ON TO JERUSALEM.
JESUS AGAIN FORTELLS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION.[1039]
Each of the three synoptic writers has made record of this last journey
to Jerusalem and of occurrences connected therewith. The deep solemnity
of the developments now so near at hand, and of the fate He was setting
out to meet so affected Jesus that even the apostles were amazed at His
absorption and evident sadness; they fell behind in amazement and fear.
Then He paused, called the Twelve about Him, and in language of absolute
plainness, without metaphor or simile, He said: "Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning
the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he
shall rise again."
It is to us an astounding fact that the Twelve failed to comprehend His
meaning; yet Luke unqualifiedly affirms: "And they understood none of
these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the
things which were spoken." This avouchment of the Savior's approaching
death and resurrection spoken in confidential certainty to the Twelve
was the third of its kind; and still they could not bring themselves to
accept the awful truth.[1040] According to Matthew's account, they were
told of the very manner by which the Lord should die--that the Gentiles
should crucify Him; yet they understood not. To them there was some
dreadful incongruity, some dire inconsistency or inexplicable
contradiction in the sayings of their beloved Master. They knew Him to
be the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One be
brought into subjection and be slain? They could not fail to realize
that some unprecedented development in His life was impending; this they
may have vaguely conceived to be the crisis for which they had been
waiting, the open proclamation of His Messianic dignity, His
enthronement as Lord and King. And such indeed was to be, though in a
manner far different from their anticipations. The culminating
prediction--that on the third day He would rise again--seems to have
puzzled them the most; and, at the same time, this assurance of ultimate
triumph may have made all intermediate occurrences appear as of but
secondary and transitory import. They persistently repelled the thought
that they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre.
THE QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE AGAIN.[1041]
Notwithstanding all the instructions the apostles had received
concerning humility, and though they had before them the supreme example
of the Master's life and conduct, in which the fact that service was the
only measure of true greatness was abundantly demonstrated, they
continued to dream of rank and honor in the kingdom of the Messiah.
Perhaps because of the imminence of the Master's triumph, with which
they all were particularly impressed at this time though ignorant of its
real significance, certain of the Twelve appealed to the Lord in the
course of this journey with a most ambitious request. The petitioners
were James and John, though according to Matthew's record their
mother[1042] was the first to ask. The request was that when Jesus came
into possession of His kingdom, He would so signally honor the aspiring
pair as to install them in seats of eminence, one on His right hand, the
other on His left. Instead of sharply rebuking such presumption, Jesus
gently but impressively asked: "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I
shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with?" The answer was full of self-confidence inspired by ignorant
misapprehension. "We are able," they replied. Then said Jesus: "Ye shall
drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine
to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my
Father."
The ten apostles were indignant at the two brothers, possibly less
through disapproval of the spirit that had prompted the petition than
because the two had forestalled the others in applying for the chief
posts of distinction. But Jesus, patiently tolerant of their human
weaknesses, drew the Twelve around Him, and taught them as a loving
father might instruct and admonish his contentious children. He showed
them how earthly rulers, such as princes among the Gentiles, domineer
over their subjects, manifesting lordship and arbitrarily exercizing the
authority of office. But it was not to be so among the Master's
servants; whoever of them would be great must be a servant indeed,
willingly ministering unto his fellows; the humblest and most willing
servant would be the chief of the servants. "For even the Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many."[1043]
SIGHT RESTORED TO THE BLIND NEAR JERICHO.[1044]
In the course of His journey Jesus came to Jericho, at or near which
city He again exerted His wondrous power in opening the eyes of the
blind. Matthew states that two sightless men were made to see, and that
the miracle was enacted as Jesus was leaving Jericho; Mark mentions but
one blind man, whom he names Bartimeus or the son of Timeus, and agrees
with Matthew in saying that the healing was effected when Jesus was
departing from the city; Luke specifies but one subject of the Lord's
healing mercy, "a certain blind man," and chronicles the miracle as an
incident of Christ's approach to Jericho. These slight variations attest
the independent authorship of each of the records, and the apparent
discrepancies have no direct bearing upon the main facts, nor do they
detract from the instructional value of the Lord's work. As we have
found to be the case on an earlier occasion, two men were mentioned
though but one figures in the circumstantial accounts.[1045]
The man who is more particularly mentioned, Bartimeus, sat by the
wayside, asking alms. Jesus approached, accompanied by the apostles,
many other disciples, and a great multitude of people, probably made up
largely of travelers on their way to Jerusalem to attend the Passover
festival, the time for which was about a week ahead. Hearing the tramp
of so great a company the sightless beggar inquired what it all meant,
and was answered, "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." Eager lest the
opportunity of gaining the Master's attention be lost, he immediately
