That he had dared his Lord deny.
His Lord is mine: I love him too,
Oh! may I prove to him more true!
But if I sin, oh! grant that I
May weep like Peter, bitterly;
And may it pierce me like a sword,
To think I’ve griev’d my dearest Lord.
LESSON XXXVII.
PONTIUS PILATE.
JOHN, xviii. 22 to end. MATTHEW, xxvi. 67, 68. JOHN, xix. 1-16.
ALL night long, Jesus stood in the great room; he heard all Peter said,
and that must have grieved him. The wicked people were like lions and
tigers, and Jesus like a lamb. They looked at him as if they hated him.
Once when he spoke, a servant slapped his face; but he bore this meekly.
The judge was not up yet, for it was night; so the wicked people were
forced to wait till the morning.
That night the servants came round Jesus and beat him, and pushed him,
and laughed at him, and even spat in his face.
When the morning came, the wicked people said, Now we will bring him to
the judge.
So they went out of their fine house and took Jesus with them.
The judge sat upon a high seat in the hall. His name was Pontius
Pilate. The judge did not know Jesus. The judge said, What has he done?
The wicked people said, He calls himself a king.
Then Pilate said to Jesus, Are you a king? And Jesus said, Yes, I am.
But Pilate thought that he looked very good, and he did not want to
punish him.
Then the wicked men made a great noise, and said, You must crucify him.
Pilate said, No, I will beat him, and that will be enough. So Pilate
gave Jesus to some soldiers, who took him into a house and beat him
with knotted ropes, (this way of beating is called scourging,) and all
the blood ran down his back. Then the cruel soldiers laughed at him
because he said he was a king. They took off his own clothes, and put
some fine clothes on him such as kings wear, purple and red.
Then they said, We must put a crown on his head. So they took prickly
thorns, sharp like pins, and twisted them together, and made a crown,
and put it on his head.
They said He must have a scepter, (for kings hold something called a
scepter in their hands), so they put a reed in his hand for a scepter;
then they took it from him, and beat him on the head: and they knelt
down to him laughing, and said, O king! O king!
Pilate saw the soldiers tormenting him, and he brought Jesus into the
street, where the wicked people were, and he showed Jesus to them, and
said, Look at your king.
Pilate hoped they would be sorry to see him so ill-used; blood upon his
forehead from the thorns, and his back scourged, and dressed in fine
clothes to mock him: but the wicked people were cruel like tigers.
Said they, Crucify him! Crucify him! All the people cried out, Crucify
him! though Jesus had always been so kind to them.
Will you crucify your king? said Pilate.
He shall not be our king, the people said. There was a very great noise
in the street, from the people all speaking at once.
Then Pilate thought he would please the wicked people, and he said,
Take him and crucify him. Then the people were glad. But first the
soldiers took the fine clothes off Jesus, and put his own clothes on
him again.
How wicked it was of Pilate to let him be crucified! Pilate thought
Jesus was good, yet he let him be killed to please the people.
What! is there none to take _his_ part
Who silent, trembling, bleeding, stands?
Not one to cheer his broken heart,
Or snatch him from those cruel hands?
A thousand voices lifted high
Now fill with horrid shouts the air—
“Away with him and crucify!”
Nor does _one_ friend for him appear.
Behold how men his love reward!
His tender flesh the scourge has torn,
His gentle hands are bound with cord,
His head is crown’d with prickly thorn.
But why did God the Father let
His only son be treated thus?—
He sent his Son to pay our debt,
And suffer all this pain for us.
’Twas I deserved, O dearest Lord,
My flesh should be with scourging torn,
My little hands be bound with cord,
_My_ head be crown’d with prickly thorn.
And now what can I do for him
Who suffer’d all this pain for me?
Whene’er I feel or hear of sin,
I’ll think, O dearest Lord, of thee.
Nor shall my hand in anger strike,
When thy dear hands for me were bound;
Nor shall my head with passion shake,
When thine with prickly thorns was crown’d.
And when I hear one smiling tell,
Of sinful things that men have done,
I will not smile, but sorrow feel,
Because sin bruis’d God’s only Son.
LESSON XXXVIII.
DEATH OF JUDAS.
MATTHEW, xxvii. 3-5.
WHERE was Judas all this while? The wicked people had given him the
money, thirty pieces of silver: but Judas could not be happy.
Ah! thought he, I have killed my good Master! what a wicked thing I
have done!
Judas felt that he could not like the money: he could not bear to keep
it, because he had done such a wicked thing to get it. So Judas went
to look for the wicked men. They had been sitting up all night talking
against Jesus: but now they were in God’s house—the Temple.
