“Of Joseph ben Eli the carpenter, and Miriam his wife.”
“And what is his trade?” I continued.
“A wheelwright,” he said; “the best wheels and yokes in all Capernaum are
made by him.”
“But is he of the country‐folk,(2) or a pupil of the wise?”
“Nay, master, he knoweth the Law and the Prophets.”
“Of what party is he? Boethusian he cannot be, nor Sadducee; but is he
Pharisee or Zealot, Essene or Baptist?”
“He is of no party.”
“But from whom hath he received the tradition of the elders? At whose feet
has he sat? Whom calleth he master?”
“He hath been baptized by Jochanan his kinsman, but none calleth he
master.”
“If he have not the tradition, he cannot teach the Law, for his words will
not be binding. Doth he sit in judgment or pronounce _Din_?”
“Nay, master, he but teacheth us to be good.”
“Ah,” said I, “he is but a homolist of the Hagada; he addeth naught to the
_Halacha_. Then what is his motto?”(3)
“He saith, ‘Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Then I took the man away from his companions, and out of hearing of the
Roman sentry, and asked him in a low tone, “And who shall be the king
thereof?”
But the man answered not, but said only, “Lo! he cometh.”
And, indeed, at that moment Jesus came down by the steps he had ascended
and beckoned to his companions. And as they went towards him I was
surprised, and at the same time horrified, to see amongst them two persons
whom I little thought to find in any public place in Jerusalem, still less
in the courts of the Temple. One was a woman in the yellow veil of a
_hetæra_; the other, a mere _Nathin_ who had no name among men, but was
called _Dog o’ Dogs_. These two pressed close to Jesus; the woman rushed
forward with a sob and raised the hem of his garment to her lips, while to
the man he spoke some friendly words, smiling on him as they walked
towards the entrance.
I was astonished. The man had seemed so careful of the purity of the
Temple that he would not allow even the necessary arrangements for its
service to be performed in its precincts, yet he allowed its courts to be
defiled by the vilest of the vile. Perchance, I thought, he had prevailed
upon them to perform the vows enjoined by the Law, and cleanse themselves
of their sin. Or was it that he was ignorant of their characters, being
but newly come from rural parts? He must, indeed, be different from other
rabbis, who kept themselves apart from all transgressors against the Law
till they had repented and done penance.
While I thus meditated, I saw the High Priest Hanan, whom ye Hellenes call
Annas, enter into the court of the Gentiles with his guard. Thou
rememberest the man, Aglaophonos—how his tyranny extended over all the
city. He was still called High Priest, though Valerius Gratius, the
Procurator, had deposed him years before, lest haply he might regain the
regal power of the Maccabæans. Still, even after his deposition, he had
sufficient power to get his sons or sons‐in‐law named High Priests. It was
one of the latter, Joseph Caiaphas, who at that time held the office; yet
the people still called Hanan High Priest, and he himself wore on high
days the bells and pomegranates round his tunic as a sign of his dignity.
Thou must remember his keen‐cut face, his nose like an eagle’s, his long
white beard, bent neck, and sinewy hand. Was it thou or I that first
called him “the Old Vulture”?
He had heard of the insult to his dignity by the removal, without his
orders, of the money‐changers and others to whom the people paid the fees
from which he and his made such display in his grand dwelling on the Mount
of Olives. “Where is he? where is he?” he cried, as he came bustling up,
with neck extended, and looking more than ever like a bird of prey. He
soon found that the man he sought had gone; but he had given his orders,
and before I left the court, I saw the money‐changers reënter and the
cattle driven back. I had to attend a meeting of the Sanhedrim, for that
year I had risen to the third and highest bench of disciples who sit under
its members when they give judgment. Next year I was elected of the
Seventy‐One myself in the section of Israelites. It must, therefore, have
been in the sixteenth year of Tiberius the Emperor, nearly five‐and‐twenty
years agone, that I thus saw for the first time Jesus the Nazarene.
II.
THE UPBRINGING.
Thou canst imagine the wonder and excitement in Jerusalem at this bold
deed of the Nazarene. Not even the oracle of Delphi is regarded with so
much reverence as our sacred fane, and none in our time had dared to
interfere with its regulations, which have all the sacredness of our
traditions. And of these none was regarded by the priestly guardians of
the Temple as of greater weight for them than the right of sale of beasts
of sacrifice. It is from this, as I have said, that the priestly order
gain their wealth, and no more deadly blow could be struck at their power
than to deprive them of this. Hence had the Pharisees protested against
this right, but none had hitherto dared to carry out the protest in very
deed. All the poor and all the pious would have been glad if they could
buy their offerings to the Lord wheresoever they would.
But more than all, men of Jerusalem were amazed at the daring of the
Galilæan stranger in opposing the High Priest Hanan. This man had been the
tyrant of the Temple and of the city for the whole span of a generation of
men, and no man had dared say him nay for all that time. Even the Romans,
who had deposed him from his position as High Priest, had not dared to
interfere with him otherwise. Yet had this rude countryman, who had never
been seen, never been known to set foot in Jerusalem before, dared to
strike at the root of his power and wealth. Thou canst not wonder that men
were curious to know what manner of man he might be who had dared this
great thing, and busy rumor ran through all the bazaars of Jerusalem,
asking, Who is this Jesus of Nazara? All that I learnt of his kindred and
early life I learnt at this time, and I here set it forth in order.
It was natural that I should first direct my inquiries as to his birth,
for the insulting cry of the money‐changers still rang in my ears. Thou
knowest our pride of birth; I learnt from thee to abate it. Every man in
Israel taketh his place in the nation according as he is a son of Aaron or
of Levi, a simple Israelite, or a proselyte that fears the Lord; each man
knoweth his own and his neighbor’s genealogy. The greatest slur upon a man
is to accuse him of “mixture,” the greatest insult is to call him
“bastard.” Why had the money‐changers cast this slur upon the Nazarene?
Thou and I, Aglaophonos, who boast to be citizens of the Kosmos, would not
think the worse of him if the taunt were true. Yet thou canst understand
how great, even if he only thought it to be true, would be the influence
of such a slur on this mans mind and on his career. If in after‐days he
showed himself so careless of the nation’s hopes, may it not have been
that he felt himself in some way outside the nation?
Now I found, upon inquiry among the Galilæans settled in Jerusalem, that
some such scandal had arisen about his birth. There had even been talk
that Joseph ben Eli would have put away his wife, but for the stern
penalties which our Law inflicts upon the misdoer. Yet there may have been
naught but suspicion in the matter, for the two lived together, and Miriam
bore several children to Joseph after this Jesus. But between him and them
there was never good will, and I have heard things told of this Jesus
which seem to show some harshness in his treatment of them, and even of
his mother. Once when he was told that his mother and brethren were
without, and would see him, he as it were repudiated them, saying, “Who
are my mother and my brothers? Whosoever doeth the will of God, the same
is my brother and sister and mother.” Again, when once his mother came to
him and would speak to him, he said to her, “Woman, what have I to do with
thee?” The man whom I had seen so tenderly thoughtful to a little child
could not have spoken thus unless he had felt himself placed by some means
outside the natural ties of men.
Of Jesus’ upbringing I could learn little. When he was at the age of
thirteen, when each Jewish male child becomes a Son of the Covenant (_Bar
Mitzva_), and, as we think, takes his sins upon his own soul, his parents
brought him to Jerusalem. On this occasion, as some still remember, he
showed remarkable knowledge of the Law, when, as is customary, they read
the portion of the Law set down for the Sabbath reading next after his
birthday, and he was examined in its meaning by the learned men present.
Yet he fulfilled not this promise of devotion to the Law as he grew in
years. I cannot learn that he dusted himself with the “dust of the wise,”
as the sages have commanded.(4) Not having sat at the feet of any of the
holders of tradition, he could not pronounce decisions of the Law.
