. ]Mark iii. 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 285 
 
 and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest Thou for 
 any man, for Thou dost not regard the person of men." So 
 far they hypocritically flatter our Lord in order to conciliate 
 Him. Now they come to the real question : " Tell us there- 
 fore what dost Thou think, is it lawful to give tribute to 
 Caesar or not ?"* The question offered certain difficulties. 
 If our Lord replied in the affirmative, the Pharisees would 
 have said He was no true patriot, since all tribute was hateful 
 to the Jews. If Jesus had replied in the negative, the 
 Herodians would have subject for an accusation against Him, 
 and they might report the matter to Pilate. 
 
 In His infinite wisdom, Jesus at once reveals to His ques- 
 tioners that He perceives their base design, and that He is 
 indeed a true speaker, without human respect. " Knowing 
 their wickedness," Jesus said : " Why do you tempt Me, ye 
 hypocrites ? Show Me the coin of the tribute. And they 
 offered Him a penny. And Jesus saith to them : Whose image 
 and superscription is this ? They say to Him : Caesar's. Then 
 He saith to them : Render therefore to Caesar the things that 
 are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. "f 
 
 The Herodians probably presented the coin, for, on account 
 of the pagan emblems which were engraved on these denarii, 
 the strict Pharisees would not carry these coins in their 
 purses. The tribute coin bore the impression of the head of 
 Caesar, and the inscription tiberius cesar divi augusti 
 FiLius AUGUSTUS (Tibcrius Caesar, the noble son of the god- 
 like Augustus). On the obverse were inscribed the words : 
 
 PONTIFEX MAXIMUS. 
 
 How completely our Lord once more defeated the wily 
 Pharisees ! At the same time. He teaches us the all-important 
 lesson that we are to obey civil rulers only when such obedience 
 does not clash with the laws of God. Often it would help us 
 in the practical questions of daily life, if we reflected on this 
 rule, when temporal and spiritual interests are at variance. 
 
 Our soul is stamped with God's image, and with the triple 
 
 powers of our soul — our memory, understanding, and will — 
 
 we are commanded to worship God, Our Creator must have 
 
 the prior place in our daily life, and obedience is to be ren- 
 
 * St. Matt. xxii. t ^bid. 
 
286 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 dered to rulers ** as unto the Lord " — i.e., as invested with 
 their power by God. 
 
 The Herodians and Pharisees " held their peace." Once 
 more our Lord had silenced His foes. Having heard His wise 
 answer, " they wondered," and, " leaving Him, went their 
 ways " respectively. The Herodians returned to their 
 colleagues, the Pharisees to their masters, and both deputa- 
 tions had a failure to relate. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord at the moment when 
 the deputation from the Sanhedrin approach Him in the 
 Temple. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may always recognize our 
 Lord's Divine authority. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus walks in the Temple. The deputation 
 question His authority. Jesus confutes them. He utters 
 tvv'o parables. They retire discomfited. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The Herodians and the disciples propose 
 their question touching the tribute money. Jesus silences them. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our blessed Lord as the Messias, the One 
 Sent of God. Tell Him you accept His authority, and ask 
 that He will deign to rule over all the faculties of your soul. 
 Beg Him to give you the grace ever to render to God the things 
 that are God's. Thank Him for the precious lessons He gives 
 you in these discourses and parables. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 " THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 
 Part II 
 
 THE SADDUCEES' QUESTION — THE SCRIBE' S QUESTION — 
 
 THE widow's mites 
 
 We have seen in the preceding chapter how Jesus triumphed 
 over His enemies when they asked Him two questions — one 
 touching His authority, the other a doctrinal question which 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 287 
 
 involved religion to a certain extent. Now the Sadducees 
 enter the lists. So far they have held aloof, except on one 
 occasion, recorded by St. Matthew, when " the Pharisees and 
 the Sadducees, tempting," asked of Him " a sign from 
 heaven."* 
 
 The Sadducees were all Jewish aristocrats of the priestly 
 caste. They claimed descent from Zadok, a High-Priest, 
 who lived in the time of Solomon. They followed the teach- 
 ing of another Zadok, who was a disciple of Antigonus Socheus, 
 a Nasi (or " prince ") of the Sanhedrin, circa 250 B.C. Jose- 
 phus thus speaks of them: "The Sadducees believe that 
 souls die with the body ; nor do they regard the observa- 
 tion of anything besides what the law enjoins. . . . This 
 doctrine is received but by a few, yet by those who are of the 
 greatest dignity. . . . When they become magistrates . . . 
 they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, 
 because the multitude would not otherwise bear it."t 
 
 Again, he writes: "They suppose that God is not con- 
 cerned whether we do good or evil. . . . They also take 
 away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and 
 (consequently) of the punishments and rewards in Hades. "t 
 St. Luke also thus briefly sums up their teaching: "The 
 Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel 
 nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess both."§ 
 
 These haughty rationalistic Jews despised the Pharisees, 
 because the latter were of less noble birth, and also because 
 they had introduced many traditions, which the Sadducees 
 rejected as far as they dared. Their tendency was to minimize 
 both doctrines and religious observances. They accepted 
 nothing but the Law delivered to Moses ; the other canonical 
 books they disregarded. These priestly Sadducees were 
 supreme in the Temple, although they were hated by the 
 people for their haughtiness and worldliness. They flattered 
 the foreign rulers, and even adopted Hellenistic and Roman 
 customs in order to please the Emperors. Religion was little 
 or nothing to these Sadducees, while wealth and power were 
 everything in their esteem. 
 
 * St. Matt. x\n. t " Antiquities," XVIII. i. 4. 
 
 + " Wars," II. viii. 14. § Acts xxiii. 
 
288 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 It is a deputation of these cynics that now approach our 
 Lord, probably in order to bring ridicule upon Him. They 
 propose a question which had often been asked, and which 
 the Talmud answered. But the Sadducees, who denied the 
 authority of the prophetical books, invariably triumphed 
 over the Pharisees when discussing the question of the 
 resurrection of the body. The latter drew their proofs for 
 believing in this doctrine from the prophets and rabbinical 
 traditions, both of which the Sadducees rejected. 
 
 They approach Christ, not with anger or violent opposition, 
 but with scorn. Doubtless, they hope to reduce Him to 
 silence, to discredit His teaching, as they had so often done 
 when arguing with the Pharisees. They possibly also hope 
 to obtain a victory over their opponents, the Pharisees (whom 
 Christ had confuted) by triumphing over Him. The diffi- 
 culty is set forth clearly : A man, one of seven brothers, died, 
 leaving a widow. According to the " Levirate Law," one of 
 the deceased's brothers should marry the widow. In the 
 case quoted by the Sadducees, each brother in turn marries 
 her. Then follows their question : "At the resurrection, 
 therefore, whose wife shall she be ? for they all had her." 
 The Pharisees decided this question by saying that she would 
 be the wife of her first husband, and the Sadducees expected 
 our Lord to argue out the question in some similar manner. 
 
 How does our Saviour receive these cavillers ? With majesty 
 and pity for their ignorance, He does not address them with 
 sternness, nor reprove them. He answers calmly, and raises 
 the question to a higher and spiritual plane : " You err, not 
 knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the 
 resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married, but 
 shall be as the angels of God." In these words, Jesus shows 
 them that the next world will not be a reflex and repetition 
 of this, but that God is able to change our material bodies 
 into spiritual bodies, and, since these bodies will be immortal, 
 there will no longer be any need of marriage. 
 
 Jesus then proceeds to explain that there must be a resur- 
 rection of the body, since it is written in the book of Moses, 
 the one prophet whom they profess to accept : " I am the 
 God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." 
 
(( 
 
 THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 289 
 
 Then Jesus draws the only correct inference from these words : 
 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the Hving." Our 
 Lord shows them that it would be no title of honour for God, 
 if these Patriarchs were but dust and ashes. God is the God 
 of the living, and if these ancestors of the Jewish race were 
 alive, then their descendants must also live eternally. " And 
 the multitudes, hearing this, were in admiration at his 
 doctrine,"* but " some of the scribes, answering, said : 
 Master [literally, "Teacher"], Thou hast well said." The 
 Sadducees were silenced, and "they durst not ask Him any 
 more questions." 
 
 Shall not we unite our tribute of admiration with that of 
 our Lord's hearers, and confess in the fulness of our heart's 
 allegiance : " Master, Thou hast well said ?" For He, our 
 Teacher, uttered these words as much for all generations of 
 men, as He did for those who gathered round Him that day 
 in the Temple. How clearly Jesus here reveals the consoling 
 truth that the dead shall rise again ! Our loved ones have 
 passed hence at the bidding of God, each in his appointed 
 time. " In the sight of the unwise "—of men who deny a 
 future existence — " they seemed to die . . . but they are in 
 peace ; . . . their hope is full of immortality." This is true 
 of all " whom God hath tried and found them worthy of 
 
 Himself."t 
 
 Our God is not simply the One in whom Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob trusted when they trod this earth. He is now 
 their God. They are dead indeed to the things of this world, 
 but they have entered upon a better and truer life. This holds 
 good of all our dear ones, who have " fallen asleep in Christ." 
 How the thought of the " life of the world to come " consoles 
 us in life's weary pilgrimage ! 
 
 St. Paul, speaking of the resurrection, exclaims : "If in 
 this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of aU men most 
 miserable."! Life is strewn with crosses, which we must bear 
 willingly or unwillingly. Sorrows prey upon us, attacking 
 mind, body, and estate. If, in addition, we could look for- 
 ward only to death, annihilation, an eternal silence, then, 
 indeed, with Jacob we should have to confess that our days 
 
 * St. Matt. xxii. f Wisd. iii. J i Cor. xv. 
 
 19 
 
290 LOOKING ON JESUS^ THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 are " few and evil." But, believing in a life beyond the 
 grave, and looking on our time spent in this world as a prepara- 
 tion for "a better, that is to say, a heavenly country," we 
 take courage and press towards the goal. 
 
 " I believe in the resurrection of the body." How often we 
 repeat this article of our faith, yet how little we realize what 
 it really means ! We shall all rise again ; we know this from 
 the teaching of the Eternal Truth ; but we shall rise to a totally 
 different state of existence. The human body that " is sown 
 in corruption shall rise in incorruption. It is sown in dis- 
 honour ; it shall rise in glory. It is sown in weakness ; it 
 shall rise in power. It is sown a natural body ; it shall rise 
 a spiritual body."* And all this flows logically from our 
 Saviour's promise : they " shall be as the Angels of God in 
 heaven." 
 
 Thus the Sadducees* question, asked in a cynical, scoffing 
 spirit, was the means of giving us, from the lips of our Lord 
 Himself, a clear statement that our dead are with God, and 
 that we shall all rise again to a better and eternal life, if we 
 have been faithful children of the Church. 
 
 On this eventful day of questions, events foUow in rapid 
 succession, and all the various sects and parties of Jews come 
 in contact with our Redeemer. As we have seen, these parties 
 are at variance with one another, and to a certain extent 
 their attacks on our Lord, at least on this Tuesday in Holy 
 Week, are partly due to their desire to outwit one another. 
 This is clear from the records of the Evangehsts. Three 
 questions have been asked, and each time Jesus has discom- 
 fited His foes ; but they are not yet reduced to inaction, nor 
 convinced of the futility of their efforts. They have not yet 
 learned that " there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there 
 is no counsel against the Lord."f They will master this 
 lesson later ; when the conversions on the Day of Pentecost 
 shall have proved His power, and, above all, when thirty- 
 eight years later, Jerusalem will be levelled to the ground, 
 according to His predictions. Meanwhile, they continue to 
 harden their hearts. 
 
 The wicked are not readily disheartened, therefore we are 
 * I Cor. XV. t Prov. xxi. 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 291 
 
 not surprised to read that *' the Pharisees, hearing that He 
 had silenced the Sadducees, came together " to plot once 
 more against Jesus. They rejoiced on hearing that He had 
 silenced (literally, " muzzled " or " gagged ") the Sadducees, 
 and some were certainly witnesses of the Sadducees' failure. 
 " One of them, perhaps he who exclaimed, * Beautifully said. 
 Teacher !' hastened to the knot of Pharisees, whom it requires 
 no stretch of imagination to picture gathered in the Temple 
 on that day, and watching, with restless, ever-foiled malice, 
 the Saviour's every movement." 
 
 As the result of this consultation, the Pharisees decided to 
 send one of their most learned scribes, an expert in the Law, 
 to propose with Pharisaic subtlety a question of discipline. 
 The delegate chosen was one, who had heard the Sadducees 
 reasoning with Jesus, and had seen " that He had answered 
 well." The scribe was sent to tempt Christ, as far as the 
 intention of the Pharisees was concerned, and the question 
 proposed was one which the Rabbis frequently discussed, but 
 without coming to an agreement on the matter. This doctor 
 of the law approached our Lord respectfully, and said : 
 *' Master, which is the great commandment of the law ?"* 
 Many Rabbis taught that the precepts concerning the ob- 
 servance of the Sabbath, circumcision, offerings, and other 
 external ceremonies, took precedence of those which regu- 
 lated men's morals. 
 
 How did our Lord answer this question ? By raising their 
 thoughts to a higher sphere, and pointing out that the true 
 observance of all the commandments must spring from the 
 love of God. *' Jesus said to him : Thou shaft love the Lord 
 thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and 
 with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first com- 
 mandment. And the second is hke to it : Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbour as thyself." These words, quoted from 
 Deut. vi., formed part of the " Shema," which the Jews 
 recited morning and evening, and which they wrote on the 
 phylacteries, or strips of parchment, that were rolled up and 
 worn on the left arm, and on the forehead. 
 
 By His reply, Jesus teaches us that we must worship God 
 
 * St. Matt. xxii. 
 
292 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 with all the faculties of our soul. By heart we may understand 
 our desires and will ; by soul, our sentiments and passions ; by 
 mind, our intellect and reason. In all these spheres we must 
 give God the first place. His love should be the guiding 
 principle of our lives. If we set this before ourselves as our 
 ideal, we shall then show love to our neighbour, "whom we 
 have seen," as a proof of our love for God, " whom we have 
 not seen." Our neighbour is by no means always lovable 
 in himself, but God would have us love our fellows because 
 they are created and redeemed by Him, and because they 
 bear His image. We can always love God in them, since 
 even the most degraded are His children, and He loves them. 
 
 St. Mark records the close of the interview : '* The scribe 
 said to Him : WeU, Master, Thou hast said in truth that there 
 is one God, and there is no other beside Him. And that He 
 should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole 
 understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole 
 strength : and to love one's neighbour as oneself is a greater 
 thing than holocausts and sacrifices. And Jesus, seeing that 
 he had answered wisely, said to him : Thou art not far from 
 the kingdom of God."* 
 
 The beautiful answer made by Jesus had evidently kindled 
 the scribe's enthusiasm, and he realized the perfect truth of 
 our Lord's decision. This scribe knew the Old Testament ; 
 he had often read the words of the prophets which taught 
 this sublime truth — words such as those of Osee : " I desired 
 mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than 
 holocausts ";•]' or those of Micheas : "I will show thee, O 
 man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee : 
 Verily, to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk 
 solicitous with thy God."t 
 
 Perhaps '' he who came to scoff, remained to pray," and, 
 if so, he was included in those of whom St. John writes, when 
 he tells us that " Many of the chief men also believed in Him, 
 but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him."§ 
 This doctor of the law, who came, as the tool of the Pharisees, 
 tempting Christ, was " not far from the kingdom of God," 
 when he left our Lord to return to his masters. 
 
 * St. Mark xii. f Osee vi. % Mic. vi. § St. John xii. 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 293 
 
 These words contain an important lesson for us — namely, 
 that those who sincerely desire to love and serve God, with 
 all the powers of their soul, even though they be not within 
 the visible pale of the Church, are " not far from the kingdom 
 of God." We need have no anxiety about the salvation of 
 those who have loved and served God according to their 
 religious convictions, and who died in good faith. Such 
 Christians as these belong to the " soul of the Church "; they 
 are included in those " other sheep " who do not exteriorly 
 belong to Christ's fold on earth, but whom, in eternity, He 
 will place in it, when there shall indeed be but " One Fold and 
 One Shepherd." 
 
 The question concerning the greatest commandment was the 
 last our Lord's enemies proposed, and " the Pharisees being 
 gathered " as Jesus continued " His teaching in the Temple," 
 He turned to them with this question : " What think you 
 of Christ ? whose Son is He ? They say to Him : David's. 
 He saith to them : How then doth David in spirit call Him 
 Lord ; saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on My 
 right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool ? If 
 David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son ?" 
 
 By this logical deduction, Jesus desifed to lead His oppo- 
 nents to accept the truth of the Divinity of the Messias, to 
 prove to them that He was no mere earthly man, and to lead 
 them on to accept His claims. The Pharisees could not answer 
 our Lord — " No man was able to answer Him one word, 
 neither durst any man from that day forward ask Him any 
 more questions." They perceived that it was hopeless to 
 attempt to entangle Christ " in His words." 
 
 The Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees had each in turn 
 been defeated, and a fresh attack would but have resulted in 
 another failure. Mortified and enraged, these hypocritical 
 spiritual inilers of Israel retire to plot against the Anointed of 
 the Lord, to compass His death by treachery and violence, 
 and because His time is now at hand, He allows these weapons 
 to do their deadly work, and the Pharisees and rulers, by 
 their success, ultimately bring about their own ruin. 
 
 Then Jesus, "in the hearing of all the people" and "of 
 His disciples," on this His last day in the Temple, and in His 
 
294 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 final discourse, solemnly denounced these blind guides of 
 Israel. In this denunciation of the Pharisees, Christ said 
 His farewell to the Temple, to the spiritual rulers of Israel, 
 and to the multitudes. " In this discourse Jesus sums up all 
 His charges against them, and makes one supreme though 
 fruitless effort to enlighten their intelligence and to move 
 their will." 
 
 In this farewell discourse, Jesus also took leave of His 
 rebellious people, and with the deepest tenderness again 
 lamented over their coming destruction. How these im- 
 passioned, burning words reveal the depths of His love for 
 the guilty city ! " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest 
 the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how 
 often would I have gathered thy children, as the hen doth 
 gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not ? 
 Behold, your house shall be left to you desolate. For I say to 
 you, you shall not see Me henceforth till you say : Blessed is 
 He that cometh in the name of the Lord."* 
 
 The Son of man thus concludes His last discourse. With 
 infinite pathos. He refers to Jerusalem's prerogative of the 
 slaughter of the prophets, and to His repeated efforts, by 
 word and deed, to win her allegiance. But because Jeru- 
 salem rejected her Saviour, her doom was pronounced — the 
 Holy City of Zion was to become as a field that has been 
 ploughed, and her spiritual privileges were to be transferred 
 to the Gentiles. Henceforth, Jerusalem will see her Saviour 
 no more ; the time of her visitation is over. 
 
 But before leaving His Father's House for ever — before 
 shaking off, as it were, the dust of His shoes as a testimony 
 against Israel — one touching incident occurred. Jesus had 
 withdrawn from the Temple porch, where, since early morning, 
 He had been in conflict with His enemies, and, having ascended 
 the steps which led up to the Women's Court, He sat down, 
 wearied with His day's work. Sitting " over against the 
 treasury," He noticed the crowds of worshippers casting in 
 their alms as they passed through the cloister, in which the 
 thirteen brazen alms-chests stood. These chests were called 
 " trumpets," on account of their funnel-shaped opening, 
 
 * St. Matt, xxiii. 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 295 
 
 which resembled a trumpet. " Nine chests were for the 
 appointed Temple tribute and for the sacrifice tribute — that 
 is, money gifts instead of sacrifices ; four chests for free-will 
 offerings for wood, incense, Temple decorations, and burnt 
 offerings."* Each chest bore an inscription showing the 
 object on which the contributions would be expended. There 
 were also two alms-chambers, one in which gifts were placed 
 for distribution in secret to the children of the pious poor, 
 and one where votive vessels for the services were received. 
 
 It was after the evening sacrifice, and the worshippers were 
 leaving the Temple. Jesus watched them ; not a gift escaped 
 His eye, and He knew the real value of every offering — what 
 sacrifice it entailed, how far it was in accordance with the 
 donor's means, how much genuine love of God and of the 
 poor it represented. God does not reckon up items at their 
 face value ; He sees deeper, and many a coin that counts as 
 gold among men, He knows to be of worthless alloy, while 
 some coins which are deemed insignificant, He sees trans- 
 muted into gold by the alchemy of charity in the soul of the 
 giver. For example, how differently God and the world 
 reckon up the assets of a ball or a dinner given in aid of some 
 chanty ! Looked at from a supernatural point of view, is it 
 not a real humiliation that funds for God's poor, or His little 
 ones cannot be raised unless men have the equivalent of their 
 money in pleasure ? These entertainments can be given and 
 enjoyed with purity of intention, but the question is, ''Are 
 they ?" This form of almsgiving is, to say the least, some- 
 what to be distrusted. 
 
 But we will continue watching our blessed Lord as He looks 
 at the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, and hears 
 the jingle of the coins as they fall into the brazen trumpets. 
 Some who were fulfilling their vows cast in large gifts. The 
 Jews were proverbially generous. By the law they were 
 bound to give one-tenth of their income, and undoubtedly 
 many of those coins which Jesus saw placed in the alms- 
 chests were given in a true spirit of piety. But Jesus was 
 waiting and watching for one particular donor, one whom He 
 knew would " cast in more than they all." Presently she 
 * Lightfoot, " Horae Hebraicae," in h. I. 
 
296 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 drew near. After the crowd had passed on, " He saw also 
 a certain poor widow casting in two mites." It was not 
 lawful to put less into the Treasury. The Jews were forbidden 
 to offer to their Creator what Christian^ so often give — the 
 smallest coin. She was poorly clad, fed, and housed, yet she 
 generously gave what she could offer by dint of self-sacrifice. 
 Her two mites equalled about one farthing of our money, but 
 their purchasing value amounted to about sevenpence half- 
 penny of our English coinage. That sum would have pur- 
 chased several meals, and if she had children to keep, the 
 offering was of even greater value. 
 
 Jesus pointed out that poor widoW' — so rich in the love of 
 God^ — to His disciples, and to the whole world, as long as 
 time lasts. " Calling His disciples togetherj He saith to 
 them : Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in 
 more than all they who have cast into the treasury. For all 
 they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want cast 
 in all she had, even her whole living." For the next meal she 
 would have to toil or beg. She had given " even her whole 
 living," and, having placed her modest offering in the 
 " trumpet," she passed on her way rejoicing, for a noble act 
 of self-sacrifice ever brings joy to the soul. She gave more 
 than her two mites, for her action was a cause of rejoicing for 
 Jesus, her Saviour. She, at least, was one who knew how to 
 practise the first and greatest commandment. She gave, too, 
 an example of generous self-sacrificing charity to the Church 
 in all ages, and to her we owe the precious lesson that God 
 looks more to the intention than the gift, and that often the 
 truer standpoint from which to judge of the value of our alms 
 is to look not at what we give, but at what remains behind. 
 
 The rich men cast in their offerings, but no privations 
 resulted from their lavish gifts ; the widow gave " of her 
 want," " all the living she had." She did not ask what was 
 reasonably expected of her, but what she could offer. Just 
 as the generous gift of Mary Magdalene was praised by 
 Jesus and recorded in the Scriptures, so this poor widow's 
 unselfish act is written there. 
 
 Yet Jesus did not call her to Him ; He did not praise her in 
 her hearing, nor work a miracle to enrich her. Her love 
 
" THE DAY OF QUESTIONS " 297 
 
 required no such encouragement ; He would not deprive her 
 of the merit of her generosity. She passed out of the Temple, 
 trusting in God for her next meal, and well content to have 
 offered Him that which cost her something. The day came 
 when she knew all, when she saw her Saviour face to face, and 
 knew that He had seen and counted her gift in " the balance 
 of the sanctuary." Then He gave her the reward laid up for 
 her in Heaven, when she entered into the joy of her Lord, 
 and eternally she will enjoy the recompense allotted by God 
 to her who gave those two mites — " all her living." 
 
 Can we not glean another precious lesson ? Has it not 
 often happened that when we have made some generous 
 sacrifice for God, we have expected some return, either from 
 God or man ? We have looked — almost unknowingly, 
 perhaps — for spiritual consolations from God, or some recogni- 
 tion from man, such as praise or gratitude. We did not 
 perform the action from a base or selfish motive, but when the 
 act was accomplished and we felt the pinch, then self-interest 
 crept in, and with it came a kind of unconfessed regret. 
 
 If ever such a temptation assails us, let us read again the 
 story of the poor widow offering her two mites, and this will 
 remind us that Jesus, our Master, is ever " sitting over 
 against the treasury " of our hearts, that He sees all that those 
 hearts contain and bring forth, and that every effort, every 
 desire, however feeble, to give our mites to God is recorded 
 in Heaven. 
 
 If He, our Master, knows and counts all, what matters it 
 that creatures count amiss or overlook our gifts ? 
 
 The day is closing in when, rising from His seat near the 
 Treasury. Jesus passes out of the Temple by the Shushan 
 Gate. Never again will He enter it. His public Ministry is 
 over, and His Passion is at hand. He has finished His work 
 in the Temple, where He has taught, reproved, and worked 
 miracles. Now it remains for Him to accomplish the work 
 of our Redemption by dying on the Cross for the salvation of 
 men. In three days He will be " lifted up." 
 
298 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord when the haughty 
 Sadducees approach Him in the Temple Court. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask Him to teach you some precious 
 lesson from the varied incidents of this day. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is questioned by the Sadducees. He 
 refutes their sophistry, and teaches clearly that the dead shall 
 rise. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The scribe questions Jesus as to the greatest 
 commandment. He replies that the great commandment is 
 to love God with all our strength. Jesus questions the 
 Pharisees touching the Christ. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees. 
 He goes near the Treasury, and praises the poor widow who 
 gave " of her want." 
 
 Colloquy. — Ask our blessed Lord to open your soul to 
 understand His teaching. Thank Him for the hope of a 
 future life. Pray for grace to keep the greatest command- 
 ment. Ask that you may be generous in God's service, giving 
 freely to Him your talents, influence, time^ labour, and means 
 whenever and wherever they are needed. Beg Him to give 
 you the grace and courage to work for His eye alone. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 JESUS PROPHESIES THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE : 
 THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS 
 
 St. Matt. xxiv. ; St. Mark xiii. ; St. Luke xxi. 
 
 The Evangelists record that when Jesus left the Temple on 
 the evening of the 12th of Nisan — three days before the 
 Pasch — " He hid Himself " from His enemies — that is to say, 
 He did not speak to them again as a Teacher. He only came 
 in contact with them when, three days later, it was their hour, 
 and He had given Himself up into their hands. Meanwhile, 
 He remained in seclusion at Bethania, or in prayer on Mount 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 299 
 
 Olivet, until the time came for Him to go to Jerusalem to 
 eat the Pasch with His disciples. During the two days' 
 interval " He hid Himself," in that He ceased to teach 
 publicly, although He continued to instruct His disciples 
 privately. 
 
 As He was leaving His Father's House, His disciples ap- 
 proached and called His attention to the beauty and solidity 
 of the Temple buildings. " One . . . saith to Him : Master, 
 behold what manner of stones, and what buildings are here !" 
 Doubtless, our Lord's prophetic words, " Your house shall be 
 left to you desolate " had deeply moved the disciples, and 
 the remark made by one, as spokesman, seems to imply a 
 petition that the doom foretold might be revoked. There 
 was then no outward sign of such a terrible ruin, either of 
 Jerusalem or of the Temple. In its Courts, the daily sacrifices 
 were offered by the ministering white^obed priests. 
 
 There the august national solemnities, the divinely-ap- 
 pointed services were carried out in all their beauty. Every- 
 thing seemed prosperous, too, in Jerusalem. The Herodian 
 Dynasty favoured the Temple, and lavished gifts upon it. 
 These sovereigns were all proselytes, and the stonemasons 
 were still at work completing the Royal Cloisters and decorat- 
 ing them. The busy tide of traffic ebbed and flowed as usual. 
 Thousands of pilgrims, both Jews and Gentiles, visited the 
 Temple annually, and gave generous donations. Therefore, 
 as these disciples looked on the prosperous city and its beauti- 
 ful Temple, as they pointed out to our Lord the vast blocks 
 of marble, some of which were fifty feet long, eighteen feet 
 broad, and twelve feet high, hewn out of the living rock, they 
 were not able to realize that all this magnificent construction 
 would be a heap of ruins. In presence of commerce, animated 
 civic life, and national prosperity, Christ's mournful prophecy 
 — His pitiful lament over the Hoty City and the Temple, her 
 jewel — must have seemed strange and unwarranted. 
 
 Jesus looked at the stones in question. He saw the stone- 
 masons polishing the shafts, laying the mosaic floors, and 
 building up the lofty flights of stairs. He gazed sadly on all 
 this scene of unrivalled splendour. He knew that " a nation's 
 wealth was being lavished on the Temple Hill — an offering of 
 
300 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 stone to One, who required from the Jews the sacrifice of a 
 regenerate Hfe." Having looked attentively at the majestic 
 pile, Jesus then turned to His disciples and said sorrowfully : 
 '' Seest thou all these great buildings ? " Amen I say to you, 
 These things which you see, the days will come when there 
 shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown 
 down." Far from softening His words, our Lord accentuates 
 them more vividly. The ruin is to be complete ; not one 
 stone will be left in its place. 
 
 " Kings themselves and the princes esteemed the place 
 worthy of the highest honour, and glorified the Temple with 
 very great gifts."* The Romans themselves at the siege of 
 Jerusalem desired to preserve the Temple intact, but the 
 word of God had gone forth — the Temple was doomed, as well 
 as the Holy City, and in vain did Titus give orders for the 
 preservation of the former. It was destroyed in A.D. 70 by 
 fire, caused by a lighted torch accidentally thrown over the 
 walls ; and when the Roman Commander saw the massive 
 foundations and its mighty stones, he attributed its over- 
 throw to the hand of God. The few ruins of the Temple 
 which still remain, where the Jews go to wail at stated times, 
 formed no portion of the House of the Lord. The Temple 
 proper was utterly destroyed — nothing but a few fragments 
 of the foundations and its enclosure walls remain. 
 
 Jesus passed out of the city after having repeated His 
 solemn prophecy. We may see Him and His band of followers 
 as they go out by the Sheep Gate into the Cedron Valley. 
 They cross the ravine by a bridge, situated near the Garden of 
 Gethsemani, and as the setting sun casts the shadows of the 
 city wall over the slopes of Mount Olivet, they pass on through 
 the encampment of the Galileans and reach the summit. 
 There Jesus rests awhile, and " as He sat on the Mount of 
 Olivet, over against the Temple, Peter and James and John 
 and Andrew asked Him apart, saying, Master, tell us, when 
 shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign when all 
 these things shall begin to be fulfilled ?" 
 
 The word " apart " may signify that the question was asked 
 in the absence of the other disciples or of the multitude. The 
 
 * 2 Mac. iii. 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 301 
 
 Apostles naturally wished to have further details on so vital 
 a question, but to have questioned Him on this subject in 
 the presence of the scribes and Pharisees would have aroused 
 their enmity still more. Out of love for their Master, they 
 therefore questioned Him " apart," and it was a wise precau- 
 tion in view of their own interests, for we see later how any- 
 thing which touched on this point aroused the vengeance of 
 the Jews, since St. Stephen died a martyr's death because he 
 was alleged to have uttered " words against the holy place 
 and the law."* 
 
 Let us reverently contemplate our beloved Master as He 
 sits on the hill-top surrounded by the Twelve. They face 
 the Temple Mount, and from their point of vantage, they 
 have a glorious view of the Temple as the rays of the setting 
 sun fall upon its gilded and polished stones, and the golden 
 spikes of the Holy Place. " In the setting, even more than 
 in the rising sun, must the vast proportions, the symmetry, 
 and the sparkling sheen of this mass of snowy raarble and 
 gold have stood out gloriously." In full daylight men veiled 
 their eyes, so dazzling was the mass of " snow and gold," 
 and the exquisitely veined variegated marbles resembled the 
 waves of the sea. Beyond the Temple, and due south, lay 
 the palace of Herod, with its magnificent gardens ; and 
 farther back, to the extreme south-west, rose the Hill of Zion, 
 standing out sheer against the sky. On it stood the palace 
 of the High-Priest. If our Lord and His Apostles looked 
 down immediately below them, they saw the Brook Cedron 
 flowing through the valley, and on each side the rocks, hewn 
 in terraces, were used as places of sepulture. The slopes of 
 Olivet were clothed with olive woods and vineyards, and 
 shepherds led their flocks to the pasture-lands. The whole 
 valley in the lowest part was more of the nature of a ravine, 
 and its depth was so great that the eye could not see its full 
 extent. Hence its name " Cedron," which signifies " black." 
 
 Looking on this enchanting scene, our Lord utters His 
 grand prophecy, in which the two themes — the destruction 
 of Jerusalem and the end of the world — cross and mingle. 
 The disciples evidently expected the Second Advent of Christ 
 
 * Acts vi. 
 
302 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 to take place during their lifetime. They have asked three 
 questions : When these things shall be ; what shall be the sign 
 of His coming ; and what sign shall announce the end of all 
 things. Jesus answers the second and the third question, 
 but He does not say when these things shall be. It is not 
 good for us to know this, and in the discourse which Jesus 
 uttered on this occasion, He shows us that we must be on our 
 guard against those who would draw us away from the service 
 of Christ. We must exercise vigilance and longsuffering ; 
 through all tribulations and at all times, we must pray. ** The 
 moral keynotes of the discourse on the ' last things ' are 
 Beware, Watch, Endure, Pray.'* 
 
 We might almost resume our Lord's discourse in one brief 
 sentence : There shall not remain ultimately " a stone upon a 
 stone " of all that is earthly and material. All things on earth 
 are doomed ; it is only a question of time. The most strenuous 
 nation, the most beautiful works of Art in all its myriad 
 attractive forms, the world we inhabit, the whole solar system 
 are doomed. They will have their day, and no more. The 
 human body must perish ; death will claim it for a time ; but 
 death, too, is doomed, for in Heaven and in Hell men live 
 eternally. All human systems, all temporal interests, every- 
 thing we cling to, that is not God, is doomed. We are passing 
 as individuals, as families, as nations from the shadow to the 
 light. In the full noonday of eternity the shadows must flee. 
 On all terrestrial things, with which men's very lives seem 
 bound up, sooner or later there will " appear fingers as it were 
 of the hand of a man writing, over against " these coveted 
 and treasured possessions, the words which so terrified King 
 Baltassar on the eve of his assassination : " Mane : God has 
 numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it."* Our little 
 heap of earth's dust, our kingdom — be it a hovel or a palace, 
 a few brass coins or a princely fortune — is doomed. We can- 
 not take it with us when God calls us hence. Dives and 
 Lazarus alike leave this world as they entered it — naked ! 
 
 Surely the lesson for each is obvious, and the duty clearly 
 marked out ! We must seek first the kingdom of God — that 
 kingdom which ** shall have no end." We must cease to 
 
 * Dan. V. 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 303 
 
 cling to the doomed things of earth, and strive to live for 
 God and eternity. 
 
 The limits of this little work will not allow us to meditate 
 on the whole of our Lord's last discourse, so we will choose 
 the second of the keynotes — Watchfulness. This lesson is 
 brought home to us by the striking parable of the Ten Virgins, 
 in which our blessed Lord teaches us the necessity of being 
 ready for His coming, whether at the hour of our death or at 
 the last day, and this great lesson is summed up emphatically 
 in the closing words : " Watch ye, therefore, because you 
 know not the day nor the hour." 
 
 We may divide the parable into three parts — the prepara- 
 tions made for the coming of the Bridegroom, His arrival, 
 and the events which followed ; but, in order to understand 
 this parable clearly, we must know how a marriage was, and 
 still is, conducted in the East, for these wedding ceremonies 
 bring out vividly the teaching of the parable. 
 
 The preparation for the bridegroom's arrival is thus de- 
 scribed by Jesus : " Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like 
 to ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the 
 bridegroom and the bride.'^ And five of them were foolish, 
 and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, 
 did not take oil with them ; but the wise took oil in their 
 vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they 
 all slumbered and slept." 
 
 There is an emphasis on the introductory particle " then." 
 It connects this parable with the subject about which our 
 Lord had just spoken — namely, His Second Advent. 
 
 In the East, marriages were celebrated a few months or a 
 year after the espousals. . . . The essence of the marriage 
 ceremony consisted in the removal of the bride from her 
 parents' house to that of her husband or his parents. The 
 bridegroom, if wealthy, was attired in a magnificent wedding- 
 robe. He wore a handsome turban, and a nuptial crown of 
 gold or silver ; his robes were highly perfumed. The poorer 
 classes used bridal wreaths of roses, myrtle, and olives. The 
 
 * The words " and the bride " are probably an interpolation. They 
 are only found in one Uncial and a few Versions. St. Jerome accepted 
 them, since he knew well. the Vetus Itala, in which they are found. 
 
