CHAPTER IV.

LAST LABORS, AND FAREWELL TO HIS DISCIPLES.

Journey to Jerusalem.――Mission of the Seventy.――Jesus teaches his Disciples to pray.――Lament over Jerusalem.――Return to Galilee. ――The Second Coming of Christ.――Dangers of the Rich.――Promise to his Disciples.――Foretells his Death.――Zacchæus.――Mary anoints Jesus.――Enters Jerusalem.――Drives the Traffickers from the Temple.――The Pharisees try to entrap him.――The Destruction of Jerusalem, and the Second Coming.――Judas agrees to betray Jesus. ――The Last Supper.――The Prayer of Jesus.

AS Jesus was journeying back from Ephraim to Jerusalem with his disciples, he entered a town of the Samaritans, where the inhabitants, learning that he was on his way to Jerusalem, did not give him a hospitable reception. Two of his disciples, James and John, were so indignant at their conduct, that they asked for authority to command fire from heaven to consume them. Jesus mildly rebuked them, saying, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And he passed on to another village.

As they were toiling along over the shadowless plains, an enthusiastic convert came to him, saying, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”[31]

Though he thus gently repelled this man,――who, perhaps, expected to derive some considerable worldly advantage from following him,――to another whom he met he said, “Follow me.” But this man made an excuse,――apparently a very sufficient one,――saying, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”

There were doubtless circumstances in this case, with which we are not familiar, which justified this seemingly harsh reply. The meaning was quite obvious,――“Let those who are dead in sin take care of the dead;” and Jesus doubtless meant to teach by this that nothing whatever is to be allowed to divert the mind from religion. When another said, “Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house,” he replied, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“After these things,” it is written, “the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself would come.” He gave them the same directions, and almost in the same words, which he had previously given to the twelve apostles. As these disciples returned from their short but important mission to preach the gospel, they said joyfully, “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Jesus made the memorable reply,――

“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

A lawyer, one whose profession was to study the Jewish law, feigning a desire to be instructed, and yet probably seeking to entrap him, asked, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?”

The lawyer replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

Jesus responded, “Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live.”

But the lawyer was by no means satisfied by this simple announcement of duty, and in a cavilling spirit inquired, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied in the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan.[32]

On his way to Jerusalem, he visited Bethany, the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. As he drew near to Jerusalem, which was to be the scene of his fearful sufferings, he was much engaged in prayer. It is recorded, “And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,――

“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”[33]

This prayer is precisely the same in spirit, and almost the same in words, with that which Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount, and was followed with very similar instructions, urging importunity in prayer. In this discourse he introduced the parables of the rich man, the wise steward, the unfaithful servant, and the barren fig-tree.

While engaged in these various works of instruction and healing, he, on his tour of mercy, again visited Galilee. Some of the Jews came to him, and urged him to leave the dominions of Herod, as Herod was seeking to kill him. Jesus replied,――

“Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” It is supposed that Herod had cunningly sent these men, hoping thus to frighten Jesus out of his realms. The reply, which was somewhat proverbial, was simply, “Tell Herod not to be troubled. I am not violating the laws: I am engaged in works of mercy. For two or three days more I shall remain in his domains, and shall then go to Jerusalem: there my course will be ended.” Jesus added,――

“Nevertheless, I must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee! how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Unremittingly Jesus continued in his walks of usefulness, preaching the gospel, healing the sick, comforting the afflicted, and silencing the cavils of his foes. The record we have of these tireless labors is very brief, and apparently without regard to chronology. It was probably at this time that he uttered the parables of the wedding and of the great supper.[34]

Multitudes continually thronged around him. To them he said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” In Scripture phrase, “to hate” often signifies to _love less_. This was a declaration that Christ was to be loved supremely. No one could be his disciple who was not willing to forsake all earthly possessions and friends, if need be, for his cause.[35]

The self-righteous Pharisees complained that “this man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” Jesus replied in the beautiful parables of the lost sheep, the lost piece of money, and that most impressive, perhaps, of all his parables, the prodigal son; assuring poor sinners that not only God, with parental love, welcomed their return to him, but that there was joy in the presence of the angels of God over one repentant sinner.

Each parable seems to have been a reply to some inquiry, remark, or opposition, on the part of those who listened to him. Thus he introduced the parable of the unjust steward, and of the rich man and Lazarus.[36]

In this latter parable, it is clearly taught that the soul, immediately upon death, proceeds to a state of reward or of punishment; and as flame causes the most direful material anguish, so sin causes the acutest suffering of which the immaterial nature is susceptible.