His father brought him up to his own trade, that of carpenter. With us
manual toil is not despised, as among you Hellenes; there is a saying
among us, “Whoso bringeth not his son up to a handicraft traineth him for
a robber.” Jesus was a good and capable worker, and devoted himself
especially to the making of yokes and wheels at Capernaum, where he had
settled, some five hours’ journey from his native place. Here he would
often read the _Haphtaroth_, or prophetical lessons, in the synagogue, and
explain it after the manner of the Hagada.
Thus he would have passed his life, a wheelwright on week‐days, a preacher
on the Sabbath and festivals, but for a strange event that occurred in his
own family. Among us Jews, none has more honor than the _Nabi_, the man
who speaks the word of wisdom in the name of God. How know we that a man
is a Nabi? Chiefly by his words, but mainly by his eyes, in which there
shines the light of prophecy. Now, when Jesus was about thirty years old,
three or four years before I first saw him, the light of prophecy came in
the eyes of his cousin, Jochanan ben Zacharia Ha‐Cohen. Thou knowest,
Aglaophonos, that amongst us there is a sect of Essenoi, who answer in
much to the Pythagoreans among the Hellenes. These Essenoi eat no flesh,
they dwell not in the cities of men, they perform frequent lustrations,
nor will they admit any into their community until they have been baptized
of them; they care little for the Temple service, and in this above all
distinguish themselves from either Pharisees or Sadducees. Their belief in
the angels is strong, and they use magic for the healing of sickness.
Now, this Jochanan, the cousin of Jesus, seems to have adopted in many
things the views of these Essenoi: he separated himself from men, and ate
no flesh, nor did he go up to the Temple on the three great festivals of
the year; and above all, when men began to follow after him, he would
admit none to communion with him till he had baptized them in running
water, and for this he was called among the folk Jochanan the Baptizer.
Yet he was not an Essene, for he joined not their communion, nor
established any distinction of orders among the men who came out to him;
he was more like unto the prophets of old, who taught as individuals new
truths about life; and his great teaching was this: “Repent ye, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And men went out to him, asking him in what
they should repent so as to become worthy of the kingdom. Above all, those
who were despised of the people because they did the work of the Romans,
by being their tax‐gatherers or their soldiers, feared the wrath to come
in the new kingdom which he preached, and asked him in what they should
alter their ways. But to them he was by no means hard, saying only to the
tax‐gatherers, “Act justly,” and to the soldiers, “Do no violence.” To the
poor he was tender and merciful, but exhorted the rich to divide their
possessions with the poor. In this way he drew unto him all who were
despised of the people, and those who were poor and miserable. Thus he
attracted the notice of the rulers, who feared that he was preparing to
rebel against them; for they said, “Wherefore does this man attract to him
the discontented and the soldiery?”
Now, when the family of Jesus heard that their relative was gaining a name
among men, they sent to Jesus, asking him to go with them unto his cousin;
but he, as I have heard, at first refused, saying, “Wherein have I sinned,
that I should be baptized of Jochanan?” Yet afterwards he consented unto
this, and went out to be baptized of his cousin. And when he saw the power
for good that Jochanan exercised, his spirit was exalted, and he felt that
he too had within him the same power. Many strange things have I heard of
what happened to this Jesus when he submitted to be baptized by his
cousin. And as none but Jesus would have known his feelings on that
occasion, these reports must have come from him. Among us it is the custom
that each Jew should select from the Psalms some _stichos_ which should
serve as the motto of his life, and identify him when he appeareth before
the Angel of Death. Now, it would appear that as Jesus was being baptized
of Jochanan he heard the Daughter(5) of the Voice of God say to him the
_stichos_ of the psalm, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
Whether this was a protest of his soul against the slur cast upon his
birth, what man shall say? But henceforth he spake of the fatherhood of
God as if it had to him a deeper sense than to most of us Jews, though
with us, as I have oft explained to thee, it is the central feeling of our
faith.
Jesus did not remain long out in the wilderness with his cousin; he,
indeed, early recognized his superiority, though he was his master and his
teacher. For at the first the teaching of Jesus differed but in little
from the teaching of Jochanan. He summed up his whole aim in the words
which I had heard his followers use in the Temple: “Repent ye, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand;” and this he must have learnt from his
cousin. So, too, like Jochanan, he mingled with the tax‐gatherers and the
soldiery, and above all addressed himself to the poor, and, as I was to
see, exhorted the rich to distribute their possessions. In all these
things he was but the follower of his cousin Jochanan. It is no wonder,
therefore, that when Jesus separated himself from Jochanan, and began to
be a teacher of men, many left Jochanan and followed after Jesus; and
until this Jochanan met with a violent end at the hands of the rulers,
there was in some sort a rivalry if not between the men themselves, at
least between the followers of Jochanan and of Jesus.
But even from the first there was a difference in Jesus’ manner of
teaching, if not in the teaching itself. He, indeed, did not wait for men
to come out to him in the wilderness, but returned to the towns and
villages around the Sea of Galilee. Many of the fishermen left their work
to follow him, and become, as he said, “fishers of men.” He preached as
before in the synagogues on the words of the prophets, but now he
commenced to go forth to preach and teach among the people in their homes.
Yet it was observed that he went not only among the rich and powerful, who
are used in our country to receive all who come at meal‐times, but most of
all among the poor, and those despised of men for their ill life or their
degraded occupations. Nor did he despise those who know not the Law nor
keep its commands, but mixed freely with them, thereby incurring the wrath
of those among us, and there are many, who are eager for the credit of the
Law. Still, though he lived his life among the low and the vile, he
practiced none of their ways, nor was aught of low or vile seen in him or
those with him. Yet he turned against him many who would have been well
disposed towards him, in that he followed his cousin’s example, and spake
kindly to the tax‐gatherers and to the soldiers, whom the greater part of
the Jews regard as the enemies of their country.
Now, as he began to live his life among the people, he began to do many
signs and wonders, like all our great teachers and prophets. In truth, we
say, how shall a man be accounted a prophet unless he can do wonders?
Indeed, as Jesus himself said, “Why marvel ye at the signs? I give unto
you an inheritance such as the whole world holds not.” And the manner of
his wonders was this: if a man was afflicted with a demon of madness, he
would cause him to fix his eyes upon his, and after a while would speak
sternly and suddenly to the demon within him, who would depart from him,
rending his soul. So, too, would he do with women who were torn asunder by
the demons fighting within. To these he would speak calmly after he had
fixed their eyes, and, behold, a great calm would come upon them. But he
used no exorcisms or magic in his healing, nor spake he in the name of
God, but with the tone of one having authority in himself. Hence many
thought he had within him a greater Daimon than those afflicted men and
women whom he healed. Thence it was thought that for this reason the
demons of madness often returned to those whom he had freed for a while
with greater violence after he had gone forth from the place of their
habitation. There was much murmuring against him for that he did his
healing, not in the name of God, but in his own name and his own
authority.
Yet he claimed no authority to decide the questions of the Law; though
many applied to him in difficult cases, these he referred to the learned
in the Law, saying, “Do ye as the scribes command.” Yet it was complained
that he paid no great attention to their commands himself, nor for his
followers. Nor did he rebuke men when he saw them transgressing the Law
even in the greater transgressions. Thus I have heard it said of him, that
once with his followers, he met a man laboring on the Sabbath day, a sin
which, according to the Law, was punished with stoning. But all he said
unto him was this: “Man, if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art
thou; but if thou knowest not, accursed art thou, and a transgressor of
the Law.”(6) This is, indeed, a dark saying. Is each man, then, to choose
for himself which commands of the Law he shall do, and which not? The
fence of the Law, which our Sages have built up with such labor and toil,
would be stricken down at one stroke. Yet perhaps in this he only followed
the principle of our Sages who have said, “The Sabbath was made for you,
not you for the Sabbath.”
