LAST LABORS, AND FAREWELL TO HIS DISCIPLES.
Journey to Jerusalem.――Mission of the Seventy.――Jesus teaches his
Disciples to pray.――Lament over Jerusalem.――Return to Galilee.
――The Second Coming of Christ.――Dangers of the Rich.――Promise
to his Disciples.――Foretells his Death.――Zacchæus.――Mary anoints
Jesus.――Enters Jerusalem.――Drives the Traffickers from the
Temple.――The Pharisees try to entrap him.――The Destruction of
Jerusalem, and the Second Coming.――Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
――The Last Supper.――The Prayer of Jesus.
AS Jesus was journeying back from Ephraim to Jerusalem with his
disciples, he entered a town of the Samaritans, where the inhabitants,
learning that he was on his way to Jerusalem, did not give him a
hospitable reception. Two of his disciples, James and John, were so
indignant at their conduct, that they asked for authority to command
fire from heaven to consume them. Jesus mildly rebuked them, saying,
“Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is
not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And he passed on
to another village.
As they were toiling along over the shadowless plains, an enthusiastic
convert came to him, saying, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever
thou goest.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air
have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”[31]
Though he thus gently repelled this man,――who, perhaps, expected to
derive some considerable worldly advantage from following him,――to
another whom he met he said, “Follow me.” But this man made an
excuse,――apparently a very sufficient one,――saying, “Lord, suffer me
first to go and bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury
their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
There were doubtless circumstances in this case, with which we are not
familiar, which justified this seemingly harsh reply. The meaning was
quite obvious,――“Let those who are dead in sin take care of the dead;”
and Jesus doubtless meant to teach by this that nothing whatever is to
be allowed to divert the mind from religion. When another said, “Lord,
I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell which are
at home at my house,” he replied, “No man, having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
“After these things,” it is written, “the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and
place whither he himself would come.” He gave them the same directions,
and almost in the same words, which he had previously given to the
twelve apostles. As these disciples returned from their short but
important mission to preach the gospel, they said joyfully, “Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Jesus made the
memorable reply,――
“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto
you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power
of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding,
in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather
rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
A lawyer, one whose profession was to study the Jewish law, feigning a
desire to be instructed, and yet probably seeking to entrap him, asked,
“Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?”
The lawyer replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; and thy
neighbor as thyself.”
Jesus responded, “Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt
live.”
But the lawyer was by no means satisfied by this simple announcement of
duty, and in a cavilling spirit inquired, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied in the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan.[32]
On his way to Jerusalem, he visited Bethany, the home of Lazarus, Mary,
and Martha. As he drew near to Jerusalem, which was to be the scene of
his fearful sufferings, he was much engaged in prayer. It is recorded,
“And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, when he
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as
John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray,
say,――
“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day
our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us
from evil.”[33]
This prayer is precisely the same in spirit, and almost the same in
words, with that which Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount, and was
followed with very similar instructions, urging importunity in prayer.
In this discourse he introduced the parables of the rich man, the wise
steward, the unfaithful servant, and the barren fig-tree.
While engaged in these various works of instruction and healing, he, on
his tour of mercy, again visited Galilee. Some of the Jews came to him,
and urged him to leave the dominions of Herod, as Herod was seeking to
kill him. Jesus replied,――
“Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures
to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” It
is supposed that Herod had cunningly sent these men, hoping thus
to frighten Jesus out of his realms. The reply, which was somewhat
proverbial, was simply, “Tell Herod not to be troubled. I am not
violating the laws: I am engaged in works of mercy. For two or three
days more I shall remain in his domains, and shall then go to Jerusalem:
there my course will be ended.” Jesus added,――
“Nevertheless, I must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day following;
for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent
unto thee! how often would I have gathered thy children together as
a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate; and verily I say unto you, Ye
shall not see me until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Unremittingly Jesus continued in his walks of usefulness, preaching the
gospel, healing the sick, comforting the afflicted, and silencing the
cavils of his foes. The record we have of these tireless labors is very
brief, and apparently without regard to chronology. It was probably at
this time that he uttered the parables of the wedding and of the great
supper.[34]
Multitudes continually thronged around him. To them he said, “If
any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and
children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple.” In Scripture phrase, “to hate” often signifies
to _love less_. This was a declaration that Christ was to be loved
supremely. No one could be his disciple who was not willing to forsake
all earthly possessions and friends, if need be, for his cause.[35]
The self-righteous Pharisees complained that “this man receiveth
sinners, and eateth with them.” Jesus replied in the beautiful parables
of the lost sheep, the lost piece of money, and that most impressive,
perhaps, of all his parables, the prodigal son; assuring poor sinners
that not only God, with parental love, welcomed their return to him,
but that there was joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
repentant sinner.