cried in a loud voice: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." His
appeal, and particularly his use of the title, Son of David, show that
he knew of the great Teacher, had confidence in His power to heal and
faith in Him as the promised King and Deliverer of Israel.[1046] Those
who were in advance of Jesus in the company tried to silence the man,
but the more they rebuked him the louder and more persistently did he
cry: "Thou son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus halted in His course
and directed that the man be brought to Him. Those who but a moment
before would have stopped the blind man's yearning appeal, now that the
Master had noticed him were eager to be of service. To the sightless one
they brought the glad word: "Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee";
and he, casting aside his outer garment lest it hinder, came in haste to
Christ. To the Lord's question, "What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee?" Bartimeus answered: "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Then
Jesus spake the simple words of power and blessing: "Receive thy sight:
thy faith hath saved thee." The man, full of gratitude and knowing that
nothing short of divine interposition could have opened his eyes,
followed his Benefactor, glorifying God in heartfelt prayers of
thanksgiving, in which many of those who had witnessed the miracle
fervently joined.
ZACCHEUS, THE CHIEF AMONG THE PUBLICANS.[1047]
Jericho was a city of considerable importance; among its resident
officials was a staff of publicans, or collectors of customs, and of
these the chief was Zaccheus,[1048] who had grown rich from the revenues
of office. He had doubtless heard of the great Galilean who hesitated
not to mingle with publicans, detested though they were by the Jews in
general; he may have known, also, that Jesus had placed one of this
publican class among the most prominent of the disciples. That Zaccheus
was a Jew is indicated by his name, which is a variant of "Zacharias,"
with a Greek or Latin termination; he must have been particularly
obnoxious to his people on account of his advanced status among the
publicans, all of whom were in Roman employ. He had a great desire to
see Jesus; the feeling was not one of mere curiosity; he had been
impressed and set thinking by the things he had heard about this Teacher
from Nazareth. But Zaccheus was a little man, and could not ordinarily
see over the heads of others; so he ran ahead of the company and climbed
a tree alongside the road. When Jesus reached the place, to the great
surprize of the man in the tree He looked up and said: "Zaccheus, make
haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." Zaccheus
came down with haste, and joyfully received the Lord as his guest. The
multitude by whom Jesus had been accompanied appear to have been
generally friendly toward Him; but at this turn of affairs they murmured
and criticized, saying that the Master "was gone to be guest with a man
that is a sinner"; for all publicans were sinners in Jewish eyes, and
Zaccheus admitted that the opprobrium in his case was possibly deserved.
But having seen and conversed with Jesus, this chief among the publicans
believed and was converted. As proof of his change of heart Zaccheus
then and there voluntarily vowed unto the Lord to make amends and
restitution if it were found that he owed such. "Behold, Lord," he said,
"the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything
from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." These were
works meet for repentance. The man realized that he could not change his
past; but he knew he could in part at least atone for some of his
misdeeds. His pledge to restore in fourfold measure whatever he had
wrongfully acquired was in line with the Mosaic law as to restitution,
but far in excess of the recompense required.[1049] Jesus accepted the
man's profession of repentance, and said: "This day is salvation come to
this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham." Another stray
sheep had been returned to the fold; another lost treasure had been
found; another wayward son had come back to the Father's house.[1050]
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
UNTO EVERY ONE THAT HATH SHALL BE GIVEN.[1051]
As the multitude approached Jerusalem, Jesus being in their midst,
expectation ran high as to what the Lord would do when He reached the
capital of the nation. Many of those with Him were looking for a
proclamation of His royal authority and "they thought that the kingdom
of God should immediately appear." Jesus told them a story; we call it
the _Parable of the Pounds_:
"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a
kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered
them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his
citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not
have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was
returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants
to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might
know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first,
saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him,
Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very
little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came,
saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to
him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord,
behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I
feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou
layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto
him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou
knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and
reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into
the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give
it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath
ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be
given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away
from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign
over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."
