After the excellent reception in Jerusalem, and the victory in the
Temple on the first day, the disciples ventured to walk about the city
fearlessly and openly. Jesus remained grave and silent. They put up
in a quiet inn by the gate. The disciples did not see why He should
not have lodged them in a palace. They would have liked occasionally
to accept the invitation of rich people, and enjoy the homage that
would be paid them, but Jesus would not permit it. The festival of the
Passover was at hand; there was something else to do than to be fêted
and have their heads turned, they would soon need to have their heads
very cool. If He accepted any of the invitations it would be the one
from Bethany, where He knew He had truer friends than in Jerusalem.
But meanwhile He had something more to say in the Temple.
When He went there the next day the hall was filled to overflowing with
people, Rabbis, and expounders of the Law. Some had come in order to
witness His glorification, others to try and ruin Him.
One of the Pharisees came up to Him and asked Him without any
preliminaries which was the greatest commandment.
Jesus ascended the pulpit and said; "I have just been asked which is
the greatest commandment. Now, I am not come to give new commandments,
but to fulfil the old ones. The greatest commandment is: Love God
above all, and thy neighbour as thyself. Those who asked Me, your
teachers and interpreters of the Law, say the same, but their actions
do not square with their words. You may believe their words, but you
must not imitate their deeds. They exact the uttermost from you, but
do not themselves stir a finger. And what good they do, is done in the
eyes of the people, so that they may win praise. They like to take the
first place at festivals, and to be greeted on all sides as the
expounders of Holy Writ. That honour they do not offer to God, but to
themselves. I tell you he who exalts himself will be cast down."
Some of the Pharisees interrupted Him and contradicted Him. He turned
to them face to face, and in a louder voice said: "Yes, you expounders
of Holy Writ, you seek to shine outwardly. You keep your vessels clean
on the outside, and your wool soft, but inside you are full of
wickedness and lust of plunder. Ye who sit in the seats of learning
and preach morals are like tombs adorned with flowers outside, but full
of corruption inside. You despise the fathers because they persecuted
the prophets; while you yourselves kill the prophets whom the Lord
sends to-day, or else suffer them to be contemned. And when they are
dead you build them fine tombs. Cursed be ye, ye hypocrites! You
forbid others to be the heralds of salvation; you even stone them. You
will not go yourselves into the Kingdom of Heaven, and you keep out
those who wish to go in. Cursed be ye, ye, with your semblance of
holiness, who take to yourselves the houses of widows and the property
of orphans under the pretence of love! Ye fools and blind guides who
lead the people to petty, unimportant things, to outward observances
and customs, instead of to the important things--to justice, to mercy,
and to love! That is as wise as to strain out the gnat and swallow the
camel. Ye snakes and vipers! Be ye cursed eternally! Even if God
sent His Son you would crucify Him, and would pretend you did it for
the sake of the people because He was a traitor. But know that you
will have to pay for the blood of the heaven-sent Messenger! The time
is not far off when the blood of your children will flow in streams
through the streets of Jerusalem!"
While Jesus was speaking His disciples trembled. They had never seen
Him so consumed with anger. But it was too soon! He had no army to
protect Him if they should attack Him. The crowd was immensely
excited, and the applause grew to a storm. Many screamed with delight
that such words were at last spoken; others looked threateningly at the
Pharisees. They--the Rabbis and Pharisees--had all kinds of excuses
ready against the terrible accusations, but it seemed to them wiser not
to honour the outbreak of this "seeker of the people's favour" with any
answer, and to leave the Temple at once, unnoticed, by the back
entrances.
The broad square in front of the Temple was a sea of heads. As many
persons as possible had pushed their way in, but the greater number
surrounded the enormous building, and shouted incessantly: "We, too,
want to hear Him! Let Him come out and preach in the open air so that
we may see Him. Hail to the Messiah King! He shall reign in the
golden palace and in Solomon's glorious Temple!"
When Jesus stepped out of the Temple into the confusion. He heard the
shouts, and mounted the plinth of one of the immense pillars that
surrounded the building. Here again He spoke. Looking at the city He
hurled these words at the crowd:
"You boast of your glorious Temple! I tell you that not one stone of
this building shall remain on the other. For you have heaped up crime
upon crime. I find none of you thirsty, but you are all the worse for
drinking. The cup is full, and the present generation shall know it.
