here indeed was royal bounty and the power with which to feed them
forever free of charge, began to wax enthusiastic and shouts ascended.
"The Messiah! King of the Jews! Provider of the People! Son of David!
Ruler over Israel!" were the words which soon swept the crowd off of
its feet. And then some of the bolder ones, or else the hired spies
who wished to place Him in a compromising position, began to suggest
that the crowd form itself into an army and march from city to city
with Jesus at its head, until at last they would place Him upon the
throne of Israel at Jerusalem. Jesus, recognizing the peril to His
mission, managed to dissuade the hot-heads from their plans, but still
fearing that the authorities might come down upon the assemblage,
ordered that the Twelve take the boat and put out for the other side
of the lake. He sent them off as a precaution, but He, Himself,
remained with the crowd and faced the threatened danger.
He retired to the hills near by and spent the night in meditation.
Then early in the morning, He noticed that a storm was rising over the
lake and that the tiny boat containing His disciples would be in great
danger. In a few moments they might be overwhelmed. He wished to be
with them to comfort and re-assure them. No boat being handy, he
stepped boldly out upon the water and walked rapidly toward the
direction in which He knew the boat must be. Scarcely conscious of the
occult power of levitation that He was using to overcome the power of
gravitation, He moved rapidly toward His followers. Soon He overtook
them, and they, seeing a white figure moving swiftly over the water
toward them, were affrighted, believing it to be a spirit or ghost.
"It is I, be not afraid!" called out the Master to them. Then Peter
cried out, "Lord, if Thou it be, direct me to walk to Thee also on the
waves!" And the Master, smiling, so directed him. And Peter, whose
latent occult power was aroused by his great faith in the Master,
sprang over the side and took several steps toward Him. But, suddenly
losing his faith and courage, his power also left him, and he began to
sink beneath the waves. But the Master grasped his hand and led him in
safety to the boat and both entered it. Then the crew fell to and with
great enthusiasm righted the boat and proceeded to the shore near
Capernaum.
In the case of Peter and his experience in walking on the water, we
have a striking instance of the well known power of the mental
attitude of Faith in the manifestation of occult power. All occultists
know this, and without feeling an implicit faith in the Power with
them, they do not attempt certain forms of manifestation. They know
that with Faith miracles may be performed which are impossible
otherwise. So long as Peter held his Faith he was able to counteract
certain laws of nature by means of other laws not so well known. But
as soon as Fear took the place of Faith his power left him. This is an
invariable occult principle, and in the recital of this story of Peter
on the water is to be found a whole volume of occult instruction--to
those who are able to read it.
Arriving safely on the shores of the lake, Jesus resumed His work
while the ever-present gathering of people went on in its accustomed
way. But on the opposite shore of the lake the crowd who had been fed
on the loaves and fishes were in an angry mood. They cried out that
they had been deserted by their leader, and that the expected loaves
and fishes--the free meals that they had expected would continue--had
been denied them. They also complained bitterly that the reign of
miracles had not continued. And they began to revile the Master that
they had acclaimed the night before. And so Jesus experienced the
ingratitude and the unreasonable words of the public just as all great
teachers have done. The seekers after the loaves and the fishes,
demanding to be fed and clothed without their own work--the seekers
after miracles, demanding fresh wonder-workings--have ever been the
bane of the great Teachers of the Truth. It is a hard and bitter
truth, but all teachers and true lovers of the Truth must learn to
meet and understand it. The mob which reveres a spiritual Master today
is equally ready to rend him to pieces tomorrow.