304 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 bride, after having taken the prescribed bath with certain 
 ceremonies, attired herself in wedding-garments of pure white 
 silk or linen, richly embroidered with gold and highly per- 
 fumed, like those of the bridegroom. She also wore precious 
 jewels. Her distinctive articles of apparel were the veil, the 
 girdle, and the chaplet. If a virgin, the hair was left flowing. 
 The veil which enveloped her from head to foot was suffi- 
 ciently thick to prevent the recognition of the bride. 
 
 Late in the evening of the marriage the bridegroom, with 
 his retinue (" the children of the bridegroom "*) of grooms- 
 men, set forth, either from his own or his parents' dwelling. 
 Musicians headed the procession, torch-bearers followed, and 
 the wealthy employed runners to give notice of the approach 
 of the bridegroom. 
 
 The bride, surrounded by a company of young girls — ten, 
 at least — awaited, in the parental home, the coming of the 
 bridegroom. When the sounds of music and the light of the 
 torches gave notice of his approach, these young girls went 
 out to meet and accompany him to the bride's house. They 
 then joined in the procession, when he conducted her to his 
 home. Groups of friends often waited on the road, and when 
 the procession passed they brought up the rear. 
 
 In this parable, Jesus Christ is the " Bridegroom," and the 
 Bride is the Church, either Jewish or Christian. The 
 " virgins " represent the disciples of Christ. The lamps 
 carried by them symbolize faith — i.e., the profession of Chris- 
 tian discipleship — and the oil signifies the grace of God, 
 without which none can enter into the banqueting-hall of the 
 " marriage supper of the Lamb." 
 
 The virgins carried their lamps aloft on a pole, and these 
 lamps were made of terra-cotta in the shape of a modern 
 sauce-boat. There was a round receptacle for the wick, and 
 an opening for filling the lamp. As they were very small, 
 the oil had constantly to be replenished ; hence it was neces- 
 sary to keep a supply at hand in a separate vessel. 
 
 In this parable, it is insinuated that the bridegroom came 
 from afar off. He was certainly coming, but the virgins did 
 not know the hour. Meanwhile ** all " — wise and foolish — 
 
 ♦ St. Matt. ix. 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 305 
 
 " slumbered and slept." This sleep has, by some commen- 
 tators, been explained as the sleep of mortal sin, but this view 
 cannot be reconciled with the fact that the wise virgins also 
 slept. Therefore, it seems preferable to accept the other 
 interpretations, according to which their slumber represents 
 the commission of certain lesser faults, from which even the 
 elect are not free, or the state of spiritual apathy which the 
 burdens and tribulations of daily life involve, and which 
 makes Christians forgetful of the hour of death, and of Christ's 
 Second Advent. 
 
 The wise slumbered, but their lamps were ready — i.e., their 
 faith was living, as proved by their works. The foolish 
 slumbered, but they had no provision of oil. To them we 
 can apply the words addressed to the Church of Sardis : " I 
 know thy works ; thou hast the name of being alive, and 
 thou art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that 
 remain and are ready to die. For I find not thy works full 
 before My God."* A mere verbal profession of faith, like an 
 empty marriage lamp, will give no light to our fellows, before 
 whom Jesus commands us to let our light so shine, that they 
 may glorify our Father in Heaven. 
 
 We are all in a sense slumbering and sleeping, for we live 
 our lives here below, as though we were never to leave this 
 earth. Such is the frailty of our nature, and the power of all 
 that appeals to our senses, we cannot bring it home to our- 
 selves that we must die. We see others die ; we do realize 
 that those we love must, and do, actually leave us ; but as 
 regards ourselves, we have not the same conviction. We 
 have had no personal experience of death, and naturall}' we 
 love and cling to life, and thus, as it has truly been said, we 
 think all men mortal except ourselves. Therefore death and 
 the Last Judgment will come as a thief in the night. God 
 has so willed it, in order that we may be on the alert. Here 
 and there we do find privileged souls — Saints whose con- 
 versation is in Heaven — v^ho do desire death, and live in its 
 presence ; but the majority of even good Christians slumber 
 and sleep while waiting for the Bridegroom. However, all is 
 well, if they have sufficient oil when the call comes, if they are 
 
 * Apoc. iii. 
 
 20 
 
3o6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 faithfully doing their best to save their souls. All are not called 
 to be heroic, either in spiritual or worldly things ; all cannot 
 attain to St. Paul's " cupio dissolvi " — to the desire "to be 
 with Christ — ^which is far better/' as we know in the depths 
 of our soul. It suffices for each to attain to that degree of 
 the spiritual life, to which he feels interiorly that God is 
 calling him. 
 
 But we must pass on to the second part of the parable. 
 While the virgins are sleeping in the silence and darkness of 
 the night, the bridegroom is approaching with his retinue. 
 The sound of the joyous procession is borne on the air, the 
 light of the wedding-torches gleams in the distance. The 
 virgins have waited long, he has indeed tarried, but he comes 
 at last. " At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the 
 bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then all those 
 virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said 
 to the wise. Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. 
 The wise answered, saying, Lest perhaps there be not enough 
 for us and for you, go you rather to them that sell and buy 
 for yourselves." 
 
 The bridegroom came at midnight, " when deep sleep is 
 wont to hold men."* Usually a Jewish wedding was cele- 
 brated soon after sunset, not in the early morning hours. 
 This feature of the parable points to the long delay that must 
 intervene between the Ascension and the Second Advent, 
 When Jesus ascended into Heaven, a formal promise was 
 made to His Church by an angelic messenger : " This Jesus, 
 who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you 
 have seen Him going into heaven. "f Nearly nineteen hun- 
 dred j/ears have passed away, and still the Bride awaits the 
 Bridegroom — the Church expects her Lord. An ancient 
 tradition gives midnight as the hour of the Incarnation and 
 of the Nativity, and the Jews expected the Messias to appear 
 at midnight. St. Jerome gives the belief that Christ would 
 return at this hour, as the reason why the vigils in the 
 early Church were prolonged after midnight, especially 
 at Easter. There is no authority for this tradition, for 
 our Lord has said plainly: "Ye know not the hour," nor 
 * Job iv. t Acts i. 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 307 
 
 is it His will to reveal it, lest we should grow slack in the 
 service of God. 
 
 " The cry which at this midnight hour startles the sleepers 
 is either that of the multitude running before or of the jubi- 
 lant multitude who, even at this late hour, had waited for the 
 passing of the procession through the streets, and now wel- 
 comed it with their acclamations."* 
 
 The virgins heard the cry, and at once proceeded to prepare 
 their lamps. This consisted in cleansing the wick and re- 
 plenishing the oil. Then the five foolish virgins made the 
 sad discovery that their lamps were gone out, and oil to refill 
 them was lacking. In haste they appeal to the wise virgins, 
 and beg for some of theirs. But the just cannot supply what 
 is needed. Each must be judged by his own works ; there- 
 fore we cannot press this detail of the parable. It merely 
 shows that as drowning men catch at straws, so the lost in 
 their terror and despair will appeal to the just, who will have 
 no power to assist them then. None can be saved through 
 the merits of a fellow -creature. As St. John Chrysostom 
 says : " No man can protect us if we are betrayed by our 
 works, not because he will not, but because he cannot.'' It 
 was thus that Abraham is represented as saying to the rich 
 man : ** Between us and you there is fixed a great chaos, so 
 that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor from 
 thence hither."! " If the just man shall scarcely be saved, 
 where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ?"J St. Peter 
 asks. 
 
 The wise virgins decline to give of their provision — they 
 have only enough for themselves — hence the parable, keeping 
 to the ordinary course of events, represents them as advising 
 their foolish companions to go and purchase oil for themselves. 
 Grace must be procured by each individual's efforts. If it is 
 a free gift of God, nevertheless He has ordained that men 
 must ask, seek, and knock. It is " a pearl of great price " to 
 purchase which much, if not all, has to be sacrificed. 
 
 So the foolish virgins went to seek oil, but they bestirred 
 themselves too late. When the hour of death strikes, when 
 
 * Trench, " On the Parables," p. 259. 
 
 t St. Luke xvi. % i St. Pet. iv. 
 
3o8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the sound of the last trumpet is heard, it will be useless to 
 seek reconciliation with God. 
 
 The parable continues : ''Now whilst they went to buy, 
 the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with 
 him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last 
 came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 
 But he answering said, Amen I say to you, I know you not." 
 Great indeed is the joy of the just when the hour of death 
 strikes ; great will be the joy of the Bride — the Church of 
 Christ — when He shall come to lead her to His Eternal Home. 
 Then the Saints will " be glad and rejoice, and give glory to 
 Him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife 
 hath prepared herself."* " They that were ready went in 
 with Him," and then " the door was shut " by Him — '* the 
 Holy One and the True One," by Jesus, who " hath the key 
 of David ; that openeth, and no man shutteth ; shutteth, and 
 no man openeth." f 
 
 The door is shut, as much for the security and joy without 
 interruption of those within, as for the exclusion of those 
 without, for the heavenly kingdom is that blessed realm — 
 " Ubi non intrat immicus, nee amicus exit " — where only 
 friends are gathered and all enemies excluded. But the 
 foolish virgins return and plead for admission. Their words 
 show their anguish at being excluded. But it is too late. 
 The time of mercy is past, and the solemn asseveration, 
 " Amen I say to you, I know you not," is the equivalent of 
 the final dismissal of the lost : " Depart from Me, you cursed, 
 into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and 
 his angels." 
 
 Jesus knows them not, because they knew and obeyed Him 
 not. They did not take oil in their lamps, although they pro- 
 fessed to be awaiting His coming, and knew that it was needed 
 to honour Him. They had not realized that " everyone must 
 be personally prepared to meet the Bridegroom, that the call 
 will be very sudden, that the stock of oil is not common, and 
 that the time between His arrival and the shutting of the 
 door will be awfully brief." 
 
 Then, having concluded the parable, Jesus Himself points 
 * Apoc. xix. t Apoc. iii. 
 
CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON MOUNT OLIVET 309 
 
 to the important lesson it teaches each and all : " Watch ye, 
 therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour." 
 Vigilance is indeed necessary, since we know that our blaster 
 will come unexpectedly, and only those who are ready will 
 find admittance. 
 
 All that our Lord has said about the unexpectedness of His 
 Second Advent applies in the case of each Catholic, of every 
 human being, to the hour of death. The essential prepara- 
 tion is a state of grace — freedom from grievous sin — and this 
 presupposes vigilance and prayer. He who watches and prays 
 is safe ; therefore we must endeavour to put in practice our 
 Lord's precept : " Praying at all times that you may be 
 accounted worthy to escape all these things [i.e., the evils 
 that shall overtake the wicked] and to stand before the Son 
 of man."* 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our blessed Lord sitting on 
 Mount Olivet surrounded by Llis Apostles. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of vigilance. 
 
 First Point. — As Jesus leaves the Temple, His disciples 
 point out the beauty of the buildings and of the stones. 
 Jesus predicts that not ** a stone shall be left upon a stone " 
 of all that vast construction. 
 
 Second Point. — He goes to the Mount of Olives. There, He 
 prophesies the destruction of the world and of Jerusalem. 
 He utters the parable of the Ten Virgins. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The preparation for the Bridegroom's coming, 
 His arrival, and the events which follow. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our Lord as He sits teaching you on 
 Mount Olivet. Ask that you may detach your soul from all 
 things that, being destined to perish, are doomed. Pray for 
 the grace of vigilance. Ask that j^ou may never commit a 
 grievous sin, that you may think often of meeting your 
 Saviour. Beg Him to warn you the moment your soul is 
 exposed to danger. Promise, by His aid, to avoid the occa- 
 sions of sin. Ask that you may rejoice in His coming. 
 
 * St. Luke xxi. 
 
310 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 " JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 
 
 There was joy in a modest home in Kerioth of Judea when 
 news was brought to one Simon, " saying : A man-child is 
 born to thee : and made him rejoice greatly."* It was about 
 the same time of the world's history as when the Angels sang 
 their Gloria in Excelsis over the fields of Bethlehem, and we 
 contemplate our blessed Mother, who 
 
 " For evermore 
 The glory and the joy shall wear. 
 That rob'd her, bending to adore 
 The Babe, her chaste womb bare."f 
 
 Simon and his wife rejoiced, for among the Jews the birth 
 of a son was always a matter of congratulation. Friends 
 gave that mother coins of silver or gold, and she v/ore them 
 on her head-dress, in memory of the glad event. Happily, 
 she knew not what that child would bring upon himself as 
 the betrayer of the Messias of Israel. God mercifully con- 
 ceals the future. " Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." 
 Years after, when that child had grown up to full manhood, 
 the Redeemer would 
 
 " Speak out His ban. 
 The Christ for His betrayer mourn. 
 Alas ! good were it for that man 
 If he had ne'er been born. "J 
 
 Meanwhile, God and His holy Angels looked down upon that 
 
 cradle — 
 
 " Where Judas lay, a harmless child. 
 By gold as yet unbought." 
 
 Nothing has been revealed of the childhood of Judas, but, 
 in accordance with the Jewish customs, we know that he was 
 circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. Then he re- 
 ceived the name of Judas — a name which, in after- years, would 
 
 * Jer. XX. 
 
 t " Judas' Infancy," from " Lyra Innocentium," by J. Keble. 
 
 X Ibid. 
 
"JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE" 311 
 
 be a synonym for traitor, and one which no Christian mother 
 would have her child bear. Judas as a child was taught the 
 Jewish Law ; at the age of thirteen he wore the phylacteries, 
 and took upon himself all the responsibilities of " a son of the 
 Law." His parents taught him a trade, and when he grew 
 up, we may conjecture that he fell under the spell of the 
 wondrous teaching of John the Baptist. Judas, doubtless, 
 was to have been found among " the multitudes " who went 
 out to hear John's impassioned exhortations in the desert , 
 for they flocked to him from " all the country of Jerusalem," 
 and " all Judea, and all the country about Jordan." In the 
 days of the Baptist, expectations of the coming of the Messias 
 were rife in Israel, and men were preparing for His coming 
 by prayer, confession of sin, and acts of penance. 
 
 Then came the decisive moment of Judas' life — the moment 
 when, for the first time, he came in contact with Jesus of 
 GaHlee. How or where we know not, but certainly Judas 
 became a disciple of Christ, and looked to Him as the Redeemer 
 of Israel. 
 
 From what we know of the Apostles in general, we are 
 justified in concluding that Judas belonged to the working 
 classes, not the destitute. Labour and education were in 
 honour in Israel, and our Lord's future Apostles certainly 
 received the ordinary training of those of their own social 
 rank. It is probable, since they dwelt for the most part in 
 Galilee, that they spoke Aramaic and Greek. They were not 
 illiterate men, and they appear to have been intelligent ; the 
 one who was " born out of due time " — St. Paul — was the one 
 exception. He was a trained student and a man of genius. 
 
 Of the Twelve, we may say that their minds had been de- 
 veloped and quickened by their training as Jews, the preach- 
 ing of the Baptist, and the current Messianic expectations of 
 their days. The struggle for the means of livehhood had 
 made them patient, energetic, laborious, and inured to fatigue 
 and hardships. Their expectation of the speedy advent of 
 the Messias had quickened their spiritual life, and prepared 
 them to follow Christ. All the Twelve were men who sought 
 first and earnestly the kingdom of God, who coveted " the 
 best gifts." Had it been otherwise, they would not have been 
 
312 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 willing to throw in their lot with the humble Prophet of 
 Galilee, nor have given up their means of existence at His 
 bidding. All whom Christ chose to be witnesses of His life, 
 words, and death, were men animated by deep religious 
 sentiments. They were probably all about the same age as 
 our Lord, with the exception of St. John, who appears to 
 have been younger than his colleagues. Apparently " no 
 man of middle life, no grey head, was included in the circle. 
 Variety of taste, temper, and mode of life found full expression 
 among the Apostles, No one was the same as the other." 
 Yet one bond united them — their Messianic expectations — 
 and these were centred in Jesus their Master, to whom they 
 were loyally and devotedly attached. " Such, then, were the 
 Apostles. They were pious men belonging to the people, 
 full of the plain sense and judgment which mark the common 
 man : slow to learn, but teachable ; free from social pre- 
 judices ; untrammelled by any fixed systems of thought ; 
 with keen eyes for character ; anxious to win the favour of 
 Jesus."* 
 
 But what do we know of Judas' character ? Only what 
 we can gather from the brief notices of him, which we find in 
 the Gospels and from his actions. The first time we hear of 
 him is in the incident of the calling of the Twelve. We find 
 that, at first, Jesus gathered a group of disciples around Him, 
 but the Apostolic College was not formed gradually. Jesus 
 made a definite choice of twelve of these disciples, whom He 
 called to give up all, that they might follow Him, and whom 
 He trained carefully for their future work — the evangelization 
 of the world. 
 
 Before making this choice we know that " Jesus went out 
 into a mountain, and He passed the whole night in the prayer 
 of God."t This solemn lonely vigil was the prelude to an 
 act of the greatest importance, and " when day was come, 
 He called unto Him His disciples." We may contemplate 
 our blessed Master, surrounded by a large number of disciples. 
 He looks at them each in turn. Some have already had a 
 
 * " Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels," edited by J. Hastings, 
 D.D., art. " Apostles," p. 104. 
 f St. Luke vi. 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 313 
 
 previous invitation ; hence Peter and Andrew, James and 
 John, expect to be called forth from the ranks. Their names 
 appear to have been called first ; then Jesus proceeds to 
 name Philip, Bartholomew, and so on, until the twelfth name 
 is uttered, and Judas Iscariot steps forth to complete the 
 chosen band of the Messias' followers. In the light of their 
 after-knowledge, the Evangelists almost invariably add, when 
 naming Judas, " who was the traitor," or " who also betrayed 
 Him." 
 
 As Judas stood beside Jesus on that spring morning in 
 A.D. 31, overlooking the Sea of Galilee from the " Horns of 
 Hattin " on its western side, what were his sentiments and 
 desires ? 
 
 Undoubtedly, at this crisis in his life Judas was animated 
 by good desires and admiration for Christ's words and deeds. 
 Judas looked for the coming of " the kingdom," and he was 
 in earnest, otherwise why should he have obeyed Christ's 
 call ? He had nothing to gain from the material point of 
 view, since the Son of man had not " where to lay His head," 
 and the Apostles shared His daily life of privation. Judas, 
 the man of Kerioth. had in him the potentialities of an 
 Apostle, otherwise Jesus, the Infinite Wisdom, would not 
 have called him to the apostleship. Jesus did not include 
 him among the Twelve, in order that a betrayer might be 
 provided. No, like the others, Judas was called to he an 
 Apostle. In choosing "whom He would," our Lord singled 
 out men, whom He could train to do His work, to understand 
 His subHme aims, and to be meet instruments in their realiza- 
 tion. The prediction of the betrayal of the Lord's Anointed 
 was accomplished by the perfidy of Judas, but that was not 
 the reason why he was chosen — in a word. Judas was not 
 elected in virtue of Jesus' foreknowledge of his future deed 
 of shame. 
 
 Judas, therefore, was fitted for an Apostle ; he had the 
 natural gifts necessary, the spiritual aspirations, and the 
 desire to follow Christ. True, he ultimately " acted hke a 
 Satan, but a Satan who had it in him to be an Apostle." He 
 fell away from his earlier aspirations because he had mistaken 
 views and strong passions to which, little by little, he yielded, 
 
314 LOOKING ON JESUSj THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 for no man passes " at one stride " from an Apostle to a devil, 
 a child of light to a " son of perdition." 
 
 Judas' training commences. " Jesus made that twelve 
 should be with Him.'' This in itself was the highest spiritual 
 education. Daily, the Apostles were under His Divine 
 influence ; hence Judas heard His blessed words, witnessed 
 His deeds of love and mercy. He knew his Master's aims, 
 ideals, and motives ; he admired His virtues, and was proud 
 to be one of His personal friends and followers. During the 
 three years' public Ministry, virtue was ever going forth from 
 Jesus to His Apostles. Unconsciously and consciously His 
 Divine influence was transforming them. Judas must have 
 been affected by all these manifestations. He had his 
 defects, for he was a child of Adam ; all the Apostles likewise 
 had their defects of character, but while they profited by 
 Jesus' lessons, Judas failed to grasp them. He wrested his 
 blessings, to his own eternal ruin. 
 
 The Evangelists rarely mention Judas, except in relating 
 his awful sin ; but we can read between the lines and thus 
 glean a few well-based probabilities. We have no mention of 
 Judas except when the Twelve are named, until his fall is 
 recorded. Apparently Judas' views as to the temporal glory 
 of the Messias, in which he hoped to share, were the primary 
 cause of his fall, Judas was ambitious, so were the other 
 Apostles, but gradually they learned and appreciated the 
 true nature of Christ's kingdom. When Judas found that no 
 temporal advantages were to be secured by following Jesus of 
 Galilee, when he saw that his Master avoided earthly honours, 
 and chose a path of humiliation and suffering, then the baser 
 springs of his nature were unsealed. Ambition and covetous- 
 ness are kindred vices ; both spring from an inordinate love 
 of self. At first, unconsciously, Judas was influenced by 
 ambition in following Jesus ; he looked for his own aggrandise- 
 ment — all his thoughts, words, and deeds revolved around 
 self. Then when the higher passion, ambition, was foiled of 
 its aims, the lower one, covetousness, appears to have come 
 to the fore. And thus Judas seems to have grasped at money, 
 as some slight compensation for his disappointed ideals and 
 ambition. 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 315 
 
 Probably disappointment, due to his inability to rise to the 
 thought of a spiritual kingdom, joined with a horror of failure, 
 humihation, and suffering, had made Judas an aggrieved, 
 taciturn man. One disaffected member of a circle is readily 
 detected, and in some of the murmurings of the Apostles, we 
 seem to hear the voice of Judas pressing his claim for the first 
 place, and condemning the sons of Zebedee for their ambitious 
 request. Undoubtedly, the Apostles must have perceived — 
 at least, towards the end — that Judas no longer shared their 
 love and devotion towards Jesus. 
 
 Yet it was not always so. Judas had gone forth with 
 his allotted companion when the Apostles were sent out on 
 their mission. No gift bestowed on the Eleven was denied 
 to the future traitor. Judas, whom our Lord spoke of as 
 " having a devil," was present when Jesus, " calling together 
 the twelve Apostles . . . gave them power and authority over 
 all devils and to heal diseases."* Judas went forth " to 
 preach the kingdom of God, and to cure the sick." This 
 apostolic journey was made somewhere in the winter of 
 A.D. 32, and one of Christ's injunctions was that nothing for 
 the journey might be taken — " neither staff, nor scrip, nor 
 bread, nor money," not even " two coats." Their mission 
 was successful ; " going forth, they preached that men should 
 do penance, and they cast out many devils and . . . healed 
 many sick."t Their mission ended, " the Apostles, coming 
 together unto Jesus, related to Him all things, that they had 
 done and taught." Judas also had " cast out many devils." 
 and so far he appears to have been faithful. Perchance his 
 very success aroused his ambitious desires to greater intensity. 
 It was flattering to be honoured by the multitudes as an 
 exorcist and a thaumaturge, and Judas' deep-seated selfish- 
 ness and his mistaken views of the kingdom of God were 
 nourished, by the very powers which he had exercised in the 
 Name of Jesus his Master. To one who does not seek God 
 and His glory, whose interests are centred in self, the holiest 
 gifts may work havoc by the misuse of the recipient. 
 
 Gradually, Judas the Apostle developed into Judas the 
 Traitor. He gave " place to the devil," instead of resisting 
 * St. Luke ix. | St. Mark vi. 
 
3i6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 his evil suggestions. Sadness and disappointment invaded 
 his soul and prepared it for temptations. Judas could follow 
 a cause as long as it favoured his own interests, and in pro- 
 portion as it secured them ; but when these were frustrated, 
 then came " the parting of the ways." But there must have 
 been some efforts to resist the devil, since Judas lived in daily- 
 intercourse with Jesus. Like all men, who have had noble 
 ideals and at the same time strong passions, there were times 
 when Judas partly repented of his unworthy aims. On the 
 other hand, covetousness deadens the nobler instincts of men ; 
 it reduces all things to their value as factors in self-aggrandise- 
 ment and acquisitions. 
 
 Various incidents recorded in the Gospels must have seemed 
 so inexplicable to Judas, who dreamed chiefly of earthly 
 greatness. When the Baptist was beheaded, shortly after the 
 Apostles' return from their mission, " Jesus retired into a 
 desert place apart," when, perhaps, Judas would have had 
 Jesus avenge His Precursor's death. In that desert, after 
 Jesus had fed five thousand men, they wished to proclaim Him 
 as their King, but " He fled again into the mountain. Himself 
 alone."* Did this appear to favour Christ's Messianic claims ? 
 A little later, and Jesus uttered the beautiful discourse on 
 the Bread of Life, and this doctrine of the Holy Eucharist 
 so staggered some of the disciples of Jesus, the saying was so 
 " hard," that " many . . . went back and walked no more with 
 Him." When Jesus, turning to the Twelve, said : " Will you 
 also go away ?"t it was Simon Peter who answered : " Lord, 
 to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal Hfe." 
 Already Judas was swerving in his allegiance to Christ. If 
 St. Peter could say, " We have believed and have known that 
 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the hving God," Judas was not 
 prepared to endorse that testimony. Peter thought that he 
 was expressing the sentiments and belief of the Twelve, but 
 there was one whose faith had not stood the test of the " hard 
 saying," for our Lord replied : " Have I not chosen you Twelve, 
 and one of you is a devil ?" — i.e., Judas was already in the 
 power of the devil. 
 
 The Pharisees came to our Lord in Dalmanutha, " asking 
 
 * St. John vi. t Ibid. 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 317 
 
 Him a sign from heaven."* Jesus, " sighing deeply in spirit," 
 refused to work a miracle at their bidding. Judas, doubtless, 
 regarded this as mistaken policy. Why would not He, who 
 could rule the waves and wind, work some wonder in the 
 heavens which would prove His claims to be authentic and 
 compel men's allegiance ? But such weis not God's plan. 
 St. Peter made his glorious confession of faith in Christ's 
 Divinity, and in return Jesus proclaimed that Simon Peter 
 was to be the head of His Church on earth. This honour was 
 not reserved for Judas, and doubtless the preference given to 
 Peter, rankled in the soul of Judas, and embittered him against 
 his Divine Master. True, Judas was the treasurer of the 
 little band, but he aspired higher, and any ambitious, covetous 
 soul looks with an evil eye on a favour bestowed on a col- 
 league. 
 
 About this time, too, our Lord began to speak more and 
 more openly of His approaching death and of the necessity 
 of the disciples carrying their cross in imitation of Him. 
 This doctrine was as gall to Judas. Then, perchance, the 
 fallen Apostle was again a little encouraged when he heard 
 Jesus say that some, who stood around Him, should not " taste 
 death till they see the kingdom of God coming in power." 
 The Transfiguration followed, but Judas was not chosen as 
 one of the three witnesses. He knew that Peter, James, and 
 John had been taken apart by our Lord while he was excluded, 
 and he may have attributed the favour shown to them to their 
 being Galileans, and argued that, as eleven of the Apostles 
 were from the northern province, he, a southerner, a Judean 
 Jew, had little hope of promotion when the kingdom for 
 which he so longed, but in a worldly spirit, should " come in 
 power." Judas, too, was one of the nine Apostles whom the 
 devil in the lunatic boy refused to obey, and a proud, ambitious 
 man ill brooks a public humiliation. " Has the Name of 
 Jesus lost its wonted power ?" he would have asked himself 
 angrily. Then came other predictions of the Passion ; the 
 discourse on the terrible punishment of scandal, which must 
 still further have alienated Judas from the cause of the Prophet 
 of GaHlee. 
 
 * St. Mark viii. 
 
3i8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Persecution assumed a more aggressive form, and in the 
 very precincts of the Temple, twice the Jews endeavoured to 
 stone our Lord. We may conclude that the Apostles were 
 likewise in danger. To Judas, with his erroneous preconcep- 
 tions of a reign of unrivalled splendour, it seemed clear that 
 his Master was losing ground. The faithless Apostle knew 
 that the rulers were plotting against Him, that He had but 
 few friends among the authorities, the rich, and the influ- 
 ential. He saw his own personal hopes gradually diminishing, 
 and he must have asked himself : ' ' What do I gain by serving 
 Him ? " " Will anything worth having, come of all His 
 promises ?" Satan kept plying the traitor with plausible 
 arguments, and the more Judas heard Jesus' teaching and 
 prophecies, the more he must have felt a deep hatred for his 
 Master. Judas was alternately and simultaneously attracted 
 and repelled by Jesus. It is thus in the life-history of every 
 privileged soul, who falls from a pinnacle of favours to the 
 depths of ignominy. The denunciations of Jesus against the 
 hypocrisy of the Pharisees re-echoed in the soul of Judas 
 "the thief," "the devil," "the traitor," "the son of per- 
 dition." 
 
 Judas was present when Lazarus was raised to life, and he 
 took part in the triumph of his Master and waved his palm- 
 branch. Perhaps a momentary return to better thoughts 
 was the result of this public ovation. But it was short-lived, 
 for Jesus did not profit by the enthusiasm of the multitudes 
 and at once establish His kingdom. Judas soon learned that 
 the raising of Lazarus and the triumphal entry had but con- 
 firmed the authorities in their desire to kill the Prophet of 
 Galilee. 
 
 During the supper at Bethania, matters came to a climax 
 when Mary proved her ardent love of Jesus by offering her 
 precious flagon of pure spikenard. Then Judas, leading the 
 opposition, stigmatized her generosity as wasteful and detri- 
 mental to the poor. St. John gives Judas' true motives in 
 these words : " Now this He said, not because He cared for 
 the poor, but because He was a thief, and having the purse, 
 carried the things that were put therein." Judas looked on 
 Mary's gift to Jesus as something, of which he himself had 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 319 
 
 been deprived. Thereupon, his decision is taken ; he de- 
 termines to break with Christ, and to seek to further his own 
 interests. The cause, to which he had given his allegiance, 
 appears to the faithless Apostle an utter failure, and the 
 Satanic suggestion to betray our Lord becomes a fixed purpose. 
 
 An opportunity soon presents itself — on the Wednesday in 
 Holy Week. On this day, Jesus remained in seclusion in 
 Bethania speaking to His Apostles of His Crucifixion, now so 
 close at hand. Judas withdrew from his companions and 
 hastened to the chief priests. He has prepared his question : 
 " What will you give me, and I will dehver Him unto you ?"* 
 This is ever the sinner's question, when he yields to his pas- 
 sions, to temptation : " What will you give me?" The chief 
 priests were evidently in consultation with the captain of the 
 Temple guards — i.e., " the magistrates." Judas' arrival was 
 opportune, for these rulers were seeking how to take Jesus 
 in the absence of the multitude. Therefore " they were glad, 
 and covenanted to give him money." Thirty pieces of silver, 
 the price of a common slave (worth about four pounds of our 
 money), was all they offered. 
 
 The die was cast, the fatal compact made, and henceforth 
 Judas, the son of perdition, " sought opportunity to betray 
 Him." The occasion was offered on the Thursday evening ; 
 Judas had not to w^ait long for his blood-money. The 
 Evangelists record the touching scene when Jesus, in that 
 upper room, knelt before His Apostles and, by w^ashing their 
 feet, performed the office of a lowly servant. See Jesus 
 kneeling at Judas' feet ! The traitor's heart is hardened ; 
 he does not expostulate nor strive to prevent his Master from 
 performing this act of humility. As our Lord knelt there, 
 had Judas accepted it, virtue would have gone forth and 
 moved the son of perdition to repentance. For Judas were the 
 warning words said, " You are not all clean," and the traitor 
 knew it. 
 
 The supper follows, and Jesus, troubled by the presence of 
 a secret and inveterate enemy, dismisses the traitor. Before 
 so doing, our Lord shows Judas that He knows of his 
 treachery, and the very fact that Jesus saw through Judas' 
 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. 
 
320 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 hypocrisy and had often warned him of it, had embittered 
 Judas against his Master, for the traitor knew that he could 
 not deceive Him who read men's inmost thoughts. Jesus 
 " testified and said: Amen I say to you that one of you is 
 about to betray me. But they began to be sorrowful and to 
 say to Him, one by one : Is it I, Lord ?" Even Judas dared 
 to ask this question, and Jesus answered him in the affir- 
 mative, but in such a way as not to compromise him in 
 presence of the others. Having replied, Jesus dismisses him : 
 "That which thou dost, do quickly." The eleven faithful 
 Apostles did not understand, but the traitor did, and ** having 
 received the morsel " offered him by Christ, a customary act 
 of friendship, Judas went out immediately, and " it was 
 night." 
 
 Satan had " entered into him " by the very door by which 
 the traitor had expulsed his Master. " It was night " — a 
 fitting time for a heinous deed of darkness, the blackest 
 treachery ever perpetrated. Judas went out from the 
 presence of Him who is the Light of the World into the black- 
 ness of Hell — a darkness " that might be felt " already 
 envelops his soul. 
 
 Watch the traitor as he hurries down the eastern slopes of 
 Zion, past the Xystos, over the wide bridge which spanned 
 the Tyropeon, and onward to the Praetorium. As he goes on 
 his Satanic errand, Satan himseh accompanies ; the arch- 
 fiend holds the soul of the arch-traitor in his hellish grip — 
 he has " entered into Judas," never to leave him. 
 
 A few hours pass ; Judas has received the charge to lead 
 the band of armed men. These are followed by a multitude 
 — the rabble of Ophel — eager to see whither these soldiers 
 and guards are going. They reach Gethsemani and, as 
 Judas advances in the light of the torches, his Saviour comes 
 to meet him. Judas gives the sign — he kisses his former 
 Master repeatedly and effusively, — and these kisses of the 
 traitor were surely more painful to Christ than the blows from 
 the mailed fists of the Roman soldiers ! Even at this eleventh 
 hour, Jesus speaks tenderly to the traitor : " Friend, whereto 
 art thou come ?" " Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man 
 with a kiss ?" 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 321 
 
 What an awful tragedy was enacted in that Garden, beneath 
 those gnarled olive-trees ! Jesus, the Redeemer, pale, ex- 
 hausted by His Agony and bloody sweat, majestically con- 
 fronts His betrayer, and His power is such, that those sent to 
 apprehend Him, " fell to the ground." The traitor has slunk 
 into the background ; Jesus is taken, and Judas goes to claim 
 his reward. It is counted out ; his treachery is accomplished. 
 
 One more scene, and the curtain falls on " the son of per- 
 dition." " Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was con- 
 demned, repenting himself, brought back the thirty pieces of 
 silver to the chief priests and ancients." The coins he had 
 coveted seem to burn his hands ; he must give them back to 
 those who share his guilt. Then he makes a public con- 
 fession : " I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." " But 
 they said : What is that to us ? Look thou to it. And 
 casting down the pieces of silver," throwing them upon the 
 marble pavement of the House of the Lord, " Judas departed^ 
 and went and hanged himself with an halter." Who can 
 ever conceive the unutterable despair that held the soul of 
 Judas in its icy grasp ? He has sold his Lord ; can there be 
 pardon for him ? He does not seek it, but, urged by Satan, 
 rushing forth once more into the darkness, he goes to the 
 Valley of Hinnom. There, perchance, the pale, Divine face 
 of Jesus, as he saw It in the garden, comes before him, and 
 he hears the gentle reproach of his Master. He thinks, too^ 
 of all the graces and gifts received, of the bloodguiltiness his 
 treachery has involved. Better thoughts arise for a moment, 
 but Satan within him will not suffer them to remain. " There 
 is no hope for you — as well finish with life at once ;" and Judas 
 obeys his new master. He winds the rope about his neck^ 
 and, fastening it to a tree or projecting rock, leaps into space. 
 Hanging between heaven and earth, he gives up his soul and 
 once more, Judas finds himself in the Divine Presence of the 
 Son of man, the Judge of the living and the dead. Thus 
 Judas " went to his own place." There he is now, there he 
 will be for all eternity — an awful example of precious graces 
 and privileges misused and of passions unrestrained. 
 
 Pilgrims passing through the Valley of Hinnom shuddered 
 
 as they came across that mangled traitor's body, and noted 
 
 21 
 
322 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the rigid, convulsed expression of horror which death had 
 stamped upon his features. Perchance some of the Apostles 
 passed by that way. In terror and humihty they struck 
 their breasts, and thanked God for having kept them from 
 such an awful crime and its just retribution, for their Master 
 had called Judas " the son of perdition." Some of the 
 Sanhedrists heard that " the man of Kerioth " had com- 
 mitted suicide. It mattered not to them. Had they not 
 bidden him see to it himself when he went to accuse himself 
 of having betrayed innocent blood, and returned the price 
 of it ? They had profited by his treachery — he was a tool 
 which had served them, although in himself a despicable 
 fellow. Contempt and indifference sum up their sentiments. 
 