Such was the manner of life of this Jesus up to the time when I first saw
him in the Temple. Men knew not what to make of him; many regarded him as
a prophet because of the signs and the wonders which he did; and those who
were looking forward to the blessed day in which Israel would be free
again under its own king hoped that he was Elijah come again to prepare
the way for the new kingdom.
III.
EARLIER TEACHING.
SERMON IN THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE GALILÆANS.
It must have been a year after I had first seen Jesus that I saw him again
the second time in Jerusalem. It fell out in this wise: I was proceeding
one morning to the meeting of the Sanhedrim, when, as I came near the
Synagogue of the Galilæans in the Fish‐Market, I found a crowd of men
entering in. I asked one of them what was going forward, and he said,
“Jesus the Nazarene will expound the Law.” So I determined to take the
morning service in this synagogue rather than with my colleagues in the
Temple, and went in, the people giving way before me, as was my due as a
member of the Sanhedrim.
Now, this synagogue of the Galilæans differed in naught from the rest of
the synagogues of the Jews. It cannot be that thou hast not visited one of
these when thou wast in the Holy City, but perchance thy memory is dim
after all these years, and I will in a few words explain to thee its
arrangement. In the wall at the west end was the cabinet containing the
scrolls of the Law, with a curtain before it, for this is, as it were, the
Holy of Holies of the synagogue. The men go up to this, on to the platform
before it, by three steps. Then comes a vacant space, in the midst of
which stands a dais, with a reading‐desk whereon the Law is read: this we
call by your Greek name _bema_. Then in the rest of the hall sit the folk,
arranged in benches one after another, somewhat as in your theatres. Now,
as I came in, they had said the morning psalms, and most of the Eighteen
Blessings, and shortly after the reading of the Law began. The curtain was
drawn aside from the holy ark, the scroll of the Law was taken thence, to
the singing of psalms unto the _bema_. Then, as is customary, the
messenger of the congregation summoned first to the reading of the Law a
Cohen, a descendant of Aaron, one of the priestly caste. And after he had
read some verses of the Law in the holy tongue, the dragoman read its
translation into Chaldee, so as to be understanded of the unlearned folk,
and of the women who were in the gallery outside the synagogue, and
separated from it by a grating. Then after the priest came a Levite, who
also read some verses, and after him an ordinary Israelite. Then the
messenger of the synagogue called out, “Let Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph
arise.” Then Jesus the Nazarene went up to the _bema_ and read his
appointed verses, and these were translated as before by the dragoman. And
after the reading of the Law was concluded, the _Parnass_, or president of
the congregation, requested Jesus to read the _Haphtara_, the lesson from
the prophets; and this he did, using the cantillation with which we chant
words of Holy Scripture. Yet never heard I one whose voice so thrilled me,
and brought home to one the import of the great words; and this was
strange, for his accent was, as I had before noticed, that of the Galilæan
peasantry, at which we of Jerusalem were wont to scoff. Then, after the
Law had been returned to the ark with song and psalm, Jesus turned round
to the people on the _bema_ and began his discourse. It is near five‐and‐
twenty years since I heard him, and much have I forgotten in that long
time. But many of his sayings still ring in my ears, and I will here put
down, as far as possible in order, all that I can remember of the
discourse.(7)
“It hath been written by the Prophet Esaias: Behold, his reward is with
him, and his work before him. Yea, behold a man and his work before him.
He that worketh not, let him not eat. Yet he that plougheth, let him
plough in hope; he that thresheth, thresh in hope of partaking. Howbeit,
he who longs to be rich is like a man who drinketh seawater: the more he
drinketh the more thirsty he becomes, and never leaves off drinking till
he perish. Blessed is he who also fasts that he may feed the poor: for it
is more blessed to give than to receive. Yet let thy alms sweat into thy
hands until thou know to whom thou givest. Where there are pains, thither
hastens the physician: that which is weak shall be saved by that which is
strong. For the sake of the weak I was weak, for the sake of the hungry I
hungered, for the sake of the thirsty I thirsted. But woe to those who
have yet hypocritically taken from others; who are able to help
themselves, and yet wish to take from others: for each man shall give
account in the day of judgment.
“That which thou hatest thou shalt not do to another. Good things must
come; he is blessed through whom they come. Love covereth a multitude of
sins; so never be joyful save when you look upon your brother’s
countenance in love. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. For the
greatest of crimes is this: if a man shall sadden his brother’s spirit.
Blessed, too, are they who mourn for the perdition of unbelievers. Do not
give occasion to the Wicked One. Who is the Wicked One? He that tempts.
Yet none shall reach the kingdom of heaven unless he have been tempted:
for our Father which is in heaven would rather the repentance of a sinner
than his correction. Yet he will cleanse the house of his kingdom from all
offence. Be, therefore, careful and prudent and wise, lest any of you be
caught in the snares of the devil, for that ancient enemy goes about
buffeting.
“If thou hast seen thy brother, thou hast seen thy Lord, God the Father,
whose fatherland is everywhere, in heaven and upon earth. Far and near,
the Lord knoweth his own. So grieve not the holy spirit which is in you,
nor extinguish the light which shines in you. Guard the flesh pure, and
the signet spotless, so that ye may take hold upon eternal life. For our
possessions are in heaven; therefore, sons of men, purchase unto
yourselves by these transitory things which are not yours, what is yours,
and shall not pass away.”
I cannot tell thee, Aglaophonos, how deeply this discourse affected me.
Just as the Hellenes are eager to find each day some new beauty in man or
the world, or some new truth about the relation of things, so we Hebrews
rejoice in finding new ideals in the relations of men. Each of our Sages
prides himself on this—that he has said some maxim of wisdom that none had
thought of before him, and so each of them is remembered in the minds of
men by one or more of his favorite maxims. But it is rare if in a whole
lifetime a sage sayeth more than one word fit to be treasured up among
men. Yet was this man Jesus dropping pearls of wisdom from his mouth in
prodigal profusion. As each memorable word fell from his lips, a murmur of
delighted surprise passed round the synagogue, and each man looked to his
neighbor with brightened eyes. Some of the thoughts, indeed, I had heard
from other of our Sages, but never in so pointed a form, surely never in
such profusion from a single sage.
And if what was said delighted us, the manner in which it was said
entranced us still more. The voice of the speaker answered to the thoughts
he expressed, as the Kinnor of David, according to our Sages, turned the
wind into music. When he spoke of love, his voice was as the cooing dove;
when he denounced the oppressor, it clanged like a silver trumpet. Indeed,
his whole countenance and bearing changed in like manner, so that every
word he uttered seemed to be the outcome of his whole being.
But most of all was it the vividness of his eyes that impressed his words
upon us. I had seen them flashing with scorn in the Temple, I now saw them
melting with tenderness in the synagogue; and there was this of strange in
them, that they seemed to speak other and deeper words. As he gazed upon
us, I felt as if all my inmost being was bare to the gaze of those eyes.
They seemed to know all my secret thoughts and sins; and yet I felt not
ashamed, for as they saw the sins, so they seemed to speak forgiveness of
them.
What I felt then, others felt with me, for, as I afterwards learnt, each
man felt the same as the eyes of Jesus fell upon him; and most curious it
was that each man thought as I did, that the eyes of the speaker were upon
him during the whole of the discourse. I have seen here in Alexandria
portraits of men painted by your subtlest artists, in which, from whatever
place you looked at them, the eyes seemed to gaze upon you. So was it with
Jesus. Not alone did I, who was, as a member of the Sanhedrim, sitting
immediately before him, feel his eyes pierce to my soul, but all who were
in that synagogue felt the same. Nor did the effect die away after I had
left the synagogue; for days and days afterwards, whenever I closed my
eyes, or gazed for long on the wall, I could see the eyes of Jesus, and
with it his whole face gazing upon me.