When desolation comes over the land, then let him who is in the valley
flee to the mountain, and let him who is in the field not return into
the city, and let him who is on the roof not come down, in order to
fetch his coat from the house. Fire and sword will meet him. Woe to
the women and children in those days: they will cry. Mountains fall on
us and crush us. It will be a wailing and lamentation such as has
never before been under the sun, and never will be again. Unappeasable
anger will overtake the people, Jerusalem will be destroyed, and its
inhabitants be led into captivity by strange nations. And men will be
judged according to their good or evil deed. Of two who are in the
field one will be accepted, the other cast out. Of two who lie in the
same bed one will be heard, the other ignored. The grain shall be
gathered in the barns, the weeds shall be burnt in the fire."
These words caused some murmuring in the crowd, and one of the
disciples wrung his hands in despair: "There will be trouble over this!"
Then His tone became gentler; "But do not despair; the days of that
misery shall be shortened. I will pray for it. Where there is carrion
there are eagles, and from the nation of sinners shall arise martyrs of
the truth of God. As the trees blossom and sprout after the hard
winter, so shall the Kingdom of Heaven blossom forth from the purified
people. For the glad tidings will penetrate through the whole
universe, and happy will be the nations which accept it."
"Heaven upon earth?" asked someone from the swaying crowd. Jesus
answered: "Not your heaven upon earth! Not that! For the earth is too
weak to bear heaven. The earth is doomed, and of that doom the
downfall of Jerusalem is but a parable. In that day much distress will
come. False prophets will come and say, We are the saviours of the
world! Their spirit and their truth will blind the people, but it will
not be the Holy Spirit or the eternal truth. A great weariness and
despair will come over men's souls, and they will long for death. And
as men gradually lose their light, their reason, so will the stars in
the sky be extinguished; the sea will cover the land, and the mountains
be sunk in the sea. But the fiery token of the Son of God will appear
in the dark sky."
"What is the token?" asked one of the grey-bearded Rabbis.
"He who has eyes will soon see the token of the Lord's judgment high on
Golgotha. His angels will announce Him in the air, but not in His
lowliness as at Bethlehem. He will come in all the strength and glory
in which He sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will restore
every soul to its body, and reward the faithful with eternal joy, and
the unbelieving with everlasting punishment."
With terrified countenances and whispered words the people asked: "When
will this happen?"
"Watch, my children! God alone knows the day and hour. This world is
passing, as you see, hour by hour. Everything changes; only the word
of the Father shall endure for ever."
This speech of the Prophet made a deep impression on the people. They
no longer shouted or rejoiced; they no longer looked on His countenance
as gladly as the day before, the glowing eyes burnt with such terrible
anger. They became silent, or only whispered to each other. Did you
understand? one asked his neighbour quietly. Yes, they had all
understood, but each something different. They were all impressed with
the words; every one was moved; and groups of people, as they made
their way out, talked over the Prophet's speech, and many began to
dispute about it.
"I don't expect much from this Messiah," said an innkeeper to his
guests. "As far as I can see, He promises more ill than good. If He
can offer nothing better than the destruction of Jerusalem and the Last
Judgment, He might just as well have stayed at home at Nazareth."
"No, I've never taken much account of the Last Judgment," said a dealer
in skins from Jericho.
"It's quite true," shouted a tailor, "nothing good comes from Galilee!"
"Nor from Judaea," laughed an unpatriotic tailor from Joppa. "I can
tell you I expect nothing until we have expelled all our Jewish princes
and Rabbis and become Romans out and out. The Emperor of Rome is the
true Messiah. All the rest should be impaled."
So they gave vent to their various opinions. The Temple authorities
rubbed their hands in satisfaction. "He is not clever enough to be
dangerous. He will hardly come within the arm of the law after what He
has said."
"But the people will judge Him," said one of the oldest among them,
"the people themselves. Mark that! I promise you they will."
"No, indeed. He is not a man of fair words," said one of the
overseers. "He does not flatter the mob, and my contempt for the
Nazarene is less than it was yesterday. If He falls in the eyes of the
people, He rises in mine."
"The man makes me think that He will soon give Himself up. Did you
hear His allusion to Golgotha?"
"Bless my soul, a famous prophet has got to be right in something,"
mocked one of the high priests. "I think we ought to confer with the
authorities so as to prevent any disturbance to-morrow at the festival.
You understand me?"
"That's worth consideration with all this concourse of people."
"I think he has poured enough water on the fire," said the high priest.
"No one would stir a finger if we took Him."
"Let's wait till the festival is over. You can never be sure of the
mob."
"What! After laying traps for Him all over the country, are we to let
Him insult us here in the Temple itself? No, I don't fear the mob any
more. The law is more hazardous."