But Jesus said, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me." Then
Peter let Him do it. Why did Our Lord wash His apostles' feet? To show
us that we must not be too proud to do anything for one another.
Then Our Lord sat down to supper, and He was troubled, and said, "One
of you will give Me up to the priests." And the disciples looked at
one another and wondered which of them would be so wicked. Peter made
signs to John, who was close to Our Lord, to ask Him; and John did. And
Jesus said, "The one to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it."
And He dipped a piece of bread in some sauce and gave it to Judas, and
said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Then, Judas, who
knew what Our Lord meant, went out; but the others did not know; they
thought Our Lord sent him to give something to the poor.
We shall not tell you all Our Lord did and said at this Last Supper;
it would be too hard for you to understand; but we will tell you that
He grew sad and told His apostles that they would all leave Him that
night. Peter said, "Lord, I will go with Thee to prison or to death."
Our Lord answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows you will
three times say you do not know Me."
When the supper was ended and they had sung a hymn, they went out to
the Mount of Olives; and on the way the Lord talked to them, and told
them to love one another.
[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
Now, on that Mount, there was a garden called Gethsemane; Our Lord went
into it, and with Him He took Peter and James and John, and told them
to watch while He prayed. They were tired, and only kept awake a little
while; but they heard Our Lord pray. He was very sorrowful, for He knew
He must die, and He was sad because men were so wicked; but He said to
God, "Not My will, but Thine be done;" and His Father sent an angel
from Heaven to comfort Him. Twice Jesus went to His apostles and found
them asleep. It must have seemed very unkind of them; but Our Lord was
not angry. He said they could not help it, they were so tired. But the
third time He came to them He told them to rise, for Judas was coming
with the priests to take Him.
And just then the priests came with soldiers and lamps, for it was
night, and Judas was with them. He said, "I will show you which is
Jesus; I will kiss Him." So he went up to Our Lord, and said, "Hail,
Master," and kissed Him. Jesus said, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of
Man with a kiss." Then He said to the soldiers, "Whom seek ye?" They
said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Our Lord said, "I am He," and they fell on
their faces before Him; they felt how great He was. But they soon got
up, and when Our Lord said again, "Whom seek ye?" and they answered,
"Jesus," He said, "I am He; but let My disciples go." Now Peter had a
sword, and he was so angry that he drew it and cut off the ear of one
of the high priest's servants.
But Our Lord told him to put up his sword, and touched the ear of the
wounded man and made it well at once. Was not Jesus good and kind to
heal the man who came to take Him? Then all His disciples forsook Him
and fled; and the soldiers led Him to the High Priest's house, where
all the wicked priests and scribes were sitting up waiting for Him.
John and Peter were soon sorry that they had left Our Lord, and went
after Jesus. John had a friend in the High Priest's house who let him
go in; and then John went and brought Peter in. The priests were very
cruel to Our Lord; they told falsehoods about Him. But when they asked
Him if He was the Christ, and He said, "I am, and you will see Me one
day sitting on the right hand of God, and coming in the clouds with
the Holy Angels," they were so angry that they tore their clothes, and
said, "He ought to die." And then they began to ill-treat Our Lord, and
threw a cloth over His face and beat Him with the palms of their hands,
and said, "Tell us who struck You!"
[Illustration: "THIS FELLOW WAS WITH JESUS."]
Now Peter sat in the part of the great hall that was lower down than
that where Our Lord was, and he warmed himself by the fire; and a maid
came up, and said to him, "You are one of the men who were with Jesus;"
but he said, "I do not know Him." Then another servant said to him,
"You are one of His disciples;" but Peter said, "Man, I am not." An
hour went by, and then another said, "This fellow was with Jesus." And
Peter said he was not, and began to use bad words. Just then the cock
crowed; and Our Lord turned and looked at Peter. It must have been such
a sad look! and it reminded him of what Our Lord had said, "Before the
cock crow thou shalt deny Me three times." And he was so much ashamed
and so very sorry that he went out and wept bitterly.