And still more trouble arose from this mistaken kindness which led
Jesus to feed the crowd by His occult powers, which, by the way, He
knew to be in opposition to the well-established custom of the Occult
Brotherhoods. The formalists, Pharisees and Scribes, having heard of
the occurrence, gathered about the Master and accused Him of violating
one of the forms and ceremonies prescribed by the ecclesiastical
authorities--the rite which required the faithful to wash their hands
before beginning a meal. They accused Him of heresy and false
teaching, which tended to lead the people away from their accustomed
ceremonies and observances. Jesus waxed indignant and, turning on His
critics, hurled burning replies upon them. "Ye hypocrites!" He cried,
"You cling to the commandments of men and neglect the commandments of
God! You cleanse your hands but not your souls! You are the blind
leaders of the blind, and both yourselves and your followers fall in
the mire and ditches! Away with you and your hypocrisy!" But the
adverse comment aroused by His actions would not down, and,
discouraged and disheartened by the evidences of the barrenness of the
soil in which He had been sowing the precious seeds of the Truth, He
gathered together His followers and departed into Tyre and Sidon, a
quieter region, that He might rest and meditate over new plans and
work. He could see the beginning of the end.
To understand the nature of the position of the Master at this time,
it must be remembered that His strong hold had ever been with the
masses of the people, who were His enthusiastic admirers. So long as
He remained entrenched in the heart of the populace, the temporal and
ecclesiastical authorities dared not attack Him without a popular
uprising of no mean proportions. But now that they had managed to wean
away His public from Him they pressed Him harder and harder with their
persecutions and complaints. And so at last they had managed to render
Him almost an unpopular outcast. They forced Him away from the larger
towns, and now He was wandering among the less populous regions of the
country, and even there the spies and agents of the authorities hunted
Him down, seeking to further entrap and compromise Him.
About this time Jesus revealed to His apostles the facts of His Divine
origin which was now plain to Him. He also told them of the fate which
awaited Him, and which He had willingly chosen. He told them not to
expect the fruits of His work at this time, for He was but sowing the
seeds of the fruit which would not grow and bear fruit for many
centuries. He gave them the Mystic secret of the nature of His work,
which is taught to the Initiates of the Occult Brotherhoods even unto
this day. But even these chosen men scarcely grasped the true import
of His teachings, and once He was rendered almost broken hearted at
over-hearing a discussion among them regarding high offices which they
hoped to acquire.
Jesus now felt that the time had come for Him to move on to Jerusalem
to meet there the crowning act of His strange career. And, knowing
full well that such a course would be virtually thrusting His head
into the very jaws of the lion of ecclesiastical and temporal
authority, He set His feet firmly on the road which led to Jerusalem,
the capital city, and the center of ecclesiastical influence. And that
road was a hard one to travel, for, as He neared the capital, His
enemies increased in number and the opposition to Him grew stronger.
At one village He had been denied the right of shelter, an indignity
almost unknown in Oriental lands. In another place a large rock was
hurled at Him and wounded Him severely. The mob had turned against Him
and was repaying His kind services with abuse and personal violence.
And this is ever the lot of the teacher of the Truth who scatters the
sacred pearls of Truth before the swine of the unworthy multitude of
people. Over and over again has this fact been brought home to those
who would labor for the good of the world. And still we hear the
querulous complaint that the Inner Teaching is reserved for the
Few--why not scatter it broadcast among the people? The stake, the
rack, the stones, the prison cell, the cross and their modern
prototypes--these are the silent answers to the question.
Moving on toward Jerusalem the little company reached Perea, a number
of miles from Bethany, at which latter place dwelt a family of His
friends--the two sisters, Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus.
At this place He was met by a messenger from Bethany, who bore the sad
news that His friend Lazarus was sick unto death, and who also begged
the Master to return to Bethany and cure the man. But this Jesus
refused to do, and allowed several days to pass without answering the
summons. At the end of the several days He started toward Bethany,
telling His disciples that Lazarus was dead. And reaching Bethany they
found that it was indeed so--Lazarus was dead and in the tomb.
Jesus was received with scowling antagonism. The people seemed to say,
"Here is this heretical imposter again. He feared to come even to the
aid of His dying friend. His power has failed Him and He now stands
discredited and exposed!" Then came Martha, who reproached the Master
with His indifference and delay. He answered her that Lazarus should
rise again, but she doubted His word. Then came Mary, whose grief
brought tears even from the Master, who had seen so much of human
suffering as to have found his eyes refuse to weep.
