My Dearest Father:
With what emotions of grief and amazement I commence this letter you
can form no just conception. Jesus, the Prophet of God, is a prisoner
to the Roman power!
But I fear not the issue! He cannot be holden of his foes, save by his
own free will. He can, with a word, turn his chains into bands of sand,
and by a glance render his guards dead men. He will, therefore, escape
their bonds. They can have no power over him.
It seems that to-day, after eating the Passover with his twelve chosen
friends, and instituting a new and peculiar feast with wine and bread,
which he told them impressively would be his last supper with them, he
went forth towards Olivet, and there, seating himself beneath the shade
of a tree, he talked with them very sadly, saying that "his hour was
come, that he had ended his work, and that he was about to be delivered
into the hands of sinful men."
John gave the following narrative: "It was evening, and the south side
of Olivet lay in deep shadow. We were all sorrowful. We felt, each
one of us, as if some grievous evil was pending over us. The tones of
our beloved Master's voice moved us to tears, quite as much as his
words, which latter were full of mystery. We were all present except
Iscariot, who had remained in the city to discharge the costs--he being
our purse-bearer--of the Passover supper and pay for the hire of the
room. At that supper Jesus had said very plainly that one of our number
would betray him into the hands of the priests. At hearing our Lord say
these strange words in accents of touching reproach, we were all deeply
moved, and Peter and the rest at once questioned him individually, if
it were they. 'Lord, is it I?' and another, 'Lord, is it I?' I was
resting, at the moment, with my face on the shoulder of Jesus, and said
softly, 'Lord, who is it that betrayeth thee? I will forthwith lay
hands upon him and prevent his doing thee harm.' Jesus shook his head
and smiling gently, said:
"'My beloved brother, thou knowest not what thou would do. The Son of
man must needs be betrayed by his own friends, but woe unto him who
betrayeth me! Mark which of the twelve dippeth bread with me into the
dish!'
"I looked and saw Judas reach forward and dip into the dish at the same
instant with Jesus; but in his eagerness, or from conscious guilt,
his hand trembled, he spilled the salt over the board, and the sop
fell from his grasp into the bowl; upon which Jesus gave him the piece
he held, saying to him, with a remarkable expression in his clear,
piercing eyes:
"'Judas, that thou doest, do quickly!'
"Instantly Judas rose from the table, and without a reply or casting a
look at any of us, went out.
"For a few moments after his footsteps had ceased to be heard, there
prevailed a heavy silence in the chamber, for a strange fear had
fallen upon us; why, we could not tell; and looking into one another's
faces, and then into our dear Master's, we seemed to await some dread
event. His face was placid and full of affection as he looked upon us.
The momentary cloud which shaded the noble profile when he spoke to
Judas had all passed off, and there was the serenity of a cloudless sky
in his face."
"What was the mysterious feast which he instituted?" asked Mary,
interrupting John here.
"You may properly call it mysterious," he answered. "As we were eating
the Passover, Jesus took up bread and, blessing it by a solemn act of
consecration, broke it with his hands and gave a portion to each of us,
saying with it, 'Take, eat; this is my body!'
"Awed and impressed by his manner and the act, we all received and
ate it as he commanded us to do, as reverently as if it were the holy
shew-bread of the Temple, dedicated to God's use. When we had eaten in
silence what we perceived was the inauguration of a new and most sacred
feast by his own hand, he took up the cup of wine, and consecrated it
also by giving thanks and blessing. The hallowed cup he now offered to
each one of us. We all drank of it with deep devotion, for he said to
us, 'I will drink no more with you the fruit of the vine until that day
that I drink it new in the kingdom of God!' He also said of the wine,
'This is my blood!'"
"And how do you understand these words, that the bread consecrated was
his body, and the wine was his blood?" I asked of the disciple.
"That is an inquiry I cannot answer," said John. "It is a mystery. But
the Lord says it shall be made clear to us by and by.
"We then sang the Passover hymn to God, and went out at his command to
go to Olivet. As we went he discoursed with us:
"'My children,' he said. 'I am to be with you but a little while
longer. The hour of my departure is at hand. Remember my last
words--love one another. In this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples.'
"'Lord,' cried Peter, 'we will go with thee! Thou shalt not leave us
nor go without us!'
"Thus we all, eagerly and tearfully, gathered around him, alarmed and
grieved at the words he had said. He regarded us lovingly and said:
"'Little children, I must leave you. Whither I go you cannot come!'