 Angels gazed pityingly upon the corpse of the traitor — 
 once an Apostle — and they may have thought of their own 
 former companions " who kept not their principality, but for- 
 sook their own habitation," and whom "God hath reserved 
 under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of 
 the great day."* 
 
 There he lies, " an accursed thing," " the son of per- 
 dition," who has put an end to his wretched existence. Judas, 
 the traitor, is an object of horror, execration, and withal of 
 compassion for all ages, and this for " thirty pieces of silver, '^ 
 which he flung back to his accomplices in his remorse and 
 despair. Was the reward worth the price ? Is that for which 
 men barter their immortal souls ever worth the price ? 
 
 God looked down upon that dead body — once the living 
 temple of the Holy Ghost — of one who had been called to 
 carry the Name of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Surely our 
 Heavenly Father pitied that doomed child of Adam, of whom 
 the Son of God had said : " It were better for him if that man 
 had not been born."t But in vain do men, Angels, nay, 
 God Himself, compassionate and strive to restrain a soul 
 that is bent on its own eternal destruction. Each receives 
 sufficient and even abundant means of salvation, but none 
 are forced to accept them. Judas '' went to his own place " 
 consciously and deliberately. Judas, the traitor, is one of 
 the damned, whose very name is a universal term of oppro- 
 * St. Jude. t St. Matt. xxvi. 
 
" JUDAS ISCARIOT, ONE OF THE TWELVE " 323 
 
 brium. Yet he might have been "St. Judas " I What a 
 mystery ! Thus every child of Adam is called to make his 
 choice ; each is daily making it. 
 
 But see ! The noonday hght is overcast, and thick 
 darkness envelops the earth — a symbol of that eternal outer 
 darkness into which the soul of the traitor Judas has entered. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate Jesus as He stands on the 
 Horns of Hattin, surrounded by His Apostles. Judas 
 Iscariot is one of the Twelve. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may be faithful to grace. 
 
 First Point. — Judas the disciple and Apostle ; his training, 
 his gifts. 
 
 Second Point. — Judas is tempted to ambition, covetous- 
 ness, jealousy. He gives " place to the devil," and gradually 
 falls away from his allegiance to Christ. 
 
 Third Point. — Judas the traitor ; his last act of open 
 treachery ; his semblance of repentance ; his despair, suicide, 
 and condemnation. 
 
 Colloquy. — Thank God for all the priceless graces He has 
 given you. Ask that you may never abuse God's gifts. Beg 
 of our Lord to keep you near Him, that you may not yield 
 to temptation. Thank Him for past mercies. Pray for 
 those who are tempted. Ask for courage to resist the be- 
 ginnings of sin and for vigilance in combating your besetting 
 sin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE PASCHAL SUPPER: ITS 
 
 DISTINCTIVE RITES 
 
 Harmonized Account. — " And on the first day of Az3mies, in which 
 it was necessary that the pasch should be killed, Jesus sent two of His 
 disciples, Peter and John, saying : Go, and prepare us the pasch, that 
 we may eat. But the disciples said to Him : Whither wilt Thou that 
 we go, and prepare for Thee to eat the pasch ? But Jesus said : Go 
 ye into the city ; behold, as you go into the city, there shall meet you 
 a man, carrying a pitcher of water ; follow him into the house, which 
 he entereth into, and you shall say to the master of the house : The 
 Master saith to thee : My time is near at hand ; I will keep the pasch 
 
324 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 at thy house with My disciples. Where is My guest-chamber, where 
 I may eat the pasch with My disciples ? And he will shew you a large 
 dining-room furnished, and there prepare ye for us. And His dis- 
 ciples went their way, and came into the city ; and they found as He 
 had told them. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, 
 and they prepared the pasch." — St. Matt. xxvi. ; St. Mark xiv. ; 
 St. Luke xxii. 
 
 Holy Thursday dawned, but one more day, and the Son of 
 God was to accomplish the redemption of mankind. It was 
 the 14th of Nisan, and after sunset in all Jewish homes the 
 Paschal Supper would be eaten. On this, the first day of the 
 Azymes, the Jews ate unleavened bread ; no leavened bread 
 was allowed during the Paschal season. On the preceding 
 evening, in every Jewish home, a careful search had been 
 made in religious silence and with a lighted candle in order 
 to gather up every crumb of leavened bread. Preparations 
 were going on actively for the Paschal Supper. 
 
 Early on this day Jesus sent two of His disciples, Peter and 
 John, saying : " Go and prepare us the Pasch, that we may 
 eat." The disciples replied : " Where wilt Thou that we 
 prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch ?" Evidently, they knew 
 that He did not intend to keep the Pasch in Bethania. 
 Although it was permitted to do so in the suburbs of Jeru- 
 salem, on account of the lack of accommodation for all the 
 thousands of pilgrims, yet the Jews always preferred to 
 comply with the Paschal precept in the Holy City, and the 
 citizens freely lent their rooms for this purpose. For this 
 hospitality, no remuneration was expected or accepted beyond 
 the skin of the Paschal lamb, and the earthenware vessels 
 used at the feast. At this season " the houses were of 
 common right." 
 
 Jesus had decided to keep the feast in Jerusalem, where 
 He Himself — the true Paschal Lamb — would be offered on 
 the morrow. Therefore He chose Peter and John, the two 
 Apostles who respectively seem to typify faith and love, and 
 sent them into Jerusalem to prepare what was necessary for 
 the sacred ceremony. He gave explicit directions as to the 
 house, in which they were to prepare the supper. Probably 
 the man whom they met " carrying a pitcher of water " was 
 a disciple of Jesus, and as in the East the women generally 
 
THE PASCHAL SUPPER 325 
 
 fetch the water from the wells, this man with his pitcher 
 would have attracted the notice of the two Apostles. 
 
 Jesus did not mention the locality nor the owner's name, 
 possibly in order to prevent Judas from knowing it. But 
 tradition has always named Mount Zion as the locality. This 
 mountain is situated in the south-western angle of Jerusalem. 
 It was the highest area in the city. The platform of this 
 mountain could, therefore, be seen from afar, and to reach it 
 the two Apostles would have to pass by the Pool of Siloe, 
 through Acra — the lower city — over the bridge which spanned 
 the Tyropean Valley, past the palace of Herod, and then on 
 to the western hill of Zion. There stood the palace of the 
 High-Priest and the seven synagogues of Jerusalem. Due 
 south of the palace was the house of Mary, the mother of St. 
 Mark, and this is the traditional house where Jesus ate the 
 Pasch with His disciples before He suffered. From the 
 windows and roof of that house, the Courts of the House of 
 the Lord could be distinctly seen, with their thousands of 
 worshippers. This upper room became the first Christian 
 Church. There Jesus celebrated the Pasch, instituted the 
 Holy Eucharist, appeared to His Apostles after His Resurrec- 
 tion, and there the Holy Ghost descended upon the Church 
 in its infancy. That sanctuary outlived the massive Temple, 
 for Epiphanius tells us that when Hadrian went to the East, 
 after the destruction of Jerusalem, he found the Temple razed 
 to the ground and trodden underfoot. Not a building re- 
 mained in the whole city except " a little church " which had 
 been raised on the site of the Cenacle, a few scattered houses 
 on Mount Zion, and the seven synagogues. 
 
 To this house, Peter and John followed the man, and having 
 given their Master's message, they obtained hospitality. This 
 disciple gave his best room, little knowing what mighty 
 miracles of power and love would take place there. We risk 
 nothing in giving God our " best," for He will never let us 
 surpass Him in generosity. In this Jewish home, all the 
 necessary furniture was provided — the tables, couches, and 
 utensils required. Even the poorest Israelites ate the Pasch 
 reclining, instead of standing, as formerly, for this attitude 
 was sj'mbolical of rest, safety, and liberty. 
 
326 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD . 
 
 The two " disciples did as Jesus appointed to them, and 
 they prepared the Pasch." Let us now see in what this pre- 
 paration consisted. It included procuring and killing the 
 Paschal lamb, and purchasing whatever else was required. 
 The provisions required were as follows : (i) A live lamb ; 
 (2) red wine for the four cups; (3) the hitter herbs — lettuce, 
 endive, horehound, succory or parsley ; (4) the nuts, raisins, 
 and apples for the charoseth or sauce (this the poor dispensed 
 with) ; (5) the animal for the chagigah or festive sacrifice, 
 which was added when the lamb did not suffice for the number 
 present ; (6) salt and vinegar ; (7) unleavened bread. 
 
 If Judas had already procured the accessories, only the 
 lamb had to be purchased. For this, Peter and John had to 
 go to the sheep-market, which was financed by the priests. 
 The animals sold there were guaranteed to possess the required 
 age, freedom from blemish, etc. It cost from 2s. 6d. to 7s. 6d 
 of our money (according to the current price of lambs). The 
 lamb, having been examined and approved by a priest, was 
 taken by the offerer to the Court of the Temple, in which the 
 altar of holocausts stood. The lambs were slain in the same 
 Court as the ordinary victims, after noon on the 14th of Nisan 
 and when the offering of the daily sacrifice and the incense 
 had been offered. 
 
 On account of the multitude of worshippers, the ceremony 
 of killing the Paschal lamb had to be repeated thrice. The 
 Israelites, therefore, were divided into three companies, one 
 of which sufficed to fill the whole Court. As soon as one 
 assembly had entered the Court, the doors were locked. Silver 
 trumpets were sounded to announce the beginning of the 
 service. After the recitation of the prescribed Psalms the 
 trumpets were again sounded to mark the exact moment for 
 killing the lambs. , 
 
 The priests stood in two rows ; one row held silver basins, 
 the other gold. A priest caught the blood of the lamb in his 
 bowl, as each Israelite killed his own lamb. The basin con- 
 taining the blood was then passed from hand to hand, till it 
 reached the officiating priest, whose office it was to collect the 
 blood from all the lambs killed by the first assembly, and to 
 sprinkle it on the lower part of the altar of holocausts. 
 
THE PASCHAL SUPPER 327 
 
 The first company then retired, and the same ceremonies 
 were repeated for the second. It was customary for each 
 worshipper to carry the live lamb upon his shoulder. After 
 the blood had been sprinkled upon the altar, the lamb was 
 flayed, the fat removed from the intestines, and thrown into 
 the fire upon the altar. The body was then taken home and 
 roasted whole. The Levites chanted the Hallel (Psalms cxii. 
 to cxvii.) while the lambs were being slain, and in three 
 separate sections. After each third part, the blasts of the 
 silver trumpets sounded forth. The worshippers repeated 
 only the first line of each Psalm, and they responded " Halle- 
 lujah " to every other line ; but when they came to Psalm cxvii. 
 they repeated in addition to the first line the three subjoined 
 lines : 
 
 " Save now, I beseech Thee, O Lord, 
 O Lord, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity. 
 Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." 
 
 As St. Peter and St. John repeated these words on that 
 afternoon, they must have called to mind vividly all the cir- 
 cumstances of the Triumphal Entry, and have thought of 
 Him whom the Baptist had pointed out as " the Lamb of 
 God." Perhaps the words of Christ came back to them with 
 a deeper signification, as they remembered His predictions 
 concerning His death for the redemption of mankind. 
 
 Peter and John left the Temple carrying their dead lamb, 
 and, turning towards the south-west, hastened to prepare the 
 festal chamber. Triclinia for thirteen were required, and 
 these their host would have provided. While the two 
 Apostles were busy getting everything ready, Jesus took fare- 
 well of His friends in Bethania. Did He tell them that He 
 was going to His death ? We know not. If His blessed 
 Mother was a guest in that house, then at least one inmate 
 shared His terrible secret. In any case, Jesus certainly said 
 enough to warn His friends that some terrible denouement 
 was imminent. " When it was evening, Jesus sat down 
 [literally, " reclined "] at table with His twelve disciples." 
 The " son of perdition " was there, waiting for an opportunity 
 to betray his Master. 
 
 It is difficult to give the exact sequence of the events of 
 
328 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 this memorable evening, nor is it possible to say whether or 
 not Judas was present when Jesus instituted the Holy 
 Eucharist. In this and the following chapter we will take 
 the different incidents as given by those who hold the nega- 
 tive view, following the opinion of Saints Hilary, Rupert, 
 Cyril of Alexandria, and many others. Thus, the order 
 would be somewhat as follows : (i) Jesus expresses His desire 
 to eat that Pasch with His Apostles ; (2) the Paschal Supper 
 is eaten, and, while taking their places for the meal, there is 
 a strife among the Apostles, as to who shall have the places 
 of honour — i.e., on the right and the left of Jesus ; (3) our 
 Lord rebukes their pride, and, humbling Himself, washes 
 their feet ; (4) Jesus predicts the betrayal, and dismisses 
 Judas ; (5) our Lord institutes the Holy Eucharist, and after- 
 wards predicts that St. Peter will deny Him. 
 
 Jesus, therefore, reclined at table with the Twelve. Never 
 had the Apostles seen their loved Master so overwhelmed with 
 sorrow. " And He said to them. With desire have I desired 
 to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer : for I say to you 
 that from this time I will not eat it till it be fulfilled in the 
 kingdom of God."* Notice the Hebrew idiom, " with desire 
 I have desired " — i.e., *' I have heartily desired." Our Divine 
 Redeemer desired to eat this Pasch above all others, either 
 because it was the last or because it was to be followed by 
 the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Hence in olden times 
 the Holy Eucharist was called the desiderata — i.e., the heart's 
 desire ; and when the newly -baptized were led from the sacred 
 font to the altar to receive Communion it was a custom to 
 sing or recite Psalm xli. : "As the hart panteth after the 
 fountains of water, so my soul panteth after Thee, O God." 
 
 Here we must place the contention as to " which of them 
 seem to be greater." Just when Jesus is overwhelmed with 
 the thought of His Passion, with its awful humiliations, the 
 disciples, whom for three years He has trained, are quarrelling 
 as to which of them shall take precedence at table or, it may 
 be, in His kingdom, little realizing how that kingdom had to 
 be won by Christ, and how they themselves must be humble 
 in order to enter it. Jesus rebuked them, as He had done 
 
 * St. Luke xxii. 
 
THE PASCHAL SUPPER 329 
 
 when they had some time previously disputed " in the way " 
 on the question of precedence. " Who is the greatest among 
 you, let him be as the least." Then, by way of instruction 
 and encouragement to eleven of them, — for Judas had no 
 longer any real part or lot with these faithful, though weak, 
 disciples — Jesus added : " You are they who have continued 
 with Me in My temptations, and I appoint to you, as My 
 Father hath appointed to Me, a kingdom : that you may eat 
 and drink at My table in My kingdom, and may sit upon 
 thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."* 
 
 We can follow this ritual supper in every detail from the 
 accounts of the Paschal Supper as recorded by Jewish and 
 Christian historians. The order of the ceremonies was as 
 follows : 
 
 The president or celebrant took the place of honour, and this 
 office fell to the head of the family, or some eminent guest. 
 Four cups of red wine, mingled with water, were placed before 
 him. When all were reclining at table, the president took 
 one of the cups, called " the cup of consecration,''' in his right 
 hand. He blessed it, saying : " Blessed be Thou, Jehovah, 
 our God, Thou King of the universe, who hast created the 
 fruit of the vine." He then tasted the contents of the cup, 
 and passed it on to the others. 
 
 An attendant brought in some water, and all washed their 
 hands. Bitter herbs, dipped in salt and vinegar, were then 
 passed round in memory of the sufferings of the Jews in Egypt. 
 The first table was now removed, and a second brought in, 
 on which the lamb, unleavened bread, and the charoseth were 
 placed. If a child or a proselyte happened to be present, he 
 was instructed to inquire why they partook of the bitter 
 herbs twice. The celebrant explained the difference between 
 this meal and an ordinary supper, and all ate a second time 
 of the herbs. The Haggadah, or " showing forth," now 
 began. It consisted in the explanation of the ceremonies, as 
 connected with the exodus of the Jews from Egj^pt. 
 
 A second cup of wine was passed round after the chant of 
 part of the Hallel. Then, taking one of the three Passover 
 cakes or loaves which were placed upon the table, the cele- 
 
 * St. Luke xxii. 
 
330 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 brant broke this loaf in two, and, laying these halves upon a 
 whole loaf, blessed the bread, saying : " Blessed be He who 
 causeth bread to grow out of the earth." He then added : 
 " This is the bread of affliction, which our fathers ate in 
 Egypt." He and all present then ate a piece of the unleavened 
 bread with bitter herbs. 
 
 The Paschal lamb was eaten next, all still reclining. 
 The " cup of blessing " followed, of which all drank. After 
 a prayer of thanksgiving the fourth cup — the cup of joy — ^was 
 drunk. The remainder of the Hallel was then sung, after 
 which a fifth cup of wine was sometimes added, and the cere- 
 mony concluded by the chanting of the " grand Hallel " 
 (Psalms cxix. to cxxvi. or cxxxiv. to cxxxvii.). After the 
 Paschal Supper, it was forbidden to take other food that 
 same evening ; but custom had established an " after-dish," 
 which consisted of a piece of unleavened cake. This was 
 eaten immediately after the Paschal lamb, and before the 
 third cup was blessed and passed round. Conversation was 
 allowed between the different ceremonies. 
 
 Such was the ritual appointed for the Paschal Supper, and 
 we may be sure that Jesus fulfilled all with the utmost rever- 
 ence. How much meaning — hidden to others — these rites 
 contained for Him ! The Paschal lamb, the bitter herbs, the 
 cups of wine, surely reminded Him of the sacrifice of the 
 Cross, of the gall which He would be offered, of the wine- 
 press which He, the Holy and the Beautiful One, would tread 
 alone. Of the people, of His own, there would be none with 
 Him. 
 
 The Paschal Supper being ended, Jesus gives His disciples 
 an example of humility, and St. John prefaces the record of 
 this beautiful touching action with these solemn words : 
 " Knowing that the Father had given Him all things into His 
 hands, and that He came from God and goeth to God." What 
 follows ? Is Jesus about to call back the dead to life ? No ; 
 He is about to give a lesson in humility, and in performing an 
 act of humble service, He never for one moment loses aught 
 of the consciousness of His Divine Majesty. He, by whom 
 all things were made, by whom they exist, stoops to wash the 
 feet of His disciples. He deigns to serve them. We are lost 
 
THE PASCHAL SUPPER 331 
 
 in admiration at His marvellous condescension, and yet, in 
 very truth, is there ever a moment when the Creator ceases to 
 serve His creatures, to minister to their needs, to bear with 
 their frailties, defects, wa3rvvardness, and sins ? He works in 
 Nature that she may minister of her wealth to His children, 
 every moment He upholds them by His power ; in the realms 
 of grace He is ever working for the sanctification and salvation 
 of souls, in eternity He wills to be their All-in-All. 
 
 Wonderingly, the disciples watch their Master. Doubtless 
 our Lord knelt first before Peter ; the words seem to point to 
 this : " He cometh, therefore, to Simon Peter," after " having 
 taken a towel " and girded Himself with it. We seem to see 
 St. Peter as he draws away his feet, saying : " Lord, dost Thou 
 wash my feet ?" Jesus said to him : " What I do thou 
 knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." 
 
 After Peter's denial, after his repentance, and when he was 
 called to take up his duties as the head of the Church, then 
 he realized better the significance of His Master's act of 
 humility, and knew that the washing of feet was a lesson to 
 him that, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered 
 unto, but to minister, so His disciples, however exalted their 
 position, must consider themselves the servants of all. But 
 at present, overcome with confusion, Peter can only exclaim : 
 " Thou shalt never wash my feet." Then Jesus replies : "If 
 I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Simon Peter 
 said to Him, Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and 
 my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed, needeth 
 not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly, and you are 
 clean, but not all." 
 
 In these words, Jesus taught His disciples that only by 
 obedience to His Will could they have part with Him, and 
 once more He uttered a warning word for Judas. The other 
 Apostles do not appear to have remonstrated, but what must 
 have been the thoughts of Judas ? Did this act of humility 
 arouse in his soul any better feelings, or did he harden his 
 heart, and persuade himself that this very deed proved that 
 Jesus of Nazareth was not the Messias ? We know not, but 
 the sequence shows that the traitor stifled all better thoughts 
 — if, indeed, they did arise. Satan was near that faithless 
 
332 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Apostle whispering that it was too late to retract, that Judas 
 had made his bargain with the High-Priests, and he must 
 keep to it. 
 
 Then after Jesus " had washed their feet and taken His 
 garments, being sat down again, He said to them. Know you 
 what I have done to you ? You call Me Master and Lord, 
 and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Master 
 and Lord, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash 
 one another's feet : for I have given you an example, that 
 as I have done to you, so do you also."* 
 
 Yes, we, too, call Him " Master and Lord," and in this we 
 " do well," but He asks more of His disciples. He wills that 
 they should imitate His examples, that by loving, humble 
 services they '' should wash one another's feet." If we strive 
 to do this, then we may merit the blessing promised to those 
 who not only " know these things," but who strive to do 
 them. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord reclining at table with 
 His Apostles. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of a true, practical 
 humility. 
 
 First Point. — Peter and John are sent to prepare the Pasch. 
 They procure the lamb, and kill it in the Temple Court. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus comes with the Twelve. They quarrel 
 about the first place. The ceremonies of the Paschal Supper. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus washes His Apostles' feet. St. Peter 
 at first refuses, but yields afterwards. Jesus explains His 
 act of humility. 
 
 Colloquy. — Thank our Lord for the beautiful lesson of 
 humility. Ask pardon for your sins of pride. Beg Him to 
 give you strength to practise humility, in spite of your natural 
 repugnance. Ask Him to cleanse you, that you may have 
 part with Him. 
 
 * St. John xiii. 
 
INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 333 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 THE INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST AND THE 
 PREDICTION OF PETER'S DENIAL 
 
 Immediately after " Satan had entered into Judas," and 
 the fallen Apostle had gone out for ever from the circle of 
 his fellow- Apostles, Jesus said to them : " Now is the Son of 
 man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified 
 in Him, God also will glorify Him in Himself, and imme- 
 diately will He glorify Him."* The departure of Judas was 
 the commencement of the Passion. It was now so near, that 
 Jesus spoke of it as already accomplished, and, as by the 
 oblation of the Son, God the Father had manifested His 
 infinite love for men and His unswerving justice, both the 
 Son who offered Himself and the Eternal Father who gave 
 His Son to die the death of a criminal, were glorified. Jesus 
 glorifies His Father, and the Father exalts Him by giving 
 to Him as man " all power in heaven and in earth." God 
 the Father and His only-begotten Son are ahke glorified by 
 man's sanctification and salvation. /y^ 
 
 We may also apply these words to the Eucharistic life of 
 our Lord. In the Holy Eucharist ^ He is the centre of the 
 Church's worship, and this hidden, though very real, glory is 
 peculiarly His own. Every faithful child of the Church kneels 
 and adores before the Tabernacle that contains those consecrated 
 elements, which reveal while they conceal His Presence. 
 
 Judas had gone forth, and it must have been an intense 
 relief to our Lord. Now He could speak freely to the Eleven, 
 and reveal to them the great gift, He was about to bestow on 
 them and on His Church as long as the world exists. Judas 
 had left the upper room before the Paschal Supper was finished, 
 and it was during this meal that Jesus instituted the Holy 
 Eucharist. All that our Lord needed was at hand — the 
 chalice, the wine (mingled with water), and the unleavened 
 bread. As we have seen in the preceding chapter, three un- 
 leavened loaves were provided for this supper, and it was one 
 
 * St. John xiii. 
 
^34 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 of these which Jesus consecrated. St. Matthew thus describes 
 the institution of this august Sacrifice and Sacrament : "Whilst 
 they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke, 
 and gave to His disciples, saying : Take ye, and eat : This is 
 My body. And taking the chalice, He gave thanks ; and gave 
 to them, saying : Drink ye all of this. For this is My blood 
 of the new testament which shall be shed for many unto the 
 remission of sins."* 
 
 These words show a close connection with the ritual meal ; 
 Jesus "the celebrant" took bread, blessed, broke, and dis- 
 tributed, and we may assume that it was when these prescribed 
 ceremonies were performed, that Jesus raised them to the 
 dignity of a Sacrament. The Church teaches that when Jesus 
 blessed the bread, He consecrated it, and the miracle of 
 Transubstantiation was then for the first time performed — a 
 miracle which is repeated as often as a priest says Mass. 
 This is indeed " a mystery of faith " — none can understand 
 it, — nor is it necessary that we should. For the time of our 
 probation here on earth, we are content to worship our 
 Eucharistic Lord under the appearances of bread and wine, 
 and by so doing, we merit the special blessing promised to 
 those " that have not seen and have believed," 
 
 A year earlier, in His discourse at Capharnaum, Jesus had 
 promised to nourish men's souls with His Flesh and Blood. 
 He had said : " If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for 
 ever : and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of 
 the world. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood 
 hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 
 For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. "| 
 This was the " hard saying " which had staggered many and 
 led them to desert Christ ; this was the doctrine which Judas 
 appears to have rejected, since, even then, Jesus spoke of 
 him as being under the influence of Satan. All the Eleven 
 received their first Communion, and a still greater favour was 
 bestowed upon them — that of consecrating the bread and 
 wine. On this memorable Maundy Thursday, the Apostles 
 were raised to the dignity of the priesthood. This follows 
 from our Lord's command : " Do this for a commemoration 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. f St. John vi. 
 
INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 335 
 
 of Me." The present Greek imperative used in the original 
 imphes " do this constantly." 
 
 In these brief words of power, Jesus institutes the Christian 
 priesthood by which the Holy Mass will be celebrated in all 
 ages until the end of time. The power was given to the 
 Church of Christ — for the benefit of all her children — and not 
 merely to the Eleven. It is thus the Church interprets these 
 words of Jesus, and in virtue of them the Holy Mass has ever 
 been, and ever will be, her central act of worship. 
 
 Jesus gives Himself to His disciples under the appearances 
 of bread and wine, that He may nourish their souls, that they 
 may live by Him. His Blood " shaU be shed for many" — 
 that is, for all who will accept the blessing of Christ's Redemp- 
 tion. Potentially, it was shed for all, but all will not accept 
 the salvation offered by Christ. And it is the " blood of the 
 new testament." This is a reference to the blood with which 
 Moses sprinkled the Israelites, when, of old, God made a 
 covenant with His people. We read : " And he took the 
 blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said : This is 
 the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with 
 you."* As God's covenant with His people was sealed with 
 the blood of the victims, so Jesus seals the new testament 
 with His Blood. The old rites are to pass away — Judaism is 
 to give place to the Catholic Church. 
 
 " This is My Blood which shall be shed for many," and as 
 Jesus uttered these words, He looked down the vista of the 
 ages, and knew each one whom that Precious Blood would 
 benefit, for whom It would not be offered in vain. He knew 
 and was consoled by the " many " who would profit by His 
 Eucharistic Presence. He rejoiced, too, to have given His 
 Church the inestimable blessing of His constant Presence, 
 without depriving her of the merit of faith. As we meditate 
 on this wondrous mystery, our hearts should overflow with 
 love and gratitude, and spontaneously the words should rise 
 to our lips : "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift." 
 " Blessed and praised at every moment be Jesus in the most 
 Holy Sacrament of the Altar !" 
 
 Jesus has bequeathed Himself to His Apostles, and now 
 
 * Exod. xxiv. 
 
336 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 He takes a tender farewell of them : " Little children, yet a 
 little while I am with you. You shall seek Me ; and, as I 
 said to the Jews : whither I go, you cannot come, so now I 
 say to you." How Jesus loved His Apostles, His " little 
 children " whom He was about to leave ! He does not con- 
 ceal from them that they will be left alone, and in this solemn 
 moment of intimate intercourse with His own, He promul- 
 gates the fundamental law of charity anew : " I give you a 
 new commandment, that you may love one another ; as I 
 have loved you, that you may also love one another. By 
 this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have 
 love one for another." How far our charity must reach since 
 we are to love our neighbour as Christ has loved us ! It 
 means being ready to render any and every service, to forgive 
 every injury done to us, or, what is more difficult, to those we 
 love. It means, in many cases, exposing even our lives for 
 the good of others, for thus has our Master loved us. How 
 do we stand as regards the Divine virtue of charity ? Do we 
 strive to keep His first and greatest commandment ? If not, 
 wherein can we amend ? 
 
 But Simon Peter, who loves Jesus tenderly, has been struck 
 by the words about Christ's leaving His disciples, and he 
 therefore asks : *' Lord, whither goest Thou ? Jesus answers : 
 Whither I go thou canst not follow Me now ; but thou shalt 
 follow hereafter." Peter has evidently begun to realize that 
 Jesus is really to suffer ; the predictions of the Passion had 
 begun to bear their true meaning, so he asks : " Why cannot I 
 follow Thee now ? I will lay down my life for Thee." Un- 
 doubtedly St. Peter was sincere in his protestation, but he 
 did not know how much this would involve ; he miscalculated 
 and overestimated his strength. 
 
 " Jesus answered him : Wilt thou lay down thy life for 
 Me ? Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have 
 thee, that he may sift you as wheat ; but I have prayed for 
 thee, that thy faith fail not ; and thou being once converted, 
 confirm thy brethren." How sadly Jesus speaks 1 Judas 
 has but just gone forth to betray Him ; even now the traitor 
 is concluding his part of the contract, and within three or 
 four hours Peter will deny Him. Jesus calls Peter by his 
 
JESUS PREDICTS PETER'S DENIAL 337 
 
 old name, "Simon," perhaps to show that the natural, and 
 not the spiritual man has spoken in him. 
 
 *' Satan hath desired to have you." What a triumph it is 
 for the devil when he succeeds in snatching a lamb from the 
 One Fold ! Greater still is his Satanic joy when the sheep, 
 those who should be an example, who are high placed, fall 
 away. How much need we all have to pray lest the enemy of 
 God and man seduce us from the paths of virtue ! There is 
 not a single human being, whom Satan does not desire to have 
 — to sift as wheat. At times, his temptations are so strong 
 that all the powers of the soul seem to be in the throes of some 
 mighty upheaval. His sifting is violent, but, by the power of 
 God, who permits us to be tempted, it cannot overthrow us. 
 If we are humble^ if we energetically reject Satan's foul sug- 
 gestions, and resist manfully, then the sifting of Satan will 
 even be beneficial. It will separate the wheat from the chaff — 
 the precious from the vile — and teach us to know ourselves ; 
 to know our God. 
 
 The trial of our faith may also benefit our neighbours, for 
 none can succour the tempted effectually, who have never 
 themselves passed through the fiery ordeal. Peter converted, 
 did strengthen his brethren. True, his courage failed, but 
 not his faith, for Jesus could not offer a prayer in vain. Not 
 only for Peter, but for all His disciples has Jesus prayed. To 
 each He could say : " I have prayed for thee," since " He ever 
 liveth to make intercession for us "; His prayer ceaseth not, 
 and He knows so well what we need. Therefore let us unite 
 our petitions with those which He offers to His Heavenly 
 Father for us, and thus we shall be sure that we ask aright. 
 
 Peter has heard our Lord's solemn warning, but he does not 
 accept it. Conscious of his own good intentions, he re- 
 iterates his assertion : " Lord, I am ready to go with Thee 
 both into prison and to death." Now Jesus speaks still more 
 explicitly. He names the temptation, and foretells His 
 Apostle's denial : " Amen, amen, I say to thee, Peter, the 
 cock shall not crow this day till thou thrice deny Me." This 
 day — yes. Good Friday had already begun, for it was long 
 past sunset, and this was Jesus' last day. 
 
 But a short time remains before He will go forth to His 
 
 22 
 
338 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Agony, and our beloved Master, forgetful of Himself, pro- 
 ceeds to console His disciples against the trials that await 
 them. He sets before them three motives well fitted to 
 encourage them during His Passion : (i) He goes to prepare 
 a place for them ; therefore the separation is not to be final. 
 (2) He will come again and take them to Himself. (3) They 
 know whither He goes and how to follow Him — He is the 
 " way " or path. Here Thomas interrupts, saying : " Lord, 
 we know not whither Thou goest ; and how can we know the 
 way ?" Jesus explains, saying : " I am the Way, the Truth, 
 and the Life," and He shows that through Him, they can 
 attain to the knowledge of the Father. 
 
 Philip now sets forth his difficulty : " Lord, show us the 
 Father, and it is enough for us." To this request, Jesus replies 
 by explaining that in knowing and seeing Him, they have 
 known and seen the Father, by whose power Jesus has worked 
 so many signs. Our Lord promises that His disciples shall 
 perform even greater miracles, since God will grant them 
 their petitions, offered in the all-powerful Name of His Son. 
 He promises, too, that the Holy Ghost shall be given — " the 
 Paraclete " — who shall abide with them for ever and teach 
 them all things. 
 
 Then He bequeaths to His own the precious legacy of 
 peace : " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : 
 not as the world giveth do I give unto you. Let not your 
 heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." His words were no 
 mere empty desire ; they operated what they signified — at 
 that moment, peace inundated the souls of the Eleven. He 
 goes on to bid them rejoice, because He is about to go to the 
 Father : " If you loved Me, you would indeed be glad, because 
 I go to the Father ; for the Father is greater than 1." 
 
 Now the supper is over ; Jesus and the disciples leave the 
 Cenacle, or upper room. We do not know where the re- 
 mainder of the discourse nor the prayer to the Father were 
 pronounced. It is possible that they were spoken in a porch 
 or court of the house. As Jerusalem was crowded with 
 pilgrims, and the city gates were opened at midnight on the 
 first day of the Pasch, it is not likely that these solemn words 
 and prayer were said in the streets, and we know that Jesus 
 
JESUS PREDICTS PETER'S DENIAL 339 
 
 pronounced them before He and His disciples went out of the 
 city. 
 
 After Jesus and His Apostles had left the supper-room, He 
 continued His discourse. In the beautiful allegory of the 
 vine, He inculcated the necessity of the soul's possessing the 
 grace of God — its supernatural life. " He is the vine in His 
 humanity, in which the branches of the same nature are united 
 with Him. But it is from His Divinity the branches derive 
 the spiritual and life-giving influence that leads to eternal 
 life."* He then again inculcates the duty of brotherly love, 
 and sets before the Apostles His own love of men as a model— 
 a love which made Him freely lay down His life for " His 
 friends." He warns them that they must be prepared to bear 
 the brunt of the world's hatred, due to that which it ever bore 
 to their Master, and explains how His own mighty works 
 will be the cause of the world's condemnation. If He had 
 not done in them the works which no other man had done, 
 " they would not have sinned. "f He once more promises the 
 Paraclete, and bids them offer their prayers to the Father in 
 His own Name. 
 
 At the close of this sublime discourse (which the reader 
 will find in St. John's Gospel, chapters xiv. to xvi. inclusive) 
 His disciples said to Him : " Behold now Thou speakest 
 plainly. . . . Now we know that Thou knowest all things. . . . 
 By this we beheve that Thou comest forth from God." After 
 this profession of faith, Jesus, our High-Priest, offered His 
 sublime prayer to the Father. In it He prays for Himself 
 and also for His Apostles, whom the Father had given Him. 
 He prays, too, for all, who through their testimony should 
 believe in Him — for every member of the Catholic Church. 
 
 The prayer ended, they sang a hymn, and " Jesus, going out 
 with His disciples over the brook Cedron, went according to 
 His custom to the Mount of OUves."t For the second time 
 He refers to Peter's denial and the cowardice of the Apostles : 
 " Jesus saith to them : All of you shall be scandalized in Me 
 this night, for it is written : I will strike the Shepherd and 
 the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall 
 be risen, I will go before you into Galilee." 
 
 ♦MacEvilly, "Com. on St. John." f St. John xv. ; Ibid., xviii. 
 
