iii ¦ ¦ : , 'M Dl I give the/* Books for tie founding of a College hy iktj. Colony" DIVINITY SCHOOL TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY GIFT OF Estate of The Rev, Orvill© A, Petty A HUNDRED EASTERS The following table shows on what date Easter Sunday will oc cur in each year for a hundred years. 1911 April 16 1912 April 7 1913 March 23 1914 April 12 1915 April 4 1916 April 23 1917 April 8 1918 March 31 1919 April 20 1920 April 4 1921 March 27 1922 April 16 1923 April 1 1924 April 20 1925 April 121 1926 April 4 1927 April 17 1928 April 8 1929 March 31 1930 April 20 1931 April 5 1932 March 27 1933 April 16 1934 April 1 1935 April 21 1936 April 12 1937 March 28 1938 April 17 1939 April 9 1940 March 24 1941 April 13 1942 April 5 1943 April 25 1944 April 9 1945 April 1 1946 April 21 1947 April 6 1948 March 28 1949 April 17 1950 April 9 1951 March 25 1952 April 13 1953 April 5 1954 April 18 1955 April 10 1956 April 1 1957 April 21 1958 April 6 1959 March 29 1960 April 17 1961 April 2 1962 April 22 1963 April 14 .1964 March 29 1965 April 18 1966 April 10 1967 March 26 1968 April 14 1969 April 6 1970 March 29 1971 April 11 1373 April 2 1973 April 22 1974 April 14 1975 March 30 1976 April 18 1977 .....April 10 1978 March 26 1979 April 15 1980 April 6 1981 April 19 1982 April 11 1983 April 3 1984 April 22 1985 April 7 1986 March 30 1987 April 19 1988 April 3 1989 March 26 1990 April 15 1991 March 31 1992 April 19 1993 April 11 1994 April 3 1995 April 16 1996 April 7 1997 March 30 1998 April 12 1999 April 4 2000 April 23 2001 April 15 2002 March 31 2003 April 20 2004 April 11 2005 March 27 2006 April 16 2007 April 8 2008 March 23 2009 April 12 2010 April 4 2011 . April 24 2012 April 5 2013 * March 31 2014 April 20 2015 April 5 (Copyright, 1913, by William E. Barton) Calendars showing on what day of the week Christmas, July 4th, Thanks giving, or other holiday will occur, and indicating the day of the week on which B. person was born, and the day of any other anniversary within the last cen tury or during one hundred years to come, will be found in the back of thiq volume, DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS A BOOK FOR HOLY WEEK THE COMPLETE GOSPEL NARRATIVE WITH NOTES AND COMMENTS ORIGINAL AND SELECTED WILLIAM E. BARTON, d. d. AUTHOR OF "JESUS OF NAZARETH: HIS LIFE AND THE LAND IN WHICH HE LIVED "THE PSALMS AND THEIR STORY"! AND ONE OF THE EDITORS OF "HIS LAST WALK," "HIS LIFE," ETC. THE PURITAN PRESS OAK PARK AND SUBLETTE, ILLINOIS 1913 COPYRIGHT 1913 BY WILLIAM E. BARTON The text of the American Standard Bible, copyright 1901 by Thomas Nelson and Sons, is used by special permission of the publishers. PREFACE Each year sees an increase in the number of churches and Christian people observing Easter and the days immediately preceding as a time of special religious emphasis. The custom once confined almost wholly to non-liturgical churches has now become well nigh universal. The fact that we are more definitely in formed concerning the chronology of this last week than of any other period of our Lord's life lends ap propriateness to the celebration of the anniversary as the Spring of each year brings it forcibly before the thought of reverent Christian people. Several years ago the author of this volume in com pany with other ministers of suburban Chicago pre pared the interwoven Gospel narrative known as "His Last "Week. ' ' This has met a hearty welcome not only in every branch of the English-speaking Church, but in every land where the English language is known. The wide reception given to this booklet brought a demand for a larger work containing helps and com ments for ministers, teachers and others. There is al most total dearth of such literature. Guided by the large numbers of letters received from ministers and others, this book has been prepared. It is intended first of all for the assistance of ministers, but it is believed that many teachers and other Chris tian people will find it also of service. The Scripture narrative herein contained is a new interwoven text from the American Standard Bible, based upon and following the paragraph divisions and headings of "His Last Week." TABLE OF CONTENTS THE STORY OF THE LAST JOURNEY. GOING UP TO JERUSALEM 3 He departed from Galilee 3 And came beyond the Jordan 4 And they were on the way 4 Jesus' foreknowledge of his death 5 The things that were to happen 5 The resurrection invariably foretold 6 Thomas, who is called Didymus 6 Jesus at Ephraim 7 The route from Ephraim 3 And passed through Jericho 8 He went before, going up to Jerusalem 10 Those who followed Jesus 10 Then came 11 The mother of the sons of Zebedee 12 "One on thy right hand, the other on thy left" 13 "Are ye able to drink the cup?" 13 The throne of Zebedee's children 14 "Ye shall drink of my cup" 14 For whom it hath been prepared 14 The seven lessons of the cross 14 The material for the study of the passion 15 Omitted incidents 16 The teaching as Jesus approached Jerusalem 16 The joy set before him 17 THE FEAST AT BETHANY 18 Jesus therefore . . . came to Bethany 19 Six days before the passover 19 So they made him a supper there 20 Simon the leper 20 Mary anointed Jesus 20 Ointment of pure nard 21 An alabaster cruse 21 Exceeding precious 22 There were some that had indignation 22 "Let her alone" 22 The heart of the master 22 "She hath wrought a good work" 23 "To prepare me for my burial" 23 vi Contents Mary's reward 24 Wheresoever the gospel is preached 24 The worth of unmeasured love 25 A gift distinctly feminine 25 THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY 29 Palm Sunday 30 An Old Testament triumphal entry 31 The route of the triumphal procession 32 At the Mount of Olives 32 The village over against you •. 33 "The Lord hath need of him" 33 The procuring of the ass 34 "He will send him back" 34 He saw the city and wept 34 Psalms and tears 34 The tears of Jesus 35 The most part of the multitude 35 They that went before 36 Branches cut from the fields 37 The palm as a symbol 37 Spread their garments upon the way 38 The pathos of the procession 39 "Hosanna to the Son of David" 39 "The Son of David" 39 "Tell ye the daughter of Zion" 40 "Blessed is the King that cometh" 41 That it might be fulfilled 41 "The prophet from Nazareth of Galilee" 42 The zeal of Galilee 42 He entered into Jerusalem 43 The Golden Gate 45 The significance of the triumphal entry 45 Jesus directed the preparations 46 Significance of the Messianic entry 46 The entry a deliberate challenge 47 "Behold, how ye prevail nothing" 47 "Lo, the world is gone after him !" 48 All the city was stirred 48 Jesus entered into the temple of God 49 He looked round on aft things 49 He went out unto Bethany 4g The continuous entry 49 Palm Sunday customs 49 THE STORY OF MONDAY. THE CURSING OF THE FIG THREE 52 He hungered 52 Contents vii Seeing a fig tree 53 Nothing but leaves , 53 The reason for cursing the fig tree 54 THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE 55 He entered into the temple 56 Herod's temple 56 Sold and bought in the temple 58 The profanity of the traffic 58 The cleansing of the temple 59 Cast out . . . and overthrew 59 Money changers 60 The vigor of Jesus 60 The indignation of Jesus 61 "Is it not written?" 62 "A den of robbers" 62 The hand that held the whip 63 The cleansing of the temple; its teachings 63 The lesson of Monday 64 Annas and his sons as extortioners 64 The congregation of the poor 65 Sought to destroy him 66 The blind and the lame 66 The healing of the blind and lame 66 The last miracles 67 The children's praises 67 The children ... in the temple 67 "Perfected praise" 67 And every night he went out 68 Lodged there 68 THE STORY OF TUESDAY. THE LESSON FROM THE WITHERED FIG TREE 70 The fig tree withered away 71 THE CHALLENGE OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY 71 The reaction , 71 Chief priests 72 The elders : 73 The scribes 7a "Why did ye not believe him?" 73 "Neither tell I you", 74 Solomon's porch 74 The challenge of Jesus' authority 74 Legal authority to teach required 75 The authority of Christ . . . , 76 Jesus' reply 77 Jesus as a controversialist 78 THE TWO SONS 79 The parable of the two sons 79 Publicans 79 viii Contents THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN 80 "Hear another parable" 81 Hedge . . . winepress . . . tower 81 "The stone which the builders rejected" 82 "The head of the corner" 83 The vinedressers condemned 83 To whom the parable was addressed 84 Teachings of this parable concerning Christ 84 THE MARRIAGE OFTHE KING'S SON 85 "To call them that were bidden" 85 And they would not come 86 The parable of the marriage 86 The wedding garment 86 TRIBUTE TO CAESAR 87 The Pharisees . . . took counsel 87 The Herodians 88 "Tribute unto Caesar" 89 "The things that are Caesar's" 90 Tribute to Caesar 90 The payment of tribute 90 The use of Caesar's coin 90 Jesus' teaching concerning money 91 THE QUESTION OF THE RESURRECTION 92 Certain of the Sadducees 93 The belief of the Sadducees 94 "His brother should take the wife" 95 "But are as the angels of God" 95 The plots against Jesus 96 THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT 96 And one of the scribes came 97 "What commandment is the first of all?" 97 "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is one" 97 Question concerning the commandment 98 Love to God and Man 98 "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself" 99 THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTION OF JESUS 99 "The Lord said unto my Lord" 100 "If David call him Lord, how is he his son?" 100 Jesus' unanswerable question 100 Authorship of Psalm 110 101 DISCOURSE OF JESUS AGAINST THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES 102 The discourse against the Scribes and Pharisees 104 "They make broad their phylacteries" 105 "Be ye not called rabbi" 106 "Call no man your father" 106 "Ye tithe mint and anise and cummin" 107 "Strain out the gnat" , 107 Contents ix Straining out gnats and swallowing camels 107 "Ye cleanse the outside of the cup" 108 Building the tombs of the prophets 108 "Whited Sepulchres" , 108 "The blood of Zechariah" 109 Woes against the Pharisees 109 Hypocrites 110 THE WIDOW'S TWO MITES 110 The court of the women Ill Cast money into the treasury Ill Two mites Ill "All her living" 112 THE GENTILES SEEK JESUS 113 Certain Greeks , 114 The Gentiles seeking Jesus 115 The request of the Greeks 115 Jesus' response and deep emotion 116 "The Christ abideth ever" 117 The way of the cross 117 The voice from heaven 118 Love and duty , 118 Life through death 119 "I lay down my life" 119 "I, if I be lifted up" 120 "Except a grain of wheat die" 121 "Draw all men unto me" 122 The voluntary character of the death of Jesus 123 THE JEWS REJECT JESUS 123 "That the word might be fulfilled" 124 Jesus' last word in the temple 125 His last public teaching 125 The unbelief of tbfe Jews explained 126 The lower and the higher success 127 The consequences of faith and unbelief 127 DISCOURSE CONCERNING THE FUTURE 128 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! 132 "Not . . . one stone upon another" 132 Occasion for the discourse 133 "The signs of thy coming" 134 Signs of the parousia 134 "The end of the world" 135 The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven 135 Three interpretations of Mt. chs 24, 25, 136 "Jerusalem compassed with armies" 137 The prophecy concerning the destruction 138 The abomination of desolation 138, 139 "Them that are with child— and give suck" 139 "Pray that your flight be not in winter" 139 Contents "Or on a Sabbath" 139 The destruction of Jerusalem foretold 139 The great tribulation 140 The true sign and the catastrophe , 140 The siege of Jerusalem 141 "Grinding at the mill" 141 The larger meaning of the destruction of Jerusalem 142 THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS 143 "At midnight ... a cry" 143 "Our lamps are going out" 144 "Give us of your -oil" 144 The door was shut 144 "Lord, Lord, open to us" 145 THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS 146 "A man going into another country" 147 "Unto one he gave five talents" 147 "I hid thy talent in the earth" 148 "Put my money to the bankers" 148 Talents 148 The reckoning with the slothful servant 149 THE JUDGMENT SCENE 149 "Before him shall be gathered all nations" 150 "The sheep from the goats" 150 "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink" 151 "A stranger and ye took me in" 151 The unconsciousness of those judged 151 The tests of the judgment 152 THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST JESUS 152 "Thirty pieces of silver" 152 Judas and the priests 153 And they gave him thirty pieces of silver 154 THE STORY OF WEDNESDAY. The probable events of the day 155 The Bethany silence 156 THE STORY OF THURSDAY. PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER 159 Sacrificed the passover , 159 Origin of the passover 161 The passover in the time of Christ 161 The passover as now observed by Palestine Jews 162 The passover as observed by the Samaritans 163 The time of Christ's last supper 163 On the first day of unleavened bread 165 He sendeth two of his disciples 166 "Thy time is at hand" 166 "The master of the house" 166 The renting of guest chambers 166 Contents xi A large upper room 166 They made ready the passover 168 STRIFE AMONG THE DISCIPLES 169 When it was evening 169 A contention among them 169 The strife for precedence among the twelve 170 "Continued with me in my temptations" 170 "Eat and drink ... in my kingdom" 170 THE BETRAYER POINTED OUT 170 As they sat and were eating 171 As they were eating 172 The shadow at the supper 173 Judas Iscariot 173 "Is it I, Rabbi?" 174 "Dipped with me in the dish" 174 "Thou hast said" 174 Dipped the sop 175 Having received the sop, went out 175 It was night 175 JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES' FEET 175 He began to wash the disciples' feet 176 The washing of the disciples' feet 177 He began to wash the disciples' feet 177 "Dost thou wash my feet ?" 177 "Ye ought to wash one another's feet" 177 "He that eateth my bread" 178 THE LORD'S SUPPER 179 "With desire I have desired" 179 The Lord's Supper 179 The breaking of Jesus' reserve 180 The need of a rite 181 The relation of the supper to the passover 182 He took bread . . . and brake it 182 When he had given thanks 182 "This is my body" 183 The bread of life 183 The night of betrayal , 184 He took a cup 185 "My blood of the new covenant" 185 The meaning of the bread and the wine 185 The significance -of the Lord's supper 186 A service, not a sacrifice 187 The number at the table 188 THE FAREWELL CONVERSATION 188 "I will smite the shepherd" , 193 "Satan asked to have you" 193 "Buy a sword" 194 "Let not your heart be troubled" 194 xii Contents "And in me, too, trust" 194 "Many mansions" 195 "If it were not so, I would have told you" 195 "I go away to prepare a place for you" 196 The place prepared for us 197 Questions by Thomas and Philip 197 "How know we the way?" 198 Philip saith, "Show us the Father" 198 "I go unto the Father" 199 "Because I go unto the Father" 200 "Another comforter" 201 Judas (not Iscariot) 201 "Greater works than these shall ye do" 202 "Even the Spirit of truth" 202 "He shall not speak from himself" 203 The promise of the Holy Spirit 204 The promise concerning the Comforter 205 The vine and the branches 205 The unfruitful branch 206 The disciples urged to love one another 206 "The joy that a man is born into the world" 206 "I have overcome the world" 207 THE INTERCESSORY PRAYER 207 "Glorify thy son" 208 "I pray for them" " 209 The victory of the Son of Man over sorrow 210 The victory within the soul of Jesus. 210 Sung a hymn 211 THE STORY OF FRIDAY. April 7, 30 A. D. THE AGONY IN GETHSEMANE 213 He went, as his custom was, unto the Mount of Olives ..214 There was a garden 215 "Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder" 217 "Watch with me" 217 Christ shrinking from the cross 217 The agony in the garden 218 He cometh and findeth them sleeping 219 "Sleep on, now" 220 "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" 220 THE BETRAYAL AND ARREST 220 "Buy a sword" , 222 "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he" 223 And kissed him 224 The band of soldiers 225 A multitude with swords and staves 226 "Whom seek ye?" 226 "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?", , . . , , 227 Contents xiii Peter drew his sword 227 "Are ye come as against a robber?" 228 They all forsook him and fled 228 The young man in the linen sheet 229 THE DENIAL OF PETER 229 The steps of Peter's fall 230 The began he to- curse , 231 The bad and good in Peter 231 Our attitude toward Peter 231 THE REMORSE OF JUDAS 232 The remorse and suicide of Judas 232 THE TRIAL BEFORE THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES 233 The two trials 234 Led him to Annas first 235 Caiaphas, high priest that year 235 Jesus and Annas 235 To the high priest 236 The scribes and elders 236 Jesus held his peace 237 To the house of Caiaphas 237 In the midst of the court 237 Two witnesses required 238 The chief priests sought false witness 238 Tried by the Sanhedrin 239 Morning session of the Sanhedrin. 240 "At the right hand of power" 240 THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE 241 The governor 242 Unto Pilate 242 "We found this man perverting our nation" 243 A notable prisoner named Barabbas 244 Now Barabbas was a robber 244 The crown of thorns 245 JESUS BEFORE HEROD 247 He sent him unto Herod 247 The house of Herod 248 The hearing before Herod 248 THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE RESUMED 249 Gabbatha or pavement 251 The praetorium 251 The judgment seat 251 The timidity of Pilate 252 "Crucify him!" 252 The trial before Pilate 253 The prevailing voice 254 The sixteen questions of Pilate 254 Pilate's knowledge of the case 255 The character of Pilate 256 xiv Contents He washed his hands 256 The plea of Pilate's wife 257 The second trial before Pilate 258 The scourging 259 "We have no king but Caesar" 260 The verdict on a technical plea of guilty 260 Was the trial of Jesus legal? 261 The illegality of the trial of Jesus 262 THE SORROWFUL WAY 262 Via Dolorosa 263 Stations of the cross 263 He went out bearing his cross 264 THE CRUCIFIXION 265 A place called Golgotha 267 The time of the crucifixion 267 The witnesses of the crucifixion 268 The mother at the cross 268 It was written in Hebrew, and in Latin and Greek 269 And they sat and watched him there 270 Wine mingled with gall 270 The seven words 271 The height of the cross 271 Crucifixion _....; 272 The cross 273 The, physical cause of the death of Jesus 273 There was darkness 274 The darkness 274 The passion flower 274 The vail of the temple was rent 274 "Into thine hand I commend my spirit" 275 The death of Jesus 275 "It is finished" 275 The side of Jesus pierced 276 The cross as an instrument of punishment 277 The cross as an emblem 278 Legends about the crucifixion 282 The discovery and loss of the alleged true cross 283 Legends of the tree of the cross 283 THE BURIAL 285 The entombment 285 Joseph of Arimathea 286 The belated courage of Nicodemus 287 The new Calvary 287 The Holy Sepulchre 288 Reasons for believing in the new Calvary 292 Have we discovered the tomb of Christ? 295 The Holy Sepulchre 298 The rolling stone 299 Contents xv Jewish burial 299 Good Friday 300 Superstitions concerning Friday 301 Hot Cross Buns 301 THE STORY OF SATURDAY. April 8, A. D. 30 THE WATCH AT THE TOMB 303 The watch at the sepulchre 303 The gloom of the disciples 304 The day after 304 THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY. THE EARTHQUAKE 308 The narratives of the resurrection 308 Conjectural reconstruction of the narratives 309 The disciples' belief in the resurrection 310 An angel . . . rolled the stone away 311 And sat upon it 311 The resurrection 312 The resurrection revelation 312 THE EMPTY TOMB 313 The news brought to Peter and John 313 The doubt of the disciples 314 The unbelief of the disciples 314 Then went in also that other disciple 315 The napkin that was about his head 316 The resurrection a mystery 316 THE APPEARANCE TO MARY 317 Mary was standing without, at the tomb 318 The appearance of the angels 318 His mother's sister Mary 318 The Marys at the crucifixion 319 THE APPEARANCE TO THE WOMEN 320 The women at the sepulchre 320 Prominence of the women 321 Jesus met them, saying all hail 321 They came and took hold of his feet 322 THE APPEARANCE AT EMMAUS 322 The journey to Emmaus 334 Ought not the Christ to have suffered? 