cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth."
Then Pilate told the chief priests that he found no fault in Him.
When Pilate found it impossible to quiet the chief priests, though he
told them he could find no fault in Jesus, he decided to send Him to
Herod, who was at Jerusalem at that time.
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, because he had heard of
Him, and hoped to have seen a miracle done by Him.
So he asked Jesus a great many questions, but He answered him nothing.
And the chief priests stood and vehemently accused Him.
And Herod and his soldiers mocked Him and arrayed Him in a gorgeous
robe, and sent Him again to Pilate.
Now at the feast of the Passover, the Roman governor pleased the Jews
by setting free a prisoner whomsoever they asked for. So, because
Pilate did not like the Jews, and knew that they had delivered Jesus
up for envy, he offered to release to them Barabbas, who was a great
robber, or "Jesus who was called Christ"?
So Pilate went back to the judgment-seat and sat down. And it was quite
early morning yet.
Then his wife sent down in haste to him to have nothing to do with
condemning Jesus, because she had had a dreadful dream, and she knew
that Jesus was a just man.
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they
should ask for Barabbas.
Pilate was sure that Jesus was not worthy of any punishment; but when
he found that the Jews were raising a great tumult, and that they
charged Pilate with not being Cæsar's friend, if he allowed Jesus to be
the King of the Jews, Pilate was afraid.
He was more afraid of the Jews than of God! And so poor Pilate made his
great decision. And he, like Judas, made it on the wrong side!
So he called for water, and when it was brought to him, he washed his
hands before all the people, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of
this just person: see ye to it."
Then Pilate said to them, mockingly, "Shall I crucify your King?"
But they cried the more exceedingly, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"
And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
Then Pilate released Barabbas to them, and when he had scourged Jesus,
he delivered Him to be crucified.
XX. The Soldiers Mocked Him
So when Pilate had sentenced Him to be crucified the governor's
soldiers took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered together the
rest of the soldiers, and began to mock at the dear Lord whom we love
so much.
They clothed Him with a purple robe, and they plaited a crown of long
sharp thorns and put it on His loving head, and then they put a reed in
His hand and bowed down to Him, and mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of
the Jews!"
Jesus did not mind being called the King of the Jews, because He came
on earth to be their King; He was only sorry that they would not love
Him, or have Him for their King and Saviour.
Ah, how it must have cut Him to the heart in all His pain, to have them
mock Him, and beat Him on the head, and spit upon Him, and pretend to
worship Him.
If our hearts are filled with grief that He could have suffered so
much, should we not love Him more than ever; and turn away from the
sins which He died on purpose to save us from?
So Pilate went outside again, and said to the Jews, "Behold, I bring
Him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns, and Pilate said,
"Behold the man!"
But the Jews burst out again with the cry, "Crucify Him!"
And Pilate said, "Why, what evil hath He done?"
But the Jews told Pilate that Jesus had made Himself equal with God,
and so He must die.
Then Pilate was more afraid than ever, and went again into the hall,
and asked Jesus where He had come from?
But Jesus gave him no answer.
At length the Jews clamoured so loudly, and told Pilate that he was not
Cæsar's friend, that though Pilate longed to release Jesus, when he
heard them say that, he gave in to them, and brought Jesus forth for
the last time, saying to them, "Behold your King!"
And they all cried out, "Away with Him, crucify Him!"
"The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now:
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor's brow.
"The highest place that heaven affords
Is His, is His by right:
The King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And heaven's eternal light."
XXI. Jesus Carrying His Cross
And after they had mocked Jesus, they took off the gorgeous robe in
which Herod and his soldiers had dressed Him, and they put His own
clothes on Him again, and led Him away to crucify Him.
And Jesus—the King of glory—went forth, carrying the cross on which He
was to be crucified for us!
Thus our dear Lord left the city where He had been rejected and
condemned, bearing His heavy, cruel cross.