Then asked the Master, "Where have you laid him away?" and they took
Him to the tomb, followed by the curious mob hungering for the sight
of more wonders from the man whom they feared even while hating and
reviling Him. Jesus stood before the dreary tomb and bade the men roll
away the stone that closed the mouth of the tomb. The men hesitated,
for they knew that a corpse lay within, and they even perceived the
characteristic odor of the tomb issuing therefrom. But the Master
insisting upon it, they rolled away the stone and Jesus stood full in
front of the dark opening to the cavern.
He stood there for a few moments wrapt in meditation and showing
evidences of strong mental concentration. His eyes took on a strange
look, and in every muscle He showed that He was summoning to the task
every particle of the power at His command. He was throwing off the
matters that had been occupying His mind during the past weeks, that
He might hold his mind "one-pointed," as the Oriental occultists term
it--that He might concentrate clearly and forcibly upon the task
before Him.
Then, arousing His reserve force, in a mighty effort, He cried loudly,
in a voice of authority and power, "Lazarus! Lazarus! Come forth!"
The people gasped with horror at this calling forth a corpse which was
in the process of disintegration and decay, and a cry of remonstrance
went up, but Jesus heeded it not. "Lazarus! Lazarus! Come forth, I
command thee!" he cried again.
And then at the mouth of the cavern could be seen something startling.
It was a ghastly figure, bound and clad in the grave-clothes of that
country, which was struggling to free itself and to move toward the
light. It was indeed Lazarus! And, after tearing off the stained
grave-clothes which still retained the horrid stench of decaying
matter, his body was found to be sweet and clean and pure as that of
the infant. Jesus had performed a wonder-work far beyond any
manifestation He had heretofore shown to the world.
The excitement occasioned by this crowning wonder, coming to Jerusalem
after a lull in which it had thought that the Master had retired into
insignificant seclusion, aroused again into activity the authorities,
who now determined to make an end to the matter and to suppress this
pestilent charlatan once and for all. Raising a decaying corpse from
the tomb, indeed! What new fraudulent marvels would He not work next
in order to delude the credulous people and to bring them once more
around his rebellious standard? The man was dangerous without doubt,
and must be put where He could do no harm--and that at once.
Within a few hours after the receipt of news that Lazarus had walked
from the tomb, the Sanhedrin, the great Jewish ecclesiastical council,
was in session, called hastily by its officers to take vigorous action
concerning this impious, heretical imposter who had been allowed to
mock at established order and religion for too long a time. He must be
quieted ere he arouse the people once more. The Roman authorities were
warned by the Jewish ecclesiastics that this dangerous man now
approaching the capital claimed to be the Jewish Messiah, and that His
aims were to overturn the Temple authorities first, and then establish
Himself as King of the Jews, and place Himself at the head of a
revolutionary army which would attempt to defy and defeat the rule of
mighty Rome herself.
And so all the machinery was set in motion, and the officers of the
law were all on the alert to take advantage of the first overt act of
Jesus and His followers, and to throw them into prison as enemies of
society, religion and of the state. The Roman authorities were
agitated at the reports coming to them from the highest Jewish
authorities, and were prepared to crush the rebellion at the first
sign. The Jewish priests were in solemn convocation and at the
instigation of Caiaphas, the high priest of the Jews, they determined
that nothing but the death of this false Messiah would put an end to
the agitation which threatened to drive them from power and authority.
And so the die was cast.
And meanwhile Jesus was resting in Bethany, surrounded by great
throngs who were pouring into the place to see Lazarus, and to renew
their allegiance to the Master whom they had so basely forsaken.
Time-servers ever, the latest miracles had revived their fading
interest and waning faith, and they flocked around the Master as
noisy, enthusiastic and as full of fulsome praise as ever. And
yesterday they had damned Him, and tomorrow they would cry "Crucify
Him!" For such is the nature of the multitude of men. Of the
multitudes of Jesus' followers, none remained to acknowledge
allegiance in His hour of arrest--even among the chosen twelve, one
betrayed Him, one denied Him, and _all_ fled away when He was taken
captive. And for _such_ the Son of Man lived and taught and suffered.
Surely His _life_ was the greatest miracle of all.
THE EIGHTH LESSON.
THE END OF THE LIFE WORK.
