_Jesus and the twelve at prayer in Olivet. Jesus reveals to his
disciples the deeper meanings of secret doctrines. He tells
them what to teach the people. Relates a number of parables.
They return to Bethany._
The morning of the Wednesday of the week was come, and Jesus with the
twelve went out to Olivet to pray; and they were lost in prayer for
seven hours.
2 Then Jesus called the twelve close to his side and said, This day
the curtain parts and we will step beyond the veil into the secret
courts of God.
3 And Jesus opened up to them the meaning of the hidden way, and of
the Holy Breath, and of the light that cannot fail.
4 He told them all about the Book of Life, the Rolls of Graphael, the
Book of God’s Remembrance where all the thoughts and words of men are
written down.
5 He did not speak aloud to them; he told the secrets of the masters
in an undertone, and when he spoke the name of God there was a silence
in the courts of heaven for half an hour, for angels spoke with bated
breath.
6 And Jesus said, These things may not be spoken out aloud; they never
may be written down; they are the messages of Silenceland; they are
the Breathings of the inner heart of God.
7 And then the master taught the twelve the lessons they should teach
to other men. He sometimes taught in parables; he said,
8 You call to mind the words of yesterday about the coming of the son
of man. Now, you shall teach to other men what I have spoken and am
speaking unto you;
9 Teach them to pray and not to faint; to be prepared at every moment
of the day, for when they least expect him, then the Lord will come.
10 A man went to a distant land and left his house and all his wealth
in care of servants; five to guard his house and five to guard his
barns and herds.
11 The servants waited long for his return, but he came not, and they
grew careless in their work; some spent their time in revelings and
drunkenness, and some slept at their posts.
12 And night by night the robbers came and carried off the wealth from
house and barn, and drove away the choicest of the herds.
13 And when they knew that much of all the wealth that they were left
to guard had been purloined, they said,
14 We cannot be to blame; if we had known the day and hour when our
lord would come again we would have guarded well his wealth, and
suffered not the thieves to carry it away; he surely is at fault
because he told us not.
15 But after many days the lord returned, and when he knew that
thieves had robbed him of his wealth, he called his servants and he
said to them,
16 Because you have neglected what was given you to do, have spent
your time in revelings and sleep, behold you all are debtors unto me.
17 What I have lost by your neglect, you owe to me. And then he gave
them heavy tasks to do, and bound them to their posts with chains,
where they remained till they had paid for all the goods their lord
had lost through their neglect.
18 Another man locked up his wealth and went to sleep, and in the
night time robbers came, unlocked his doors, and when they saw no
guard, they entered in and carried off his wealth.
19 And when the man awoke and found his doors ajar and all his
treasures gone, he said, If I had known the hour when the thieves
would come I would have been on guard.
20 Beware, my friends, beware! and be prepared at every hour, and if
your Lord shall come at midnight or at dawn, it matters not, for he
will find you ready to receive.
21 And then, behold, a marriage was announced, and virgins, ten of
them, were set apart to meet the bridegroom when he came.
22 The virgins clothed themselves in proper garbs, and took their
lamps and sat in waiting for the watch to say, Behold, the bridegroom
comes!
23 Now, five were wise; they filled their lamps with oil; and five
were foolish, for they carried empty lamps.
24 The groom came not at the expected time; the virgins were a-weary
with their watch and slept.
25 At midnight came the cry, Behold, the bridegroom comes!
26 The virgins rose; the wise ones quickly trimmed their lamps and
went forth ready to receive the groom.
27 The foolish virgins said, We have no oil, our lamps burn not.
28 They sought to borrow from the wise, who said, We have no oil to
spare; Go to the merchantmen and buy and fill your lamps and then come
forth to meet the groom.
29 But while they went to purchase oil, the bridegroom came; the
virgins who were ready with their lamps all trimmed went with him to
the marriage feast.
30 And when the foolish virgins came the door was shut, and though
they knocked and called aloud, the door was opened not.
31 The master of the feast exclaimed, I know you not! and in disgrace
the virgins went their way.
32 Again I say to you, and you shall say to them who follow you,
33 Be ready every moment of the day and night, because when you expect
him not, the Lord will come.
34 Behold, when he will come with all his messengers of light, the
Book of Life, and that of Records, shall be opened up--the books in
which the thoughts and words and deeds are written down.
35 And every one can read the records he has written for himself, and
he will know his doom before the judge shall speak, and this will be
the sifting time.
36 According to their records men will find their own.
37 The judge is Righteousness, the king of all the earth, and he will
separate the multitudes as shepherds separate the sheep and goats.
38 The sheep will find their places on the right, the goats upon the
left, and every man will know his place.
39 And then the judge will say, to those upon the right, You blessed
of the Father-God, come unto your inheritance, which was prepared for
you from times of old.
40 You have been servants of the race; and I was hungry and you gave
me bread; was thirsty and you gave me drink; was naked and you gave me
clothes;
41 Was sick, you ministered to me; and was in prison and you came to
me with words of cheer; I was a stranger and in your homes I found a
home.
42 Then will the righteous say, When did we see you hungry, thirsty,
sick, imprisoned or a stranger at our gates and ministered to you?
43 And then the judge will say, You served the sons of men, and
whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me.
44 The judge will say to those upon the left, Depart from me; you have
not served the sons of men.
45 I was hungry and you gave me naught to eat; was thirsty and you
gave me naught to drink; I was a stranger and you drove me from your
door; I was imprisoned and was sick, you did not minister to me.
46 Then these will say, When did we thus neglect to care for you? When
did we see you hungry, thirsty, sick, a stranger or in prison and did
not minister to you?
47 And then the judge will say, Your life was full of self; you served
the self and not your fellow man, and when you slighted one of these,
you slighted and neglected me.
48 Then will the righteous have the kingdom and the power, and they
who are unrighteous shall go forth to pay their debts, to suffer all
that men have suffered at their hands.
49 They who have ears to hear and hearts to understand will comprehend
these parables.
50 When he had finished all these parables he said, You know that in
two days the great passover feast will come, and lo, the son of man
will be betrayed into the hands of wicked men.
51 And he will give his life upon the cross, and men will know that
he, the son of man, is son of God.
52 Then Jesus and the twelve returned to Bethany.
SECTION XVIII.
TZADDI.
_The Arrest and Betrayal of Jesus._
CHAPTER 159.
_The Christines attend a feast in Simon’s house. Mary anoints
the master with a costly balm, and Judas and others rebuked
her for profligacy. Jesus defends her. The rulers of the Jews
employ Ananias to arrest Jesus. Ananias bribes Judas to aid
him._
Bar-Simon, who was once a leper and was cleansed by Jesus by the
sacred Word, abode in Bethany.
2 In honor of the Christine Lord he gave a feast, and Lazarus was
among the guests, and Ruth and Martha served.
3 And as the guests reclined about the table, Mary took a cruse of
rich perfume and poured it out on Jesus’ head and feet.
4 And then she knelt and with her hair she wiped his feet; the odor of
the rich perfume filled all the room.
5 Now, Judas, always looking at the selfish side of life, exclaimed,
For shame! why did you waste that costly perfume thus?
6 We might have sold it for three hundred pence, and had the money to
supply our wants and feed the poor.
7 (Now, Judas was the treasurer, and carried all the money of the
Christine band.)
8 And others said, Why, Mary, what a profligate you are! you should
not throw such wealth away.
9 But Jesus said, You men, be still; let her alone; you know not what
you say.
10 The poor are with you constantly; at any time you can administer to
them; but I will not be with you long.
11 And Mary knows the sadness of the coming days; she has anointed me
beforehand for my burial.
12 The gospel of the Christ will everywhere be preached, and he who
tells the story of the Christ will tell about this day; and what was
done by Mary at this hour will be a sweet memorial to her wherever men
abide.
13 And when the feast was over Jesus went with Lazarus to his home.
14 Now, in Jerusalem the priests and Pharisees were busy with their
plans to seize the Lord and take his life.
15 The high priest called in counsel all the wisest men and said, This
deed must be accomplished in a secret way.
16 He must be taken when the multitudes are not a-near, else we may
cause a war; the common people may stand forth in his defense and thus
pollute this sacred place with human blood.
17 And what we do, that we must do before the great day of the feast.
18 And Ananias said, I have a plan that will succeed. The twelve with
Jesus every day go forth alone to pray;
19 And we will find their trysting place; then we can seize the man
and bring him here without the knowledge of the multitudes.
20 I know one of the twelve, a man who worships wealth, and for a sum
I think that he will lead the way to where the man is wont to pray.
21 And then Caiaphas said, If you will lead the way and bribe the man
of whom you speak, to aid in seizing Jesus in a secret place, then we
will give to you a hundred silver pieces for your hire.
22 And Ananias said, ’Tis well.
23 And then he went to Bethany and found the twelve at Simon’s house,
and calling Judas to the side he said,
24 If you would care to make a sum of money for yourself hear me:
25 The high priest and the other rulers in Jerusalem would like to
talk with Jesus when alone, that they may know about his claims;
26 And if he proves himself to be the Christ, lo, they will stand in
his defense.
27 Now, if you will but lead the way to where your master is tomorrow
night that they may send a priest to talk with him alone, there is a
sum of silver, thirty pieces, that the priests will give to you.
28 And Judas reasoned with himself; he said, It surely may be well to
give the Lord a chance to tell the priests about his claims when he is
all alone.
29 And if the priests would do him harm he has the power to disappear
and go his way as he has done before; and thirty pieces is a goodly
sum.
30 And so he said to Ananias, I will lead the way, and by a kiss make
known which person is the Lord.
CHAPTER 160.
_Jesus and the twelve eat the passover alone in Nicodemus’
house. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. Judas leaves the
table and goes forth to betray the Lord. Jesus teaches the
eleven. He institutes the Lord’s supper._
On Thursday morning Jesus called to him the twelve disciples, and
he said to them, This is God’s remembrance day, and we will eat the
pascal supper all alone.
2 And then he said to Peter, James and John, Go now into Jerusalem and
there prepare the pasch.
3 And the disciples said, Where would you have us go to find the place
where we may have the feast prepared?
4 And Jesus said, Go by the fountain gate and you will see a man who
has a pitcher in his hand. Speak unto him and say: This is the first
day of unleavened bread;
5 The Lord would have you set apart your banquet hall where he may eat
his last passover with the twelve.
6 Fear not to speak; the man whom you will see is Nicodemus, a ruler
of the Jews, and yet a man of God.
7 And the disciples went and found the man as Jesus said, and
Nicodemus hastened to his home; the banquet hall, an upper room, was
set apart, the supper was prepared.
8 Now, in the afternoon the Lord and his disciples went up to
Jerusalem and found the feast in readiness.
9 And when the hour had come to eat the feast, the twelve began to
strive among themselves, each anxious to secure the honored seats.
10 And Jesus said, My friends, would you contend for self just as the
shadows of this night of gloom comes on?
11 There is no honored seat at heaven’s feast except for him who
humbly takes the lowest seat.
12 And then the Lord arose and took a basin full of water and a towel,
and bowing down, he washed the feet of all the twelve and dried them
with the towel.
13 He breathed upon them and he said, And may these feet walk in the
ways of righteousness forevermore.
14 He came to Peter and was about to wash his feet, and Peter said,
Lord, would you wash my feet?
15 And Jesus said, You do not comprehend the meaning of the thing I
do, but you will comprehend.
16 And Peter said, My master, no, you shall not stoop to wash my feet.
17 And Jesus said, My friend, if I wash not your feet you have no part
with me.
18 And Peter said, Then, O my Lord, wash both my feet, my hands, my
head.
19 And Jesus said to him, He who has taken first his bath is clean,
and has no need to wash, except his feet.
20 The feet are truly symbols of the understanding of the man, and he
who would be clean must, in the living stream of life, wash well his
understanding every day.
21 Then Jesus sat with his disciples at the table of the feast and
said, Behold the lesson of the hour:
22 You call me master; such I am. If, then, your Lord and master kneel
and wash your feet, should you not wash each other’s feet and thus
show forth your willingness to serve?