Each parable seems to have been a reply to some inquiry, remark,
or opposition, on the part of those who listened to him. Thus he
introduced the parable of the unjust steward, and of the rich man and
Lazarus.[36]
In this latter parable, it is clearly taught that the soul,
immediately upon death, proceeds to a state of reward or of punishment;
and as flame causes the most direful material anguish, so sin causes
the acutest suffering of which the immaterial nature is susceptible.
Jesus was now on his route to Jerusalem through the villages and
cities of Galilee and Samaria. He crossed the Jordan, and preached
in the rural districts beyond. Large multitudes followed him. It is
impossible now to ascertain the route he took in these journeyings.
The Pharisees asked when the kingdom of God――that is, the reign of the
Messiah――should commence. He made the memorable reply, which is still
read with awe, as indicative of scenes of unspeakable sublimity and
terror yet to come:――
“As the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven,
shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man
be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of
this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also
in the days of the Son of man: they did eat, they drank, they married
wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
“Likewise, also, as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven,
and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son
of man is revealed.”[37]
In these revelations of awful scenes to come, there is an apparent
blending of the terrible suffering which was soon to befall Jerusalem
in its utter overthrow and of the final coming of Christ at the day of
judgment.
Again he urged persevering prayer by the parable of the importunate
widow,[38] and enjoined humility by the parable of the Pharisee and
the publican.[39] The question of divorce was presented to him, with
the statement that Moses had allowed it for very trivial causes. Jesus
replied, that, in the eyes of God, divorce and subsequent marriage
could only be justified upon the ground of a violation of the marriage
oath.[40]
Some children were brought to him to be blessed. He laid his hands upon
their heads, and prayed; and then said, “Whosoever shall not receive
the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
A young man of wealth, and, as a ruler, occupying posts of honor, came
to Jesus, and, rather boastfully asserting that he had kept all the
commandments from his youth up, inquired what more he must do that he
might enter the kingdom of God. It is said that Jesus, looking upon the
ingenuous young man of unblemished morals, “loved him, and said unto
him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way; sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come,
take up the cross, and follow me.”
This was merely reiterating the declaration, that every one who
would be a disciple of Jesus must be willing, at his command, to
make any sacrifice whatever. The test proved that the young man loved
wealth more than Christ. “He went away sorrowful; for he had great
possessions.”
It is recorded, when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said,
“How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom
of God!” Then, using an expression proverbial for denoting any thing
remarkably difficult, he added, “It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
God.”
Peter, who, since the severe rebuke administered to him by Jesus,
seems to have been very retiring, said, “Lo, we have left all, and have
followed thee. What shall we have, therefore?” Jesus replied,――
“Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit
everlasting life.”[41]
It is supposed that Jesus was at this time on the eastern side of
Jordan, nearly opposite Jericho. The reply to Peter was followed by
the parable of the householder and his laborers. Jesus crossed the
ford, and, entering Judæa, directed his steps towards Jerusalem. His
disciples, conscious of the peril to which he would expose himself in
the metropolis, were amazed and afraid. Jesus called the twelve around
him, and said to them,――
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered
unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn
him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles; and they shall
mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall
kill him; and the third day he shall rise again.”[42]
The idea that the Messiah could be put to death――He who had power
to bring the dead to life――was so incomprehensible to the apostles,
that they could not receive the meaning of his words. They, however,
walked along, conversing as they went; and both Matthew and Mark record
several of the memorable sayings of Jesus by the way.[43]
As they drew near to Jericho, a blind man, waiting for him by the
wayside, earnestly implored relief. Jesus restored his lost vision,
simply saying, “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.”
From Jericho, which was about twenty miles north-east from Jerusalem,
they continued their journey, followed by an immense multitude. Two
blind men, as Jesus approached, loudly implored his aid. He touched
their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight.
A rich man, named Zacchæus, a chief publican, being of short stature,
climbed a tree that he might see Jesus as he passed. Jesus called him
down, saying, “To-day I must abide at thy house.” Zacchæus hastened
down, and received Jesus with great cordiality. Again there was
murmuring because Jesus was “guest with a man that is a sinner.” It
seems that Zacchæus was in heart a better man than he was in repute:
for Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house; forasmuch as
he also is a son of Abraham.” Then, in allusion to the charge that he
associated with sinners, he said, “For the Son of man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost.”