Both the circumstances of the story and the application of the parable
were more readily apparent to the Jewish multitude than they are to us.
The departure of a certain nobleman from a vassal province to the court
of the suzerain to seek investiture of kingly authority, and the protest
of the citizens over whom he asserted the right to reign, were incidents
of Jewish history still fresh in the minds of the people to whom Christ
spoke.[1052] The explication of the parable is this: The people were not
to look for an immediate establishment of the kingdom in temporal power.
He who would be king was pictured as having departed for a far country
from which he would assuredly return. Before leaving he had given to
each of his servants a definite sum of money; and by their success in
using this he would judge of their fitness to serve in offices of trust.
When he returned he called for an accounting, in the course of which the
cases of three servants are specified as types. One had so used the
pound as to gain ten pounds; he was commended and received a reward such
as only a sovereign could give, the governorship of ten cities. The
second servant, with equal capital had increased it only five fold; he
was properly rewarded in proportion by appointment as governor over five
cities. The third gave back what he had received, without increase, for
he had failed to use it. He had no reason and only a very poor excuse to
offer for his dereliction. In justice he was severely reprimanded, and
the money was taken from him. When the king directed that the pound so
forfeited by the unfaithful servant be given to him who already had ten,
some surprize was manifest amongst those who stood by; but the king
explained, that "unto every one that hath shall be given," for such a
one uses to advantage the means entrusted to his care, while "from him
that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him"; for he
has demonstrated his utter unfitness to possess and use aright. This
part of the parable, while of general application, must have appealed to
the apostles as particularly apt; for each of them had received in trust
an equal endowment through ordination, and each would be required to
account for his administration.
The fact is apparent that Christ was the nobleman who was to be invested
with the authority of kingship, and who would return to require the
accounting at the hands of His trusted servants.[1053] But many of the
citizens hated Him and would protest His investiture, saying they would
not have Him to reign over them.[1054] When He does return in power and
authority, these rebellious citizens shall surely receive the punishment
they deserve.[1055]
IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE LEPER.[1056]
Six days before the Feast of the Passover, that is to say before the day
on which the paschal lamb was to be eaten,[1057] Jesus arrived at
Bethany, the home town of Martha and Mary, and of Lazarus who had
recently died and been restored to life. The chronology of events during
the last week of our Lord's life supports the generally accepted belief
that in this year, the fourteenth day of Nisan, on which the Passover
festival began, fell on Thursday; and this being so, the day on which
Jesus reached Bethany was the preceding Friday, the eve of the Jewish
Sabbath. Jesus fully realized that this Sabbath was the last He would
live to see in mortality. The Gospel-writers have drawn a veil of
reverent silence over the events of that day. It appears that Jesus
passed His last Sabbath in retirement at Bethany. The journey afoot from
Jericho had been no easy walk, for the road ascended to an altitude of
nearly three thousand feet, and was withal otherwise a toilsome way.
On Saturday,[1058] probably in the evening after the Sabbath had passed,
a supper was spread for Jesus and the Twelve in the house of Simon the
leper. No other mention of this man, Simon, appears in scripture. If he
was living at the time our Lord was entertained in the house known by
his name, and if he was present, he must have been previously healed of
his leprosy, as otherwise he could not have been allowed within the
town, far less to be one of a festal company. It is reasonable to think
that the man had once been a victim of leprosy and had come to be
currently known as Simon the leper, and that he was one among the many
sufferers from this dread disease who had been healed through the Lord's
ministrations.
Martha was in charge of the supper arrangements on this memorable
occasion, and her sister Mary was with her, while Lazarus sat at table
with Jesus. Many have assumed that the house of Simon the leper was the
family home of the two sisters and Lazarus, in which case it is possible
that Simon was the father of the three; but of such relationship we have
no proof.[1059] There was no attempt to secure unusual privacy at this
supper. Such occasions were customarily marked by the presence of many
uninvited lookers-on in that time; and we are not surprized to learn,
therefore, that many people were there and that they had come "not for
Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had
raised from the dead." Lazarus was a subject of much interest and
doubtless of curiosity among the people; and at the time of his
privileged and intimate association with Jesus in Bethany, the chief
priests were plotting to put him to death, on account of the effect his
restoration had had upon the people, many of whom believed on Jesus
because of the miracle.