Now, when Judas saw that Our Lord would be put to death, he repented,
and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, and
said, "I have sinned, for I have given up to you an innocent man." The
wicked priests answered, "What is that to us? See thou to that." And
Judas cast down the pieces of silver and went and hanged himself. Very
bad men sometimes cannot bear to live, when they feel how wicked they
have been; but it only adds to their sins to kill themselves; for God
has said men may not do so.
When daylight came, the great crowd of the priests and scribes and
their friends led Our Lord from the High Priest's house to that of
Pilate, the Roman governor, to have Him judged; for the Romans did not
allow the Jews to put any one to death. Pilate was in his hall where
he judged people. He came out and asked, "What has this Man done?" "He
teaches men wrong," said they; "He tells them not to pay the tax to
Cæsar, and says that He is Christ, a King." Then, Pilate went back to
the judgment hall and had Christ brought before him, and said, "Are You
a King?" Our Lord told him that He was; but not a king of this world;
His Kingdom was a heavenly one. Then Pilate went out to the people,
and said, "I find no fault in this man." But they were more angry, and
cried, "He teaches the people wrongly, from Galilee to this place."
When Pilate found that Jesus came from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod
to be judged, for Herod was ruler over that part of the land. And when
Herod saw Our Lord, he was glad, for he hoped to see some miracle done
by Him; and he questioned Jesus with many words; but the Lord would
not even speak to the cruel man who had killed John the Baptist. Then
Herod grew angry, and he and his soldiers mocked the Lord, and put on
Him a purple robe such as kings wear, and sent Him back to Pilate. The
priests and scribes then said all manner of false things about Jesus;
but He did not speak or answer at all. Then Pilate's wife sent to tell
him not to have anything to do with that just man, as she had had a
terrible dream about Him. And again Pilate tried to save Him. The
Romans set free any prisoner that the Jews asked for at the Passover;
so Pilate said to them, "I will have Jesus beaten and then set Him
free." But the priests told the people to say, "No; set Barabbas free."
Now, Barabbas was a robber.
Then Pilate said, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus who is called
Christ?" and they said, "Crucify Him!"--that is, "Nail Him to a cross."
But Pilate still tried to save Jesus; he told his soldiers to beat Our
Lord with great knotted ropes; and then the men made a crown of sharp
thorns and pressed it on His head, so that the blood ran down; and
they put a reed in His hand, and the purple robe on again, and cried,
"Hail, King of the Jews!" and kneeled down to Him, mocking Him. Pilate,
thinking that the cruel Jews would be quiet and let Him go if they saw
Him thus, took Him out, and said to them, "Behold the Man!" But they
only cried more and more, "Crucify Him!" Pilate said, "Take ye Him and
crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." They answered, "We have a
law, and by our law He ought to die, because He says He is the Son of
God."
When Pilate heard that, he was much afraid; he took Our Lord back
into the hall, and asked Him, "Whence do you come?" But Jesus did
not answer him. Pilate said, "Why do you not answer me? Do you not
know that I can crucify you, or let you go free?" But Jesus said that
Pilate's power was given from above, and that the Jews had the greater
sin. Then Pilate tried very hard to save the Lord, but the Jews cried
out again, "If you let this Man go, you are not Cæsar's friend."
[Illustration: "I AM INNOCENT OF THE BLOOD OF THIS JUST MAN."]
And Pilate was much afraid of Cæsar, who was a cruel man. Then the Jews
began to make a great disturbance; but Pilate took water, and washed
his hands before them, and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this
just Man; see ye to it." Was this true? No. Pilate ought to have rather
died himself than let a good man be killed. But fear often makes men
wicked. Be ashamed to be a coward.
Then the soldiers took the robe off Christ, and put His own clothes
on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. At first they made Him carry
the great cross on which He was to be nailed; but He fainted under the
weight and fell, and then they made a man they met carry it for Him.
They nailed the dear Lord's hands and feet to the cross; but first they
wanted Him to drink some wine and myrrh that He might not feel the pain
so much, but He would not drink it. Now, the mother of Jesus stood by
the cross with his favourite apostle, John. How sad it was for her
to see her dear Son in such pain! But Jesus still thought of her. He
looked at John, and said, "Woman, behold thy son;" and to John He said,
"Behold thy mother;" and from that hour John was a good son to the
mother of his Lord.