"'Though thou wentest to the uttermost parts of the sea, I will follow
thee, my Master and Lord!' exclaimed Peter. 'Whither goest thou, that
we may not follow? I will lay down my life for thee; and so will all
these!'
[Illustration: AN ORIENTAL SUPPER SCENE.]
"'Wilt thou die for me, Peter?' asked Jesus, gazing on him with a sad,
sweet look. 'Verily, verily, Peter, thou little knowest thyself. The
cock shall not crow twice ere thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest
me.'
"'Deny thee, Lord!' repeated Peter, with amazed grief and horror in his
looks.
"'Yes, Peter,' answered Jesus, firmly but kindly, 'deny that thou ever
knewest me; for the time draweth near when there shall be safety only
in confessing ignorance of Jesus the Nazarene. And all ye,' he added,
while his voice grew tremulous, and tears glistened in his eyes, 'all
ye shall be offended because of me this night; ye shall be ashamed
that ye are my disciples, and ye will think me a deceiver and will be
displeased at me. Yea, every one of you shall desert me; for thus it
is written: "The shepherd shall be smitten, and the sheep shall be
scattered!"'
"When he saw that our hearts were troubled and that we were sad, and
that the faithful Philip sobbed aloud at being supposed capable of
abandoning his Master, he added, 'Let not your hearts be troubled; I go
to prepare a place for you in my Father's house!'
"'Thy father, Lord, no longer liveth in Nazareth; and, were he alive,
there are but two small apartments in his humble house,' said Thomas.
'How sayest thou that we are all to lodge there?'
"'Thomas, thou canst understand only what thine eyes see. I speak of my
Father who is in heaven. In his house are many mansions.'
"Jesus then, as we drew near Cedron, began plainly to tell us that he
was to die, and that by his death we should be admitted into a heavenly
paradise and live forever. We could not understand all he said, but we
knew that he was soon to be taken from us and sorrow filled all our
hearts. After discoursing with us in the most touching words, he at
length said:
"'Come, let us go over Cedron to the side of Olivet, into the garden we
so much love to walk in.'
"We went with him, inclosing him as a guard, to conceal his person
from the Jewish spies, as well as to defend him. Peter and James went
before. The full moon shone brightly, and by its light glancing on the
face of Jesus, by whom I walked, I saw that it was sadder than its
wont, while he spoke but little.
"We at length crossed the brook and entered the dark groves of Olivet.
Familiar with all the paths, we advanced to a central group of
venerable olive trees, beneath which, tradition says, Abraham used to
sit; and there Jesus, turning to us, said in a voice of the deepest woe:
"'Friends, the hour of my time of trial is come! My work is ended. I
would be alone. Remain you here and watch, for we shall be sought for.
Come with me, Peter, and you also, James. I am going to pray yonder.'
"'Take me, also, dear Lord!' I said, sorrowfully.
"'Yes, thou art always with me, beloved!' he answered. 'I will not
leave thee now.'
"So leaving the eight friends to keep watch against the intrusion of
his enemies, who were known to be everywhere seeking him, he walked
away to the most secluded recesses of the garden. He stopped at the
place near the rock where Adam is said to have hidden from Jehovah, and
saying to us in a sorrowful tone, 'Tarry ye here, while I go apart and
pray to my Father,' he went from us about a stone's cast and kneeled
down, where a thick olive branch hanging low to the ground concealed
him from our view. I was so solicitous lest he should leave us and we
should see him no more, that I soon softly advanced near to the spot
and beheld him prostrate on the ground, while deep groans broke from
his heart. I heard his voice murmuring, but could not distinguish the
words broken by grief; only the tones were those of strange horror and
dread.
"As he prayed thus in great agony, I suddenly beheld a swift light
pass by me, as if from the skies, and lo! an angel stood by the side
of Jesus, bending over him and raising him up from the ground. A
soft, bright glory shone around the spot, so that Peter, seeing it,
advanced towards me, supposing some one had entered the garden bearing
a torch. I beckoned to Peter to be motionless, and he gazed with me in
speechless astonishment and admiration upon the form of the angel, from
whose glorious face was emitted the radiance which illumined the place
where Jesus was. As the angel raised Jesus from the ground, we saw that
his divine countenance was convulsed with anguish, and upon his brow
stood great shining drops of sweat, mingled with blood, which oozed
from his pallid temples and, rolling down his marble cheeks, dropped to
the ground. Never had we beheld a human visage so marred by sorrow, so
deeply graven with the lines of agony.