Jesus was now on his route to Jerusalem through the villages and cities of Galilee and Samaria. He crossed the Jordan, and preached in the rural districts beyond. Large multitudes followed him. It is impossible now to ascertain the route he took in these journeyings. The Pharisees asked when the kingdom of God――that is, the reign of the Messiah――should commence. He made the memorable reply, which is still read with awe, as indicative of scenes of unspeakable sublimity and terror yet to come:――

“As the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man: they did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

“Likewise, also, as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”[37]

In these revelations of awful scenes to come, there is an apparent blending of the terrible suffering which was soon to befall Jerusalem in its utter overthrow and of the final coming of Christ at the day of judgment.

Again he urged persevering prayer by the parable of the importunate widow,[38] and enjoined humility by the parable of the Pharisee and the publican.[39] The question of divorce was presented to him, with the statement that Moses had allowed it for very trivial causes. Jesus replied, that, in the eyes of God, divorce and subsequent marriage could only be justified upon the ground of a violation of the marriage oath.[40]

Some children were brought to him to be blessed. He laid his hands upon their heads, and prayed; and then said, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”

A young man of wealth, and, as a ruler, occupying posts of honor, came to Jesus, and, rather boastfully asserting that he had kept all the commandments from his youth up, inquired what more he must do that he might enter the kingdom of God. It is said that Jesus, looking upon the ingenuous young man of unblemished morals, “loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way; sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

This was merely reiterating the declaration, that every one who would be a disciple of Jesus must be willing, at his command, to make any sacrifice whatever. The test proved that the young man loved wealth more than Christ. “He went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”

It is recorded, when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, “How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” Then, using an expression proverbial for denoting any thing remarkably difficult, he added, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Peter, who, since the severe rebuke administered to him by Jesus, seems to have been very retiring, said, “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. What shall we have, therefore?” Jesus replied,――

“Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”[41]

It is supposed that Jesus was at this time on the eastern side of Jordan, nearly opposite Jericho. The reply to Peter was followed by the parable of the householder and his laborers. Jesus crossed the ford, and, entering Judæa, directed his steps towards Jerusalem. His disciples, conscious of the peril to which he would expose himself in the metropolis, were amazed and afraid. Jesus called the twelve around him, and said to them,――

“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles; and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the third day he shall rise again.”[42]

The idea that the Messiah could be put to death――He who had power to bring the dead to life――was so incomprehensible to the apostles, that they could not receive the meaning of his words. They, however, walked along, conversing as they went; and both Matthew and Mark record several of the memorable sayings of Jesus by the way.[43]

As they drew near to Jericho, a blind man, waiting for him by the wayside, earnestly implored relief. Jesus restored his lost vision, simply saying, “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.”

From Jericho, which was about twenty miles north-east from Jerusalem, they continued their journey, followed by an immense multitude. Two blind men, as Jesus approached, loudly implored his aid. He touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight.

A rich man, named Zacchæus, a chief publican, being of short stature, climbed a tree that he might see Jesus as he passed. Jesus called him down, saying, “To-day I must abide at thy house.” Zacchæus hastened down, and received Jesus with great cordiality. Again there was murmuring because Jesus was “guest with a man that is a sinner.” It seems that Zacchæus was in heart a better man than he was in repute: for Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house; forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” Then, in allusion to the charge that he associated with sinners, he said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Notwithstanding what Jesus had said respecting his approaching sufferings and death at Jerusalem, his disciples still expected that there would be some signal displays of his power there in the establishment of a glorious reign. Jesus, therefore, addressed them in the parable of the nobleman and his servants.

Six days before the passover, Jesus reached Bethany. A very careful computation has led to the opinion that this was on the 30th of March, the year of our Lord 30. A supper was provided for him at the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Lazarus sat at the table. The grateful Mary, taking an “alabaster box of ointment very precious,” anointed the head and the feet of Jesus. The house was filled with the fragrant odor. The estimated value of this was about fifty dollars,――a much larger sum in those days than now.