That supper in Bethany was an event never to be forgotten. Mary, the
more contemplative and spiritually minded of the two sisters, she who
loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His words, and who had
been commended for having so chosen the one needful thing, which her
more practical sister lacked,[1060] brought from among her treasures an
alabaster cruse containing a pound of costly spikenard ointment; she
broke the sealed flask[1061] and poured its fragrant contents upon the
head and feet of her Lord, and wiped His feet with her loosened
tresses.[1062] To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to do
him honor; to anoint his feet also was to show unusual and signal
regard; but the anointing of head and feet with spikenard, and in such
abundance, was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to
kings.[1063] Mary's act was an expression of adoration; it was the
fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection.
But this splendid tribute of a devout woman's love was made the cause of
disagreeable protest. Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the Twelve, but
dishonest, avaricious, and small-souled in character, vented his
grumbling complaint, saying: "Why was not this ointment sold for three
hundred pence, and given to the poor?"[1064] His seeming solicitude for
the poor was all hypocrisy. He was a thief and lamented that he had not
been given the precious ointment to sell, or that the price had not been
turned into the bag of which he was the self-interested custodian.
Mary's use of the costly unguent had been so lavish that others beside
Judas had let their surprize grow into murmuring; but to him is
attributed the distinction of being the chief complainer. Mary's
sensitive nature was pained by the ungracious words of disapproval; but
Jesus interposed, saying: "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath
wrought a good work upon me." Then in further rebuke and by way of
solemn instruction He continued; "For ye have the poor always with you;
but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on
my body, she did it for my burial. 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."
We are left without certain information as to whether Mary knew that
within a few days her beloved Lord would be in the tomb. She may have
been so informed in view of the hallowed intimacy between Jesus and the
family; or she may have gathered from the remarks of Christ to the
apostles that the sacrifice of His life was impending; or perhaps by
inspired intuition she was impelled to render the loving tribute by
which her memory has been enshrined in the hearts of all who know and
love the Christ. John has preserved to us this remark of Jesus in the
rebuke called forth by the grumbling Iscariot: "Let her alone; against
the day of my burying hath she kept this"; and Mark's version is
likewise suggestive of definite and solemn purpose on Mary's part: "She
is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying."
CHRIST'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.[1065]
While still in Bethany or in the neighboring village of Bethphage, and
according to John's account on the next day after the supper at Simon's
house, Jesus directed two of His disciples to go to a certain place,
where, He told them, they would find an ass tied, and with her a colt on
which no man had ever sat. These they were to bring to Him. If stopped
or questioned they were to say the Lord had need of the animals. Matthew
alone mentions both ass and colt; the other writers specify the latter
only; most likely the mother followed as the foal was led away, and the
presence of the dam probably served to keep the colt tractable. The
disciples found all to be as the Lord had said. They brought the colt to
Jesus, spread their coats on the gentle creature's back, and set the
Master thereon. The company started toward Jerusalem, Jesus riding in
their midst.