I had left the synagogue a little before the others, because a messenger
had been sent from the Sanhedrim to seek for a member who should make up
the quorum of Twenty‐Three; and this messenger, hearing that a member of
the Sanhedrim was in the synagogue of the Galilæans, sent in to summon me.
When the sitting was over, I sought for Jesus again, but found that he had
left the city. And for a time I neither saw nor heard aught more of him,
save such rumors as came to the Holy City from Galilee. About this time
many joined themselves unto him, going whithersoever he went. Those, too,
who had joined themselves to Jochanan passed over to him, for Jochanan had
been slain by Herod, whom he had rebuked for his wicked living. It was,
indeed, said that Herod had also captured this Jesus when he found that he
was following in the footsteps of Jochanan; but this proved to be untrue,
and the multitude thronged more and more after Jesus, and from this time
he began to teach them regularly, after the manner of our Sages. Yet he
did not pronounce decisions of Halacha on questions of our Law; indeed, he
disclaimed all interference with such questions. “I am not come,” he said,
“to take away from the Law of Moses, nor to add to the Law of Moses am I
come.” Only one saying of his have I heard of wherein he said aught at
variance with the Torah. When the children of a man who had recently died
asked him in what way should the property be divided, he said, “Let son
and daughter inherit alike.” In this, as in other things, he was more
favorable to the claims of the women than the Law and the Sages. For this
reason, perhaps, it was that many women followed after him, even joined in
prayer with him and those with him, against the custom of our nation.
Hence arose much scandal among the more rigidly pious among us, who follow
the saying of Joseph ben Jochanan, “Engage not in much converse with
women.” But I have heard naught of evil that resulted from this free
mingling of men and women among his followers. Yet Jesus was not against
the due subordination of women, for he also said, “Let the wife be in
subordination to her husband.”
Thou must know that among us our Sages are of two kinds, the Halachists
and the Hagadists. The former deal with matters of the Law according to
the tradition they have received from their teacher; but the latter
expound the words of the Scripture, and deal with the moral relations of
man to man. Some of our Sages, indeed, like the great Hillel, who died
when I was a child, have been equally masters both of the Halacha and the
Hagada; and in many ways the teaching of Jesus seems to have resembled, if
it did not follow, that of Hillel. I must tell thee one anecdote about
this Hillel which is well known amongst us. He was distinguished for his
evenness of temper, and men would often in sport try to make him lose it.
A heathen came before him one day, and declared that he would become a Jew
if only Hillel would tell him the whole Law while he stood upon one foot,
hoping thereby to irritate Hillel by his presumption. But Hillel said
only, “What thou wilt not for thyself, do not to thy neighbor. This is the
whole of the Law; all the rest is but commentary thereon. Go and learn.”
Now, among the disciples of Hillel was one who compiled for the heathen a
summary of the Law in the spirit of Hillel; and it seemed to me, from what
I heard of Jesus’ teaching, that he had learnt much from this summary,
which is called “THE TWO WAYS.” I will have a copy written out for thee,
for it is very short.
Now, in all the teaching of Jesus which I heard of about this time, he
seems to have expanded, but in no wise modified, the teaching of “The Two
Ways.” Above all, he seems to have warned men against the evil feelings
within, that lead to sins against the Law, and therein differed somewhat
from the practice of our Sages, who think that by doing the Law and
keeping to it rightful feelings shall grow, and evil thoughts fly away.
Yet while in many ways Jesus seemed to be of the School of Hillel, in
others he cast in his lot with the men among us who claim to be especially
favored of God, because—thou wilt smile, Aglaophonos—because they are
poor. Thou hast read our Psalms, and knowest with what insistence the poor
and the righteous, the rich and the wicked, are identified in them. Many
of our nation have taken this to heart, and as it were pride themselves
upon their humility, as some of them call themselves _Ebionim_, or the
Poor; some, the _Zaddikim_, or Righteous; some, _Chasidim_, or Pious. Thou
canst not call them a sect, for in a way they include the whole nation. In
the Eighteen Blessings which form the staple of our daily prayers, the
Lord is blessed as the Guardian and Refuge of the _Zaddikim_. Now, it was
chiefly among these men, whether they called themselves _Ebionim_, or
_Zaddikim_, or _Chasidim_, that Jesus found his chief adherents, though he
seems to give his preference to the _Ebionim_, who have always been
insisting upon the blessedness of the poor. Now, these men consider
themselves to be beyond all others the servants of the Lord, and identify
themselves with that picture of the servant which has been given by the
Prophet Esaias. Thus in all these ways Jesus appealed to the more earnest
part of our nation, and in him were conjoined most of the movements that
had touched us most deeply. If any had said at this time, “Jesus the
Nazarene is a follower of Jochanan the Baptizer, and preaches ‘The Two
Ways’ to the Poor,” none could have gainsaid him.
Yet all were wondering what he would say to the other side of our nation’s
hopes. The life of our nation had begun with a deliverance; our chief
national feast recalls that deliverance from Egypt to us every year as the
spring comes round. We have become subject to all the great kingdoms that
have grown up round us, yet again and again we have been delivered from
each. Thou and I have often wondered how it has come about that both
Hellenes and Hebrews, who feel ourselves in different ways higher than
these stolid Romans who rule us, have yet become subject to them. Thy
nation hath acquiesced in their rule; my people never will. Every man who
promises greatness among us is hoped for as the Deliverer. Many men about
this time began to ask, Will Jesus the Nazarene be the Deliverer?
IV.
THE TWO WAYS.
Now, this is the “CATECHISM OF THE TWO WAYS” which I have had copied out
for thee, for in it is the essence of the teaching of Jesus, as he himself
recognized in speaking to me, as thou wilt shortly hear.
“There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but there is a great
difference between the two ways. Now, the way of life is this: first, Thou
shalt love God who made thee; secondly, thy neighbor as thyself, and all
things whatsoever thou wouldest not should be done to thee, do thou also
not do to another. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery,
thou shalt not corrupt boys, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt
not steal, thou shalt not use witchcraft, thou shalt not use enchantments,
thou shalt not kill an infant whether before or after birth, thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
“Thou shalt not forswear thyself, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou
shalt not revile, thou shalt not bear malice.
“Thou shalt not be double‐minded nor double‐tongued; for duplicity of
tongue is a snare of death.
“Thy speech shall not be false nor vain.
“Thou shalt not be covetous, nor an extortioner, nor a hypocrite, nor
malignant, nor haughty. Thou shalt not take evil counsel against thy
neighbor.
“Thou shalt hate no man, but some thou shalt rebuke, and for some thou
shalt pray, and some thou shalt love above thine own soul.
“My child, flee from all evil, and from all that is like unto it.
“Be not soon angry, for anger leadeth to murder; nor given to party‐
spirit, nor contentious, nor quick‐tempered, for from all these are
generated murders.
“My child, be not lustful, for lust leadeth to fornication; neither be a
filthy talker, nor a lifter‐up of the eyes, for from all these things are
generated adulteries.
“My child, be not thou an observer of birds, for it leadeth to idolatry;
nor a charmer, nor an astrologer, nor a user of purifications; nor be thou
willing to look on those things, for from all these is generated idolatry.
“My child, be not a liar, for lying leadeth to theft; nor a lover of
money, nor fond of vainglory, for from all these things are generated
thefts.
“My child, be not a murmurer, for it leadeth to blasphemy; neither self‐
willed, nor evil‐minded, for from all these things are generated
blasphemies.
“Be thou long‐suffering, and merciful, and harmless, and quiet, and good,
and trembling continually at the words which thou hast heard.