Resting for a short time before His formal entry into Jerusalem, the
Master sought the seclusion of the sparsely settled districts near the
wilderness. In and around the village of Ephraim, in Perea, in parts
of Galilee, He wandered with the Twelve. But even there He continued
His work of healing and teaching.
But even this temporary respite from the inevitable lasted but a short
time. Jesus determined to march direct to the seat of the
ecclesiastical and temporal authority which was arrayed against Him.
And so, just before the coming of the Passover time, He gathered
together the Twelve and set out on the final stage of the journey. The
pilgrims journeying to the capital were burning with curiosity and
excitement concerning this journey of the Master to the home of His
foes. Rumors were circulated that He intended to gather His forces
together and sweep the enemy from its seats of power. It was known
that the Sanhedrin intended to attempt to punish Him, and the people
asked why should He move on to face His foes unless He contemplated a
fight to the finish?
This belief in His determination caused a revulsion of feeling of the
people in His favor, and many who had deserted Him now again gathered
around Him. They dreamt again of victory, and scented again an
unfailing supply of loaves and fishes. They crowded around Him wishing
to be among the victorious host. But He encouraged them not--neither
spoke He a word to them. He knew them for the time-servers that they
were.
The crowds of Jerusalem hearing of His approach, and moved by
curiosity to witness His triumphant entry into the City, flocked
around the suburbs through which He would approach. At last the cry
went up, "Here He comes!" and to their amazement and disgust the crowd
saw Him riding quietly info the City mounted on an ass, without
display, pretense or pose. The crowd scattered, sneering and reviling
Him. But the pilgrims were becoming more and more enthusiastic, and
they strewed His way with palms, shouting, "Blessed be our Messiah!
The King of Israel approacheth."
The Master proceeded directly to the Temple and performed the
customary rites. So amazed were the authorities by His fearless
demeanor, that they deferred laying violent hands upon Him. They
feared a trap, and moved cautiously. They even allowed Him to retire
to Bethany and spend the night. The next morning He returned to the
city and dwelt among His friends there. He attended the Temple
regularly, and pursued His work of teaching and healing in its very
shadows.
Meanwhile the clouds of the persecuting forces gathered closely around
His head. One of the Twelve, Judas Iscariot, who was sorely
disappointed at the Master having refused to take advantage of the
support of the crowd to assist His claim as the Messiah and King of
the Jews, and also fearing that he would become involved in His
inevitable downfall, began a series of bargainings and dickerings with
the authorities, which had for their object the betrayal of the Master
into the hands of the authorities, the reward to be immunity from
persecution for himself and a few pieces of silver for his pocket in
addition.
And so the time passed on, the nights being spent at Bethany and the
days at the Temple in the capital. Finally the priests made an
important move. They confronted Him in their official capacity and
demanded that He prove His ordination as a Jewish Rabbi and consequent
right to preach to the orthodox members of the church. Jesus answered
them by asking questions that they feared to answer. Then they began
to question Him, hoping to involve Him in ecclesiastical heresies
which would give them their excuse to arrest Him. But He evaded them
skilfully. They sought also to compel Him to state opinions contrary
to the Roman authority, but He likewise escaped this net.
Finally, however, they drew from Him a savage attack upon authority,
and He cried out in indignation:
"Woe unto you, ye generation of vipers! Ye serpents! Ye
hypocrites! Ye oppressors of the poor! Ye professed
shepherds, who are but as wolves in disguise, seeking but to
devour the sheep whom ye have in charge! Woe unto you, ye
Scribes, Hypocrites, Pharisees!"
Then He left the Temple and returned to Bethany to spend the night,
after foretelling the destruction of the Temple, when there should not
be left one of its stones upon another.
That night he had a heart-to-heart talk with the Twelve. He told them
that the end was in sight--that He was to die before many hours had
passed--that they, the Twelve, were to become wanderers on the face of
the earth--hunted and persecuted in His name and for His sake. A
terrible revelation to some among them who had dreamt of earthly
grandeur and high positions for themselves! And then Judas felt that
the time to act had come, and he stole away to meet the High-priest
and to close the frightful bargain with him which was to make his name
the synonym for treachery throughout the ages.