Then Our Lord prayed to God for the cruel Jews. He said, "Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they do"--that is, they did
not know that He was God's Son. There were two thieves crucified
with Christ, one on each side. One of them was wicked; the other was
sorry for his sin, and asked Jesus to forgive him. The Lord told him,
"To-day you shall be with Me in Paradise"--the happy place, you know.
Then a great darkness came on like night, and there was a hush--the
cruel Jews had been mocking Our Lord; now, they were frightened. The
darkness lasted for three hours; then light came back. Our Lord said,
"I thirst." And the soldiers dipped a sponge in vinegar, and put it on
a reed and held it to His lips. When He had tasted it, He said, "It is
finished!" and bowed His head and died. Then the earth and the city
shook, and the Roman Captain, close by, said, "This Man really was the
Son of God."
The Jews asked Pilate to take Our Lord and the others down from the
crosses, because the next day was their Sabbath. So he sent to see
if they were dead. Jesus was, but, to make sure, one of the soldiers
stabbed His side with a spear. The thieves were not dead; so their legs
were broken, that when taken down they might not get away, and die
sooner.
Then a rich man, named Joseph, begged Pilate to let him bury Our Lord,
and Pilate said he might. So Joseph, and Nicodemus, who came to Jesus
by night, wrapped Him in white linen and put Him in a grave that Joseph
had made for himself in a garden, and a great stone was put for a door
to it. The Jews begged Pilate to set a guard upon the tomb for fear
the disciples should take the Lord away; for they remembered that He
had said He would rise again. So Pilate sent a great many soldiers to
watch. But at day-dawn an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven: his
face was bright as the lightning, and his robe as white as snow; and
the earth shook very much as he came down. He rolled away the stone
that shut the tomb, and sat on it. The guards were nearly dead with
fear, and made haste away.
Now, the women who loved the Lord were coming to put sweet spices on
Him, even while it was dark. But when they came, they saw that the
stone was rolled away, and that the grave was empty; so Mary Magdalene
ran off at once to tell Peter and John of it. The other women went
and looked into the tomb, and there they saw two bright angels, and
they were afraid. But the angels said, "Do not be afraid. We know you
are looking for Jesus; He is not here; He is risen. Go and tell Peter
and the disciples that He is risen." And they made haste to take the
message.
And while they were going, some of the watch came into the city and
told the chief priests all that had been done; how an angel had come
down and rolled away the stone from the tomb. The priests were afraid,
and called the elders together to ask their advice; it was that they
should give a great deal of money to the soldiers and tell them to say
that the disciples came in the night, and stole Our Lord's body away
while they were asleep, and this wicked thing they did. They paid the
Roman soldiers to tell a falsehood, and said that they would take care
that Pilate should not punish them for sleeping on their watch; for
which they might be put to death.
[Illustration: PETER AND JOHN AT THE GRAVE OF OUR LORD.]
Then Peter and John came with Mary Magdalene, and looked into the tomb,
but it was empty--only the linen lay folded up on one spot. They were
very much surprised, but by-and-by they went home. Mary did not; she
stood crying by the tomb. Then she looked into the grave, and she also
saw the two angels. They said to her, "Why do you weep?" She said,
"Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they
have laid Him." She turned back as she spoke, and Jesus stood close
by her, but she did not know Him. He said, "Why do you weep?" Mary
was crying so much she could not see His face, and she thought He was
the gardener, so she said, "Sir, if you have taken my Lord away, tell
me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said,
"Mary!" When she heard His voice and her name, she knew who He was, and
kneeled down to Him. He told her to go and tell "His brothers"--the
disciples--that He had come out of the grave and would soon go up to
Heaven.
[Illustration: JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE.]
Then the Lord Jesus went and spoke to Peter, because the kind Saviour
knew how sad he was.
[Illustration: "PEACE BE TO YOU."]