“Thou shalt not exalt thyself, nor shalt thou give presumption to thy
soul. Thy soul shall not be joined to the lofty, but with the just and
lowly shalt thou converse.
“The events that happen to thee shalt thou accept as good, knowing that
without God nothing taketh place.
“My child, thou shalt remember night and day him that speaketh to thee the
word of God.
“But thou shalt seek out day by day the faces of the saints, that thou
mayest rest in their words.
“Thou shalt not desire division, but shalt make peace between those at
strife; so thou shalt judge justly. Thou shalt not respect a person in
rebuking for transgressions.
“Thou shalt not be of two minds whether it shall be or not.
“Be not one that stretcheth out his hands to receive, but shutteth them
close for giving.
“If thou hast, thou shalt give with thine hands a ransom for thy sins.
“Thou shalt not hesitate to give, nor when thou givest shalt thou murmur,
for thou shalt know who is the good recompenser of the reward.
“Thou shalt not turn away from him that needeth, but shalt share all
things with thy brother, and shalt not say that they are thine own; for if
ye are fellow‐sharers in that which is imperishable, how much more in
perishable things.
“Thou shalt not take away thine hand from thy son or from thy daughter,
but from their youth up shalt thou teach them the fear of God.
“Thou shalt not in thy bitterness lay commands on thy man‐servant or thy
maid‐servant, who hope in the same God, lest they should not fear him who
is God over you both; for He cometh not to call men according to the
outward appearance, but to those whom the Spirit hath prepared.
“But ye, servants, shall be subject to your masters as to a figure of God
in reverence and fear.
“Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy, and everything which is not pleasing to
the Lord.
“Thou shalt not forsake the commandments of the Lord, but shalt keep what
thou hast received, neither adding thereto nor taking away from it.
“Thou shalt confess thy transgressions, and shalt not come to thy prayer
with an evil conscience. This is the way of life.
“But the way of death is this. First of all, it is evil and full of curse;
murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, witchcrafts,
sorceries, robberies, false‐witnessings, hypocrisies, double‐heartedness,
deceit, pride, wickedness, self‐will, covetousness, filthy talking,
jealousy, presumption, haughtiness, flattery.
“Persecutors of the good, hating truth, loving a lie, not knowing the
reward of righteousness, not cleaving to that which is good nor to
righteous judgment, watching not for the good but for the evil, far from
whom is meekness and patience, loving vain things, seeking after reward,
not pitying the poor, not toiling with him who is vexed with toil, not
knowing Him that made them, murderers of children, destroyers of the image
of God, turning away from him that is in need, vexing him that is
afflicted, advocates of the rich, lawless judges of the poor, wholly
sinful.
“Take heed that no one make thee to err from this way of teaching, since
he teacheth thee not according to God.”
V.
THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY.
THE RICH YOUNG MAN.
It must have been many months after I had heard him discourse in the
Galilæan synagogue that I again saw Jesus the Nazarene. We in Jerusalem
had our own concerns to think of.
At this time the long monopoly of rule by the Sadducees was gradually
being broken. Of the three divisions of the Sanhedrim, that of the
ordinary Israelites had become almost entirely composed of the Pharisees;
I myself had been elected as one of that party, and even in the other two
sections of the Priests and of the Levites, many, especially among the
latter, held with the Pharisees. Nor was this without influence upon the
political issues of the times. The Sadducees, being the sacerdotal party,
had no cause why they should be dissatisfied with the position they held
in the State under the Romans; but we of the Pharisees felt far otherwise
about the national hopes for deliverance. Since my days the influence of
the Pharisees has become predominant in the nation, and I foresee that the
struggle between us and the Romans cannot be delayed for long. At the time
of which I am writing, the hegemony had not yet passed over to the
Pharisees, and it was of import for us all to know whether any man of
influence was on our side, or on that of the Sadducees, or whether he
cared for neither, and cast in his lot with the smaller sects.
Now, it happened about this time that I was attending my place in the
Sanhedrim of Israelites, to judge of a case of adultery. But in this
matter our Sages, and especially those of the Pharisaic tradition, had
made great changes in the Law as laid down for us by Moses; for he, as
thou knowest, commands that a woman taken in adultery shall be stoned to
death. Now, for a long time among us there has been an increasing horror
of inflicting the death penalty. If a Sanhedrim inflicts capital
punishment more than once in seven years, it is called a Sanhedrim of
murderers. Yet the Law of Moses declared that whosoever was guilty of
adultery would be put to death. What, then, was to be done? It is against
the principle of justice that any should be punished for an offence of
which he is ignorant. Hence, in capital offences, our Sages, to mercy
inclined, have laid it down that a man must be assumed to be ignorant of
the guilt of the offence, unless it be proved that he had been solemnly
warned of its gravity; and in our Law proof can only be given by two
simultaneous witnesses. Hence it is impossible to obtain conviction for a
woman who hath committed adultery, unless proof is given that she hath
been previously warned by two persons at once. This can scarcely ever be.
No Jewish woman in my time has ever been stoned as the Law commands for
this sin. Some think that this is too great a leniency, and of evil result
for the morality of the folk.
When I arrived at the hall of polished stones near the Temple, in which
the Sanhedrim holds its sittings, the trial had nearly come to a
conclusion. The inquiry had been made if any two credible witnesses had
given the woman the preliminary caution, and none answering to the call,
it remained only for the _Ab Beth Din_, the president of the court, to
dismiss the prisoner with the words of caution and advice which are
customary on such occasions: “My daughter, perhaps thou wert led into sin
by too much wine, or by thoughtlessness, or perhaps by thy youth;
perchance it was mixing in crowds, or wicked companions that led thee to
sin: go, and for the sake of the great Name, do not bring it to pass that
thou must be destroyed by the water of jealousy.” And with these words the
court was dismissed, and several of us were appointed to take the woman to
her home, and induce the man, her husband, to take her to him once again.
Now, as we were passing through the courts of the Temple, we saw Jesus the
Nazarene in one of the smaller courts, seated, teaching the people, some
of whom sat at his feet. But it seemed to some of us a favorable
opportunity to test what he would say as regards the Law of Moses relating
to adultery: for if he would declare that the Law must be carried out in
all its rigor, that would show that our Sages were more merciful than he;
if, on the other hand, he adopted the opinion of our Sages, that would in
so far commit him to support their attitude towards the Law in general. In
any case, it seemed a suitable occasion to test his power of dealing with
the Law, and it is customary among us to put such test cases before the
younger Sages.
We therefore turned aside and entered into the smaller court, and all rose
to do honor to the Sanhedrim. Then one of us said to him, “Rabbi, this
woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now, Moses in the Law hath
commanded that such should be stoned: what sayest thou?” Now, when the man
told him that the woman had been taken in the very act of adultery, a deep
blush passed over his face, and he turned his eyes downwards. Then he bent
down to the ground, hiding his face altogether from us, and writing, as it
were, something on the sand of the floor. Now, at first, I thought of the
cry of the money‐changers that I had heard, and felt ashamed in my soul
that such a question should be brought before this man, of all men: for
our Sages have said, “The greatest of sins is this—to bring a blush upon
thy neighbor’s face in public.” But the others thought not of this, but
once more they asked him, “Rabbi, what sayest thou shall be done in this
case?” Then, without raising his head, Jesus said in a low tone, “Let him
among you that is without sin cast the first stone.” Then we saw that his
shame had been for us, and for our want of feeling in putting such a
question in the very presence of her who had sinned. And in this matter we
hold that sin can be in thought as well as in act, and which of us could
say that we were without sin even in thought? So, in very shame, we turned
and went, and left Jesus alone with the woman.