340 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Peter, still sure of himself, again protests that he will be 
 faithful to his Divine Master : " And Peter answering, said 
 to Him : Though all men shall be scandalized in Thee, yet not 
 I ; I will never be scandalized. And Jesus said to him : 
 Amen I say to thee, to-day, even in this night, before the 
 cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice." Is the pre- 
 sumptuous Apostle now convinced of his weakness ? He has 
 just before said to his Master in union with the others : " We 
 know that Thou knowest all things." Does Peter not per- 
 ceive that this knowledge includes the future ? No, the 
 Apostle presumes to contradict his Master : "He spoke the 
 more vehemently : Although I should die together with Thee, 
 I will not deny Thee." Nor is Peter the only one who pre- 
 sumes on his own strength and ignores or underestimates the 
 force of temptation, for we read that the other Apostles join 
 in his protestations of fidelity : '' In like manner said all His 
 disciples.''' Three hours later and Jesus' " disciples leaving 
 Him, all fled away," offering a contrast between words and 
 deed, which has been renewed times without number in the 
 life-history of many a disciple — in my own. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord instituting the Holy 
 Eucharist and distributing the Bread of Life to His Apostles. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask that you may always hunger for the 
 Blessed Eucharist. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus gives HimseM to His Apostles to be the 
 life and the food of their souls. He gives them the power 
 of consecrating the sacred species, and reiterates the obliga- 
 tion of practising fraternal charity as a mark of discipleship. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus takes farewell of His Apostles. He 
 predicts for the first time that Peter will deny Him. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus continues to instruct His Apostles. He 
 prays for Himself, His disciples — present and future. He 
 predicts St. Peter's denial again. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship your Lord as He stands distributing 
 the Bread of Life. Ask Him ever to work His Will in your 
 soul when He visits you in Holy Communion. Abandon your- 
 self totally into His keeping. Thank Him for the precious 
 
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 341 
 
 gift of peace, and that He has prayed and still prays for you. 
 Ask for the graces to distrust yourself and rely solely upon 
 His strength. Beg Him to keep you from denying Him in 
 thought, word, or deed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 
 
 St. Matt. xxvi. ; St. Mark xiv. ; St. Luke xxii. 
 
 Let us continue to contemplate our Divine Redeemer as with 
 His eleven Apostles He goes to the Garden of Gethsemani. 
 It was past midnight when He went from the Cenacle. The 
 road lay past the houses of Annas and Caiphas, where, in a 
 few hours, Jesus would be brought bound as a criminal. 
 Probably they passed down the flights of steps that led to 
 Ophel, the poorest quarter of Jerusalem, and to the gate at 
 the south-east of the city. Thence the road led north-east, 
 until they came to the torrent of Cedron. A bridge spanned 
 this brook, and, close by, lay Gethsemani — " the olive-press.'* 
 This was His last walk as a free Man. He would be brought 
 in by that same gate as a captive a few hours later. 
 
 The Paschal moon lit up the landscape, and the city walls 
 and towering rocks cast their shadows, as Jesus went towards 
 the garden. This country house with its olive-press was well 
 known to Him, for He had often prayed in Gethsemani — His 
 favourite oratory. A part of the old farm still remains, and 
 eight ancient olive-trees still stand, which may have sprung 
 from the trunks of those that existed when Jesus suffered. 
 These actual trees could not have been there, for Josephus 
 asserts that during the siege Titus and Hadrian felled all 
 the trees within ninety stadia (furlongs) of Jerusalem. The 
 garden, as it now exists, is almost square, each side measuring 
 about 168 feet. The Grotto of the Agony stands a little back 
 to the left. The whole garden, now surrounded by a wall of 
 rough-hewn stones, is planted with rosemary and immortelles 
 (known as " Messias-blood "). 
 
 Jesus chose this garden as the place where He would com- 
 mence His Passion, and deliver Himself up to His foes. He 
 
342 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 did not will to be arrested in the Cenacle, for this would 
 have been a cause of trouble and sorrow to His host. Our 
 Lord lays special stress on the fact that He went voluntarily 
 to His death, and had He been taken in a house, it might have 
 seemed as though He were taken by surprise, and could not 
 avoid being arrested. Again, Jesus wished to strengthen His 
 soul by prayer, as He was ever wont to do on all solemn 
 occasions, and now He was preparing for the supreme conflict 
 with the powers of darkness, and the natural shrinking from 
 suffering inherent to our human nature. It was in a garden 
 that Adam, our common ancestor, yielded to Satan's sugges- 
 tion, and, therefore, in a garden, Jesus, the second Adam, 
 determined to expiate men's sins. 
 
 David, the type of Christ, had crossed that very same brook 
 when he fled from his rebellious son Absalom, " David went 
 up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, going up and weeping, 
 walking bare-foot, and with his head covered, and all the 
 people that were with them . . . went up weeping."* The 
 Royal Psalmist had been betrayed by his counsellor Achi- 
 tophel, the Gilonite, who, like Judas, committed suicide by 
 hanging himself. 
 
 This prophetic incident is now being accomplished as Jesus 
 sorrowfully goes to Gethsemani. Well may He be over- 
 whelmed with sadness, for the hour of supreme agony has 
 come. The Passion is begun, and while Judas makes pre- 
 parations in Jerusalem to bring about his Master's arresta- 
 tion, Jesus prepares by prayer to meet the betrayer, to go 
 to the judgment-hall, to endure the mockery and ribald jeers 
 of the soldiers and populace, the desertion of His disciples, the 
 false accusations of His bitter foes, the scourging and crowning 
 with thorns, the journey to Calvary, and the death of shame. 
 
 Yet, upborne by love of God and souls, our Emmanuel goes 
 to His death. How mingled are the sentiments which fill 
 His all-holy Soul ! He was glad that His hour had come ; it 
 was preferable to the long, long, weary years of waiting, the 
 suspense of dread anticipations. He was glad to accomplish 
 the work of redeeming mankind, to satisfy God's justice by 
 laying down His pure Soul as a ransom for man's iniquities, 
 
 ♦ 2 Kings XV. 
 
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 343 
 
 In the upper room He had chanted the Great Hallel with His 
 disciples, and these Psalms express the joy of Israel. How 
 we should have loved to have heard that chant led by the 
 Son of God ! " Praise ye the name of the Lord." " Praise 
 ye the Lord, for the Lord is good ; sing ye to His name, for 
 it is sweet."* How the words of Psalm cxxxvii. recall those 
 of our Saviour's Eucharistic prayer ! "I will praise Thee, 
 O Lord, ... for Thou hast heard the words of my mouth. 
 ... I will give glory to Thy name, for Thy mercy and Thy 
 truth ; for Thou hast magnified Thy holy name above all." 
 
 Other passages must have brought His sufferings vividly 
 before Him. Note the subjoined : " When men rose up 
 against us, perhaps they had swallowed us up alive. . . . 
 Our soul hath passed through a torrent . . . through a water 
 insupportable." Eager for His fiery baptism, and yet shrink- 
 ing unspeakably from it, Jesus reaches the garden. " They 
 came to a farm called Gethsemani, and He saith to His dis- 
 ciples, Sit you here till I go yonder and pray." These words 
 were addressed to eight of the Apostles only. Pilgrims to 
 Gethsemani are shown a flat stone, at a little distance from 
 the Grotto, as the place where these Apostles rested. As 
 Jesus " had not where to lay His head " during His public 
 life, and His disciples shared His privations, it is probable 
 that the Twelve had often slept in the open air, while their 
 Master kept His lonely vigils of prayer. As He spoke, He 
 pointed to the left in the direction of the Grotto, which was 
 *' yonder," plainly to be seen in the light of the full moon. 
 Then He said to them : " Pray, lest you enter into tempta- 
 tion." In the midst of His anguish He is mindful of their 
 needs. He knows the sore trial His Passion will be to them, 
 how their courage would fail before the test. Had they 
 struggled with their weariness, and watched with their Master, 
 they would have received strength to resist the Evil One. 
 
 Certainly the eight Apostles endeavoured to obey Christ's 
 command, but, wearied and sad, they were soon overcome by 
 slumber. The three Apostles — Peter, James, and John — 
 were privileged to enter the garden. A tradition points out 
 a spot to the right of the Grotto, and about " a stone's cast " 
 
 * Ps. cxxxiv. 
 
344 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 from it, as the place where these three remained. They were 
 close enough to hear our Lord's words, and to be witnesses 
 of His Agony. Before leaving them " He saith to them, My 
 soul is sorrowful, even unto death. Stay you here, and watch 
 with Me." 
 
 "Then going a little further," when " He was withdrawn 
 away from them a stone's cast, and kneeling down. He 
 prayed." It was the beginning of His interior Passion. It 
 was immeasurably more than an instinctive shrinking from 
 terrible pain and death. Satan, the prince of this world, 
 came once more to wrestle with Jesus, and, as the devil puts 
 forward his temptations with all his Satanic strength and 
 malice, we are told that Jesus suffered an assault which sur- 
 passed in violence all the myriad temptations which have 
 ever assailed any child of Adam. Jesus' sufferings in Geth- 
 semani were mental, purely internal, but so great was their 
 force that a miracle was needed to sustain His bodily life. 
 He was " sorrowful even unto death.'' 
 
 He began to grow sorrowful, to fear, and to he heavy. Repug- 
 nance, horror, aversion, apprehensions, all combined to over- 
 whelm the Soul of our Saviour. He allowed them to over- 
 whelm Him, although He could have prevented their onset. 
 All the passions of Jesus' Soul were absolutely subject to His 
 will. They came upon Him with this terrible strength because 
 for love of man, He called them to Him, and willed to feel their 
 power and bitterness. Jesus, our Surety, in His Agony, 
 humbled Himself. He consented to experience a dull, weary 
 tedium, a loathing of life, a state of stupor, and of intense 
 sadness, and desolation. 
 
 When He began His prayer He knelt, then as the conflict 
 increased He prostrated Himself, and finally He '' fell flat on 
 the ground." These different postures. His restlessness. His 
 frequent visits to His three Apostles, reveal that a terrible 
 struggle was going on in His all-holy Soul — an awful conflict 
 with the powers of evil. 
 
 What was the real cause of this interior Passion of Christ ? 
 None other than man's sin, which He had taken upon Himself. 
 Jesus was perfect Man, and His human will v/as in perfect 
 subjection to that of His Heavenly Father ; yet this union 
 
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 345 
 
 did not prevent His feeling an intense abhorrence for the 
 Passion of the morrow. Every detail of that day was present 
 to His mind, every humiliation, every bitterness, and He 
 knew, too, that for many — for those who would reject His 
 offers of mercy — His sufferings would be endured in vain. 
 
 The anger of the Father incurred by men smote the Son of 
 God, our Surety, as though He had indeed committed those 
 sins which He had taken upon Himself. All the awful crimes 
 of men — murders, lusts, blasphemies, rebellions, hatreds — 
 every sin that has ever been committed by a human being, 
 was imputed to our Saviour. He who " knew no sin was 
 made sin " for us. Our iniquities were laid upon Him one 
 by one — none were omitted — and they seemed like a wall of 
 separation between Him and His Father. There is no con- 
 ceivable form of mental anguish which Jesus did not undergo 
 during His Agony, for all pain — physical or mental — is the 
 punishment of sin, and our Saviour was bearing the sins of 
 the world. The Lamb of God took all men's iniquities upon 
 Himself. 
 
 In this. His hour of Agony, Jesus prays : " O My Father, 
 if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me." He refers to 
 His sufferings as a bitter potion which He must drain to the 
 dregs. He had previously spoken of His Passion as a chalice 
 to be drained : " The chalice which My Father hath given 
 Me, shall I not drink it ?"* This is the conditional part of 
 our Saviour's prayer, and His words may be a petition for a 
 less terrible death, or that the hour of His death may be 
 hastened, or that it may not come to pass through the agency 
 of man's sin. But, having uttered this prayer, He continues : 
 " Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." He submits 
 His human will to His Father's decree, in spite of His natural 
 shrinking from the Passion. 
 
 As the combat is prolonged, Jesus feels the need of human 
 sympathy. The Prophet Jeremias represents the suffering 
 Messias as exclaiming : " O all ye that pass by, attend, and 
 see if there be any sorrow like to My sorrow."! Yes ; Jesus 
 being truly man, longs for some consolation, and, seeking it, 
 " He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep, and 
 * St. John xviii. f Lam. i. 
 
346 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 He saith to Peter, What ! could you not watch with Me one 
 hour ? Watch ye, and pray, that ye enter not into tempta- 
 tion. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."* 
 Simon Peter is the one addressed, because he had so recently 
 vehemently affirmed his readiness to lay down his life for 
 Jesus. Yet he cannot ii)atch one hour with Him ! James and 
 John had also joined in the protestation of fidelity ; they 
 had, on another occasion, expressed their ability to drink of 
 His chalice, and Jesus finds all three sleeping. The three 
 favoured Apostles sleep, while their beloved Master, " with a 
 strong cry and tears/' was " offering up prayers and supplica- 
 tions to Him that Was able to save Him from death." How 
 are we to explain their slothf ulness, their lack of true service ? 
 As Jesus explained it, as we account for so many of our own 
 defections : the willing spirit is overcome by the weakness of 
 the flesh. 
 
 Jesus leaves them, and doubtless they make another effort 
 to watch and pray. ** Again He went the second time and 
 prayed." He repeats the same words. When men suffer 
 intensely, their words are few, and instinctively, they repeat 
 the same formula — a few pregnant words. Jesus' Agony 
 continues ; the deep waters of aifliction roll over His soul. 
 We may conjecture that the devil represented the inutility 
 of His sufferings — how men in their malice would trample 
 His Blood underfoot, and, in spite of His Redemption, out- 
 rage all the attributes of God. Perhaps, too, Satan taunted 
 Jesus with Judas' treacheiy, and the apparently insignificant 
 effects of His own life on earth. The sleeping Apostles would 
 furnish another theme for Satan's mockery. Even the eleven 
 could not watch one hour ! 
 
 Then, after a time, " Jesus cometh again and findeth them 
 asleep, for their eyes were heavy," and '* they knew not what 
 to answer Him." This is His second vain appeal for sym- 
 pathy. Truly, our Saviour treads the winepress alone — of 
 the people there are none with Him. The Angels hold aloof, 
 for so He wills it ; His Apostles sleep. " On the first visit to 
 His disciples Jesus reproved them ; on the second He held 
 His peace ; on the third He bid them rest."t 
 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. t St. Hilary. 
 
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 347 
 
 " They knew not what to answer Him," and this inability 
 to speak was due to several causes. Undoubtedly, they were 
 overcome by fatigue. Then, surely, they were awed by the 
 intense expression of suffering, which they saw on our Lord's 
 sacred features. His face looked like that of a man at the 
 point of death. Also grief and forebodings of evil had stupefied 
 them. They were dazed, like men who are barely aroused 
 from some terrible nightmare, and the consciousness of their 
 own cowardice would have rendered them speechless. 
 
 " Leaving them, He went away, and He prayed the third 
 time, saying the same words." His sadness increases. Twice 
 He has sought for some mark of sympathy from His Apostles, 
 and twice it has been denied Him. He prays the longer, just 
 because His Agony is so great. He does not renounce His 
 supplications ; He perseveres, in order that He may conquer 
 the natural dread of suffering and death. And as He prayed 
 " His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon 
 the ground." The majority of the Fathers take these words 
 literally. History teaches us that men in extreme anguish 
 have had a sweat of blood. This detail proves how intense 
 was our Lord's Agony. His whole frame was bedewed with 
 His Sacred Blood ; it streamed down His features, and trickled 
 to the ground. His face was deadly pale, He trembled in 
 every limb. His respiration was irregular and spasmodic. His 
 whole appearance was terrible to behold. With every trait 
 distorted by His supernatural combat with Satan, the words 
 of Isaias were in a measure fulfilled : " There is no beauty in 
 Him, nor comeliness ... no sightliness, that we should be 
 desirous of Him."* And this change has been wrought in 
 the most beautiful among the sons of men, by His resistance 
 of evil, even unto the shedding of blood. 
 
 And God heard His Son's trusting, submissive prayer, and 
 when the sweat of blood broke forth " there appeared to Him 
 an angel from heaven, strengthening Him." Jesus has 
 triumphed over Satan ; His prayer has obtained grace to 
 help in time of need. The chalice is not removed ; our Saviour 
 must drink it ; but His Father will uphold Him to the end. 
 It is thus that God generally answers our prayers. He does 
 
 * Isa. liii. 
 
348 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 not take away our cross, but He endues us with the strength 
 necessary to carry it. 
 
 For ** the third " and last time Jesus ** cometh to His dis- 
 ciples, and saith to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest." 
 Commentators are not unanimously agreed as to what these 
 words mean. Some take them as gentle irony, and the words, 
 as given by St. Mark, " Sleep ye now," seem to favour this 
 view. Others think that He permitted His Apostles to rest 
 awhile, and that when the tramp of the soldiers was heard 
 in the distance He awoke them, saying : " It is enough, the 
 hour is come ; behold, the Son of man shall be betrayed into 
 the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go. Behold, he that 
 will betray Me is at hand."* How majestic is our Saviour's 
 demeanour ! All trace of shrinking from suffering has dis- 
 appeared. His pallid features reflect the steadfast will to go 
 to Jerusalem ; He has His " battle face " again. The hour 
 of His overwhelming depression is past ; He is ready to enter 
 the lists, to go forth to meet His enemies. Such is the effect 
 of earnest, persevering prayer for Jesus ; such will it be for 
 His disciples in their hours of sorrow and prostration. Weak- 
 ness has given place to strength, and our Emmanuel can now 
 say : " The Lord is My Helper, therefore I am not confounded ; 
 therefore have I set My face as a most hard rock, and I know 
 that I shall not be confounded. "t 
 
 We have meditated on our Saviour's Agony in Gethsemani, 
 and have seen how voluntarily He suffered, since by an act of 
 His Will, He could have freed Himself from Satan's suggestions, 
 and the consideration of the heinousness of sin by allov/ing 
 His thoughts to rest on God. as the centre of the fullest happi- 
 ness. Instead of so doing, He consented to agonize in order 
 to expiate men's sins, and gave freely His Precious Blood as 
 a token of His infinite love. Jesus suffered humbly, begging 
 that He might be spared the chalice, and yet accepting it if 
 God so willed it. He suffered, too, generously, persevering to 
 the end, until an Angel came to strengthen Him. Not that 
 an Angel could do aught than set before Him the fruits of 
 His Passion — the spoils He would bear away, the millions of 
 souls whom He would rescue from Satan, If Satan taunted 
 * St. Mark xiv. t Isa. 1. 
 
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 349 
 
 Jesus with the number of the lost, we may conjecture that 
 the Angel brought to our Lord's remembrance all who should 
 be saved. 
 
 In Gethsemani, Jesus suffered and prayed. Herein He is 
 our Model, since He teaches us how to act when mental or 
 physical sorrows overtake or threaten us. We are not to mag- 
 nify our sorrows, to rebel when God sends afflictions, but we 
 must pray for strength to bear them bravely. We shall have 
 our hour in Gethsemani — at the hour of death, if not before. 
 When sadness, fear, loathing of pain and anguish invade our 
 inmost being and unnerve us, when Satan pursues us with 
 persistent and violent temptations, we can call to remem- 
 brance our Saviour's example, and ask Him by His Agony to 
 have compassion upon us. 
 
 Or when spiritual desolation inundates our soul like a 
 mighty flood, when God seems to have forsaken us, let us 
 remember the desolate prayer of Jesus, who, " being in an 
 Agony, prayed the longer." So often we do just the contrary 
 in our dark days — ^we either neglect prayer, or by giving way 
 to diffidence, we pray amiss. The two great lessons taught 
 us by our Divine Exemplar, in the Garden of Gethsemani, may 
 be summed up in His words addressed to His Apostles : 
 " Watch ye, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Saviour wrestling in prayer 
 in Gethsemani. See the two groups of Apostles ; they are all 
 asleep. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that in your temptations you may 
 watch and pray. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus enters the garden. He leaves eight 
 Apostles without, and takes Peter, James, and John to be 
 witnesses of His Agony. He bids them watch and pra}^ 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus prays apart. He kneels, then after- 
 wards falls flat on the ground. He is troubled, heavy, and 
 sad. He visits His Apostles, and finds them asleep. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus' Agony is prolonged. He continues 
 His prayer. He again visits His Apostles, and finds 
 them sleeping. He sweats blood. An Angel strengthens 
 
350 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Him. He awakens His Apostles, and prepares to meet 
 His foes. 
 
 Colloquy. — Thank our Lord for this beautiful lesson. Sym- 
 pathize with Him in His sufferings. Ask for the grace to 
 resist temptation promptly, generously, and perseveringly. 
 Pray for those who are tempted. Ask pardon for past acts 
 of cowardice and slothfulness. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE BETRAYAL OF OUR LORD 
 
 Jesus had just aroused His Apostles from their slumber, and 
 *'as He yet spoke, behold, Judas, one of the Twelve, came, 
 and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent 
 from the chief priests and ancients of the people."* St. Mark 
 adds " and the scribes," thus completing the three classes 
 which composed the Sanhedrin. St. John says the traitor 
 led "a band of men and servants." Some members of the 
 Sanhedrin were also present with this band, for this Evangelist 
 refers to our Lord having addressed " the chief priests " in 
 the Garden. Judas had been making His arrangements 
 while Jesus was enduring His Agony in Gethsemani. As our 
 Saviour arose strengthened from His earnest prayer, a noise 
 was heard in the distance of the tramp of men's feet and the 
 clanking of their weapons as "the great multitude " approached 
 the Garden. Jesus saw them coming along the road that 
 led from "the gate of the tribes" (St. Stephen's) and across 
 the slopes of Olivet to Gethsemani. Their torches gave but 
 a flickering faint light, for the full moon was shedding her 
 beams over the scene of the betrayal. The multitude was 
 relatively " great." Probably, all told, it comprised some 
 three or four hundred men, but this was a large number for 
 the arrestation of one man, whom the Jews knew to be un- 
 armed. From the Four Gospels, we learn the component parts 
 of this multitude. 
 
 It consisted of a detachment from the Roman garrison of 
 Antonia (situated at the north-western angle of the Temple, 
 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. 
 
THE BETRAYAL OF OUR LORD 351 
 
 and connected with it by two flights of steps). The tribune, 
 or chiharch, was in command of this detachment. It is not 
 probable that the whole cohort, consisting of 600 infantry 
 and 120 cavalry, was employed. The " magistrates of the 
 Temple " — i.e., the officers of the Temple guards — were also 
 present. They were not trained soldiers, but Levitical poHce 
 guards. The servants from the High-Priests may have been 
 slaves or hired servants ; they bore staves or cudgels. To 
 these we must add " some of the chief priests and the ancients," 
 and the rabble who, hearing the soldiers pass along, had 
 followed in the way. Such a gathering of men constituted 
 a large multitude when assembled in the precincts of the 
 Garden. Jews and Gentiles thus combined in arresting our 
 Saviour. 
 
 He is prepared for their coming ; they do not surprise Him. 
 Calmly and majestically Jesus goes forward to meet Judas, 
 who comes on ahead. The eleven Apostles, terrified and 
 dazed, retreat behind their Master. Jesus goes forward with 
 determined mien. Holman Hunt, in his picture of " Christ 
 leaving the Praetorium," has succeeded in depicting a won- 
 drous look of thrilhng and unearthly dignity on the counte- 
 nance of our Lord. What must have been the reality, as He 
 went forth strong in the consciousness of His Divine Mission, 
 now about to be realized I Those features " set firm as a 
 rock," could not but subdue and restrain men, until He per- 
 mitted them to do their will. Moreover, many of those who 
 had come out to take Jesus of Nazareth, knew of His mighty 
 deeds, and therefore feared Him — nay, they may even in the 
 depths of their souls have revered Him. They were sent to 
 take Him — the guilt fell on Judas and the Sanhedrin. 
 
 The traitor " went before " the band ; he " drew near to 
 Jesus " and kissed Him repeatedly and effusively. Our 
 Lord submitted to this indignity ; it was the sign by which 
 Judas had agreed to betray Him. The traitor had said to 
 the guards : " Whomsoever I shall kiss, this is He : hold Him 
 fast."* And St. Mark continues : " Lead Him away cau- 
 tiously."! Judas saluted our Lord as the Apostles were wont 
 to do, saying : " Hail, Rabbi !" The traitor had given the 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. t St. Mark xiv. 
 
352 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 soldiers a sign, because many of them did not know Jesus, 
 for at the Paschal time, extra men were sent from Caesarea 
 to Jerusalem, in order to prevent any riots from arising. 
 Also, it was night when Jesus was arrested, and, under the 
 shadow of the trees or in the darkness of the cave, those who 
 had previously seen Him, might not have recognized Him. 
 They thought to surprise our Lord by coming upon Him, 
 perhaps, when He was asleep. They did not expect Him to 
 come forward and deliver Himself into their hands. 
 
 Judas would have told them how often Jesus had evaded 
 His enemies ; how He had passed through them at Nazareth, 
 when they sought to cast Him down from the brow of the 
 hill ; how He had twice defeated the attempts of the Jews 
 to stone Him. It was thus that Judas justified his advice : 
 " Hold Him fast," " lead Him cautiously." 
 
 The traitor has come forward and given the sign ; perhaps 
 he desires to conceal his treachery from the other Apostles, 
 for they might avenge their Master. Jesus, even at this 
 hour, speaks kindly to the faUen Apostle : " Friend, whereto 
 art thou come ? Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man 
 with a kiss ?" Our Lord rebukes Judas, and the rebuke is 
 also an appeal to his conscience. But Satan has entered into 
 Judas, who, having fulfilled his compact, steps back among 
 the ranks of Christ's foes. 
 
 " Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that were to come 
 upon Him, went forward." He goes calmly to give up His 
 freedom, His honour, and His life. He goes forward to show 
 that He delivers Himself voluntarily. Standing before them. 
 He asks : " Whom seek ye ? They answered Him : Jesus of 
 Nazareth. Jesus saith to them : I am He. And Judas also 
 who betrayed Him, stood with them. As soon then as He 
 said to them : I am He, they went backward and fell to the 
 ground." We cannot say whether this was a supernatural 
 act, or whether it was due to the sublime force of His awe- 
 inspiring Personality. In any case, it proved to His captors 
 how powerless all their machinations were against Him, at 
 whose word, as though struck down by lightning, they had 
 fallen prostrate. There is a clatter of armour and weapons 
 as this multitude of men fall backwards, then a moment of 
 
THE BETRAYAL OF OUR LORD 353 
 
 silence. What must have been their feelings as they lay 
 prostrate ? What were Judas' thoughts ? For the time being 
 Jesus stood there — a Conqueror gazing at His helpless foes. 
 
 The lesson has been given ; now He allows them to rise, 
 and we may feel sure that the humiliation of their fall has 
 aroused their anger and vengeance. Once more the multitude 
 stand before Him ; He has permitted them to rise, and again 
 " He asked them : Whom seek ye ? And they said : Jesus of 
 Nazareth. Jesus answered : I have told you that I am He ; 
 if therefore you seek Me, let these go their way ;" and as He 
 speaks, we can see Him pointing to the eleven, who stand 
 trembling behind Him. 
 
 At this moment, they seem to remember their protestations ; 
 they fear for their Master, and still more for themselves. 
 Therefore " seeing what would follow," knowing their Master 
 was about to be taken prisoner, they venture a question, 
 which shows their good-will, faint though it is : " Lord, shall 
 we strike with the sword ?" and Simon Peter, ever impetuous, 
 without waiting for an answer, " drew out his sword, and, 
 striking the servant of the High-Priest, cut off his right ear." 
 
 This was a critical moment, for if the soldiers feared Christ, 
 they did not fear Peter and the other Apostles ; instantly 
 they would have drawn their swords and cut him down, in 
 order to avenge Malchus, had not Jesus diverted their atten- 
 tion from this incident. Therefore " Jesus, answering, said : 
 Suffer ye thus far. Then Jesus said to Peter : Put up thy 
 sword into the scabbard. For all that take the sword shall 
 perish by the sword. Thinkest thou not that I cannot ask 
 My Father, and He will give Me presently more than twelve 
 legions of angels. How, then, shall the Scriptures be fulfilled 
 that so it must be done ?" 
 
 And now Jesus' thoughts revert to His prayer in Geth- 
 semani, and He continues : " The chalice which My Father 
 hath given Me, shall I not drink it ?" He sees through the 
 human and Satanic agents, and accepts the chahce from His 
 Father's hands. The Father could give twelve legions of 
 Angels, and these blessed spirits — nay, one even — would be 
 powerful enough to defeat any number of men, but their aid 
 was not to be invoked now. Twice Angels have strengthened 
 
 23 
 
354 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Jesus, but God does not will that their intervention should 
 be employed in this crisis. Jesus must drink of the chalice. 
 Having rebuked His Apostles, He now delivers Peter from 
 the consequences of his imprudence, by touching and healing 
 Malchus' ear. 
 
 Our Lord then once more drew the attention of His foes to 
 Himself by saying " to the multitudes and to the chief priests 
 and magistrates of the Temple and the ancients : You are 
 come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to appre- 
 hend Me. When I was daily with you in the Temple, you 
 did not stretch forth your hands against Me, but this is your 
 hour and the powers of darkness." 
 
 In these words, our blessed Lord gives Himself up into their 
 hands. The bands of armed men, closing around Him, all 
 surround the Divine Prisoner — the band, the tribune ^ and 
 the guards — they hold Him fast, they bind Him and lead Him 
 to the house of the High-Priest. 
 
 He has ordered His captors to restrain from molesting His 
 disciples, but for Himself He makes no stipulation. '* Let 
 these go " — ^such is His behest, and it is obeyed. The 
 disciples leaving Him, fled away — not one remained. They 
 hid themselves behind the trees and rocks, and hurried to 
 insure their personal safety, each one for himself. We cannot 
 justify their cowardice ; we should have liked to know that 
 the chosen three, at least, had stood by their Master ; but it 
 was God's permissive Will that they should take flight, leaving 
 Jesus to tread the wine-press alone. 
 
 In after-years, they will be ready to die for their Master, 
 but now their faith is too feeble ; moreover, Jesus has work 
 for them to do in the world. Had they been taken, they 
 could hardly have escaped death, and, seeing their frailty, it 
 is probable that, had the eleven been taken prisoners, they 
 would all have denied Christ. 
 
 St. John notes that Jesus delivered His own from danger, 
 " that the word might be fulfilled, which He said : Of them 
 whom Thou hast given Me, I have not lost any one." These 
 words St. John seems to take in two senses — of bodily safety 
 and of spiritual security — and, in their case, the former involved 
 the latter. 
 
■ - THE BETRAYAL OF OUR LORD 355 
 
 One little incident closes this first act in the awful tragedy 
 of Christ's Passion. One disciple at least attempted to follow 
 our Lord, and the event proves how quickly the Apostles 
 had disappeared. " A certain young man followed him, 
 having a linen cloth cast about his naked body, and they laid 
 hold of him. But he, casting off the linen cloth, fled from 
 them naked." Tradition gives John Mark, the Evangelist, 
 as the young man in question. 
 
 Meanwhile, Jesus, bound, is being led back to Jerusalem. 
 After the Agony and sweat of blood He is terribly exhausted ; 
 so weak that He can scarcely walk. His cruel captors, re- 
 joicing at having secured their prey, hurry back to the city. 
 The Jewish guards and the Roman soldiers lead Him in haste, 
 in their desire to deliver Him up safely to the High-Priest 
 before the people are astir in the city. Perhaps, too, they still 
 fear lest He should escape from them by using His super- 
 natural powers, and they most certainly apprehend the inter- 
 vention of the people on His behalf. The procession passes 
 along the eastern bank of the torrent of Cedron (according to 
 a local and probable tradition), crosses the brook near 
 Absalom's pillar, enters the city at its lowest point by the 
 dung-gate, in the ravine of Tyropoeon, whence flights of 
 steps cut in the rock lead up to Mount Zion, on the slopes of 
 which the palace of the High-Priest has stood ever since the 
 days of Esdras. 
 
 Jesus is bound ! The Divine Hands that worked such count- 
 less miracles of mercy are fettered. His garments are disarranged 
 by the rough treatment of the soldiers ; they are stained with 
 the Precious Blood shed during His Agony. Thus, in the 
 early morning hours, Jesus passes through the steep narrow 
 streets of the Holy City — so dear to Him, although doomed 
 to destruction. He conceals His Divinity, He hides even 
 the comehness of His Humanity, having begun to drink the 
 cup of humiliations and torments — the prey of men and 
 devils, for it is now their hour. 
 
 He enters Jerusalem a captive ; He will leave it by the 
 north-western gate in a few hours, laden with His Cross. 
 Some passers-by swell the noisy throng, and, in the distance, 
 two men creep furtively along ; shrinking back into the 
 
356 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 shadows, they evidently wish to escape observation. They 
 know one another well, and yet they remain apart, as a 
 measure of prudence. Yes, Peter and John still follow, but 
 their fears for their own safety keep them " afar off." They 
 love their Master too much to leave Him entirely to His fate, 
 without troubling themselves about Him ; they love Him too 
 little to stand by Him and share His ignominy. How many 
 imitators these weak Apostles have had in all ages ! What 
 multitudes, who do profess to follow Jesus, are only willing 
 to do so " afar off," fearing to compromise their personal 
 interests ! 
 
 Now the band reaches the palace of Caiphas. He and 
 his father-in-law Annas have been keeping an unholy vigil 
 in the hopes of realizing their evil projects. They have suc- 
 ceeded this time. Hark I the soldiers are near ! Have they 
 secured the seducer ? Yes, the men-servants run on to give 
 the good news. Jesus is taken ; the soldiers are holding Him 
 securely, and while the news is being given, the Divine Captive 
 is brought before Annas. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord, as He goes forth to 
 meet His foes. His Apostles, trembling and stupefied, stand 
 behind Him. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the gi:ace to accept whatever 
 chalice the Father may give you to drink. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus, hearing His enemies approach, goes to 
 meet them. Judas comes up and kisses Christ, who rebukes 
 him gently. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus addresses His foes. He declares that 
 He is the One they seek. They fall to the ground. 
 
 Third Point. — Peter cuts ofi[ Malchus' ear. Jesus rebukes 
 Peter and heals Malchus. Our Lord reproaches the High- 
 Priests. The disciples take flight, and He is bound and led 
 to Annas and Caiphas. 
 
 Colloquy. — Adore our Lord as He goes to meet the soldiers. 
 Ask Him to give you courage to face your daily difficulties. 
 Beg Him to keep you from deserting Him. Ask that you may 
 ever seek Jesus of Nazareth, that you may live for Him, and 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 357 
 
 be willing to give up all for His sake. Pray that your piety 
 may be real, and not merely emotional. Thank our Lord for 
 thus going to His death for love of you. Promise Him to be 
 wholly His in life and death. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS: (i) THE INFORMAL 
 INTERROGATION; {2) THE FORMAL TRIAL 
 
 Jesus, the Divine Prisoner, was brought " before Annas 
 first." This ex-High-Priest wielded great power in Jerusalem. 
 Although the ofhce of supreme pontiff of Israel was originally 
 held for life, yet under the Herods, High-Priests were fre- 
 quently displaced. Annas held the office for about nine years 
 (a.d. 6 to circa 15). His son Eleazar became High-Priest in 
 A.D. 16, and his son-in-law Caiphas in A.D. 18. Two sons of 
 Annas followed Caiphas in succession. The fact that so 
 many of Annas' family held the highest spiritual power in 
 Israel proves how influential he was in Jerusalem, where he 
 seems to have been the real authority. He was a cunning 
 intriguer, feared and hated by the Jews, but in favour with 
 the Court party. He was a man of wealth and the leader of 
 the Sadducees. Jesus, therefore, was " led away to Annas 
 first,"* and, at this moment, we may conclude that the 
 Roman cohort was dismissed. We are not told what hap- 
 pened in the house of Annas, t 
 
 According to a local tradition, the house of Annas adjoined 
 that of Caiphas, being separated from it only by a large inner 
 quadrangle or court. Both these palatial residences stood 
 
 * St. John xviii. 
 
 t Commentators are generally agreed that St. John's account of the 
 informal examination " in the house of the High-Priest " is identical 
 with that related by the Synoptists, as having taken place before 
 Caiphas. These writers understand St. John's word: "Annas sent 
 him bound to Caiphas " as tantamount to " had sent " (the plu- 
 perfect). St. John's Greek constructions fully justify this interpreta- 
 tion. This meditation is based on the supposition that the four 
 Evangelists all relate the informal trial before Caiphas, which took 
 place immediately after our Lord's arrestation. 
 
358 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 on Mount Zion, south-west of Jerusalem, and about 400 feet 
 from the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, in 
 which Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 Jesus was conducted at once before the spiritual rulers, 
 because it was they who had plotted to arrest and kill Him, 
 and, further, as He was accused of teaching false doctrine, 
 the task of judging the case fell within their jurisdiction. 
 Annas, not being the High-Priest at that time, had no legal 
 right to try Christ ; therefore^ having received the Divine 
 Prisoner and dismissed the Roman soldiers, this ex-High- 
 Priest sent Jesus bound to Caiphas. 
 
 Eastern dwellings are built on much the same plan as many 
 continental houses, which look on to an inner court. A large 
 gateway gives entrance to a porter's lodge, with a small court- 
 yard ; beyond this the large inner court opens out, and the 
 buildings form a hollow square, the centre being open to the 
 air. Covered cloisters give access from one side of the house 
 to another. If the house of Annas stood facing that of 
 Caiphas, then, in crossing from the one to the other, Jesus 
 would have had to pass the gateway, which looked on to the 
 smaller court of entrance, where Peter sat with the servants 
 of the High-Priest. It is possible that the inner court stood 
 considerably higher than the porter's court, since the palaces 
 were built on the side of a steep hill. St. Mark expressly 
 says that " Peter was in the court below.*' This explains how 
 " Jesus turning " could have " looked upon Peter." 
 