Several who were present considered it an act of great extravagance. That sum, distributed among the poor, would have relieved much distress. Judas Iscariot, who was the treasurer of the little band, murmured loudly, saying, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” “This he said,” John adds, “not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”

But Jesus commended the deed in the remarkable words, “She hath wrought a good work on me: for ye have the poor always with you, and, whenever ye will, ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”[44]

Curiosity to see Lazarus, as well as to see Jesus, assembled an immense crowd around the house. The raising of Lazarus from the dead, and his daily appearance, were evidence of the miraculous powers of Jesus which no argument could refute. The chief priests were so malignant that they consulted to put Lazarus to death, “because that by reason of him many of the Jews believed on Jesus.”

Leaving Bethany,――which, it will be remembered, was but about two miles east of Jerusalem, on the eastern declivity of the Mount of Olives,――Jesus advanced toward Jerusalem. As the rumor of his approach was circulated through the streets, a vast throng poured out at the gates to meet him. They bore branches of palm-trees in their hands, and shouted, as they escorted him in triumph, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord!”[45] Near a hamlet at the Mount of Olives, Jesus procured a young ass which had never been mounted. His disciples spread some of their garments on the ass, and Jesus took his seat thereon. A conqueror would have wished to enter the city on a spirited war-horse gayly caparisoned. Jesus studiously avoided all such parade. The overjoyed multitude, however, “spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”[46]

As Jesus, thus accompanied, commenced the western descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole city lay spread out as a panorama before him. “And, when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”[47]

The whole city of Jerusalem was agitated by the coming of Jesus, the now widely-renowned prophet of Galilee. Jesus proceeded at once to the temple. The blind and the lame were brought in throngs to him. He healed them all. The city resounded with his acclaim. Even the children in the streets shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The chief priests and the scribes were sorely annoyed, saying, “The world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks who were in Jerusalem came to the disciples, and expressed a wish to see Jesus. They were brought to him. Jesus, probably addressing them, said,――

“The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone; but, if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.” It is added, “Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

All who stood by heard the supernatural noise, and some the distinctly-articulated voice, and said, “An angel spake to him.” Jesus answered,――

“This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” “This,” adds the inspired writer, “he said, signifying what death he should die.”

The people, bewildered by such assertions, replied, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever; and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?”

Jesus answered, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”

Jesus, after these words, withdrew secretly with his disciples from the city (for it was night), and returned to Bethany. In the morning, he came back to Jerusalem. Being hungry, and seeing a fig-tree by the way, he went to it, and found leaves only. We know not now what lesson Jesus intended to teach us: he said, “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever.” The tree withered away. Again, finding the temple sacrilegiously perverted to purposes of traffic, he, by his authoritative person and voice, drove the traffickers out, saying, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

The scribes and chief priests were becoming more and more exasperated by these reproofs. But they feared to lay violent hands upon Jesus, he was so popular with the masses of the people. He continued through the day teaching the crowds ever thronging the temple to listen to his calm, impressive words. At the approach of evening, he returned to the quietude of Bethany, and in the morning re-entered the city. As he was teaching in the temple, the chief priests and scribes came and inquired of him by what authority he did these things. Jesus baffled their malignity by asking them what they thought of the prophet John. They were greatly annoyed. If they should say he was a prophet, Jesus would inquire why they did not believe in him. If, on the other hand, they should say that he was but a common man, the indignation of the people would be aroused; for they all regarded John as a prophet. They therefore said, “We cannot tell.” Jesus replied, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Having thus silenced them, and put them to shame, Jesus addressed them in the parable of the father and his two sons, and then in the parable of the vineyard let out to husbandmen.[48]

He made such personal application of these parables as to leave no doubt in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees that he referred to them. “But, when they sought to lay hands upon him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.” Another parable he added, that of the marriage-feast, illustrative of the same truth, that the Gentiles would enter the kingdom of God, which the Jews refused to enter.

The Pharisees endeavored to entrap him by inducing him to say something which would render him unpopular with the people. After much deliberation, they sent some spies to him to inquire whether it were lawful to pay tribute to Cæsar, who had conquered and enslaved them. If he should say “No,” it would be treason: if he should say “Yes,” it would exasperate the people.

Jesus, “knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They said unto him, Cæsar’s. Jesus, answering, said, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” It is added, “They marvelled, and left him, and went their way.”