325 THE APPEARANCE TO THE DISCIPLES 236 The reality of the resurrection of Jesus , 327 The evidential value of Christ's resurrection 327 Importance of the resurrection 328 The identity of the risen Saviour 3_9 Easter ^29 The date of Easter ¦"" xvi Contents A fixed date for Easter 331 The Easter egg 332 The Easter lily 333 REPORT OF THE WATCH 333 The report of the soldiers 333 THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS. THE APPEARANCE TO THE DISCIPLES AND TO THOMAS 337 The eight days after 337 "Reach hither thy finger" 338 The stigmata 338 Thomas said, "My Lord and my God" 338 THE APPEARANCE TO THE SEVEN BY THE SEA 339 Appearance by the Sea of Galilee 340 The two words for love 341 The meaning of the miracle 343 Fishing on the Sea of Galilee 343 The fish as a symbol 344 THE APPEARANCE TO THE ELEVEN ON THE MOUN TAIN 344 The great commission 344 THE LAST APPEARANCE AND ASCENSION 345 The final interview in Jerusalem 346 The ascension 347 The glory of the ascension 347 Lent 348 The abiding Christ 348 CALENDARS FOR 100 YEARS 349-352 A HUNDRED EASTERS Front of Book DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Gbe ©ton? of tbe Xast 3ourncs It was in the autumn of the year 29 A. D., six months before the Crucifixion, that Jesus took his final depar ture from Galilee. Brief accounts of this removal are found in Mt. 19 :1, Mk. 10 :1 and Lk. 9 :51-56. Jerusalem was his destination, but he traveled toward it slowly, stopping frequently to preach and to heal. Much of the time was spent in a region east of the Jordan, known as Persea, a section which Jesus naturally would reach by crossing the Jordan south of the Sea of Gali lee. His Persean ministry is recorded almost entirely by Luke (9:51 — 19:28), though important incidents have their parallels in the other gospels. Jesus left Peraaa to visit Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of the Dedication, which in that year, 29 A. D., occurred Dec. 20-27. On that occasion, while walking in the temple, he refused to announce his Messiahship but fearlessly proclaimed his oneness with the Father. Accusing him of blasphemy, his enemies sought to lay violent hands upon him, but he escaped and withdrew beyond Jordan, where he remained until summoned to Bethany, a few weeks later, on the occasion of the death of Lazarus (Jn. Chaps. 7-11). When his raising of Lazarus from the dead resulted in fresh plots against his life, he went to "a city called Ephraim," in "the country near the wilderness" (Jn. 11:54). Later he returned, by a circuitous route, to Peraga, and from thence took up his last journey to Jerusalem, by way of Jericho. In the latter city he healed two blind men, one of whom bore the name of Bartimaeus. While in Jericho his brief stay in the home of Zacchaeus brought DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS rich spiritual results to his host. Luke, Chapter 19, records this visit, also the Parable of the Pounds, which Jesus uttered on leaving Jericho. At this stage of his journey, when two of "The Twelve" bespoke for them selves the chief places of honor in that temporal king dom which they judged he was soon to establish, Jesus rebuked their ambition, taught the greatness of service, and adding to the warnings which he had given them during the few weeks preceding, for the first time proclaimed himself "a ransom for many" (Mt. 20: 20-28). A week before the Crucifixion, probably on Fri day morning, March 31, Jesus left Jericho, "ascend ing up to Jerusalem," mingling with the crowds flock ing to the Holy City to celebrate the approaching Pass over. Plans were already on foot among the chief priests and Pharisees to seize Jesus, if he should show himself at the Feast. He did not enter Jerusalem that night, but remained at Bethany, as the guest of Laza rus and his household. It is generally supposed that Jesus arrived in Bethany on Friday, some time before the sunset with which the Jewish Sabbath began, and that the feast given in his honor at the home of Simon the leper occurred on Saturday evening, at the close of the Sabbath. John 12:1-8 tells us of the presence, at that supper, of the resurrected Lazarus, and records his sister Mary's immortal deed. The morrow finds Jesus completing the last few miles of his journey and approaching Jerusalem for the last time. GOING UP TO JERUSALEM And it came to pass when the days were well nigh come that Jesus should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he departed from Galilee, and passed through the borders of Samaria and Galilee, and THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 3 came into the borders of Judaea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there. And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto them, saying, "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall con demn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles ; and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall kill him ; and after three days he shall rise again." Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said unto his fellow-disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." And he entered and passed through Jericho and went on before, going up to Jerusalem. Now the passover of the Jews was at hand: and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the pass- over, to purify themselves. They sought therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another, as they stood in the tem ple, "What think ye? That he will not come to the feast?" Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given com mandment, that, if any man knew where he was, he should show it, that they might take him. (His Last Week pp. 4-5.) He departed from Galilee. (Mt. 19:1.) Six months before his final departure from Galilee Jesus delivered his sermon on the Bread of Life ( Jn. 6 :22— 7 :1), and it is recorded that from that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then fol lowed two extended journeys to the northward; one, to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mt. 15:21-28), and the other to the slope of Mount Hermon, where the Transfiguration occurred (Mt. 17:1-13). After this, Jesus left Galilee, presumably in November, 29 A. D., and began what was his final journey to Jerusalem. This journey lasted six months, and included the whole of his ministry in Peraea, the sojourn in Ephraim, and DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the visit to Bethany at the time of the death of Laza rus. And came beyond the Jordan. (Mt. 19:1-2.) The name Perasa is given by Josephus to the district which in Rabbinical literature is spoken of as "The Land beyond Jordan." It is high table land, with deep and picturesque ravines, falling by a series of cliffs into the Jordan valley. Josephus says that while larger than Galilee, it is less fertile. The soil, however, is good. Much of it can be cultivated, and the greater part of the remainder is good for pasture. There is a good supply of water, also, and there are more natural forests of oak than on the other side of Jordan. This region was occupied by the descendants of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh. In the early days it was counted as half Gentile, but some great religious leaders, including Elijah the Tishbite, came from there. It was to this region that David fled from Absalom, and here he was kindly treated. Here Jesus found refuge in the last months of his ministry. Here, too, after the destruction of Jerusa lem, the Christians fleeing from the doomed city took refuge. Eusebius (H. E. iii:5) states that they took refuge in Pella, at that time one of the most attractive places in Peraaa. And they were on the way. (Mk. 10:32.) The chief companions of Jesus on this last journey were the twelve chosen disciples, all of whom continued with him to his destination, though Judas is supposed to have withdrawn from Bethany for some hours to arrange for the betrayal of his Master. Besides the betrayer, only Thomas, Peter, James and John are mentioned by name. Jesus was attended, in all proba bility, by many other persons, principally from Galilee, THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 5 including some whom he had healed of physical in firmities. A company of women who were friends, and in some cases relatives, of Jesus, followed near, but in a separate caravan. Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary of Magdala, and Salome, the mother of James and John, are known to have been of this faithful band that followed Jesus to the end, sharing the sorrows of the Crucifixion and the wonder of the Resurrection (Mt. 27:55,56). Jesus' foreknowledge of his death. While the first explicit utterance of the prediction took place at Caesa rea Philippi only some six or eight months before the close of Jesus' ministry, it by no means follows that the forecast was not present to him at a much earlier period. All the indications point the other way. The very immediacy with which he followed up Peter's confession of his Messiahship with the announcement of his suffering suggests that the idea was already fixed in his mind, and was only waiting a fit opportun ity of utterance. And this is borne out by the saying which all the Synoptics record as spoken during his early Galilean ministry, that a sad time was coming for the children of the bridechamber, when the bride groom should be taken away from them (Mt. 9 :15 ; Mk. 2:20; Lk. 5:35). The reference is vague and illusive, but it indicates what his own thought was dwelling upon long before the hour had struck for plain speech about it even to the disciples.— David W. Forrest, D. D., in S. S. Times. The things that were to happen. (Mk. 10 :32.) For the third time, at least, the disciples are made aware by Jesus of his coming passion. He had already fore told his death; first, in the region of Caesarea Philippi (Mt. 16:21-28; Mk. 8:31—9:1; Lk. 9:22-27), and again DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS just after the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:22, 23; Mk. 9:30-32; Lk. 9:43-45). On this journey he twice re peated the warning. Prompted by the devotion of Thomas, the disciples sadly agreed to go with him that they might die with him, but the impossibility of be lieving that the Master in whom they trusted could meet such a fate re-asserted itself at intervals. Amazed at the hazard he was assuming, they ceased to question or protest, but followed him as he went be fore, ascending up to Jerusalem. The resurrection invariably foretold. It need cause no surprise that the prophecy of his death is always accompanied by the announcement of his resurrection. The death, however disastrous it might seem, was the indispensable condition of triumph. Jesus' forecast of the future could not but close on a note of hope and victory. Possibly this was the reason why the dis ciples, in spite of his repeated announcements, never really anticipated his death. The idea of a resurrec tion on the third day appears to have bewildered them, as the resurrection was always associated in their minds with the final judgment. The one thing of which they were convinced was that Jesus, as Messiah, must reign forever over the souls whom he had re deemed (Isa. 9:7), and thus they largely dismissed from their minds everything that seemed to impair this assurance. His prediction of death and resurrec tion had little immediate effect upon them; the value of it lay in the future, when the events spoken of had taken place, and the disciples "remembered that he had said such things unto them" (Lk. 24:8; Jn. 2:22). —David W. Forrest, D. D., in S. S. Times. Thomas, who is called Didymus. (Jn. 11:1.) The name Didymus signifies "the twin," and there is a THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 7 wide-spread, but unsupported, tradition that he was the twin-brother of Jesus. An apocryphal book of the second century makes him the first missionary to India, whither he went after selling himself as a slave to an Indian merchant. Earlier traditions, however, make Persia his field. Secular historians state that he met martyrdom by means of a lance. Thorwaldsen's famous statue of St. Thomas, in a Copenhagen church, represents him as "the thoughtful, meditative skeptic, with the rule in his hand for the due measuring of evidence and argument." All our actual knowledge of the apostle Thomas comes from the Gospel of John, where he is mentioned in 11:16, 14:5, 20:24-29, 21:2. These word-pictures bring before us a man of character — one naturally despondent and incredulous, but, when once convinced, a devoted and ardent advocate. His exhortation to the other disciples, recorded in Jn. 11 :16, exhibits an un wavering loyalty that must have been of great com fort to our Lord as he journeyed to Jerusalem to face certain death. That Thomas remained faithful is made clear in Acts 1 :13, where he is mentioned among the apostles assembled after the ascension. Jesus at Ephraim. ( Jn. 11 :54.) Ephraim is a town not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, nor in any other part of the New Testament, excepting Jn. 11 :54. There Jesus went, after the raising of Lazarus, in consequence of the plot formed by the rulers of the Jews. Robinson suggests that Ephraim is the same as Ophrah, mentioned in I Sam. 13 :17, and identifies it with the village called el-Taiyibeh, and this is generally accepted as fulfilling the conditions required by the narrative of John. According to Andrews' chronology, Jesus departed DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS to Ephraim at the latter part of February or early in March, continuing there until just before the Passover. He was thus in Ephraim several weeks. We have no record of the way in which his time was spent. He may have made excursions to the neighboring villages, but, as his object in going to Ephraim was seclusion, it is probable that he spent the days quietly with his disciples, preparing them by instruction for the time when he could no longer be with them in the flesh. The route from Ephraim. It appears that Jesus, on leaving Ephraim, made a brief detour on the northern frontier to some place along the southern border of Galilee, possibly to meet his mother and other friends who were to accompany him to Jerusalem. They ap pear to have come through southeastern Galilee and the borders of Samaria, crossing Jordan, passing through Peraea, and recrossing Jordan near Jericho. And passed through Jericho. (Lk. 19:1.) This ancient and celebrated city in the Jordan valley, about seven miles north of the Dead Sea and five miles west of the river Jordan, is on a plain of great fertility, and grows all manner of tropical products. The summer heat is great and the region is unhealthful, but the winter climate is pronounced delightful. The name Jericho probably means "place of fragrance." There was a fortress here before the Jewish occupancy, but it was captured by Joshua and destroyed. It was the first city to fall to the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan (Joshua 6). It was rebuilt in the days of Ahab by Hiel, the Bethelite (I Kings 16 :34). In Elijah's day it was the home of a group of the prophets (II Kings 2:15, 16). In New Testament times Herod the Great built a new city a short distance from the older city and raised it to great importance. Later it was de- THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 9 stroyed by Vespasian, but again rebuilt, though on a different site. It was long known as "the city of palm- trees," but these now have disappeared, as well as the roses, grapes and balsam for which it was once famous. The site of the ancient city is a plateau about a quarter of a mile in length and one eighth of a mile wide, distant from modern Jericho about a mile to the northwest. Upon this plain are seven hillocks rising about thirty feet above the plateau, which is itself some thirty feet above the plain of the Jordan. In April, 1907, excavations were made which revealed a massive wall of burned bricks, on a stone foundation, together with the remains of a tower, or fortress, 69x35 feet, and 20 feet high, believed to be the ancient city wall. There is reason to believe that further excava tions in the vicinity of Jericho will yield results to the archaeologists. The modern village of Jericho is a squalid place of three hundred inhabitants. For the most part they are unattractive and evil spoken against. The men are said to be robbers and the women appear spiteful and untidy, and even the children are unpleasant in man ners and appearance. The most imposing ruin in the village is pointed out to the credulous as the house of Zacchseus. A large and beautiful spring is named "The Fountain of Elisha," from the tradition that it was the fountain sweetened by that prophet. The region about Jericho was familiar to Jesus. His baptism occurred not far from there, at the very beginning of his ministry. The scene of his temptation in the wilderness was not far distant. It is altogether probable that several of his subsequent journeys 10 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS caused him to pass through the city, but we have no record of any, except this one that occurred just before the triumphal entry. He went before, going up to Jerusalem. (Lk. 19:20.) The way from Jericho to Jerusalem is an al most continuous ascent. The Master led the way in that steep and weary climb of thirteen miles. The Dead Sea is 1,300 feet below sea level, and Jerusalem, measured at the northwest angle of the present wall, is 2,589 feet above the Mediterranean. The road is one long climb. It skirts the edge of the deep ravine known as the Wady el-Kelt, on whose opposite side are several monasteries and the homes of many hermits, and passes the Brook Cherith, where Elijah hid from Jezebel, and then winds and climbs through the Wilderness of Judaea till it rounds the Mount of Olives. Midway to Jerusalem is an inn, known as "The Inn of the Good Samaritan." Farther toward Jerusalem is a spring known as ' ' The Apostles ' Fountain," so named from the tradition that on this last journey Jesus and his disciples rested and re freshed themselves there. The tradition has nothing in Scripture to support it, but is not only reasonable but probable. There is no reason to doubt that the spring was there in Jesus' day, and it is not likely that foot travelers from Jericho would have passed the spring without stopping there for rest and refreshment. Those who followed Jesus. They walked, not be side him, for the way was not wide, and he had a path which he must tread alone, but they walked in his steps. They had followed him for months, and faithfully. Let not the memory of their frailties blot out our just recognition of their fidelity. Earth has few more beautiful examples of loyalty than they dis- THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 11 played. Only the true record of the few times they failed holds it in its precious place in the list of human affections, fallible and within the reach of common men, but closely approaching the love they learned from the Lord himself. They followed him while the crowds were growing, and after the multitudes had departed. They followed him when they had hope of crowns and thrones ; and after he had told them of the cross and shame. They followed him with expectation of sharing his glory; and now they were going with him that they might die with him. Now and then their old faith in his triumph asserted itself, and they grew confident and quarrelsome, so like ourselves were they, but it was not chiefly this that was taking them to Jerusalem. It was a love which Jesus had mspired, which, living or dying, honored