Chapter 8
+-----------+----------+----------+--------- EVENTS | MATTHEW | MARK | LUKE | JOHN -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+--------- Sea of Galilee. Return | | | | of the Twelve, etc. | 14:13-21 | 6:30-44 | 9:10-17 | 6:1-14 | | | | Jesus Walks upon the | 14:22-36 | 6:45-56 | ... | 6:15-21 Water. | | | | | | | | Discourses, etc. | 15:1-20 | 7:1-23 | ... | 6:22-71 | | | | Northward Journey. | | | | Region of Tyre and | | | | Sidon (1, 2). | 15:21-28 | 7:24-30 | | | | | | Return to Eastern Side | | 7:31 to | | of the Lake, etc. (3). | 15:29-38 | 8:9 | | | | | | The Lake Crossed. A | 15:39 to | | | Sign from Heaven | 16:4 | 8:10-13 | | Demanded (4). | | | | | | | | The Lake Recrossed. | | | | The Leaven of the | 16:5-12 | 8:14-21 | | Pharisees (4). | | | | | | | | A Blind Man Healed. On | | | | Way to Bethsaida (4). | ... | 8:22-26 | | | | | | The Confession of | 16:13-38 | 8:27 to | 9:18-27 | Peter, etc. | | 9:1 | | | | | | Mount Hermon. The | | | | Transfiguration (5). | 17:1-13 | 9:2-13 | 9:28-36 | | | | | Healing of the | 17:14-20 | 9:14-29 | 9:37-43 | Demoniac Boy. | | | | | | | | Prediction of Death | | | | and Resurrection. | 17:22, 23 | 9:30-32 | 9:43-45 | | | | | Arrival at Capernaum, | 17:24 to | 9:33-50 | 9:46-50 | etc. (6). | 18:35 | | | | | | | Jerusalem. Jesus | | | | attends the Feast of | ... | ... | ... | 7:1 to Tabernacles (7, 8). | | | | 8:59 | | | | Return to and Final | | | | Departure from Galilee | | | | (9). | 19:1, 2 | 10:1 | 9:51-56 | | | | | Mission of the | ... | ... | 10:1-37 | Seventy, etc. | | | | | | | | Bethany. Visit to | | | | Martha and Mary (10). | ... | ... | 10:38-42 | | | | | Healing of a Man Born | | | | 9:1 to Blind, etc. | ... | ... | ... | 10:21 | | | | Jerusalem. Jesus at the| | | | Feast of Dedication. | ... | ... | ... | 10:22-42 | | | | Retirement to Perea. | | | 11:1-13; | Discourses, Parables, | ... | ... | 13:10 to | etc. (11). | | | 17:10 | | | | | Bethany. Raising of | | | | Lazarus (12, 13). | ... | ... | ... | 11:1-46 | | | | Withdrawal to Ephraim | ... | ... | ... | 11:47-54 (14). | | | | | | | | Samaria. Healing of | | | | the Ten Lepers (15). | ... | ... | 17:11-19 | | | | | Discourses, etc. | 19:2 to | 10:2-45 | 17:20 to | | 20:28 | | 18:34 | | | | | Near Jericho. Healing | | | | of Blind Men (16). | 20:29-34 | 10:46-52 | 18:35-43 | | | | | Jericho. Visit to | | | | Zaccheus, etc. | ... | ... | 19:1-28 | | | | | Bethany. Anointing by | 26:6-13 | 14:3-9 | ... | 11:55 to Mary (16). | | | | 12:11 -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------
#TIME.#--A. D. 29 to A. D. 30.
#PLACES.#--Capernaum, Tyre and Sidon, Decapolis, Caesarea Philippi, Mt. Hermon, Galilee, Jerusalem, Eastern Bethsaida.