Now, as was usual, great numbers of people had come up to the city many
days before the beginning of the Passover rites, in order that they
might attend to matters of personal purification, and make good their
arrears in the offering of prescribed sacrifices. Though the great day,
on which the festival was to be inaugurated, was yet four days ahead,
the city was thronged with pilgrim crowds; and among these much
questioning had arisen as to whether Jesus would venture to appear
publicly in Jerusalem during the feast, in view of the well-known plans
of the hierarchy to take Him into custody. The common people were
interested in every act and movement of the Master; and word of His
departure from Bethany sped ahead of Him; so that by the time He began
the descent from the highest part of the road on the flank of the Mount
of Olives, great crowds had gathered about Him. The people were jubilant
over the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city; they spread out
their garments, and cast palm fronds and other foliage in His path, thus
carpeting the way as for the passing of a king. For the time being He
was their king, and they His adoring subjects. The voices of the
multitude sounded in reverberating harmony: "Blessed be the King that
cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the
highest"; and again: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."[1066]
But amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of the
great city wherein stood the House of the Lord; and He wept, because of
the wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as the
Son of God; moreover He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction before
which both city and temple were soon to fall. In anguish and tears, He
thus apostrophized the doomed city: "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." The
multitude was increased by tributary crowds who fell in with the
imposing procession at every crossway; and the shouts of praise and
homage were heard inside the city while the advancing company was yet
far from the walls. When the Lord rode through the massive portal and
actually entered the capital of the Great King, the whole city was
thrilled. To the inquiry of the uninformed, "Who is this?" the multitude
shouted: "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee." It may be
that the Galilean pilgrims were first to answer and loudest in the
gladsome proclamation; for the proud Judeans held Galilee in low esteem,
and on this day, Jesus of Galilee was the most prominent personage in
Jerusalem. The Pharisees, resentful of the honors thus shown to One whom
they had long plotted to destroy, impotently condoled with one another
over the failure of all their nefarious schemes, saying: "Perceive ye
how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him." Unable to
check the surging enthusiasm of the multitudes, or to silence the joyous
acclamations, some of the Pharisees made their way through the throngs
until they reached Jesus, and to Him they appealed, saying: "Master,
rebuke thy disciples." But the Lord "answered and said unto them, I tell
you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately
cry out"[1067]
Dismounting, He entered afoot the temple enclosure; shouts of adulation
greeted Him there. Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the official
representatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, were
incensed; there was no denying the fact that the people were rendering
Messianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene; and that too within the
very purlieus of the temple of Jehovah.
The purpose of Christ in thus yielding Himself for the day to the
desires of the people and accepting their homage with kingly grace may
not be fully comprehended by us of finite mind. That the occasion was no
accidental or fortuitous happening, of which He took advantage without
preconceived intention, is evident. He knew beforehand what would be,
and what He would do. It was no meaningless pageantry; but the actual
advent of the King into His royal city, and His entry into the temple,
the house of the King of kings. He came riding on an ass, in token of
peace, acclaimed by the Hosanna shouts of multitudes; not on a
caparisoned steed with the panoply of combat and the accompaniment of
bugle blasts and fanfare of trumpets. That the joyous occasion was in no
sense suggestive of physical hostility or of seditious disturbance is
sufficiently demonstrated by the indulgent unconcern with which it was
viewed by the Roman officials, who were usually prompt to send their
legionaries swooping down from the fortress of Antonia at the first
evidence of an outbreak; and they were particularly vigilant in
suppressing all Messianic pretenders, for false Messiahs had arisen
already, and much blood had been shed in the forcible dispelling of
their delusive claims. But the Romans saw nothing to fear, perhaps much
to smile at, in the spectacle of a King mounted upon an ass, and
attended by subjects, who, though numerous, brandished no weapons but
waved instead palm branches and myrtle sprigs. The ass has been
designated in literature as "the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty," and
one riding upon an ass as the type of peaceful progress.
Such triumphal entry of Jesus into the chief city of the Jews would have
been strikingly inconsistent with the general tenor of His ministry in
its early stages. Even the intimation that He was the Christ had been
made with guarded care, if at all; and every manifestation of popular
regard in which He might have figured as a national leader had been
suppressed. Now, however, the hour of the great consummation was near at
hand; the public acceptance of the nation's homage, and the
acknowledgment of both kingly and Messianic titles, constituted an open
and official proclamation of His divine investiture. He had entered city
and temple in such royal state as befitted the Prince of Peace. By the
rulers of the nation He had been rejected and His claims derided. The
manner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of the
law and the prophets; for Zechariah's impressive forecast, the
fulfilment of which the evangelist, John, finds in the events of this
memorable Sunday,[1068] was frequently cited among them: "Rejoice
greatly, O, daughter of Zion; shout, O, daughter of Jerusalem: behold,
thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and
riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."[1069]
CERTAIN GREEKS VISIT CHRIST.[1070]
Among the multitudes who came to Jerusalem at the time of the annual
Passover were people of many nations. Some of these, though not of
Jewish descent, had been converted to Judaism; they were admitted to the
temple precincts, but were not allowed to pass beyond the court of the
Gentiles.[1071] Sometime during our Lord's last week of mortal life,
possibly on the day of His royal entry into the city,[1072] certain
Greeks, who were evidently numbered among the proselytes since they had
come "to worship at the feast," sought an interview with Jesus. Imbued
with a becoming sense of decorum they hesitated to directly approach the
Master, and applied instead to Philip, one of the apostles, saying:
"Sir, we would see Jesus." Philip consulted with Andrew, and the two
then informed Jesus, who, as we may reasonably infer from the context
though the fact is not explicitly stated, graciously received the
foreign visitors and imparted to them precepts of the utmost worth. It
is evident that the desire of these Greeks to meet the Master was not
grounded on curiosity or other unworthy impulse; they earnestly wished
to see and hear the Teacher whose fame had reached their country, and
whose doctrines had impressed them.