Yet, after we had come away from him, Matathias ben Meshullam said, “That
is well,—we are rightly rebuked; but yet, dost thou not see that this man
hath not answered our question, nor do we know, as we wished, what
attitude he takes towards the carrying out of the Law? I hear that each
morning he preaches to the people in the Temple. Let us now tomorrow put
such questions to him that he cannot evade, and find out to which of our
parties he belongs; for this is a man that is getting great weight with
the people, and it imports us to know where he stands with regard to us.”
So it was determined among us that the next morning a Sadducee and a
Pharisee should put to him queries which should determine what views he
held on the great questions which distinguished the two great parties of
the State.
But that very afternoon I was to learn that this Jesus had to deal with
questions with which none of our parties concerned themselves. For, as I
was coming near to Gethsemane, I met Jesus with a band of men and women
going out towards Bethany, and I passed them with the salutation of
“Peace.” But as I passed, a young man whom I knew, that had recently come
into great possessions upon the death of his father, came up and asked,
“Who is that man whom thou hast just greeted?” and I said, “Jesus the
Nazarene.” Then, suddenly, he set off running to catch them up, and being
curious, I turned and followed him. When I reached them I found the young
man kneeling before Jesus, gazing up to him, and he said, “Good Master, I
have inherited great possessions; what shall I do that I may inherit the
life everlasting?” Jesus said to him, “Call not me ‘Good;’ none is good
but the One. If thou wouldest enter into life, do the commandments.” The
young man asked, “Which?” Jesus said, using the doctrine of “The Two
Ways,” “Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, do not defraud, honor thy father and thy mother, and love
thy neighbor as thyself.” Then the young man said, “All these things have
I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” Then Jesus said, “One thing
thou lackest: go thy way, sell all thou hast, and give unto the poor, and
thou shalt have heavenly treasures: come then and follow me.” The young
man began to scratch his head, and seemed in doubt. Then Jesus said unto
him, “How is it thou canst say, ‘I have done the Law and the Prophets,’
since it is written in the Law, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’?
Behold, many of thy brothers, sons of Abraham, are clothed but in dung,
and die for hunger, while thy house is full of many goods, and there goeth
not forth aught from it unto them.” But the young man rose, and went away
in sorrow and confusion. Then Jesus looked round upon those who were
there, and said, “How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter
into the kingdom of God! It is easier for an elephant to go through a
needle’s eye, as the saying is, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God.” Then a murmur arose among all those present, and they
began to move on, and I left them. And I said to myself, “This man is
neither Pharisee, nor Sadducee, nor Herodian; these be the thoughts of the
Ebionim.”
VI.
THE TESTINGS IN THE TEMPLE.
Now, on the morrow, many of us who had agreed together to test the
opinions of this Jesus went to the Temple and found Jesus walking in the
corridors. Then he that was of most authority among us said unto Jesus,
“Rabbi, we would ask certain questions of thee;” and Jesus answered, “Ask,
and it shall be answered unto thee.”
Thou must know that among us Jews there be two chief schools of thought,
or rather thou mightest say, parties of the State. The one holds with the
High Priest and the rulers, and is mainly made up of those whom ye
Hellenes call the Best, and their retainers. These be known as the
Sadducees, for their leaders are mainly of the family of the High Priest
Sadduk. Now, the other party is in some sort the party of the Demos, in
that they seek to lessen the power of the High Priests and their families.
But with us, as thou knowest, all things turn upon religion, and this
second party differ chiefly from the Sadducees, for that they are more in
earnest with the matters of the Law, and chiefly they fear the influence
of thy nation, Aglaophonos, in drawing the Israelite away from the Law.
Therefore have they increased precept upon precept, so as to make, as they
say, a fence round the Law. And as they would separate themselves from the
heathen by this fence, they call themselves Pharisees, that is,
Separatists.
Now, it was nowise easy to learn whether a man was of the one party or the
other. For he might be eager for the Law, and so be Pharisaic in color,
and yet approve of the dominion of the priests, and thus be a Sadducee.
Yet in one chief matter of thought they went asunder contrariwise, and
that was concerning the resurrection of the dead. Now, with regard to
that, the Sadducees held that naught was said in the Law of Moses, and
therefore no son of Israel need concern himself with it. But the
Pharisees, on the other hand, laid great weight upon this. So here was a
touchstone by which to learn whether this Jesus followed the one or the
other of the two great divisions of our nation.
Then, as was agreed upon, Kamithos the Sadducee came forward to ask him
the question which should determine whether he held with them that there
was no resurrection from the dead, or with the rest of the nation. He
said, “Rabbi, it is written in the Torah, if brethren dwell together, and
one of them die and have no son, the wife of the dead one shall not marry
without, unto a stranger; her husband’s brother shall take her to him to
wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Suppose, now, there are seven
brethren, and the first takes a wife, and dying leaves no son; and the
second takes her, as is our custom, and dies without leaving any seed; and
the third likewise, and so on, till the whole seven had married her, and
yet had no son; then the woman dies also: when they shall rise from the
dead together, whose wife shall she be of them? for all seven had her to
wife.” And Jesus answered and said, “Ye are at fault, and know not the
Scriptures, nor the power of God; for in the resurrection they neither
marry, nor are given in marriage, but are even as the angels which are in
heaven. And as an indication from Scripture that the dead rise, is it not
written in the book of Moses, when God spake to him from the bush, saying,
‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He
is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: therefore are ye in
error.”
And we were surprised at the subtlety of the man; and chiefly men
marvelled at the wisdom of this man in finding what we call a support,
that is, a text of Scripture on which to hang the doctrine of the life
after death, which many believe to have grown up among us since the sacred
Scriptures were written: for in them little, if anything, was said of the
world to come. Now, Jesus in his answer had happened upon a text which
said that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were living when they were dead to
this world, and the people marvelled greatly thereat.
Now, it had been agreed upon, that after the Sadducees had asked their
question and been answered, I should stand forth and test this man Jesus
on behalf of the Pharisees. Now, one of our Sages hath said, “Be as
careful of a little precept as of a great one;” whereas our great master
Hillel had, as I have told thee, summed up the whole Law in one precept,
“Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Therefore, we of the Pharisees wished to
know whether this Jesus agreed with the one sage or the other; so I spake
unto him and said, “Rabbi, which is the first commandment, by doing which
I shall inherit the life everlasting?” But at first he answered me not
directly, but said, “How readest thou?” Then I remembered me the words of
the “Catechism of the Two Ways,” and answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and with all thy
mind, and thy neighbor as thyself: whatsoever thou wouldest not for
thyself, do not to another.” And he said unto me, “Thou hast answered
right; and the first of the commandments is the _Shema_: ‘Hear, O Israel;
the Lord thy God is one God.’ And the second is like, namely this: ‘Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ There is none other commandment
greater than these. This do, and thou shalt live.” Then I was rejoiced,
and said unto him, “Well, Rabbi, thou hast said the truth: there is one
God, and there is none other but him; and to love him with all the heart,
and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and all the
strength, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is more than all the
burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Then Jesus became gracious unto me, and
said, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”
But then I would learn further from this man who spake so well, and ask
him the question which is current in our schools on this subject, and I
said to him, “But, Rabbi, who is my neighbor?” and he answered with a
_mashal_, or parable, and said, “To what is the matter like? A certain man
was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, which
both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And
by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him,
he passed by on the other side. And in like manner a Levite also, when he
came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain
Israelite,(8) as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he
was moved with compassion, and came to him, and bound up his wounds,
pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought
him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow he took out two
pence, and gave them to the host, and said, ‘Take care of him; and
whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay
thee.’ Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him that
fell among the robbers?” Then I said, “Not the priest, nor the Levite,
though they held office in Israel, but the simple Israelite who showed
mercy upon him.” Then Jesus said unto me, “Go and do thou likewise;” and
at this moment we were all summoned to the mid‐day sacrifice in the
Temple.