The Incomparable Life (Continued)
#138. The Year of Opposition.#--Our Lord's year of popularity waned much after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. This miracle stirred the people to the very height of enthusiasm. Now, they thought, we have one who is worthy to be our king. So intense was this conviction that they wanted on the spot to proclaim him king, and raise the standard of revolt against Rome (John 6:15). Even the disciples seem to have been infected with this mad thought, for he "constrained" them to go away (Matt. 14:22). On the day following, however, the multitudes found him again, and tried to persuade him to repeat the miracle of feeding. This he refused to do. He tried to make them understand that he had better bread for them, even the bread of life. But what they really wanted was only bakers' bread. They thought that if Moses fed the people for forty years for nothing, their Messiah should do even better than that. So, when he refused to be to them a "commissariat department," they at once forsook him. "Many" of his disciples "went back" at that time. For all of this read John 6:22-71. At this moment it was that Peter comes so grandly to the front and makes his confession. When we see Peter later on denying his Master, let us bear in mind his bold stand taken at this juncture.
#139. Opposed by the Pharisees.#--During all this year of popularity the Pharisees were dogging the footsteps of the Master, as spies dog the criminal. Of these Pharisees there were at this time, in Palestine, about 6000. They were the ecclesiastical leaders of the people, and this makes their opposition all the more ghastly. They, who should have led the people aright, led them astray. The grounds of their opposition were manifold. Among others were the following:
(1) They opposed him because of their _own intense pride_. They were those who sought glory one of another, and so they could not believe in him (John 5:44). His aims and theirs were so widely apart that they could not even understand him. To them the glory that cometh from God had no attractiveness. So they opposed him who was meek and lowly.
(2) They opposed him on account of _his humble origin_. He was only a carpenter's son, and so to them was of no account. Had they made due investigation, they would have found that he came of the line of David, their great king. But they did nothing of the sort (Matt. 13:55-58). It was an offense to them that he came from among the lowly, and not from some of the aristocratic families of the land. His lack of training in the schools seems to have nettled them, so that they exclaimed in disgusted surprise, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (John 7:15.)
(3) They opposed him bitterly, on account of _the company that he kept_. In contempt they said, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (Luke 15:2). And they continually complained that he was a friend of hated publicans and sinners. They could not understand at all that the very grandeur of his mission consisted just in this, that he came to call sinners to repentance. Their complaint, as given in Luke 15:2, called forth from him three of the grandest parables that we have, namely, those of the lost silver, the lost sheep, and the lost son. Especially were they angered because he had taken into the number of his disciples the hated Matthew, the tax-gatherer.
(4) They opposed him again because of his _failure to observe the Sabbath_ in the manner prescribed by themselves. They had made the day one of weariness to the flesh, and had passed by deeds of mercy and helpfulness. So when he healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda and the man born blind, on the Sabbath, they took counsel how they might destroy him. While they themselves would pull out a sheep or an ox from the pit on the Sabbath, they criticized him for healing men on that day. This brought forth from him stern condemnation, which, of course, did not mollify their feelings toward him.
(5) Furthermore, they opposed him because he _declined to observe_ certain minute regulations of the law concerning washing of hands and the like. These regulations they had laid on men's shoulders, but they were not at all Divine ordinances. This is why he said, in his denunciation of them, "they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matt. 23:4). (Read the whole of Matt. 23, and you will understand better who and what these men were who were opposing the Master.) Once more, they opposed him because he had made such friends of the common people and had not in any way bowed down to them, as the leaders of the people. The common people heard him gladly, and that angered them. "This multitude who knoweth not the law are cursed" (John 7:49). They were furious because the whole world seemed to have gone after him, while they themselves were left in the background. This was galling to their innate pride.
(6) What made their opposition all the worse was that though they could not deny his miracles, they went so far as to ascribe them to the agency of Satan. "He hath a demon, and is mad: why hear ye him?" is what they exclaimed (John 10:20). The Pharisees said, "By the prince of the demons casteth he out demons" (Matt. 9:34). So they dared to ascribe to demoniac possession the deeds of him in whom the Spirit dwelt without measure. It was this ascribing to the spirit of darkness of the works of the Holy Spirit that brought forth from the Master his statement concerning the unpardonable sin. It really consisted in ascribing to the Holy Spirit the works of the prince of darkness.
#140. Away from the Crowds.#--After the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, the Master was mostly in out of the way places, such as Caesarea Philippi, Decapolis, and the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. He feared lest the Galileans, if he wrought more miracles among them, would raise insurrection, and so bring on him the power of the Roman government. This would have ruined his mission to this earth. For about six months after the miracle of the five thousand he tarried in Galilee and its immediate vicinity before he started on his final journey to Jerusalem. It was during these six months that the transfiguration took place.