Notwithstanding what Jesus had said respecting his approaching
sufferings and death at Jerusalem, his disciples still expected
that there would be some signal displays of his power there in the
establishment of a glorious reign. Jesus, therefore, addressed them
in the parable of the nobleman and his servants.
Six days before the passover, Jesus reached Bethany. A very careful
computation has led to the opinion that this was on the 30th of March,
the year of our Lord 30. A supper was provided for him at the house of
Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Lazarus sat at the table. The grateful Mary,
taking an “alabaster box of ointment very precious,” anointed the head
and the feet of Jesus. The house was filled with the fragrant odor. The
estimated value of this was about fifty dollars,――a much larger sum in
those days than now.
Several who were present considered it an act of great extravagance.
That sum, distributed among the poor, would have relieved much distress.
Judas Iscariot, who was the treasurer of the little band, murmured
loudly, saying, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence,
and given to the poor?” “This he said,” John adds, “not that he cared
for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare
what was put therein.”
But Jesus commended the deed in the remarkable words, “She hath wrought
a good work on me: for ye have the poor always with you, and, whenever
ye will, ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. She hath done
what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the
whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told
for a memorial of her.”[44]
Curiosity to see Lazarus, as well as to see Jesus, assembled an immense
crowd around the house. The raising of Lazarus from the dead, and his
daily appearance, were evidence of the miraculous powers of Jesus which
no argument could refute. The chief priests were so malignant that they
consulted to put Lazarus to death, “because that by reason of him many
of the Jews believed on Jesus.”
Leaving Bethany,――which, it will be remembered, was but about two
miles east of Jerusalem, on the eastern declivity of the Mount of
Olives,――Jesus advanced toward Jerusalem. As the rumor of his approach
was circulated through the streets, a vast throng poured out at the
gates to meet him. They bore branches of palm-trees in their hands, and
shouted, as they escorted him in triumph, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King
of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord!”[45] Near a hamlet at
the Mount of Olives, Jesus procured a young ass which had never been
mounted. His disciples spread some of their garments on the ass, and
Jesus took his seat thereon. A conqueror would have wished to enter
the city on a spirited war-horse gayly caparisoned. Jesus studiously
avoided all such parade. The overjoyed multitude, however, “spread
their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and
strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that
followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”[46]
As Jesus, thus accompanied, commenced the western descent of the Mount
of Olives, the whole city lay spread out as a panorama before him. “And,
when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If
thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the
days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation.”[47]
The whole city of Jerusalem was agitated by the coming of Jesus, the
now widely-renowned prophet of Galilee. Jesus proceeded at once to
the temple. The blind and the lame were brought in throngs to him. He
healed them all. The city resounded with his acclaim. Even the children
in the streets shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The chief
priests and the scribes were sorely annoyed, saying, “The world has
gone after him.”
Some Greeks who were in Jerusalem came to the disciples, and expressed
a wish to see Jesus. They were brought to him. Jesus, probably
addressing them, said,――
“The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily I
say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it
abideth alone; but, if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that
loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man
serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came
I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.” It is added, “Then came
there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will
glorify it again.”
All who stood by heard the supernatural noise, and some the
distinctly-articulated voice, and said, “An angel spake to him.” Jesus
answered,――
“This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the
judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
“This,” adds the inspired writer, “he said, signifying what death he
should die.”
The people, bewildered by such assertions, replied, “We have heard out
of the law that Christ abideth forever; and how sayest thou, The Son of
man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?”
Jesus answered, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while
ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in
darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe
in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”
Jesus, after these words, withdrew secretly with his disciples from
the city (for it was night), and returned to Bethany. In the morning,
he came back to Jerusalem. Being hungry, and seeing a fig-tree by
the way, he went to it, and found leaves only. We know not now what
lesson Jesus intended to teach us: he said, “Let no fruit grow on
thee henceforward forever.” The tree withered away. Again, finding
the temple sacrilegiously perverted to purposes of traffic, he, by his
authoritative person and voice, drove the traffickers out, saying, “It
is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have
made it a den of thieves.”