23 You know these things, and if you do them, blessed thrice are you.
24 And then he said, This is an hour when I can truly praise the name
of God, for I have greatly wished to eat with you this feast before I
pass the veil;
25 For I will eat it not again until anew I eat it with you in the
kingdom of our Father-God.
26 And then they sung the Hebrew song of praise that Jews were wont to
sing before the feast.
27 And then they ate the pasch and as they ate, the master said,
Behold, for one of you will turn away this night and will betray me
into wicked hands.
28 And the disciples were amazed at what he said; they looked into
each other’s face in wonderment; they all exclaimed, Lord, is it I?
29 And Peter said to John, who sat beside the Lord, To whom does he
refer?
30 And John put forth his hand and touched the master’s hand and said,
Which one of us is so depraved as to betray his Lord?
31 And Judas said, Lord, is it I?
32 And Jesus said, He is the one who now has put his hand with mine
into the dish. They looked, and Judas’ hand was with the hand of Jesus
in the dish.
33 And Jesus said, The prophets cannot fail; the son of man must be
betrayed, but woe to him who shall betray his Lord.
34 And from the table Judas rose at once; his hour had come.
35 And Jesus said to him, Do quickly what you are to do. And Judas
went his way.
36 And when the pasch was done the Lord with the eleven sat a while in
silent thought.
37 Then Jesus took a loaf of bread that had been broken not and said,
This loaf is symbol of my body, and the bread is symbol of the bread
of life;
38 And as I break this loaf, so shall my flesh be broken as a pattern
for the sons of men; for men must freely give their bodies up in
willing sacrifice for other men.
39 And as you eat this bread, so shall you eat the bread of life, and
never die. And then he gave to each a piece of bread to eat.
40 And then he took a cup of wine and said, Blood is the life; this is
the life-blood of the grape; it is the symbol of the life of him who
gives his life for men.
41 And as you drink this wine, if you shall drink in faith, you drink
the life of Christ.
42 And then he supped and passed the cup, and the disciples supped;
and Jesus said, This is the feast of life, the great passover of the
son of man, the Supper of the Lord, and you shall often eat the bread
and drink the wine.
43 From henceforth shall this bread be called Remembrance bread; this
wine shall be Remembrance wine; and when you eat this bread and drink
this wine remember me.
CHAPTER 161.
_Jesus teaches the eleven. Tells them that they will all be
estranged from him, and that Peter will deny him thrice
before the morning. He speaks final words of encouragement.
Promises the Comforter._
Now, after Judas had gone forth to meet the emissaries of the priests
and to betray his Lord,
2 The master said, The hour has come, the son of man will now be
glorified.
3 My little children, I am with you yet a little while; soon you will
seek me and will find me not, for where I go you cannot come.
4 I give to you a new command: As I love you and give my life for you,
so shall you love the world, and give your life to save the world.
5 Love one another as you love yourselves, and then the world will
know that you are sons of God, disciples of the son of man whom God
has glorified.
6 And Peter said, Lord, where you go there I will go, for I would lay
my life down for my Lord.
7 And Jesus said, Boast not of bravery, my friend; you are not strong
enough tonight to follow me.
8 Now, Peter, hear! you will deny me thrice before the cock shall crow
tomorrow morn.
9 And then he looked upon the eleven and said, You all will be
estranged from me this night.
10 The prophet said, Lo, he will smite the shepherd of the sheep; the
sheep will flee and hide away.
11 But after I am risen from the dead, lo, you will come again, and I
will go before you into Galilee.
12 And Peter said, My Lord, though every other man forsake you I will
not.
13 And Jesus said, O Simon Peter, lo, your zeal is greater than your
fortitude! Behold, for Satan cometh up to sift you as a pan of wheat,
but I have prayed that in your faith you shall not fail; that after
trial you may stand a tower of strength.
14 And the disciples all exclaimed, There is no power on earth that
can estrange, or cause us to deny our Lord.
15 And Jesus said, Let not your hearts be sad; you all believe in God;
believe in me.
16 Behold, for there are many mansions in my Fatherland. If there were
not I would have told you so.
17 I go unto my Fatherland, and will prepare a place for you that
where I am there you may be. But now you do not know the way unto my
Fatherland.
18 And Thomas said, We do not know where you intend to go; how could
we know the way?
19 And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life; I manifest the
Christ of God. No man can reach my Fatherland except he comes with me
through Christ.
20 If you had known and comprehended me, then you would know my
Father-God.
21 And Philip said, Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.
22 And Jesus said, Have I been with you all these years and still you
know me not?
23 He who has seen the son has seen the Father, for in the son the
Father has revealed himself.
24 Lo, I have told you many times that what I speak and what I do are
not the words and works of man;
25 They are the words and works of God, who lives in me and I in him.
26 Hear me, you faithful men: He who believes in me and in my
Father-God shall say and do what I have said and done.
27 Yea, more, he shall do greater works than I have ever done, because
I go to him whose works we do, and then I can reach forth my hand in
helpfulness.
28 And in my name, through Christ, you may petition God and he will
grant you your request.
29 Do you believe what I have said? Yes, you believe, and if you love
the Christ and follow me then you will keep my words.
30 I am the vine; you are the branches of the vine; my Father is the
husbandman,
31 The branches that are worthless, bearing naught but leaves, the
husbandman will cut away and cast into the fire to be burned.
32 And he will prune the branches that bear fruit that they may yield
abundantly.
33 The branch cannot bear fruit if separated from the vine; and you
cannot bear fruit when separate from me.
34 Abide in me, and do the works that God, through me, has taught you
how to do, and you will bear much fruit, and God will honor you as he
has honored me.
35 And now I go my way, but I will pray my Father-God and he will send
another Comforter to you, who will abide with you.
36 Behold, this Comforter of God, the Holy Breath, is one with God,
but she is one the world cannot receive because it sees her not; it
knows her not.
37 But you know her, and will know her, because she will abide within
your soul.
38 I will not leave you desolate, but in the Christ, which is the love
of God made manifest to men, I will be with you all the way.
CHAPTER 162.
_Jesus reveals more fully the mission of the Holy Breath. Tells
his disciples plainly that he is about to die, and they are
sad. He prays for them and all the world of believers. They
leave the banquet hall._
Now, John was deeply grieved because the master said, I go away, and
where I go you cannot come.
2 He wept and said, Lord, I would go with you through every trial and
to death.
3 And Jesus said, And you shall follow me through trials and through
death; but now you cannot go where I will go; but you shall come.
4 And Jesus spoke again unto the eleven and said, Grieve not because
I go away, for it is best that I should go away. If I go not the
Comforter will not come to you.
5 These things I speak while with you in the flesh, but when the Holy
Breath shall come in power, lo, she will teach you more and more, and
bring to your remembrance all the words that I have said to you.
6 There are a multitude of things yet to be said; things that this age
cannot receive, because it cannot comprehend.
7 But, lo, I say, Before the great day of the Lord shall come, the
Holy Breath will make all mysteries known--
8 The mysteries of the soul, of life, of death, of immortality; the
oneness of a man with every other man and with his God.
9 Then will the world be led to truth, and man will be the truth.
10 When she has come, the Comforter, she will convince the world of
sin, and of the truth of what I speak, and of the rightness of the
judgment of the just; and then the prince of carnal life will be cast
out.
11 And when the Comforter shall come I need not intercede for you; for
you will stand approved, and God will know you then as he knows me.
12 The hour has come when you will weep; the wicked will rejoice,
because I go away; but I will come again, and all your sorrows shall
be turned to joy;
13 Yea, verily, you will rejoice as one who welcomes back a brother
from the dead.
14 And the disciples said, Our Lord, speak not in proverbs any more;
speak plainly unto us; we know that you are wise and know all things.
15 What is the meaning of your words, I go away, but I will come again?
16 And Jesus said, The hour is come when you will all be scattered
forth, and every man will be afraid;
17 Will flee to save his life and leave me all alone; yet I will not
be all alone; my Father-God is with me all the way.
18 And wicked men will take me to the judgment seat of wicked men, and
in the presence of the multitudes I will give up my life, a pattern
for the sons of men.
19 But I will rise again and come to you.
20 These things I speak that you may be established in the faith when
they shall come to pass.
21 And you shall bear the buffetings of men, and follow in the thorny
path I tread.
22 Be not dismayed; be of good cheer. Lo, I have overcome the world,
and you shall overcome the world.
23 Then Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, My Father-God,
the hour has come;
24 The son of man must now be lifted from the earth, and may he falter
not, that all the world may know the power of sacrifice;
25 For as I give my life for men, lo, men must give their lives for
other men.
26 I came to do thy will, O God, and in the sacred name, the Christ is
glorified, that men may see the Christ as life, as light, as love, as
truth,
27 And through the Christ become themselves the life, the light, the
love, the truth.
28 I praise thy name because of these whom thou hast given me, for
they have honored thee and they will honor thee;
29 And none of them are lost, and none are gone away, except the
blinded son of carnal life, who hath gone forth to sell his Lord.
30 O God, forgive this man, because he knows not what he does.
31 And now, O God, I come to thee, and am no more in mortal life; keep
thou these men to whom I have made known thy wisdom and thy love.
32 As they believe in me, and in the words I speak, may all the world
believe in them and in the words they speak.
33 As thou hast sent me forth into the world, so I have sent them
forth. I pray that thou wouldst honor them as thou hast honored me.
34 I do not pray that thou wouldst take them from the world, but that
they may be guarded from the evil of the world, and not be subject to
temptations that are too great for them to bear.
35 They once were of the world, but now are of the world no more, as I
am of the world no more.
36 Thy word is truth, O God, and by thy word let them be sanctified.
37 I do not pray for these alone, O God; I also pray for all who will
believe on me, and will accept the Christ because of what they do and
say, that they may all be one.
38 As I am one with thee, and thou art one with me, may they be one
with us,
39 That all the world may know that thou hast sent me forth to do thy
will, and that thou lovest them as thou hast ever loved me.
40 When Jesus had thus said, they sung the Jewish song of praise, and
then arose and went their way.
CHAPTER 163.
_Jesus visits Pilate, who urges him to flee from the country to
save his life. Jesus refuses to do so. He meets his disciples
in Massalian’s orchard. The scene in Gethsemane. The Jewish
mob led by Judas appears._
As Jesus and the eleven went out, a Roman guard approached and said,
All hail! Is one of you the man from Galilee?
2 And Peter said, We all are men from Galilee; whom do you seek?
3 The guard replied, I seek for Jesus, who is called the Christ.
4 And Jesus answered, Here am I.
5 The guard spoke out and said, I do not come in an official way; I
bear to you a message from the governor.
6 Jerusalem is all alive with vengeful Jews who swear that they will
take your life, and Pilate would confer with you, and he would have
you come to him without delay.
7 And Jesus said to Peter and the rest, Go to the vale, and by the
Kidron wait for me, and I will go alone and see the governor.
8 And Jesus went up with the guard, and when he reached the palace,
Pilate met him at the gate and said,
9 Young man, I have a word to say that may be well for you. I have
observed your works and words three years and more;
10 And I have often stood in your defense when your own countrymen
would fain have stoned you as a criminal.
11 But now the priests, the scribes and Pharisees have stirred the
common people to a stage of frenzied wantonness and cruelty, and they
intend to take your life,
12 Because, they say, that you have sworn to tear their temple down;
to change the laws that Moses gave; to exile Pharisee and priest and
seat yourself upon a throne.
13 And they aver that you are full in league with Rome.
14 The streets of all Jerusalem are filled this moment with a horde of
madmen all intent to shed your blood.
15 There is no safety for you but in flight; wait not until the
morning sun. You know the way to reach the border of this cursed land.
16 I have a little band of guards, well horsed and armed, and they
will take you out beyond the reach of harm.
17 You must not tarry here, young man, you must arise and go.
18 And Jesus said, A noble prince has Cæsar in his Pilate Pontius, and
from the point of carnal man your words are seasoned with the wise
man’s salt; but from the point of Christ your words are foolishness.
19 The coward flees when danger comes; but he who comes to seek and
save the lost must give his life in willing sacrifice for those he
comes to seek and save.
20 Before the pasch has been consumed, lo, all this nation will be
cursed by shedding blood of innocence; and even now the murderers are
at the door.