Judas brought the thirty pieces of silver in his hands, and threw them
down on the floor near the wicked men. Judas said, I have done a very
wicked thing.
But the men did not care for _that_: all they wanted was to get Jesus
killed.
They picked up the pieces of silver from the floor, and went and bought
a field with the money.
And where did Judas go?
He went out to the field to kill himself. He did not go and ask Jesus
to forgive him, but went and hanged himself. I suppose he tied a rope
around his neck, and fastened the rope to a tree. Afterward he fell
down from the tree, and his body burst, and his blood was poured out on
the ground. O what a horrible sight it must have been! But it was more
horrible to think where Judas’ soul was gone. It was gone to hell—to
Satan.
It was very wicked of Judas to hang himself, instead of praying to God
to forgive him.
Judas is in the wicked place now; and Jesus will judge him at the last
day, and say, Depart, you cursed!
LESSON XXXIX.
THE CROSS—PART I.
LUKE, xxiii. 26-34.
THE wicked people were very glad when Pilate said Jesus was to be
crucified. They made a cross of two great pieces of wood like boards,
and made Jesus carry it. They took him out of Jerusalem into the
country. The wicked people came with him.
Jesus was so weak that he could hardly walk, and the cross was so heavy
that he could not carry it. He would have dropped down on the way, if a
man had not helped him to carry the cross.
There were a few people who were sorry for the Lord Jesus.
Some women, who loved him very much, came crying after him. Jesus heard
them crying, and he turned round and spoke very kindly to them.
He said, Do not cry for me; cry for yourselves, and for your children.
Why did Jesus tell them to cry for themselves? Ah! Jesus knew how God
would one day punish the people in Jerusalem for their wickedness.
At last Jesus came to the top of a hill. Then the soldiers made Jesus
lie upon his cross, and they put nails in his hands, and nails in his
feet. So they nailed him to the cross. Then the soldiers made a hole in
the ground, and stuck the cross in it.
They had taken off Jesus’ clothes; and when he was on the cross four
soldiers tore the clothes in four pieces, and each took a piece: but
when they looked at his coat they said, We will not tear it, because
there is no seam in it; then one of the soldiers took it for his own.
So the wicked people took everything away from Jesus.
Was Jesus very angry with them?
No, he was meek as a lamb. He prayed to his Father while he was upon
the cross; he could not lift up his hands, but he could speak to God.
He prayed for these wicked people, and said, Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do.
“Father, forgive,” the sufferer cries,
“Because they know not what they do.”
To Heaven he lifts his dying eyes:
Was such a prayer e’er heard below?
Tell me for whom the Saviour prays?
For those who bear him deadly hate,
Who spat upon his lovely face,
And pierced his blessed hands and feet,
And does the Saviour pray for these?
Ah! then I see that I should pray
For all who hurt me, vex, or tease,
By spiteful things they do or say.
Alas! I feel my heart’s inclin’d
To do to them as they to me,
And by my words and deeds unkind
To let all such my anger see.
Yet _I_ have sinn’d against my God,
And disobey’d ten thousand times:
Am I prepar’d to feel his rod
Avenging my ten thousand crimes?
And thus he says he’ll deal with me
If I’m unwilling to forgive;
For only those _like_ Christ shall see
The glorious place where angels live.
LESSON XL.
THE CROSS—PART II.
LUKE, xxiii. 35-43.
PONTIUS PILATE wrote these words on the top of Jesus’ cross: This is
the King of the Jews.
Who were the Jews?
The people who lived in Jerusalem were called Jews.
All the wicked people laughed when they read these words; they shook
their heads, and pouted their lips at Jesus, and said, If you are the
Son of God, come down from the cross.
Could Jesus have come down?
He could do everything; but he chose to stay to die for sinners.
The wicked people said, If God loved him, he would not leave him to die
on the cross.
But his Father let him die to save us.
There was a cross on each side of Jesus, and a thief nailed upon each
cross. One of these thieves laughed at Jesus; he said, Why do you not
save us, if you are the son of God?
The other thief was sorry for his sins, and he loved Jesus.
The thief who was sorry said to the other thief, We have been naughty,
we deserve to be crucified; but Jesus is quite good. Then he spoke to
Jesus, and said, Remember me when you come to be king.
And Jesus said, You shall be with me in heaven to-day. So Christ heard
the poor thief’s prayer; for Jesus died that he might save all who
believed that he was the Son of God.
If you go to heaven you will see that poor thief.
