Part 4

“He that wonders shall reign, he who reigns shall find rest. My secret is for me, and for those that are mine are the things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him. Those who wish to see me, and wish to cling to the kingdom, must take me through affliction and suffering. For he that is near me is near the fire, he that is far from me is far from the kingdom. Where one is, there too am I; where twain are, there too will I be. As any of you sees himself in the water or in the mirror, so let him see me in himself.

“They that love me shall receive the crown. I will choose me the good, those good whom my Father in the heavens hath given me. Let the lawless continue in lawlessness, the just be justified. Behold, I make the last as the first, and all things new. In whatsoever state I find you, in that also will I judge you.”

Never heard I any who spoke of himself as this man did. For days and days afterwards some of his words came to me again and again. Whenever I was alone I seemed to hear his voice saying, “Where one is, there too am I; where twain are, there too will I be.” Whenever I gazed on the running stream or looked on the polished steel of the mirror, again I seemed to hear him say, “As any of you sees himself in the water or in the mirror, so let him see me in himself.” And, in truth, at times my features seemed to fade away, and the face of Jesus gaze upon me.

Others thought not as I. When we assembled after the sermon, to talk over it, as is our custom, I found that most had been chiefly touched by certain sayings at the end of the sermon, in which Jesus seemed to speak of the future life and the last judgment. Thou knowest, Aglaophonos, that with regard to these matters I incline more to the teaching of the Sadducean sect, who hold that Holy Scripture speaketh not of these things, and that, therefore, we need not and should not think thereon. But there were few who held that doctrine in the synagogue that day, and these thought most of the words in which Jesus seemed to claim the prerogatives of the Divine Judge. “I was amazed,” quoth Serachyah ben Pinchas, “when he spoke of judging us himself in the last days: it wanted but a little that I had rent my garments at the blasphemy. But surely, thought I to myself, the man will shortly tell us, ‘These are the words of the Lord,’ and so I refrained.”

Now I will tell thee of a most strange event that happened with me and this Jesus. A day or two after this, I was sitting in my room and studying the words of Torah, and had fallen into deep thought on the things of this life and the next, and gradually I fell thinking of certain words that I had heard from Jesus the Nazarene, as I have before told you. Hast thou ever felt, Aglaophonos, as if some one was gazing upon thee, and thou couldst not refrain from looking round to see who it was? So I felt at this moment, and I looked up from the sacred scroll, and lo! Jesus the Nazarene stood before me, gazing upon me with those piercing eyes I can never forget. His face was pale and indistinct, but the eyes shone forth as if with tenderness and pity. Then he seemed to lean forward, and spoke to me in a low yet piercing voice these words: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.” I had shrunk back from his gaze, and was, indeed, in all amaze and wonder that he should be in the room; but when I looked again, behold, he was gone, there was no man there.

But this is not all the wonder of that event, for, being startled, and, indeed, somewhat fearful at his sudden appearance and disappearance, I arose and went out into the highway, and went out to walk on the Gethsemane road. Now, as I came clear of the city, I saw a group of men coming down the opposite hill, and when they came near, behold, it was Jesus and some of his friends. I was astonished and surprised beyond all measure, for how could Jesus have just been with me, and be now coming from Gethsemane? And when they were passing me, Jesus glanced at me very slightly, as at a stranger—he that had spoken to my soul but a few minutes since.

Now, after they had passed me, there came one running after them whom I knew—one Meshullam ben Hanoch—and I stopped him and asked him whither he was going, and he said, “Stay me not. I have run all the way from Bethany to catch up that man thou seest there, Jesus the Nazarene;” and with that he took up his running and left me.

I knew not what to think. I had seen and heard Jesus in my own house in Jerusalem, and lo! at that very same time, as I now learned, he had been at Bethany. What thinkest thou, Aglaophonos,—can a man be in two places at one and the same time? or can it be that the mind of man, and the power of his eye, can go forth from his body and create a vision of another man that hath all the semblance of reality? I know not what to think; but I have heard that, even after his death, those who were nearest and dearest to Jesus saw him and heard him even as I did. Nor do I wonder at this, after what has occurred to myself.

VIII. THE REBUKING OF JESUS.

Now, it chanced that about this time I was invited to a feast at the house of Elisha ben Simeon, one of the leaders of the Pharisees in Jerusalem. His son had become thirteen years old that week, and, as is our custom, was received into the holy congregation as a Son of the Covenant on the Sabbath. He had been summoned up to the reading of the Law, and had himself read aloud a portion of it; for from this day onward he was to be treated in all matters of religion as if he were a man. Being a friend of his father, I had attended his synagogue, and heard the lad’s pure voice for the first time in his life declare publicly his faith in the Most High.