Test Questions
What event closes the year of popularity?
What action did the people wish to take in consequence of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand?
What sign have we that even the disciples were infected with this spirit?
What did the people wish Jesus to do on the following day?
When he declined what did the people do?
All this time, what was the attitude of the Pharisees?
How many of these men were there at this time in Palestine?
Give the first ground of their opposition to him.
Give the second ground of their opposition.
Give the third ground.
Give the fourth and the fifth ground assigned for their opposition.
To what did they ascribe his power of working miracles?
Where did the Master stay for the next six months?
What marked event took place during these six months?
Test Questions for Review
Lessons 1 to 5
1. How long an interval of silence between Old and New Testament?
2. Give the limits of each of the five periods of New Testament history.
3. How may the life of Christ be divided?
4. What was the threefold nature of Jesus' temptation?
5. What is meant by the year of obscurity?
6. With whom did Jesus have a most noteworthy interview in Jerusalem?
7. What is the second year of Christ's life called?
8. Where was it for the most part spent?
9. Why did Jesus use parables so much?
10. Around what thought did most of his teachings revolve?
11. What were the five grounds given for the opposition of the Pharisees?
12. Where did the Master stay for six months after the year of popularity?
Lesson 6
The Closing Week
New Testament Division--Second Period (Continued)
+-----------+----------+----------+---------- EVENTS | MATTHEW | MARK | LUKE | JOHN -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+---------- Triumphal Entry into | 21:1-11 | 11:1-11 | 19:29-44 | 12:12-19 Jerusalem. | | | | | | | | Cursing of the Fig | 21:18, 19 | 11:12-14 | | Tree. | | | | | | | | Second Cleansing of the| 21:12-17 | 11:15-19 | 19:45-48;| Temple, etc. | | | 21:37, 38| | | | | Fig Tree Withered Away.| 21:20-22 | 11:20-25 | | | | | | Discourses, etc. | 21:23 to | 11:27 to | 20:1-47 | | 23:39 | 12:40 | | | | | | The Widow's Two Mites. | ... | 12:41-44 | 21:1-4 | | | | | Greeks Seek to See | ... | ... | ... | 12:20-36 Jesus. | | | | | | | | Unbelief of the Jews. | ... | ... | ... | 12:37-50 | | | | Prediction of the | | | | Destruction of the | | | | Temple. | 24:1, 2 | 13:1, 2 | 21:5, 6 | | | | | Discourses, Parables, | 24:3 to | 13:3-37 | 21:7-36 | etc. | 25:46 | | | | | | | Conspiracy between the | 26:1-5, | 14:1, 2, | 22:1-6 | Rulers and Judas. | 14-16 | 10, 11 | | | | | | The Last Supper. | 26:17-35 | 14:12-31 | 22:7-38 | 13:1 to | | | | 17:26 | | | | Departure to | 26:30, | 14:26, | 22:39 | 18:1 Gethsemane. | 31-35 | 27-31 | | | | | | Agony, Betrayal, etc. | 26:36-56 | 14:32-52 | 22:40-53 | 18:2-12 | | | | Jerusalem. Hearing | ... | ... | ... | 18:13, before Annas. | | | | 14, 19-24 | | | | Night Trial before | 26:57-68 | 14:53-65 | 22:54, | Caiaphas. | | | 63-65 | | | | | Three Denials of Peter.| 26:69-75 | 14:66-72 | 22:55-62 | 18:15-18, | | | | 25-27 | | | | Formal Condemnation by | | | | the Sanhedrin; Jesus | 27:1, 2 | 15:1 | 22:66 to | 18:28 led to Pilate. | | | 23:1 | | | | | Remorse and Suicide of | | | | Judas. | 27:3-10 | | | | | | | Trial before Pilate. | 27:11-14 | 15:2-5 | 23:2-5 | 18:29-38 | | | | Jesus before Herod. | | | 23:6-12 | | | | | Condemned by Pilate. | 27:15-30 | 15:6-19 | 23:13-25 | 18:39 to | | | | 19:16 | | | | Jesus Led Away to be | 27:31-34 | 15:20-23 | 23:26-33 | 19:16, 17 Crucified. | | | | | | | | Calvary. The | 27:35-38 | 15:24-28 | 23:33, | 19:18-24 Crucifixion. | | | 34, 38 | | | | | Jesus on the Cross. | 27:39-56 | 15:29-41 | 23:35-49 | 19:25-30 | | | | Burial of Jesus. | 27:57-61 | 15:42-47 | 23:50-56 | 19:31-42 | | | | Guard at the Sepulcher.| 27:62-66 | | | -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------
#TIME.#--A. D. 30.