To them Jesus testified that the hour of His death was near at hand, the
hour in which "the Son of man should be glorified." They were surprized
and pained by the Lord's words, and possibly they inquired as to the
necessity of such a sacrifice. Jesus explained by citing a striking
illustration drawn from nature: "Verily, 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;"[1073] The simile is an apt
one,--and at once impressively simple and beautiful. A farmer who
neglects or refuses to cast his wheat into the earth, because he wants
to keep it, can have no increase; but if he sow the wheat in good rich
soil, each living grain may multiply itself many fold, though of
necessity the seed must be sacrificed in the process. So, said the Lord,
"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal." The Master's meaning is
clear; he that loves his life so well that he will not imperil it, or,
if need be, give it up, in the service of God, shall forfeit his
opportunity to win the bounteous increase of eternal life; while he who
esteems the call of God as so greatly superior to life that his love of
life is as hatred in comparison, shall find the life he freely yields or
is willing to yield, though for the time being it disappear like the
grain buried in the soil; and he shall rejoice in the bounty of eternal
development. If such be true of every man's existence, how
transcendently so was it of the life of Him who came to die that men may
live? Therefore was it necessary that He die, as He had said He was
about to do; but His death, far from being life lost, was to be life
glorified.
VOICE FROM HEAVEN.[1074]
The realization of the harrowing experiences upon which He was about to
enter, and particularly the contemplation of the state of sin, which
made His sacrifice imperative, so weighed upon the Savior's mind that He
sorrowed deeply. "Now is my soul troubled," He groaned; "and what shall
I say?" He exclaimed in anguish. Should He say, "Father, save me from
this hour" when as He knew "for this cause" had He come "unto this
hour?" To His Father alone could He turn for comforting support, not to
ask relief from, but strength to endure, what was to come; and He
prayed: "Father, glorify thy name." It was the rising of a mighty Soul
to meet a supreme issue, which for the moment had seemed to be
overwhelming. To that prayer of renewed surrender to the Father's will,
"Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it,
and will glorify it again."
The voice was real; it was no subjective whisper of comfort to the inner
consciousness of Jesus, but an external, objective reality. People who
were standing by heard the sound, and interpreted it variously; some
said it was thunder; others, of better spiritual discernment, said: "An
angel spake to him"; and some may have understood the words as had
Jesus. Now fully emerged from the passing cloud of enveloping anguish,
the Lord turned to the people, saying: "This voice came not because of
me, but for your sakes." And then, with the consciousness of assured
triumph over sin and death, He exclaimed in accents of divine
jubilation, as though the cross and the sepulchre were already of the
past: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this
world be cast out." Satan, the prince of the world was doomed.[1075]
"And I," the Lord continued, "if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me." John assures us that this last utterance
signified the manner of the Lord's death; the people so understood, and
they asked an explanation of what seemed to them an inconsistency, in
that the scriptures, as they had been taught to interpret the same,
declared that the Christ was to abide forever,[1076] and now He who
claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of Man, averred that He must be
lifted up. "Who is this Son of man?" they asked. Mindful as ever not to
cast pearls where they would not be appreciated, the Lord refrained from
a direct avowal, but admonished them to walk in the light while the
light was with them, for darkness would surely follow; and as He
reminded them, "he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he
goeth." In conclusion the Lord admonished them thus: "While ye have
light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of
light."[1077]
At the close of this discourse Jesus departed from the people "and did
hide himself from them." The record of the first day of what has come to
be known as the week of our Lord's passion[1078] is thus concluded by
Mark: "And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the
eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve."[1079]
NOTES TO CHAPTER 29.