or rejected, impelled them to follow him to the end. Let others remember how weak they were ; we ourselves shall not be able to forget it ; but we will bear no part with those who joy in magnifying the inconsistencies they displayed. Rather will we reverently drop in behind them as they climb, and count it joy that we who are not worthy to loosen the sandals of the least of them, may place our steps in theirs and those of our blessed Lord. — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, pp. 74-75. Then came. "Then came!" And what was the particular time which was assumed to be so favorable to the quest? What was the psychological moment? What says the context, for the context so frequently sheds a lurid or interpreting light upon the text? "And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests 12 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS and scribes ; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he shall be raised up." The narrative is darkenmg into twilight and night; the heavens are becoming overspread and there loom the approaching presences of betrayal and condemnation and crucifixion. Surely, in such awful midnight, all petty and frivolous thought will be up heaved as by the convulsions of an earthquake ! Sure ly all triflmg purposes will be enlarged by a solemn wonder ! Surely all hot and f eeverish ambition will be cooled and transfigured into sacred pity and awe! ' ' Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with her sons . . . asking a certam thing of him. ' ' In the moment of austere sorrow private ambition be came obtrusive ! We must not assume that these men and their mother had been unimpressed by the Mas ter's sad and mysterious speech. I would rather as sume that they have shared the general depression, and have been subdued into tender seriousness and tears. But would not the assumption make the asso ciation altogether violent and unnatural? Natural or unnatural, I find many interpreting analogies in my own experience. It is amazing how speedily a settled temper can stain through a new impression and oblit erate it. It is marvellous with what strength a domi nant purpose can break through a temporary emotion and subdue and destroy it. How often laughter walks just at the heels of tears ! How frequently frivolity pitches its tents in the very precincts of the sanctuary ! It is almost incredible what subjects men can discuss when they are returning from a funeral. — J. H. Jowett, The School of Calvary, pp. 83-85. The mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Mt. 20:20.) THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 13 Her name was Salome (Mt. 27:56; Mk. 15:40). It is believed that she was the sister of the mother of Jesus (Jn. 19 :25), a relationship which may have emboldened her to ask special favors for her sons, James and John. They seemed to have accompanied her and sug gested to her the request which she made of Jesus. To speak of "the sons of Zebedee" is the Oriental equivalent of giving them a surname. Not only are sons named after their father in this way, but also in Palestine the father and mother are named after their first-born son. Not only would James be spoken of as the son of Zebedee, but Zebedee, among his intimate friends, would be spoken of as "father-of- James." Salome was one of the women who sat near the cross of Jesus, and was early at the sepulchre on Easter morning. "One on thy right hand, the other on thy left." (Mt. 20:21.) Among Orientals, the seat on the right hand of a ruler is that of highest authority, and next to that in importance is the one upon the left. The ceremonial value of these places is greatly and proudly recognized even in the humblest home, and in any gathering where rank is considered these places are eagerly striven for. It is pathetic to remember that when Jesus came to his kingdom a few days later, entering it by way of the cross, no disciple occupied the place at his right hand or his left, but these places were taken by two robbers, crucified with him. "Are ye able to drink the cup?" (Mt. 20:220 A primitive custom still obtains among desert tribes, in which the host, offering refreshment to his guests, drinks first of all from the cup which he is about to pass. This cup of hospitality is a proof of good faith. ,To decline to drink the proffered cup, on any pretext, 14 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS is equivalent to suggesting a suspicion of poison or of bad faith. To be able to drink the cup is to exhibit proof of sincerity and good fellowship. The "cup" which Jesus was about to drink signified suffering, and he made it plain, not only to James and John, but to the other ten disciples as well, that they must suffer with him before they could reign with him. The throne of Zebedee' s children. Heaven is the abode of the sacrificial, the gathering place of cru saders; the secret of heaven's glory is to be found in the glorious characters we have fashioned on the way. The sons of Zebedee came to the throne, but by ways of which they had never dreamed. "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword." . . . "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of!" James sealed his sovereignty by the bloody slopes of martyrdom. As for John, the evening of his days was a stormy and blood-red sunset, spent in the pains of an exile sus tained by the inexpressible fellowship of his Lord. — J. H. Jowett, The School of Calvary, pp. 96-7. "Ye shall drink of my cup." (Mt. 20 :23.) In every one of the predictions of his passion, the Lord in some way indicated that his disciples were to share with him the sacrifice and the glory of his suffering. For whom it hath been prepared. (Mt. 20:23.) There is no indication that the highest places in heaven have been awarded and are eternally assigned in ad vance to any ancient saints. So far as we know, the places at the right and left hands of Jesus in heaven are still open. The seven lessons of the cross. Seven times Jesus THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 15 foretold his passion. 1. At Caesarea Philippi (Mt. 16: 21-28). 2. At the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:22-23). 3. At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (Mt. 20 : 17-19). 4. At the time of the request of Zedebee's wife for her sons (Mt. 20:20-28). 5. At the feast of Bethany (Mt. 26:6-13). 6. When the Greeks sought him in the temple (Jn. 12:30-36). 7. In the Upper Room (Mt. 26:26-30). See also the parallel passages in the other gospels. The material for the study of the passion. The story of the sufferings and death of Jesus, and of the resur rection, occupy only eight days out of a ministry that may have been somewhat more than three years in length, yet these narratives occupy about thirty-six per cent of the material of the gospels. The percentage is largest in the Gospel of John and smallest in the Gos pel of Luke. Various circumstances have been sug gested to explain the large amount of space given to the narrative of these days. First, Jesus seems to have filled the closing days with intense activity, both as regards the Jews, whom he sought to save, and as regards his disciples, whom he sought to prepare for his death. Second, the events and words of the last days of Jesus would naturally impress themselves most deeply on the minds and hearts of the disciples, and so when the time to write of them came, a fuller narrative could be produced than could be written of other peri ods of his life. Third, the apostolic church from the be ginning regarded the death of Jesus as of fundamental importance, and for this reason dwelt with peculiar interest on the events immediately connected with it. It is the only part of the ministry of Jesus which we are able to follow in anything like an accurate order of events from day to day. 16 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Omitted incidents. An extended study of the passion of our Lord would be enriched by a review of the en tire Peraean ministry, from the final departure from Galilee on October 29 (Mt. 19:1; Mk.'lO:l; Lk. 9:51- 56), and the Feast of Tabernacles, which appears to fix the date of that departure (Jn. 7 :2-52). So far as we are able to learn Jesus did not return to Galilee after that feast. The incidents of the Peraean ministry are given in His Life, pages 123-154. These incidents form a kind of review and epitome of the entire ministry of Jesus. In the compilation of His Last Week the story of the last journey to Jerusalem is condensed by the omission of the discourses and incidents of the jour ney, as the purpose of the pamphlet would be hindered by the inclusion of a large amount of matter intro ductory to the story of the days of Holy Week. The minister who is conducting services preparatory to Holy Week will find appropriate subjects in the fol lowing five topics, which are not included in His Last Week : 1. Jestjs a Third Time Foeetells His Death and Resubeection (Mt. 20:17-19; Mk. 10:32-34; Lk. 18 :31-34) ; 2. The Ambitious Request or the Mothee op James and John (Mt. 20:20-28; Mk. 10:35-45); 3. The Healing of Two Blind Men Near Jeeicho (Mt. 20:29-34; Mk. 10:46-52; Lk. 18:35-43); 4. The Visit to Zacch^us In Jeeicho (Lk. 19 :1-10) ; 5. The Paeable of the Pounds (Lk. 19:11-28). The teaching of Jesus as he approached Jerusalem. What John records out of this period is rather the controversies growing out of Christ's teaching in the temple than the teaching itself ; and yet the points on which the controversies turned were probably also the vital points of his teaching. These points are so in tensely personal that, although the present work does THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 17 not include the teaching of Jesus in detail, they may be briefly enumerated. Thus he claims a unique knowl edge of the Father (Jn. 7:16 — 8:38, 55, etc.), a unique mission from the Father (Jn. 7:28—8:16, 18, 23, 26, 28, 42 — 10:36), and a unique union with the Father (Jn. 8:16; 10:30, 38). All these claims are but dif ferent aspects of the one Messianic claim, which seems to have been as prominent in this period as was the preaching of the Kingdom of God in the early Galilean ministry. He refers again and again to his approach ing death, and regards it as an act of self -revelation. It will show him to be the Messiah ( Jn. 8 :28) ; it will prove that he is the good shepherd ( Jn. 10 :11, 15, 17, 18). Out of his Messianic consciousness, which is brought forward so prominently, comes the urgent statement of man's need of him. His hearers shall die in their sins unless they believe that he is the Christ (Jn. 8:24). He alone gives freedom, light, life (Jn. 8:12, 36; 10:10). Such is the fulness of the per sonal Messianic claim which, according to John, char acterized the teaching of Jesus in this period.— George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 209. The joy set before him. It is clear that Christ had been perplexed and disappointed at the reception of his message. The proud and wealthy cities by the lake had not repented, although they had seen his mighty works. The Pharisees had derided him. The Sad ducees had met him with undisguised hate. No rabbi had joined his company. No scribe sat at his feet. A few fishermen, a tax-gatherer, a political insurrection ist, men so humble that their names are unrecorded, and women who lived simple village lives, made up his company. "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble." God had hidden his 18 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS grace from the wise and prudent, and revealed it unto babes. He was at first bewildered, disappointed, sad dened. But "in that hour," as he saw these men's hearts aflame with spiritual desire, and as he marked the beginning of their spiritual power, he realized his Father's infinite wisdom in giving him, not proud rabbi and crafty scribe, but honest, child-like men. He accepted the will of God with a deep joy. "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." — W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Experience, p. 97. THE FEAST AT BETHANY. Jesus therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there in the house of Simon the leper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him. Mary therefore, having in an alabaster cruse a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, brake the cruse, and poured it over the head of Jesus, and his feet, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. But when the disciples saw it they had indignation among themselves, saying, "To what purpose is this waste?" And they murmured against her. And Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that should betray him, saith, "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor?" Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor ; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore perceiving it, said unto them, "Let her alone. Why trouble ye this woman? Suf fer her to keep it against the day of my burying. For the poor ye have always with you ; but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could; she hath anointed my body beforehand for the burying. And verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." The common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there : and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 19 that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death ; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. (His Last Week, p. 4; Mt. 26:6-13; Mk. 14:3-9; Jn. 11:55- 12:11.) Jesus therefore . . . came to Bethany. ( Jn. 12 : 1.) The town of Bethany, now known as el-Azarijeh, or "place of Lazarus," is situated a little less than two miles east of Jerusalem, on the main road to Jericho. The modern village is a wretched one, with only about forty houses, and the population is largely Moslem. Although so small, it is the largest, and indeed the only real village between Jericho and Jerusalem, and while very near to the latter city, is entirely cut off from sight or sound of it by the intervening shoulder of the Mount of Olives, on whose slope it rests, about 400 feet below the top. True to the custom of supply ing sites for all scenes about which travellers inquire, the inhabitants display the home of Lazarus, the house of Simon the Leper, the tomb of Lazarus, the place where Martha met Jesus, and as many more places as the curiosity and credulity of tourists demand. It is enough to know that the place itself is the same place ; that here, in this quiet village of vineyards and gardens, among true friends, Jesus rested during the weary hours of his last week. Six days before the Passover. (Jn. 12:1.) Thus, apparently, on Friday. It is not definitely stated that the feast occurred on the day of his arrival. The order of events as recorded by John favors this theory ; but if we had only Matthew and Mark we might suppose that the feast occurred on the following Wednesday, the day of which otherwise we have no account. 20 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS So they made him a supper there. ( Jn. 12 :2.) John probably gives the correct order in placing the occur rence of the Bethany feast on Saturday, April 1, the day before the triumphal entry; but, if the accounts of Matthew and Mark are chronologically accurate, the date would be Tuesday evening, April 4, or Wednes day, April 5. The supper took place at the home of Simon the leper, of whom we know nothing, though there have been numerous conjectures concerning him. From the fact that "Martha served" in Simon's home, some scholars have inferred that she was either the widow or the daughter of Simon the leper. It is more reasonable to suppose that he was simply a well-to-do leper whom Jesus had healed, a close friend of Lazarus and his sisters, one whose larger home was better adapted for the holdmg of the feast. A plausible sug gestion in regard to this supper is that it may have been a sort of public festival, participated in by the villagers, in gratitude for the signal benefits which Jesus had brought to their hamlet. Given at the close of the Sabbath, when people were free and out of doors, it would attract a large number of spectators. Simon the leper. (Mt. 26:6.) Beit Haawar, which means "the house of the one-eyed," or "he that lacks one eye," is the name of a numerous, hospitable, and influential tribe in Mt. Lebanon. It is possible that Simon himself never was a leper, but was called "the leper" on account of a leprous ancestor of his, as our friends of Mt. Lebanon are now called "the one-eyed," because of their progenitor who lacked one eye. — Mrs. Ghosn-el Howie in S. S. Times. Mary anointed Jesus. (Jn. 12:3.) We are distinctly told by John that the woman who anointed Jesus on this occasion was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, thus clearly THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 21 distinguishing this occurrence from the anointing iu Galilee, at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, by a woman who was "a sinner" (Lk. 7: 37). The theory that identifies either Mary of Bethany or the woman men tioned by Luke with Mary Magdalene is entirely with out reason. Ointment of pure nard. (Mk. 14:3.) All Orientals, men as well as women, are exceedingly fond of per fumes. Musk, carnation, violet and rose form the basis of their favorite essences. The strong odor of the oil of spikenard is disliked by most Occidentals, but is highly agreeable to people of the East. The Indian nard plant, or spiked-nard, from the blossoms of which the ointment is derived, is a species of valerian, growing at high elevations (such as the Him alaya mountains) and once much prized as a cosmetic and a medicine. The Romans used the oil of spike nard for anointing the head. Dioscorides, an early Greek botanist, mentions several ingredients, includ ing myrrh, balm and oil, to be found in this ointment. The Latin poet, Horace, offered his friend Virgil about thirty-six quarts of wine in exchange for a small onyx box of spikenard (Carm., lib. iv., od. 12). An alabaster cruse. (Mt. 26:7.) The ointment was inclosed in an alabaster flask, only the thin neck of which, or possibly the seal, need be broken when the contents were to be used. Because alabaster was so universally employed in making receptacles of this sort, the term alabastra gradually came to be applied to all perfume vessels, of whatever material. Thus, Theocritus speaks of "golden alabastra." The tombs of Egypt and Palestine yield many ala baster flasks made for ointment, perfume or eye-paint. The material of alabaster is stalactite, formed by the 22 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS dripping of lime-water in caves. It is white or cream- colored, with a banded structure, as the water contains more or less iron or other coloring matter. Exceeding precious. (Mt. 26 :7.) The pound of liquid nard, with which Mary anointed Jesus, was, indeed, "a princely gift," its worth, according to Mark, being three hundred shillings, nearly the equivalent of an Oriental's wages for an entire year. Its present day value would be $50, but money had far greater pur chasing power in Jesus' day. There were some that had indignation. (Mk. 14:4.) If Jesus had said, "To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made?" it would have been one of the most popular texts in the Bible. Judas was not the only one who murmured. Few of us yet have risen far above his point of view. " Let her alone." (Mk. 14:6.) Jesus' rebuke of the murmurs shows how deeply moved he was. One may almost deduce from it a complete view of Christian service. He goes straight to the vindication of the use less act by pointing to the motive which gave it all its fragrance. It was "a good work" because it was "upon" (or perhaps rather "unto" or "directed to ward") him. The Greek word here used for "good" conveys the idea of beauty as well as goodness and the underlying thought of the eulogium is that any deed is fair and good in the measure in which Christ is its object and aim. It comes to the same thing whether we say the fairest fairness and the best goodness of our acts depends on Jesus being their end and aim, or we say that it depends on love to him being their mo tive.