When Jesus had departed, after the sacrifice, we all met together and
discussed his answers, which had stamped him in our minds as a master in
the art of question and answer, which is with us as favorable a trial of
skill as oratory or poetry with you Hellenes. Now, as regards the question
of the Sadducees, men thought he had spoken more openly; for though he had
evaded a direct answer to the question of the seven brothers and their
wife, he had yet implied that they all would have a part in the life to
come. Some regretted that the question had not been put differently, and
the problem set—if a son had been born through the seventh brother: for
this might have thrown light upon the question of the schools, whether the
brother’s widow was to be still regarded as his wife if seed had been
raised to him after his death. But as to the support which Jesus had taken
from Scripture for the life everlasting, though here again he had answered
question by question, it was decided that he was against the Sadducees on
this point.
But on the questions which I had put to him, all had agreed that he had
answered as a Pharisee, even as Hillel might have answered, for he had
yea‐said the doctrine which I had cited from the beginning of “The Two
Ways” in which the doctrine of Hillel is summed up; and even as to my
further question, as to who is the _chaber_, or neighbor, though opinions
were divided, most thought that he had spoken as a Pharisee might have
spoken: for thou knowest, Aglaophonos, that our nation is divided into
three great classes—the _Cohanim_, or Priests; the Levites; and the common
Israelites. Now, of these, the two former are the officials of the Temple,
and most if not all of the Sadducees are from this class. And, in
declaring himself on the side of the third class of simple Israelites,
Jesus had, we all thought, declared himself on the side of the Pharisees.
VII.
THE SECOND SERMON.
I cannot clearly remember at what season of the year it was that I next
saw Jesus; indeed, I am surprised to think that, after the lapse of nearly
five‐and‐twenty years, I can still remember almost all that passed on the
various occasions when I was in his presence. Yet I think it was about the
time of the feast which we hold in memory of the rededication of the
Temple under the Maccabæans that I again saw and heard the Galilæan
stranger; for I mind me that I had just been taking the eight‐branch
candlestick which we use in the ceremonials of this feast to Petachayah
the silversmith to be mended, when on my return I saw a throng collected
round the synagogue of the Galilæans, and entering in, found that Jesus
was to preach that day. The same ceremonial was gone through as I have
already described to thee: the Law was taken from the ark with rejoicing;
priest and Levite and four ordinary Israelites were summoned to hear it
read, and again the crier called, “Let Rabbi Joshua, the son of Rabbi
Joseph, arise.” Now, it chanced that this time, I, as a member of the
Sanhedrim, was summoned to the reading of the Law immediately after Jesus,
and for a time, as is customary, we stood together upon the _bema_. I
observed that, as the reading of the Law proceeded, the eyes of the
Nazarene became fixed upon the ark, and a veil of mysterious tenderness
seemed to come over them, as if he were in communion with the _Shechinah_,
or Glory, itself. It seemed to me that afterwards, when he read the
_Haphtara_ from the prophets, and when he preached, something remained in
him of this mystical communion.
Perhaps it was for this that we seemed to miss that sense of individual
address which we had before observed in his eyes. No longer did these
speak to us other and deeper thoughts than the words of the preacher; they
seemed to dream of divine things, and so caused us also to be rapt in
mystic musings. I cannot on this account recall for you all or even many
of the words which he uttered on this occasion. He began with some plain
teaching about practice. Soon he went on to speak of himself in a
marvellous way, as if he would imply that communion with him and with the
Most High were one and the same, and then in his last words he seemed to
speak of the Last Things. And here again his words seemed as if he
identified himself with the great Judge.
Now, this is not so strange to our mode of thinking in Israel as thou
mightest think. Almost all our prophets speak the oracles of God as if
they were using the very words of the Lord. Thou canst read in the Greek
translation of the Seventy many passages of the prophets in which the very
words of the Lord are given. Yet in most, if not all, cases the prophet
beginneth, “Thus saith the Lord,” or endeth, “This is the word of the
Lord.” But with this Jesus it was otherwise. He spoke as the ancient
prophets do, but whether from his rapt intentness in the message he was
delivering, or because he felt his spirit for the time merged in the
divine, he spoke as if the message was his. And as he spoke, I saw looks
of amazement pass between many in the synagogue, and one old graybeard
rose as if to protest, and then, shaking his withered hands above his
head, went out of the synagogue.
I will here set down for thee as many of the words that fell from Jesus’
lips on this occasion as I can remember. They are but few, but many of
them are weighty, and I have told thee above the general lines of thought
which seemed to run through his discourse; and these are the words as far
as I remember them.(9)
“Cultivate faith and hope, through which is born that love of God and man
which gives the eternal life. Those are the sons of God who walk in the
spirit of God. What you preach before the folk, do in deed before every
one. Accept not anything from any man, and possess not anything in this
world. For the Father wisheth to be given to each man from his own gifts.
Cleave unto the saints: for they that cleave unto them shall be
sanctified. Yet shall there be schisms and heresies: for there is a shame
which leadeth to death, as there is a shame which leadeth to life. Is it
not enough for the disciples to be as the Master? If in a little you are
not faithful, who shall give unto you what is much? Seek the great, and
the little will be added to you; seek the heavenly, and the things of
earth will be superadded.
“He that wonders shall reign, he who reigns shall find rest. My secret is
for me, and for those that are mine are the things which eye saw not, and
ear heard not, which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things
God prepared for them that love him. Those who wish to see me, and wish to
cling to the kingdom, must take me through affliction and suffering. For
he that is near me is near the fire, he that is far from me is far from
the kingdom. Where one is, there too am I; where twain are, there too will
I be. As any of you sees himself in the water or in the mirror, so let him
see me in himself.
“They that love me shall receive the crown. I will choose me the good,
those good whom my Father in the heavens hath given me. Let the lawless
continue in lawlessness, the just be justified. Behold, I make the last as
the first, and all things new. In whatsoever state I find you, in that
also will I judge you.”
Never heard I any who spoke of himself as this man did. For days and days
afterwards some of his words came to me again and again. Whenever I was
alone I seemed to hear his voice saying, “Where one is, there too am I;
where twain are, there too will I be.” Whenever I gazed on the running
stream or looked on the polished steel of the mirror, again I seemed to
hear him say, “As any of you sees himself in the water or in the mirror,
so let him see me in himself.” And, in truth, at times my features seemed
to fade away, and the face of Jesus gaze upon me.
Others thought not as I. When we assembled after the sermon, to talk over
it, as is our custom, I found that most had been chiefly touched by
certain sayings at the end of the sermon, in which Jesus seemed to speak
of the future life and the last judgment. Thou knowest, Aglaophonos, that
with regard to these matters I incline more to the teaching of the
Sadducean sect, who hold that Holy Scripture speaketh not of these things,
and that, therefore, we need not and should not think thereon. But there
were few who held that doctrine in the synagogue that day, and these
thought most of the words in which Jesus seemed to claim the prerogatives
of the Divine Judge. “I was amazed,” quoth Serachyah ben Pinchas, “when he
spoke of judging us himself in the last days: it wanted but a little that
I had rent my garments at the blasphemy. But surely, thought I to myself,
the man will shortly tell us, ‘These are the words of the Lord,’ and so I
refrained.”
Now I will tell thee of a most strange event that happened with me and
this Jesus. A day or two after this, I was sitting in my room and studying
the words of Torah, and had fallen into deep thought on the things of this
life and the next, and gradually I fell thinking of certain words that I
had heard from Jesus the Nazarene, as I have before told you. Hast thou
ever felt, Aglaophonos, as if some one was gazing upon thee, and thou
couldst not refrain from looking round to see who it was? So I felt at
this moment, and I looked up from the sacred scroll, and lo! Jesus the
Nazarene stood before me, gazing upon me with those piercing eyes I can
never forget. His face was pale and indistinct, but the eyes shone forth
as if with tenderness and pity. Then he seemed to lean forward, and spoke
to me in a low yet piercing voice these words: “Awake thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.” I had
shrunk back from his gaze, and was, indeed, in all amaze and wonder that
he should be in the room; but when I looked again, behold, he was gone,
there was no man there.