The scribes and chief priests were becoming more and more exasperated
by these reproofs. But they feared to lay violent hands upon Jesus,
he was so popular with the masses of the people. He continued through
the day teaching the crowds ever thronging the temple to listen to his
calm, impressive words. At the approach of evening, he returned to the
quietude of Bethany, and in the morning re-entered the city. As he was
teaching in the temple, the chief priests and scribes came and inquired
of him by what authority he did these things. Jesus baffled their
malignity by asking them what they thought of the prophet John. They
were greatly annoyed. If they should say he was a prophet, Jesus
would inquire why they did not believe in him. If, on the other hand,
they should say that he was but a common man, the indignation of the
people would be aroused; for they all regarded John as a prophet. They
therefore said, “We cannot tell.” Jesus replied, “Neither do I tell you
by what authority I do these things.” Having thus silenced them, and
put them to shame, Jesus addressed them in the parable of the father
and his two sons, and then in the parable of the vineyard let out to
husbandmen.[48]
He made such personal application of these parables as to leave no
doubt in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees that he referred to
them. “But, when they sought to lay hands upon him, they feared the
multitude, because they took him for a prophet.” Another parable he
added, that of the marriage-feast, illustrative of the same truth, that
the Gentiles would enter the kingdom of God, which the Jews refused to
enter.
The Pharisees endeavored to entrap him by inducing him to say
something which would render him unpopular with the people. After much
deliberation, they sent some spies to him to inquire whether it were
lawful to pay tribute to Cæsar, who had conquered and enslaved them.
If he should say “No,” it would be treason: if he should say “Yes,” it
would exasperate the people.
Jesus, “knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring
me a penny. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this
image and superscription? They said unto him, Cæsar’s. Jesus, answering,
said, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the
things that are God’s.” It is added, “They marvelled, and left him, and
went their way.”
Again: the Sadducees, who denied the doctrine of the resurrection,
inquired of him whose wife a woman in the resurrection would be, who
had married, one after another, seven husbands. Their cavilling spirit
was silenced by the reply, that, in the future world, those who should
“rise from the dead” would not marry, but would be as the angels of
God in heaven.[49] He then re-affirmed the doctrine of a future life,
saying,――
“Now, that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he
calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob; for he is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”[50]
The Pharisees were quite pleased in finding the Sadducees thus
confounded. Still they sought the destruction of Jesus. After taking
counsel together, they commissioned one of their lawyers to ask which
was the chief commandment of the law. Among these ritualists, there was
quite a diversity of opinion upon this subject. Some said, “Sacrifices;”
others, “Circumcision;” others, “The law of the sabbath,” &c. Jesus
replied,――
“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel! The Lord our
God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.”[51] It is recorded, “No man, after this, durst ask him any
question.”
Jesus now, in his turn, asked the Pharisees a question, to show them
the divine character of the Messiah, and how far their views of his
dignity fell short of the truth.
“What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” They replied, “The son of
David.” Jesus rejoined, “How, then, doth David, by the Holy Ghost, call
him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand
till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David, then, call him Lord,
how is he his son?”
They again being thus baffled, it is recorded, “And no man was able to
answer him a word.”
Jesus then warned his disciples to beware of the pride, ambition,
and ostentation of the scribes; of their ceremonial display, and of
their moral corruption. In the temple were placed several money-boxes
to receive the voluntary contributions of the people for the service
of the temple. Jesus noticed the people as they came with their
contributions,――many of the rich casting in large sums, not at all
unwilling that the amount should be known by the lookers-on. “And
there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which
make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto
them, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more
than they all: for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the
offerings of God; but she, of her penury, hath cast in all the living
that she hath.”[52]
Notwithstanding the abounding evidence of the divine mission of Jesus,
there were many who hardened their hearts, and who refused to believe
in him. Others there were, then as now, who, though they were convinced
of his Messiahship, had not sufficient moral courage to confess him
before men. It is recorded, “Nevertheless, among the chief rulers,
also, many believed on him: but, because of the Pharisees, they did
not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they
loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”[53]
In reference to all who thus rejected him, Jesus exclaimed, “He that
believeth on me, believeth, not on me, but on Him that sent me; and he
that seeth me seeth Him that sent me. I am come a light into the world,
that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if
any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not
to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and
receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken
of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what
I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment
is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father
said unto me, so I speak.”[54]
He then, addressing the multitude, warned them in the most solemn
manner to avoid the hypocrisy and haughty display of these proud and
pompous ceremonialists. His denunciations of them were terrible, and
must have roused them to the highest pitch of rage.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” he said, “for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in
yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses,
and, for a pretence, make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and, when he is made, ye
make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves,” &c.[55]
A more terrible, and at the same time calm and truthful, denunciation
cannot be found in any language. As Jesus left the temple, his
disciples called his attention to the massive stones of which it
was reared. Jesus assured them that the temple was to be so utterly
destroyed, that not one stone should be left upon another. Departing
from the city, he went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives. As
he sat upon that eminence, which overlooked the city, he gave them
an appalling account of the scenes which were to ensue at the time of
its destruction. In reference to the persecutions which they were to
encounter, he said, “For they shall deliver you up to councils, and
in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before
rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. But when
they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand
what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be
given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but
the Holy Ghost. Now, the brother shall betray the brother to death, and
the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents,
and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all
men for my name’s sake; but he that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved.”[56]
In continuation of this wonderful discourse, and in reply to an inquiry
what should be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world,
Jesus added,――
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven
to the other. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass
till all these things be fulfilled.”[57] He then adds, “But of that
day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father.”