— Alex McLaren, D. D., in S. S. Times. The heart of the Master. Two deeds drew from our Saviour praise which has made them shine like THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 23 stars in the darkness of Holy Week. Both were done by women, — one by a nameless widow so poor that two mites, which make a farthing, constituted all her living; the other by a lady of means whose name is honored wherever the gospel is preached. What the widow did no one but the Saviour noticed until he pointed to it. What the lady did was noticed apparently only to be blamed, until his approbation of her conduct shamed her censors into silence. Of the widow who gave the two mites he said, "She hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury." To Mary for pouring the spikenard upon him he gave not only the highest, but greatly the highest, commendation he ever bestowed upon any human be ing—William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Mas ter, p. 1. " She hath wrought a good work." (Mk. 14:6.) Our Lord went on to brush aside the apparently benevolent and practical criticism that the ointment was wasted, and had been better employed in relieving the poor. He recognized the obligation to help them as a stand ing one, but he also recognized that there was a place in Christian service for such forms of expressing Christian devotion as were, from the utilitarian point of view, quite useless. There is room in the Christian life for acts of devotion which are utterly "unprac tical," and are branded by loveless souls as waste — Alex. McLaren, D. D., in S. S. Times. "To prepare me for my burial." (Mt. 26 :12.) She did not know that Jesus was to die, but love is prophetic. Intuitively she felt, what she could not have justified by reason nor defined as a conviction, that something was to happen to Jesus; she knew not what; she only 24 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS knew that this was love's opportunity. Thank God for the love that, not knowing what the morrow may bring forth, provides the alabaster box, and does not keep it too long ! — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, p. 79. Mary's reward. Even before she heard her Lord's approval Mary had a great reward. For hers was a deed of splendid daring, and bravery is bliss. The anointing identified her with the cause of Christ. It was sure to bring upon herself, her sister, and her brother the implacable enmity of the powerful priest hood, and it would probably be misreported by malig nant and unscrupulous detractors as treason to Caesar. But she counted her weath, and she was not poor ; her life, and to those who love Christ best life is most precious, because of the ability it gives to serve him; her dear ones, and those most devoted to Christ are most certain to obey his command, "Love one another as I have loved you," — these all she counted as sac rifices willingly offered for Christ's sake. To give all for him was her reward till even that was swallowed up by the beatitude of her Lord's "Well done." Wheresoever the gospel is preached. (Mt. 26:13.) Jesus' last word was to promise immortal remem brance to Mary's "useless" act. It is striking to notice that the evangelists who record that promise do not tell her name, and that the one who tells her name does not record the promise. It matters little whether or not our services are connected with our names. It matters little who forgets, if he remembers. It harms us not though our names on earth are dark, and we have little praise of men and no fame, if our names are in the book of life and he who knows all things whispers to us : "I know thy works. ' ' — Alexander Mc Laren, D. D., in S. S. Times. THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 25 The worth of unmeasured love. Be not too severe in your condemnation of the complaint of Judas. Sup pose the record read that Jesus refused the gift, and commanded the ointment to be sold, and the money given to the poor ; would you not have been one of those who approved? Who but Mary, with her unbounded love that could not express itself in commonplace offer ings, would have supposed that Jesus would accept the gift 1 And who but Jesus would have done so, and made it minister, not to selfishness, but to philan thropy, and an illustration of the worth of the Gospel? The complaint of Judas has found a million echoes, many of them uttered, but mistakenly, in the name of the Lord. Great love demands unique expression. Love is inventive of beautiful ways of revealing it self. She whose brother Jesus had brought from the dead, should she give him a girdle or a pair of sandals ? These were the expressions of a commonplace affec tion. But Mary's love was deep as the grave from which her brother had come forth, pure as the alabaster of her vase, and fragrant as the ointment she poured on Jesus' head. But even this does not account for those words of Jesus, "Wheresoever the Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, there also that which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. ' ' These words can mean nothmg less than that Mary's gift had in it something akin to his own. — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, pp. 79-80. A gift distinctively feminine. There was not a man in the apostolic group who would have conceived of such a gift as that of Mary. Peter would have moved a vote of thanks to Mary, and the appointment of a committee to determine the use of the proceeds of the ointment. 26 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS We know what Judas would have done with it.- An drew would have voted to spend it for tracts or repairs on the church building. Mary understood that there are heart needs more compelling than those of mere utility. Good women are more apt than good men to discover such beautiful uses in apparent waste. $be Stor$ of palm Sunfcas aptti 2, 30 a. d. So impressive an event as the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem readily found a place in the rec ords of all the four Evangelists. According to the generally accepted chronology, this event occurred April 2, in the year 30 A. D., on what since has been popularly known as Palm Sunday. On this day, which ushered in Jesus' last week, he and his disciples left Bethany, attended by a company of friends whose joy was increased by the Master's preparations to ride into the city. That at last he was about to assert his kingship seemed manifest to all. The fact that he had bidden his disciples procure for him a lowly beast of burden, instead of the war-horse befitting a conquering monarch, did not trouble them; for they remembered that the prophet Zechariah had spoken of the King as coming "riding upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass" (9:9). The disciples regarded the act of Jesus as the fulfillment of that prophecy. Before the procession had gone far, it was met by another com pany, composed principally of Galileans, coming out from Jerusalem to meet him ; and, as they found Jesus and his party approaching, they greeted him with a royal salutation. Many had been drawn thither by a desire to see and honor the restorer of Lazarus, and the multitudes present who had witnessed that miracle bore glad testimony to the power of the wonder-work ing Nazarene. Where the road led over the shoulder of Olivet the city of Jerusalem came into view, with the valley of the Kidron between. The appearance of 28 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Jerusalem from this point is most impressive. Jesus stopped, and looking down on the city, wept over its sin and its approaching calamities. The procession soon moved on, increasing in numbers and enthusiasm. The exultant throng carpeted the way with their garments and with branches torn from wayside trees. Thus es corted by a happy and expectant company, Jesus en tered Jerusalem. The entire city was mightily stirred. His sudden and public appearance surprised and dis concerted his enemies. Some of the Pharisees asked him to restrain the multitudes, but he refused, assert- THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY 29 ing that if these should remain silent the very stones would cry out. For the moment his enemies lost heart and declared that the whole world was at his feet. But at this hour of his complete triumph Jesus delib erately resisted further homage. After visiting the temple and observing the general condition of affairs therein, he retired, late in the day, to the quiet of Bethany, and spent the night there in company with his disciples. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. On the morrow, when they drew nigh unto, Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, "Go. your way into the village that is over against you, and straight way as ye enter into it, ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her, whereon no man ever yet sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any one say unto you, 'Why do ye this?' say ye, 'The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither.' " Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass." And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door without in the open street: and they loose him. And cer tain of them that stood there said unto them, "What do ye, loosing the colt?" And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go, and they brought the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him. And the most part of the multitude spread their gar ments upon the way ; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields. And as he was drawing nigh, even at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, 30 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified then remembered they that these things were written of him and that they had done these things unto him. The multitude, therefore, that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bare witness. For this cause also the multitude went and met him, for that they heard that he had done this sign. And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said unto him, "Teacher, rebuke thy disciples." And he answered and said, "I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out." And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to 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." And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the multitude said, "This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "Behold, how ye prevail nothing; lo, the world is gone after him." And he entered into. Jerusalem, into the temple ; and when he had looked around about upon all things, it being now eventide, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. (His Last Week, pp. 5-6; Mt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-11; Lk. 19:29- 44; Jn. 12:12-19.) Palm Sunday. There is no other point in the entire life of Christ at which so many perplexing and unan swerable questions crowd on the mind of the student as here. What would have happened if the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on this momentous day, had welcomed the Messiah, instead of rejecting him? Would he have THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY 31 become their king and sat on the throne of the country? In that case, what would the Roman authorities have done? If he had thus reigned, instead of dying, how could he have atoned for the sin of the world? Dif ficult as these questions are, we must hold that his of fer of himself to his people as their Messiah was a genuine one; and that the rejection of his offer plunged the country into guilt. Nevertheless, God was not mocked. The death of his son became the ransom of the world; and, when Jesus missed the throne of his fathers, he was treading the providential path to the throne of the universe. — Prof. James Stalker in S. S. Times. An Old Testament triumphal entry. (II Sam. 6.) The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem had its prototype in the triumphal procession which David led when he brought the Ark from its obscurity in the house of Obed-edom to a place of honor in the new capital of the united nation (I Chron. 15:25-28). The analogy is a very natural and fitting one. After seven and one-half years of reign at Hebron, David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and thither moved the visible symbol of the presence of Jehovah. Songs and rejoicing accompanied the event. It is thought by many that three of the psalms may relate to this event. Psalm 101 is regarded as a reflection of the king's consecration of himself and his official house hold, and Psalm 15 as a solemn answer to the question what kind of man he should be who is to live in the city where God makes his abode. But more clearly than these Psalm 24 appears to echo the joy of the pro cession itself, the challenge rung down from the walls of the Jebusite city, "Who is this King of Glory?" and the answering chorus from those in the procession, 32 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ' ' Jehovah of hosts, he is the King of Glory. " It is this spirit which makes the 24th Psalm so fitting for the opening of a Palm Sunday service. The route of the triumphal procession. A modern traveler journeying from Bethany to Jerusalem may use any one of three roads, and it is altogether probable that these follow the lines of roads used in the time of Christ. One is a long circuit over the northern shoul der of Mount Olivet and down through the valley that parts it from Mount Scopus. Another is a footpath over the summit of the Mount of Olives. A third road, the ancient caravan route, and manifestly the only one that fulfills the conditions of that traveled by Jesus on his last journey, is a continuation of the road from Jericho, and is that by which, at the present day, mounted travelers from that direction approach the city. It leads over the southern shoulder of Olivet be tween the summit and the hill called the Mount of Offense. At the Mount of Olives. (Mk. 11:1.) A half mile or more east of Jerusalem, and directly opposite the temple area, rises the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet. Adjacent to it on the north is Mount Scopus, where Titus encamped when he besieged Jerusalem. Joining it on the south is the Mount of Offense, so called because Solomon there instituted pagan wor ship for his concubines. The elevation of Olivet above the sea is 2,682 feet and it is 259 feet higher than Moriah, the site of the temple. Between Olivet and Moriah is the Kidron Valley, formerly known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The view from the summit of Olivet is one of the most interesting and impressive within the limits of the Holy Land. Southward the range of vision ex- THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY 33 tends to Hebron; northward one may see the hills of Samaria; westward every object on the plateau of Jerusalem stands out with startling distinctness ; while to the east is an unequalled panoramic view of the rugged wilderness, the Jordan valley, nearly 4,000 feet below, with portions of the Dead Sea, and the clearly cut outlines of the mountains of Moab and Gilead. Today Olivet is covered with many ruins. Tradi tional sites are numerous. On the summit is a lofty Greek church tower and the so-called Mosque of the Ascension. On the slope facing the Holy City are thousands of Hebrew graves, includmg some extensive rock-hewn tombs. At its foot, in the valley of the Kidron, lies the Garden of Gethsemane. Olive, fig and other trees, singly or in clumps, are growing here and there upon its slopes. Some of the most touching scenes in our Lord's min istry occurred on the slopes of Olivet, and the thought of it as the place where he nightly fortified himself for each trying day of his Passion Week makes it holy ground to all his followers. The village over against you. (Mt. 21:2.) There is little doubt that the village mentioned in the narra tive as Bethphage was the one where the disciples bor rowed the colt for Jesus to ride upon. Bethphage means "house of figs." Its exact location is unknown, but it was evidently near Bethany. Dean Alford, how ever, following Talmudical authorities, speaks of Beth phage as "a considerable suburb, nearer to Jerusalem than Bethany, and sometimes reckoned part of the city." "The Lord hath need of him." (Mk. 11:3.) It is good to know that in this and in other instances where the Lord had need, he was able to send to a friend-rWhcu ^. The quiet town of Bethany proved a suitable rest ing-place for Jesus after the unusual excitement of Palm Sunday; but, eager to carry out his Father's will, he left the village at an early hour, on the follow ing morning, and returned to Jerusalem in company with his disciples. He had set out from Bethany ap parently without breakfast, and seeing a fig-tree by the wayside had hoped to satisfy his hunger with some of the early fruit of which its abundant foliage gave promise ; but, on approaching the tree, it was discov ered to have borne no figs. Jesus pronounced a judg ment upon the tree for being barren while exhibiting complete evidence of fruitfulness, and, in so doing, re buked the hypocrisy which the tree symbolized. He and the disciples moved on, but, next morning, as they again passed that way, the disciples saw that the tree had withered. They were impressed by this miracle of destruction, but Jesus wisely turned the lesson to one on faith in prayer. On reaching Jerusalem, our Lord, for the second time, vigorously set to work to cleanse the temple of its defilers. This he had done at the beginning of his ministry, but the abuses had crept back. Under pre tense of keeping the letter of the law, and giving to the treasury no money save the sacred shekel, a system of money exchange had been established in one of the outer courts. For the convenience of those who would offer doves and other animals in sacrifice, covetous dealers had been permitted to establish their stalls and 52 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS bring their cages within the area of the temple. Jesus drove these forth, the popular conscience proving his ally, and no one questioned his right. The people ap proved the act, and the priests dared not challenge it. A vivid contrast to the merciless practices of the money-changers followed, when Jesus healed the lame and blind who sought him in the purified temple. When the ecclesiastical authorities witnessed these miracles and saw him permitting children to sing his praises in the temple and to hail him as the coming King, they were moved with rage at conduct which they considered so blasphemous. Nor were they ap peased when Jesus defended his position with quota tions from the Psalms of David. But they were power less at that time to carry out plans for his destruction, because the great mass of the common people "all hung upon him, listening." When, at last, the busy day closed, Jesus was still Master of the temple. As evening drew on, he left the adoring crowd and re turned to Bethany, his lodging-place through Passion Week. THE CURSING OF THE FIG TREE. And on the morrow, when they were come out from Beth any, as he returned to the city, he hungered. And seeing a fig tree afar off by the wayside, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon : and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs. And he answered and said unto it, "No man eat fruit from thee henceforward for ever." And his disciples heard it. (His Last Week, p. 7; Mt. 21:18-19a;Mk. 11:12-14.) He hungered. (Mt. 21:18.) Although Jesus, as we know, spent the night following Palm Sunday in Bethany, it is quite certain that he did not seek the THE STORY OF MONDAY 53 hospitality of Lazarus' household, or, if he did, that he left there before breakfast ; otherwise, he would not have hungered on the way to Jerusalem, the follow ing morning. Throughout his life Jesus was accus tomed to retire frequently to some lonely spot, often