21 And Pilate said, It shall not be; the sword of Rome will be
unsheathed to save your life.
22 And Jesus said, Nay, Pilate, nay; there are no armies large enough
in all the world to save my life.
23 And Jesus bade the governor farewell, and went his way; but Pilate
sent a double guard with him lest he should fall into the hands of
those who were alert to take his life.
24 But in a moment Jesus disappeared; the guards saw him no more, and
in a little while he reached the brook of Kidron where the eleven were.
25 Now, just beyond the brook there was an orchard and a home where
one, Massalian, lived, where Jesus oft had been.
26 Massalian was his friend, and he believed that Jesus was the Christ
that Jewish prophets long ago had said would come.
27 Now, in the orchard was a sacred knoll; Massalian called the place
Gethsemane.
28 The night was dark, but in the orchard it was doubly dark and Jesus
bade the eight disciples tarry by the brook,
29 While he, with Peter, James and John went to Gethsemane to pray.
30 They sat beneath an olive tree, and Jesus opened up the mysteries
of life to Peter, James and John. He said,
31 The Spirit of eternity is One unmanifest; and this is God the
Father, God the Mother, God the Son in One.
32 In life of manifests the One became the Three, and God the Father
is the God of might; and God the Mother is omniscient God, and God the
Son is love.
33 And God the Father is the power of heaven and earth; and God the
Mother is the Holy Breath, the thought of heaven and earth; and God
the Son, the only son, is Christ, and Christ is love.
34 I came as man to manifest this love to men,
35 As man I have been subject unto all the trials and temptations of
the human race; but I have overcome the flesh, with all its passions
and its appetites.
36 What I have done all men can do.
37 And I am now about to demonstrate the power of man to conquer
death; for every man is God made flesh.
38 I will lay down my life, and I will take it up again, that you may
know the mysteries of life, of death, and of the resurrection of the
dead.
39 I lay me down in flesh, but I will rise in spirit form with power
to manifest myself so mortal eyes can see.
40 So in a trinity of days I will show forth the all of life, the all
of death, the meaning of the resurrection of the dead.
41 And what I do all men can do.
42 And you, my three, who constitute the inner circle of the Church of
Christ, will show to men the attributes of all the Gods.
43 And Peter shall make known the Power of God; and James shall show
the Thought of God; and John shall demonstrate the Love of God.
44 Be not afraid of men, for you have been sent forth to do the mighty
works of God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son.
45 And all the powers of carnal life cannot destroy your life until
your work is done.
46 I leave you now, and I will go out in the darkness all alone and
talk with God.
47 By sorrow I am overwhelmed. I leave you here to watch with me.
48 Then Jesus went three hundred cubits toward the east, and fell upon
his face and prayed; he said,
49 My God! my God! is there a way by which I may escape the horrors of
the coming hours? My human flesh shrinks back; my soul is firm; so not
my will, but thine, O God, be done.
50 In agony he prayed; the strain upon the human form was great; his
veins were burst asunder, and his brow was bathed in blood.
51 And then he went back to the three, and found them all asleep; he
said,
52 O Simon, Simon, do you sleep! Could you not watch with me a single
hour? Be vigilant, and watch and pray that your temptations be not too
great for you to bear.
53 I know the spirit is alert and willing; but the flesh is weak.
54 And then he went again and prayed, O Father, God! if I must drink
this bitter cup, give me the strength of body, as I have the strength
of soul; for not my will, but thine be done.
55 And when he went again to his disciples; lo, he found them still
asleep. He wakened them and said to James,
56 Have you been sleeping while your master has been wrestling with
the greatest foe of men? Could you not watch with me a single hour?
57 And then he went again and prayed. O God, I yield to thee; thy will
be done.
58 And then again he went back to the three, and still they slept. He
said to John,
59 With all the love you have for me, could you not watch with me a
single hour?
60 And then he said, It is enough; the hour has come, and my betrayer
is at hand; arise and let us go.
61 And when they came again to Kidron, lo, the eight disciples were
asleep, and Jesus said, You men, awake; behold, for the betrayer of
the son of man is come.
CHAPTER 164.
_Judas betrays his Lord with a kiss. Jesus is seized by the mob
and the disciples flee to save their lives. Jesus is taken
unto Jerusalem. Peter and John follow the mob._
The Lord with the eleven were in the orchard of Massalian, and as they
talked they saw a band of men with lanterns and with swords and clubs
approaching them.
2 And Jesus said, Behold the emissaries of the evil one! and Judas
leads the way.
3 And the disciples said, Lord, let us flee to save our lives.
4 But Jesus said, Why should we flee to save our lives when this is
the fulfillment of the words of prophets and of seers?
5 And Jesus went alone to meet the men; and as they came he said, Why
are you here, you men? whom do you seek?
6 And they replied, We seek the man from Galilee. We seek for Jesus,
one who calls himself the Christ.
7 And Jesus answered, Here am I.
8 And then he raised his hands and with a mighty thought he brought
the ethers to the state of light; and all the orchard was aglow with
light.
9 The frenzied men were driven back and many fled and tarried not
until they reached Jerusalem; and others fell upon their faces on the
ground.
10 The bravest men, and they with hardest hearts, remained, and when
the light had paled, the Lord again inquired, Whom do you seek?
11 And Ananias said, We seek the man from Galilee; we seek for Jesus,
he who calls himself the Christ.
12 And Jesus answered him and said, I told you once before; but now I
tell you once again that I am he.
13 By Ananias, Judas stood; but in a moment he had gone and coming up
behind the Lord he said, My Lord; and then he kissed him as a sign
that he was Jesus whom they sought.
14 And Jesus said, Do you, Iscariot, come and thus betray your master
with a kiss?
15 This thing must need be done; but woe to him who does betray his
Lord.
16 Your carnal greed has seared your conscience and you know not what
you do; but in a little time your conscience will assert itself, and
in remorse, lo, you will close your span and take your life.
17 Then the eleven came, laid hold of Judas and would have done him
harm; but Jesus said,
18 You must not harm this man; you have no right to judge this man;
his conscience is his judge, will sentence him and he will execute
himself.
19 And then the mob led on by Malchus, servant of Caiaphas, laid hold
of Jesus, and was binding him with chains.
20 And Jesus said, Why do you come in dead of night with swords and
clubs to take me in this sacred place?
21 Have I not spoken in the public places of Jerusalem? Have I not
healed your sick, and opened up your blinded eyes, and made your lame
to walk, your deaf to hear? You could have found me any day.
22 And now you try to bind me down with chains; what are these chains
but links of reeds? And then he raised his hands; the chains were
broken and they fell to earth.
23 And Malchus thought the Lord would flee to save his life, and with
a club he fain would smite him in the face.
24 But Peter had a sword, and rushing up he smote the man and wounded
him.
25 But Jesus said, Stay, Peter, stay; put up your sword; you are not
called to fight with swords and clubs. Whoever wields the sword shall
perish by the sword.
26 I do not need protection by the sons of men, for I could call this
moment and a legion, yea, twelve legions of the messengers of God,
would come and stand in my defense; but then it is not well.
27 And then he said to Malchus, Man, I would not have you harmed.
And then he laid his hand upon the wound that Peter made, and it was
healed.
28 Then Jesus said, Be not concerned lest I should tear myself away
from you and flee to save my life. I have no wish to save my life; do
with me as you wish.
29 And then the mob rushed up to seize the eleven to take them back to
stand for trial as the aids of Jesus in his crimes.
30 But the disciples, every one of them, deserted Jesus, and they fled
to save their lives.
31 Now, John was last to flee; the mob laid hold of him and tore his
garments all to shreds; but he escaped in nakedness.
32 Massalian saw the man, and took him to his home and gave him other
clothes; and then he followed after them who led the Lord away.
33 And Peter was ashamed because of his weak cowardice, and when he
was himself again he joined with John and followed close behind the
mob, and came into Jerusalem.
SECTION XIX.
KOPH.
_The Trial and Execution of Jesus._
CHAPTER 165.
_Jesus before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Lord thrice. The
indictment, signed by seven ruling Jews. A hundred perjured
witnesses testify to the truth of the charges._
Caiaphas was the high priest of the Jews; the mob led Jesus to his
palace hall.
2 The court had been convened, and all the galleries were packed with
scribes and Pharisees already sworn as witnesses against the Lord.
3 The maid who kept the palace door knew John, and this disciple asked
that he and Peter be admitted to the hall.
4 The maid permitted them to enter in, and John went in; but Peter was
afraid and tarried in the outer court.
5 The woman said to Peter, as he stood beside the door, Are you a
follower of this man from Galilee?
6 And Peter said, No, I am not.
7 The men who had brought Jesus to the hall sat by a fire in the outer
court, because the night was cool, and Peter sat with them.
8 Another maid who waited in the place saw Peter and she said to him,
You surely are from Galilee; your speech is that of Galilee; you are a
follower of this man.
9 And Peter said, I know not what you mean; I do not even know this
man.
10 And then a servant of Caiaphas, one of those who seized the Lord
and brought him to the court, saw Peter and he said to him,
11 Did I not see you in the orchard of Massalian with this seditious
Nazarene? I’m sure I did, and you are one of those who followed him.
12 Then Peter rose and stamped upon the floor, and swore by every
sacred thing, that he knew not the criminal.
13 Now, John was standing near and when he heard the words and knew
that Peter had denied his Lord, he looked at him in sheer astonishment.
14 Just then a cock crew loud beneath the court, and Peter called to
mind the words the Lord had said,
15 Before the cock shall crow tomorrow morn you will deny me thrice.
16 And Peter’s conscience smote him heavily, and he went out into the
night and wept.
17 Caiaphas sat in state; before him stood the man from Galilee.
18 Caiaphas said, You people of Jerusalem, who is the man that you
accuse?
19 They answered: In the name of every loyal Jew we do accuse this man
from Galilee, this Jesus, who assumes to be our king, as enemy of God
and man.
20 Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, you are permitted now to speak and
tell about your doctrines and your claims.
21 And Jesus said, You priest of carnal man, why do you ask about my
words and works?
22 Lo, I have taught the multitudes in every public place; I have
restored your sick to health: have opened up your blinded eyes; have
caused your deaf to hear, your lame to walk, and I have brought your
dead to life again.
23 My works have not been done in secret place but in your public
halls and thoroughfares.
24 Go ask the people, who have not been bought with gold or glittering
promises, to tell about my words and works.
25 When Jesus had thus said a Jewish guard came up and smote him in
the face and said, How dare you speak thus unto him, the high priest
of the Jews?
26 And Jesus said, If I have spoken falsely bear witness unto what I
say; if I have told the truth why did you smite me thus?
27 And then Caiaphas said, What’er you do, do in a legal way, for we
must answer to a higher court for everything we do or say.
28 Let the accusers of this man present their charges in a legal form.
29 And then Caiaphas’ scribe stood forth and said, I have the
accusations here in legal form; the charges made and signed by scribes
and priests and Pharisees.
30 Caiaphas said, Be still, you men, and hear the charges read. The
scribe took up a roll and read:
31 To the Sanhedrim of the Jews and to Caiaphas the high priest, most
honored men:
32 The highest duty man can render to his nation and his own is to
protect them from their foes.
33 The people of Jerusalem are conscious that a mighty foe is in their
very midst.
34 A man named Jesus has come forth and claims to be the heir to
David’s throne.
35 As an impostor he is foe, and in the name of every loyal Jew we
here submit these charges, which we are competent to prove:
36 And first, he blasphemes God; he says he is the son of God; that he
and God are one;
37 And he profanes our holy days by healing, and by doing other work
upon the Sabbath days;
38 And he proclaims himself the king, successor of our David and our
Solomon;
39 And he declares that he will tear our temple down and build it up
again in form more glorious in three days;
40 And he declares that he will drive the people from Jerusalem, as he
drove out the merchants from the temple court; and bring to occupy our
sacred hills a tribe of men that know not God;
41 And he avers that every doctor, scribe and Pharisee and Sadducee,
shall go in exile, and shall nevermore return;
42 And to these charges we do set our hands and seals.
Annas.
Abinadab.
Joash.
Simon.