#PLACES.#--Bethany, Jerusalem.
The Incomparable Life (Continued)
#141. The Passion Week.#--Our Lord arrived at Bethany on his last journey to Jerusalem on Friday before the Passover. On the following Sunday came the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Reckoning from that day to the day of his resurrection, we have eight days. How important these days were in the minds of the evangelists may be seen from the amount of space they give to the narrative of these days. To the three years and more of his public ministry, the four evangelists give in all 55 chapters. But to the eight days spoken of, they give 30 chapters. It is most significant that had they told the story of his public ministry in as great detail, it would have occupied over 4000 chapters. This may be seen in part in the accompanying chart.
| 3-1/2 years | 8 days | | 55 chapters | 30 chapters | +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
#142.# _Bear in mind_ that the ecclesiastics had by this time determined on his death. But they did not want that to take place on the feast day, lest there should be an uproar among the people, who believed on him. That is, they were afraid of a rescue (Matt. 26:5). Yet it did come on the feast day. The reasons for this are as follows:
(1) His triumphal entry. The jubilation among the people angered them. They perceived that the people welcomed him, and that they prevailed against him not at all. Of course this was stinging to their pride, and they feared the outcome of this popular enthusiasm.
(2) They were further angered by their failure to discomfit him in argument in the very presence of the multitude. Their effort to entangle him in his talk, as shown in Matthew 22:15-46, was a total failure, and they knew that the people rejoiced at their discomfiture. This was most galling to their pride as religious leaders of the nation. Add to this the terrific denunciation that Jesus poured forth on them, as told in Matthew 23:1-39, and bear in mind that this was in the presence of all the people, and you have an explanation of the resentment on their part.
(3) Just about at this juncture Judas came with his offer, which to them must have seemed most timely. He knew where he could find the Master when the people would be absent, and they relied on their influence with Pilate to carry their scheme through swiftly, so that there would be no chance of any rescue. So, with this combination of circumstances, they determined to go ahead in spite of the fact of the approaching Passover.
#143. The Trial.#--This was twofold. In the first place, it was an ecclesiastical trial. It was before Annas (informal), then before Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin. Here the charges were all ecclesiastical. They were that he had spoken against the temple; that he had broken the Sabbath, and that he was guilty of blasphemy in calling himself the Son of God. These charges they could not prove, but that made no difference, for the issue was already determined in their minds. So they condemned him to death. But they had no power under the Roman government to inflict the death penalty. So they had to take him before the Roman Governor. This brings us to the second trial. This was political. Here the charges were entirely different from those on which they had condemned him to death. Now they charged him with forbidding to pay taxes, and with setting himself up to be a king, in rivalry with Caesar. All this was false, and they knew it, but they cared nothing for that, so long as they could persuade Pilate to give them the desired verdict. Pilate repeatedly declared him innocent, as did also Herod, to whom Pilate sent him. But the ecclesiastics would take nothing but his death as their right. So at last Pilate weakly yielded, and gave sentence as they desired.
#144. The scene at the cross# surpasses all description. Note who were there. Gentiles were there in the form of Roman soldiers. Jews were there in the persons of the ecclesiastics, who reviled on the cross him who for so long had gone about doing good. Even at this time they bore witness to his power, crying out, "He saved others; himself he cannot save." Had they put it, "He saved others, himself he _will not_ save," they would have been strictly within the truth. For he could have saved himself, since it lay within his power to call for twelve legions of angels, and they would have responded at once. Then where would the chief priests or even the Roman soldiers have been?