a mountain-side, and there spend many hours, or even the whole night, in prayer (Mk. 1:35; Lk. 6:12). Knowing well what was to befall him shortly, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he passed this Sunday night in prayer upon the hillslope outside Bethany, seeking the city before breakfast that he might be in readiness for all the people who "came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him. ' ' Seeing a fig-tree. (Mt. 21:19.) Fig-trees must have been numerous in that locality, for Bethphage ("house of figs," or "fig-town") was close by. The fig is a native of India. It has always flourished in the Levant, where its fruit in the fresh state, and still more in the dried, forms an important article of food. Nothing but leaves. (Mt. 21 : 19.) Jesus, always the most reasonable of men, never expected the impos sible. If "it was not the season of figs," he certainly would not curse a tree for failing to produce fresh fruit "on demand"; therefore, in order not to ques tion Mark's veracity, some exegetes have maintained that what Jesus expected to find was the left-over figs from the previous season. This explanation may be dismissed at once. No such figs remain over until spring in Palestine, and a tree growing by the roadside near to a large city would be the last place where it would have been rea sonable to expect to find them. If any figs had re mained through the winter they would not have been good. The following is the true explanation : 54 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS In southern Palestine the fig tree puts forth its leaf- buds sometimes as early as February, and the fruit appears simultaneously with or even a few days in advance of, the leaf. These grow together till the fruit is perhaps as large as a cherry ; but the precocious figs are commonly shaken off by spring storms, and the real crop of figs follows later. The editor of this book plucked from the tree, and ate, a Palestine fig, about three weeks earlier in the spring than the time of the cursing of the fig tree. In the spring of 1906 these early figs were for sale in Jerusalem at Easter time, and there were others on the trees late in April. These figs cannot be called good, and they seldom ripen; but the natives sometimes eat them with salt, or pluck them by the way to stay their hunger. These early figs are called by the natives "nefful" or "tuksh" and are commonly all off the trees before the appearance of the buds of the very good figs, which are called "defur." There is a third crop ripening later and of inferior quality to the second, called "teen." The "nefful" are as near maturity about Easter as they usually get; the "defur" ripen about the middle of June; the "teen" or common figs ripen in August. The tree which Jesus saw was in full leaf, while some other trees were not so forward. Its foliage was a proclamation that it had early fruit if it ever was to have any. Thus the parable was a warning agamst profession without performance, and a rebuke to his own nation, which the fruitless tree typified. The reason for cursing the fig tree. (Mt. 21:18-22.) Christ did not attribute moral responsibilities to the tree, when he smote it because of its unfruitfulness, but he did attribute to it a fitness for representing THE STORY OF MONDAY 55 moral qualities. All our language concerning trees, a good tree, a bad tree, a tree which ought to bear, is exactly the same continual transfer to them of moral qualities, and a witness for the natural fitness of the Lord's language — the language indeed of an act, rather than of words. He did not, like Moses and Elijah, make the assertion of God's holiness and his hatred of evil at the cost of many lives, but only at the cost of a single unfeeling tree. His miracles of mercy were unnumbered, and on men ; his miracle of judgment was but one,_and qn_a tree. It was punished not for being without fruit, but for proclaiming by the voice of those leaves that it had such — not for being barren, but for being false. And this was the guilt of Israel, a guilt so much deeper than the guilt of the nations. The other trees had nothing, but they did not pretend to have any thing ; this tree had nothing, but it gave out that it had much. So was it severally with Gentile and with Jew. The Gentiles were bare of all fruits of righteousness, but they owned it; the Jews were bare, but they vaunted that they were full.— Trench, Notes on the Miracles, pp. 345-349. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus entered into the temple of God, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves: and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. And he taught, and said unto them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer Jor all the nations'? but ye have made it a den of robbers." , . . . i . And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the cnil- 56 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS dren that were crying in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the son of David": they were moved with indignation, and said unto him, "Hearest thou what these are saying?" And Jesus saith unto them, "Yea: did ye never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast per fected praise'?" And he was teaching daily in the temple : and every night he left them and went forth out of the city into the mount that is called Olivet, and lodged in Bethany. And the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him: and they could not find what they might do ; for the people all hung upon him, listening. (His Last Week, p. 7; Mt. 21:12-17; Mk. 11:15-19; Lk. 19:45-48; pl:37-38). He entered into the temple. (Mt. 21 :12.) The Jews ' first temple, a magnificent structure, was built by Solomon about a thousand years before this time, and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B. C. The second was erected on the same site by Zerubbabel, after the exile, and was partly taken down to make room for the temple of Jesus' day. This was erected by Herod the Great and rivaled in richness and grandeur the temple of Solomon. After forty-six years' labor it was not yet completed in the time of Jesus. Herod's temple. As rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great, the Temple-area occupied a rectangular space, nearly square, the longer sides of which were not far from 1000 feet in length; an area more than one- half greater than that of St. Peter's at Rome, whose length measures 613 feet, and nearly double that of St. Paul's in London, whose extreme length is 520^ feet. Towards the northwest corner of the area the Temple itself and its special courts were placed. They were not all on a level, but rose terrace upon terrace, till the sacred edifice itself was reached. A colossal bridge on arches spanned the intervening Valley of the Tyro- THE STORY OF MONDAY 57 pceon, connectmg the ancient City of David with what is called the "Royal Porch of the Temple." Each arch spanned 41^ feet, and the spring-stones measured 24 feet in length by 6 in thickness. The roadway which spanned this cleft for a distance of 354 feet, from Mount Moriah to Mount Zion opposite, was 50 feet broad, and crossed the valley at an elevation of 225 feet. The Temple itself was of Graeco-Roman architec ture, and was built of white marble, with gilded acroteria. The "porches," or cloisters, were among the finest architectural features of the Temple. These were added to the outer enclosure of the Court of the Gentiles, when Herod enlarged the Temple. The cloisters on the north, east and west sides consisted of double rows of Corinthian pillars, all monoliths, each pillar being 37^ feet high. The "Royal Porch," or Stoa Basilica, which ran along the southern wall, was the most splendid of all, consisting not (as the others) of a double, but of a treble, colonnade. To support these porticoes Herod annexed the site of the ancient royal palace of Solomon, together with some adjoining land to the west. Entering by the principal gate on the east, worship pers would pass, first into the Court of the Gentiles, than into that of the women, thence into that of Israel, and from the latter into that of the priests. The great Court of the Gentiles, which formed the lowest or outer enclosure of the Sanctuary, was paved with the finest variegated marble. According to Jewish tradi tion, it formed a square of 750 feet. Its name is de rived from the fact that it was open to all, Jews or Gentiles, provided they observed the prescribed rules of decorum and reverence. The Court of the Women 58 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS covered a space upwards of 200 feet square, and ob tained its name, not from its appropriation to the ex clusive use of women, but because women were not allowed to proceed further, except for sacrificial pur poses. The eight side gates of this court were all two- leaved, wide, high, with superstructures and chambers supported by two pillars, and covered with gold and silver plating. But far more magnificent than any of them was the eastern gate, the principal entrance into the upper court. This probably was the "Beautiful Gate," mentioned in the New Testament. In the Court of the Priests was the immense altar of unhewn stones, a square of not less than 48 feet, and 15 feet high. The Sanctuary itself consisted, first, of three courts, each higher than the one next without, and, beyond them, of the Holy, and Most Holy Places, with their out buildings. In the Holy Place were the golden candle stick, the table of shewbread, and beyond them the altar of incense, near the entrance to the Most Holy. Sold and bought in the temple. (Mt. 21:12.) In the outer enclosure, called the Court ofjhe^ Gentiles, was established the temple market, where oxen, sheep and doves were on sale daily for the convenience of those who would offer them in sacrifices. There, too, one could procure the sacrificial wine, oil and salt. The profanity of the traffic. The traffic was neces sary, and might have been innocent; but the trading spirit soon develops abuses which were doubtless ram pant at that period, making passover time a Jewish "Holy Fair," a grotesque and offensive combination of religion with shady morality. This act of Jesus has been justified by the supposed right of the zealot (Num. 25:6-13), or by the reforming energy befitting the Messiah. It needed no other justification than the THE STORY OF MONDAY 59 indignation of a noble soul at sight of shameless deeds. Jesus was the only person in Israel who could do such a thing. All others had got accustomed to the evil. — Bruce, Expos. Greek Test., Matthew, p. 263. The cleansing of the temple. (Mt. 21:12, 13.) The essence of practical Judaism, according to the ideas of the religious official classes, consisted, above all things, in the strict observance of the Sabbath, and the due and regular carrying out of the sacrificial system. Christ had dealt with the former of these, as referred to above ; and, in making it a real blessing, had of ne cessity run directly counter to the traditional rules of observance ; that is to say, while holdmg firmly to the spirit of the Law, he abrogated the Sabbath in the old Jewish sense of the word. The "cleansing" of the temple denotes his intention of doing the same with the other prime mark of practical Judaism, viz., the sacri ficial system. . . . The whole belief and attitude of both hierarchy and people regarding the sacrifices were such that the abrogation of these latter was an indispensable necessity if Christ's teaching was to have practical and permanent results. Vast as the number of public, official sacrifices were, those of private individuals were of an infinitely greater num ber ; it was these latter that formed one of the charac teristic marks of the worship at Jerusalem. . . . This seems to show that the "cleansing" of the temple really did connote an intention in the mind of Christ to abrogate entirely the Jewish sacrificial system.— Hastings, Diet, of Christ, vol. ii, pp. 712, 713. Cast out . . . and overthrew. (Mt. 21:12.) A righteous indignation caused Jesus to resort to ex treme measures. It was a time for judgment, not warning; for the use of sanctified muscle, not mild re- 60 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS monstrance. A sense, too, of his divine authority gave him confidence to enforce the desired reforms. He was in his Father's house and about his Father's business. Money-changers. (Mt. 21:12.) From the time of Moses all male Jews, between certain ages, were re quired yearly to make an offering of atonement to the Lord of half a shekel. This tax was levied upon the rich and poor of all classes (Ex. 30:13), the Levites alone being exempt (Num. 1 :49). At the time this law became operative the Jews had no coinage, the shekel being merely a measure of weight. When, much later, they obtained a brief right to coin money, the "shekel of the sanctuary" became the only coin in which this tax was legally payable. It was made of silver, was equivalent to twenty gerahs (Num. 3:47), and was worth about 54 cents. This coin was already scarce in the time of Jesus, so that Jews who came to the feasts were required to exchange their money, much of which was counted profane because of its heathen symbols. Hence the presence in the temple of money-changers, who had their tables within the sacred precincts osten sibly for the greater convenience of visiting pilgrims. As a matter of fact, they grew rich on the fees charged in exchanging coins. It is to be noted with interest that when Jesus paid his temple tax he paid it in the Roman stater (Mt. 17:27, R. V. mg.). The vigor of Jesus. The purification of the temple during the Passion week, indicates in Christ a vigor and intensity of character, and a power of indignlT tion, which modern thought rarely attributes to him. They interpret the suggestive description of Christ's personal appearance given by John in Rev. 1:13-16, the only hint of his personal appearance afforded by the New Testament. We can imagine that in this expul- THE STORY OF MONDAY 61 sion his eyes were as flames of fire, his feet firm in their tread like feet of brass, his voice as the sound of the ocean, his words as a two-edged sword! This indig nation was aroused by (a) the sacrilegious covetousness which made God's house a house of merchandise; (b) the fraud which converted it into a den of thieves ; (c) the selfishness of the bigotry which excluded the heathen from the only court reserved for them — Ab bott, Commentary on John (2:17). The indignation of Jesus. It is one of the lamentable signs of our times — our incapacity for anger. Many of us are lukewarm in the presence of evils which are colossal. Some of us are indifferent. Indifference to wrong-doing is always a sign of moral deterioration. If we do not flame against villainy, it is because there is so much of the villain in ourself. We would despise graft with a consuming detestation if our own palms were not so itching. The healthy soul resents and re sists every form of wrong. The unspoiled heart goes out like a man in wrath agamst the forces of iniquity. Nothing is more needed in our day than enlarged capacity for moral indignation. Nothmg so clears the atmosphere as the heat of hearts heated by holy anger. There are evils so gigantic and so deeply rooted that nothing less than a thunderstorm will over whelm them. Bad men will abound more and more unless good men hurl thunderbolts. Criminals become brazen, wrong-doers walk insolently, rascals take pos session of high places, until good men, aflame with in dignation, arise and sweep them from the seats of power. Society would be cleansed of much of its pol lution if we had more men and women capable of be coming genuinely angry. Let us pray then every day that a new indignation may sweep through the world. 62 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS As Plutarch put it long ago, "Anger is one of the winds by which the sails of the soul are filled. ' ' Many a belated bark would have reached port long ago if anger had been allowed to do its perfect work. It is the devil's trick to keep good men from becoming angry. Not only are we permitted as Christians to be angry, but it is our duty on occasion to allow this bil low of fire to roll through the soul. Martin Luther is not the only man who has worked better when he was angry, and many of us limp to our task because we have lost one of the elements of moral power. He was a wise Englishman who wrote, "Anger is one of the sinews of the soul ; he that wants it hath a maimed mind, and with Jacob sinew-shrunk in the hollow of his thigh, must needs halt." In the indignation of Jesus we get light upon the character of God. This man's anger flows from a fountain in the heart of the Eternal. The "wrath of the Lamb" is, as we have been often reminded, a figure of speech, but like all Biblical figures of speech, it is a window opening out on the infinite. — Charles E. Jef ferson, The Character of Jesus, pp. 305-6. "Is it not written?" (Mk. 11:17.) The Old Testa ment passages referred to are Isa. 56 :7 and Jer. 7 :11. Such scriptural references would have made a strong appeal to the reason of a devout Jew. "A den of robbers." (Mk. 11:17.) At the first cleansing of the temple Jesus had used milder terms. He had accused its profaners of turning his Father's house into "a house of merchandise"; now he does not hesitate to tell them that they have made it "a den of robbers." His language was justifiable. Not only had the area reserved for the Gentile's worship been converted into a place of unlawful gain ; but even the THE STORY OF MONDAY 63 high priest's family, like later "grafters," had en riched themselves by renting out the stalls and booths. Unfortunately, modern Jerusalem is permeated by this same spirit, as nearly all visiting tourists will testify. None know better than its inhabitants how to make capital out of religious sentiment. The words "den of robbers ' ' are quoted from Jer. 7 :11. The hand that held the whip. But that proclama tion of regal authority involved some exercise of the prerogatives belonging to the Messiah. Monday morn ing beheld Jesus in what was to his disciples a new role. He had wrought miracles of mercy; they now saw a miracle of stern judgment. The hand which had been laid with healing power upon the sick, and which he stretched forth with a welcome to the penitent, be came strong for the overturning of tables and the breaking of dove-cages. He who had hidden himself from crowds became the center of a crowd composed of the curious, the wondering, the sympathetic, and the hostile. We think of Jesus as meek and lowly; but he was also the uncompromising enemy of sham. We love to think of the love of God ; but that love has two poles, and its negative pole is eternal disapproval of wrong doing. In the olden time there had been those who said, "The Lord will not do good; neither will he do evil!" There still are many who believe that God is passive in the moral conflicts of the world. But a prophet of old promised that when the Lord came suddenly to his temple, he should be like a refiner's fire, and that the wicked could not abide the day of his coming.