After the service in the synagogue, his friends accompanied the father and the lad to their house, and with them went I, who had known the father from our schoolboy days, and the little lad from the time of his birth.

Now, it chanced that, as we came near the door of Elisha’s house, we met Jesus the Nazarene, and two or three with him. So Elisha greeted them, and invited them courteously to join the feast, as is the custom among us. And Jesus and the others assented, and followed into the house with us. “To table, to table!” cried Elisha, pointing to the couches standing round the well‐filled board.

When we were all seated, the host and his son came round with an ewer and basin to perform the washing of the hands prescribed by the Law. But when they came to the Galilæan strangers, these refused, saying, “We wash not before meals.”

“Then we must serve ye last,” said Elisha, with a smile. But the others took not the matter so pleasantly; for since we have one common dish, which is handed round to the guests for them to take their food with their fingers, it is considered gross ill‐breeding for a man not to perform the ceremony of washing before meals.

Then Elisha took a seat at the centre of the table, and said the grace before meals. Then he broke bread, and, dipping a morsel into salt for each of the guests, he called his son to him to carry it round. When he saw that each of the guests had a piece of bread dipped in salt, Elisha recited the blessing on the bread, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, who bringest forth bread from the earth,” and all said “Amen.” And one of the guests said to Elisha, “I am glad we are not in Babylon.”

“How so, Phineas?” said Elisha to the man, who was well known at all feasts at that time in Jerusalem.

And Phineas said, “For there they only eat bread with their bread.”

“Nay, that would not suit thee, Phineas. Thou art no Nazarite;” and most of the guests who knew him laughed.

Then Elisha clapped his hands, and the slaves took round the first course of salted fish; then afterwards the cold baked meats—for, being the Sabbath, the food had been prepared the day before.

Then one of the guests said to one of the Galilæans, “Is it true that you allow fowl to be boiled in milk in your country?”

“Yes, truly; why not?” said the Galilæan.

“Is it not written thrice in the Law,” said the guest, “‘Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother’s milk’?”

“In our country,” said the Galilæan, “fowls give no milk.” And we all of us laughed, save only Jesus.

“Nay, but the Sages have carried their prohibition even unto fowls, lest the people be led to confuse flesh and flesh.”

By this time we had arrived at the third and last course of salted olives, lettuces, and radishes. And again the bowl and ewer were passed round, and this time the Galilæans did not refuse the water. Then the new son of the covenant recited in his clear voice the grace after meals. And all rose, while the slaves removed the remnants. Then said Elisha, “It is not well that when so many are together we should depart without discussing some words of the Law. My little Lazarus here would fain learn some new thing from the many learned men present on this day of his being received into Israel.”

“Well, then,” said one of the company, “I should like to put a question to our friends here from Galilee.” And they said, “Speak, Rabbi.”

And he addressed himself to Jesus, and said, “Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”

Then Jesus spoke out, and as he spoke he strode up and down the room, with his hand clutching the air, and the vein throbbing on his left temple. “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’” Then facing us all, he added, “For ye lay aside the commandment of God, and hold the tradition of men.”

“How so, master?” said Elisha; “prove thy words.”

“It is said in the Word of God, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother,’ and yet the Sages say, ‘If a man be asked by his father or mother to honor them with a gift, and he say, “I vow that thing to the Almighty,” then it is _Corban_,’ and put aside for the Lord, so that his parents cannot enjoy thereof. Thus by your tradition about vows ye make the Word of God concerning honor to parents of none effect, and many like things ye do.”

Then Elisha said, “But the Sages are by no means at one in that matter of the vows, and in particular many of them declare all the vows annulled that would work against our duty to our parents, or even against our love to our neighbor. Yet, even if we take the more stricter tradition, in what manner that absolves us from washing our hands before meals, I see not.”

“Nay, it is the same thing,” replied Jesus. “Ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your inward thoughts are full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools! did not the Holy One, blessed be He, who made that which is without, make also that which is within? Therefore give for alms that which is within, kindly thoughts and friendly feelings. If ye do that, all things are clean unto you.”

Then I said unto Jesus, for this matter touched us scribes nearly, “Master, in speaking thus against tradition thou reproachest us also that be scribes.”

And he answered, “Woe, woe unto ye, scribes! which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the higher seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts, which devour widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers.”