 This informal examination of our Lord probably took place 
 between two and three in the morning of Good Friday, in 
 presence of the High-Priest Caiphas and a few members of 
 the Sanhedrin. Twenty -three Sanhedrists constituted a 
 " quorum." At this early hour, a full court could not have 
 been present. Caiphas was the avowed enemy of Jesus ; it 
 was he " who had given counsel to the Jews that it was ex- 
 pedient that one man should die for the people."* He was a 
 bold, unscrupulous man, who judged that the judicial murder 
 of the Galilean Prophet was a political necessity, and therefore 
 justifiable. 
 This cynical, calculating High-Priest " asked Jesus of His 
 
 * St. John xviii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 359 
 
 disciples and of His doctrine," in order to lead our Lord to 
 incriminate either His disciples or Himself. Caiphas would 
 have been glad of any pretext for accusing Christ of having 
 gathered a band of followers, in view of stirring up a sedition 
 in the city. The question concerning our Lord's disciples 
 shows that they would have been arrested, had they not taken 
 flight. Jesus declined to make any reply concerning His 
 " little flock." He had bidden the soldiers let them go in 
 Gethsemani, and was determined that they should not fall 
 into the hands of His enemies. The Divine Prisoner watched 
 lovingly over His own, as He ever does. 
 
 As regards His doctrine, Jesus declines to give any infor- 
 mation. He replies with calm dignity : "I have spoken 
 openly to the world, I have always taught in the synagogue, 
 and in the Temple, whither all the Jews resort, and in private 
 I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou Me ? Ask them 
 who have heard what I have spoken to them ; behold, they 
 know what things I have said." Our Lord in these words 
 recognizes the jurisdiction of the High-Priest, but at the same 
 time refuses to make any statement of His doctrine, and refers 
 Caiphas to those who heard Him speak in the Temple. 
 
 Caiphas had failed to elicit the answer he desired — one 
 which would serve as a pretext for an accusation, and doubt- 
 less his features betrayed anger and confusion. Seeing this, 
 and hoping to curry favour with the High-Priest, " one of the 
 officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying : Answerest 
 Thou the High-Priest so ?" The text does not say whether 
 the blow was given with the hand or with a rod. What a 
 terrible indignity was offered to Christ in the presence of His 
 judge, who probably applauded the vile action ! Better for 
 that man would it have been had his hand withered before he 
 struck that blow ! It was a violent blow, given in anger, and 
 Jesus must have staggered under it, and we may conjecture 
 that the Precious Blood flowed. His enemies rejoiced to see 
 Him suffer this humiliation ; it gratified their bitter hatred. 
 Jesus, ever patient and humble, repudiates the officer's 
 accusation of disrespect to the High-Priest : "If I have 
 spoken ill, give testimony of the evil, but if well, why strikest 
 thou Me ?" 
 
36o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Caiphas* next step was to seek for witnesses, and we read : 
 " The chief priests and the whole council sought false witness 
 against Jesus, that they might put Him to death."* Nothing 
 short of His death would satisfy them, and these spiritual 
 rulers deliberately " sought false witness." And " they found 
 not " — i.e., they could not find among " the many false wit- 
 nesses " that " had come in " any grounds of condem- 
 nation. Their evidence did not agree, and, by the Mosaic 
 Law, they could not condemn on the evidence of one witness, 
 for it was written : " By the mouth of two or three witnesses 
 shall he die that is to be slain. Let no man be put to death 
 when only one beareth witness against him."t But " last 
 of all," when there seemed no possibility of framing an accu- 
 sation, on account of the discrepancies of the false witnesses, 
 "there came two false witnesses " — men who had doubtless 
 agreed to bring the same lying accusation against Jesus, and 
 one all the more diabolical, inasmuch as it referred to words 
 which Jesus had uttered, but which they misrepresented — 
 it was distorted truth. 
 
 These came forward in turn, saying : " This man said " 
 (literally, " This fellow said ") " I am able to destroy the 
 temple of God, and after three days to rebuild it." They 
 charged Jesus with blasphemy against the Temple, and any 
 words spoken against the Temple were considered as heinous 
 an offence as speaking injuriously of God. What Jesus had 
 said three years previously was : " Destroy this temple, and 
 in three days I will raise it up . . . He spoke of the temple of 
 His body."! From St. Mark's account we find that the wit- 
 nesses added, " not made with hands.'' Hence these perjurers 
 misquoted and misinterpreted Christ's words. None who had 
 recently heard Jesus speak in the Temple came forward to 
 accuse Him, as far as we know. He had then so effectually 
 silenced them, that they feared to recall these instructions. 
 Now at least the High-Priest could frame some definite 
 charge, either of speaking against the Temple or of claiming 
 magical power — i.e., of raising a Temple without hands. But 
 even these two witnesses " did not agree " in every detail. 
 
 Caiphas now " stood forward." Bad as he was, he had to 
 * St. Matt. xxvi. t Deut. xvii. % St. John ii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 361 
 
 keep to the forms of justice ; he dared not give his true 
 reasons — hatred and jealousy — for condemning our Lord. 
 Once more the judge endeavoured to make his Divine Prisoner 
 incriminate Himself. Therefore he said to Him : " Answerest 
 Thou nothing to the things which these witness against 
 Thee ? But Jesus held His peace." " As a deaf man, He 
 heard not, and as a dumb man not opening His mouth."* 
 Jesus, the Infinite Wisdom, " held His peace." The witnesses 
 contradicted themselves, as all present heard ; moreover, any 
 words which He might have said would have been mis- 
 construed. His silence is far more eloquent than words, 
 for it makes His judges realize their humiliating position. 
 Caiphas rushes forward ; he loses his temper, and strives to brow- 
 beat the Prophet of Galilee, and thus he sacrifices his dignity 
 as a judge, while Jesus, bound, stands before the unworthy 
 High-Priest, with calm majesty and absolute self-possession. 
 
 Once more Caiphas speaks, and this time he resorts to the 
 expedient of putting Jesus upon His oath. In order to arrive 
 at the truth, a Jewish judge was allowed to do this, and the 
 prisoner was bound to reply when thus summoned by a 
 solemn adjuration. " The High-Priest said to Him : I adjure 
 Thee, by the living God, that Thou tell us if Thou be the 
 Christ, the Son of God." The question was so put that a 
 negative reply would have given them ground for accusing 
 Him of being an impostor, and an affirmative answer would, 
 in their opinion, lay Him open to a charge of blasphemy. 
 
 Jesus knows this, and He answers plainly ; He gives no 
 ambiguous reply. He speaks calmly and emphatically, 
 although He well knows that the plain statement of His 
 Messianic claims will be equivalent to pronouncing His own 
 condemnation to the Cross. But this condemnation He had 
 already passed on Himself, when He undertook to redeem 
 mankind. Well knowing the consequences of His answer — 
 nay, glad to draw it down upon Himself in His love for 
 souls — Jesus replies to Caiphas: "Thou hast said it " (or, as 
 St. Mark gives it, " / am "). " And you shall see the Son of 
 man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and 
 coming with the clouds of heaven." He gives a fuller answer 
 
 * Ps. xxxvii. 
 
362 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 than His judges expected, and tells them plainly that He, 
 who now stands fettered before them, bearing on His sacred 
 face the mark of the blow so recently received, will one day 
 be their Judge, and that His judgment-seat will be " the 
 clouds of heaven " when He comes in the power of God. 
 
 The wily Caiphas has gained his object ; Jesus has spoken, 
 as he deems, words of blasphemy in the hearing of all. Looking 
 round at his colleagues with indignation, the High-Priest, 
 " rending his garments, saith : What need we any further 
 witnesses ? You have heard the blasphemy. What think 
 you ?"* They said : " He is guilty of death."t The High- 
 Priest rent his garments standing — both the inner and the 
 outer — and as they were rent because a (supposed) blasphemy 
 had been uttered, these garments might never be mended. 
 This judge becomes the accuser, and having appealed to those 
 present, the Prisoner is acclaimed worthy of death, for this 
 was an informal gathering, preliminary to the one in which 
 a formal vote would be taken. 
 
 The mock trial was over. The chief priests were well content 
 with the result, for Jesus was now in their power, and they 
 could wreak their vengeance on Him for all His previous 
 triumphs. Satan urges them on to do their worst to the 
 Lamb of God who has delivered Himself into their hands. 
 Contemplate Him as, fettered, exhausted, and bruised, He 
 stands before His captors, like a lamb before a pack of ravening 
 wolves. He wills to undergo the awful humiliations which 
 are about to follow. It is one of the darkest of the dark hours 
 of the Passion ; long since He has foreseen the awful details, 
 and He is ready to endure them. The sacred writers thus 
 describe the scene which followed our Lord's assertion of His 
 Divine Sonship : 
 
 ** The men that held Him, mocked Him, and struck Him. 
 Then did they spit in His face and buffeted Him, and others 
 struck His face with the palms of their hands." "Some 
 began to spit upon Him and to cover His face, and to say to 
 Him : Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who is he that struck Thee, 
 and blaspheming, many other things they said against Him."t 
 
 * St. Mark xiv. t St. Matt. xxvi. 
 
 X St. Matt. xxvi. ; St. Mark xiv. ; St Luke xxii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 363 
 
 Who can fathom the unutterable sufferings of Jesus during 
 the time that He was the sport of His cruel gaolers ? He was 
 exhausted by the sweat of blood in Gethsemani. He had 
 had neither food nor drink since the Paschal Supper. During 
 this first of the three times that Jesus was mocked no in- 
 dignity was spared Him. The ribald soldiers with their foul 
 jests and brutal deeds, outvied one another. Peals of coarse 
 laughter rang through the hall or court. Each tried to invent 
 some fresh torment. 
 
 Our Saviour's sacred face is covered with spittle ; He 
 is blindfolded, and blow upon blow rains upon Him. Even 
 against an ordinary criminal, it would have been a most 
 brutal, crying injustice ; but Jesus is the innocent Lamb of 
 God, the One who has ever done good to all men, and it is 
 by these awful torments, that He expiates men's foul crimes. 
 These Jews, who would not have dared to defile the threshold 
 of the Temple with spittle, spit in the face of Christ the 
 Messias ; they mock at His Messianic claims and blindfold 
 His sacred eyes. Think of Him glorified on Mount Thabor 
 or in Heaven. What a contrast ! Where, then, are the legions 
 of Angels ? Close at hand ; but their Master will not suffer 
 them to intervene. He needs not their aid — He loves His 
 own " unto the end," and this infinite love explains all. For 
 love of God His Father and of souls, Jesus takes up the chalice 
 of suffering, and He will not put it down^ until He has drained 
 it to the dregs. 
 
 " Many other things they said against him." What 
 diabolical insults this sentence covers, of which the details 
 are known only to Him who suffered them ! When this fiery 
 ordeal was over, and the captors had done their worst, 
 (encouraged, probably, by the Sanhedrists), it is said that our 
 Lord was thrust into a narrow cell, bound to a staple in the 
 wall, so that He could neither sit down nor stand upright. 
 Here He passed the rest of the long weary night — but a few 
 more hours, and He would be " lifted up." The Redemption 
 would be accomplished. This thought sustained our Lord 
 when in the hands of His pitiless tormentors and in that 
 narrow, lonely cell. 
 Meanwhile, His enemies have concluded their preparations ; 
 
364 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 the formal meeting of the Sanhedrin has been convened, and, 
 as the day breaks — the last one for Jesus — a clanking of 
 weapons and the tramp of feet are heard. It is the Temple 
 guards — those brutal men who had so insulted Jesus — ^who 
 now come to lead Him before the Sanhedrin to receive His 
 formal condemnation, for this has already been pronounced 
 by the iniquitous judges. 
 
 A few words now may be useful on the procedure of a trial 
 before the Sanhedrin and the irregularities committed in the 
 case of our blessed Lord. It is doubtful where trials were 
 usually conducted, but our Lord's formal trial took place in 
 the palace of the High-Priest. When sitting in judgment 
 as a court, the Sanhedrists sat in a semicircle. In front were 
 three rows of disciples, the youngest occupying the third 
 row. Each had his place assigned to him, and these disciples 
 were promoted gradually from the third to the first row as 
 vacancies occurred. There were seventy-one members of the 
 Sanhedrin, including the president and the vice-president. 
 Originally, it could inflict capital punishment, but in our 
 Lord's time this power had been taken from it. 
 
 The accused were obliged to appear in garments of mourn- 
 ing, and to stand humbly in the midst of their judges. In 
 capital trials the accused had everything in his favour ; those 
 who spoke for him were heard first. No witness who had 
 been on his side might be heard as an accuser. Even the 
 disciples present might plead for him. If the Sanhedrin gave 
 a favourable sentence, it might be pronounced on the day 
 of the trial ; if unfavourable, it had to be reserved for the 
 following day. In order not to be influenced by their seniors, 
 the juniors voted first. For an acquittal, a majority of one 
 sufficed ; for a condemnation, a majority of two was exacted. 
 A clerk stood on either side, one recording the votes for, the other 
 those against, the accused. These rules for conducting trials 
 were laid down by the Pharisees. The Sadducees did not 
 observe them, and in consequence their judgments were 
 greatly feared by the people. Their severity won for them 
 the unenviable name of " the condemning judges." 
 
 The judges, who enacted the farce of trying our Lord, con- 
 stituted an assembly in which hatred, passion, precipitation, 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 365 
 
 injustice, and hypocrisy reigned supreme ; hence we cannot 
 wonder that they contravened flagrantly all their own regu- 
 lations concerning capital trials. (" Even Jost, the Jewish 
 historian, speaks of our Lord's death as a murder.") When 
 Caiphas tried Jesus, the witnesses against our Lord spoke first, 
 and none were called to speak for Him. The sentence of 
 condemnation was pronounced on the same day as the trial. 
 The High-Priest assumed that Jesus was guilty, instead of 
 allowing His guilt or innocence to be decided by vote. The 
 witnesses disagreed in their evidence, and the judges did not 
 distinguish between an imjiist claim and a just claim ; for if 
 Christ claimed to be the Messias, He substantiated His claim 
 by His mighty works. Thus, from start to finish, the judicial 
 proceedings before the Sanhedrin were marked by flagrant 
 injustice. The sentence was the outcome of men's passion 
 and diabolical agency, and God allowed that these evils should 
 bring about the condemnation of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and 
 thus, too, the prophecies concerning the sufferings of the 
 Messias were unwittingly accomplished by men's instru- 
 mentality. 
 
 Jesus stood once more before Caiphas. This time the 
 regular formalities were observed. Probably Jesus was un- 
 bound during the interrogation, though officers with thongs 
 and fetters stood beside Him. 
 
 The four Evangelists record the scene, which may be 
 harmonized thus : '* Straightway in the morning, as soon as 
 it was day, the ancients of the people and the chief priests 
 and the whole council came together and held a council 
 against Jesus, to put Him to death. And they brought Him 
 into their council, saying : If Thou be the Christ, tell us."* 
 
 Contemplate our dear Lord as He stands before His judges. 
 How pallid He is, how disfigured with blood, dirt, and spittle ! 
 See the marks of the thongs on those hands, that have healed 
 the sick and given sight to the blind. How we pity Him. 
 and wish we could have given Him some little consolation ! Is 
 it too late ? In a sense. No, for we can adore Him in spirit, 
 and our act of love will be some little recognition of our grati- 
 tude, for He stood there as a Criminal for all men — for me, 
 
 * St. Matt, xxvii. ; St. Mark xv. ; St. Luke xxii. ; St. John xviii. 
 
366 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 The question put is the one which Caiphas had previously 
 asked, and our Lord again gives an answer in the affirmative, 
 and at the same time shows that He knows their evil inten- 
 tions : " If I shall tell you, you will not believe Me. If I also 
 shall ask you, you will not let Me go. But hereafter the Son 
 of man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power of God. 
 Then said they all : Art Thou then the Son of God ? Who 
 said : You say that I am." This last sentence was equivalent 
 to the words " I am the Son of God," and our Lord's judges 
 so understand it, for they then reply: "What need we any 
 further testimony ? For we ourselves have heard it from 
 His own mouth." 
 
 The Jewish judges have condemned their Messias ; how does 
 He accept their verdict ? As the decree of God. In all that 
 befalls Him, He sees the accomplishment of His Father's 
 Will ; He accepts the bitter potion from His hands. Jesus 
 is willing to die for the glory of God and for our salvation. 
 He rejoices to lay down His life for His sheep. In His holy 
 soul there is no bitterness for His enemies ; He pleads for 
 their forgiveness and bends to their will. His attitude, so 
 meek, forbearing, and strong, recalls the inspired words : 
 " Take all that shall be brought upon thee, and in thy sorrow 
 endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience."* 
 
 The Sanhedrists, having pronounced the sentence, at once 
 proceed to put it into execution as far as it lies in their power. 
 " The whole multitude of them " — i.e., all these iniquitous, 
 hypocritical judges — " rose up," and " they brought Him 
 bound to Pontius Pilate, the governor." He was led bound, 
 as already condemned, to the Roman Governor, who alone 
 could pronounce the sentence of execution. Moreover, this 
 capital punishment, if inflicted by the Roman authorities, 
 would not compromise Christ's Jewish judges, so that, should 
 His adherents rise in His favour, they would have to deal 
 with the Romans, not with the Sanhedrists. 
 
 The procession left the palace of Caiphas early on that 
 Good Friday morning. It consisted of armed men, the 
 Temple guards, servants of the High-Priests, and probably, in 
 the distance, creeping furtively along, were to be seen some 
 
 ♦ Ecclus. ii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 367 
 
 of the Apostles. The procession turned north-east on leaving 
 the palace, past the Temple, which lay on the left, and through 
 the northern part of the city to the Praetorium, which was 
 situated near the fortress of Antonia, at the north-western 
 angle of the Temple. Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims, 
 for, as the hour of the morning sacrifice was over, the streets 
 would be thronged. The procession passed through the 
 most wealthy parts of the city. 
 
 As Jesus looks upon the Temple, what are His thoughts ? 
 Surely more for His beloved people, for the souls of men, 
 than for Himself ! He goes forward painfully but valiantly, 
 and His captors hurry Him along at the bidding of the Sanhe- 
 drists. Israel is leading her Saviour to deliver Him up to the 
 Gentiles, and thus, one by one, the betrayal, the denial, the 
 condemnation, as predicted by Jesus, are accomplished ; but a 
 few hours remain, and Jesus will utter His Consummatiim 
 est. Meanwhile He steadfastly sets His face to go to His Cross. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our blessed Lord as He stands 
 bound before Caiphas. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray for the grace to accept humiliations, 
 to see God's hand in all. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is taken before Caiphas, who questions 
 Him concerning His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus is 
 struck in the face. Caiphas accuses Him of blasphemy. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus is mocked by the guards. They blind- 
 fold Him and spit upon Him. He is thrust into a prison. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus is taken before the Sanhedrin and 
 formally condemned. He is led bound to Pilate. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our Lord as He stands bound before 
 His judge. Ask for grace to imitate in your feeble measure 
 His patience and humility. Thank our Lord for all the 
 humiliations He has endured for love of you. Beg Him to 
 enable you to accept humiliations when they fall to your lot. 
 Ask pardon for your sins of pride and rebellion. Ask Him to 
 bend all that opposes itself in you to His Will. Pray for any 
 who have injured you. Compassionate with Jesus in His 
 humiliations endured for love of you. 
 
368 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 ST. PETER DENIES CHRIST 
 
 When Jesus was arrested in Gethsemani, all His disciples 
 forsook Him and fled, and we may say that He allowed them 
 to withdraw — at least, tacitly — when He forbade the soldiers 
 to molest them. Peter and John, however, recovering some- 
 what from their panic, followed " afar off." Peter was anxious 
 "to see the end," and John, who knew whither they were 
 leading his beloved Master,, hoped to obtain admittance to 
 the High-Priest's house, so that he might see and hear what 
 was taking place. These two, therefore, followed the soldiers, 
 and when they reached the palace John — ** that disciple who 
 was known to the High-Priest " — went in with the crowd 
 into the court. 
 
 Peter, who was not known to the servants, stood without 
 at the wicket-gate, which the portress closed as soon as Jesus 
 had been led in by the guards. Presently, John appears to 
 have missed Peter, and, going to the lodge, he spoke to the 
 portress and " brought in Peter." This would necessarily 
 have drawn her attention to him, and provoked her question 
 or remark. John meant well ; still, how much better it 
 would have been had he left his companion without ! But 
 God, who overrules all human events, however triflings willed 
 that Peter should enter. His fidelity was to be put to the 
 test, and his conduct under the terrible ordeal was to win for 
 him an experience, which would stand him in good stead all 
 his life, and be a lesson to the Church in all ages ; for, written 
 in letters of light, each of her children may read across the 
 record of Peter's fall, those words of the Apostle St. Paul : 
 " Wherefore, he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take 
 heed lest he fall."* 
 
 St. Peter, when questioned, denied our Lord three times, 
 and there was an interval between each interrogation. Ap- 
 parently, the first denial was made while Jesus was before 
 Annas, and immediately after Peter had entered the servants' 
 
 * I Cor. X. 
 
ST. PETER DENIES CHRIST 369 
 
 hall or court. The other two denials occurred while Jesus 
 was being questioned by Caiphas, and before the soldiers 
 began to mock and insult their Prisoner. 
 
 It is a chilly, spring night, and the Roman soldiers, 
 having left the quadrangle, a charcoal fire is lighted in the 
 servants' court. St. John, an eyewitness, relates that " the 
 servants and officers stood at a fire of coals, because it was 
 cold, and warmed themselves," and with them is Peter also 
 " standing and warming himself." Jesus is now before 
 Annas, but He knows that Peter is in danger, and He thinks 
 of His Apostle and prays for him. Satan is on the alert. He 
 has long desired to sift Peter as wheat, and the moment for 
 executing his evil designs has come. He has secured Judas 
 by means of a golden bait ; now he hopes to entangle Peter 
 in his snares, and the devil will succeed only too well, for 
 Peter has disregarded and even disbelieved the predictions 
 of his Master. 
 
 " Pride goeth before destruction, and the spirit is lifted up 
 before a fall."* Peter was to illustrate this proverb to his 
 shame. He was too sure of himself, and prepared his fall by 
 overrating his strength of character and underrating the 
 violence and skiU of Satan. It is possible that, when Jesus 
 was taken by the soldiers, Peter's false conceptions of the 
 Messias again came to the fore, and that our Lord's humilia- 
 tions were a scandal to Peter. Satan was at hand to whisper 
 to the presumptuous Apostle : " Can this be the Messias who 
 is to redeem Israel ? Surely, if He were, He could release 
 Himself from the soldiers 1" Then, too, Peter had neglected 
 to watch and pray. Not knowing to what a terrible fire of 
 temptation he would afterwards be exposed, Peter had not 
 realized the need of prayer and vigilance. He thought that 
 he was strong enough to resist all attacks, little knowing his 
 own weakness. The first passage of arms, when, after having 
 imprudently drawn his sword, he had deserted his Master, 
 ought to have opened his eyes ; but the veil of pride con- 
 cealed his true self, and only a grievous fall could enlighten him. 
 
 Had Peter been prudent, he would not have ventured into 
 the midst of the foes of Jesus. When, led by curiosity, Peter 
 
 * Prov. xvi. 
 
 24 
 
370 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 entered the courtyard, he was far from reahzing that he was 
 personally in danger, and it was when the possibility of his 
 own arrestation dawned upon him that, overcome by fear, 
 Simon Peter fell so low as to deny his Master, whom, in spite 
 of his threefold denial, he still loved. We can see St. Peter 
 as he " sat with the servants at the fire and warmed himself " 
 " in the court below," or, as St. Luke says, " in the midst of 
 the hall." He had sat there for some little time before the 
 charcoal fire. The bluish light threw a strange sheen upon 
 the faces and garments of the rough men who stood warming 
 themselves. Conversation was going on, some relating what 
 had passed in the garden. Every incident was told — how 
 they had all fallen backwards at first, then how they had 
 taken Him without any difficulty, and how all His disciples 
 had quickly disappeared. Coarse jokes were made at the 
 pretensions of Jesus of Nazareth, and the probable course of 
 His trial was discussed. He would be put to death, that was 
 certain. Peter listened to all this in silence and in terror. 
 He had no thought of standing up for Christ now ; his one 
 idea was to secure his personal safety. 
 
 The first temptation came through the agency of a woman. 
 It was not Pilate, the Sanhedrin, nor the armed soldiers who 
 attacked Peter. It was ** a certain serving-maid," who had 
 seen him " sitting in the light," and, her suspicions being 
 aroused, perhaps by his ill-concealed embarrassment, when 
 she " had earnestly beheld him, she said, Thou also wast with 
 Jesus of Nazareth." Peter was taken unawares, and, panic- 
 stricken, " he denied before them all, saying, I neither know 
 nor understand what thou sayest." The maid's question had 
 drawn attention to Peter, and from the four Evangelists' 
 records of Peter's denial it is clear that, while one put a 
 leading question tO' Peter, the onlookers joined in the attack. 
 St. Peter at first tried to escape with an evasive reply, but 
 others now spoke. " Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee." 
 " This man also was with Him." Then one put the direct 
 question : " Art thou not also one of this Man's disciples ?" 
 Each question intensified Peter's fear, and, having replied 
 more definitely, " I am not," ** Woman^ I know Him not, 
 he then " went forth before the court, and the cock crew. 
 
 J) 
 
 > 
 
ST. PETER DENIES CHRIST 371 
 
 Did Peter hear the cock crow ? Probai)ly he did, but he 
 was too terrified to reason or to recall the warning words of 
 his Master. His aim was to secure his own safety, and, with 
 the restlessness engendered by fear, Peter appears to have 
 withdrawn towards the entrance-gate. Perhaps it was closed, 
 and he dared not ask the portress to let him out, so he remained 
 with Christ's enemies, who still continued to make merry over 
 the fate of the Galilean Prophet, whom they had at last taken 
 prisoner. 
 
 " After a little while " a second attack was led by " another 
 maid." This time the question was put "as he went out of 
 the gate," when leaving the court, where he had been again 
 " standing and warming himself." The maid spoke to a man 
 in Peter's hearing, saying : " This man also was with Jesus 
 of Nazareth ;" " This is one of them." On hearing these 
 words, the bystanders' attention was once more concentrated 
 on Peter, and ''a man," turning to him, said: "Thou also 
 art one of them." Others took up the charge, and " several " 
 then asked : " Art thou not also one of His disciples ?" See- 
 ing his danger, Peter again denied with an oath : " I know 
 not the Man ; " " O man, I am not ; " " I am not." His very 
 vehemence betrayed him. Now Peter has denied his Master 
 twice, and still he does not withdraw from the occasions of 
 sin, still conscience does not appear to speak. 
 
 An hour passes. How long it must have seemed to Peter ! 
 Jesus is still before Caiphas, and Peter wonders what is taking 
 place. As the false witnesses pass in and out, they exchange 
 words with their friends and acquaintances. Perhaps from 
 the court, Peter could see the glare of the torches which our 
 Lord's guards held, so as to light up the features of their 
 Prisoner. Men are hurrying in and out, for the Sanhedrists 
 are being summoned to attend the Council. 
 
 Meanwhile, to ward off suspicion, Peter had mingled and 
 conversed freely with our Lord's enemies. But, as it so often 
 happens, a panic-stricken man defeats his own ends, for while 
 Peter was still in the court, probably near the porch, a certain 
 number attacked him collectively, perhaps after having com- 
 pared notes and expressed their mutual distrust oi him. 
 This was the final assault, and the most violent. "They 
 
372 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 came that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art 
 one of them, for even thy speech doth discover thee/* On 
 all sides Peter was assailed : ** Surely thou art one of them, for 
 thou also art a Galilean." Then " a man affirmed, Of a truth 
 this man also was with Him." The danger increased every 
 moment, and the crowd gathered more thickly around the 
 poor terrified Apostle. It reached the climax when a kins- 
 man of Malchus said : " Did I not see thee in the garden with 
 Him ?" As the danger had reached its climax, so had Peter's 
 sin. " Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew 
 not the Man." " Again, therefore, Peter denied," saying, 
 " I know not this Man of whom you speak ;" " Man, I know 
 not what thou sayest." 
 
 Immediately, as he was yet speaking loudly with impreca- 
 tions, " the cock crew again." The Prince of the Apostles 
 had fallen so low that he called down curses from God on 
 himself in order to make his denial more emphatic. At this 
 moment of Peter's shame, Jesus was conducted across the 
 court, and the tramp of the guards' feet attracted the atten- 
 tion of all in the court. They looked up to see what was 
 happening. For the time being they forgot Peter, but he, 
 too, glanced up as the band of men pcissed with his Master, 
 and as he did so Jesus, " turning, looked on Peter." How 
 that look pierced the guilty Apostle's soul ! It was not a look of 
 anger, but of loving reproach and pardon. Peter's conscience 
 now awoke ; Christ's warnings recur to him. Yes, he has 
 realized all our Lord's predictions ; he has betrayed his Lord, 
 even with curses and oaths. " The Lord, turning, looked on 
 Peter." He read in his inmost soul the shame, confusion, 
 and repentance that His own grace had engendered there. 
 Peter was now being converted. He repented sincerely, and 
 the proofs of his sorrow were shown by his departure from 
 the scene of temptation and defeats and his bitter tears. 
 When Peter's eyes met those of our Lord, then " Peter remem- 
 bered the word that Jesus had said to him, and, going at once 
 forth, he wept bitterly." A fount of tears was opened which, 
 as long as Peter Hved, would burst forth whenever he heard 
 a cock crowj and which would leave their deep furrows on 
 his cheeks. 
 
ST. PETER DENIES CHRIST 373 
 
 " The Lord, turning, looked on Peter." How much these 
 words reveal ! Just one look, but it meant more than lips can 
 utter. Just one look, but it worked a miracle of conversion : 
 
 " The Saviour looked on Peter." Ay, no word, 
 No gesture of reproach : the heavens serene, 
 Though heavy with armed justice, did not lean 
 Their thunders that way : the forsaken Lord 
 Looked only on the traitor. None record 
 What that look was ; none guess. . . . 
 
 ***** 
 
 " And Peter from the height of blasphemy — • 
 I never knew this man — did quail and fall, 
 As knowing straight that god ; and turned free, 
 And went out speechless from the face of all. 
 And filled the silence, weeping bitterly."* 
 
 Peter rushed forth, but not to despair, as Judas did. If 
 Satan had sifted Peter, he had but separated the chaff from 
 the wheat, and the result was to reveal to Peter his own 
 inherent weakness and his Master's loving-kindness. Never 
 did Peter love Jesus so well, as when he realized the meaning 
 of that Divine look of compassion. The soldiers began their 
 mocking insults, but while Jesus was enduring this awful tor- 
 ment, He rejoiced in the sincere conversion of Peter, and per- 
 haps the torments, which they inflicted upon Him, provided a 
 diversion for St. Peter's interlocutors, and favoured the re- 
 pentant Apostle's escape. Jesus had saved him, as before 
 He had held him up on the Sea of Galilee. Thus our Lord 
 ever comes to the assistance of those who are tempted, of 
 those who have fallen. Peter learned his lesson well. If 
 dearly bought, his experience was precious. As the head of 
 the Church, he would have to deal with the failings and 
 faults of his brethren, and the sad experience of his own sins 
 made him indulgent towards them. 
 
 " How should we judge of St. Peter's denials ? Consider 
 his crime — (i) in the light of his calling, and his guilt is 
 decided ; (2) in the light of his character, and his conduct is 
 inexplicable ; (3) in the light of circumstances, and his trans- 
 gression is extenuated ; (4) in the light of conscience, and the 
 sentence we would pass dies upon our guilty lips."t 
 
 * Mrs. Browning, " Sonnets." 
 
 I Van Osterzee, " Commentary on St. Luke." 
 
374 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Have we not all in varying degrees denied our Master in 
 the Praetorium of the world's opinion, of our own interests, or 
 cowardice ? This being so, it is truly consoling to note how 
 faithfully and humbly St. Peter's denials have been recorded 
 in the four Gospels. There is no effort to screen him, because 
 he was their chief. St. Mark, " the secretary of Peter," 
 records the denials as fully as the other Evangelists. 
 
 What may we learn from St. Peter's threefold denial ? 
 Many lessons are presented, and perhaps the one that stands 
 out on the surface for all, is the necessity of distrusting our- 
 selves, and of trusting solely in the strength of God. Of our- 
 selves, we are frail, helpless, sinful creatures ; but in God we 
 are strong. This distrust of ourselves, if sincere, is totally 
 distinct from pessimism or spiritual dejection, and it may be 
 summed up in St. Paul's vigorous words : " I can do all things 
 in Him who strengtheneth me." In Him all is possible ; 
 without Him I am nothing. This attitude of soul leads the 
 Christian to watch and pray, and to avoid the occasions of sin. 
 
 St. Peter also teaches us how to repent. His sorrow was 
 deep, lasting, and effectual. Even though he knew that our 
 Lord had pardoned him, yet he could not forgive himself, 
 and the remembrance of his fall kept him humble and taught 
 him to have compassion on those who were sorely tempted. 
 We all have need to learn this lesson. Especially is it needful 
 for those who are in authority. He, who has never been 
 tempted, can never fully enter into the sufferings of those 
 who are wrestling with Satan's foul suggestions. 
 
 One important lesson is also taught us by our Lord's treat- 
 ment of St. Peter after his sin. Jesus did not choose another 
 Apostle to take Peter's place and office. On the contrary, 
 He confirmed him in his charge, and expressly placed him 
 over the lambs and the sheep of the fold. Thus we learn 
 that we are not to refuse obedience to our legitimate spiritual 
 superiors because, being human, they are subject to commit 
 faults. Our obedience is rendered to them, as unto God, in 
 virtue of their office, and not in consideration of their natural 
 talents, however great these may be. 
 
 Lastly, we may consider that, since, like Peter, we have 
 been so often with Jesus of Nazareth by prayer, meditation. 
 
ST. PETER DENIES CHRIST 375 
 
 and above all by the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist, 
 it is fitting that our speech should betray our discipleship. 
 Would to God that in all our words and deeds men could bear 
 us testimony that we, too, have been with Jesus of Nazareth ! 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent St. Peter as he sits in front of 
 the fire in the court. In one of the rooms looking on to that 
 court, Jesus stands before Caiphas, His enemy, accuser, and 
 judge. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray that you may never deny your 
 Master either in word or deed. 
 
 First Point. — John and Peter enter the High-Priest's house. 
 Peter remains with the servants near the fire. A maid accuses 
 him of being Christ's disciple. Peter denies for the first time. 
 The cock crows. 
 
 Second Point. — A little later another maid calls attention 
 to him. He is questioned, and again denies his Master. 
 
 Third Point. — An hour later ** several " question him. He 
 denies with oaths and imprecations. Jesus looks on Peter, 
 who, going out, weeps bitterly. The cock crows again. 
 
 Colloquy. — ^Thank our Lord for the precious lessons con- 
 tained in this narrative of St. Peter's denial. Ask that you 
 may learn from it to watch and pray, to avoid the occasions 
 of sin, to distrust yourself, and to have full confidence in Him. 
 Pray for those who are tempted to deny Christ. Ask that 
 you may have compassion on those who sin. Ask pardon for 
 your past denials of your Master. Pray for the grace of 
 perfect contrition. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 JESUS BEFORE PILATE FOR THE FIRST TIME: PILATE 
 
 SENDS HIM TO HEROD 
 
 " Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor's hall."* 
 This hall, where Jesus was tried, adjoined the fortress of 
 Antonia. The Prsetorium looked on to a terrace, which com- 
 
 * St. John xviij. 
 
376 LOOKING ON JESUS^ THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 municated by a wide flight of steps with the forum or market- 
 place. In the forum there was a guards' room ; the column of 
 the flagellation also stood there. The distance between 
 Caiphas' palace and the Governor's hall was about half a 
 mile. 
 
 Our Lord's trial was conducted in the open air, in accordance 
 with Eastern customs in general, and more particularly when 
 Jews were concerned, since His accusers refused to enter the 
 house or hall of a Gentile. Roman Governors carried their 
 official seat, the curule chair, among their impedimenta, and 
 when a case had to be tried, it was placed wherever the judge 
 pleased, and proceedings began. Jesus was arrested during 
 the Paschal season, at which time the Roman Governor, who 
 usually dwelt at Caesarea, went up to Jerusalem with his troops 
 in order to maintain order, for riots were of common occurrence 
 during the festal seasons, when Jerusalem was crowded with 
 pilgrims. 
 
 In A.D. 34 Pontius Pilate was Procurator of Judea. He 
 held office from A.D. 26-36, and had full civil, criminal, and 
 military jurisdiction. Though directly under the Governor of 
 Syria, Pontius Pilate held his appointment from the Emperor 
 Tiberius. He was descended from the gens of the Pontii, who 
 rendered signal service to Rome during the great Samnite 
 rebellion. Pilate married a Roman lady, named Claudia 
 Procula, who is said to have been a convert to Judaism, and 
 afterwards a Christian. 
 