But this is not all the wonder of that event, for, being startled, and,
indeed, somewhat fearful at his sudden appearance and disappearance, I
arose and went out into the highway, and went out to walk on the
Gethsemane road. Now, as I came clear of the city, I saw a group of men
coming down the opposite hill, and when they came near, behold, it was
Jesus and some of his friends. I was astonished and surprised beyond all
measure, for how could Jesus have just been with me, and be now coming
from Gethsemane? And when they were passing me, Jesus glanced at me very
slightly, as at a stranger—he that had spoken to my soul but a few minutes
since.
Now, after they had passed me, there came one running after them whom I
knew—one Meshullam ben Hanoch—and I stopped him and asked him whither he
was going, and he said, “Stay me not. I have run all the way from Bethany
to catch up that man thou seest there, Jesus the Nazarene;” and with that
he took up his running and left me.
I knew not what to think. I had seen and heard Jesus in my own house in
Jerusalem, and lo! at that very same time, as I now learned, he had been
at Bethany. What thinkest thou, Aglaophonos,—can a man be in two places at
one and the same time? or can it be that the mind of man, and the power of
his eye, can go forth from his body and create a vision of another man
that hath all the semblance of reality? I know not what to think; but I
have heard that, even after his death, those who were nearest and dearest
to Jesus saw him and heard him even as I did. Nor do I wonder at this,
after what has occurred to myself.
VIII.
THE REBUKING OF JESUS.
Now, it chanced that about this time I was invited to a feast at the house
of Elisha ben Simeon, one of the leaders of the Pharisees in Jerusalem.
His son had become thirteen years old that week, and, as is our custom,
was received into the holy congregation as a Son of the Covenant on the
Sabbath. He had been summoned up to the reading of the Law, and had
himself read aloud a portion of it; for from this day onward he was to be
treated in all matters of religion as if he were a man. Being a friend of
his father, I had attended his synagogue, and heard the lad’s pure voice
for the first time in his life declare publicly his faith in the Most
High.
After the service in the synagogue, his friends accompanied the father and
the lad to their house, and with them went I, who had known the father
from our schoolboy days, and the little lad from the time of his birth.
Now, it chanced that, as we came near the door of Elisha’s house, we met
Jesus the Nazarene, and two or three with him. So Elisha greeted them, and
invited them courteously to join the feast, as is the custom among us. And
Jesus and the others assented, and followed into the house with us. “To
table, to table!” cried Elisha, pointing to the couches standing round the
well‐filled board.
When we were all seated, the host and his son came round with an ewer and
basin to perform the washing of the hands prescribed by the Law. But when
they came to the Galilæan strangers, these refused, saying, “We wash not
before meals.”
“Then we must serve ye last,” said Elisha, with a smile. But the others
took not the matter so pleasantly; for since we have one common dish,
which is handed round to the guests for them to take their food with their
fingers, it is considered gross ill‐breeding for a man not to perform the
ceremony of washing before meals.
Then Elisha took a seat at the centre of the table, and said the grace
before meals. Then he broke bread, and, dipping a morsel into salt for
each of the guests, he called his son to him to carry it round. When he
saw that each of the guests had a piece of bread dipped in salt, Elisha
recited the blessing on the bread, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, who
bringest forth bread from the earth,” and all said “Amen.” And one of the
guests said to Elisha, “I am glad we are not in Babylon.”
“How so, Phineas?” said Elisha to the man, who was well known at all
feasts at that time in Jerusalem.
And Phineas said, “For there they only eat bread with their bread.”
“Nay, that would not suit thee, Phineas. Thou art no Nazarite;” and most
of the guests who knew him laughed.
Then Elisha clapped his hands, and the slaves took round the first course
of salted fish; then afterwards the cold baked meats—for, being the
Sabbath, the food had been prepared the day before.
Then one of the guests said to one of the Galilæans, “Is it true that you
allow fowl to be boiled in milk in your country?”
“Yes, truly; why not?” said the Galilæan.
“Is it not written thrice in the Law,” said the guest, “‘Thou shalt not
seethe the kid in its mother’s milk’?”
“In our country,” said the Galilæan, “fowls give no milk.” And we all of
us laughed, save only Jesus.
“Nay, but the Sages have carried their prohibition even unto fowls, lest
the people be led to confuse flesh and flesh.”
By this time we had arrived at the third and last course of salted olives,
lettuces, and radishes. And again the bowl and ewer were passed round, and
this time the Galilæans did not refuse the water. Then the new son of the
covenant recited in his clear voice the grace after meals. And all rose,
while the slaves removed the remnants. Then said Elisha, “It is not well
that when so many are together we should depart without discussing some
words of the Law. My little Lazarus here would fain learn some new thing
from the many learned men present on this day of his being received into
Israel.”
“Well, then,” said one of the company, “I should like to put a question to
our friends here from Galilee.” And they said, “Speak, Rabbi.”
And he addressed himself to Jesus, and said, “Why walk not thy disciples
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen
hands?”
Then Jesus spoke out, and as he spoke he strode up and down the room, with
his hand clutching the air, and the vein throbbing on his left temple.
“Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This
people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.’” Then facing us all, he added, “For ye lay aside the
commandment of God, and hold the tradition of men.”
“How so, master?” said Elisha; “prove thy words.”
“It is said in the Word of God, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother,’ and yet
the Sages say, ‘If a man be asked by his father or mother to honor them
with a gift, and he say, “I vow that thing to the Almighty,” then it is
_Corban_,’ and put aside for the Lord, so that his parents cannot enjoy
thereof. Thus by your tradition about vows ye make the Word of God
concerning honor to parents of none effect, and many like things ye do.”
Then Elisha said, “But the Sages are by no means at one in that matter of
the vows, and in particular many of them declare all the vows annulled
that would work against our duty to our parents, or even against our love
to our neighbor. Yet, even if we take the more stricter tradition, in what
manner that absolves us from washing our hands before meals, I see not.”
“Nay, it is the same thing,” replied Jesus. “Ye Pharisees make clean the
outside of the cup and platter, but your inward thoughts are full of
ravening and wickedness. Ye fools! did not the Holy One, blessed be He,
who made that which is without, make also that which is within? Therefore
give for alms that which is within, kindly thoughts and friendly feelings.
If ye do that, all things are clean unto you.”
Then I said unto Jesus, for this matter touched us scribes nearly,
“Master, in speaking thus against tradition thou reproachest us also that
be scribes.”
And he answered, “Woe, woe unto ye, scribes! which desire to walk in long
robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the higher seats in the
synagogues, and the chief places at feasts, which devour widows’ houses,
and for a show make long prayers.”
Then an angry murmur rose among all the folk there assembled at the harsh
words of the stranger, when suddenly was heard the voice of Simeon ben
Lazarus, the father of Elisha, a very old man, who sat in the corner and
said:—
“Young man, fourscore years and two have I lived upon this earth; a
Pharisee have I been from the day I became a son of the covenant, like
little Lazarus there; a scribe was I during all the working days of my
life. I did what the Law and the Sages command, yet never thought I in so
doing of men’s thoughts or praises. Surely, if the Lord command, a good
Jew will obey. And as in many things, many acts of this life, the Law
speaketh not in plain terms, surely we should follow the opinion of those
who devote all their life to the study of the Law.
“I have never sought the praises of men, their greetings or their honors,
in obeying the Law. In all that I have done I have sought one thing—to
fulfil the will of our Father which is in heaven.