Then an angry murmur rose among all the folk there assembled at the harsh words of the stranger, when suddenly was heard the voice of Simeon ben Lazarus, the father of Elisha, a very old man, who sat in the corner and said:—

“Young man, fourscore years and two have I lived upon this earth; a Pharisee have I been from the day I became a son of the covenant, like little Lazarus there; a scribe was I during all the working days of my life. I did what the Law and the Sages command, yet never thought I in so doing of men’s thoughts or praises. Surely, if the Lord command, a good Jew will obey. And as in many things, many acts of this life, the Law speaketh not in plain terms, surely we should follow the opinion of those who devote all their life to the study of the Law.

“I have never sought the praises of men, their greetings or their honors, in obeying the Law. In all that I have done I have sought one thing—to fulfil the will of our Father which is in heaven.

“As for what thou sayest, that inward thought and outward act should go together in the service of God and man, that is a verity, and often have I heard the saying from the great Hillel—may his memory be for a blessing! But if outward act may be clean when inward thought may be unclean, how, on the other hand, can we know the purity of what is within, except it be decided by the cleanliness of what is without? How, above all, shall we teach our little ones, like my Lazarus there, to feel what is good and seemly, except by first teaching them to do the acts that are seemly and good?

“And as for what thou sayest as to the hypocrisy of us Pharisees and scribes, I say unto thee,—and in a few days I must see the face of my Maker,—I say unto thee, I have known many an Ebionite, which thou seemest to be, who was well spoken within, but ill doing without. So, too, I have known many a scribe and many a Pharisee who neither carried their good deeds on their shoulders, nor said, ‘Wait, I have to finish some godly deed;’ nor set off their good deeds against their sins; nor boasted of their sacrifices for godly works; nor did they seek out their sins that they might pay for them by their virtues; nor were they Pharisees from fear of the Divine punishment. They were Pharisees from love of the Lord, and did throughout their life what they knew to be his commands.”

But Jesus spoke gently unto the old man, and said naught but, “Nay, master, I spoke not of thee, nor of men like thee. These be the true Pharisees; the rest but have the Pharisaic color.”

“That is so,” said old Simeon. “I have heard what King Jannaus said: ‘Fear not the Pharisees, nor those who are no Pharisees; but fear the colored ones, who are only Pharisees in appearance, who do the deeds of Zimri and demand the rewards of Phineas.’”

But before the old man could finish there was a movement at the doorway, and a high, thin voice cried out, “Where is this kidnapper of souls? where is this filcher of young lives? where is Jesus the Nazarene?”

“Behold me,” said Jesus, turning towards the voice; and an old man, with the rent garment of the mourner, and with hair all distraught, came up to the Nazarene with arms outstretched and clutching fingers.

“Give me my son, my Elchanan!” he cried. “Thou hast taken him from me last Passover, saying, ‘Father and mother, yea, all that a man hath, shall he give up to follow me.’ He left me to follow thee; what hast thou done with him?—my Elchanan! my Elchanan!”

“He died, and is at peace.”

“Then give him back to me again. Thou canst do all things, men say: make whole the sick, let see the blind, cause the lame to walk, and give peace to the troubled mind. Give me, then, back my Elchanan thou hast taken from me.”

“There is One alone that can quicken the dead,” said Jesus, and walked sternly past him.

IX. JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.

But a few days after what I have narrated to thee, I had attended a full meeting of the Sanhedrim in the hall of hewn stones in the Priests’ Court of the Temple. When the session was over, we went forth, and, turning to the right, passed into the Court of the Israelites, and so through Nicanor’s Gate into the Court of the Women. Now, as we went down the fifteen steps that lead into this court, we could see, through the Beautiful Gate at the other end of it, that something unusual was occurring in the outer court of all, the Court of the Gentiles. So I and some of the other younger members of the Sanhedrim passed rapidly through the Court of the Women, and, hurrying through the Beautiful Gate, found Jesus preaching to the people under Solomon’s Porch. Now, it is usual for the people to make way when any member of the Sanhedrim passes by; but the people were so engrossed with the words of Jesus that they took no note of me and my companions, and we had to stand at the edge of the crowd and listen as best we might, and so great was the crowd that I could scarcely hear what the Nazarene was saying, until gradually those near us, recognizing the marks of our dignity, made way for us till we got nearer.

Never saw I Jesus in so exalted a state. Though he was not tall, as I have said, he seemed to tower above the crowd. The mid‐day sun of winter was shining full upon the Temple, and though Jesus was in the shadow of the porch, the sunlight from the Temple walls shone back upon his eyes and hair, which gleamed with the glory of the sun. He looked and spake as a king among men. And, indeed, he was claiming to be something even greater than a king. I could not hear very distinctly from where I was at first, but towards the last, as I got nearer, I heard him say these words:—

“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He that loveth his life shall lose it. If a man keep my word he shall never see death, but has passed from death unto life. He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also. Yet can the Son do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. I am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the Light of the world. I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. I am the Bread of Life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger. I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. I am the Vine, ye are the branches. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Before Abraham was I am.”