 Pilate was disliked by the Jews, because on several occasions 
 he had treated them harshly, and indirectly had attacked their 
 religion. Josephus tells us that he commanded his soldiers 
 to bear the Roman standards into Jerusalem . The Jews would 
 not tolerate these heathen emblems in the Holy City ; they 
 rebelled, and Pilate was forced to yield. On another occasion 
 he desecrated Jerusalem by hanging up gilded shields, bearing 
 invocations to the gods, in his palace. Tiberius himself inter- 
 vened, and commanded Pilate to remove them. He also 
 employed money from the Temple treasury to defray the cost 
 of an aqueduct, and, not long before our Lord's trial, Pilate 
 had slain some Galileans in the Temple Courts. 
 
 Hence we see that this Roman Governor was tactless, crafty. 
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 377 
 
 avaricious, and tyrannical. He was extremely weak in char- 
 acter, and although he showed some sense of justice, it was 
 completely subordinated to his own interests. Though Pilate 
 could see what was right, he had not the moral courage nor 
 the disinterestedness to act up to his convictions, hence " the 
 Procurator of Judea stands forth a sad and terrible instance 
 of a man, whom the fear of endangered self-interest drove 
 not only to act against the deliberate convictions of his heart 
 and conscience, but further to commit an act of cruelty and 
 injustice even after these convictions had been deepened by 
 Warnings and strengthened by presentiments." Such was 
 the character of the man before whom our Lord stood as a 
 prisoner. 
 
 Pilate's seat has been placed on the terrace in front of the 
 judgment hall, and Jesus stands bound before him. The 
 ancients, the chief priests, and the scribes — " the whole 
 multitude of them " — before whom Jesus had stood in the 
 house of Caiphas, are there to accuse Him. These Sanhedrists 
 who do not shrink from committing the sin of murder are very 
 scrupulous about not contracting legal impurity ; therefore 
 " they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, 
 but that they might eat the Pasch."* 
 
 " Pilate therefore went out to them " at their request, and 
 said: "What accusation do you bring against this Man ?" 
 This question by no means pleased the Jews, for they had no 
 definite accusation which could be put forward in a Roman 
 court. They wished the Governor to accept their verdict, 
 and to condemn Christ without asking any questions. This 
 Pilate declined to do, for he must have heard of the wonderful 
 deeds of mercy performed by Jesus of Nazareth. The account 
 of the raising of Lazarus had certainly reached his ears. On 
 Palm Sunday the Hosannas of the multitudes had resounded 
 in the forum. Since Pilate " knew that through env\' they 
 had delivered Him up," he must have been informed by his 
 spies, who mingled with the crowds in the Temple, of the 
 
 * It is probable that these words do not refer to the Paschal lamb, 
 but to the Chagigah. which was eaten on the evenings that followed 
 the first day of the Pasch, and for partaking of which, legal purity was 
 exacted. 
 
378 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 triumphs of our Lord over His enemies, and of their deep 
 hatred of Him. 
 
 Christ's accusers are asked to frame their charge. They 
 give an evasive reply : " If He were not a -malefactor, we would 
 not have delivered Him up to thee." Pilate at first has 
 sufficient sense of justice to refuse to endorse and carry their 
 verdict into execution. He tries therefore to get rid of Jesus — 
 this is clear from beginning to end. " Pilate then said to them. 
 Take Him and judge Him according to your law," It is very 
 probable that Pilate already knew that no criminal charge 
 could with justice be brought against Jesus. *' The Jews 
 therefore said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to 
 death." 
 
 It was now imperative that these judges should bring for- 
 ward some charge ; therefore, dropping that of blasphemy, the 
 one for which the Sanhedrin had condemned Jesus to death, 
 " they began to accuse Him, saying, We have found this man 
 perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, 
 and saying that He is Christ, the King."* The first and second 
 of these accusations were absolutely false. Pilate knew this, 
 and therefore gave no heed to them. As regards the third, 
 though Jesus did indeed and in truth lay claim to the title of 
 King, yet He did not do so in the sense in which His accusers 
 understood it, and wished Pilate to take it. Had He come to 
 break the Roman yoke, the Jews would have welcomed Him, 
 but since His kingdom was " not of this world," they 
 rejected it. 
 
 Jesus, the Lamb of God, still stands *' before the governor," 
 who, turning to Him, asks : " Art Thou the King of the 
 Jews ?" There is a special stress on the word Thou. Pilate 
 was aware that the Jews expected a Messias, who should make 
 them a free nation, and he looks at the Prisoner, who still 
 bears the foul traces of the soldiers' cruel m^ockery, both on 
 His sacred features and His garments, Pilate cannot con- 
 ceive that this Prisoner, who stands so meekly before his 
 judgment-seat, lays claim to be the Deliverer of Israel. Hence 
 his astonished question : *' Art Thou the King of the Jews ?" 
 
 " Jesus saith to him, Thou sayest it," thus giving an answer 
 
 * St. Luke jcxiii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 379 
 
 in the affirmative. He is the King of Heaven and earth ; He 
 was even then, by His sufferings, entering into His kingdom, 
 and He states His claim plainly. 
 
 The Jews, seeing that Pilate appears favourably disposed 
 towards their Prisoner, began even more vehemently to 
 " accuse Him in many things," but " when He was accused 
 by the chief priests and ancients, He answered nothing." 
 He was dumb as a sheep before his shearers. Hearing this 
 volley of charges, false, trivial, and contradictory, charges of 
 which every word revealed the animosity and envy of the 
 speakers, Pilate again addressed Jesus : " Answerest Thou 
 nothing ? Behold, in how many things they accuse Thee." 
 
 Yes, Jesus heard, but He would not defend Himself nor 
 contend with His lying accusers. In His Infinite Love — a 
 bond far stronger than the fetters that bound His sacred hands 
 — He stood unconquered in the majesty of His voluntary 
 self -submission. He knew that, in the course of ages, His 
 disciples would be called upon to suffer injustice at the hands 
 of men, to endure persecution for '' the Faith once delivered to 
 the Saints." Whenever the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth are 
 called to the bar, as the victims of injustice, tyranny, and false 
 creeds, to whom shall they look for strength and seasonable 
 aid ? To the silent Sufferer, who, when He was falsely 
 accused " answered nothing." We may never be called upon 
 to bear these hea\y crosses, to give our lives for the faith, 
 but we are daily liable to be misunderstood, to hear our words 
 misinterpreted, our deeds misjudged. These trials are hard 
 to bear, especially if of long duration, and at times the tempta- 
 tion to complain, to recriminate, is very strong, for we are all 
 human, and there is a peculiar sting in injustice in any form, 
 which is particularly painful to endure. In these critical 
 moments, a glance at our meek, silent Saviour will restore 
 calm to our souls, and the murmurs will expire upon our lips. 
 After all, men have but their day, and it is short ; in eternity 
 God will avenge His own, and eternal life will be their recom- 
 pense : " For that which is at present momentary and light of 
 our tribulation, worketh for us alove measure exceedifigly an 
 eternal weight of glory.'* 
 
 " But Jesus still answered nothing," so that Pilate " won- 
 
38o LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 dered exceedingly." The calm majestic bearing of Christ 
 offered a striking contrast with the loud vindictive accusations 
 of His foes. Pilate now entered the hall, and " called Jesus " 
 to him. He wished to question Him privately. Pilate 
 therefore said to Him : " Art Thou the King of the Jews ?" 
 Jesus replied : " Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have 
 others told it thee of Me ?" In these words Jesus inquired 
 who it was that brought this accusation against Him. Had 
 Pilate himself any grounds for so doing, or was he repeating the 
 charge put forth by others ? Pilate's reply reveals impatience ; 
 he answered : " Am I a Jew ? Thy nation and the chief 
 priests have delivered Thee up to me. What hast Thou 
 done 7" The Governor thus intimates that the Jews might 
 know Jesus to be guilty of some crime, of which he, as the 
 Roman Governor, might be in ignorance. In saying " What 
 hast Thou done ?" Pilate was evidently not animated with any 
 hostile intentions. From the outset, Pilate wished to deliver 
 Christ. Had the Governor put that question to those whom 
 Jesus had healed, whose sight He had restored, whose sons 
 and daughters He had raised from the dead, to those whom 
 He had fed in the desert, what a chorus in praise of Jesus, 
 the great Prophet of Galilee, he would have heard ! "He 
 hath done all things well ; He hath made both the deaf to hear 
 and the dumb to speak."* 
 
 Now Jesus replies : " My kingdom is not of this world. If 
 My kingdom were of this world. My servants would certainly 
 strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now 
 My kingdom is not from hence." The Roman Governor could 
 understand nothing of the nature of a spiritual kingdom. It 
 was not like earthly sovereignties, founded by the clashing of 
 weapons, nor maintained by human policy. The kingdom of 
 the true Messias was founded " not with an army, nor by 
 might, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of PIosts."t " The 
 weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God . . . 
 bringing into captivity every understanding unto the obedience 
 of Christ."! 
 
 In explaining the nature of His kingdom, notice that Jesus 
 indirectly states that He has stirred up no sedition in the city. 
 
 * St. Mark vii. j Zach. iv. J 2 Cor. x, 
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 381 
 
 His servants have not striven to maintain His cause. Once 
 more, Pilate repeated his question with evident astonishment : 
 " Art Thou a King, then ?" " Jesus answered : Thou sayest 
 that I am a King. For this was I born, and for this I came 
 into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. 
 Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice." By this 
 time Pilate was convinced that Jesus was no malefactor ; at 
 the most, He was a harmless religious enthusiast, who had 
 certainly committed no crime worthy of bonds or death. 
 Having replied " What is truth ?" and without waiting for an 
 answer, Pilate went forth again to the Jews. This time he 
 had a compromise to suggest. He said to them : " I find no 
 cause in Him. But you have a custom that I should release 
 one unto you at the Pasch ; will you therefore that I release 
 unto you the King of the Jews ?" 
 
 This proposal stirred up the bitter animosity of the chief 
 priests, who feared lest Pilate should refuse to condemn 
 Jesus, therefore " they were more earnest, saying : He stirreth 
 up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from 
 Galilee to this place." Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, heard 
 the clamour of His enemies — the roar of their voices filled the 
 air, and, like a prolonged peal of thunder, reverberated in the 
 judgment hall. " Not this man, but Barabbas !" Pilate's 
 subterfuge had failed ; Jesus heard His own people ask for 
 the release of a robber. But in that din of voices one word, 
 " Galilee," had caught Pilate's ear. Yes, Jesus was a Galilean, 
 and perhaps this would be a means of solving the difficult\\ 
 The Governor was willing to take means to save Jesus, but not 
 those means which he knew would alone be effectual — namel}^ 
 a firm refusal to condemn an innocent man. Therefore Pilate 
 sent Jesus, still bound, to Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee, and 
 doubtless he congratulated himself on having got rid of a 
 troublesome case. Pilate withdrew with his guards, and the 
 soldiers conducted Jesus to the old Machabean Palace, where 
 Herod dwelt during the Paschal season. 
 
 This palace, built b}^ one of the Asmoneans, stood on the 
 slopes of Zion in the Upper City. It was not far from the 
 Praetorium. The road lay due south on leaving the fortress, 
 then across the long wide bridge which connected the Temple 
 
382 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 with the Upper City, past the Xystos or place of assembly, 
 west of it, and on higher ground. 
 
 Although the Asmonean Palace was so close to the citadel 
 of Antonia, it was a wearying, humiliating journey for our 
 Saviour, who must have been exhausted by the terrible 
 sufferings which He had endured since the moment when He 
 entered Gethsemani. The brutal soldiers held Him fast, and 
 hurried Him along. The chief priests and scribes followed, 
 more enraged than ever, since Pilate had dismissed the case, 
 and proclaimed Christ's innocence. So they hastened towards 
 Herod's palace, and as they went they made their plans, 
 hoping for better success with this crafty King. 
 
 Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great by Malthace, 
 a Samaritan. On his father's death, he became Tetrarch of 
 Galilee and Perea. His great ambition was to reign as King 
 of all Judea. His life was stained with bloodshed and other 
 crimes. From the Gospels, we learn that he murdered St. John 
 the Baptist, committed adultery by marrying Herodias, his 
 brother's wife, and that he and his Court mocked our Lord. 
 He also murdered St. James the Great, and imprisoned St. 
 Peter. 
 
 Our Lord would have nothing to do with this cruel tyrant. 
 On one occasion He sent him a message. St. Luke relates the 
 incident : '* There came some of the Pharisees, saying to Jesus : 
 Depart and get Thee hence, for Herod hath a mind to kill 
 thee. And He said to them : Go, tell that fox, Behold I 
 cast out devils and do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the 
 third day I am consummated . . . because it cannot be that a 
 prophet perish out of Jerusalem."* 
 
 Now that the third day, that of His consummation, had 
 dawned, Jesus was led through Jerusalem to be judged by 
 Herod, who, " seeing Jesus was very glad, for he was desirous of 
 a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things of 
 Him, and he hoped to see some sign wrought by Him." For 
 two years Herod had wished to see Christ, having heard of His 
 fame in Galilee ; and our Lord's recent journey through Perea 
 — when Pie healed so many, and multitudes flocked to hear 
 Him — must have come to the Tetrarch's knowledge. In the 
 
 * St. Luke xiii. 
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 383 
 
 first year of Jesus' ministry Herod said : " John I have 
 beheaded ; but who is this of whom I hear such things ? And 
 he sought to see Him."* In the days when Herod heard the 
 Baptist gladly, he seems to have had better moments ; now 
 his fears seem allayed. He no longer troubled about having 
 murdered John, and he wished to see Jesus, merely in hope of 
 witnessing Him work a miracle. 
 
 Our Lord is brought in before Herod, who is surrounded by 
 his servile courtiers. Herod questions the Divine Captive 
 with many words, while the chief priests and scribes stand by 
 " earnestly accusing " Him. There are " many words " on the 
 part of the judge and the accusers, but in that assembly Jesus 
 spoke not one word. Caiphas and Pilate had received an 
 answer ; " that fox " Herod hears not one syllable. He who 
 had slain the Voice — the Precursor of the Word — did not 
 merit that the Word should speak to him. 
 
 Our Lord's silence must have exasperated Herod beyond 
 measure, and his rage found vent in mockeries and insults. 
 " Herod with his army — i.e., his bodyguards — set Him at 
 nought " (literally, " treated Him as nothing "). The Son of 
 God became the sport of this lustful King and his courtiers. 
 What nameless insults and cruelties the words " set Him at 
 nought " cover ! As in the palace ot Caiphas, peals of derision 
 hailed some fresh insult, and the King led the cruel pastime. 
 Jesus had foreseen and foretold this, when He said to His 
 disciples : " The Son of man . . . shall be delivered to the 
 Gentiles, and shall be mocked." He endured it for love of us, 
 to atone for our sins of pride and ambition. At length, tired 
 of their cruel sport, and conquered by the invincible courage 
 and patience of the Prisoner, Herod put " on Him a white 
 garment, and sent Him back to Pilate," and in return for 
 Pilate's act of condescension in sending Jesus to him. Herod 
 is reconciled with Pilate, " for before they were enemies one 
 to another." 
 
 Herod and his courtiers must have felt confused and 
 humbled, and coarse laughter and jokes concerning our Lord 
 did not conceal their discomfiture. The accusers of Jesus, 
 too, are crestfallen. What if Pilate should refuse to receive 
 
 * St. Luke i 
 
384 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 them ? Will the Galilean escape them after all ? What 
 can they advance in order to force Pilate to condemn Him ? 
 Thus reasoning, they follow the soldiers, as they lead their 
 Prisoner back to Pilate. 
 
 Where are our Lord's disciples ? Peter is weeping over 
 his sin. Perhaps some of them follow their Master " afar 
 off." One at least is missing — the traitor — for while Jesus 
 was before Pilate, or on the road to Herod's palace, Judas has 
 heard of Jesus' condemnation, and having rushed unbidden 
 into the presence of his Creator, he has gone " to his own 
 place." Where is our blessed Lady ? Does she know what 
 is happening ? Surely St. John has told her all he knows, 
 and about this time we may conjecture that she comes forth 
 from her dwelling, in order to accompany her Divine Son to 
 Calvary. 
 
 Seven times on that day was Jesus dragged from one 
 tribunal to another. He was taken to Annas, to Caiphas, 
 then to the prison cell, back to Caiphas and the Sanhedrists. 
 At about six or seven in the morning He was hurried to Pilate's 
 hall, thence to Herod's palace, and back to the Praetorium. 
 His last journey was from the judgment hall to Calvary^ 
 
 From the palace of Herod, Jesus was dragged clothed in a 
 white garment of folly. Or it may be that Herod intended to 
 ridicule our Lord's claim to be a king, and therefore robed 
 Him in white, as a Roman candidate for imperial honours 
 always wore a white garment. The white garment was also a 
 priestly vestment and a symbol of purity, and as such Jesus, 
 our King and High-Priest, fittingly wore it. Whatever 
 Herod's intentions may have been in thus clothing Jesus, we 
 worship our sinless Saviour, as He walks in His beauty and 
 strength through the streets of Jerusalem. It is now about 
 eight o'clock ; the Divine Victim is bound. Soon He will be 
 led to the altar of holocausts — to the Cross — there to con- 
 summate His Sacrifice. 
 
 Let us keep very close to Him in spirit during these hours 
 of His Passion, that, as Satan's agents revel in insulting and 
 setting our beloved Master at nought, we may, by our acts of 
 loving compassion and sincere contrition, make some little 
 atonement to His Sacred Heart. As He is dragged by the 
 
Photo, A 7ide7-son 
 
 Cat lo Dolci 
 
 ECCE HOMO 
 
 To face p. 385 
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 385 
 
 brutal soldiers from tribunal to tribunal, howled at by the 
 populace and spat upon, as He endures unutterable tortures 
 of body and soul for love of us, in union with the holy Angels, 
 with Mary their Queen, Venite adoremus. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prehcde. — Contemplate our Lord, as He stands before 
 Pilate, or when Herod and his soldiers are setting Him " at 
 nought." 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray for the grace of humility. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is led to Pilate. The Jews accuse Christ 
 of sedition. Pilate examines Jesus. 
 
 Second Point. — Pilate strives to deliver Jesus ; he proposes 
 to release Him. The Jews prefer Barabbas. Pilate sends 
 Jesus to Herod. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus is led to Herod. He is set " at nought " 
 by the King and his Court. Herod sends Him back to 
 Pilate. 
 
 Co//o^2fy.— Worship the Divine Prisoner. Ask that by His 
 bonds you may be free from the chains of sin and evil passions. 
 Compassionate with Him in His humiliations. Renew youi 
 sorrow for the sins which caused Him such suffering. Ask 
 pardon for your sins of pride. Ask for the grace to bear 
 injustice patiently in union with Him. Pray that you may 
 never love the world which set your Master "at nought." 
 Ask for a strong will — for the courage to act up to your con- 
 victions. Pray that you may ever remember practically that 
 your citizenship is in Heaven — not of this world. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV 
 
 JESUS IS LED BACK TO PILATE: 
 
 HE IS SCOURGED, CROWNED WITH THORNS. MOCKED 
 
 AND CONDEMNED TO DEATH 
 
 Pilate again takes his place on the seat of judgment. His 
 plan to rid himself of Jesus has failed, for Herod has sent Jesus 
 back to him. Apparently, the chief priests did not follow 
 
 25 
 
386 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 om Lord to the judgment-seat this time ; at least, not the 
 most notable of them. Therefore the Governor, pursuing his 
 feeble policy of expediency and compromise, " called together 
 the chief priests, the magistrates, and the people." Having 
 declared that he finds " no cause in this man," as regards the 
 crimes they accuse Jesus of, and that Herod likewise deems 
 Jesus to be innocent, he now proposes a partial measure, 
 which he hopes will satisfy the Jews, for it will throw great 
 discredit on Jesus and His claims, and prevent any renewal 
 of them. Hence Pilate cruelly proposes to inflict on our 
 Lord the punishment reserved for a brute without reason, 
 or a man whose sense of right and wrong has to be quickened 
 by the degrading punishment of the lash. Listen to his words, 
 and note how eagerly Christ's accusers scan the Governor's 
 features while he is speaking. What feverish anxiety and 
 vindictiveness cloud their faces ! Pilate, having formally 
 declared Jesus to be innocent, now makes known his willing- 
 ness to make some concession to the Jews : '* I will chastise 
 Him and let Him go." 
 
 This was not what the rulers wanted, and the Evangelists 
 do not record their answer, for apparently, at this moment, the 
 tramp of a great multitude was heard. ** The people,'' not 
 the rulers, have come to claim their Paschal privilege — the 
 release of the prisoner of their choice ; " they began to desire 
 what he had always done to them." But before Pilate has 
 had time to reply to them and learn their will, a messenger 
 hands him a letter. It is from his wife, Claudia Procula, and 
 it runs thus : " Have thou nothing to do with that just man, 
 for I have suffered many things this day in a dream on account 
 of Him." 
 
 Pilate is a worldly, unscrupulous man, yet he knows what 
 is right. He is a heathen, and therefore superstitious ; perhaps 
 he calls to mind how Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, was troubled in 
 her dreams before the Ides of March, and warned her husband 
 of his assassination. The message comes to him as a warning ; 
 it troubles him as it had troubled his wife, but is ineffectual in 
 making Pilate swerve from the course he has taken. 
 
 While Pilate is reading the letter and debating within 
 himself, the chief priests and ancients are busily employed in 
 
"SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE" 2>^y 
 
 furthering their wicked plot. They mingle with the people — 
 from whom generally they held so sternly aloof — and they 
 " moved and persuaded " them " to ask for Barabbas and make 
 Jesus away." See them as they move about, flattering the 
 people, praising Barabbas for having made a bold bid for 
 freedom, and calumniating Jesus. This multitude chiefly 
 consists of Judean Jews, not of Galilean pilgrims, who knew 
 our Lord so well. As we have seen, Jesus' followers were 
 comparatively poor, impotent, and few ; His enemies were rich, 
 powerful, and numerous. Moreover, these men had made their 
 choice, for Barabbas appears to have been a popular hero. 
 When therefore the Governor resumed proceedings, saying, 
 " Which will you have of the two to be released unto you ? 
 the whole multitude cried out as one," saying, as their rulers 
 had bidden them : " Away with this man ! release unto us 
 Barabbas !" 
 
 From the parallel passages of the Gospels we learn that 
 Barabbas was a notorious prisoner, that he had headed some 
 seditious men, with whom he was then in prison, and that he 
 had committed robbery and murder. Such was the criminal 
 who took precedence of Jesus ! A man guilty of one capital 
 crime and two others. The scene was increasing in violence, 
 a tumult was rapidly rising, as from a thousand men or more 
 came the unanimous demand for the robber's release and the 
 condemnation of Jesus. 
 
 But Pilate still desired to release Jesus ; his wife's message 
 had increased this desire, and the expedients he adopted prove 
 the judge's sincerity. Alread}' the Governor has declared 
 four times his conviction that Jesus is innocent ; he has asked 
 the Jews to take the responsibility of the trial, to judge 
 Christ according to their laws ; he has sought to throw the 
 burden upon Herod ; he has endeavoured to give Jesus the 
 benefit of the Jews' Paschal privilege, and when this offer is 
 refused, he has suggested scourging instead of crucifixion, 
 and endeavours to move the Jews' pity by pointing out Jesus 
 in His awful humiliation as a mock King. But this Governor 
 has neglected the one right course — a firm opposition to the 
 Jews' cruel injustice. 
 
 " Pilate, seeing that he prevailed nothing," and that the 
 
388 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 tumult increased, now calls for water, and, solemnly washing 
 his hands in presence of the rulers and people, he disclaims all 
 responsibility. " I am innocent of the hlood of this just man. 
 Look you to it." The Jews understand well the significance 
 of this ceremony. The words might have been uttered by a 
 Jew ; they were the same that the Sanhedrists had addressed 
 to Judas when he threw down his blood-money. They have 
 recoiled on their own heads, and yet their enunciation does 
 not sufhce to cleanse Pilate's hands from the blood of Christ, 
 for a man is responsible for those sins which he could, but does 
 not prevent. In their blind fury, the multitude accept the 
 guilt and the punishment of deicide. The rulers have so 
 effectually moved and persuaded the people, that a mighty 
 shout rends the air as " all the people answering said : His 
 blood be upon us, and upon our children !" 
 
 That curse was heard and recorded in Heaven, and the 
 punishment fell upon them thirty-eight years later when, 
 outside the city wall, might have been seen hundreds of crosses 
 bearing the mangled bodies of the children of those who 
 pronounced these awful words. Pilate dared not oppose the 
 people any longer, so '' being willing to satisfy them," he 
 released Barabbas, and gave orders for Jesus to be scourged. 
 This was the Governor's last effort to save Christ's life. He 
 trusted that the people would be satisfied when this brutal, 
 degrading, unjust punishment had been inflicted. Whoever 
 had incurred this penalty was a branded, ruined being. It 
 was inflicted in public on the bare back of the prisoner, who 
 was tied to a low column, so that his back was bent. The 
 Roman law only allowed sixty-six strokes, and the scourges 
 employed were made of plaited leathern thongs, garnished 
 with pieces of bone or metal, which, wielded in turn by four 
 soldiers, cut the flesh to the bone. Many a prisoner died 
 under this excruciating punishment. Jesus was fastened to 
 the column of flagellation, and as He was man as well as God, 
 He must have experienced emotions of natural fear and horror. 
 The cruel blows fell, until His Sacred Body was one mass of 
 wounds ; the Precious Blood poured forth, staining the whips, 
 the ground, and His garments. As this scourging was designed 
 to move the Jews to feelings of compassion, we may conclude 
 
" SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE " 389 
 
 that it was unusually severe — " an intermediate death," as 
 it was called. 
 
 At length they loose the Divine Victim — the Lamb of God, 
 by whose stripes we are healed — and He falls to the ground. 
 See how He lies there in His Blood. How pitiable is His 
 condition, with the stone pavement for His bed. Not one 
 disciple is there to raise or assist Him. All those whom He 
 healed and taught and loved have deserted Him, and left 
 Him to tread the winepress alone. The prophecies have 
 been fulfilled : " The wicked have wrought upon my back."* 
 " There is no beauty or comeliness that we should desire 
 Him." " He hath borne our infirmities and carried our 
 sorrows, and we have thought of Him as a leper, as one struck 
 by God and afflicted." f Yet in His inmost Soul there is no 
 sentiment of anger. Jesus offers each drop of His Blood for 
 the salvation of mankind, in expiation of their sins of the flesh. 
 
 Another act of the awful drama of the Passion now com- 
 mences ; the scourging was inflicted by Pilate's orders, but the 
 soldiers, whose chief delight was to see blood shed in the arena, 
 are not satisfied with their work, and for the third time Jesus 
 is exposed to the taunts and mockery of His creatures. These 
 brutal men have heard the word *' King " pronounced during 
 the mockery of a trial enacted before Pilate, and they deter- 
 mine to make Jesus the butt of their ridicule and cruelty. 
 So the whole band — some six hundred men — set to work to 
 devise fresh tortures, for Him whom their scourges have so 
 cruelly mangled and lacerated. \¥ith difficulty, Jesus had 
 resumed His garments, but the soldiers roughly tear them off 
 His bleeding shoulders, and throw around Him a red or purple 
 cloak. Herod had clothed Jesus in a white garment, as a 
 candidate for royal honours ; they will now complete the 
 ceremony, and invest Him with the purple robe, the crown, 
 and the sceptre. No ensign of roj^alty shall be missing. 
 
 '* And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His 
 head, and a reed in His right hand. And bowing the knee 
 before Him, they worshipped Him. And they began to salute 
 Him, saying. Hail, King of the Jews ! and, spitting upon Him, 
 they took the reed, and struck His head." 
 
 * Ps. cxxviii. t Isa. liii. 
 
390 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Jesus was crowned with thorns; probably the crown was made 
 of the nabk, a shrub which grows abundantly on the slopes of 
 the Judean hills. Its leaves resemble the ivy, and it bears 
 long spicules. This would have suited the soldiers' purpose, 
 for the green leaves would represent the bay wreaths worn by 
 the emperors, while the sharp thorns made it an instrument 
 of torture. It was thus that the Lamb of God expiated our 
 sins of thought. 
 
 In order to give our Lord more pain, they drove the thorns 
 deeply into His sacred head by striking the crown with the 
 reed, which they took out of His hand for this purpose. 
 
 Now that the soldiers in mockery had completed our 
 Lord's royal attire, the mock enthronement began. Accord- 
 ing to an ancient tradition, our Lord was seated on the broken 
 base of a pillar (which is preserved in the Church of the Holy 
 Sepulchre). This is called the columna improperiorum. On 
 this improvised throne, Jesus was placed, and then the mock 
 obeisance began. The whole cohort filed past Him ; each 
 soldier in turn insulted Christ with his mock homage. He 
 who invented some fresh insult was loudly applauded — their 
 Satanic mockery changed to brutal treatment when they spat 
 upon their Divine Prisoner. How deeply Jesus drank of the 
 cup of humiliation in order to save His tormentors, and ever 
 from His soul arose the prayer : " Father, forgive them, they 
 know not what they do." 
 
 Certainly they knew not what awful sacrilege they were 
 committing. Greater was the guilt of the rulers who had 
 delivered up Jesus to the Gentiles, and who clamoured for 
 His death. 
 
 Contemplate our Saviour reverently. We must not shrink 
 from thinking of what He suffered. Meditate on it as long as 
 we will, we shall never realize the awful reality of those 
 indignities which were offered to the Son of God ; we can 
 never imprint them too deeply upon our minds, and to each 
 reflection on the Sacred Passion we must add : " He loved me, 
 and gave Himself for me.'' Jesus is my personal Saviour as 
 fully as though no other human being existed who needed 
 His Redemption. As we gaze upon Him in the depths of 
 His unspeakable humiliations, and bring before our minds 
 
"SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE" 391 
 
 who He is who thus expiates our sins, the cry rises spon- 
 taneously to our lips, Venite adoremus, and we worship Him 
 with all the strength of our souls, as an act of reparation. 
 
 Jesus sits upon a broken column, clad in mockery in royal 
 emblems ! How weak He appears, and yet how kingly ! 
 How pallid He is ; scarcely can He retain His seat ! His 
 beautiful features are disfigured with blood, dirt, and spittle. 
 His hair is matted and torn ; the Sacred Blood trickles on all 
 sides ; His face is bruised, swollen, and livid ! Every move- 
 ment causes Him the most excruciating pain. He is enduring 
 one long " intermediate death," and He suffers in silence. 
 The angels gaze with awe on this terrible scene ; they long to 
 avenge Him, but He holds them back. Each pang is offered 
 for the salvation of souls, — for that of His tormentors. The 
 Lamb of God sits there in the midst of ravening wolves. Venite 
 adoremus. 
 
 At length the cruel mockery is over ; the soldiers have 
 satiated their love of sport, and they drag off the purple cloak, 
 and give Him back His own garments — those which Mary 
 had spun for Him, and which are still wet and stained with 
 blood. It is time to lead the Divine Prisoner back to Pilate, 
 who, seeing the pitiable condition to which the bmtal soldiers 
 have reduced Him, seems to have been touched with com- 
 passion. He hoped that the Jews, on seeing Jesus so pitilessly 
 degraded, would show some signs of humanity. But every 
 spark of pity seems extinct in them, as the sequel proves. 
 
 Pilate went forth to them, and said : " Behold, I bring Him 
 forth to you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him." 
 An ancient Catholic tradition tells us that these words were 
 spoken by Pilate when standing near an archway, a little 
 distance from where Jesus stood crowned with thorns, still 
 holding the reed in His fettered hands. As Pilate spoke, Jesus 
 came forward, and took up His place on a balcony ; then, 
 pointing to Him, Pilate said : " Behold the Man." 
 
 The people appear to have been touched by the spectacle ; 
 they kept silence while the chief priests and officers vocifer- 
 ated : "Crucify him ! crucify him !" Once more Pilate tried 
 to free himself from Jesus. He said to them: "Take Him 
 you, and crucify Him, for I fijid no cause in Him." But 
 
392 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 these rulers still refused ; they would not, for fear of the people, 
 accept the responsibility of crucifying Jesus. His death 
 must be ostensibly the work of the Romans. 
 
 They refuse to profit by Pilate's permission, and bring up 
 the original charge of blasphemy against Christ. " We have 
 a law, and, according to the law, He ought to die, because He 
 made Himself the Son of God." This was the ground of His 
 condemnation by the Sanhedrin, and it raises the question 
 to another plane. All Pilate's fears return ; he sees how unlike 
 Jesus is to any ordinary prisoner. He has been impressed by 
 His independence and calm majesty, and by His wondrous 
 Personality. Procula's warning comes back. What if this 
 Patient Sufferer be really some supernatural being ? We seem 
 to read this fear in his question when, entering once more into 
 the hall, he puts the question to Jesus : " Whence art Thou ?" 
 
 For the third time, Jesus maintains a sublime silence. He 
 has already told Pilate that He is a King, but that His kingdom 
 is not of this world, and this pagan judge is not capable of 
 understanding anything about our Lord's Divine origin, 
 therefore " Jesus gave him no answer." Astonished and 
 angry, Pilate continues : " Speakest Thou not to me ? 
 Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and I 
 have power to release Thee ?" Yes, Pilate had power to 
 release, but he dared not assert it ; the proud Roman had found 
 his masters in the Jewish rulers. Jesus recognizes the 
 Governor's authority, and while He declines to answer the 
 question touching His origin. He refers Pilate to the true 
 Source of all human authority — to God — to whom Pilate will 
 have one day to give an account of his stewardship. 
 
 It was precisely the knowledge that God permitted every 
 detail of the Passion, which enabled Jesus to suffer so heroic- 
 ally. He saw not the human agents, but Him who allowed 
 these puny creatures to have their brief hour. Jesus drank 
 the chalice which the Father presented. In His answer to 
 Pilate there was a final warning, and Jesus even exculpated the 
 Governor to a certain extent. Solemnly the words fell on 
 Pilate's ears, troubling him still more. Jesus spoke, not as a 
 prisoner, but rather as a judge : " Thou shouldst not have 
 any power against Me, unless it were ^iven thee from above. 
 
" SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE " 393 
 
 Therefore he that delivered Me to thee, hath the greater sin." 
 The sin of the rulers — a sin of malice — was clearly greater 
 than that of Pilate. More than ever convinced of Jesus' 
 innocence, " from henceforth Pilate sought to release him." 
 
 Now the Jews make a final appeal. They know that Pilate 
 has his own interests at heart, and that their stubbornness 
 must ultimately prevail over his conscientious scruples. They 
 now " cried out, saying : If thou release this Man, thou art 
 not Caesar's friend ; for whosoever maketh himself a King, 
 speaketh against Caesar." These words do away with Pilate's 
 hesitation ; he will not risk his position as Procurator of Judea. 
 On previous occasions, the Jews have complained of his conduct 
 and their petitions have prevailed. What will happen if they 
 send up to Tiberius an accusation of his favouring a rival to 
 the Emperor ? Therefore Jesus must be given up to their 
 will ; his own personal interests cannot be sacrificed for the 
 Galilean — innocent or guilty, He must die. 
 
 Thus Pilate argued, taking up Caiphas' words, though in a 
 less cynical spirit. It was expedient that Jesus should perish 
 rather than that Pilate should incur disgrace. So, having 
 heard the Jews' challenge, Pilate called Jesus before him. and, 
 sitting on the judgment-seat, prepared to pronounce the 
 sentence of death. But first, he ironically spoke to the rulers : 
 " Behold your King." Angrily they vociferated : " Away 
 with Him, away with Him, crucify Him !" Again Pilate 
 taunted them with their condition of subjection to Rome : 
 " Shall I cmcify your King ?" Then he who represented the 
 Jewish nation, Caiphas the High-Priest, answered (or one of 
 the head rulers) : " We have no king but Caesar." 
 
 Nothing remained but to formally pronounce the death 
 sentence of the Lamb of God, at whose bar one day these 
 unjust judges and accusers must stand. The sentence was 
 brief ; it consisted of two technical formulae. Turning first 
 to Jesus, Pilate said, " Ibis ad cmcem " {Thou shalt go to the 
 Cross), then, addressing the head officer, the judge gave the 
 order: " / miles expedi crucem" (Go. soldier, get ready the Cross). 
 
 Having pronounced this sentence, " Pilate dehvered Him 
 to them to be crucified." The Jews would supervise the 
 execution, and the Roman centurion was charged to carry out 
 
394 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 all the details. Judgment has been passed — the most unjust 
 ever uttered, for it condemns Him who did no wrong, whom 
 His judge has repeatedly declared to be innocent, and it allots 
 to Him an ignominious death of prolonged torture. 
 