I think He must have fainted beneath its weight, for we are told that
when they came to the gate of the city, they met a man, Simon the
Cyrenian, coming in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to
carry the cross after Jesus.
A great multitude came out after them, and the women who had followed
and loved Jesus were mourning and grieving at their dear Lord's
sorrowful fate.
But Jesus turned to them and told them not to cry for Him, but for all
the sorrow which was coming upon Jerusalem because the Jews would not
have Him for their Saviour.
[Illustration: HE MUST HAVE FAINTED BENEATH ITS WEIGHT.]
And there were two other men led out with Jesus to be crucified at the
same time. They were called malefactors, because they had been very
wicked.
So the whole great company went outside the city walls, and they bring
Jesus to a place called "The Skull." They offered our dear Lord some
wine and myrrh to drink, but, when He had tasted it, He would not take
it.
Then they crucified Jesus, our King, and the two malefactors, one on
the right hand and the other on the left, and Jesus in the midst.
Children, in all His dreadful sufferings and sorrow, what is it we hear
from those dear lips?
Then Jesus said,—
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
XXII. The Cross of Jesus
We pause at this picture, dear children, with awe and reverence, and as
we gaze upon it our hearts are filled with love and grief.
"Did Jesus bear that cruel death for me?" we whisper to ourselves. "Was
my name on His heart when He hung all those hours on the cross? Were
my sins pardoned by His most precious blood, which flowed from His
bleeding side?"
If we can answer a solemn "yes" to these questions, then the cross of
Jesus our Saviour is the place where henceforth we can find joy, and
thankfulness, and strength.
On the cross where Jesus was crucified, a piece of parchment was
nailed. This was generally done, so that people should know what the
crime was for which any one was to suffer this cruel death.
But Pilate had nothing to charge Jesus with. He had said over and over
again, "I find no fault in Him." And when he sat down to write His
accusation on the parchment, he wrote—
"Jesus of Nazareth—the King of the Jews."
This writing was read by many of the Jews, because the place where
Jesus was crucified was near to the city, and many were passing
backwards and forwards at this Passover feast time.
And Pilate wrote it in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.
The Jews did not at all like what Pilate had written, and wanted him to
take the writing down. They said, "Do not say that He is the King of
the Jews! But say, He said He was."
But Pilate would not alter it. "What I have written, I have written,"
he said.
[Illustration: CALVARY.]
So when Jesus died, He had only this accusation—that He is King!
And the people stood beholding.
They saw the four soldiers carry away His raiment, to divide it between
them. But when the soldiers found that His coat, or under-robe, was
seamless and woven in one piece, they cast lots for that; so that the
Scripture, written hundreds of years before, might be fulfilled, "They
parted My raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots."
These things, therefore, the soldiers did.
Then the rulers who were standing by mocked Him, saying, "He saved
others, why did He not save Himself and come down from the cross?"
Dear children, do you know why Jesus did not come down from the cross?
"He knew how wicked man had been,
He knew that God must punish sin;
So, out of pity, Jesus said
He'd bear the punishment instead.
"And so He died! And this is why
He came to earth to bleed and die:
The Bible says He came from heaven,
That we might have our sins forgiven."
Perhaps some of you may think that the cruel nails held His dear hands
and feet so fast that He could not come down?
But that was not the reason—oh no!
It was love that made Him stay there—love to you and to me. He stayed
there that He might die for us, that His precious blood should be shed
to pay the price for our sins.
The two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus, joined with
the Jews in reproaching Him; but after a while one of them began to
think of Him as He hung there in all His patience and love, and he was
sorry that he had spoken against Him. He rebuked the other thief, and
told him that they both were condemned justly, "but this Man hath done
nothing amiss," he said.
And then we can picture him, turning his poor suffering face towards
the loving Saviour who hung beside him, and we can almost hear him
saying, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom!"
And Jesus answered and said, "To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise!"