1. The Mother of James and John.--The mother of these two sons of
Zebedee (Matt. 20:20; compare 4:21) is generally understood to have been
the Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion
(Mark 15:40; compare Matt. 27:56 in which "the mother of Zebedee's
children" is mentioned, and the name "Salome" is omitted), and one of
those who arrived first at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection
(Mark 16:1). From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and
"his mother's sister" (19:25) and omits mention of Salome by name, some
expositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus;
and therefore the Savior's aunt. This relationship would make James and
John cousins to Jesus. While the scriptural record does not disprove
this alleged kinship, it certainly does not affirm the same.
2. Jericho.--This was an ancient city, lying north-easterly from
Jerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In the
course of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through a
miraculous interposition of divine power. (Josh. 6). The productiveness
of the region is indicated by the descriptive appellation "city of palm
trees" (Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chron. 28:15). The name Jericho
means "place of fragrance." Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequence
of its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below the
level of the Mediterranean; this explains Luke's statement (19:28) that
after Jesus had spoken the Parable of the Pounds when on the way from
Jericho, "he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem." In the time of
Christ, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of its
commercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to the
maintenance of a customs office there, over which Zaccheus seems to have
presided.
3. The Nobleman and the Kingdom.--The local setting of the part of the
Parable of the Pounds that relates to a certain nobleman going into a
far country to receive for himself a kingdom, had its parallel in
history. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, had
been named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor the
confirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from the
people. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar
(p. 493, note) says: "A nobleman going into a far country to receive a
kingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately known
that this was done both by Archelaus and by Antipas (Jos. Ant. xvii,
9:4). And in the case of Archelaus the Jews had actually sent to
Augustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose his
claims, which, though it failed at the time, was subsequently successful
(Josephus, Ant. xvii, 13:2). Philipus defended the property of
Archelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the Proconsul
Sabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho
(Jos. Ant. xvii, 13:1) would naturally recall these circumstances to the
mind of Jesus, and the parable is another striking example of the manner
in which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, and
made them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also another
unsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of the
Gospels."
4. "We Will Not Have this Man to Reign Over Us."--On this phase of the
parable, Trench (_Miracles_, p. 390) very aptly remarks: "Twice before
He had gone to receive His kingdom, this very declaration found formal
utterance from their lips,--once when they cried to Pilate, 'We have no
king but Cæsar'; and again when they remonstrated with him, 'Write not,
The King of the Jews' (John 19:15, 21; compare Acts 17:7). But the
stricter fulfilment of these words is to be found in the demeanor of the
Jews after His ascension, their fierce hostility to Christ in His infant
Church (Acts 12:3; 13:45; 14:18; 17:5; 18:6; 22:22; 23:12; 1 Thes.
2:15)."
5. The Day of the Supper at Bethany.--John places this event as having
occurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany, for as we see
from 12:12, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the next
day after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probably
reached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem did
not occur on the day following Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath.
Matthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of the
supper after the record of the triumphal entry and other events, from
which some have drawn the inference that these two writers place the
supper two days before the Passover. This inference lacks confirmation.
In this matter the chronological order given by John appears to be the
true one.
6. The Family Home at Bethany.--The home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
appears to have been the usual abiding place of Jesus when He was in
Bethany. Undoubtedly He was on terms of very close and affectionate
acquaintanceship with all members of the family, even before the
miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead, and, this supremely blessed
occurrence must have intensified into worshipful reverence the esteem in
which our Lord had been held in that household. As to whether this home
was identical with the house of Simon the leper, the scriptural record
does not state. John, who gives a fairly detailed account of the supper
served by Martha, makes no mention of Simon or his house. It is
noticeable that the synoptic writers say very little about this home in
Bethany. Farrar has aptly remarked (p. 483): "We seem to trace in the
Synoptists a special reticence about the family at Bethany. The house in
which they take a prominent position is called 'the house of Simon the
leper'; Mary is called simply 'a woman' by St. Matthew and St. Mark
(Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3); and St. Luke contents himself with calling
Bethany 'a certain village' (Luke 10:38), although he was perfectly
aware of the name (Luke 19:29)."