Upon the hill where Jesus died
A thief was plac’d on either side,
Each nail’d upon a tree.
The one revil’d Christ’s name in death,
The other cried, with dying breath,
“O Lord! remember me.”
The Saviour heard the poor thief’s prayer,
And promis’d he would take him where
Our God and angels dwell.
Alas! his life was spent in sin:
What joy a heaven at last to win
And to escape from hell!
And oh! for him what glad surprise
When heavenly glories met his eyes,
And Christ array’d in light!
He just had seen the dying pains,
That had releas’d his soul from chains
And everlasting night.
Ah! sure of all the hosts that sing
The praises of their heav’nly King,
His voice will loudest sound:
For when just trembling on the brink
And just about in hell to sink,
Pardon and grace he found.
LESSON XLI.
THE CROSS—PART III.
JOHN, xix. 25-30. MATTHEW, xxvii. 45-54.
JESUS’ mother, Mary, stood near the cross. She came to see her son die.
She was very sorry; she felt her heart full of pain at the sight.
She loved her dear, good son, who had been kind to her ever since he
was a baby, and had never done one thing wrong, and she knew he was the
Son of God. Jesus was sorry to see his mother’s grief.
John had come to the cross, and he was standing near Mary. Jesus wished
John to take care of his mother, now that he was going to leave her. So
he said to his mother, Behold thy son. And he said to John, Behold thy
mother. John knew what Jesus meant, and he took Mary to be his mother,
and made her live with him. Jesus loved his mother, and thought of her
when he was dying.
Jesus was full of pain, and it was very hot. He said, I thirst! and the
soldiers took a sponge, and dipped it in vinegar, and put it on a reed
and gave it to Jesus.
Jesus just tasted the vinegar, and said, It is finished! and then he
died. His spirit went to his Father, but his body hung upon the cross.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon when Jesus died. He had been
nailed to the cross all the day. Before Jesus died, God had made it
very dark, to show he was angry with the wicked people. And God made
the earth shake, and the people were frightened; and when Jesus was
dead, some of them said, This must have been the Son of God.
Mary beholds one dying there,
Whom in her arms she once did bear,
And to her bosom press.
On her he casts his pitying eye,
For who should now _his_ place supply,
And cheer her loneliness?
The loving John shall be her son,
And cherish her till life is done,
Within his humble home:
And oft together they shall speak
Of him who, once despis’d and weak,
At last in clouds shall come.
Oh! gentle Lord, how great the love
Which made thy tender pity move,
E’en in the hour of death!
O let me show my parents dear
The same kind love and thoughtful care,
Until their latest breath.
LESSON XLII.
THE SOLDIERS.
JOHN, xix. 32-37.
AT last the soldiers came to see if Jesus and the two thieves were
dead, that they might bury them before night. The soldiers looked at
one thief, and they saw that he was not dead; so they broke his legs,
and that killed him. Then they looked at the other thief, and they saw
he was not dead; so they broke his legs. Then they looked at Jesus,
and they saw he was dead, so they did not break his legs: but one of
the soldiers took a long stick with a sharp point at the end, called a
spear, and put it in his side; and out of his side blood and water came
flowing upon the ground. John was standing near, and he saw the blood
poured out. Do you remember how Jesus, at supper the night before, had
poured wine in a cup, and said, This is my blood, which is shed for
sinners?
Now his blood was poured out.
The spear made a hole in Jesus’ side. There was a hole in his side,
and a hole in each hand, and a hole in each foot; and his forehead was
pricked with thorns, and his eyes had shed many tears, and blood had
come from his skin. All this he suffered for us, that God might forgive
us our sins.
LESSON XLIII.
THE GRAVE.
JOHN, xix. 38 to end. LUKE, xxiii. 55, 56. MATTHEW, xxvii. 60.
THERE was one rich man who loved Jesus; his name was Joseph (not Mary’s
husband, this was another Joseph); he had a garden, and in the garden
he had made a grave: perhaps he meant to be buried there himself when
he came to die.
But now Joseph thought, I should like to put the Lord Jesus in my
grave. It was a very nice grave, and no one had ever been put there yet.
So Joseph went to Pontius Pilate, and said, I want the dead body of
Jesus: may I take it down from the cross, and keep it myself?
And Pilate said, Yes, you may have it.
Then Joseph was glad. He bought some nice white clean linen. What do
you think that was for? To wrap Jesus in. And he bought some spices
(sweet-smelling things that grow out of the ground), and he brought
some men with him, and they took the nails out of Jesus’ hands and
feet, and, took his body down from the cross. Then Joseph wrapped a
cloth round his head, and another cloth round his waist, and he put
sweet spices on him; and then some men carried him along to Joseph’s
garden.