 But " cruel and disgraceful as death on the Cross was, it 
 was nevertheless more suitable for our Saviour than any of 
 the Jewish capital punishments. On the Cross He could 
 make His last arrangements, impart comfort, reveal His 
 holiness in all its greatness and glory, and die in a majestic 
 manner, visibly of His own free-will. The Cross became the 
 altar of His sacrifice, the pulpit of His last and loftiest sermon, 
 and the standard of His Kingdom."* 
 
 What effect had this sentence of death on those who heard 
 it pronounced ? Christ's enemies triumphed ; they exulted in 
 their victory, for He who had so often defeated them in the 
 Temple, who had dared to turn out the traders from the 
 Temple Court, who had rebuked the rulers publicly for their 
 malice and hypocrisy, He would trouble them no more. 
 Never again would the Valley of Cedron re-echo with HosannaS 
 in His praise. At length they had avenged all the humiliations 
 and defeats which they had suffered through Him. In their 
 short-sightedness they exulted, little dreaming what awaited 
 them and their children, nor how terribly their curses would come 
 home to roost. The people ! What of them ? Some turned 
 away tot ally indifferent as to the fate of the Galilean. Barabbas, 
 their hero, was free, and they made merry in his honour. 
 
 How did Pilate feel ? Doubtless he regretted our Lord's 
 death, but at the same time he persuaded himseK that he had 
 no alternative but to condemn Him. A man must look after 
 his own interests. It is thus that the world ever excuses its 
 acts of cowardice and cruelty. That place, to retain which 
 Pilate risked so much, was not kept long. Three years after 
 our Lord's death a complaint was carried to Rome, and he 
 was summoned to answer for his conduct. On his arrival, his 
 friend Tiberius was dead. Pilate lost his office of Procurator, 
 and, according to an ancient tradition, he ultimately com- 
 mitted suicide, by throwing himself into a lake in Switzerland. 
 During those few years of troubled life, how often must the 
 * Meschler's " Life of our Lord Jesus Christ," vol. ii., p. 396. 
 
" SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE " 395 
 
 pallid face of Jesus of Nazareth have arisen before him ! How 
 frequently did Procula reproach him for having disregarded 
 her warnings ! 
 
 Christ's disciples heard of the sentence, for some were 
 present when the condemnation was pronounced. What 
 were their sentiments ? Some mourned bitterly in their 
 homes, for it was forbidden to make any pubhc lamentation 
 over a criminal's death. They knew that He was a Prophet, 
 but they had lost all faith in Him as the Messias of Israel. Had 
 He been the Redeemer, this could never have happened ! 
 Thus they decided, forgetful that He Himself had predicted 
 His death. Some whom He had healed lost faith in Him 
 and perhaps attributed their cures to witchcraft. Those who 
 really loved Him were heart-broken. His Apostles, who had 
 been with Him so long, who knew Him so well, how dazed and 
 panic-stricken they were, when they learned that in very truth 
 He was to be lifted up that day ! Already the soldiers were 
 hastening to procure the Cross. 
 
 Mary. His blessed Mother, hears the news, and with Mary 
 Magdalene and St. John, she hastens to the fortress, for she 
 will accompany her Divine Son to Calvary. There are no 
 feelings of rebellion in Mary's soul ; she knows that it was for 
 this that He came into the world. Brave and resolute in her 
 sorrow, she resolves that Jesus shall have the consolation of 
 knowing that she is near Him, though this solace will also 
 bring Him pain. 
 
 Jesus hears the sentence, and what are His sentiments ? 
 He rejoiced : for the joy set before Him — the joy of glorifying 
 His Father and saving souls — Jesus endured the death of 
 shame. If St. Andrew greeted His cross as a treasure which 
 he had long desired to possess, how much more lovingly did 
 Jesus go forth to take up His Cross ? It was the tree of shame, 
 but by it the world would be redeemed. Jesus' fiery baptism 
 has already begun, but He did not flinch. He took all that 
 was brought upon Him, and in His sorrow He endured. As a 
 Lamb He was led to the slaughter, but He was no unwilling 
 Victim, for in the heavenly annals from eternity it was written 
 of Him : " Lo, I come to do Thy Will, O God." 
 
 Is there any one lesson among the many truths set forth in 
 
396 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 these scenes of the Passion which we can take home to our- 
 selves ? Perhaps the one which stands out most clearly is 
 that, as Jesus entered into His kingdom by suffering in every 
 form — in His honour, in His affections, in' his sovil, in His body 
 — so the Christian may be called upon to endure one or more 
 of these forms of tribulation, and that he who would save his 
 soul must, in his turn, be willing to accept the cross, without 
 which he can never attain to the crown. Heaven is peopled 
 by those who have come out of ** great tribulations, and have 
 washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb." As we gaze 
 reverently on Jesus our Master, as He stands invested with 
 the mock insignia of royalty, what should be our sentiments ? 
 Surely contrition and love should fill our souls. We hear 
 Pilate's question : " Art Thou a King ?" Yes, He is a King, 
 our beloved King, " clothed with a garment sprinkled with 
 blood, and His Name is called the Word of God . . . and He 
 hath on His garment and on His thigh written : king of kings 
 AND LORD OF LORDS."* Venite adoremus. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Represent our Lord when Pilate points to 
 Him, saying : '' Ecce Homo." 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to accept suffering as a 
 means of entering into the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is led back ta Pilate, who condemns 
 Him to be scourged. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus is crowned with thorns and mocked. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus is condemned to death. The senti- 
 ments of the Jews, of the people, of Pilate, of Christ's disciples. 
 His own sentiments. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship our Lord in His humiliation. Com- 
 passionate with Him. Beg pardon for your cowardice as 
 regards suffering. Pray for the courage to do what is right. 
 Ask that you may see God's hand in all the trials that befall 
 you. Beg that you may never sacrifice Christ in order to 
 secure your temporal interests. Sympathize with our blessed 
 Lady in her sorrow. Ask for the grace to accept humiliations 
 and injustice uncomplainingly. 
 
 * Apoc. xix. 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 397 
 
 CHAPTER XLV 
 
 THE "VIA DOLOROSA": JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS 
 
 The trial of Jesus is over, and He is condemned to death ; 
 we must follow Him to Calvary, and watch beside Him as 
 He hangs on the tree of shame " for us men and for our 
 salvation." How impossible it seems to speak or write on 
 such a stupendous mystery as the death of the God-Man, 
 Christ Jesus ! The words of Job's comforter come to our 
 remembrance : " Perad venture thou wilt comprehend the 
 steps of God, and wilt find out the Almighty perfectly. He 
 is higher than heaven, and what wilt thou do ? He is deeper 
 than hell, and how wilt thou know ?"* How can the intelli- 
 gence of man penetrate those mysteries of salvation, con- 
 cerning which " the prophets have inquired and searched 
 diligently," when, divinely inspired, they " foretold those 
 sufferings " reserved for Christ and " the glories that should 
 follow."! " into which " the Angels desire to look ? 
 
 Nevertheless, since Jesus, our Redeemer, would have us 
 accompany Him along the via dolorosa, and watch in spirit 
 by His Cross, we must endeavour to fix our minds on His 
 Sufferings, that we may know Him better, love Him more 
 fervently, and follow Him more closely. And as we make 
 the attempt, let us invoke the Holy Spirit of God, and pray 
 " that God would speak with " us, and " open His lips to us." 
 
 The soldiers " led Him away to crucify Him." Crucifixion 
 was a very ancient form of capital punishment of Phoenician 
 origin. It was a prolonged torture which ended in death. 
 The methods employed and the forms of the crosses varied, 
 and those who were condemned to this awful death were 
 generally prisoners of war, slaves, brigands, or infamous 
 criminals. At the siege of Jeinisalem we read that 500 
 Jews, and even more, were cnicified daily by the Romans, on 
 the same side of the city where Jesus was crucified. Josephus 
 relates how the Roman soldiers, " out of the wrath and hatred 
 they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one 
 * Job xi. t I Pet. i. 
 
398 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 way, one after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, when 
 their multitude was so great that room was wanting for the 
 crosses, and crosses wanting for their bodies."* 
 
 The crosses varied in length from 9 to 12 feet. Our Lord 
 was nailed to that form of cross known as the crux immissa. 
 The upright beam was called the staticulum, and the trans- 
 verse portion the antenna. No sooner was our Lord con- 
 demned to death than the Jews proceeded to carry out the 
 sentence immediately, in accordance with their custom of 
 giving little or no delay " between the finishing of judgment 
 and the execution."! Both Romans and Jews executed 
 criminals without the city walls, generally on a public high- 
 way, in order to strike terror to all who saw them. To this 
 end, they also chose the longest route to the place of execution, 
 though probably, as Jesus was so exhausted that Simon was 
 compelled to assist Him, this was not done in His case. 
 
 There was a brief delay while the preparations for the 
 Crucifixion were being made. The centurion gathered his 
 men together, four being told off to guard each criminal. 
 The two thieves were brought out of prison ; three crosses, 
 hammers, nails, ropes, tablets, and ladders were prepared. 
 The soldiers took their rations, for sometimes the condemned 
 lived for hours on their crosses. St. Andrew is said to have 
 expired only on the third day after he was attached (with 
 ropes) to his cross. 
 
 According to a tradition, Jesus took up His cross about 
 50 yards east of the archway, where Pilate had brought Him 
 forth to the people as their King. As soon as He was laden 
 with it, the procession started for Calvary. A mounted 
 centurion led the way ; the soldiers followed in their ranks. 
 Each prisoner was surrounded by his special guards, and he 
 wore around his neck a white board, on which was inscribed 
 the crime for which he was condemned to death. A herald 
 preceded the prisoner, and proclaimed aloud the crime and its 
 punishment. The prisoners brought up the rear. The crowds 
 that accompanied varied with the interest excited by the case, 
 and as our Lord was the Prophet of Galilee so well known in 
 Jerusalem, great multitudes followed. 
 
 * " Wars," V. xi. I. f Lightfoot. 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 399 
 
 It is impossible now to trace the exact route which the 
 procession followed, for " the Jerusalem of Christ's day 
 perished for the most part in the Siege of Titus, so that even 
 the lines of the ancient streets, traced over the deep beds of 
 nibbish left by the Romans, must be very different, in many 
 cases, from those of the ancient city."* As no execution 
 could be permitted within the Holy City, " Jesus, also that 
 He might sanctify His people in His own blood, suffered 
 without the gate."t 
 
 The traditional site of Calvary is situated about one mile 
 from the ruins of the arch of the " Ecce Homo," on the broad 
 road which led from the north of Jerusalem. The track lay 
 roughly from north-east to south-west, through a broad 
 ravine, with walls of rock rising on both sides. The first half 
 mile of the route crossed Acra, the Lower City. According to 
 the stations of the via dolorosa, as now placed, the procession 
 advanced westward from the Praetorium some 200 steps. 
 Here Jesus' strength failed Him, and He fell for the first 
 time. Some 50 steps farther He met His blessed Mother. 
 About 30 yards farther southward, we come to the spot where 
 Simon of Cyrene met Jesus, and was forced by the soldiers 
 to carry His Cross, wholly or partially. From this place the 
 procession turned due west, and some 50 yards ahead it passed 
 the house of Veronica, who came out and wiped our Lord's 
 face. Twenty-five yards off stood " the Gate of Judgment," 
 which led from the second city out into the open country. 
 Here Jesus, having resumed His Cross, fell a second time 
 under its weight. Still farther west, the pilgrim is shown the 
 spot where the women of Jerusalem wailed over our Lord's 
 condemnation. The third and last fall of our Lord is sup- 
 posed to have happened near the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, 
 close to Calvary. This " place " — for it is not a " mountain " 
 — lay north-west of Jemsalem, between the city and Mount 
 Scopus. The land rose higher than the city level, whence the 
 crosses could be clearly seen. The names Calvaria (Latin) 
 and Golgotha (Hebrew) both signify " a skull." The name 
 seems to have been derived from the shape of this shght 
 elevation, which sloped gradually up from south to north, 
 * Geikie, " The Holy Land," vol. ii., p. 499. f Heb. xiii. 
 
400 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 while the northern, western, and eastern sides were fairly 
 steep. The ground was rocky, and as Calvary was the cus- 
 tomary place of execution, it is probable that holes were cut 
 in the rocks to receive the crosses. 
 
 From the Scriptures, we gather that Calvary was " without 
 the gate," " nigh to the city," on the highway close to " the 
 country " (whence Simon was returning), and that in the 
 vicinity there were sepulchres and gardens. A tradition that 
 has found favour with mystic writers affirms that the Cross of 
 Jesus was reared over the sepulchre of Adam, and that it stood 
 exactly over his skull. This legend is embodied in the skull 
 and crossbones which are frequently represented under the 
 feet of the crucified Saviour in paintings and sculptures. 
 
 Having given these preliminary explanations, we can now 
 continue our meditation on the Sufferings of Jesus as He toiled 
 painfully along the road to Calvary, and when He hung upon 
 the Cross. Consider first how terribly exhausted Jesus was 
 before the heavy Cross was laid upon His bruised and lacerated 
 shoulders. He was fasting since the Paschal Supper on the 
 preceding evening, and it was past nine o'clock in the morning 
 when Jesus was condemned to death. He had endured the 
 most intense mental strain — the treachery of Judas before the 
 traitor threw off his mask, the solemn farewell to His Apostles, 
 the Agony in the Garden, the arrestation, the painful journeys 
 from the ecclesiastical tribunal to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, 
 and then again back to the Prsetorium ; the shame and 
 humiliation of the mockery of the Roman soldiers and of 
 Herod's bodyguard, the denials of Peter, the desertion of the 
 eleven and of all His other disciples. He had suffered terrible 
 physical agony, the blows and buffeting of the soldiers, the 
 scourging, the crowning with thorns. Add to these the 
 desolation of soul, His grief at the sins committed by His 
 tormentors, and the insults to His honour. Now, exhausted 
 and disfigured beyond recognition, His pallid features swollen 
 and blood-stained, Jesus goes forward to take up His Cross. 
 
 The procession advances, and the herald makes his first 
 proclamation : *' Jesus, the King of the Jews." The words 
 ring out, and catch the attention of all who pass by. They 
 look for this " King." Where is He ? See, there behind. 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 401 
 
 advancing with tottering steps. He carries His Cross, and 
 occupies the central place as the greatest criminal of the 
 three, who are being led to execution. 
 
 What mockery greets Him as He drags Himself along ! 
 The rabble stare at Him, people crowd to the roofs and bal- 
 conies to see Him pass. They ask if this can be He who 
 expelled the traders from the Temple, and but recently 
 entered the city in triumph. They express their hatred, their 
 joy that the Seducer has been taken at last. 
 
 The slow torture of that terrible journey to Calvary must 
 have been unspeakable. But Jesus bore that ordeal humbly, 
 courageously, and steadfastly — humbly in that He let men see 
 Him in His weakness and abjection, in that He deigned to 
 fall, to succumb under the weight of the Cross. He knew that 
 we toil along our via dolorosa, falling frequently, then rising, 
 then falling again. The descriptions of our Enghsh martyrs 
 as they were dragged from Newgate to Tyburn on hurdles 
 may give us some faint idea of the humiliations which Jesus 
 had to endure. Jesus suffered courageously, for not one word 
 of complaint or anger passed His lips. He worked no miracle 
 to relieve His Sufferings. He suffered steadfastly, because He 
 persevered to the end, never for one instant regretting that 
 He had undertaken to redeem man. He chose that cruel 
 death, and He was glad to offer to His Father some reparation 
 in kind for the sins of men. They had committed sins of the 
 flesh, foul, degrading sins ; He willed to atone for them in His 
 Human Body, by bearing the most excruciating bodily pains. 
 Men had sacrificed their souls for honour, and He submitted 
 to mockeries and insults. Thus our Saviour suffered in mind, 
 body, affections, honour ; no kind of human sin had ever been 
 committed, for which Jesus did not offer a reparation of the 
 same nature. 
 
 Slowly the procession passes through the narrow, uneven 
 streets of Acra, and before Jesus has gone 100 yards His 
 strength fails, and His enemies, fearing that He will die on the 
 road, compel " one Simon of Cyrene who passed by, coming 
 out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to take 
 up His Cross." Simon, thus " forced," reheved Jesus of His 
 Cross for a time. He looked upon it as a disgrace, but 
 
 26 
 
402 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 generously did our Saviour reward him. Doubtless, as Simon 
 bore that Cross he was moved by our Lord's patience, calmness, 
 and majesty even in this hour of humiliation. It seemed a 
 mere chance that Simon should at that moment pass along 
 this road. Yet he, and no other, was chosen by God to have 
 the honour of assisting Jesus to carry His Cross. When, 
 according to an ancient tradition, Simon became a disciple of 
 Christ, how he rejoiced that this privilege had been granted 
 to him ! Simon did not realize at the time what a grace was 
 conferred on him, but he knew it later. How often we, too, 
 repine when the Cross is laid upon our shoulders, when we are 
 " forced " to bear it. Then as years pass, often even here on 
 earth, we do come to realize that the Cross is a blessing, and, 
 certainly in eternity, we shall thank our God that He has not 
 spared us during our life's pilgrimage. The memory of our 
 crosses patiently carried, rather than of our pleasures enjoyed, 
 will console us on our deathbeds. 
 
 Jesus also meets His blessed Mother as He carries His Cross 
 to Calvary. She looks at her Divine Son. Their eyes meet. 
 What a change has come over Him ! How the iron enters 
 deeply into her soul — the sword predicted by Simeon pierces 
 her through. It is her Jesus, her beautiful Son, who drew all 
 hearts to Him, in the days of His Ministry. Jesus looks at 
 her — at His Mother whom He loves so dearly. What patience, 
 love, and resignation that look reveals ! Mary understands 
 her Son's look. What mother does not understand her child ? 
 And because she understands, she accepts the humiliations of 
 her Jesus for herself and — what was far harder — for Him. 
 Mary was prepared for this terrible event, and yet how awful 
 it was when it really happened ! 
 
 We do not know if the Son and the Mother spoke, but each 
 knew what the other would say. Doubtless grief renders 
 Mary speechless ; nor will the soldiers permit their Prisoner 
 to halt, so she keeps as close to her Divine Son as possible, 
 and " they two went on together,*' as Abraham and Isaac had 
 once ascended that same mountain — they two went on together — 
 the Man of Sorrows and the Mother of Dolours ; the wood of 
 the sacrifice He Himself carries, and soon the Victim will be 
 bound to it. God has prepared the burnt-offering, but of all 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 403 
 
 who saw that sad procession, none but Jesus and Mary knew 
 its inner meaning. He was offering Himself voluntarily for 
 man's redemption, and Mary offered Him, accepting His 
 Will, knowing the motives of her Son and the end to be attained 
 by His Sacrifice. Well may we call her "the Queen of Martyrs !" 
 
 During our Lord's Passi-^n the women were braver than 
 His Apostles, and we are told that one devout woman, Veronica 
 (or Berenice) , came forward fearlessly, and wiped the blood and 
 perspiration from His sacred face. She pressed through the 
 crowd, past the guards, in order to give this proof of her 
 devotedness and discipleship. How earnestly she longed to 
 do more ! Jesus looked, too, at her gratefully, and He re- 
 warded her love by imprinting His sacred features on the 
 veil. A well-known picture represents her showing this veil 
 afterwards to the holy women. May we not learn from this 
 touching incident that the least action performed for the love 
 of Jesus has its abundant reward ? When we minister to our 
 fellows as unto Him, the image and superscription of our King 
 are imprinted on our souls, and virtue goes forth from Him to us. 
 
 Not far from " the Gate of Judgment," the voices of women, 
 wailing for Jesus are heard. These " daughters of Jerusalem " 
 weep for Him. Their lamentations are sincere, since they 
 show their sympathy for Jesus, in presence of His implacable 
 foes, and break through the prohibition to lament for the 
 condemned. Their emotion is too sincere to be kept back 
 by the barriers of prejudice or custom. They shed tears of 
 commiseration. Not long since, Jesus had wept over the 
 children of Jerusalem, and foretold the approaching ruin of 
 the doomed city. Now, as He goes on the road to Calvary, 
 the daughters of Jerusalem weep for Him. In the depths of 
 His sufferings, Jesus thinks of His guilty people, and, forgetful 
 of Himself, He turns to them, saying : " Daughters of Jerusa- 
 lem, weep not over me, but weep for yourselves and your 
 children. For behold the day shall come wherein they will 
 say : Blessed are the barren and the paps which have not given 
 suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains. Fall 
 on us ; and to the hills. Cover us. For if in the green wood they 
 do these things, what shall be done in the dry P*^'* 
 
 * St. Luke xxiii. 
 
404 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Jesus does not reject their sympathy, but He wills to teach 
 them a weighty lesson ; it is better to suffer unmerited afflic- 
 tions than to endure the chastisements of God. He looks 
 forward, and sees all the tribulations, which will overtake 
 Jerusalem, and which some there present would live to see 
 and suffer. So great would they be, that they would rejoice 
 in being barren — a thing which the Jews regarded as a curse. 
 Hence He says to them : *' If they do these things in Me, the 
 fruit-bearing, the ever-living, in virtue of My Divinity, what 
 will be done in you who bear no fruit, and are devoid of all 
 righteousness that could give you life ?"* St. Peter applies 
 the same thought to the just and the unjust among men, when 
 he writes : " If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where 
 shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ?"f 
 
 Now the procession halts, for it has reached the place of 
 execution. The soldiers drive back the multitude, and the 
 prisoners are conducted close to the holes in the ground 
 prepared for the crosses, which are laid on the ground. While 
 the preparations are being made Jesus is praying, renewing the 
 sacrifice of His life, and controlling with His strong Will the 
 natural feelings of terror and repulsion. As soon as the Cross 
 is in position, the guards seize Jesus roughly, and strip Him 
 of His garments, even removing the inner seamless coat. 
 This rough treatment made our dear Lord suffer acutely, since 
 it reopened all the wounds of the flagellation. 
 
 What a humiliation for the Lamb of God to be thus stripped 
 of His garments in public ! The crowd gazes at Him on all 
 sides. A ring of soldiers stands round to keep them at a 
 distance, while the executioners do their deadly work. But 
 before they bid Jesus lie down upon the bed of the Cross, they 
 offer Him a strong potion, composed of myrrh, bitter aloes, and 
 calamus. This narcotic, intended to stupefy the Prisoner and 
 deaden the pain, was provided by a society of noble Jewish 
 ladies, out of compassion for the condemned. This is what 
 St. Matthew speaks of as " wine, mingled with gall,'' for it was 
 very bitter. 
 
 But " when He had tasted. He would not drink." He tasted 
 in order to show His appreciation of a kindly service ; He would 
 * " Theophylact." t i Pet. iv. 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 4^5 
 
 not dnnk because He willed to suffer without alleviation of any 
 
 kind. As a Christian poet has beautifully said, addressing our 
 
 Lord : 
 
 " Thou wilt feel all, that Thou mayst pity all ; 
 And rather wouldst Thou wrestle with strong pain 
 Than overcloud Thy Soul, 
 So clear in agony. 
 Or lose one glimpse of Heaven before the time."* 
 
 All is now ready ; the Lamb of God takes His place upon the 
 Altar of the Cross. The executioners seize one arm, and, 
 placing the hand in position, they drive a sharp nail through it. 
 The blows of the hammer resound. Our blessed Lady, John, 
 and Magdalene hear them. What anguish pierces their souls ! 
 The Blood spurts forth, the sinews contract, and the fingers 
 almost close over the head of the nail. Then the other hand 
 is nailed, and the executioners dislocate our Lord's bones in 
 stretching His arms the required length. A nail is driven 
 through the feet, and the Sacred Fountains of the Precious 
 Blood are pouring forth their streams for " the healing of the 
 nations." Christ's whole Body is racked ; every nerve is 
 quivering, and the sinews are all swollen and contracted. Now 
 they have nailed Him to the tree of shame, and as the blows of 
 the hammer fall, repeatedly Jesus utters the sublime prayer : 
 " Father, forgive them, for they know not what the}^ do." 
 He pleads for His murderers, for all whose sins are the real 
 cause of His Passion. He excuses them on the plea of ignor- 
 ance. He has full confidence in His Heavenly Father even in 
 this awful moment. 
 
 By His Sacred Passion, Jesus has merited for His disciples 
 the grace to imitate Him in His sublime prayer for His enemies. 
 St. Stephen prayed, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," 
 and thus walked in his blaster's steps. We may also learn from 
 this filial pra3''er, to trust our God when things look hopeless, to 
 cling to our anchor of hope, and be sure that He will never 
 leave nor forsake us — though He slay us, yet let us trust in 
 Him. God is ever " our Father." 
 
 Now the soldier? raise the Cross by means of ladders and 
 ropes. It totters, and seems as though it would fall with its 
 
 * Keble. 
 
4o6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Divine Burden. Heedless of His Agony, they jerk the Cross 
 into its socket, and steady it by driving in stout wedges. The 
 Body of our Lord sinks by its own weight, as they raise the 
 Cross, and His Sacred Wounds gape widely, while the Blood 
 flows faster than ever. 
 
 Jesus is lifted up ; He hangs between Heaven and earth ; 
 He is receiving His baptism of blood. What a moment in 
 the earth's history, — in that of all time ! " Behold, the Lamb 
 of God !" who even now is taking away " the sin of the world." 
 Venite adoremus. 
 
 The Cross of Jesus — it is His standard. Before He sanctified 
 the Cross it was an instrument of shame, now Christians honour 
 it as " the tree of life," and this " sign of the Son of man " 
 shall be seen in the Heavens, when He comes to judge the 
 earth. Christ, our Master, our King, reigns gloriously from 
 the tree. Venite adoremus. 
 
 Now the soldiers place the title, written in three languages — 
 in Latin, in Greek, and in Hebrew — " jesus of nazareth 
 THE KING OF THE JEWS." Thus all who pass by could read 
 His true title. He is the King of the Jews, although they 
 have rejected Him. The words contain the charge on which 
 He was condemned ; at the same time, they are an offence to 
 the Jews. As soon as the chief priests see, or hear of the 
 inscription written on the tablet, they hurry to Pilate, begging 
 him to make a correction — to write, not " The King of the Jews, 
 but that He said : I am the King of the Jews." In answer to 
 this request, Pilate, who no longer fears their accusations, 
 replies curtly : " What I have written, I have written." Thus 
 God ordained that Jesus should have His true title, even in 
 His hour of deepest humiliation. 
 
 As Jesus hangs upon His Cross what does He see ? Not 
 Jerusalem, for His back is turned to the city. The whole time 
 that He was hanging on the Cross, Jesus' reason was unclouded. 
 Not for one instant, was His Humanity in a comatose condition. 
 Therefore He knew all that was passing. Close by are the 
 Roman soldiers, taking their meal and brutally jesting about 
 our Lord. He sees the quarternion, to whom He was con- 
 fided, take His sacred garments, and divide them into four lots. 
 He hears them mockingly speak of their respective share of 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 407 
 
 the " royal robes." Perchance they disputed over their 
 portions. Then one takes up the seamless coat, and asks 
 what is to be done with it. Who is to have it ? As they 
 cannot agree, they bring out their dice and cast lots. Thus 
 Jesus is deprived of His garments even before His death. 
 Naked He came into the world, and naked He goes forth, but 
 what confusion He must have experienced when stripped of 
 almost all His garments — just the loin-cloth left Him ! 
 Presently, He will need a shroud, and this will be the gift of a 
 disciple. 
 
 The distribution over, the soldiers sit down to talk, laugh, 
 and gamble. Only twelve probably remain and their chief, 
 the centurion. Each of the crosses is guarded by a quarter- 
 nion. Executions are everyday occurrences, and these 
 soldiers feel no emotion, no pity for their charges. They are 
 utterly indifferent to Christ's Sufferings. From time to time 
 they think of their Divine Prisoner, but only to taunt Him. 
 Taking the inscription on the title for the subject of their 
 mockery, they blaspheme against His Royalty, saying : " If 
 Thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself." Apathy and 
 contempt alternate in their souls. 
 
 Farther back in different groups stand " the chief priests, 
 with the scribes and the ancients " — the three classes which 
 composed the Sanhedrin. They exult over His Sufferings, 
 they rejoice with fiendish delight in the result of their malignant 
 plots. Yes, there He hangs at last. How they gloat over 
 their handiwork ! But the title displeases them, and they 
 strive to make it clear that " the King of the Jews " is not 
 their Sovereign. The words might deceive some of the 
 strangers in Jerusalem, so these rulers are present to explain 
 them in their way. They both mock and blaspheme, saying : 
 " He saved others. Himself He cannot save." At last they 
 admit that He worked miracles and did good to men. 
 
 Then they continue : " If He be the King of Israel, let Him 
 now come down from the Cross, and we will believe Him. 
 He trusted in God ; let Him now deliver Him if He will have 
 Him, for He said I am the Son of God." These Sanhedrists, 
 forgetting their dignity, stand gloating over His Sufferings. 
 He is hanging dying on the tree of infamy, yet He is not 
 
4oS LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 allowed to die iii peace* A storm of abuse, insults, and howls 
 of bitter hatred rages around the Lamb of God. Mockeries 
 are hurled at Him, as He hangs there defenceless ; He willed 
 to endure them. All the titles, which had been given Him 
 t)ut of deference, or which He had claimed are used as terms 
 bf reproach. For three years, the Jews' hatred and vindictive 
 passions had been steadily increasing, and now the fury of 
 their wrath breaks over His innocent Soul, as they hurl their 
 opprobrious epithets at Him. 
 
 The malice of their souls was open to His Omniscience, but 
 He spoke not one word of reproach. Perhaps the taunt, 
 " Come down from the Cross," was a repetition of the tempta- 
 tion in the desert — the suggestion to reign without purchasing 
 His kingdom by His Sufferings. The attitude of the Jewish 
 Hierarchy, with two or three notable exceptions, may be 
 summed up in two words, " hatred and revenge.'' 
 
 No wonder that those " that passed by blasphemed," 
 taking their cue from their rulers, and seconding- their efforts 
 to discredit Christ and destroy His reputation. '* Wagging 
 their heads," the passers-by said : " Vah, Thou who destroyest 
 the Temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, 
 save Thy own self. If Thou be the Son of God, come down 
 from the Cross."* Even the thieves joined in the chorus of 
 blasphemous insults : " If Thou be the Christ, save Thyself 
 and us." 
 
 Thus the waves of scorn and hatred dashed against the 
 foot of the Cross, and Jesus, the Patient Victim, kept silence 
 as far as His enemies were concerned. Surely this deadly 
 hatred and contempt were harder to bear than even the 
 excruciating agonies of the Crucifixion ! Jesus let these 
 waters of men's passions roll over His Head ; He kept silence, 
 and remained bound to the Cross by His Infinite Love — a 
 bond stronger than the cruel nails. 
 
 " Afar off " Jesus discerns a little group — His holy Mother, 
 Mary Magdalene, and St. John, and a few other faithful 
 disciples — some of the ministering women, and perhaps a few 
 others. How the taunts and cries of the rulers, the passers-by, 
 and the soldiers ring in their ears ! Later, under cover of the 
 
 * St. Matt, xxvii. 
 
THE " VIA DOLOROSA " 409 
 
 darkness, which overshadowed the earth, they came near 
 and stood close to the Cross ; now they remain " afar off." 
 Probably the soldiers would not allow them to come nearer, 
 and, moreover, Jesus willed to tread the winepress alone. 
 Only Mary, the Mother of Jesus, kept her faith. She knew 
 that Jesus was the Messias, the Son of God. All the rest, 
 though they still loved, revered, and pitied Him, no longer 
 believed Him to be the Messias of Israel. They had hoped 
 that He would have redeemed their nation, but now all their 
 confidence in His Divine Mission has ebbed away. The 
 Passion has scandalized them ; only the strong soul of Mary 
 could grasp the m3^stery of the Cross, as the means to the 
 crown. 
 
 The presence of this little group of friends, who mourned for 
 Him was a comfort to Jesus, while at the same time it caused 
 Him pain, for He knew how they were suffering ; how His 
 holy Mother was being crucified in soul with Him. These 
 few faithful followers gave Him a proof of their love by their 
 very presence, and they represented those who, in all ages, 
 would meditate upon the sufferings of their crucified Saviour, 
 and endeavour to make Him some return of love. 
 
 Contemplate the whole scene — note the various groups 
 around the Cross ; see our suffering Saviour as He hangs 
 between Heaven and earth ; listen to the howling and shouting 
 of the mob around the Cross, and then, falling prostrate at 
 the foot of His Cross, let our voices ascend. Venitc adorcmus. 
 Tu Rex gloricB, Christe ! 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Saviour, as He hangs upon 
 His Cross, surrounded by His bitter foes. A few faithful 
 friends stand " afar off " with His blessed Mother. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Pray for the grace to hate and avoid sin. 
 
 First Point. — Jesus is led to Calvary. He falls on the road. 
 Simon is forced to carry the Cross. Jesus meets His holy 
 Mother. St. Veronica wipes His sacred face. He speaks to 
 the wailing daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 Second Point. — Jesus is nailed to the Cross. He refuses the 
 potion. The Cross is raised. 
 
410 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus is mocked on the Cross by the soldiers, 
 the rulers, and those that pass by. His faithful friends 
 watch " afar off." 
 
 Colloquy. — Offer our Lord the homage of your adoration, 
 love, and contrition. Pray for the conversion of sinners. 
 Ask for the grace to confess " Christ crucified " in all your 
 words and deeds. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI 
 JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 
 
 " It was almost the sixth hour, and there was darkness over 
 all the earth until the ninth hour."* The three Synoptists 
 all record the darkness which overspread the earth. It is 
 probable that this eclipse of the sun only extended over 
 Palestine. As it lasted three hours, it could not have been 
 an ordinary eclipse of the sun, which never exceeds fifteen 
 minutes ; moreover, during the Paschal season, the moon was 
 at its full. We must therefore conclude that this thick 
 darkness was preternatural, and fittingly did obscurity 
 envelop the earth when Jesus, the Sun of Justice, was setting. 
 The God of Nature was suffering, therefore Nature was con- 
 vulsed. When Jesus was born, a bright miraculous star pro- 
 claimed His advent, and when He died, night covered the 
 land. There was darkness over the earth, as there was dark- 
 ness in the souls of the Jews, as there was deep spiritual 
 desolation in the soul of the God-Man. Nature mourned 
 with her Creator. 
 
 While the mocking taunts are hurled at the Son of God, 
 suddenly a thick veil begins to fall over the city. The birds 
 cease their songs ; the animals seek their dens ; all Nature 
 is hushed, and conscience-stricken men are awed and hold 
 their peace, when the thick night deepens at the very hour 
 of noon. Silence and obscurity reigned now around Calvary. 
 The sign from Heaven, so often asked for by the Pharisees, has 
 been granted : thick darkness covers the earth with its funeral 
 pall, and the blasphemous tongues hold their peace. What 
 
 * St. Luke xxiii. 
 
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 411 
 
 are Pilate's thoughts at this moment ? Do Christ's enemies 
 see any connection between this preternatural darkness and 
 their crime of deicide ? Some do ; others, more hardened, 
 steel their souls against any better feelings, and attribute it 
 to some natural cause. 
 
 Since it silences His enemies, it comes as a slight mitigation 
 of our Saviour's Sufferings, which, moment by moment, 
 increase as His physical strength decreases. His whole Body 
 is one wound, which His weight enlarges. His hands and 
 feet burn as with fire. His limbs continue to swell ; He is 
 racked with fever, parched with thirst, and the lack of support 
 for His thorn-pierced head causes Him unutterable tortures, 
 which increase, as life slowly ebbs away. How unspeakably 
 long were those three hours on the Cross ! 
 
 What shall we say of the interior Passion of Christ ? Human 
 thought and language are powerless to fathom or describe it. 
 The innocent Lamb of God alone knew all that the interior 
 Passion comprised. " When the Divinity had fully hidden 
 Itself, and the Sacred Humanity was deprived, not of the 
 hypostatic union indeed, but of its beatific and consolatory 
 effects," when a wall of separation seemed to stand between 
 Jesus and the Eternal Father ; when our Lord's Sacred 
 Humanity was engulfed in unspeakable tortures, then He 
 experienced the most terrible desolation of soul, and called 
 upon the Eternal Father : " My God, my God, why hast Thou 
 forsaken Me ?" He no longer employs the title of " Father." 
 