"The angel seemed to utter soothing words, and pointed with his shining
hand towards heaven, as if to encourage him with hope and give him
strength. The face of Jesus grew more serene; he raised his eyes
heavenward with a divine expression of holy love, and cried in a strong
voice:
"'Thy will, not mine, O God, be done!'
"The angel then embraced him, as if strengthening him, and soaring
upward, disappeared like a star returning into the blue depths of
heaven, while Peter and I stood by wondering and full of awe at what we
beheld.
"We remained for some time conversing together upon the wonderful
vision we had seen, which confirmed us in the certainty that Jesus
came from God, and was in truth the Messias that should come; but
at length, wearied with our day's excitements, we must have fallen
asleep, for we were suddenly startled by the voice of our dear Master
saying:
"'Why sleep ye, children? But the hour is past for watching. Ye may
sleep on now, for though your flesh is weary, your spirit is willing. I
need your aid no longer!'
"While he was speaking, we saw many torches gleaming through the trees,
along King David's walk, and the tramp of feet fell on our ears. We
soon saw a large party advancing into the midst of the garden, who
walked rapidly and spoke only in undertones. We at once took the alarm
and said to Jesus:
"'Fly, dear Master! Let us ascend the hill, and escape by the way of
Bethany, for these are enemies!'
"'Nay,' answered our dear Master. 'It must needs be that I deliver
myself into the hands of these men. How else shall the Scriptures be
fulfilled? Seek safety in flight for yourselves, but I must go whither
they will lead me.'
"'Not so, Lord,' answered Peter. 'There is time for thee to escape; or,
if not, we will stand by thee and defend thee.'
"So said all the disciples. Jesus shook his head and said, with a sad
smile, 'Ye know not what ye say or would do. Mine hour is come!'
"While he yet spake the multitude drew nearer, and those who had the
lead, raising their torches high above their heads, discovered us,
with Jesus in the midst. To my surprise I beheld Judas acting as their
guide, for he alone knew where his Master was to be found at that hour.
Upon discovering Jesus this wicked man ran forward, with expressions of
friendship in his face, and kissed Jesus on the cheek, saying:
"'Hail, Master! I am glad I have found thee!'
"'Judas,' said Jesus, 'betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?'
"When Judas heard this he turned to the multitude, at the head of which
I recognized some of the chief priests, and of the most learned scribes
of the Temple, and cried aloud:
"'This is he! Seize him, and hold him fast!'
"Thereupon the crowd, to the number of full ten score men, among whom
were the vilest sort of people, rushed forward to lay hands upon Jesus,
the moon and torches together shedding almost the bright light of day
into the garden upon the whole group.
[Illustration: MOUNT OF OLIVES.]
"At seeing them advance so furiously, with spears and clubs and swords,
Peter and James placed themselves before Jesus to defend him, while I,
being unarmed, cast myself across his breast, to shield his heart with
my body. The more bold men in the crowd coming too near, Peter smote
one of them with his sword, as he was reaching out his arm to grasp
Jesus by the shoulder, and clave off his ear. At seeing this the crowd
uttered a fierce shout, and were pressing upon us, when Jesus raised
the palm of his hand and said quietly:
"'Whom seek ye?'
"Instantly the whole mass rolled backward, like a receding billow
rebounding from the face of an immovable rock, and every man thereof
fell with his forehead to the ground, where they all lay for a minute
stunned. We twelve alone stood, for Judas had not been struck down,
and now remained gazing with amazement and terror upon the prostrate
enemies of Jesus.
"'Lord,' cried Peter, astonished, 'if thou canst thus repel thy foes,
thou needest not fear them more. Shall I smite Judas also?'
"'Nay, put up thy sword, Peter! Let him remain to witness my power,
that he may know that he nor his have any power over me save that I
give them.'
"While he was thus speaking the people and soldiers rose to their
feet, and, instead of flying, they seemed to be infuriated at their
discomfiture; and the chief priests crying out that it was by sorcery
that they had been thus stricken down, they rushed madly forward and
laid their hands upon Jesus and upon us all. In vain I contended
against numbers to rescue Jesus; overpowered, we were defeated and
driven from the garden, leaving Jesus in the hands of his enemies."