Again: the Sadducees, who denied the doctrine of the resurrection, inquired of him whose wife a woman in the resurrection would be, who had married, one after another, seven husbands. Their cavilling spirit was silenced by the reply, that, in the future world, those who should “rise from the dead” would not marry, but would be as the angels of God in heaven.[49] He then re-affirmed the doctrine of a future life, saying,――

“Now, that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; for he is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”[50]

The Pharisees were quite pleased in finding the Sadducees thus confounded. Still they sought the destruction of Jesus. After taking counsel together, they commissioned one of their lawyers to ask which was the chief commandment of the law. Among these ritualists, there was quite a diversity of opinion upon this subject. Some said, “Sacrifices;” others, “Circumcision;” others, “The law of the sabbath,” &c. Jesus replied,――

“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”[51] It is recorded, “No man, after this, durst ask him any question.”

Jesus now, in his turn, asked the Pharisees a question, to show them the divine character of the Messiah, and how far their views of his dignity fell short of the truth.

“What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” They replied, “The son of David.” Jesus rejoined, “How, then, doth David, by the Holy Ghost, call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David, then, call him Lord, how is he his son?”

They again being thus baffled, it is recorded, “And no man was able to answer him a word.”

Jesus then warned his disciples to beware of the pride, ambition, and ostentation of the scribes; of their ceremonial display, and of their moral corruption. In the temple were placed several money-boxes to receive the voluntary contributions of the people for the service of the temple. Jesus noticed the people as they came with their contributions,――many of the rich casting in large sums, not at all unwilling that the amount should be known by the lookers-on. “And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God; but she, of her penury, hath cast in all the living that she hath.”[52]

Notwithstanding the abounding evidence of the divine mission of Jesus, there were many who hardened their hearts, and who refused to believe in him. Others there were, then as now, who, though they were convinced of his Messiahship, had not sufficient moral courage to confess him before men. It is recorded, “Nevertheless, among the chief rulers, also, many believed on him: but, because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”[53]

In reference to all who thus rejected him, Jesus exclaimed, “He that believeth on me, believeth, not on me, but on Him that sent me; and he that seeth me seeth Him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”[54]

He then, addressing the multitude, warned them in the most solemn manner to avoid the hypocrisy and haughty display of these proud and pompous ceremonialists. His denunciations of them were terrible, and must have roused them to the highest pitch of rage.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” he said, “for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and, for a pretence, make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and, when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves,” &c.[55]

A more terrible, and at the same time calm and truthful, denunciation cannot be found in any language. As Jesus left the temple, his disciples called his attention to the massive stones of which it was reared. Jesus assured them that the temple was to be so utterly destroyed, that not one stone should be left upon another. Departing from the city, he went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives. As he sat upon that eminence, which overlooked the city, he gave them an appalling account of the scenes which were to ensue at the time of its destruction. In reference to the persecutions which they were to encounter, he said, “For they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now, the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake; but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”[56]

In continuation of this wonderful discourse, and in reply to an inquiry what should be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world, Jesus added,――

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”[57] He then adds, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”

There is no portion of Scripture which has occasioned more perplexity than these predictions of Jesus, contained in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew; and it may also be said that there is no portion of the New Testament which is read with more interest, or which inspires more profound and religious emotion. Jesus was speaking to his disciples of the overthrow of Jerusalem, and of the utter destruction of the temple. They said, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?”

Here were two distinct questions, but which were probably erroneously associated in the minds of the disciples as one. They probably supposed that Christ’s second coming, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world, were to be the same event. In the reply of Jesus, these events are so blended, that occurrences are apparently brought together which are actually separated by many centuries. Many suppose that the destruction of Jerusalem is foretold from the beginning of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew to the twenty-ninth verse; that, from the twenty-ninth verse of the twenty-fourth chapter to the thirtieth verse of the twenty-fifth chapter, the second advent of Christ is foretold; and that, from the thirty-first verse to the end of the chapter, Christ speaks of the final judgment.