Annanias.
Azaniah.
Hezekiah.
43 Now, when the scribe had read the charges, all the people called
for blood; they said, Let such a wretch be stoned; let him be
crucified.
44 Caiaphas said, You men of Israel, do you sustain the charges of
these men?
45 A hundred men who had been bribed, stood forth to testify; they
swore that every charge was true.
46 Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, have you a word to say? are you the
son of God?
47 And Jesus said, So you have said; and then he said no more.
CHAPTER 166.
_Jesus before the Sanhedrim. Nicodemus pleads for justice; he
shows the incompetency of the witnesses. The council fail
to declare Jesus guilty, but Caiaphas, the presiding judge,
declares him guilty. The mob maltreat Jesus. He is taken to
Pilate’s court._
When Jesus would not speak, Caiaphas stood before the Jewish mob and
said,
2 Bind fast the prisoner, for he must go before the great Sanhedrim of
the Jews to answer for his life.
3 We cannot execute a criminal until our findings have been verified
by this, the highest council of the Jews.
4 As soon as it was day the highest council of the people met; the
Lord and his accusers stood before the bar.
5 Caiaphas was the chief; he rose and said, Let the accusers of this
man from Galilee bring forth their charges and their evidence.
6 Caiaphas’ scribe stood forth and read the charges and the names of
those who had accused the man from Galilee.
7 And all the witnesses were made to stand and testify before the
council of the Jews.
8 And then the lawyers weighed the evidence, and Nicodemus stood among
the men who plead.
9 He raised his hands and said, Let justice now be done, though every
scribe and Pharisee and priest and Sadducee, as well as Jesus, the
accused, be judged a liar.
10 If we can prove this Jesus to be foe and traitor to our laws and
land, let him be judged a criminal and suffer for his crimes.
11 If it be proved that these who testify are perjurers in the sight
of God and man, then let them be adjudged as criminals, and let the
man from Galilee go free.
12 And then he brought the testimonies of the witnesses before the
judges of the law; no two of them agreed. In heat of passion, or for
gain, the men had testified.
13 The council would have gladly judged that Jesus was a criminal and
sentence him to death; but in the face of all the evidence they were
afraid.
14 And then Caiaphas said, You man from Galilee, Before the living
God, I now command that you shall answer me, Are you the Christ, the
son of God?
15 And Jesus said, If I would answer, Yes, you would not hear, nor yet
believe,
16 If I would answer, No, I would be like your witnesses, and stand a
liar in the sight of man and God. But this I say,
17 The time will come when you will see the son of man upon the throne
of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
18 And then Caiaphas rent his clothes and said, Have you not heard
enough? Did you not hear his vile blasphemous words? What further need
have we of witnesses? What shall we do with him?
19 The people said, Put him to death. And then the mob rushed up and
spit into his face, and struck him with their hands.
20 And then they bound a cloth about his eyes and smote him in the
face and said, You are a prophet; tell us who it was who smote you in
the face.
21 And Jesus answered not and like a lamb before his shearer he, the
man from Galilee, resisted not.
22 Caiaphas said, We cannot put a man to death until the Roman ruler
shall confirm the sentence of this court;
23 So take this criminal away and Pilate will endorse what we have
done.
24 And then was Jesus dragged along the way up to the palace of the
Roman governor.
CHAPTER 167.
_Jesus before Pilate. Is pronounced not guilty. Jesus before
Herod and is tortured and returned to Pilate, who again
declares him innocent. The Jews demand his death. Pilate’s
wife urges her husband to have nothing to do with the
punishment of Jesus. Pilate weeps._
Into the palace of the Roman governor the Jews would enter not lest
they become defiled and be unworthy to attend the feast; but they led
Jesus to the palace court, and Pilate met them there.
2 And Pilate said, Why this commotion in the early day? What is your
prayer?
3 The Jews replied, We bring before you one, an evil and seditious man.
4 He has been tried before the highest council of the Jews and has
been proven traitor to our laws, our state and to the government of
Rome.
5 We pray that you will sentence him to death upon the cross.
6 And Pilate said, Why do you bring him unto me? Go to, and judge him
for yourselves.
7 You have a law, and by the sanction of the Roman law, you have a
right to judge and right to execute.
8 The Jews replied, We have no right to execute a man upon the cross,
and since this man is traitor to Tiberius, our counsellors believe
that he should meet the most humiliating death--the death upon the
cross.
9 But Pilate said, No man can be found guilty of a crime by Roman law
until the testimony all is in, and the accused has been permitted to
defend himself;
10 So I will take your bill of charges, with the evidence you have,
and judge by Roman law.
11 The Jews had made a copy of the accusations in the language of the
Roman court, and they had added to the bill:
12 We charge that Jesus is an enemy of Rome; that he demands that men
shall pay no tribute to Tiberius.
13 And Pilate took the bill; his guards led Jesus up the steps into
the palace hall.
14 And Jesus stood before the Roman governor, and Pilate read to him
the charges of the Jews, and said,
15 What is your answer to this bill? These charges, are they true or
false?
16 And Jesus said, Why should I plead before an earthly court? The
charges have been verified by perjured men; what need I say?
17 Yes, I am king; but carnal men cannot behold the king, nor see the
kingdom of the God; it is within.
18 If I had been a king as carnal man is king, my servants would have
stood in my defense, and I would not have willingly surrendered to the
minions of the Jewish law.
19 I have no testimony from the sons of men. God is my witness, and my
words and deeds bear witness to the truth;
20 And every man who comprehends the truth will hearken to my words,
and in his soul give witness unto me.
21 And Pilate said, What is the truth?
22 And Jesus said, Truth is the God who knows. It is the changeless
one. The Holy Breath is truth; she changes not and cannot pass away.
23 And Pilate went again unto the Jews and said, This man is guilty of
no crime; I cannot sentence him to death.
24 And then the Jews grew boisterous; they cried aloud and said, Our
council surely knows. The wisest men of all the land have found him
guilty of a score of crimes.
25 He would pervert the nation of the Jews; would overthrow the Roman
rule and make himself the king. He is a culprit come from Galilee; he
must be crucified.
26 And Pilate said, If Jesus is from Galilee he is a subject of the
governor of Galilee, who should be judge.
27 Now, Herod had come down from Galilee and with his suite was in
Jerusalem.
28 And Pilate sent to him the Lord in chains; he also sent a copy of
the charges, and of the testimonies of the Jews, and asked that he
would pass in judgment on the case.
29 And Herod said, I have heard much about this man and I am pleased
to see him in my court.
30 And then he asked the Lord about his claims, about his doctrines
and his aims.
31 And Jesus answered not a word; and Herod was enraged; he said, Do
you insult the ruler of the land by answering not?
32 And then he called his guards and said, Take you this man and
torture him until he answers me.
33 The guards took Jesus and they smote him; mocked him; wrapped him
in a royal robe; they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head;
they put a broken reed into his hands;
34 And then they said deridingly, All hail, thou royal king! Where are
your armies and your guards? Where are your subjects and your friends?
35 But Jesus answered not a word. Then Herod sent him back to Pilate
with this note of courtesy:
36 Most worthy counsellor of Rome, I have examined all the charges and
the testimonies that you sent to me regarding this seditious man from
Galilee, and while I might adjudge him guilty of the crimes as charged,
37 I yield to you my rights as judge, because you are superior to me
in power. I will approve of any judgment you may render in this case.
38 Now, Pilate and the tetrarch had been foes, but the experience of
this hour destroyed their enmity and they were friends in after days.
39 When Jesus had been brought again to Pilate’s court, the Roman
governor stood forth before the accusers of the Lord and said,
40 I cannot find this Nazarene to be a criminal as charged; there is
no evidence that he should suffer death; so I will scourge him well
and let him go.
41 The Jews cried angrily, It is not mete that such a dangerous man
should live; he must be crucified.
42 Then Pilate said, I bid you wait a little time. And then he went
into an inner room and sat in silent thought.
43 And as he mused his wife, a godly woman, chosen from among the
Gauls, came in and said,
44 I pray you, Pilate, hearken unto me: Beware of what you do this
hour. Touch not this man from Galilee; he is a holy man.
45 If you should scourge this man you scourge the son of God. Last
night I saw it all in vision far too vivid to be set aside as idle
dream.
46 I saw this man walk on the waters of the sea; I heard him speak and
calm an angry storm; I saw him flying with the wings of light;
47 I saw Jerusalem in blood; I saw the statues of the Cæsars fall; I
saw a veil before the sun, and day was dark as night.
48 The earth on which I stood was shaken like a reed before the wind.
I tell you, Pilate, if you bathe your hands in this man’s blood then
you may dread the frowns of great Tiberius, and the curses of the
senators of Rome.
49 And then she left, and Pilate wept.
CHAPTER 168.
_Pilate’s final effort to release Jesus fails. He washes his
hands in feigned innocence. Delivers Jesus to the Jews for
execution. The Jewish soldiers drive him to Calvary._
A superstitious people are the Jews. They have a faith that they have
borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands, that at the end of
every year,
2 They may heap all their sins upon the head of some man set apart to
bear their sins.
3 The man becomes a scapegoat for the multitudes; and they believe
that when they drive him forth into the wilds, or into foreign lands,
they are released from sin.
4 So every spring before the feast they chose a prisoner from the
prisons of the land, and by a form their own, they fain would make him
bear their sins away.
5 Among the Jewish prisoners in Jerusalem were three who were the
leaders of a vile, seditious band, who had engaged in thefts and
murders and rapine, and had been sentenced to be crucified.
6 Barabbas bar Jezia was among the men who were to die; but he was
rich and he had bought of priests the boon to be the scapegoat for the
people at the coming feast, and he was anxiously in waiting for his
hour to come.
7 Now, Pilate thought to turn this superstition to account to save the
Lord, and so he went again before the Jews and said,
8 You men of Israel, according to my custom I will release to you
today a prisoner who shall bear your sins away.
9 This man you drive into the wilds or into foreign lands, and you
have asked me to release Barabbas, who has been proven guilty of the
murder of a score of men.
10 Now, hear me men, Let Jesus be released and let Barabbas pay his
debt upon the cross; then you can send this Jesus to the wilds and
hear no more of him.
11 At what the ruler said the people were enraged, and they began to
plot to tear the Roman palace down and drive in exile Pilate, and his
household and his guards.
12 When Pilate was assured that civil war would follow if he heeded
not the wishes of the mob, he took a bowl of water and in the
presence of the multitude he washed his hands and said,
13 This man whom you accuse, is son of the most holy Gods, and I
proclaim my innocence.
14 If you would shed his blood, his blood is on your hands and not on
mine.
15 And then the Jews exclaimed, And let his blood be on our hands and
on our children’s hands.
16 And Pilate trembled like a leaf, in fear. Barabbas he released and
as the Lord stood forth before the mob the ruler said, Behold your
king! And would you put to death your king?
17 The Jews replied, He is no king; we have no king but great Tiberius.
18 Now, Pilate would not give consent that Roman soldiers should
imbue their hands in blood of innocence, and so the chief priests and
the Pharisees took counsel what to do with Jesus, who was called the
Christ.
19 Caiaphas said, We cannot crucify this man; he must be stoned to
death and nothing more.
20 And then the rabble said, Make haste! let him be stoned. And then
they led him forth toward the hill beyond the city’s gates, where
criminals were put to death.
21 The rabble could not wait until they reached the place of skulls.
As soon as they had passed the city’s gate, they rushed upon him,
smote him with their hands, they spit upon him, stoned him and he fell
upon the ground.
22 And one, a man of God, stood forth and said, Isaiah said, He shall
be bruised for our transgressions and by his stripes we shall be
healed.
23 As Jesus lay all bruised and mangled on the ground a Pharisee
called out, Stay, stay you men! behold, the guards of Herod come and
they will crucify this man.
24 And there beside the city’s gate they found Barabbas’ cross; and
then the frenzied mob cried out, Let him be crucified.
25 Caiaphas and the other ruling Jews came forth and gave consent.
26 And then they lifted Jesus from the ground, and at the point of
swords they drove him on.