Two disciples that day were walking to a place eight miles from
Jerusalem. They were very sad, talking about Our Lord, when He came
up and walked with them; but He did not let them know who He was. He
asked them why they were sad, and they told Him it was because Jesus
was dead. Then He made them understand that Jesus died that they might
go to Heaven, and they were quite glad of what He said. They begged Him
to go in with them to supper, and He went in; and when He took bread
and blessed it they knew Him at once. But He passed away, they could
not tell how, so they made haste to go back to Jerusalem to tell the
Apostles. They found them all, except Thomas, in one room, with the
doors shut, but before they could tell their tale, the men said, "Our
Lord has risen from the dead, and has been seen by Peter." Then the
two told how He had walked with them; and while they spoke Jesus stood
in the midst of them, and said, "Peace be to you;" and He showed them
the holes of the nails in His hands and feet. Then they knew that it
was the Lord. They told Thomas of it, but he was so sad he could not
believe them. "You must make a mistake," he said; "I will not believe
Our Lord is alive again unless I can put my hand in His side, where the
spear went in, and my fingers in the holes of the nails."
[Illustration: OUR LORD APPEARING TO THOMAS.]
The next first day of the week--Sunday--they were all in the room,
Thomas too, when Our Lord came into the midst of them, and said to
Thomas, "Put out your hand and feel my side, and put your fingers
in the nail-holes." Then Thomas kneeled down and said, "My Lord and
my God." Jesus said, "Thomas, because you have seen Me you believe;
blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."
Our Lord stayed forty days on earth, and often came and talked to His
disciples; once He came to five hundred all in one place. But some of
the apostles went back to their boats. There were together Peter, James
and John, Thomas, Nathanael, and two other disciples. They went out to
fish; but all night they did not catch one, and when day broke Jesus
stood on the shore. They did not know Him, and He asked if they had any
fish. They said, "No;" and then He told them to cast their net on the
right side of the ship. They did so, and now the net nearly broke with
the weight of the fish. Then John said, "It is the Lord," and Peter at
once swam ashore to Jesus. The others came in the boat dragging the
net full of fish. And when they came to the shore they saw a fire of
coals and fish laid on it, and bread. And Jesus told them to bring some
of their own fish; there were a hundred and fifty great ones in the
net, but it did not break. Then Jesus said, "Come and dine;" and He
gave them fish and bread. When they had dined, the Lord said to Peter,
"Do you love Me more than these?" Peter said, "Yes, Lord; You know
that I love You." Then Christ said, "Feed My lambs." Again He asked
Peter, "Do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," said Peter. Then said Jesus,
"Feed My sheep." A third time He asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" Peter
was grieved because Jesus asked him three times; he thought Our Lord
remembered that he had three times said he did not know Him, and he
said, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Then Jesus
said, "Feed My sheep." Who are Christ's lambs? Little children, whom
Jesus loves; to feed the sheep and lambs means to teach them.
[Illustration: OUR LORD APPEARING TO THE DISCIPLES.]
Then Jesus said to Peter, "When you were young you walked where you
would; but when you are old you shall stretch forth your hands, and
another shall gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go."
Jesus thus foretold Peter's death; who, when old, was crucified. Peter
asked Our Lord what John would do--you remember that John and Peter
were great friends--and Jesus gently reproved him for asking, by
saying, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"
Our Lord also told His disciples to go all over the world and tell
people about Him, and baptize them; and then He took them out to the
Mount of Olives, and, while He was blessing them, He was taken up, and
a cloud hid Him from their sight; but they stood a long time looking
up after their Lord, till two angels came to them, and said, "Why do
you stand looking up into Heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from
you into Heaven will come again in the same way as you have seen Him go
up." Then the disciples were very glad, and they went back to Jerusalem.
Has not the story of Our dear Lord made you love Him? We hope so; and
if you love Him you will be a good child to please Him, for He sees
you now from where He sits at God's right hand, whence He will come
by-and-by and--if you obey Him--will take you to live with Him in
Heaven.
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
LONDON AND EDINBURGH.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] New Version, St. Matt. xix, 17.
[Illustration]
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Transcriber's Notes:
Page 19, "it" changed to "It" (It was right)
Page 36, word "he" added to text (came a ruler and he)