7. Spikenard Ointment.--This was among the most highly prized of
oriental unguents. That with which Mary anointed Jesus is described by
Matthew and Mark as "very precious," and by John as "very costly." In
the original the adjective "pistic" appears; this is translated by some
as meaning "liquid," but by others as signifying "genuine." There were
many inferior imitations of the real spikenard, or nard; and we are left
without a doubt that Mary's precious gift was of the best. The plant
from which the fragrant extract is obtained is a species of bearded
grass indigenous in India. Spikenard is mentioned in Song of Solomon
1:12; 4:13, 14.
8. Hosanna!--"Hosanna" is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for
"Save us now," or "Save, we pray," which occurs in the original of Psalm
118:25. It occurs nowhere in the English Bible except in the
acclamations of the people at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
and in the joyous shouts of children in the temple (Matt. 21:9, 15).
Note the rendering of the "Hosanna Shout" in the restored Church of
Christ in the current dispensation on occasions of particular rejoicing
before the Lord (see the _House of the Lord_, pp. 120, 150, 210).
"Hallelujah," literally rendered, means "Praise ye Jehovah." It occurs
in the Greek form "Alleluia" in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6.
9. The First Day in Passion Week.--A comparison of the accounts of the
Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of certain events following,
as recorded by the three synoptists, shows at least a possibility of
discrepancy as to sequence. It appears certain that Jesus visited the
temple grounds on the day of the royal advent into the city. From
Matthew 21:12 and Luke 19:45 and the context preceding these passages,
the inference has been drawn that the second clearing of the temple
occurred on the day of the processional entry; while others interpret
Mark 11:11 and 15 as meaning that the event took place on a later day.
The question is admittedly an open one; and the order of presentation
followed in the text is one of convenience of treatment based on
rational probability.
FOOTNOTES:
[1039] Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34.
[1040] The earlier predictions were: (1) that spoken shortly before the
Transfiguration (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31), and (2) that which followed,
in Galilee, (Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:31; compare Luke 9:44).
[1041] Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45.
[1042] Note 1, end of chapter.
[1043] For earlier lessons on the greatness of humility see pages 386
and 471; for the significance of the title, Son of Man, see pages
142-144.
[1044] Matt. 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43.
[1045] See account of the two demoniacs, Matt. 8:28, compare Mark 5:1,
Luke 8:27. See also page 310 herein.
[1046] Compare Matt. 9:27; 15:22; page 85 herein.
[1047] Luke 19:1-10.
[1048] Note 2, end of chapter.
[1049] Exo. 22:1-9.
[1050] Compare pages 389 and 454 to 461.
[1051] Luke 19:11-27.
[1052] Note 3, end of chapter.
[1053] Compare Mark 13:34.
[1054] Note 4, end of chapter.
[1055] Comparison of similarities and differences between this parable
and that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be made in chapter 32,
pages 580-584.
[1056] John 12:1-8; Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9.
[1057] See Exo. 12:1-10; also page 112 herein.
[1058] Note 5, end of chapter.
[1059] Note 6, end of chapter.
[1060] Luke 10:40-42; page 432 herein.
[1061] The better rendering is "cruse" or "flask" instead of "box." See
revised version.
[1062] This occurrence must not be confused with that of an earlier
anointing of Jesus by a penitent sinner in the house of Simon the
Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50) in Galilee. See page 262 herein.
[1063] Note 7, end of chapter.
[1064] Three hundred pence or Roman denarii would be approximately equal
in value to forty-five dollars.
[1065] Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19.
[1066] Note 8, end of chapter.
[1067] Compare Hab. 2:11.
[1068] The Sunday before Easter is annually celebrated by many Christian
sects as Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Lord's triumphal entry
into Jerusalem.
[1069] Zech. 9:9.
[1070] John 12:20-26.
[1071] See "House of the Lord," pages 56, 57.
[1072] John records this event in immediate sequence to the Lord's
triumphal entry, though without any specific indication of the time of
its occurrence.
[1073] Compare 1 Cor. 15:36.
[1074] John 12:27-36.
[1075] Compare John 14:30; 16:11.
[1076] See e.g. Isa. 9:7; Dan. 7:14, 27; Ezek. 37:25.
[1077] Compare John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; see page 407.
[1078] Acts 1:3.
[1079] Mark 11:11. Note 9, end of chapter.