There is no portion of Scripture which has occasioned more perplexity
than these predictions of Jesus, contained in the twenty-fourth and
twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew; and it may also be said that there is
no portion of the New Testament which is read with more interest, or
which inspires more profound and religious emotion. Jesus was speaking
to his disciples of the overthrow of Jerusalem, and of the utter
destruction of the temple. They said, “Tell us, when shall these things
be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the
world?”
Here were two distinct questions, but which were probably erroneously
associated in the minds of the disciples as one. They probably supposed
that Christ’s second coming, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the
end of the world, were to be the same event. In the reply of Jesus,
these events are so blended, that occurrences are apparently brought
together which are actually separated by many centuries. Many suppose
that the destruction of Jerusalem is foretold from the beginning of the
twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew to the twenty-ninth verse; that, from
the twenty-ninth verse of the twenty-fourth chapter to the thirtieth
verse of the twenty-fifth chapter, the second advent of Christ is
foretold; and that, from the thirty-first verse to the end of the
chapter, Christ speaks of the final judgment.
There are not a few careful students of the Bible who suppose that
there are here indicated three distinct comings of Christ,――first,
for the destruction of Jerusalem; second, to establish a millennial
reign upon earth; and, thirdly, his coming in the day of judgment
at the end of the world. Upon this general subject, the following
judicious remarks by Rev. William Hanna will recommend themselves to
the reader:――
“It so happens, that, among those who have made the province of
unfulfilled prophecy their peculiar study, the most various and the
most discordant opinions prevail. They differ, not only in their
interpretation of individual prophecies, but in the systems or methods
of interpretation which they employ. For some this region of biblical
study has had a strange fascination; and, once drawn into it, there
appears to be a great difficulty in getting out again. Perhaps the
very dimness and doubtfulness that belong to it constitute one of its
attractions. The lights are but few, and struggling and obscure; yet
each new entrant fancies he has found the clew that leads through the
labyrinth, and, with a confidence proportioned to the difficulties he
imagines he has overcome, would persuade us to accompany him. Instead
of inclining us the more to enter, the very number and force of these
conflicting invitations serve rather to repel.”[58]
At the conclusion of these announcements respecting the future,
Jesus gives a very sublime description of the day of final judgment, in
which he represents himself as seated upon the throne to pronounce the
irreversible verdicts.
“When the Son of man,” he said, “shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate
them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats;
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into life eternal.”[59]
Illustration: (‡ The Last Supper)
Having thus described himself as seated upon the throne of final
judgment, he added the declaration so bewildering to his disciples, “Ye
know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of
man is betrayed to be crucified.”
The chief priests and the scribes held a council in the palace of
Caiaphas, the high priest, to devise some means by which they might put
Jesus to death. It was not easy to rouse the mob against him; for he
was popular with the people. Judas Iscariot, probably hearing of this
council, went to the chief priests, and agreed to betray Jesus to them
by night for thirty pieces of silver,――about fifteen dollars. “They
feared the people;” and it was consequently necessary that he should
“betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.”
Jesus, as usual, entered Jerusalem early in the morning, and, all the
day long, was preaching his gospel; “and all the people came early in
the morning to him in the temple for to hear him.” At night, he retired
to his silent retreat on the Mount of Olives.
In the evening of the first day of the feast, Jesus and his twelve
apostles met in an upper chamber at Jerusalem to partake of the paschal
lamb. “Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of
this world unto the Father.” Tenderly he loved his apostles. In this
hour, when their final separation was so near, “he riseth from supper,
laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After
that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
Simon Peter, with characteristic impulsiveness, exclaimed
remonstratingly, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt
know hereafter.”