In the garden there was a high place called a rock, and a hole in the
rock, like a hole in a wall; and they walked into this large dark hole,
and they laid Jesus down quite alone. Now he was at rest; he felt no
pain, no sorrow: the wicked people were not near; and there lay the
Lord in his quiet grave. The men took a very large stone and stopped up
the hole, so that nobody could get in. No beast, no bird, could touch
the Lord Jesus. There were trees and flowers near him in this sweet
garden, and there were angels there watching over him, though no one
could see them.
Where were the poor women who loved Jesus?
They had been looking at him on the cross. How they must have cried
when they saw him bleed, and heard him cry out to God!
The poor women had seen the men take him down from the cross. They had
followed the men into the garden; they had seen him put so carefully in
his grave.
They said to each other, Let us get more spices, and make sweet
ointment to put on the Lord Jesus.
Joseph had put some spices, but they wanted to put more. So they went
home and made nice ointment.
In the cold grave the Saviour is sleeping,
While angels bright are watching near;
At home his loving friends are weeping,
For they have lost their Master dear.
His painful suff’rings now are ended;
His wounded body is at rest;
His soul, from ev’ry ill defended,
Reposes on his Fathers breast.
LESSON XLIV.
THE RESURRECTION.
MARK, xvi. 1-6. LUKE, xxiv. 3-10. MATTHEW, xxviii. 9, 10.
ONE morning very early, when Jesus had been dead only two days, the
poor women came into the garden. It was not quite light yet, for the
sun was just rising.
As the women walked along with their ointment they said to each other,
How shall we get into the grave? The men put a large stone before it;
the stone is so big, we cannot roll it away. The women did not know
what to do.
At last they came to the grave, but the stone was rolled away. The
women were quite surprised. Then they were afraid some wicked people
had rolled it away, and stolen the body of Jesus. This made them very
sad; they looked into the grave, and saw that Jesus was not there. Soon
they saw two beautiful angels standing by them. Their faces were bright
like the sun, their clothes whiter than snow.
The women trembled when they saw the angels; but the angels spoke
sweetly and kindly to them, saying, Do not be afraid; we know that you
are looking for Jesus. He is not here now; he is alive. Do you not
remember how he said he would come to life again, after he had been
crucified?
Come, said the angels, and look at the place where Jesus lay. Run
quickly, and tell his disciples that Jesus is alive, and that they
shall see him very soon.
The women were very glad indeed; they ran as quickly as they could to
tell the disciples. But as they were running, whom do you think they
saw? Jesus himself! He did not look as he once had looked; no tears
were on his cheeks; they were all wiped away. He was not weak and faint
as when he had carried his cross. He never could be sick any more; nor
could he ever die again.
How much pleased the women were to see him! They knelt down on the
ground, and held his feet that he might not go away, and they called
him their Lord and their God. Yet still they felt a little afraid; but
Jesus told them not to be afraid. Jesus said: Go, tell my brothers that
I shall soon see them again.
Whom did Jesus call his brothers?
His disciples. He had forgiven them for having run away when the wicked
men took him.
The poor women ran, as Jesus had told them, to the disciples, and said,
We have seen angels; we have seen the Lord Jesus! He is walking about,
and you will see him soon. But the disciples would not believe the
women.
LESSON XLV.
MARY MAGDALENE.
JOHN, xx. 1-19.
I HAVE told you of two Marys; Mary the mother of Jesus, and another
Mary, the sister of Lazarus. But there was another still, called Mary
Magdalene. She came very early to the grave, before the other women
came. She looked into the grave, but saw no angels; so she came running
back, and told Peter and John that Jesus was not in his grave. I am
afraid, said Mary Magdalene, that some wicked people have taken him
away, and that we shall not be able to find him.
So Peter and John began to run as fast as they could, but John ran the
fastest, and he came first to the grave. He stooped down and peeped in,
and he saw the clothes lying in the grave.
Soon after Peter came, and he went down into the grave, and he saw the
clothes neatly folded, and the cloth that was round Jesus’ head lying
in a place by itself. Then John went in, too; and John thought of what
Jesus had said about being alive again.
It is all true, thought John; he is alive, and has left his grave.
Then Peter and John came out of the grave, and went to their own house;
but they saw no angels, nor did they see Jesus.
Where was Mary Magdalene all this time?