There are not a few careful students of the Bible who suppose that there are here indicated three distinct comings of Christ,――first, for the destruction of Jerusalem; second, to establish a millennial reign upon earth; and, thirdly, his coming in the day of judgment at the end of the world. Upon this general subject, the following judicious remarks by Rev. William Hanna will recommend themselves to the reader:――

“It so happens, that, among those who have made the province of unfulfilled prophecy their peculiar study, the most various and the most discordant opinions prevail. They differ, not only in their interpretation of individual prophecies, but in the systems or methods of interpretation which they employ. For some this region of biblical study has had a strange fascination; and, once drawn into it, there appears to be a great difficulty in getting out again. Perhaps the very dimness and doubtfulness that belong to it constitute one of its attractions. The lights are but few, and struggling and obscure; yet each new entrant fancies he has found the clew that leads through the labyrinth, and, with a confidence proportioned to the difficulties he imagines he has overcome, would persuade us to accompany him. Instead of inclining us the more to enter, the very number and force of these conflicting invitations serve rather to repel.”[58]

At the conclusion of these announcements respecting the future, Jesus gives a very sublime description of the day of final judgment, in which he represents himself as seated upon the throne to pronounce the irreversible verdicts.

“When the Son of man,” he said, “shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”[59]

Illustration: (‡ The Last Supper)

Having thus described himself as seated upon the throne of final judgment, he added the declaration so bewildering to his disciples, “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”

The chief priests and the scribes held a council in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest, to devise some means by which they might put Jesus to death. It was not easy to rouse the mob against him; for he was popular with the people. Judas Iscariot, probably hearing of this council, went to the chief priests, and agreed to betray Jesus to them by night for thirty pieces of silver,――about fifteen dollars. “They feared the people;” and it was consequently necessary that he should “betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.”

Jesus, as usual, entered Jerusalem early in the morning, and, all the day long, was preaching his gospel; “and all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple for to hear him.” At night, he retired to his silent retreat on the Mount of Olives.

In the evening of the first day of the feast, Jesus and his twelve apostles met in an upper chamber at Jerusalem to partake of the paschal lamb. “Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father.” Tenderly he loved his apostles. In this hour, when their final separation was so near, “he riseth from supper, laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

Simon Peter, with characteristic impulsiveness, exclaimed remonstratingly, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

But Peter still remonstrated, saying, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”

Then this childlike man, fickle yet heroic, exclaimed, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

Jesus rejoined, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” He then added, in allusion to Judas Iscariot, “And ye are clean, but not all.”

Having thus washed the feet of his apostles, he sat down, and said to them, “Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

Jesus then “took bread; and, when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.”

While they were eating of the bread, and before they partook of the cup, Jesus said to them,――

“Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth as it was determined; but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now, I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me.”[60]

John adds, “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”

This announcement created mingled feelings of surprise and grief. “The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake; and they were exceeding sorrowful, and began, every one of them, to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”

He replied, “It is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.”

John, who is represented as the favorite disciple of Jesus, was sitting next to him, and reclining upon his bosom. Peter beckoned to him to ask whom he meant.

“Lord, who is it?” said John.

Jesus replied, “He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it.” And, when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot; and, after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, “That thou doest, do quickly.”[61]

Judas immediately rose, and went out; “and it was night.” As soon as he had left, Jesus said to the remaining eleven, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Peter said unto him, “Lord, whither goest thou?”

Jesus replied, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.”

Peter rejoined, “Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.”

Jesus answered, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”[62]

Peter rejoined, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death.” But Jesus reiterated his assertion, “I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.”

After this and some other conversation, Jesus “took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord’s death till he come. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Then, to comfort them in view of the terrible disappointment they would encounter in his death, he said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”

Thomas, one of the twelve, inquired, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?”

Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

Philip, another of the twelve, said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou, then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto the Father.[63]

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me.[64] Because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Judas, the brother of James, and who subsequently wrote the Epistle of Jude, inquired, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

Jesus replied, “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”

It was now probably about midnight. Jesus and his apostles sang a hymn, rose from the paschal supper, and went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus was going to be betrayed, and to die, with the whole scene of suffering open to his mind. His apostles, bewildered, and overwhelmed with grief, knew that something awful was about to take place; but they scarcely comprehended what. As they walked sadly along, Jesus continued his discourse, saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine: ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.

“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me; but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

“These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

Jesus then again warned the apostles of the sufferings to which they would be exposed; entreated them to persevere; assured them that he would send the Comforter to sustain them in every trial, who should guide them to all truth; and reiterated the assertion, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and go to the Father.”[65]

Having thus finished his farewell discourse to his apostles, standing with them at midnight upon the greensward outside of the walls of the city, with darkness and silence around, and the stars above, he raised his eyes to heaven, and breathed the most solemn, comprehensive, and impressive prayer that was ever uttered by mortal lips.

“Father,” said he, “the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father! glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now, they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world; and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.

“Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”[66]