But Peter still remonstrated, saying, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”
Then this childlike man, fickle yet heroic, exclaimed, “Lord, not my
feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus rejoined, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet,
but is clean every whit.” He then added, in allusion to Judas Iscariot,
“And ye are clean, but not all.”
Having thus washed the feet of his apostles, he sat down, and said to
them, “Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and
ye say well; for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I have given
you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he
that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them.”
Jesus then “took bread; and, when he had given thanks, he brake it, and
said, Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you. This do in
remembrance of me.”
While they were eating of the bread, and before they partook of the cup,
Jesus said to them,――
“Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
And truly the Son of man goeth as it was determined; but woe unto that
man by whom he is betrayed! I speak not of you all: I know whom I have
chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread
with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now, I tell you before
it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send
receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me.”[60]
John adds, “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and
testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you
shall betray me.”
This announcement created mingled feelings of surprise and grief. “The
disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake; and they
were exceeding sorrowful, and began, every one of them, to say unto him,
Lord, is it I?”
He replied, “It is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.”
John, who is represented as the favorite disciple of Jesus, was sitting
next to him, and reclining upon his bosom. Peter beckoned to him to ask
whom he meant.
“Lord, who is it?” said John.
Jesus replied, “He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped
it.” And, when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot; and,
after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, “That
thou doest, do quickly.”[61]
Judas immediately rose, and went out; “and it was night.” As soon as
he had left, Jesus said to the remaining eleven, “Now is the Son of man
glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God
shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me;
and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say
to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another. By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another.”
Peter said unto him, “Lord, whither goest thou?”
Jesus replied, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou
shalt follow me afterwards.”
Peter rejoined, “Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my
life for thy sake.”
Jesus answered, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied
me thrice. Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he
may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not; and, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”[62]
Peter rejoined, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and
to death.” But Jesus reiterated his assertion, “I tell thee, Peter, the
cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that
thou knowest me.”
After this and some other conversation, Jesus “took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my
blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show
forth the Lord’s death till he come. But I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink
it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Then, to comfort them in view of the terrible disappointment they
would encounter in his death, he said, “Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be
also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”
Thomas, one of the twelve, inquired, “Lord, we know not whither thou
goest; and how can we know the way?”
Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my
Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
Philip, another of the twelve, said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it
sufficeth us.”
Jesus replied, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou
not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and
how sayest thou, then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you,
I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth
the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me;
or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily I say unto you,
He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto the Father.[63]
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him;
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little
while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me.[64] Because I
live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my
Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and
keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
him.”
Judas, the brother of James, and who subsequently wrote the Epistle of
Jude, inquired, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto
us, and not unto the world?”
Jesus replied, “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye
hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. These things have I
spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again
unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto
the Father; for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you
before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world
cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love
the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise,
let us go hence.”
It was now probably about midnight. Jesus and his apostles sang a hymn,
rose from the paschal supper, and went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus
was going to be betrayed, and to die, with the whole scene of suffering
open to his mind. His apostles, bewildered, and overwhelmed with grief,
knew that something awful was about to take place; but they scarcely
comprehended what. As they walked sadly along, Jesus continued his
discourse, saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every
branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the
vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine: ye are the
branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.
“If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they
are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples. As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love
one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye
do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for
the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you
friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made
known unto you. Ye have not chosen me; but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my
name, he may give it you.
“These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world
hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were
of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;
if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these
things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not
Him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not
had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me
hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which
none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen
and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word
might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without
a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have
been with me from the beginning.”
Jesus then again warned the apostles of the sufferings to which they
would be exposed; entreated them to persevere; assured them that he
would send the Comforter to sustain them in every trial, who should
guide them to all truth; and reiterated the assertion, “I came forth
from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world,
and go to the Father.”[65]
Having thus finished his farewell discourse to his apostles, standing
with them at midnight upon the greensward outside of the walls of the
city, with darkness and silence around, and the stars above, he raised
his eyes to heaven, and breathed the most solemn, comprehensive, and
impressive prayer that was ever uttered by mortal lips.
“Father,” said he, “the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son
also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth:
I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father!
glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with
thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men
which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest
them me; and they have kept thy word. Now, they have known that all
things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto
them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed
that thou didst send me.
“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the
world, but these are in the world; and I come to thee. Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they
may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them
in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is
lost but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not
that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou
hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth.
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one: I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou
hast loved me.
“Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; for thou
lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! the
world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known
that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and
will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in
them, and I in them.”[66]