Ah! He was the King of Love! Not a reproach to that sinful man; not
a word that now it was too late; nothing but love and cheer and
tenderness. "Verily I say unto thee, To-day, thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise!"
Oh, does not this tender Jesus make your heart grow warm with love?
Though He was racked with pain, He could cheer one who was suffering by
Him; though He was dying for the sins of the whole world, He could save
one single soul who turned to Him in faith.
God sent a great darkness over all the land from twelve o'clock till
three o'clock, while His holy Son was dying on the cross.
No one can tell all the depth of woe and loneliness which Jesus
suffered while the load of our sins rested upon Him; but the more we
understand it, the more we shall love Him for His great love.
"When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
"Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
"See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
"To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
For ever and for evermore."
Now there were standing by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His
mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw His mother, and John, the disciples whom He loved,
standing there, He charged him to take care of His dear mother; and
John took her to his own home from that hour.
And now everything was done which the Scriptures had said should
happen; and Jesus, knowing this, said, "I thirst!"
And one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on hyssop, and
put it to His mouth.
And when Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, "It is finished!" And
He gave up His spirit into His Father's keeping; and then He died.
XXIII. The Sealed Tomb
Now when the centurion who was in charge of the soldiers who crucified
Jesus, saw all the things that had happened—His wonderful love and
patience, His dying words, the darkness and the great earthquake,—he
feared greatly, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
And there were many women there, standing as near as they dared. Among
these was Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils; and
Mary the mother of James and Joses; and Salome the mother of Zebedee's
children, James and John, the disciples who had been with Jesus in the
Garden of Gethsemane, and at other special times during His ministry.
So these women stood and waited near the cross all those long hours
till the evening, to see what they would do with their Lord.
And when the evening had come, there came a rich man of Arimathea,
named Joseph.
He was a counsellor and much respected among the Jews; and when the
Lord had been condemned by them, he had not consented to what they had
done. He was looking for the Kingdom of God, like many other godly Jews
at that time.
So he brought fine linen to wrap the precious body of Jesus in; and
sweet spices for His burial.
And he went boldly in to Pilate and begged him to give him the body of
Jesus.
So Pilate gave him leave, and Joseph hastened back to take Jesus down
from the cross, and to wrap Him in beautiful pure linen, and to carry
Him away to his own new tomb which was in a garden close to Calvary.
We are told by those who have been there, that just beneath that hill
outside Jerusalem called The Skull, there is a garden with a tomb in
it, cut out of the rock. It is thought by some, that this is the tomb
in which Jesus was laid; but no one can be quite certain that this is
so.
At any rate, we are told in the Gospel of John that the garden was near
at hand. And here they buried the body of our dear Lord, and rolled a
great stone across the door of the sepulchre.
And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw where He was laid, and sat
down over against the sepulchre to watch.
But the next day, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate, to
remind him that Jesus had said while He was alive, that He was going to
rise again from the dead on the third day.
So they begged Pilate to command that the sepulchre should be made sure
till the third day, lest Jesus' disciples should come in the night and
steal His body away, and pretend that He had risen as He had said,
which they thought would be a worse mistake than all!
And Pilate answered, "You have soldiers who can watch, go and make it
as sure as you can."
So they went back, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and
setting men to keep watch all night.
XXIV. The Resurrection
They had sealed the grave to make all sure, and they had set a watch
that no one should come to steal the body of Jesus; and the women and
those who loved Him and had followed Him, left the tomb at last, and
went to their own homes.
[Illustration: SETTING MEN TO WATCH ALL NIGHT.]
They had forgotten that the Lord Jesus had told them, over and over
again, that He would rise from the dead on the third day.
But it was impossible that the grave could hold the Son of God, when
the time came for Him to rise.
He tasted death for all of us; but He also rose from the dead to show
that God was satisfied that He had atoned for our sins.
Very early on the first day of the week, which is our Sunday, Mary
Magdalene, and Salome, and "the other Mary," came to the grave with
spices and sweet-smelling ointments to anoint the body of Jesus.