 Yet in the midst of His interior and exterior Passion, Jesus 
 thought of others. He prayed for His murderers as the execu- 
 tioners nailed Him to the Cross. He spoke words of comfort 
 to the penitent thief. At first, both the thieves blasphemed 
 and mocked Christ, but presently one — Dysmas — repented. 
 He rebuked his companion, acknowledged that he had merited 
 his sentence, and confessed Christ's innocence : " This man hath 
 done no evil." Then, feeling himself unworthy of any special 
 favour, he turned to Christ, and begged a simple remem- 
 brance : " Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy 
 kingdom." " Dysmas could not have made this prayer unless 
 the grateful Lord had already done great things for him." and 
 St. John Chrysostom says : " He sees Jesus a condemned Man, 
 
412 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 but invokes Him as a King ; sees Him on a Cross, but prays 
 to Him as if enthroned in Heaven.'* 
 
 Jesus gives to that poor penitent thief (as He is ever wont 
 to do) far more than was asked or hoped for. From the 
 parched hps of Jesus comes forth the consohng promise, 
 strengthened by a solemn asseveration : " Amen, I say to 
 thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." That 
 very day, in a few hours, Dysmas entered into the joy of His 
 Lord. Of the other thief, so near to Jesus in His Passion, 
 Hke Dysmas, we know no more. Was he saved ? God alone 
 knows, but it looks as though the one was taken, the other 
 left, for God never forces man's free-will. He invites, but He 
 never compels souls to accept His abundant graces. 
 
 It was still about noon apparently, when Jesus spoke again. 
 This time He addressed His blessed Mother and St. John. 
 This Evangelist alone relates the touching scene : " Now there 
 stood by the Cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's 
 sister, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus 
 therefore saw His mother and the disciple standing whom He 
 loved, He saith to His mother : Woman, behold thy son. 
 After that He saith to the disciple : Behold thy mother. And 
 from that hour the disciple took her to his own."* 
 
 Only Mary, the Mother of Jesus, St. John, and Mary Mag- 
 dalene appear to have come close to the Cross. The other 
 women seem to have been farther off, perhaps even the bnital 
 soldiers recognized His Mother's right to be there. What a 
 contrast Calvary presented, comparedwith some of the grand 
 scenes these disciples had witnessed, in which Jesus was the 
 central figure ! St. John could recall the stilling of the 
 tempest ; he has seen Jesus walk upon the waters, and was 
 one of the three witnesses of His Transfiguration. Mary 
 Magdalene was present when Jesus called back Lazarus from 
 the dead. All present had witnessed the Triumphal Entry. 
 
 Mary had offered her Babe to receive the adoration of the 
 Magi ; she knew more of His grandeur than any human being. 
 Mary loved Jesus more than any other human mother could 
 love her son, since she could adore Him as her God. Her 
 perfect nature, untainted by the curse of sin, rendered her 
 
 * St. John xix. 
 
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 413 
 
 love purer, deeper, more comprehensive^ and in the same 
 measure, it increased her sorrow. He hung on the Cross, and 
 she could do nothing to alleviate His Sufferings ; she could not 
 even give Him a cup of cold water. She stood by the Cross to 
 the end, in spite of the threats and curses of the foes of Jesus. 
 She, too, probably had her share in the insults offered to Him. 
 She remained there voluntarily, because as she loved Jesus so 
 intensely, she desired to share His humiliation and pains. 
 Mary could say to Jesus, her Son, what Ethai replied to David, 
 who was fleeing from his rebellious son Absalom : " In what 
 place soever Thou shalt be, Lord my King, either in life or in 
 death, there shall thy servant be."* Mary, " the handmaid 
 of the Lord," stood beside her Son and King. She knew the 
 full signification of His death, and as Eve had had her share 
 in the Fall of man, so Mary, the second Eve, co-operated in 
 the Redemption of the world. 
 
 Now Jesus provides for her sustenance ; He confides her to 
 His beloved disciple, and utters His farewell words to both : 
 " Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother." John 
 merited this great privilege, for he was braver than all the 
 other Apostles during Christ's Passion. He remained near 
 His Master in the house of the High-Priest, in the Praetorium, 
 and by the Cross. He took our Lady under his care, and 
 brought her to Calvary, even before Jesus gave her into his 
 keeping. Jesus rewarded St. John for his courage, by allowing 
 him to take His own place with regard to Mary, as far as any 
 human being could do so. John instead of Jesus ! What an 
 exchange ! Yet Mary accepted the substitution humbly, 
 lovingly, gratefully, for such was the will of her dying Son. 
 
 " Now, at last, all that concerned the earthward aspect of 
 His Mission — as far as it had to be done on the Cross — was 
 ended. He had prayed for those who had nailed Him to it, 
 in ignorance of what they did ; He had given the comfort of 
 assurance to the penitent, who had owned His Glory in His 
 Humiliation ; and He had made the last provision of love in 
 regard to those nearest to Him. So to speak, the relations 
 of His Humanity — that which touched His Human Nature in 
 any direction — had been fully met. He had done with the 
 
 * 2 Kings XV. 
 
414 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 human aspect of His work and with earth." No other words 
 are addressed to creatures. Jesus speaks again but three 
 times, once of His Sufferings, twice He addresses His Heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 Those three long hours of prolonged torture, silence, dark- 
 ness, and desolation of soul ! How slowly the sands of time 
 filtered through the hour-glass. The shadows of death 
 lengthened so slowly, and yet each moment His weakness in- 
 creased, and the greatest of Christ's Sufferings was the seeming 
 abandonment of Jesus by His Heavenly Father. This desola- 
 tion of soul was the fulfilment of a prophecy. Speaking in 
 the name of the Messias, the prophetic words of the Psalmist 
 foreshadowed this abandonment : " O God, look upon me : 
 why hast Thou forsaken me ?"* In His intense desolation of 
 soul, Jesus uttered this piercing cry ; like the seventh word " 
 on the Cross, the " fourth word " is a quotation. The Fathers 
 of the Church hold that on the Cross Jesus spoke thus, because 
 He was surety for mankind, and held the place of humanity, 
 estranged from God by sin. 
 
 Doubtless, Jesus recited the whole of this psalm on the 
 Cross, and in addressing His Father as " My God," He shows 
 His firm confidence. God may, as it were, conceal His face, 
 but He is still His God. Jesus uttered the piercing cry, " My 
 God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" when His bodily 
 anguish was at its climax, for death was near at hand ; also, 
 when His sacred Soul was overwhelmed with bitterness, 
 sadness, and tedium. He uttered it after three long hours of 
 silent endurance, for He willed that men should know how 
 terrible was His anguish. It is also possible that the devil 
 caused new sufferings and trials to our Lord, and that the 
 interior Passion, begun in Gethsemani, continued even with 
 greater intensity until the Redemption was accomplished 
 and Jesus sent forth His Spirit. He had foreseen that '' the 
 prince of this world " would renew his assault, although the 
 devil " had not any thing " in Him. 
 
 The end was now very near, when, almost immediately 
 after having uttered the " fourth word," Jesus, knowing that 
 all things were now accomplished that the Scriptures might 
 
 * Ps. xxi. 
 
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 415 
 
 be fulfilled, said : " I thirst." Jesus did not speak of any 
 of His physical Sufferings except thirst. It must indeed have 
 been terrible, for His Blood had poured from His sacred Body 
 by all His wounds. He was consumed with fever ; His tongue 
 was black and swollen, and His lips were parched. If men 
 have lost their reason when deprived of water, what must 
 our Saviour's thirst have been, when the loss of blood was so 
 great, and for so many hours He had not tasted food or 
 drink ? He thirsted for w^ater, and men mocked Him by 
 offering Him vinegar ; but He thirsted still more for the 
 salvation of men. As God, He saw all whom He had created, 
 and He longed to save them, yet He foreknew that for so 
 many, His Sufferings would be endured in vain. 
 
 The soldiers heard His words " I thirst," and, " putting a 
 sponge full of vinegar about hyssop," they " offered it to His 
 mouth."* " When Jesus therefore had taken the vinegar, 
 He said : It is consummated." This was the " sixth word " 
 from the Cross. His life's work on earth was done. The 
 prophecies were all fulfilled ; God's justice was satisfied ; 
 Jesus had finished the work committed to Him by the 
 Father. 
 
 " It is consummated," and, moment by moment, Jesus 
 becomes more pallid, as the hand of death is allowed to touch 
 Him. His sacred features are more sharply defined ; the 
 eyes are glazed ; a cold perspiration breaks out from every 
 pore. There is one convulsive movement of His whole Body, 
 as, looking up with sublime resignation, our Emmanuel, 
 " crying with a loud voice, said : " Father, into Thy hands I 
 commend My Spirit," and then, meekly bowing His thorn- 
 crowned head, " He gave up the ghost." 
 
 Consummatum est ! Venite adoreniiis. 
 
 Jesus is dead, and He has died the death of the crucified. 
 It is generally believed that the immediate natural cause of 
 death was the rupture of the vessels of the heart. Thus 
 Jesus, the Lamb of God, died of a broken heart, and this 
 death would explain the fact that, when the soldier pieiced 
 His side, " blood and water gushed forth." Jesus died, not 
 as men die, of necessity, but because He willed, when and 
 
 * St. John xix. 
 
4i6 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 how He willed " (St. Augustine). He consummated His 
 sacrifice at the hour when the daily victim — a lamb — was 
 offered in the Temple, and He encountered death as a con- 
 queror. As He Himself tells us, when 'speaking of His life : 
 " No man can take it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself : 
 and I have power to lay it down and power to take it up 
 again."* 
 
 Jesus has expired, and now the darkness gives place to the 
 light of day. All is over ! What a grief, and yet what a 
 relief for His disciples ! The Soul has left the Body, but the 
 Divinity remains. We can still kneel and worship our God. 
 Let us contemplate the beautiful features of our dead Saviour 
 and ask Him to imprint that sacred image in our souls, that, 
 in our turn, we may be crucified to the world, its pomps and 
 vices, and be solely His. 
 
 " Take my life, Lord ; let it be 
 Ever, only, all for Thee." 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate our Saviour as He hangs upon 
 the Cross, enduring excruciating agonies. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace to suffer generously for 
 love of Him . 
 
 First Point. — Jesus suffered exteriorly and interiorly. He 
 consoles the penitent thief. 
 
 Second Point. — He confides His blessed Mother to St. John 
 and the disciple to her. 
 
 Third Point. — ^The three long hours of silent agony ; the 
 last three words. Jesus dies. 
 
 Colloquy. — Make sincere acts of adoration, love, and con- 
 trition. Ask, by His sufferings, for a deep horror of sin. 
 Offer yourself body and soul to your crucified Redeem.er. 
 Beg Him to stand by you in your last hour. Pray for the 
 
 dying. 
 
 * St. John X. 
 

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" DEAD AND BURIED " 417 
 
 CHAPTER XL VII 
 
 THE SIGNS WHICH ACCOMPANIED CHRIST'S DEATH: 
 
 HIS BURIAL 
 
 " A SHUDDER ran through Nature as its Sun had set," and 
 this convulsion is thus described by St. Matthew : " Behold 
 the veil of the Temple was rent in two from the top even to the 
 bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent. 
 And the graves were opened : and many bodies of the saints 
 that had slept arose, And coming out of the tombs after His 
 resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to 
 many."* No sooner was Jesus dead than God glorified Him ; 
 prodigies — well calculated to strike terror into the souls of 
 His murderers — were seen and heard in Jerusalem. 
 
 The veil of the Temple was rent in two. This curtain 
 separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, and, as 
 none but Levites or priests were permitted to enter the actual 
 " House of the Lord " (as distinct from the Temple Courts), 
 the news of the rending of this veil must have been made 
 known by some of them. It was rent at the hour when the 
 priest appointed was offering the sacrifice of incense in the 
 Holy Place. This magnificent curtain measured 60 by 
 30 feet, and is said to have been woven in seventy-two 
 separate squares. It was made of a costly Babylonian 
 material of four colours — white, blue, scarlet, and purple — 
 and embroidered with figures of cherubim. As there were 
 two veils before the Holy of Holies, the outer one must have 
 been rent, otherwise the tear might not have been perceived 
 at once. Perhaps both were torn, since the rending of the 
 veil signified that humanity, in virtue of Christ's merits, could 
 now with confidence " enter into the Holies by the blood 
 of Christ ; a new and living way which He hath dedicated for 
 us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. "f The veil 
 being rent from the top to the bottom, could not have been 
 done by human hands. Possibly there were some eye- 
 witnesses of the rending among the " great multitude of 
 priests " who after Pentecost obeyed the call of God. 
 St. Matt, xxvii. f Heb. xii. 
 
 27 
 
4i8 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 This was the first of several '' signs " worked in the Temple 
 about this period — i.e., between the death of Christ and the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. One of these prodigies was the 
 mysterious automatic opening of the great Temple gates at 
 midnight, in spite of their having been locked and bolted 
 securely. At the same time a noise of hurried footsteps was 
 heard, and many voices exclaiming : " Let us depart hence." 
 Josephus relates this incident, and connects it with the 
 destruction of the Temple. 
 
 If both the veils were rent, so that the ministering priests 
 could see into the Holy of Holies, they must indeed have been 
 terror-stricken, for none but the High-Priest might enter 
 those sacred precincts. Now that Jesus was dead, man was 
 no longer separated from God, but could approach with con- 
 fidence in the Name of the Redeemer. Caiphas would have 
 been told of this strange rending of the Temple veil. What 
 were his thoughts ? We know not, but we may conjecture 
 that these mysterious signs which followed the death of 
 Christ must have been connected with it by the enemies of 
 Christ, as they were by " the centurion and they that were 
 with him watching Jesus " as He hung upon the Cross. 
 
 *' The earth quaked and the rocks were rent." This earth- 
 quake seemed like a protest of Nature against the awful crime 
 which the Jews had committed. Pilgrims to Jerusalem are 
 shown a rent in the rock, between the traditional spot where 
 Jesus' Cross stood and that of the impenitent thief. This 
 fissure measures about two yards in length and a foot in 
 width. The split is remarkable, because it cuts transversely 
 the plane of stratification of the rock. St. Cyril of Jerusalem 
 speaks of this cleft in the rock, which he himself had seen. 
 When Jesus died, the rocks were rent, yet many Jews still 
 hardened their hearts against His Person and teaching. 
 Some accepted Him after Pentecost ; others — e.g., the 
 majority of the Sanhedrists — persecuted His disciples. 
 
 " Many bodies of the saints that had slept arose ;" but as 
 this only happened ''after His Resurrection," we see that 
 St. Matthew anticipates this prodigy in order to group the 
 marvellous '' signs." The dead did not rise until after Jesus 
 had risen ; it was meet that He should be '* the first-fruits 
 
"DEAD AND BURIED" 419 
 
 of them that slept." What effect had these portents on those 
 who witnessed them ? At least some profited and learned 
 the lesson they were designed to teach. We read that when 
 " the centurion and they that were with him watching 
 Christ " heard Jesus' loud cry, saw how He had died, and 
 felt the tremors of the earthquake, and knew " all the things 
 that were done," they were " greatly afraid." Already the 
 preternatural darkness had silenced their mockeries, and now 
 they confessed : " Indeed this was the Son of God " — not 
 only the King of the Jews, but the King of Heaven, and in 
 rendering this testimony the centurion " glorified God." 
 
 The Body of Jesus was still attached to the Cross, and the 
 little group of faithful disciples stood sorrowfully " afar off, 
 beholding these things." This group consisted of " all 
 His acquaintance and the women that had followed Him 
 from Galilee, ministering unto Him," and His Apostles. 
 A few names are given — Mary Magdalene ; Salome, the mother 
 of James and John ; Mary of Cleophas ; Joanna, the wife of 
 Chusa and Susanna ; and " many others " who had come 
 with the pilgrim bands from Galilee. 
 
 St. Luke speaks also of " all the multitude " (literally, 
 " crowds ") " that were come together to that sight," who. 
 having seen these things, showed signs of repentance : " they 
 returned striking their breasts," but the grief -stricken 
 disciples of Jesus remained watching. He is dead, but they 
 may not yet touch His Sacred Body, so, mute and awe- 
 stricken, they remain " to see the end." 
 
 The rulers had probably not heard of Christ's death, con- 
 sequently, as " a great Sabbath " was about to commence, 
 and it was contrary to their custom to leave the bodies on 
 the Cross on a Sabbath, they besought Pilate that the legs 
 of the malefactors might be broken. The soldiers therefore 
 broke the legs of the two thieves, but, finding that Jesus was 
 dead, one (named Longinus) with a spear opened his side, and 
 " immediately there came out blood and water."* It is not 
 possible to decide whether this outpouring of blood and water 
 was miraculous or due to natural causes. The wound made 
 was deep, since Jesus subsequently invited St. Thomas to 
 
 * St. John xix. 
 
420 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 lay his hand in it. Various mystical interpretations of the 
 blood and water are given by commentators. Some explain 
 that these two fluids signified respectively the two sacraments 
 of Penance and Baptism. 
 
 Now that all three were dead and that Pilate had given 
 permission for the removal of the bodies, the soldiers would 
 at once proceed to the work of burial. The robbers' bodies, 
 with their crosses, were hastily cast into some shallow trench 
 dug for the purpose. Jesus was to be honoured in His burial. 
 It was prophesied that He should be with " the rich " in His 
 death, and this was unconsciously brought to pass by Joseph 
 of Arimathea, who we are told " was a rich man," good 
 and just, and a secret disciple of Jesus. He was a member 
 of the Sanhedrin, but as " he looked for the kingdom of God," 
 and accepted Christ as the Messias, he had " not consented 
 to their counsels and doings." Probably he and Nicodemus, 
 another timid disciple of Jesus, had mourned over the crime 
 committed by the rulers ; but what resistance could they 
 oppose to the whole governing body of Israel ? 
 
 Pilate was disturbed twice that afternoon while Jesus hung 
 upon the Cross. First, the rulers had petitioned that the 
 three condemned might be killed at once to prevent a desecra- 
 tion of the Sabbath ; and then Joseph, ** a noble councillor," 
 summoned up courage and " went in boldly to Pilate and 
 begged the body of Jesus." What a treasure he asked for ! 
 Joseph, who had longed to assist Jesus during His Passion, 
 but had been so helpless, had determined that his beloved 
 Master should be buried with due reverence, and was only 
 too glad to offer " the sepulchre that was hewed out of a rock, 
 wherein never yet any man had been laid " — a tomb which 
 Joseph had had prepared for himself and family in his own 
 garden without the city wall, close to Calvary. 
 
 This Sanhedrist " went in boldly " and presented his re- 
 quest, willing to pay for the favour, should the Governor ask 
 a fee, as was often the case. The Passion of Jesus, His 
 patient, majestic endurance of suffering, were already bearing 
 their fruits in the souls of His disciples. Joseph and Nico- 
 demus both showed their faith in Jesus and their reverence for 
 Kim, by coming forward boldly as His followers. 
 
"DEAD AND BURIED" 421 
 
 Through Joseph, the Governor learned that Jesus had ex- 
 pired, and he wondered that our Lord " should be dead 
 already." Apparently he doubted, for the official news had 
 not yet reached him, so, " sending for the centurion," who 
 had been charged with the three executions, he made in- 
 quiries. The centurion having confirmed Joseph's words, 
 Pilate gave the desired permission. Thus this secret disciple 
 came forward opportunely, and prevented the soldiers from 
 interring Jesus in the graves provided by the rulers for 
 criminals. Pilate was probably glad to grant Joseph's re- 
 quest, since he knew Jesus to be innocent of the charges 
 brought against Him. Moreover, this concession would 
 annoy the Jews, which would be a gratification to Pilate. 
 As a formal permission for removing the bodies from their 
 crosses was required, they remained untouched, until Joseph 
 returned and announced that Pilate had consented. 
 
 Meanwhile, the blessed Mother of God, St. John, Mary 
 Magdalene, and the other holy women, all gathered round 
 close to the Cross. They looked at the dead Christ as He 
 hung upon the tree. It was still daylight, and the Cross was 
 low enough for them to touch His sacred Body. They did 
 not fear legal impurity incurred by touching a corpse. How- 
 waxen the features were ! As these faithful disciples looked 
 more closely at Him, they saw the marks of the scourges, the 
 gaping wounds, the open side. In spite of their feeble faith' — 
 for our Lady alone knew what the mystery of the Cross 
 signified — they did love and revere Jesus, and with His 
 death, all joy seemed for ever to have gone out of their lives. 
 They had no hope of a glorious resurrection, and the past, so 
 rich in memories, in sweet intercourse with the Son of God, 
 the wondrous signs worked by Jesus — all these seemed as a 
 dream, a chapter sealed never to be reopened. All their 
 dearest expectations were buried with Jesus in the tomb. 
 Doubtless, some of the Apostles besides St. John were present, 
 for the words, " all his acquaintance " used by St. Luke 
 signif}/ in the Greek male friends. Contemplate this sorrow- 
 ing group. With the exception of the Mother of Jesus, all 
 thought that they had been followers of a great and holy 
 Prophet, whom their rulers had cruelly put to death ; but, 
 
422 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 alas ! now His Mission was over, frustrated by men's malice 
 There was nothing to be done but to return to Galilee and 
 resume their ordinary occupations. Never again would they 
 see or converse with their loved Lord. He had raised Lazarus, 
 but who would raise Him ? They even forgot, for the time 
 being, that He had predicted His Resurrection, as we see from 
 their incredulity, when it actually took place. Yet the 
 Passion had been accomplished ; why could they not accept 
 the consoling promise : " You shall see Me again "? Because 
 they were " foolish and slow of heart to believe " the words 
 of^the Son of God. 
 
 Reverently they stand round the " Lamb that was slain," 
 absorbed in their grief. Reverently, too, let us contemplate 
 our dead Saviour, and beg of Him to give us a deep horror of 
 sin. Nowhere can we learn the malice of sin so well, as when 
 we stand on Calvary. 
 
 But the sun is almost setting, and the bodies must be re- 
 moved at once. Joseph, Nicodemus, and John detach the 
 Body of Jesus from the Cross ; the Roman soldiers are busy 
 burying the criminals. Mary, His Mother stands by — it is 
 her right to lay out the body of her Son. Reverently they 
 place the Sacred Body upon a low slab, for they wish to 
 swathe and anoint It. " Nicodemus also came, he who at 
 first came to Jesus by night " three years previously, and who 
 had once ventured to defend Him in presence of the rulers, 
 so as to bring down upon himself the ironical question : " Art 
 thou also a Galilean ?" — i.e., a disciple of Jesus of Galilee. 
 
 How Mary kneels in adoration ! Mary Magdalene places 
 herself near His sacred feet — there where she once found so 
 full and free a pardon. Now she realizes something of what 
 that pardon cost. She gazes on the work of sin ; she sees 
 what havoc it has wrought. John looks at the bosom of 
 Jesus, where he was wont to pillow his head. Surely never 
 were there three hearts so full of sorrow as those of Mary the 
 Queen of Martyrs the Mother of Dolours, St. John the beloved 
 disciple, and Mary the model of all penitents ! The sacred 
 Body is prepared for burial, for there must be no delay. 
 Mary takes off the crown of thorns stained with the Blood 
 of her Son. Nicodemus, Joseph, and John swathe the Body 
 
"DEAD AND BURIED" 423 
 
 in clean linen cloths — i.e., in strips of fine Sidonian or 
 Indian muslin. Each limb is swathed separately, and the 
 " swathes " are sprinkled with spices prepared from pow- 
 dered myrrh and aloes. Nicodemus gives for his share of 
 the " spices " for embalming one hundred pounds of myrrh 
 and aloes. Joseph contributes some spices and the linen 
 cloths. We are not told that the holy women brought any 
 on Good Friday, though we know they took some to the tomb 
 early on Easter Day. Our Lady knew that the Body of her 
 Son needed no embalming — the Holy One could not see 
 corruption. 
 
 As soon as the Body is ready, It is carried to the tomb — to 
 Joseph's " own new monument." No man has ever been 
 laid to rest there. Thus the Jews could not say when they 
 heard of Christ's Resurrection, that His bones had come in 
 contact with those of some prophet, and had thus been raised 
 to life. All human assurances were given that Jesus was 
 really dead and buried ; every precaution was taken to prevent 
 the disciples from stealing His Body. 
 
 Watch the sorrowful procession as the Body of our Saviour 
 is carried to the garden — in through the gateway and along a 
 path up to the entrance to the tomb. One goes on ahead, 
 holding a lighted torch, for the sepulchre is dark. They reach 
 the door ; Nicodemus and Joseph have rolled away the stone. 
 The procession reaches the tomb, and the bearers descend the 
 few steps. They carry the bier up to the slab of rock, pre- 
 pared to receive It. Reverently they lay the lacerated Body 
 of Jesus there. At least He no longer suffers, and that is an 
 intense relief. Now the shadows are rapidly lengthening — 
 in a few moments the Sabbath lights will be lit up in every 
 Jewish home. Mary and the weeping disciples gaze once 
 more on the bruised Body of Jesus, then John leads his mother 
 away, for Jesus has bequeathed her to him. 
 
 The men close the door of the sepulchre, but Mary ]\Iagda- 
 lene, and Mary the mother of James and John remain " sitting 
 over against the sepulchre." They cannot tear themselves 
 away from it. Though they can no longer gaze upon Him, 
 they are near, and they seem to feel His presence, as we so 
 often seem to feel our loved ones nearer to us in death than 
 
424 LOOKING ON JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 
 
 in life. Angels watch around that tomb, the holy women wail 
 without. Where is the Soul of Jesus ? In Hades, consoling 
 the just and giving them the good news that their redemption 
 is accomplished. St. Joseph is there, holy Simeon and Anna, 
 also the penitent thief. Truly on that Good Friday afternoon 
 Hades is transformed into Heaven ! Adam and Eve see 
 their Saviour, the prophets look upon Him, of whom they 
 had prophesied. In Hades, all is joy and peace ; on earth 
 there is unutterable anguish in the souls of Jesus' disciples. 
 The night draws on apace, and still the holy women watch 
 and lament. How long the hours seemed ! Perhaps St. John 
 came back later to conduct his own mother and Mary Magda- 
 lene home to Bethania. 
 
 The next morning — the Jewish Sabbath — a sound of a 
 measured tramp might have been heard near the Gate of 
 Judgment as sixteen men marched past Calvary and on to 
 the sepulchre. They were sent to " seal " and watch the 
 grave. Four men kept guard at a time, and they were relieved 
 each watch, while, if necessary, the services of the sixteen 
 could be had. To seal the sepulchre a cord was stretched 
 over the stone that covered the entrance, and the ends were 
 sealed to each side of the rock. Thus the tomb of Jesus, as 
 that of a King, was guarded by soldiers, and these precautions 
 against a rumour of Christ's Resurrection were all taken by 
 His enemies. 
 
 These Roman guards are sent at the request of the chief 
 priests and Pharisees, who " came together to Pilate," doubt- 
 less, just when he was congratulating himself that he had done 
 with them at last. Their words are as bitter as ever. Jesus 
 is still for them " that Seducer," and as " hatred is more keen- 
 sighted than love," these rulers take Christ's words concerning 
 His Resurrection literally, and their fears must have been 
 deepened by the prodigies, which had accompanied and 
 followed His death. Therefore, they petition Pilate once 
 more, saying : " Sir, we have remembered that Seducer said, 
 while He was yet alive : After three days I will rise again. 
 Command therefore the sepulchre to be guarded until the 
 third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him away, and 
 say to the people : He is risen from the dead, and the last 
 
I( 
 
 DEAD AND BURIED'' 425 
 
 error shall be worse than the first." Once more, they are 
 curtly dismissed, though their petition is granted : " You 
 have a guard : go, guard it as you know." 
 
 Thus the guards are procured by Christ's enemies, and 
 their efforts to discredit Christ's predictions do but serve 
 to verify them. The guards watch, the disciples keep the 
 Sabbath rest and mourn for their Lord. Legions of Angels 
 worship the dead Christ, for the Divinity is present in that 
 disfigured Body. The hours speed on their course. Our 
 blessed Mother awaits the Resurrection mom, and we join 
 our vigil with hers. In spirit, we watch within the sepulchre ; 
 we gaze on His sacred Body, so rigid in death's icy embrace. 
 He is our Saviour and our God. He died for the souls of men. 
 He loved me, and gave Himself for me. Venite adoremus. 
 
 Summary for Meditation. 
 
 First Prelude. — Contemplate Jesus hanging dead upon the 
 Cross. 
 
 Second Prelude. — Ask for the grace of perfect consecration 
 of self to His service. 
 
 First Point. — The prodigies which attended the death of 
 Jesus : the rending of the veil ; the earthquake. 
 
 Second Point. — ^The breaking of the thieves* legs. Jesus' 
 side is pierced. Nicodemus, Joseph, and our Lady and the 
 holy women anoint our Lord. 
 
 Third Point. — Jesus is carried to the tomb. The holy women 
 watch. The Roman soldiers mount the guard over the tomb. 
 Jesus consoles the just in Hades. 
 
 Colloquy. — Worship the dead Christ, as He hangs on the 
 Cross. Sympathize with the Mother of Dolours. Pray that, 
 dead to the world, you may live unto Christ. Intercede for 
 the bereaved. Renew your contrition for past sins and your 
 firm purpose of amendment. Ask for confidence in the 
 promises of Christ. Pray for the souls in Purgatory who 
 await their resurrection morning. Thank the Lamb that was 
 slain for the blessed hope of a glorious resurrection. 
 
 Laus Tibi Chris te ! 
 
 k. & T. \V ASHBOURNE, LTD., PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 ON 
 
 SOME WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 Training of Girls in their Teens. 
 
 " Madame Cecilia's literary skill and spiritual experience are 
 excellently displayed in her little book ' The Training of Girls 
 in their Teens,' a series of detailed counsels for the benefit of 
 Christian mothers and indirectly of their daughters." — The 
 Month. 
 
 Home Truths. 
 
 " These chapters of thoughtful advice for the Children of Mary 
 may be read with advantage by all Christians. The volume is 
 divided into two parts — the first, devoted to social and family 
 life, to the duties of home and the perfection of conduct in the 
 world ; the second, to the inner life, the sanctiiication of time, 
 the correction of faults, the choice of reading, the use of the 
 Sacraments, prayer, devotion, and spiritual progress generally. 
 ... A treasury of judicious counsel and comfort, not alone for 
 Children of Mary, but for all girls and women who wish to lead 
 Christian lives in the world." — The Tablet. 
 
 Hints for Catechists on Instructing Converts. 
 
 " The opening words of the Archbishop of Westminster in his 
 preface to ' Hints for Catechists ' are well worth quoting. The 
 Archbishop says : ' There is no more consoling fact at the present 
 day in England than the number of those in every rank of life 
 
 427 
 
428 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 who, without any temporal attraction and often in actual danger 
 of temporal loss, desire to be admitted within the one true fold 
 of Jesus Christ.' In order to help those who have the labour 
 of instructing such souls, Madame Cecilia has -written this volume. 
 It is intended not alone for priests and religious, but also for such of 
 the laity as undertake the work of catechetical instruction, 
 Madame Cecilia writes with a knowledge and zeal born of ex- 
 tensive reading and wide experience in the treatment of different 
 classes of converts. She treats of the qualifications necessary 
 for a catechist, of , the method of teaching, and gives some brief 
 notes on certain points of Christian doctrine. Madame Cecilia 
 has done her work well, and has given us a volume that will 
 form a valuable addition to the books useful in the growing 
 work of instructing non-Catholics." — Catholic World. 
 
 Labourers in God*s Vineyard. 
 
 " Madame Cecilia has laid us under still another obligation 
 by her ' Labourers in God's Vineyard.' The object of the book 
 is to persuade women to take their proper place in the work for 
 souls. Feminism, which, as she remarks, has been developing 
 so rapidly during the last few years, is turned into its proper 
 channel. Every woman of whatever station of life has some 
 special work to do ; ' as surely as you are a disciple of Christ, so 
 surely is your life's work mapped out.' One of the main objects 
 of the book is to point out the great work the Catholic Women's 
 League is doing, and of what practical utility it is. A great 
 portion of the book is taken up with practical methods of labour- 
 ing in God's Vineyard. Works for the home circle come next, 
 and the amount that can be done in this way can only be realized 
 by the perusal of the vast number of examples given by Madame 
 Cecilia. In the remaining chapters the natural and supernatural 
 qualifications necessary are most vividly portrayed ; while in the 
 last we are told to remember ' that every supernatural action 
 shall be recompensed by an eternal reward. When the heavens 
 and earth shall have passed away, millions of years hence, the 
 Christian who bestowed that cup of cold water will be enjoying 
 his reward.' The book is written in a charming and vivid style ; 
 nearly every page furnishes some anecdote to bring home the 
 moral still closer." — The Tablet. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 429 
 
 More Spiritual Readings for /Mary's Children. 
 
 " A collection of articles which appeared originally in the 
 pages of The Child of Mary's Magazine, and which are here 
 gathered together according to their subject-matter into chapters 
 with appropriate headings — e.g.. Chapter II., Readings bearing 
 on Zeal (there are eight of them). Readers of the Crucible 
 need no introduction to Madame Cecilia, and we need only add 
 here that it is not necessary to belong to the official band of 
 Mary's Children to appreciate and profit by this last issue of her 
 wise and busy pen." — The Crucible. 
 
 At the Feet of Jesus. 
 
 " In her last volume of spiritual conferences Madame Cecilia, 
 who is .already in repute as the authoress of ' The Convert's 
 Guide,' ' Home Truths for Mary's Children,' etc., publishes a 
 course of spiritual readings or meditations which deserves a 
 warm welcome. The writer's chief aim has been to enable the 
 reader to realize how truly our Lord was made like unto men in 
 all the bitter things — except sin — that fall to the lot of humanity. 
 What she has here written should succeed in conveying, as well 
 through the heart to the mind as through the mind to the heart, 
 a fuller conception of how intensely human was the Son of man. 
 The theology of the book is of a healthy type, associated with 
 sound common sense and deep spiritual insight. The literary 
 style of the book is very good." — Weekly Register. 
 
 The Retreat Manual. 
 
 " The general scope of this little book may perhaps be best 
 indicated by the simple process of setting down the titles of its 
 six chapters — viz. : (i.) ' Eve of the Retreat ' ; (ii.) * Employment 
 of Time in Retreat ' ; (iii.) ' Self- Knowledge ' ; (iv.) 'On the 
 Sacrament of Penance ' ; (v.) ' The Christian Life ' ; (vi.) ' Means 
 of Perseverance.' Although these titles do not in all cases fully 
 tell their own tale, yet they sufficiently indicate that this manual 
 differs widely from each and all of a score or more of books, 
 
430 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 
 
 familiar to many of us, which have been drawn up for the behoof 
 of persons engaged in spiritual exercises of one kind or anoth'er. 
 Here we have no ' points of meditation,' nor ' conferences,' or 
 * considerations ' in the usual form ; but rather a collection of 
 hints and suggestions which presuppose the ordinary machinery 
 of a retreat, and teach people — ladies especially — how to use it. 
 Such a collection is all the more welcome because so very large 
 a proportion of our * retreat ' literature is primarily intended 
 for * religious ' ; and although the truths of the Gospel are the 
 same for all sorts and conditions of men, it is obviously desirable 
 that their special applications to particular states of life should be 
 duly insisted on." — The Tablet. 
 
 Catholic Scripture Manuals. 
 
 " These manuals are founded on lines already adopted by 
 non-Catholic authors, whose works have been hitherto largely 
 used in Catholic schools on account of their adaptability for 
 enabling teachers and taught to attain more rapid and lasting 
 results than were possible under the older methods. The first 
 of the series is * The Gospel according to St. Mark.' It may 
 be said without hesitation that Madame Cecilia has succeeded 
 in producing a work worthy of great praise — as well on account 
 of its exhaustive character as on account of the special features 
 introduced — which render it superior to all others of its kind. 
 As a manual for Catholic use, whether for the purpose of pre- 
 paring students for the University Local Examinations or for 
 use by teachers in Catholic schools, it easily takes the first place. 
 Among the special features above alluded to it may be noted that 
 the text and annotations are placed in immediate juxtaposition ; 
 side-lights, as they are termed, which give a full, clear, and 
 concise history of the Jews, their sects, worship, parties, and 
 rulers ; and additional notes intended for more advanced pupils. 
 Where possible the authoress has shown great care in explaining 
 how the doctrines of the Catholic Church are based on the Holy 
 Scriptures. Further, which is also a new departure, the Latin 
 and English text of the Gospel are given in parallel columns. 
 A special atlas is published, at a nominal price, in a separate 
 volume, to serve for use in connection with the series." — Catholic 
 Book Notes. 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 431 
 
 Cor Cordium. 
 
 " All those who are familiar with Madame Cecilia's books of 
 devotion will be glad to welcome this little collection of medita- 
 tions on the Sacred Heart. They are presented in a shorter 
 form than the meditations which she has already given us in 
 * At the Feet of Jesus.' And she herself prefers to call them 
 'thoughts,' ' pensees.' But the titles themselves will serve to 
 show that they are of interest to all who can spare a few moments 
 of the day to turn their thoughts upon such subjects as * Our 
 True Friend,' ' Judge Not,' ' Self -Sacrifice,' ' Wealthy Rest,' 
 ' The Test of Faithfulness.' " — The Tablet.