27 A man named Simon, from Cyrene, a friend of Jesus, was a-near the
scene and since the bruised and wounded Jesus could not bear his
cross, they laid it on the shoulders of this man and made him bear it
on to Calvary.
CHAPTER 169.
_Judas is filled with remorse. Hurries to the temple and throws
the thirty pieces of silver at the feet of the priests who
take it and buy a potter’s field. Judas hangs himself. His
body is buried in the potter’s field._
Now, Judas who betrayed his Lord, was with the mob; but all the time
he thought that Jesus would assert his power and demonstrate the
strength of God that he possessed, and strike to earth the fiendish
multitudes and free himself;
2 But when he saw his master on the ground and bleeding from a score
of wounds, he said,
3 O God, what have I done? I have betrayed the son of God; the curse
of God will rest upon my soul.
4 And then he turned and ran with haste until he reached the temple
door; he found the priests, who gave to him the thirty silver pieces
to betray the Lord, and said,
5 Take back your bribe; it is the cost price of my soul; I have
betrayed the son of God.
6 The priests replied, That matters not to us.
7 Then Judas threw the silver on the floor, and, bowed with grief, he
went away, and on a ledge beyond the city’s walls he hanged himself
and died.
8 In time the fastenings gave way, his body fell into the Hinnon vale
and after many days they found it there a shapeless mass.
9 The rulers could not put the price of blood into the treasury,
and so they took the thirty silver pieces with which they bought a
potter’s field,
10 Where they might bury those who had no rights to lie within their
sacred burial grounds.
11 And there they put the body of the man who sold his Lord.
CHAPTER 170.
_The crucifixion. Jesus prays for his murderers. Pilate puts
an inscription above the cross. Jesus speaks words of
encouragement to the penitent thief. Commits to John the care
of his mother and Miriam. The soldiers divide his garments
among themselves._
The Jewish mob pushed on toward Calvary and as they went the Marys,
Miriam, and other women not a few, were close beside the Lord.
2 They wept aloud. When Jesus saw them weeping and lamenting thus he
said,
3 Weep not for me, for though I go away, go through the gateway of the
cross, yet on the next day of the sun, lift up your hearts, for I will
meet you at the sepulchre.
4 The great procession came to Calvary. The Roman soldiers had already
bound the two state prisoners to the cross.
5 (They were not nailed, but simply bound.)
6 Four soldiers of the Roman guard that Herod brought from Galilee
were called to execute the orders of the court.
7 These were the men who had been set apart to torture Jesus and
secure from him confession of his guilt.
8 These were the men who scourged him, put a crown of thorns upon his
head, a broken reed into his hands, and wrapped him in a royal robe,
and bowed in mockery, before him as a king.
9 These soldiers took the Lord and stripped him, laid him on the cross
and would have bound him there with cords; but this would not suffice.
10 The cruel Jews were near with hammer and with nails; they cried,
not cords, but nails; drive fast the nails and hold him to the cross.
11 And then the soldiers took the nails and drove them through his
feet and hands.
12 They offered him a sedative to drink, a draught of vinegar and
myrrh; but he refused to drink the draught.
13 The soldiers had prepared a place in which to plant Barabbas’ cross
between the other criminals; and here they raised the cross of Jesus,
who was called the Christ;
14 And then the soldiers and the mob sat down to watch him die.
15 And Jesus said, My Father-God, forgive these men; they know not
what they do.
16 Now, Pilate had prepared a tablet to be placed upon the cross on
which was written in the tongues of Hebrew, Latin and the Greek these
words of truth: JESUS THE CHRIST, KING OF THE JEWS.
17 And this was placed upon the cross. The priests were angered when
they read these words upon the tablet of the cross.
18 And then they prayed that Pilate would not say, He is the Christ,
king of the Jews; but say, He claims to be the Christ, king of the
Jews.
19 But Pilate said, What I have written, I have written; let it stand.
20 The Jewish multitudes who saw the Lord upon the cross were wild
with joy; they said, All hail, fake king!
21 You who would tear the temple down and in three days would build it
up again, why don’t you save yourself?
22 If you are Christ, the son of God, come from the cross; then all
men will believe.
23 The priests and scribes and Pharisees looked on the scene and
scoffed; they said, He rescued others from the grave; why don’t he
save himself?
24 The Jewish soldiers and the Roman guards who came from Galilee were
loud in mocking and deriding him.
25 One of the other men upon the cross joined in the mockery; he said,
If you are Christ, you have the power; just speak the Word, and save
yourself and me.
26 The other man upon the cross rebuked the man; he said, You wretch!
have you no fear of God?
27 This man is innocent of any crime while you and I are guilty and
are paying up the debts we owe.
28 And then he said to Jesus, Lord, I know thy kingdom comes, the
kingdom that the world can never comprehend;
29 And when thou comest on the clouds of heaven, remember me.
30 And Jesus said, Behold, for I will meet you in the realm of souls
this day.
31 Now, standing near unto the cross were many women from Judea and
from Galilee. Among them were the mother of the Lord and Miriam,
32 And Mary, mother of the two apostles, James and John, and Mary
Magdalene, and Martha, Ruth and Mary, and Salome.
33 When Jesus saw his mother and the singer Miriam standing close
beside the cross and John a-near, he said to John,
34 In your most tender care I leave my mother and my sister Miriam.
35 And John replied, While they shall live my home shall be the home
of your thrice blessed mother and your sister Miriam.
36 According to a custom of the Jews, to those who were the
executioners of law and took the lives of criminals, belonged the
garments of the criminals.
37 So when the Lord was crucified, the Roman guards divided up among
themselves the garments of the Lord.
38 But when they found his coat it was a seamless coat and highly
prized.
39 For it the guards cast lots, and thus determined who should have
the prize.
40 And thus the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And they divided
all my robes among themselves, and for my vesture they cast lots.
CHAPTER 171.
_Concluding scenes of the crucifixion. Joseph and Nicodemus,
by consent of Pilate, take the body of Jesus from the cross
and lay it in Joseph’s tomb. A guard of one hundred Jewish
soldiers are placed about the sepulcher._
Now, at the sixth hour of the day, although the sun was at its height,
the day became as dark as night;
2 And men sought lanterns and they builded fires upon the hills that
they might see.
3 And when the sun refused to shine and darkness came, the Lord
exclaimed, _Heloi! Heloi! lama sabachthani?_ (Thou sun! thou sun! why
hast thou forsaken me?)
4 The people did not understand the words he spoke; they thought he
spoke the name Elijah and they said,
5 He calls upon Elijah in his hour of need; now we will see if he will
come.
6 And Jesus said, I thirst. A Roman soldier dipped a sponge in vinegar
and myrrh, and placed it to his lips.
7 Now, at the ninth hour of the day the earth began to quake, and in
the darkness of that sunless day, a flood of golden light appeared
above the cross;
8 And from the light a voice was heard which said, Lo, it is done.
9 And Jesus said, My Father-God, into thy hands I give my soul.
10 A Roman soldier in compassion said, This agony is all too great;
relief shall come. And with a spear he pierced his heart and it was
done; the son of man was dead.
11 And then the earth was shocked again; the city of Jerusalem rocked
to and fro; the hills were rent and tombs were opened up;
12 And people thought they saw the dead arise and walk the streets.
13 The temple quivered and the veil between the sanctuary and the Holy
Place was rent in twain, and consternation reigned through all the
place.
14 The Roman guard who watched the body on the cross exclaimed, This
surely was the son of God who died.
15 And then the people hurried down from Calvary. The priests, the
Pharisees and scribes were filled with fear.
16 They sought the cover of their synagogues and homes and said,
Behold, the wrath of God!
17 The great day of the Jewish pasch was near, and Jews could not by
law permit a criminal to hang upon the cross upon the Sabbath day.
18 And so they prayed that Pilate would remove the bodies of the men
that had been crucified.
19 And Pilate sent his guards to Calvary to note if all the men were
dead.
20 And when the guards were gone, two aged Jews came to the palace
door to see the governor, and they were members of the highest council
of the Jews;
21 Yet they believed that Jesus was a prophet sent from God.
22 The one was Rabbi Joseph, the Arimathean counsellor, and he was
just and loved the law of God.
23 And Nicodemus was the other one who came.
24 These men fell down at Pilate’s feet and prayed that they might
take the body of the Nazarene and lay it in a tomb.
25 And Pilate gave consent.
26 Now, Joseph had prepared a costly mixture to embalm the body of
the Lord, about a hundred pounds of aloes and of myrrh, and this they
took and hastened out to Calvary.
27 And when the guards returned they said, The Nazarene is dead; the
malefactors are alive.
28 And Pilate told the guards to go and smite the living men so they
would die, and then to give their bodies to the flames; but give the
body of the Nazarene to rabbis who would call for it.
29 The soldiers did as Pilate said.
30 The rabbis came and took away the body of the Lord and when they
had prepared it with the spices they had bought,
31 They laid it in the new-made tomb that had been made for Joseph in
a solid rock.
32 And then they rolled a stone up to the sepulcher.
33 The priests were fearful lest the friends of Jesus would go forth
at night and take away the body of the Nazarene, and then report that
he had risen from the dead, as he had said;
34 And they requested that the governor would send his soldiers to the
tomb to guard the body of the dead.
35 But Pilate said, I will not send a Roman guard; but you have Jewish
soldiers and may send a hundred men with a centurion to guard the tomb.
36 And then they sent a hundred soldiers out to guard the tomb.
SECTION XX.
RESH.
_The Resurrection of Jesus._
CHAPTER 172.
_Pilate places the Roman seal upon the stone door of the tomb.
At midnight a company of the silent brothers march about the
tomb. The soldiers are alarmed. Jesus preaches to the spirits
in prison. Early Sunday morning he rises from the tomb. The
soldiers are bribed by the priests to say that the disciples
had stolen the body._
The tomb in which they laid the body of the Lord was in a garden, rich
with flowers, the garden of Siloam, and Joseph’s home was near.
2 Before the watch began Caiaphas sent a company of priests out to
the garden of Siloam that they might be assured that Jesus’ body was
within the tomb.
3 They rolled away the stone; they saw the body there, and then they
placed the stone again before the door.
4 And Pilate sent his scribe who placed upon the stone the seal of
Rome, in such a way that he who moved the stone would break the seal.
5 To break this Roman seal meant death to him who broke the seal.
6 The Jewish soldiers all were sworn to faithfulness; and then the
watch began.
7 At midnight all was well, but suddenly the tomb became a blaze
of light, and down the garden walk a troupe of white clad soldiers
marched in single file.
8 They came up to the tomb and marched and countermarched before the
door.
9 The Jewish soldiers were alert; they thought the friends had come to
steal the body of the Nazarene. The captain of the guard cried out to
charge.
10 They charged; but not a white clad soldier fell. They did not even
stop; they marched and countermarched among the frightened men.
11 They stood upon the Roman seal; they did not speak; they unsheathed
not their swords; it was the Silent Brotherhood.
12 The Jewish soldiers fled in fear; they fell upon the ground.
13 They stood apart until the white clad soldiers marched away, and
then the light about the tomb grew dim.
14 Then they returned; the stone was in its place; the seal was not
disturbed, and they resumed their watch.
15 Now, Jesus did not sleep within the tomb. The body is the manifest
of soul; but soul is soul without its manifest.
16 And in the realm of souls, unmanifest, the Lord went forth and
taught.
17 He opened up the prison doors and set the prisoners free;
18 He broke the chains of captive souls, and led the captives to the
light;
19 He sat in council with the patriarchs and prophets of the olden
times;
20 The masters of all times and climes he met, and in the great
assemblies he stood forth and told the story of his life on earth, and
of his death in sacrifice for man,
21 And of his promises to clothe himself again in garb of flesh and
walk with his disciples, just to prove the possibilities of man;
22 To give to them the key of life, of death, and of the resurrection
of the dead.
23 In council all the masters sat and talked about the revelations of
the coming age,
24 When she, the Holy Breath, shall fill the earth and air with holy
breath, and open up the way of man to perfectness and endless life.
25 The garden of Siloam was silent on the Sabbath day; the Jewish
soldiers watched and no one else approached the tomb; but on the
following night the scene was changed.