She was standing crying outside the grave: she was quite alone; for
Peter and John were gone home.
At last she stooped down and looked into the grave, and she saw a
beautiful sight—two angels, one sitting where Jesus’ head had been, and
one where his feet had been!
The angels said to Mary, Why do you cry? but still she went on crying,
and said, Some people have taken away the Lord Jesus, and I cannot find
him!
When she had said this, she heard a man behind her saying, Why do you
cry?
She did not know who it was that spoke; she thought perhaps it was the
gardener. If you have taken him, said she, tell me where you have put
him, and I will take him away.
The man said, Mary! She knew that voice, and turning round she looked,
and saw that it was Jesus. How glad she was to see her Lord and Master,
whom she loved! But Jesus could not stay with her. He told her to go
and tell his dear disciples that he was alive. I am soon going up to my
Father in heaven; but I shall see my disciples first.
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples. They were all crying, but
they would not believe what Mary said.
Mary was glad that she had gone to look for Jesus. She was the first of
all the people who saw Jesus after he was alive again.
LESSON XLVI.
THE TWO FRIENDS.
LUKE, xxiv. 13-48.
IT was early in the morning that the women went to look for Jesus. In
the evening two good men were taking a walk together in the country.
As they walked they talked about Jesus. They had not seen him since he
was alive again: they did not know he was alive. They talked about his
dying on the cross. It made them very sad to speak about it. At last
a man came and spoke to them; they thought he was a stranger, yet he
seemed to be a kind man.
He said, Why do you cry? I see you are talking of something very sad.
Yes, said these good men, we are talking of something sad. Did you
never hear of Jesus? What wonderful things he did, how he cured the
blind, and dumb, and sick; and how he taught people about God? And all
the people loved him; but at last he was crucified. We thought he had
been the Son of God: but now we are afraid he was not, for he is dead,
and we are afraid that we shall never see him again.
The kind stranger was sorry to see these good men cry. He began to talk
to them, and to tell them that Jesus was the Son of God, and that he
had been crucified to save men, and that he would rise again, and go
back to his Father.
This kind stranger said a great deal more. He knew all the verses in
the Bible, and told these men a great many things they did not know.
They liked to listen to the stranger, they did not feel so sad while he
was talking.
At last these men came to their own house: it was in the country. The
stranger seemed as if he was going on: but the good men said to him,
Pray stay at our house; it is getting dark. Come and sup with us, and
sleep here: pray, pray come in.
Then the stranger said he would come in.
The men went into a room where there was a supper. They all three sat
down together around the table. The stranger took some bread and broke
it, and began to pray to God; and then the two men found out who the
stranger was.
It is the Lord! they cried; and so it was. They looked towards him, but
they could see him no more. He opened not the door, but yet he was gone.
Then the men thought of all that Jesus had said. How sweetly he talked
to us! they said; did we not feel our hearts quite warm, while he
talked to us? they said; did we not feel our hearts quite warm, while
he was speaking about the Bible, and telling us the meaning?
Do you think these men went to bed that night? O no! they could not
sleep. Let us go, said they, and tell the disciples about our seeing
Jesus. So they left the supper, and set out in the night. They walked
quickly, and soon came to Jerusalem.
The disciples were all shut up in a room together. They had locked the
doors to prevent the wicked people getting in: but they let these good
men come in. The disciples were at supper.
We have seen Jesus! said these good men. He has walked with us, and
talked with us; but we did not know him till he sat down with us at
supper, and broke some bread, and gave thanks to his Father. The
disciples said, Some women have seen him, and Peter has seen him.
But while they were eating supper and talking about Jesus, they looked
and saw Jesus standing in the middle of the room. Though the door was
locked, yet he had come in.
How do you think the disciples felt? They were frightened: they could
not believe that it was indeed Jesus himself.
Jesus spoke kindly to them. Why are you afraid? he said. Look at my
hands and feet. It is I myself. Then Jesus showed his disciples the
marks that the nails had made in his hands and feet, and the hole that
the spear had made in his side.
Then the disciples saw that it was their own dear Master. They were
glad, very glad, to see him: they had been crying ever since they had
lost him. They saw that he had forgiven them for having run away. He
said nothing to them about it: he had even forgiven Peter. He knew that
Peter loved him, and that he was very sorry.
The disciples were so much surprised to see Jesus, that they could
hardly believe that he was alive. Jesus knew that they did not quite
believe; so he said, Have you anything to eat? Then the disciples gave
him a piece of fish and some honey from their supper; and Jesus took
them and began to eat, that the disciples might see that he was really
alive.