And as they went along, they said to each other, "Who shall roll away
the stone for us?" For they knew that it was very large and heavy!
But when they got there, the stone was already rolled away.
So they entered into the tomb, and they saw a young man sitting there
on the right side, clothed in a long, white garment, and they were very
frightened.
But he said to them, "Do not be frightened; you are looking for Jesus
of Nazareth, who was crucified: He is risen; He is not here: look at
the place where they laid Him. And go and tell His disciples, and
Peter, that if they go into Galilee they shall see Him, as He said to
them."
At first they were so frightened at the shining angel that they ran
away, and did not tell any one. But very soon, while it was yet very
early, Jesus met Mary Magdalene (out of whom, we read in the 8th of
Luke, He had cast seven devils), and when she had seen Him and He had
talked with her, she knew certainly that He was the Lord; and she ran
and told His other disciples who were mourning and crying because they
thought He was dead, and that they should never see Him again.
And do you not think, too, that Peter must have been very glad indeed
of that special message which the Lord Jesus sent to him?
We read afterwards that the Lord also appeared to Peter; but we do not
know what He said to His sorrowful disciple. All we do know is that
Jesus forgave him.
And this is what He will do for us, children, if we ask Him to forgive
us. He will comfort us with the assurance of His love and pardon, and
He will help us to go on again like He did Peter.
Meanwhile the soldiers who were watching at the tomb were very
frightened at all that had happened, and went and told the chief
priests all about it.
So when they had consulted together, they gave the soldiers money, and
told them to say that the disciples of Jesus had come in the night and
had stolen His body.
So that saying was believed among the Jews from that time.
But Jesus was alive! He showed Himself over and over again to His own
disciples; and so that there should be no mistake, He came one evening
into the midst of the room where the disciples and those who were with
them were assembled, and said, "Peace be unto you!"
They were all so frightened, thinking that they had seen a spirit, that
Jesus told them to touch Him and to look at the marks of the nails in
His hands and feet; and when they could hardly believe for joy, He
asked them to give Him some food, and He sat down and ate it before
them, explaining to them in loving words that it was necessary for Him
to die, but also necessary for Him to rise again, that He might obtain
eternal salvation for all who will obey Him.
XXV. On the Shore at Dawn
On the day of the resurrection, two of the disciples of the Lord Jesus
were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, and as they went
along they spoke of all that had happened, reasoning together about it.
And as they walked, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them. But
their eyes were holden that they did not know Him.
So He asked them what they were talking of, and why they were sad?
And Cleopas answered, that He must be a stranger in Jerusalem if He did
not know what had so lately happened there.
And Jesus asked them, "What things?"
So they told Him it was about Jesus of Nazareth who had been a mighty
prophet, but now had been crucified; and how they had hoped that He was
to be their Saviour.
Then Jesus told them that if they had only believed, they would have
understood that the Scriptures had foretold that Christ must suffer to
atone for sin, and then to enter into His glory.
So He explained in all the Scriptures the things about Himself—but
still they did not know Him.
Then they came to the village, and they pressed Him to abide with them;
and while they sat at supper Jesus blessed the bread, and brake it, and
gave to them.
Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him, and He vanished out of
their sight.
So they rose up the same hour and hurried back to Jerusalem, where they
found the eleven disciples together, who were full of the joyful news
that the Lord had risen indeed, and that He had appeared to Peter.
Then Cleopas and his companion told their great news, and as they did
so, Jesus Himself stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be
unto you!"
* * * * * * *
Now I must tell you how Jesus showed Himself to six of His disciples
and Nathanael at the sea of Galilee, sometimes called Tiberias.
Peter had proposed one evening to go to fish on the lake, and the
others had said they would go with him. But all that night they took
nothing. When the morning dawned they were cold and hungry, and as the
light came back they saw some one on the shore who seemed to be waiting
for them.