26 At midnight every Jewish soldier heard a voice which said, _Adon
Mashich Cumi_, which meant, Lord Christ arise.
27 And they supposed again that friends of Jesus were alert, were
coming up to take the body of their Lord away.
28 The soldiers were alert with swords unsheathed and drawn, and then
they heard the words again.
29 It seemed as though the voice was everywhere, and yet they saw no
man.
30 The soldiers blanched with fear, and still to flee meant death for
cowardice, and so they stood and watched.
31 Again, and this was just before the sun arose, the heavens blazed
with light, a distant thunder seemed to herald forth a coming storm;
32 And then the earth began to quake and in the rays of light they saw
a form descend from heaven, They said, Behold an angel comes.
33 And then they heard again, _Adon Mashich Cumi_.
34 And then the white-robed form tramped on the Roman seal, and then
he tore it into shreds; he took the mighty stone in hand as though it
were a pebble from the brook, and cast it to the side.
35 And Jesus opened up his eyes and said, All hail the rising sun! the
coming of the day of righteousness!
36 And then he folded up his burial gown, his head bands and his
coverings and laid them all aside.
37 He rose, and for a moment stood beside the white-robed form.
38 The weaker soldiers fell upon the ground, and hid their faces in
their hands; the stronger stood and watched.
39 They saw the body of the Nazarene transmute; they saw it change
from mortal to immortal form, and then it disappeared.
40 The soldiers heard a voice from somewhere; yea, from everywhere, it
said,
41 Peace, peace on earth; good will to men.
42 They looked, the tomb was empty and the Lord had risen as he said.
43 The soldiers hastened to Jerusalem, and to the priests, and said,
44 Behold, the Nazarene has risen as he said; the tomb is empty and
the body of the man is gone; we know not where it is. And then they
told about the wonders of the night.
45 Caiaphas called a council of the Jews; he said, the news must not
go forth that Jesus has arisen from the dead;
46 For if it does all men will say, He is the son of God, and all our
testimonies will be proven false.
47 And then they called the hundred soldiers in and said to them,
48 You know not where the body of the Nazarene is resting now, so if
you will go forth and say that his disciples came and stole the body
while you slept,
49 Each one of you shall have a silver piece, and we will make it
right with Pilate for the breaking of the Roman seal.
50 The soldiers did as they were paid to do.
SECTION XXI.
SCHIN.
_Materialization of the Spiritual Body of Jesus._
CHAPTER 173.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to his mother, Miriam, Mary
of Magdala and to Peter, James and John._
Now, when the rabbis took the body of the Lord and laid it in the tomb
the mother of the Lord, and Mary Magdalene, and Miriam were there.
2 And when the body was entombed they went to Joseph’s home and there
abode.
3 They did not know that Jewish soldiers had been sent to guard the
tomb, nor that the Roman seal was placed upon the stone;
4 So in the morning of the first day of the week they hastened to the
tomb with spices to embalm the Lord.
5 But when they reached the tomb they found the terror-stricken
soldiers running frantically about.
6 The women did not know the cause; but when they found an empty tomb
they were excited and aggrieved.
7 The soldiers did not know what had transpired; they could not tell
who took the body of the Lord away.
8 And Mary Magdalene ran with haste toward Jerusalem to tell the news
to Peter and the rest.
9 She met, just by the gateway, Peter, James and John; she said, Some
one has rolled away the stone and carried off the body of the Lord.
10 And then the three disciples ran toward the tomb; but John was
fleet of foot and was the first to reach the tomb; he found it empty;
the body of his Lord was gone.
11 When Peter came he went into the tomb, and found the grave clothes
neatly folded up and laid aside.
12 Now, the disciples did not comprehend the scene. They did not know
the meaning of their Lord when he informed them just before his death
that he would rise from death upon the first day of the week.
13 The three disciples went back to Jerusalem; the mother of the Lord
and Miriam went not away.
14 And Mary looked within the tomb, and saw two masters sitting there;
they said, Why do you weep?
15 And Mary said, Because my Lord is gone; some one has carried off
the body of my Lord; I know not where it is.
16 Then she arose and looked around; a man stood near and said, Why do
you weep? whom do you seek?
17 And Mary thought it was the gardener and said, If you have borne
away the body of my Lord, O tell me where it is that I may lay it in a
sacred tomb.
18 And then the man came near and said, My mother! and Mary said, My
Lord!
19 The eyes of Miriam were opened up and she beheld the Lord.
20 And Jesus said, Behold, I told you as we walked along the way up to
the cross that I would meet you at the sepulcher upon the first day of
the week.
21 Now, Mary Magdalene was sitting not a great way off, and Jesus went
to her and said,
22 Why seek the living ’mong the dead? Your Lord has risen as he said.
Now, Mary, look! behold my face!
23 Then Mary knew it was the Lord; that he had risen from the dead.
24 And then Salome, and Mary, mother of the two disciples, James and
John, Joanna, and the other women who had come out to the tomb, saw
Jesus, and they talked with him.
25 And Mary Magdalene was filled with joy. She sought again for Peter,
James and John; she found them and she said,
26 Lo, I have seen the Lord; and Miriam has seen the Lord; the mother
of the Lord has seen the Lord; and many more have seen his face; for
he has risen from the dead.
27 But the disciples thought that she had simply seen a vision of the
Lord. They did not think that he had risen from the dead.
28 Then Mary found the other members of the company and told them all
about the risen Lord; but none of them believed.
29 Now, Peter, James and John were in the garden of Siloam; were
talking with the gardener about the happenings of the day when John
beheld a stranger coming up the walk.
30 The stranger lifted up his hands and said, I am. Then the
disciples knew it was the Lord.
31 And Jesus said, Behold, for human flesh can be transmuted into
higher form, and then that higher form is master of things manifest,
and can, at will, take any form.
32 And so I come to you in form familiar unto you.
33 Go speak to Thomas, and the other men whom I have called to be
apostles unto men, and say to them,
34 That he whom Jews and Romans thought was dead is walking in the
garden of Siloam;
35 Will stand again before the priests and Pharisees within the temple
in Jerusalem;
36 And will appear unto the sages of the world.
37 Tell them that I will go before them into Galilee.
38 Then Peter, James and John went forth and found their brethren, and
said, Behold, the Lord is risen from the dead, and we have seen him
face to face.
39 The brethren were amazed at what the three disciples said; but
still they looked upon their words as idle talk and they believed them
not.
CHAPTER 174.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to Zachus and Cleophas as
they journey to Emmaus, but they know him not. He tells them
many things about Christ. He eats the evening meal with them,
and reveals himself to them. They go to Jerusalem and tell
the news._
Towards the evening of the resurrection day, two friends of Jesus,
Zachus and Cleophas of Emmaus, seven miles away, were going to their
home.
2 And as they walked and talked about the things that had occurred a
stranger joined their company.
3 He said, My friends, you seem discouraged and are sad. Has some
great grief upon you come?
4 Cleophas said, Are you a stranger in Judea, and know not of the
thrilling things that have transpired here?
5 The stranger said, What things? To what do you refer?
6 Cleophas said, Have you not heard about the man from Galilee who was
a prophet mighty in both word and deed?
7 A man whom many thought had come to found again the kingdom of the
Jews, and drive the Romans from the city of Jerusalem and be himself
the king?
8 The stranger said, Tell me about this man.
9 Cleophas said, His name was Jesus; he was born in Bethlehem; his
home was up in Galilee. He loved the people as he loved himself.
10 He was, in truth, a master sent from God, for he had matchless
power. He healed the sick and made the deaf to hear, the blind to see,
the lame to walk, and even raised the dead.
11 The Jewish scribes and Pharisees were jealous of his fame and
power, and they arrested him; by perjured witnesses they proved him
guilty of a score of crimes,
12 And on last Friday he was taken to the place of skulls and
crucified.
13 He died and he was buried in a rich man’s tomb, out in the garden
of Siloam.
14 This very morning when his friends went to the tomb they found it
empty; the body of the Lord was gone.
15 And now the news has spread abroad that he has risen from the dead.
16 The stranger said, Yes, I have heard about this man; but it seems
strange that after all the things that Jewish prophets long ago
foretold concerning him that when he came men knew him not.
17 This man was born to demonstrate the Christ to men, and it is just
to say that Jesus is the Christ.
18 According to the Word, this Jesus came to suffer at the hands of
men, to give his life as pattern for the sons of men;
19 To rise from death that men might know the way to rise from death.
20 And then the stranger told the two disciples all about the Law, the
Prophets and the Psalms, and read to them a multitude of things that
had been written of this man from Galilee.
21 And now the men had reached their home and as the night was near
they importuned the stranger to abide with them.
22 And he went in with them and as they sat about the table at the
evening meal, he took a piece of bread, and blessed it in the name of
Christ.
23 And instantly their eyes were opened up, and they perceived that
he, the stranger, was the Lord, the man from Galilee; that he had
risen from the dead; and then the form of Jesus disappeared.
24 When he had gone, the two disciples were amazed. They said, Did not
our hearts burn with delight while he was talking to us by the way and
opening up the testimonies of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms?
25 Then Zachus and Cleopas went back to Jerusalem, and everywhere they
went they said, Lo, we have seen the Lord;
26 He walked with us to Emmaus; he ate with us the evening meal, and
broke for us the bread of life.
CHAPTER 175.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to the ten apostles in
Simon’s house, and to Lazarus and his sisters._
The evening of the resurrection day had come; the ten apostles were in
Simon’s house in Bethany. The lawyer, Thomas, was not there.
2 The doors were closed and barred, because the Jews had said that
they would drive the Galileans from the land.
3 And as they talked, lo, Jesus came and stood forth in their midst,
and said, Peace! peace!
4 And the disciples shrank in fear; they thought it was a phantom that
they saw.
5 And Jesus said, Why are you troubled thus? why do you fear? I am no
phantom form. I am your Lord, and I have risen from the dead.
6 I often said, I will arise; but you believed me not; and now come
here and see. A phantom has not flesh and bones and brawn, like I
possess.
7 Come now, and clasp my hands, and touch my feet, and lay your hands
upon my head.
8 And every one came up and clasped his hands, and touched his feet,
and laid his hands upon his head.
9 And Jesus said, Have you here anything to eat?
10 And they brought out a fragment of a fish; he ate it in the
presence of them all, and then the ten believed.
11 Nathaniel said, And now we know that he has risen from the dead; he
stands a surety of the resurrection of the dead. And Jesus disappeared.
12 Now, Mary, Martha, Ruth and Lazarus were in their home, and they
had heard the rumor that their Lord had risen from the dead, and
Martha said,
13 It cannot be, for such a thing has never happened since the world
began.
14 But Mary said, Did not the Lord bring back our brother from the
dead? and he could surely bring himself to life again.
15 And as they talked, the Lord stood in their midst and said,
16 All hail! for I am risen from the dead, first fruitage of the grave!
17 And Martha ran and brought the chair in which the Lord had ever
loved to sit, and Jesus sat down on the chair.
18 And for a long, long time they talked about the trial, and the
scenes of Calvary and of the garden of Siloam.
19 Then Jesus said, Fear not, for I will be your boon companion all
the way; and then he disappeared.
CHAPTER 176.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to the eastern sages in the
palace of Prince Ravanna in India. To the magian priests in
Persia. The three wise men speak in praise of the personality
of the Nazarene._
Ravanna, prince of India, gave a feast. His palace in Orissa was the
place where men of thought from all the farther East were wont to meet.
2 Ravanna was the prince with whom child Jesus went to India many
years ago.
3 The feast was made in honor of the wise men of the East.
4 Among the guests were Meng-ste, Vidyapati and Lamaas.
5 The wise men sat about the table talking of the needs of India and
the world.
6 The door unto the banquet hall was in the east; a vacant chair was
at the table to the east.
7 And as the wise men talked a stranger entered, unannounced, and
raising up his hands in benediction said, All hail!
8 A halo rested on his head, and light, unlike the light of sun,
filled all the room.
9 The wise men rose and bowed their heads and said, All hail!
10 And Jesus sat down in the vacant chair; and then the wise men knew
it was the Hebrew prophet who had come.
11 And Jesus said, Behold, for I am risen from the dead. Look at my
hands, my feet, my side.