— The Week of Our Lord's Passion, pp. 89-90. The cleansing of the temple; its teachings for Chris tians. It should inspire in his disciples a like spirit of 64 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS indignation (a) agamst the sacrilegious covetousness which converts the house of God into a mart of mer chandise, whether by the sale of indulgences, masses, and prayers to others, or by employing it not for the praise of God but for the social and pecuniary profit of the pretended worshiper; (b) against the big otry which permits us to look with indifference upon the exclusion of the poor, the outcast, the despised from the privileges of God's house. It is a type of (a) cleansing which Christ comes to do for every soul, which is a temple of God (I Cor. 3:16), and out of which all unclean things must be driven by the power of God, before it is fit for God's indwelling; (b) the final cleansing when he will come to cast out all things that defile and work abomination. — Abbot, Commen tary on John (2:17). The lesson of Monday. Can we doubt the message to our own hearts of this day of the cleansing of the temple ? Ought it not to be for all who are seeking to follow the footsteps of our Lord, a day of searchings of heart that all that is unholy may be cast out ; a day of digging about the roots of our souls that we may discover the causes of our unfruitfulness, and of con secration of purpose that our lives be no more barren nor unfruitful? If the day shall bring to us such meditations and resolves, then shall our Lord, coming this day to the inner temple of the heart, find in it a shrine for his own indwelling. — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, p. 94. Annas and his sons as extortioners. The sons of Annas, who had been legally the High Priest and was still the power behind the throne, held concessions which gave them a monopoly of all the business trans acted in that place. They received the rentals of the THE STORY OF MONDAY 65 stalls and booths placed there for traders and money changers. To what extent they shared the profits of the extortions levied there cannot now be known pre cisely. But the extortions were prodigious and notor ious, and they fell most heavily upon the poor. Usu rious charges were exacted by the money-changers. The price of pigeons was raised to a sum almost in credible. Cattle could not be accepted for sacrifice un til they had been passed upon by a licensed inspector. For inspecting them a small price was fixed by law. Annas had juggled the inspector 's office into the hands of his sons. It was difficult — for many it was practical ly impossible — to procure cattle properly inspected ex cept through his agents, and the legal requirements were easily evaded. There is reason to believe that the same priestly conspiracy headed by Annas had brought about at this very passover what we should call "a corner" in lambs, by which the price of them was greatly enchanced. The Court of the Gentiles had thus been made all and worse than all that gamblers with loaded dice have ever made Wall Street. Against its extortions the people were helpless. Indignant pro tests from honest ecclesiastics were not wanting. When the grandson of Hillel learned that doves were selling at about four dollars a brace, he declared he would not sleep till he had changed that, and he worked so effectively that before sunset they fell to about four cents apiece. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, pp. 43-4. The congregation of the poor. And as those traf fickers were driven from the temple, and he spake, there flocked in from porches and temple mount the poor sufferers — the blind and lame— to get healing to body and soul. It was truly springtime in that tern- 66 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS pie, and the boys that gathered about their fathers and looked in turn from their faces of rapt wonderment and enthusiasm to the Godlike face of the Christ, and then on those healed sufferers, took up the echoes of the welcome at his entrance into Jerusalem — in their simplicity understanding and applying them better — as they burst into "Hosanna to the Son of David!" — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, p. 378. Sought to destroy him. (Mk. 11:18.) The chief priests and scribes regarded the words of Jesus as blasphemous and their author worthy of death. They may have feared, too, lest the Roman garrison, sta tioned in the fortress of Antonia close by, might hear the children's praise of the Son of David as King and construe it as treason to Rome. No immediate steps, however, could be taken for his destruction, for the authorities stood in fear of the common people, who, under the spell of the Palm Sunday triumph and his miracles of that very day, thronged him, eager to catch his every word. The blind and the lame. (Mt. 21:14.) Doubtless these were the regular beggars at the gates. They would be permitted to come into the outer court of the temple. Jesus, in healing them, not only gave proof of his divine power, but demonstrated one of the benevolent uses to which the temple might be put. The healing of the blind and lame. (Mt. 21:14.) This is mentioned by Matthew only. Many afflicted persons were doubtless to be seen in the temple courts, asking alms, or seeking consolation in worship. The miraculous healings, then and there, served to establish Jesus' authority to cleanse the temple, and in some sense reconsecrate the courts which had been profaned. — Broadus, Am. Commentary, Matthew, p. 431. THE STORY OF MONDAY 67 The last miracles. (Mt. 21:15, 16.) Jesus wrought his last miracles in the temple. Upon this the clear voices of the children in the temple rang their hosannas through its desecrated arches. It was insufferable to the priests and doctors to be thus braved in the very sanctuary which was their domain. Jesus answered their words of indignation by a touching quotation from the Old Testament, which showed what a price he put upon the homage of these artless, upright hearts: "Have ye never read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" — Pressense, Jesus Christ, p. 417. The children's praises. In this mstance he cites the words of Ps. 8:2, the primary meaning of which ap pears to be that the child's wonder at the marvels of creation is the truest worship. As applied by our Lord their lesson was the same. The cries of the chil dren were the utterance of a truth which the priests and scribes rejected. To him, to whom the innocent brightness of childhood was a delight, they were more acceptable than the half-hearted, self-seeking homage of older worshipers. — Plumptre, Handy Commentary, Matthew, p. 303. The children . . . in the temple. (Mt. 21:15.) These young folks may have been members of the choir employed in the service of the temple, but of this we are not certain. At all events, it was fitting that Jewish children should frequent the house of God and witness the miracles of God's Son. Filled with joy and wonder at his deeds, they burst forth in spon taneous songs of praise, reiterating the Hosannas of the previous day. " Perfected praise." (Mt. 21:16.) A free render ing of the sentiment expressed in Ps. 8 :2, the meaning 68 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS in each passage being that the beauty of God's works is so manifest as to draw forth praise from his weakest creations. And he was teaching daily, and every night he went out. (Lk. 21 :37.) The several narratives of this week, taken together, give us the itinerary of these back-and- forth journeys from Bethany to Jerusalem with singu lar fidelity. Lodged there. (Mt. 21:17.) In Bethany, where Mark says that Jesus spent each night of Passion Week. At such a time as this, when Jerusalem was overcrowded with festival visitors, pilgrims often found it necessary to procure lodgings in some of the suburbs. Jesus naturally would seek Bethany, the home of some of his most intimate friends. Gbe Stors of Guesoap Hptll 4, 30 H. 2>. Early on the third morning of the week Jesus again sought the city and the temple. On the way to the city the disciples noted that the fig tree which Jesus had cursed had withered. While engaged in teaching the eager multitudes, Jesus was interrupted by a delega tion from the Sanhedrin, who demanded by what au thority he had assumed lordship in the temple. Jesus confused them by a counter-question as to the source of John the Baptist's authority. Being unable to an swer without admitting their own inconsistency, they remained silent. Having denied the authority of the rulers, Jesus then uttered three parables — The Two Sons, The Wicked Husbandmen and The Marriage of the King's Son — each of which pointed its warning to the Jewish leaders. At once he was approached by representatives from the leading religious parties, who, stung to retort by his words, successively propounded to him certam entangling questions, hoping by his an swers to compromise him either with the people or with the Roman government and so bring about his arrest. His replies gave evidence of so much wisdom and tact that his questioners were completely silenced. An open-minded scribe then asked him concerning the greatest commandment, and was satisfactorily an swered. Then Jesus propounded a question which in volved a criticism of his opponents' Messianic ideas, and followed their silence with a vigorous denunciation of the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. The season of controversy ended at last, and as 70 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Jesus and his disciples passed out through the Court of the Women, he saw and commended a widow who, out of her extreme poverty, was casting two coins into the temple treasury. In the Court of the Gentiles, just outside, waited certain Greeks who desired to see Jesus. In their presence he uttered some profound and beautiful truths concerning the significance of his death and resurrection. Later in the day, while the rulers were plotting to take his life, Jesus withdrew to the Mount of Olives and communed with his disciples. Seated on the moun tain and looking back at the city, which was then re splendent in the light of the declining sun, he uttered his final prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. Watchfulness and preparation for approaching calami ties, both immediate and remote, were impressed upon his disciples by means of the parables of The Ten Virgins and of The Talents, and by a vivid picture of The Last Judgment. THE LESSON FROM THE WITHERED FIG TREE. And as they passed by in the morning, the disciples saw the fig tree withered away from the roots, and they mar velled, saying, "How did the fig tree immediately wither away!" And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto him, "Rabbi, behold the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away." And Jesus, answering, saith unto them, "Have faith in God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever have faith and shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou taken up and cast into the sea' ; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass, he shall have it. There fore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one ; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." (His Last Week, p. 8; Mt. 21.19-22; Mk. 11:20-26). THE STORY OF TUESDAY 71 The fig tree withered away. (Mk. 11:12-14.) On the Monday morning, as he was returnmg from Bethany to his ministry in the city, very early, indeed before sunrise, the word against the fig tree was spoken. That same evening he with his disciples went back to Bethany to lodge there, but probably at so late an hour that the darkness prevented them from mark ing the effects which had followed upon that word. It was not till the morning of Tuesday that "they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots." — Trench, Notes on the Miracles, p. 343. THE CHALLENGE OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY. And they came again to Jerusalem. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him. And as he was walking in the temple, and teaching the people, and preaching the gospel, there came upon him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders; and they spake, saying unto him, "Tell us : By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?" And Jesus answered, and said unto them, "I also will ask you one question, which if ye tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? Answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we shall say, 'From heaven' ; he will say unto us, 'Why then did ye not believe him?' But if we shall say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." And they answered Jesus, and said, "We know not." And Jesus said unto them, "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things." (His Last Week, pp. 8-9; Mt. 21:23-27; Mk. 11:27-33; Lk. 20:1-8.) The reaction. In spite of the force with which they were attacked by Jesus, the ecclesiastical authorities were able to pull themselves together, and reassert 72 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS their position. Encouraged by the failure of Jerusa lem to rise and join the provincial movement, they challenged Jesus for allowing the young to re-echo in the temple the cries of the multitude outside. Although Jesus gave a splendid answer, drawn from his usual armory, he lodged, that night, not in a palace, but on the Mount of Olives. This had been Jerusalem's "day"; but the city which slew the prophets knew it not; and now the door was shut. — James Stalker, D. D., in S. S. Times. Chief priests. (Mk. 11:27.) In the Greek, "chief priests" is expressed by one word, the plural of "high- priest." As there could be but one high priest, strictly speaking, the term "chief priests" is generally held to include members of the high priest's family and those who had been high priests. The family of Annas had come to be a family of chief priests. Five of his sons and his son-in-law had been priests. The elders. (Mt. 21:23.) The elders were men of years and of recognized standing, includmg Sadducees and Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin. The scribes. (Mk. 11:27.) On their return from the Babylonian exile the Israelities, anxious to pre serve their sacred books and prophecies, engaged learned men as transcribers, custodians and interpre ters of the Jewish Scriptures. These men were called scribes. At first they were chosen from the priestly class (II Chron. 34:13); later, laymen joined their ranks, and finally they became an independent class. As an organization they began with Ezra the Scribe, in the fifth century B. C, and terminated, two hundred years later, with Simeon the Just. As expositors and guardians of the law, the scribes occupied themselves mainly with precepts regarding THE STORY OF TUESDAY 73 sacrifices, the festival celebrations, the observance of the Sabbath, the payments to be made to the priests and the temple, and more especially with those re lating to levitical purity in the matter of foods and purifications. They laid the greatest stress on those ascetic elements, because they thereby kept Israel separate from the Gentiles. By New Testament times the scribes were extremely influential. With their close friends, the Pharisees, they obtained chief seats in the synagogues and at feasts (Mt. 23 :6, Lk. 14 :7). They were noted for their ostentation and arrogance. They found employment in connection with the San hedrin, and of that body some scribes were members and helped administer the law. They were experts to decide points of law and their decisions on vexed ques tions were honored above the law itself, so that it was a greater crime to offend agamst "The Words of the Scribes" (a technical phrase for these decisions) than against the law. In the synagogues they were naturally the chief speakers. They were also teachers in the schools, in which they instructed the youth. They were called scribes, rabbis and lawyers. The most of them belonged to the party of the Pharisees, but there were also Sad ducees who were scribes. It was their desire to make the Law of Moses the rule of life for the whole nation and for individuals. While their moral precepts were good, their legalism missed the spirit of the law whose letter they so highly esteemed. As a class, they were entirely out of har mony with the spiritual teachings of Jesus. "Why did ye not believe him?" (Mk. 11:31.) On the non-acceptance, by the rulers, of John the Baptist's 74 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS testimony concerning Jesus, see Mt. 3 :7 ; 11 :18 and Jn. 5:35. "Neither tell I you." (Mk. 11:33.) As these men were the recognized authorities in both civil and reli gious matters, Jesus' refusal to substantiate his claim was a flat denial of their authority. Solomon's Porch. The Royal Porch was used for both busmess and social, and to some extent for reli gious purposes. It was to Jerusalem what the Agora was to Athens, the Forum to Rome, the Rialto to Venice. Here friends met, merchants bargained, and idlers came to hear the news. A part of the structure was reserved for the uses of devotion. Along the eastern side of the temple square ran another colon nade, inferior in grandeur to the Royal Porch, but magnificent. It was called "Solomon's Porch." North of the Royal Porch, about two thirds of the dis tance between it and the north limit of the square, were the buildings of the temple itself. These were conspicuous, for the whole inclosure was dome-shaped and they stood upon its crest. They were fenced in by a balustrade of carved white marble, beyond which Gentiles were forbidden on penalty of death to pass. The whole space between the Royal Porch and this bal ustrade was called "the Court of the Gentiles," be cause to the Gentiles it was free. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, pp. 40-1. The challenge of Jesus' authority. (Mt. 21:23-27.) To teach while walking about was very common with the rabbis. To stop a teacher and ask him questions was also common. The conversation between our Lord and the rulers now goes on for a long time in the tem ple court, the people thronging to hear, their usual keen interest in rabbinical discussions being heightened THE STORY OF TUESDAY 75 by the triumphal entry and other recent events. — Broadus, Am. Commentary, Matthew, pp. 436-438. Legal authority to teach required. There was no principle more firmly established by universal consent than that authoritative teaching required previous authorization. Indeed, this logically followed from the principle of rabbinism. All teaching must be authori tative, since it was traditional — approved by authority, and handed down from teacher to disciple. The high est honor of a scholar was, that he was like a well- plastered cistern, from which not a drop had leaked of what had been poured into it. The ultimate appeal in cases of discussion was always to some great author ity, whether an individual teacher or a decree by the Sanhedrin. In this manner had the great Hillel first vindicated his claim to be the teacher of his time and to decide the disputes then pending. And, to decide differently from authority, was either the mark of ignorant assumption or the outcome of daring rebel lion, in either case to be visited with the "ban." And this was at least one aspect of the controversy as be tween the chief authorities and Jesus. No one would have thought of interfering with a mere Haggadist — a popular expositor, preacher, or teller of legends. But authoritatively to teach, required other warrant. In fact, there was regular ordination to the office of rabbi, elder, and judge, for the three functions were combined in one. . . . The person to be ordained had to de liver a discourse ; hymns and poems were recited ; the title "Rabbi" was formally bestowed on the candidate, and authority given him to teach and to act as judge (to bind and loose, to declare guilty or free). . . . At one time it was held that ordination could only take place in the Holy Land. Those who went abroad took 76 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS with them their "letters of orders." — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, pp. 381, 382. The authority of Christ. The first recorded com ment on the teaching of Jesus is that of Mt. 7 :28 (Mk. 1:22; Lk. 4:32) : "They were astonished at his teach ing, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." The scribes said nothing of themselves ; they appealed in every utterance to tradi tion; the message they delivered was not self -authen ticating; it had not the moral weight of the speaker's personality behind it j it was a deduction or application of some legal maxim connected with a respectable name. They claimed authority, of course, but men had no immediate and irresistible consciousness that the claim was just. With Jesus it was the opposite. He appealed to no tradition, sheltered himself behind no venerable name, claimed no official status; but those who heard him could not escape