When John had gone thus far in his relation, dear father, our tears and
his were mingled. But we try and comfort ourselves with the word of his
promise:
"Ye know not now, but ye shall know by and by, and shall believe truly
that I came out from God. What now seems to you mysterious shall be
made clear as light. Wait and have faith, and all shall be made known
which now you understand not. Let no trials and degradations ye see me
pass through cause your faith to fail. I am come into this world to
conquer; but if I stoop, it is to raise up the world with me when I
rise again!"
I have omitted to mention to you what more John related as wonderful
touching the arrest of the Prophet. "As the chief priests bound and
laid their hands on him, there was," he said, "heard in the air the
sound of myriads of rushing wings, and notes like the gathering
signal of a trumpet, echoing and re-echoing in the skies, as if a
countless host of invisible beings were marshaling, armies by armies,
in mid-heaven! At these fearful and sublime sounds all raised their
heads but could behold nothing. Then Jesus said, with a majestic and
commanding look, such as I had never before beheld upon his face:
"'Ye hear that I am not without heavenly friends! I have only to pray
to my Father which is in heaven, and he will bid twelve legions of his
angels, now hovering in the air and yearning to defend me from my foes,
descend to my aid! But I desire not to use my powers for myself.'"
Thus, dear father, was Jesus borne away by a fierce multitude and
dragged into the city.
John, whose interest in and affection for Jesus led him to follow them,
heard all this; but Jesus made no answer, only walking quietly along,
patiently enduring all they said and did.
As they entered the city gate the Roman guard, seeing the immense crowd
and uproar, stopped them to learn the cause of the commotion.
"'We have here a traitor and conspirator, O captain of the guard,'
answered Eli, the chief priest: 'a pestilent fellow, who calls
himself Christ, a king! We have, therefore, with this band of hired
soldiers, taken him, as he was met secretly with twelve of his
fellow-conspirators, plotting to overthrow the government of Cæsar and
make himself king of Judea.'
"'Long live Cæsar! Long live the emperor!' shouted the Roman soldiers.
'We have no king but Augustus Imperator!'
"Upon this many of the soldiers cried, 'Take him before the Procurator!
He will give him his deserts, who would take his procuratorship away
from him! To Pilate! To Pilate!'
"'To Annas!' shouted the Jews. 'First to Annas!'
"Then, with some shouting one thing and others another thing, he was
hurried towards the house of Annas.
"When Annas knew that the prisoner was Jesus, he uttered a fearful oath
expressive of his joy and wicked satisfaction, and, hastily robing and
coming down into the court, he bade them bring the prisoner in. But the
calm majesty of Jesus abashed him, and checked the course of insulting
questions he began putting to him. At length finding that the Prophet
would make no reply, he caused him to be bound still more closely with
more cords, lest he should, like Samson, rend his bonds and escape on
the way, and sent him to Caiaphas, the High Priest, saying to him:
"'Caiaphas will find voice for thy tongue, O Prophet! So, thou wouldst
destroy the Temple, and callest thyself the Son of the Lord Jehovah!
Out, blasphemer! Away with him, or the house will be swallowed up
with the presence of one so impious! Away with the man! By the crown
of David! Pilate will make thee king in truth, and give thee a Roman
throne, to which, so that thou mayest not presently fall from it, he
will nail thee foot and hand!'
"At this the cruel crowd shouted their approbation, and many cried:
"'Ay, to the cross! to the cross with him!'
"But others said, 'Nay, but to Caiaphas!'
"The captain of the Roman soldiers resolved that he should be taken
before Pilate, and led the way thither, Jesus bound in the midst."
With renewed uproar they tumultuously pressed forward, their way
lighted by the red glare of a hundred torches, insulting the Roman
soldiers with seditious cries. John followed, but being recognized as
one of his disciples by a soldier in Æmilius' legion, he was seized and
only escaped by leaving his apparel in the grasp of the rude Roman.
Five of the disciples who have escaped arrest, are now in this house,
whither John fled also, on eluding the grasp of the soldier, leaving
his linen garment in his hand. We are all so sad and anxious! To move
in favor of Jesus is only to share his fate and do him no service.
Yet through all, dear father, I do trust in him and hope! Oh, I cannot
doubt his truth and power! I have seen him bring Lazarus up from
the grave, and I will not believe but that he can save himself, and
will save himself, from their hands. It is only when I shall behold
him really no more--see him really dead--that my faith in his divine
mission will waver.
With eyes blinded with tears, I can scarcely subscribe myself,
Your sad but loving daughter,
Adina.