The next day, Wednesday, He rested in Bethany the whole twenty-four
hours, evidently gathering together his reserve forces to meet the
ordeal which He now knew was before Him. He kept apart from even His
disciples and spent the time in meditation. And likewise was passed
the early part of the following day, Thursday. But when the even time
had come, He sent for the Twelve and gathered them around Him for the
Paschal Supper, one of the rites of the Passover time.
Even this last solemn occasion was marred by a petty squabble among
the disciples regarding the order of precedence to be observed in
their seats at the table. Judas succeeded in gaining the seat of honor
next to the Master. Jesus startled the company by insisting upon
washing the feet of the Twelve, an act which placed them on a pedestal
above Him. This occult ceremony, which was not comprehended by the
Twelve, apparently was one which the Hierophants of the Occult
Brotherhoods performed for their associates when the latter had been
chosen to carry out some important office or mission, or when a
successor was about to take the place of one of them. And Jesus
evidently so intended it. Then He bade them wash one another's feet,
in token of the recognition of each of the high mission of the others.
Then Jesus, overcome by the knowledge of the morrow, burst out in
anguished tones, saying: "And even one of you, my chosen ones, shall
betray me!" And several asked Him in turn, in a tone of reproach, "Is
it I?" And Jesus shook His head at each question. But Judas asked not,
but overcome with confusion he reached over and took a portion of
bread from the plate before the Master. Then Jesus took a bit of bread
and, moistening it from His plate, handed it to Judas, saying to him
firmly, "Judas, do thy work without loss of time." And Judas, abashed,
slunk away from the table.
Then began that remarkable conversation of the Last Supper, as
recorded in the Gospels. Then also was performed that first
celebration of the Holy Communion, the Mystic significance of which
shall be explained in a later lesson. Then Jesus chanted the Passover
hymn.
Then shortly after, the company left the room and walked into the
streets, and over the meadows near by. Then under the trees of the
Garden of Gethsemane, apart from His disciples, now reduced to Eleven,
He gave Himself up to prayer and meditation. He called aloud to The
Father to give Him strength for the final ordeal. Struggling with His
doubts and fears and misgivings--conquering His physical inclination
and impulses--He gave utterance to that supreme cry: "O Father, Thy
will, not mine, be done!" and in so saying He cast behind Him forever
His right of choice to stay the awful course of events which was
pressing upon Him. Resigning His mighty occult power of defense, He
laid Himself upon the altar of sacrifice even as the Paschal Lamb.
Leaving behind Him the Garden in which He had just performed this
greatest miracle of all--the miracle of Renunciation--He stepped out
among His disciples, saying, "The hour has come--the betrayer is here
to do his work."
Then were heard sounds of clanking arms, and martial tread, and in a
moment the military guard appeared on the scene, accompanied by a
delegation of ecclesiastics, and with them, walking in advance, was
Judas Iscariot. Judas, walking as one in a trance, approached the
Master and, saluting Him with a kiss, cried, "Hail, Master," which was
the signal to the guard, arranged between Judas and the High Priest.
Then cried Jesus, "Ah, with a kiss--thou, Judas, betrayeth the Son of
Man with a kiss! Oh!" And in that moment it seemed that the Master's
grief had reached its utmost limit. Then the guard closed around Him
and carried Him away.
But He resisted them not. As they approached Him He called out, "Whom
seek ye?" And the leader answered, "We seek him whom men call Jesus of
Nazareth." Then answered the Master, "I am He whom thou seeketh!" But
the disciples resisted the arrest, and Peter cut off the ear of one of
the party, a servant of the High-priest. But Jesus bade His followers
desist, and, approaching the wounded man, placed his severed ear in
place and healed it instantly. Then He rebuked His disciples, telling
them that, had He so desired, the whole of the legions of heaven would
have come to His assistance. Then He bade the leader conduct Him from
the place. But alas! as He left, He turned to bid farewell to His
disciples, and lo! to a man they had fled and deserted Him, leaving
Him alone in His hour of trial--yea! as every humble soul must be
alone in its moments of supreme struggle--alone with its Creator.