12 The Roman soldiers pierced my hands and feet with nails; and then
one pierced my heart.
13 They put me in a tomb, and then I wrestled with the conqueror of
men. I conquered death, I stamped upon him and arose;
14 Brought immortality to light and painted on the walls of time a
rainbow for the sons of men; and what I did all men shall do.
15 This gospel of the resurrection of the dead is not confined to Jew
and Greek; it is the heritage of every man of every time and clime;
and I am here a demonstration of the power of man.
16 Then he arose and pressed the hand of every man and of the royal
host, and said,
17 Behold, I am not myth made of the fleeting winds, for I am flesh
and bone and brawn; but I can cross the borderland at will.
18 And then they talked together there a long, long time. Then Jesus
said,
19 I go my way, but you shall go to all the world and preach the
gospel of the omnipotence of man, the power of truth, the resurrection
of the dead;
20 He who believes this gospel of the son of man shall never die; the
dead shall live again.
21 Then Jesus disappeared, but he had sown the seed. The words of life
were spoken in Orissa, and all of India heard.
22 The magian priests were in the silence in Persepolis, and Kaspar,
and the magian masters who were first to greet the child of promise in
the shepherd’s home in Bethlehem, were with the priests.
23 And Jesus came and sat with them; a crown of light was on his head.
24 And when the silence ended Kaspar said, A master from the royal
council of the Silent Brotherhood is here; let us give praise.
25 And all the priests and masters stood and said, All hail! What
message from the royal council do you bring?
26 And Jesus said, My brothers of the Silent Brotherhood, peace, peace
on earth; good will to men!
27 The problem of the ages has been solved; a son of man has risen
from the dead; has shown that human flesh can be transmuted into flesh
divine.
28 Before the eyes of men this flesh in which I come to you was
changed with speed of light from human flesh. And so I am the message
that I bring to you.
29 To you I come, the first of all the race to be transmuted to the
image of the AM.
30 What I have done, all men will do; and what I am, all men will be.
31 But Jesus said no more. In one short breath he told the story of
his mission to the sons of men, and then he disappeared.
32 The magi said, Some time ago we read this promise, now fulfilled,
upon the dial plate of heaven.
33 And then we saw this man who has just demonstrated unto us the
power of man to rise from carnal flesh and blood to flesh of God, a
babe in Bethlehem.
34 And after many years he came and sat with us in these same groves;
35 He told the story of his human life, of trials, sore temptations,
buffetings and woes.
36 He pressed along the thorny way of life till he had risen and
o’erthrown the strongest foes of God and man; and he is now the only
master of the human race whose flesh has been transmuted into flesh
divine.
37 He is the God-man of today; but every one of earth shall overcome
and be like him, a son of God.
CHAPTER 177.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, in the temple in Jerusalem.
Rebukes the rulers of the Jews for their hypocrisy. Reveals
himself to them and they fall back in fear. He appears to the
apostles in Simon’s house. Thomas is convinced._
It was the Sabbath day and many priests and scribes and Pharisees were
in the temple in Jerusalem. Caiaphas, Annas and some other ruling
Jews were there.
2 A stranger came in garb of fisherman and asked, What has become of
Jesus who is called the Christ? Is he not teaching in the temple now?
3 The Jews replied, That man from Galilee was crucified a week ago,
because he was a dangerous man, a vile, seditious man.
4 The stranger asked, Where did you put the body of this man from
Galilee? where is his tomb?
5 The Jews replied, We do not know. His followers came at night and
stole the body from the tomb in which it lay and carried it away, and
then declared that he had risen from the dead.
6 The stranger asked, How do you know that his disciples stole the
body from the tomb? was any one a witness of the theft?
7 The Jews replied, We had a hundred soldiers at the place, and every
one of them declares that his disciples stole the body from the tomb.
8 The stranger asked, Will any one of all your hundred men stand forth
and say, I saw the body stolen from the tomb?
9 The Jews replied, We do not know; these men are men of truth; we
cannot doubt their word.
10 The stranger said, You priests and scribes and Pharisees hear me:
I was a witness of the facts, was in the garden of Siloam, and stood
among your hundred men.
11 And this I know that not a man among your hundred men, will say, I
saw the body stolen from the tomb.
12 And I will testify before the God of heaven and earth, The body was
not stolen from the tomb; the man from Galilee is risen from the dead.
13 And then the priests and scribes and Pharisees rushed up to seize
the man and cast him out.
14 But instantly the fisherman became a radiant form of light, and
priests and scribes and Pharisees fell back in deadly fear; they saw
the man from Galilee.
15 And Jesus looked upon the frightened men and said, This is the body
that you stoned beyond the city’s gates and crucified on Calvary.
16 Behold my hands, my feet, my side and see the wounds the soldiers
made.
17 If you believe that I am phantom made of air, come forth and handle
me; ghosts do not carry flesh and bones.
18 I came to earth to demonstrate the resurrection of the dead, the
transmutation of the flesh of carnal man to flesh of man divine.
19 Then Jesus raised his hands and said, Peace be to every one of you;
good will to all mankind. And then he disappeared.
20 Now, Thomas had not seen the Lord since he had risen from the dead,
and when the ten averred that they had seen and talked with him he
said,
21 Until I see the nail prints in his hands and feet, the spear wound
in his side, and talked with him as I have talked with him before, I
cannot have a reason to believe that he is risen from the dead.
22 At Simon’s house in Bethany the men from Galilee had met. It was
the evening of the first day of the week, and on the morrow all would
turn their faces toward their homes.
23 The eleven apostles all were there; the doors were closed and
barred, and Jesus came and said, Peace be to all!
24 And then he said to Thomas, friend, you do not know that I have
risen from the dead; the time has come for you to know.
25 Come here and see the nail prints in my hands, the spear wound in
my side, and talk with me as you have often talked with me.
26 And Thomas came and saw, and then exclaimed, My master, and my
Lord! I do not now believe, I know that you are risen from the dead.
27 And Jesus said, Because you see me you believe, and blessed are
your eyes;
28 But blessed thrice are they who see me not and yet believe.
29 Then Jesus vanished from their sight, but the disciples were
established in their faith.
CHAPTER 178.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, before Apollo and the
Silent Brotherhood in Greece. Appears to Claudas and Juliet
on the Tiber near Rome. Appears to the priests in the
Egyptian temple at Heliopolis._
Apollo, with the Silent Brotherhood of Greece, was sitting in a
Delphian grove. The Oracle had spoken loud and long.
2 The priests were in the sanctuary and as they looked the Oracle
became a blaze of light; it seemed to be on fire, and all consumed.
3 The priests were filled with fear. They said, A great disaster is to
come; our gods are mad; they have destroyed our Oracle.
4 But when the flames had spent themselves, a man stood on the orac
pedestal and said;
5 God speaks to man, not by an oracle of wood and gold, but by the
voice of man.
6 The gods have spoken to the Greeks, and kindred tongues, through
images made by man; but God, the One, now speaks to man through Christ
the only son, who was, and is and evermore will be.
7 This Oracle shall fail; the Living Oracle of God, the One, will
never fail.
8 Apollo knew the man who spoke; he knew it was the Nazarene who once
had taught the wise men in the Acropolis and had rebuked the idol
worshippers upon the Athen’s beach;
9 And in a moment Jesus stood before Apollo and the Silent
Brotherhood, and said,
10 Behold, for I have risen from the dead with gifts for men. I bring
to you the title of your vast estate.
11 All power in heaven and earth is mine; to you I give all power in
heaven and earth.
12 Go forth and teach the nations of the earth the gospel of the
resurrection of the dead and of eternal life through Christ, the love
of God made manifest to men.
13 And then he clasped Apollo’s hand and said, My human flesh was
changed to higher form by love divine and I can manifest in flesh, or
in the higher planes of life, at will.
14 What I can do all men can do. Go preach the gospel of the
omnipotence of man.
15 Then Jesus disappeared; but Greece and Crete and all the nations
heard.
16 Claudas and Juliet, his wife, lived on the Palatine in Rome and
they were servants of Tiberius; but they had been in Galilee;
17 Had walked with Jesus by the sea, had heard his words and seen his
power; and they believed that he was Christ made manifest.
18 Now Claudas and his wife were on the Tiber in a little boat; a
storm swept from the sea, the boat was wrecked and Claudas and his
wife were sinking down to death.
19 And Jesus came and took them by the hands and said, Claudas and
Juliet, arise and walk with me upon the waves.
20 And they arose and walked with him upon the waves.
21 A thousand people saw the three walk on the waves, and saw them
reach the land, and they were all amazed.
22 And Jesus said, You men of Rome, I am the resurrection and the
life. They that are dead shall live, and many that shall live will
never die.
23 By mouth of gods and demigods God spoke unto your fathers long ago;
but now he speaks to you through perfect man.
24 He sent his son, the Christ, in human flesh, to save the world, and
as I lifted from the watery grave and saved these servants of Tiberius,
25 So Christ will lift the sons and daughters of the human race, yea,
every one of them, from darkness and from graves of carnal things, to
light and everlasting life.
26 I am the manifest of love raised from the dead; Behold my hands, my
feet, my side which carnal men have pierced.
27 Claudas and Juliet, whom I have saved from death, are my
ambassadors to Rome.
28 And they will point the way and preach the gospel of the Holy
Breath and of the resurrection of the dead.
29 And that was all he said, but Rome and all of Italy heard.
30 The priests of Heliopolis were in their temple met to celebrate the
resurrection of their brother Nazarite; they knew that he had risen
from the dead.
31 The Nazarite appeared and stood upon a sacred pedestal on which no
man had ever stood.
32 This was an honor that had been reserved for him who first would
demonstrate the resurrection of the dead.
33 And Jesus was the first of all the human race to demonstrate the
resurrection of the dead.
34 When Jesus stood upon the sacred pedestal the masters stood and
said, All hail! The great bells of the temple rang and all the temple
was ablaze with light.
35 And Jesus said, All honor to the masters of this Temple of the Sun.
36 In flesh of man there is the essence of the resurrection of the
dead. This essence, quickened by the Holy Breath, will raise the
substance of the body to a higher tone,
37 And make it like the substance of the bodies of the planes above,
which human eyes cannot behold.
38 There is a holy ministry in death. The essence of the body cannot
be quickened by the Holy Breath until the fixed is solved; the body
must disintegrate, and this is death.
39 And then upon these pliant substances God breathes, just as he
breathed upon the chaos of the deep when worlds were formed,
40 And life springs forth from death; the carnal form is changed to
form divine.
41 The will of man makes possible the action of the Holy Breath. When
will of man and will of God are one, the resurrection is a fact.
42 In this we have the chemistry of mortal life, the ministry of
death, the mystery of deific life.
43 My human life was wholly given to bring my will to tune with the
deific will; when this was done my earth-tasks all were done.
44 And you, my brothers, know full well the foes I had to meet; you
know about my victories in Gethsemane; my trials in the courts of men;
my death upon the cross.
45 You know that all my life was one great drama for the sons of men;
a pattern for the sons of men. I lived to show the possibilities of
man.
46 What I have done all men can do, and what I am all men shall be.
47 The masters looked; the form upon the sacred pedestal had gone, but
every temple priest, and every living creature said, Praise God.
CHAPTER 179.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to the apostles at the
sea of Galilee. Appears to a multitude of people. Tells his
apostles to go again to Jerusalem and he would meet them
there._
Now, the apostles were at home in Galilee; the women tarried in Judea
until the Pentecost,
2 And Peter, James and John, and Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel were in
Capernaum. They joined with Jonah and with Zebedee, and in their boats
went out to fish,
3 They toiled all night and when the morning came they had no fish.
4 And as they neared the shore a man stood on the shore and said, How
many fish have you?
5 And Peter answered, None.
6 Again the man called out and said, A school of fish is passing now
upon the right side of your boat; cast out your net.
7 They cast their net, and it was filled; and John exclaimed, It is
the Lord who stands upon the shore.
8 And Peter plunged into the sea and swam to shore. The other men
brought in the net, and it contained a hundred fifty and three fish
and yet it did not break.