Now, as Jesus was saying these words, and many like unto them, his form seemed to expand, his eye flashed with the light of prophecy, and all men were amazed at the power of his words. Never had they heard man speak of himself with such confidence. If he had been very God, he could not have said more of his own power over men’s souls. Our prophets have spoken boldly indeed, but none of them had boasted of the power of the Lord in such terms as this man spake of himself. Could he be mad, I thought, to say such things? Yet in all other matters he had shown a wisdom and a sound sense equal to the greatest of our Sages. Or had he found that by speaking thus of himself, men, and above all, women, were best moved to believe as he would have them believe, to act as he would have them act? Might it not be the simplest of truths that for them, to them, he was indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life?

And, indeed, when I looked around and saw the effect of his words on those who were listening, I could in part understand his power among men and women. They drank in his words as travellers at the well of the oasis. They lived upon his eyes, and it was indeed strange to see every man’s body bent forward as of a straining hound at the chase. If ever men worshipped a man, these were worshipping Jesus.

And I? What was it with me that his words failed to move me as they did those around me? Why did his eyes rather repel than attract me? Was it thy teaching, Aglaophonos, that had taught me the way of thy race: to measure all things in the balance of wisdom; to be moved in all acts by reason, not feeling? Was it from thee I learnt to think about the causes of this man’s influence, even while I and others were under it? Perhaps not alone; for much that this man was saying would have repelled my Jewish instincts even had I never come under thy influence. What struck thee among us Jews, I remember, was that while we see the Deity everywhere, we localize him nowhere. Alone among the nations of men we refuse to make an image of our God. We alone never regarded any man as God Incarnate. Those among us who have been nearest to the Divine have only claimed to be—they have only been recognized to be—messengers of the Most High. Yet here was this man, as it seemed, claiming to be the Very God, and all my Jewish feeling rose against the claim.

Nor was I alone in this feeling I was soon to learn. Before Jesus had finished his harangue, cries arose from different quarters of the crowd. “Blasphemy!” “Blasphemer!” “He blasphemes!” arose on all sides. These cries awakened men as if from a sleep, all turning round to see whence they came. And the very turning round, as it were, removed them from the influence of Jesus and his eyes. In a moment, many of those who just before were hanging upon Jesus’ words joined in the cry, “Blasphemer! blasphemer!” One of the boldest of those who began the cry called out, “Blasphemer! Stone him!”

But Jesus drew himself up, and looked upon the crowd with flashing eyes, and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Sodom is justified of thee.” For a moment all were silent, but soon the cries arose again: “Blasphemer! blasphemer! Stone him!”

Then began great commotion among the people. While some called out, “Stone him!” “Stone him!” others cried, “Sacrilege!” “Sacrilege!” “No stoning in the Temple!” And one called out with a jeer, “In the Temple ye cannot stone, for lo! here there be no stones;” and a bitter, scornful laugh followed his words. Then some who were nearest to Jesus sought to lay hands on him, while others, his friends, stood round him and prevented their approaching, and all was confusion and tumult. When suddenly the blare of a trumpet sounded through the courts, and all cried, “The Romans! the Romans!”

Then round by the royal porch came a company of Roman soldiers to change the sentries at mid‐day, and they halted near the Beautiful Gate. And as they came near the crowd began to disperse, and Jesus and his friends went their way from the courts of the Temple.

That day, there was no talk in Jerusalem but of the event in the Temple. Men marvelled at the way in which this Jesus had spoken of himself. “The prophets spake not thus,” they said. “Yet how can a man be greater than a prophet, who speaketh the words of the Most High? Even if we had once more a king over us in Israel, he could not be as great as a prophet, and no king would speak of himself as Jesus this day hath spoken of himself.” But what if this man were destined to be the Christ, the God‐given Ruler that should restore the throne of David? But how could that be, since none of the signs and portents of the last times had come upon the earth? Who had seen the blood trickle from the rocks? or the fiery sword appear in the midnight sky? Had babes a year old spoken like men? But others said, “Nay, the kingdom of God will not come with expectation. As it hath been said, ‘Three things come unexpectedly—a scorpion, a treasure‐trove, and the Messiah.’” And again, others said, “Perchance this is not the Messiah ben David, but the Messiah ben Joseph, who shall be slain before the other cometh.” Thus the minds of men and their words went hither and thither about the sayings of this man Jesus in the Temple.

X. THE ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.