They did not know that it was Jesus and even when His voice came to
them across the water, asking if they had anything to eat, they did not
recognize it.
But when the stranger called to them to cast their nets on the right
side of the ship, and they found a lot of fish, John began to guess Who
it must be, and he said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"
Then Peter threw on his fisher's coat and cast himself into the sea to
get quickly to his beloved Lord, and the rest hastened to follow in a
small boat, dragging the net full of great fishes.
When they landed on the beach, they found that Jesus had prepared for
them. He knew that they were cold and hungry, and they saw a fire
already lighted, with some fish being cooked on it, as well as bread to
eat with it.
Then Jesus told them to bring some of the fish which they had caught;
and He said to them, "Come and break your fast." But none of the
disciples durst ask Him, "Who art Thou?" knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus then came to them, and gave them fish and bread, and satisfied
their hunger. But oh, what must it have been to have His presence, and
to see Him once more, face to face!
You can picture them as they sat in that clear morning air with Jesus
close to them and how they must have listened to every word that fell
from His dear lips. And what do you think was the message that He
wanted them to remember, above all, from that resurrection breakfast
table?
When they had finished their meal, Jesus turned to Simon Peter—Peter
who loved Him so truly, and yet who had denied Him,—and He said
tenderly to him three times, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?"
And Peter answered each time, "Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I love
Thee!"
And Jesus said to him words like this: "Then, Peter, if you love Me,
feed My lambs, and feed My sheep!"
Jesus did not mean, children, that Peter should turn into a shepherd.
No; He wanted Peter to understand that among the people of God, whom
God often calls His flock, there would be little lambs—children—who
would want cherishing, and sheep who would want feeding, with the Bread
of Life.
I think this was the message of that resurrection breakfast table: "If
you love Me, tell others of My great love!"
XXVI. Going to the Father
At length the time came for the Lord Jesus to return to heaven, to be
at His Father's right hand.
So one day He led His disciples out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives.
He did not tell them to wait for Him at Gethsemane that day! All sorrow
and suffering were now past for Him. He had finished the work which His
Father had given Him to do, and now He had only to bless His disciples,
and ascend up above the clouds to live with His Father.
During the forty days since His resurrection, He had appeared to them
many times, and had told them many things about the kingdom of God,
and about the Holy Spirit who was soon to be sent to them to be their
Comforter.
And now having led them out as far as Bethany, He blessed them, and
while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into
heaven, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
While they looked earnestly up to heaven, two angels stood by them in
white clothes, and said to them, "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner, as ye have seen Him go into heaven."
Then they returned back to Jerusalem with great joy.
It was the thought of Jesus being in glory which gave them great joy;
and His promise that He would come again some day, made them happy and
hopeful.
They had lost His dear bodily presence here; but He said that though He
was in heaven, He would be with them here too, even to the end of the
world.
This is what He says to us, dear children, to-day! He says, "I am with
you all the days, and I am coming again to receive you to Myself, that
where I am, there you may be also."
Jesus wants us all to set to work for Him. He has left us a charge to
tell others about His love in dying for us, that they may come to Him
to be blessed.
We may not be able to do very much, but we can try to please Him every
day by being obedient, faithful and loving; and while we listen to His
voice saying to us from the glory, "Surely I come quickly!" We can
answer Him with adoring love,—
"Come, Lord Jesus!"
XXVII. When the Earth was made Beautiful
Long ago, before this earth was made ready for us to live on, if you
had been able to look at it, you would have seen nothing but mist, and
darkness, and water!
And as you think about it, you wonder very much how it all was.
If you were asked, you would say that the earth is a great round ball,
and that it hangs up in the sky without anybody holding it up!
You cannot explain how that is, and you find it very difficult to
understand how it can be.
Perhaps you wonder who made the earth? And how did it get hung up in
the sky, and who keeps it there?
So I am going to tell you about it.