9 And Jesus said, My children, let us break our fast together here.
10 They found some living coals upon the beach and Peter brought and
dressed the fish; they had some bread.
11 And when the meal had been prepared they broke their fast, and
Jesus ate of both the fish and bread.
12 Now, after breakfast all the men were sitting on the beach, and
Jesus said to Peter, Do you love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and do you love your neighbor as you love yourself?
13 And Peter said, Yea, Lord, I love the Lord my God with all my
heart; I love my neighbor as I love myself.
14 And Jesus said, Then feed my sheep.
15 And then he said to James, Do you love her, the Holy Breath, with
all your heart, and do you love your neighbor as you love yourself?
16 And James replied, Yea, Lord, I love the Holy Breath with all my
heart; I love my neighbor as I love myself.
17 Then Jesus said, Protect my sheep.
18 And then he said to John, Do you love Christ, the love divine made
manifest, with all your heart, and do you love your neighbor as you
love yourself?
19 And John replied, Yea, Lord, I love the Christ with all my heart; I
love my neighbor as I love myself.
20 And Jesus said, Then feed my lambs.
21 Then Jesus rose and said to Peter, Follow me. And Peter followed
him.
22 When Peter saw that John was following him he said to Jesus, Lord,
behold, John follows you! What shall he do?
23 Now Peter did not hear the master when he said to John, Then feed
my lambs.
24 And Jesus spoke to Peter and he said, It matters not to you what
John shall do; not even though I will that he remain until I come
again.
25 Just do your duty; follow me.
26 And Jesus passed, they knew not where he went.
27 The news soon spread through all Capernaum that Jesus had arisen
from the dead, that he had walked with his disciples by the sea, and
ate with them the morning meal. The multitudes came forth to see.
28 Now Peter, James and John, together with the other men who had
been called to be apostles of the Lord, went to the mountains near
Capernaum to pray,
29 And as they prayed the master came; they saw him and they talked
with him.
30 He said to them, The Pentecost is near at hand; go to Jerusalem and
I will meet you there.
31 And as he talked, a multitude of people came; they saw the Lord;
they said,
32 Behold, for now we know that he, the Nazarene, has risen from the
dead for we have seen him face to face.
CHAPTER 180.
_Jesus appears, fully materialized, to the apostles in
Jerusalem. Gives them his instructions. Promises them a
special endowment for their work on Pentecost. Goes to Mount
Olives and in full view of many disciples ascends to heaven.
The disciples return to Jerusalem._
The eleven apostles of the Lord were in Jerusalem and in a spacious
room that they had chosen by the Lord’s command.
2 And as they prayed the Lord appeared to them and said,
3 Peace be to all; good will to every living thing. And then he talked
with them a long, long time.
4 And the disciples asked, Will you restore the kingdom unto Israel
now?
5 And Jesus said, Be not concerned about the governments of men; the
masters will direct.
6 Do that which has been given you to do, and wait and murmur not.
7 All power in heaven and earth is given unto me, and now I bid you go
to all the world and preach the gospel of the Christ, the unity of God
and man, the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal life.
8 And as you go and preach, baptize the people in the name of Christ.
9 They who believe and are baptized shall rise up in the newness of
the life of Christ, and they who disbelieve shall rise not in the
newness of the life of Christ.
10 And you shall give to men the power I give to you.
11 They who believe and are baptized shall heal the sick; shall cause
the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk;
12 Shall cast the unclean spirits out of those obsessed; shall tread
on deadly serpents and be not harmed; shall pass through flames and
not be burned; and if they drink a poisonous draught it shall not kill.
13 You know the sacred Word, which is the word of power.
14 The secret things that I have told to you that may not now be told
to all the world, you shall make known to faithful men who shall in
turn reveal them unto other faithful men,
15 Until the time shall come when all the world may hear and
comprehend the words of truth and power.
16 And now I will ascend to God, as you and all the world will rise to
God.
17 Behold, upon the day of Pentecost you all shall be endowed with
power from on high.
18 But here you shall remain till then in holy thought and prayer.
19 Then Jesus went to Olivet, and his disciples followed him, and in a
place not far removed from Bethany, he met the Marys and Salome;
20 Met Martha, Ruth and Miriam; met Lazarus and a host of others who
had come from Galilee.
21 And Jesus stood apart and raised his hands and said,
22 The benedictions of the Holy Ones, of the Almighty God, and of the
Holy Breath, of Christ the love of God made manifest,
23 Will rest upon you all the way till you shall rise and sit with me
upon the throne of power.
24 And then they saw him rise upon the wings of light; a wreath
encircled him about; and then they saw his form no more.
25 But as they gazed up into heaven two men, in robes of white,
appeared and said,
26 You men of Galilee, why gaze you thus so anxiously upon the
ascending Lord? Lo, he will come again from heaven as you have seen
him go to heaven.
27 Then the eleven and Lazarus, and the other men from Galilee,
together with the faithful women, not a few, returned unto Jerusalem
and there abode.
28 And they were constantly in prayer and holy thought. They waited
for the Holy Breath, and for the coming of the promised power from on
high.
SECTION XXII.
TAU.
_Establishment of the Christine Church._
CHAPTER 181.
_The eleven apostles make choice of Matthias to fill the place
made vacant by the deflection of Judas. The Christines are
glad. Miriam sings a song of praise. Apostolic roster._
The fact that Jesus had arisen from the dead was not denied by many of
the rulers of the Jews.
2 And Pilate gave an order that the followers of the Nazarene be not
molested in their worship any place in his domain.
3 The day of Pentecost was near at hand and every one was looking for
a manifest of Spirit power.
4 Now, in Jerusalem the eleven had met to choose a man to fill the
place of Judas who betrayed his Lord.
5 And Peter said, The Lord called to this ministry twelve men as
twelve foundation stones on which the Christine temple should be built.
6 This Judas, who betrayed his Lord, has gone to his own place beyond
the veil.
7 Of him the prophet wrote: His habitation shall be desolate; no man
shall dwell therein; his office let another take.
8 From those who have accompanied us from Gilgal, where the harbinger
baptized, until this day, shall one be chosen to complete the number
twelve, to fill the place from which our brother by transgression fell.
9 And then the eleven spent a long, long time in prayer, and when they
cast their lots, Matthias, from the valley of the Nile, was chosen for
the place.
10 Matthias was an Israelite indeed; but he was learned in all the
wisdom of Egyptian schools, and he had taught the mysteries of Mizraim
in Jericho.
11 He was among the first to greet the harbinger; among the first to
recognize the Nazarene as Christ, the son of God;
12 He had been with the Christine band in all their journeys in the
land of Galilee, Judea and Samaria.
13 A messenger was sent who found Matthias, and he came and joined the
eleven, and for a time the twelve were lost in silent prayer.
14 The Christines who had come from Galilee and places in Judea, about
six score, were there, and Peter told them of Matthias, and how, by
lot, he had been chosen an apostle of the Lord.
15 The Christines all were glad and praised the name of God; and
Miriam sung a song of praise.
16 These are the names of the apostles of the Lord: Peter, John and
James; Philip, Andrew and Nathaniel;
17 Thomas, James the son of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes; Matthew, Jude,
the son of Alpheus and Matthias.
CHAPTER 182.
_Events of the day of Pentecost. Endowment of the apostles.
The Christine Church is established. Peter preaches the
introductory sermon. The sermon. Three thousand people are
baptized and become members of the church._
Now, when the day of Pentecost had come Jerusalem was filled with
pious Jews and proselytes from many lands.
2 The Christines all were met and were in perfect harmony.
3 And as they sat in silent prayer they heard a sound a-like the
distant murmur of a coming storm.
4 The sound grew loud, and louder still, until, like thunder peals, it
filled the room where the apostles sat.
5 A brilliant light appeared, and many thought, The building is afire.
6 Twelve balls, that seemed like balls of fire, fell from heaven--a
ball from every sign of all the circle of the heavens, and on the head
of each apostle there appeared a flaming ball of fire.
7 And every ball sent seven tongues of fire toward heaven, and each
apostle spoke in seven dialects of earth.
8 The ignorant rabble treated lightly what they heard and saw; they
said, These men are drunk, and know not what they say.
9 But men of learning were amazed; they said, Are not these men who
speak all Jews? how is it that they speak in all the languages of
earth?
10 And Peter said, You people of Jerusalem, and you who live beyond
the city’s gates; Peace be to you, and all mankind.
11 This is the time that holy men of old desired to see; by faith they
saw this hour, and now they stand with us in ecstasy.
12 The prophet Joel in the olden times told of the things you see and
hear. The Holy Breath spoke with his tongue and said,
13 And it shall come to pass in latter days, that I will breathe upon
the sons of men, and fill them with the blessedness of holiness.
14 Your sons and daughters will stand forth and prophesy; your young
men will be seers; your old men will dream dreams.
15 And I will show forth wonders in the heavens above, and marvelous
signs in earth.
16 Sounds will proceed from heaven and voices will be heard that men
will fail to comprehend.
17 The sun will fail to shine, the moon will wade in blood before the
coming of the great day of the Lord.
18 And it will come to pass that they who call upon the name of God in
faith shall be redeemed.
19 This is the day of Christine power; the day that he, the man from
Galilee, is glorified.
20 He came as babe in Bethlehem and from his day of birth the kings of
earth went forth intent to take his life.
21 God held him in the hollow of his hand.
22 Men called him Jesus, and they called him well, for he was sent to
seek and save the lost.
23 And Jesus grew to manhood and was subject unto all the trials and
temptations of the sons of men, that he might know the loads that men
must bear, and know the way to succor them.
24 In distant lands he lived and by the sacred Word he healed the
sick, threw prison doors ajar, and set the prisoners free, and
everywhere he was proclaimed, Immanuel.
25 But wicked men despised him and rejected him, and by bribed men
they proved him guilty of a score of crimes;
26 And in the presence of a multitude of men who hear me now, they
nailed him to a cross;
27 They sealed him with the seal of death; but death was all too weak
to hold him in the tomb and when immortal masters said, Adon mashich
cumi, he burst the bands of death, and rose again to life.
28 He showed himself alive, not only to the rulers in Jerusalem, but
to the many in the distant parts of earth;
29 And then, before the wondering eyes of many who now hear me speak,
attended by a retinue of courtiers of the angel world, he ascended to
the throne of God.
30 And being now exalted high, and having breathed to full the Holy
Breath, he breathes again on us, and thus sheds forth what you now see
and hear.
31 You men of Israel, know that God has made this man from Galilee
whom you abused and crucified, both Lord and Christ.
32 And then the people said, What shall we do?
33 And Peter said, This Christine Lord has sent us forth to open up
the gates of dawn. Through Christ all men may enter into light and
life.
34 The Christine Church stands on the postulates that Jesus is the
love of God made manifest; that love is savior of the sons of men.
35 This Christine Church is but the kingdom of the Holy One within the
soul, made manifest.
36 This day the Christine Church is opened up, and whosoever will may
enter in, and, by the boundless grace of Christ, be saved.
37 Again the people said, How may we enter in that we may share the
boundless grace of Christ?
38 And Peter said, Reform and be baptized, and turn away from sin and
lead the life deep hid with Christ in God, and you shall enter in and
be redeemed.
39 Three thousand people turned away from sin and were baptized and
sought to lead the life deep hid with Christ in God.
40 And in one day the Christine Church became a mighty power; and
Christ became a mighty word that thrilled the multitudes in many lands.
[Illustration]
Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced
quotation marks retained.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Alphabetization errors in the Index have not been changed.
Text uses both “rythm” and “rhythm”; “fleshy” and “fleshly”.
Page 9: Paragraph beginning “Jesus was the name of the man" has no
closing quotation mark.
Page 23: “Thankfulness of Jesus, 194” refers to a non-existent chapter.
It is possible that the correct reference would be to “104”.
Page 117 Chapter 84, verse 19: comma may be missing after “astonished”.
Page 126 Chapter 91, verse 34: “went his away” may be typographical
error for “way”.
Page 148 Chapter 108, verse 26: “holy men-apostles” perhaps should be
“holy men--apostles”.
Page 158 Chapter 116, verse 2: “dualty” may be typographical error for
“duality”.