the consciousness that his word was with authority (Lk. 4:32). He spoke a final truth, laid down an ultimate law. In one respect, he continued, in so doing, the work and power of the prophets. There was a succession of prophets in Israel, but not a prophetic tradition. It was a mark of degeneration and of insincerity when self-styled prophets repeated each other, stealing God's words every one from his neighbor (Jer. 23 :30). The true prophet may have his mind nourished on earlier inspired utterances, but his own message must spring from an immediate prompting of God. It is only when his message is of this kind that his word is with power. No mind was ever more full than the mind of Jesus of all that God had spoken in the past, but no one was ever so spontaneous as he, so free from mere reminiscence, so completely determined in his ut- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 77 terance by the conditions to which it was addressed. It is necessary to keep both things in view in consid ering his authority as a teacher. Abstract formulae about the seat of authority in religion are not of much service in this connection. It is, of course, always true to say that truth and the mind are made for each other, and that the mind recognizes the authority of truth because in truth it meets its counterpart, that which enables it to realize its proper being. It is al ways correct, also, to apply this in the region of morals and religion, and to say that the words of Jesus and the prophets are authoritative because our moral personal ity instinctively responds to them. We have no choice, as beings made for morality and religion, to do any thing but bow before them. — Hasting 's Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels. Jesus' reply. (Mt. 21:23.) Our Lord in his reply did not merely silence his questioners by turning their question agamst themselves. He did answer their question, though he also exposed the cunning and cowardice which prompted it. To the challenge for his authority, and the dark hint about Satanic agency, he replied by an appeal to the Baptist. He had borne full witness to the mission of Christ from the Father, and ' ' all men counted John, that he was a prophet in deed." Were they satisfied? What was their view of the baptism in preparation for the coming of Christ? No? They would not, or could not answer! If they said the Baptist was a prophet, this implied not only the authorization of the mission of Jesus, but the call to believe on him. On the other hand, they were afraid publicly to disown John! And so their cunning and cowardice stood out selfcondemned, when they pleaded ignorance — a plea so grossly and manifestly dishonest, 78 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS that Christ, having given what all must have felt to be a complete answer, could refuse further discussion with them on this point. — Condensed from Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, pp. 382, 383. Jesus as a controversalist. Controversy is a form of the service of God for which many have no sympathy. When they see a good man taking his share in it, they are sorry, and wish he would spend his strength in do ing something else. But how shallow such a view is can be seen by recalling how much of their time the very greatest servants of God have had to employ in this way. Think of Elijah, Paul, Luther, John the lov ing and Bernard the holy! Jesus himself was inces santly engaged in controversy. But his connection with it culminated on one of the last days of his life, perhaps the Tuesday, when his opponents of all shades of opinion united to oppose and confound him, starting argument after argument and employing all their au thority, learning and skill either to discredit him in the eyes of the people or to extort from him some reply which would involve him with the civil powers. Nearly a sixth part of the Gospel of Matthew is devoted to the proceedings of this day. — Prof. James Stalker, D. D. THE TWO SONS. And he began to speak unto them in parables : "But what think ye ? A man had two sons ; and he came to the first, and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.' And he answered and said, 'I will not': but afterward he repented himself, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir': and went not. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They say, "The first." Jesus saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of right eousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and THE STORY OF TUESDAY 79 the harlots believed him; and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward that ye might believe him." (His Last Week, p. 9; Mt. 21 :28-32.) The parable of the two sons. (Mt. 21:28-32.) In the light of Christ's interpretation the force and mean ing of the parable lie in the contrasted verbs, "went" and "went not." It is a picture of obedience in con trast with disobedience. We shall miss the point of the parable if we ask, ' ' Which was the better of the two sons ? " or, " Which of the sons did Jesus approve?" We are not concerned with comparative goodness. Jesus did not approve either of the young men. Both of them did wrong. But the first, becoming ashamed of his wrong-doing, re pents and begins to do right. And that is the only com mendable thing about him. The single question which the parable is designed to enforce is one of obedience and disobedience. It is embodied in the words, "Whether of them twain did the will of his father?" Nothing is easier, and few things more common, than to mistake mere assent to divine truth for obedience to the divine will. A great deal of our modern Chris tianity consists in simply saying, "I go, sir," to God, and does not represent any form of doing God's will. We recite our well-framed creeds, we say "Amen" to our prayers, with apparent fervor, but our lives are not affected thereby. We do not translate our creeds and our prayers into deeds of righteousness and love.— Hubbard, Teachings of Jesus, pp. 387-392. Publicans. (Mt. 21:31.) These were inferior Jew ish officers employed as collectors of the Roman revenue. They were a hated class, partly because of their methods of extortion (Lk. 3:13), and partly be cause they were considered traitors, many of the Jews 80 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS having a firm belief in the unlawfulness of paying trib ute. They were commonly classed with sinners (Mt. 9:11) and with the heathen (Mt. 18:17). Our Lord was scornfully referred to as the friend of publicans (Mt. 11:19). " THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN. "Hear another parable: There was a man who was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another coun try. And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen to receive the fruits of his vineyard. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them in like manner. He had yet one, a beloved son ; he sent him last unto them, saying, 'They will reverence my son.' But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.' And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do unto those husbandmen?" They say unto him, "He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their sea sons." Jesus saith unto them, "Did ye never read in the scrip tures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvellous in our eyes'? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bring ing forth the fruits thereof. And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces ; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust." And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. And when they sought to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, THE STORY OF TUESDAY 81 because they took him for a prophet. (His Last Week, pp. 9-10; Mt. 21:36-46; Mk. 12:1-12; Lk. 9:19). "Hear another parable." (Mt. 21:33.) A parable may be defined as a short fictitious narrative intended to illustrate some point in moral or religious teaching. Less precise, but quite as telling, is a certain child's definition of a parable as "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." Parables abound in the teachings of most of the eminent Jewish rabbis, but those of Jesus greatly sur passed all others. About thirty of his are recorded, the most of them teaching the laws of his divine king dom. Those, such as we are here studying, uttered in the latter part of his ministry, are largely prophetic of the rejection of Israel. Undoubtedly Jesus often taught by this picturesque method to catch the attention of the multitudes. "Rus- kin compares the parables to traps set, attractively baited; in time, they would spring and hold." Yet it is true, as Jesus taught in the 13th chapter of Matthew, that parables conceal, as well as reveal, truth. Sur rounded as he was by enemies, it was necessary that his teachings should be easily apprehended by seekers after the truth, while remaining but "dark sayings" to those spiritually obtuse. Hedge . . . winepress . . . tower. (Mk. 12 :1.) Eastern vineyards are surrounded by hedges, either of living shrubs or cacti or of dried branches or by rude stone walls topped with thorns. These are designed to keep out thieving men and animals. The wine-press, in which the grapes are trodden by the bare feet of servants, consists of a stone slab, hollowed out to the depth of a foot or more and sloping slightly to wards a rock-cistern beneath, in which the grapejuice 82 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS is kept until fermented. Both vats are often dug out of solid rock, hence the expression "digged a wine press." The tower may refer to any shelter erected on a commanding site, where the watchman can over look the vineyard and guard it against marauders. If near the wine-press, this shelter is often used for the storing of grapes before they are pressed. Isa. 5 :l-7 undoubtedly forms the basis of the above picture. "The stone which the builders rejected." (Mt. 21: 42.) This is a Messianic prophecy from Ps. 118: 22, 23. "The original 'rejected stone' was Israel itself, re jected by the nations, defeated and exiled, but destined by God for the chief place among them all. This psalm was probably sung after the return from the exile, when the hopes of the nation were raised to the highest pitch. ' ' Peter, before the Sanhedrin, makes use of the 22nd verse and applies it directly to Jesus (Acts 4:11). The stone which the builders rejected. (Mt. 21:42.) God's purpose is not defeated by men's sin. Christ rejected is still King. Men have sought to build a kingdom that shall endure forever. They have selected what truths they deemed most important, seen these truths manifested in persons, honored and glorified them, and used them as stones for their structure. "Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Christ,'* they have said, "these are built into the kingdom that will abide, and on them it rests." But the Christ will not fit in with the others. Therefore he has been rejected. Yet in the abiding structure rising through the course of time, under the hand of God, he re-appears. He is the headstone of the corner. Can you not read history? "He is the stone which was set at naught of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner." "And in none other is there salvation; for neither is THE STORY OF TUESDAY 83 there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." — Albert E. Dunning, D. D., in Monday Club Sermons. "The head of the corner." (Mt. 21:42.) The cor ner-stone of a building is ordinarily one of unusual beauty and is honored by being placed in the most prominent corner of the foundation walls. It is in teresting to Bible students to know that the corner stone of the first temple at Jerusalem may yet be stand ing. Within comparatively recent years some of the great stones of the foundation wall of the temple have been unearthed. The lowest stone at the southeast corner, when brought to light, was found to measure 14 feet in length and 3 feet 8 inches in height, and to be "squared and polished, with a finely dressed face." As the present foundation rests on solid rock, it cor responds essentially with that of Solomon's temple. The vinedressers condemned. There are said to be no fewer than six parables of our Lord in which the vine appears. It was the most conspicuous and valu able product of the Holy Land, and it supplied in numerable illustrations to the poets and preachers of the Jewish race. It was an emblem of the nation it self, appearing frequently on Jewish coins. In front of the temple there hung a massive vine of fine gold. In Psalm 80, the image is worked out elaborately ; and in the fifth chapter of Isaiah there is a lengthened com parison of Israel and Judah to a vineyard, which Jesus must have had in mind when framing this parable. Not only did the "householder own the vineyard, but he had himself planted it, and he had supplied it with everything requisite for its successful cultivation- hedge, wine-press, tower. This is an image of the love and care bestowed by Jehovah on the chosen people 84 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS from the beginning. — Prof. James Stalker in S. S. Times. To whom the parable was addressed. It is observ able that Luke separates the parable of the vine dresser from the dialogue by the remark, peculiar to him, "And he began to speak unto the people this parable" (Lk. 20 :9). Here it is assumed that the San- hedrists also were present and were even primarily addressed, as, on the other hand, in Matthew the pres ence of a number of people also is assumed, in teaching whom Jesus was interrupted by the deputation of the Great Council, and who certainly had not become fewer during the transaction with the latter. Still Luke's in troductory remark gives us the important intimation, that in beginning to relate this parable Jesus ex changed the tone of the special dialogue with the San- hedrists for that of a public address to the entire com pany of assembled people. — Goebel, Parables of Jesus, p. 326. Teachings of this parable concerning Christ. (Mt. 21 : 37-38.) The vinedressers are represented as knowing the son and heir. Is it implied that the men to whom the parable is addressed knew the speaker to be the Christ, the Son of the living God? In that case Jesus virtually charges them with being on the point of put ting to death one whom they admitted to be divine, or at least invested with Messianic dignity. But probably all that is strictly implied is that they might have known who the speaker was, and would have known had their hearts been pure. In asking him as to his authority they affected not to know who he was, and perhaps it was not a mere affectation, for prejudice and passion had blinded their eyes. — Bruce, Parabolic Teaching of Christ, p. 457. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 85 THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. And Jesus answered and spake again in parables unto them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come. Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bid den, 'Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready ; come to the marriage feast.' But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise ; and the rest laid hold on his servants, and treated them shame fully, and killed them. But the king was wroth; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then saith he to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast.' And those serv ants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was filled with guests. But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, 'Friend, how earnest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the serv ants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the outer darkness' ; there shall be the weeping and the gnash ing of teeth. For many are called, but few chosen." (His Last Week, pp. 10-11; Mt. 22:1-14). The marriage of the king's son. This parable is found in Matthew's Gospel alone. It is similar to one spoken by Jesus in Peraea, three months earlier, but dif fers from it in many important details and in the les sons taught. See Lk. 14:15-24. "To call them that were bidden." (Mt. 22:1.) In some parts of the East it is still customary, in giving a large banquet, to issue two invitations to the guests; the earlier one being a preliminary announcement ; the later one, a special summons sent on the very day of 86 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the event. Because of the absence of timepieces, this final invitation was necessary in Jesus' day, lest the guests fail to be punctual. And they would not come. (Mt. 21:1.) Orientals delight in feasts, particularly those given in connection with a marriage. Not to accept an invitation to such an event is an almost unheard-of thing. To invent ex cuses for non-attendance, to scorn repeated invitations and to maltreat the messengers bringing them, would be considered a deadly insult to the host. Such treat ment of a king's invitation would be plainly indica tive of rebellion. The parable of the marriage of the king's son. (Mt. 22:1-10.) Evidently the king is God himself, and his son is Christ, as he is on the point of uniting himself with his bride, the church. Since the guests are the king's subjects, they would be obliged to comply with the invitation, although he had summoned them to compulsory service. Thus motives of the highest honor, of the highest love and joy, and of the highest duty, combined to induce the persons invited to appear. — Lange, Life of Christ 1 :526. The wedding garment. (Mt. 22:11-13.) We do not know of any specific wedding dress, as distinguished from that appropriate to other festive occasions ; but the guests must come properly arrayed. Oriental monarchs now frequently present some elegant article of apparel to a visitor; and hence it has been widely supposed by commentators that in this case the king had furnished suitable material, and this man had re fused or neglected to put it on. But the evidence fur nished for such a custom (e. g., by Trench) is not adequate ; and if the supposition be here made, it must be grounded on the necessity of the case. There is, THE STORY OF TUESDAY 87 however, no intimation that the man was poor. This is not a charitable feast to the poor (Lk. 14:13), but a grand entertainment in honor of the king's son. A forenoon banquet was originally proposed and it is now night, so that there has been ample time for prep aration. — Broadus, Am. Commentary, Matthew, p. 448. TRIBUTE TO CAESAR. Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. And they watched him, they sent to him their disciples, with the Herodians, spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, saying, "Teacher, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their craftiness, and said, "Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money." And they brought unto him a denarius. And he saith unto them, "Whose is this image and sup erscription?" They say unto him, "Caesar's." Then he saith unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people. And when they heard it, they marvelled, and left him, and went away. (His Last Week, pp. 11-12; Mt. 22:15-22; Mk. 12:13-17; Lk. 20:20-26.) The Pharisees . . . took counsel. (Mt. 22:15.) In the time of Herod the Great, the Pharisees were "a party representing the religious views, practices and hopes of the kernel of the Jewish people, in op position to the priestly Sadducees. They were, ac- 88 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS cordingly, scrupulous observers of the law as inter preted by the scribes, in accordance with tradition." The reforms of Nehemiah were responsible for their organization as a body, which dated from the second century B. C. They held to a complete separation from everything non-Jewish. In their zeal for the letter of the law they often forgot its spirit. While their earnestness had done much to solidify the front of Judaism agamst paganism, they had become, in the time of our Lord, a body of pedants, who proved from the outset his most determined enemies. Some in dividual Pharisees, however, were friends of Jesus (Lk. 7 :37 ; 13 :31), and of the early Christians (Acts 5 : 38; 23:9). The Herodians. (Mt. 22 :15.) Tertullian and some of the early church fathers regarded the Herodians as a religious party, and this view is held by many promi nent Jewish scholars of modern times. Certain New Testament verses, such as Mk. 8 :15 and Mt. 16 :6, where Jesus warned his disciples against the "leaven," i. e. bad teaching (see Mt. 16:12), of Herod, are adduced to show that the Herodians represented a religious party. Equally good authorities, however, maintain that the Herodians were a political party, most prob ably the adherents of the dynasty of Herod. At the death of Herod (B. C. 4), his kingdom was divided among his sons. When one of them, Archelaus, was deposed (A. D. 7) a Roman procurator was put in his place, and thenceforward Judaea continued under procurators, with the exception of a brief interval, dur ing which Herod Agrippa I. united under his sway all the dominions of his grandfather. It was doubtless the constant desire of the family of Herod to restore the kingdom of their father, and the Herodians would seem THE STORY OF TUESDAY 89 to have been the party of those who favored their pre tensions. They "truckled to the Romans," and, un like the Pharisees, favored tribute to Caesar. In a previous plot against the life of Jesus (Mk. 3 :6), the Herodians joined forces with the Pharisees, and again in this verbal encounter they united (Mt. 22 :16). "Tribute unto Ccesar." (Mt. 22:17.) "Caesar" was originally the cognomen of a patrician Roman family, but when that family became extinct at the death of Nero, "Caesar" was made the official title of the em perors who succeeded him. A survival of the word is seen in the German "Kaiser" and the Russian "Czar." The Roman monarch ruling at the time of the Crucifixion was Tiberius Caesar, who reigned from 14 to 37 A. D. The word "tribute" here refers to the annual poll tax levied upon the Jews by the Roman government. It was collected by the publicans, and was payable in the denarius, or New Testament "penny." Because this coin bore the image of the emperor, the tax was most offensive to the Jews, as it was a perpetual re minder of their subjection. The "penny," or denarius, which the Pharisees brought to Jesus, was a Roman com, and the ordinary day's wage of a working man. It was a silver coin, worth somewhat less than 20 cents. The Roman standard gold coin was the aurus, worth 25 denarii. On one side of the denarius was the head of the em peror, with his name and title in Latin. The denarius of Tiberius bore on the reverse the seated figure of Livia, the empress. The denarius of Titus has his name and face on the front, and on the reverse a palm tree, and Titus in military dress with his foot on a helmet. 90 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ' ' The things that are Casar 's." ( Mt. 22 :21. ) Jesus was here teaching a lesson in common honesty. Since the Jews were enjoying the protection and privileges of the Roman government, they were under obligation to pay somethmg in return for those services. The payment of the tax was not necessarily an endorsement of the moral character of the government, but was an acknowledgment of the authority of the power that protected them. Tribute to Ccesar. The payment of tribute was the only condition of life left to the conquered who could no longer fight, and who refused to change their faith and accept that of their conquerors. For over a thousand years Oriental Christians have been in this position, allowed to live by paying an adult head-tax for the up keep of the Turkish army. The new constitution has removed this indignity and offered them the position of fellow-citizens. Most of them, however, while ac cepting the new liberty, seek by payment of fine or by concealment or falsification of the date of birth to evade the obligation of military service. — George M. Mackie, D. D. The payment of tribute. The Jew objected to paying tribute because he thought that submission to Rome involved rebellion against God, and, conversely, that submission to God should involve rebellion against Rome. But Jesus commands obedience to both, and therein implies that there is no such alternative. It is possible to serve God and Caesar, — to give each his own. The relations between these two obligations are not laid down explicitly, but are implied in the juxta position of the two clauses. In the first place they are perfectly compatible, and Christian lives can be lived even under a foreign tyrant. In the second place, ren- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 91 dering to Caesar his due is part of our rendering to God What is due to him, for "the powers that be are or dained of God," even when that power is wielded by a Tiberius (Rom. 13:17). But, in the third place, the juxtaposition of the two suggests the limitation of the former. If at any time Caesar's commands oppose God's, rebellion against him is loyalty to God. If there are "things that be Caesar's," and there are "things that be God's," and if Caesar stretches his hand beyond his territory he is to be resisted in the name of God. The sanctity and the limitations of civic obedience are laid down for all Christian times and states in these calm words. — Alexander McLaren, D. D., in S. S. Times. Jesus' teaching concerning money. Have you ob served that all Christ's main teachings, by direct order, by earnest parables, and by his own permanent emo tion, regard the use and misuse of money? We might have thought, if we had been asked what a divine teacher was most likely to teach, that he would have left inferior persons to give directions about money; and himself spoken only concerning faith and love and the discipline of the passions, and the guilt of the crimes of soul agamst soul. But not so. He speaks in general terms of these. But he does not speak parables about them for all men's memory, nor permit himself fierce indignation against them, in all men's sight. The Pharisees bring him an adulteress. He writes her for giveness on the dust of which he had formed her. An other, despised of all for known sin, he recognized as a giver of unknown love. But he acknowledges no love in buyers and sellers in his house. One should have thought there were people in that house twenty times worse than they ; — Caiaphas and his like ; false priests, 92 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS false prayer-makers, false leaders of the people — who needed putting to flight with darkest wrath. But the scourge is only against the traffickers and thieves. The two most mtense of all the parables, the two which lead the rest in love and terror (this of the Prodigal and of Dives) relate, both of them, to management of riches. The practical order given to the only seeker of advice of whom it is recorded that Christ "loved him," is briefly about his property : ' ' Sell that thou hast. ' ' And the arbitrament of the day of Last Judgment is made to rest wholly, neither on belief in God, nor in any spiritual virtue in man, nor in freedom from stress of stormy crime, but on this only, "I was an hungered and ye gave me drink ; naked, and ye clothed me ; sick, and ye came unto me." — Ruskin, Time and Tide, Letter 25. THE QUESTION OF THE RESURRECTION. And on that day there came to him certain of the Sad ducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be child less, his brother shall take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren : and the first took a wife, and died childless; and the second; and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. Last of all, the woman also died. In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be ? for the seven had her to wife." And Jesus said unto them, "Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God. The sons of this world marry, and are given in mar riage ; but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and THE STORY OF TUESDAY 93 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." And when the multitudes heard it they were astonished at his teaching. And certain of the scribes answering him, said, "Teacher, thou hast well said." For they durst not any more ask him any question. (His Last Week, p. 12; Mt. 22:23-33; Mk. 12: 18-27; Lk. 20: 27-40). Certain of the Sadducees. (Mt. 22:23.) There is good reason to believe that the Sadducees, who first ap pear as a party about 100 B. C, were descendants of the faithful priest Zadok, of King David's time. In Jesus 's day they were the aristocracy of the priest hood, distinguished by birth, wealth and official posi tion. It has been said that nothing definite is known about the political and religious views of the Sadducees except what is recorded by their opponents. From New Testament sources we learn that they repudiated the Pharisaic oral law, hated the Pharisees for their con servative traditionalism, and were the rationalists and materialists of their day (Acts 23:8). Their disbelief in the doctrine of the resurrection was at the bottom of the puzzling question asked of Jesus. The chief priests in the time of Christ were of this party, and rivaled the Pharisees in their hatred and persecution of Jesus. It is to be noted, however, that Jesus never came into direct conflict with the Sadducees till the very close of his ministry, when they joined with their own op ponents, the Pharisees, who had long been hostile to him. "With the destruction of the temple and the state, the Sadducees as a party no longer had an object for which to live. They disappear from history, though their views were partly maintained and echoed by the 94 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Samaritans, with whom they are frequently identi fied." The beliefs of the Sadducees. They did not believe in development or a continuous revelation. God had spoken to Moses, but had been silent ever since. And so they were exceedingly zealous for Moses. They had hitherto left the conflict with Jesus to the Pharisees, rather pleased that their rivals should be so be wildered ; but now that Caiaphas had declared his death to be necessary, they would confront and overpower him with the authority of their Lawgiver. They selected their point carefully. Jesus had ex plicitly affirmed his belief in a future state. But the Sadducees did not find the belief in Moses; found it, indeed, conspicuously absent and explicitly disproved. So they elaborated their most conclusive argument, and presented the case of the woman with seven hus bands. If there is a future state where all these husbands are alive, and this poor over-married woman alive also, "whose wife shall she be? Come now, good Master, tell us." They did not raise the question whether immortal relations must be adjusted to pro visional arrangements; they took for granted that a temporary and barbarous expedient was an eternal law. Jesus lifted the question into a region far above the heaven of the Sadducean spirit. In the resurrection men were not governed by the law of Moses ; they were "at the angels of God." Their natures determined their relations, affinities created society. And the Highest was the regulative nature. The living God involved the life of those that lived to him. Men who lived in communion with him became as needful to him as he was to them. And this truth was expressed in THE STORY OF TUESDAY 95 the ancient saying, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." He could not be their God unless he was a real Being to them ; they could not be real beings to him unless they still lived. To be the God of them, he must be a God to them ; and he could be a God only to living persons, not to silent memories or empty names. Jesus thus found immortality at the very heart of the Mosaic law. The man who is made in the image of God is made to be as God, and be like him forever. — Fair- bairn, Studies in the Life of Christ, pp. 235-236. "His brother should take the wife." (Mk. 12:19.) The marriage of a widow by the brother of the de ceased husband is in accordance with the ancient Levirate Law, so called from the Latin levir, meaning brother-in-law. In Lev. 20:21 marriage with a de ceased brother's wife is forbidden, but Deut. 25:5, 6 names certain conditions under which such a marriage becomes a duty. When a man died without male is sue, his brother, if living on the same family estate, should marry the widow, and their first-born son should preserve the name, and inherit the property, of the man who died childless. We find from the book of Ruth that if there was no brother, the duty of preserv ing the name of the deceased extended to kindred farther removed. This marriage custom is now practically obsolete among the Jews, but still prevails in Abyssinia and some parts of Asia. There are evidences that it once existed in ancient Italy. "But are as the angels of God." (Lk. 20:36.) But while sexual relationships have no office in heaven, it does not follow that those who have loved each other on earth as husbands and wives are unrelated by ties 96 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS of special affection. The physical ties, whose purpose is the perpetuity of the race on earth, have no mission in heaven; but our loved ones are our very own, for time and eternity. The plots against Jesus. All the different parties united their forces and put their heads together and concocted schemes by means of which this young prophet should be brought to prison. It is an inter esting fact that notwithstanding Jesus was speaking constantly in public for three years, not one of his enemies was able to catch him in his speech, and when at last they convicted him they had to do it on a trumped-up lie. — Charles E. Jefferson, The Character of Jesus, pp. 90-1. THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT. But the Pharisees when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. And one of the scribes, a lawyer, came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, "What commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel : The Lord our God, the Lord, is one, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.' The second is like, namely, this, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' There is none other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." And the scribe said unto him, "Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one : and there is none other but he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt- offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, "Thou are not far from the kingdom of God." (His Last Week, p. 13; Mt. 22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-34). THE STORY OF TUESDAY 97 And one of the scribes came. (Mk. 12:28.) Print ing presses were introduced into Syria more than a hundred years ago, and the trade in printed books now is of some importance; nevertheless the scribes and their profession are not extinct; they are still in evi dence, for they are needed still. The Jew can, and does, purchase a printed copy of the entire sacred Scriptures for a single dollar, and yet, in some circum stances, he pays down from $150 to $200 for a single copy of the Pentateuch, written by a scribe on prepared skins or parchment. A scribe, moreover, is more than a copyist ; he is a student of the Torah, and an exposi tor of the sacred text. He is an ecclesiastical and reli gious adviser, and is therefore an authority on mat ters Scriptural or having a bearing on Scripture, and to this extent he is a "lawyer," as he is called in Mt. 22 :35.— Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie in S. S. Times. "What commandment is the first of all?" (Mk. 12: 28.) The Greek translation of this passage implies that Jesus was being questioned as to the quality of the first commandment, and this is highly probable, as the Jew ish rabbis were wont to distinguish some command ments as heavy, others as light. They had enlarged the laws of Moses until there came to be recognized by all their schools 613 commandments, the number of letters in the decalogue. These, according to Rabbi Simlai, a Palestinian haggadist, were divided as follows: 365 prohibitions, equal to the number of days in the year, and 248 positive precepts, corresponding to the num ber of bones of the human body. Jesus taught that there is one all-inclusive commandment — love to God and man. "Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord is one, etc." (Mk. 12 :29.) These words, taken from Deut. 6:4, 5, were distin- 98 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS guished by Jesus as the first half of the great all-es sential law of love. They were used at the beginning of morning and evening prayer in the temple, as a call to worship. From the initial Hebrew word, the pas sage came to be called the ' ' Shema. ' ' This command ment was taught to Hebrew children as soon as they were old enough to speak. Together with the name of the Deity, it was written on the parchment called the Mezuzah and enclosed in the cylindrical box attached to every devout Jew's doorpost. In the same form it was enclosed also in the phylacteries — the little leather boxes worn by the Jew upon his left arm and on his forehead. All this was done in accordance with direc tions given in Deut. 6:7, 8. Question concerning the greatest commandment. (Mt. 22:34-40.) The rabbis taught that there were great and small commands in the law — the one hard and weighty, the other easy and of less moment. If Jesus answered as the Pharisees hoped, he would once more commit himself, as an enemy of the traditions, and expose himself to new charges. His reply, as always, goes to the root of the matter, simplifying the whole sweep of "the Ten Words" into brief and easily remembered principles. He avoided the least approach to anything that could give offense to the most zealous supporter of the Old Testament, and, at the same time, gave no handle for accusation of any slight of the rabbinical precepts. He had once more shown his greatness as a teacher, by summing up our whole duty in the fundamental conceptions of religion and morality; in love to God, which is also love to his children, our fellow men. — ¦ Geikie, Life of Christ, 11:423-4. Love to God and man. The basis of all right living is THE STORY OF TUESDAY 99 laid in right relation to God. The one right relation to him is love. That love must be one and intense, permeating and hallowing all the nature, emotional, in tellectual, corporeal. All duties to man are mcluded in the duty of love, and the love which we owe to all men, and which natural selfishness hinders our giving, will not be given until we are, so to speak, decentralized from self as our center, and find our sun, round which we move, in God. The love which on its upper side is directed to God, has an under side which shines down and out on the world of men. Philanthropy is the ves ture which love to God wears among men. And he who loves has fulfilled the law. — Alex. McLaren, D. D., in S. S. Times. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Mt. 22: 39.) This second commandment does not stand in the Old Testament in the commanding position of the first, but is brought in only incidentally in Lev. 19 :18, where, moreover, neighbor is evidently restricted to a brother Jew. Jesus puts it in a commanding position, and widens the meaning of "neighbor" to "fellowman." THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTION OF JESUS. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together as Jesus taught in the temple, he asked them a question, saying, "What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he?" They say unto him, "The son of David." He saith unto them, "How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet?' If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son?" And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. And the common people heard him gladly. (His Last Week, p. 13; Mt. 22:41-46; Mk. 12.35-37; Lk. 20: 41-44). 100 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ' ' The Lord said unto my Lord. " ( Mt. 22 :44. ) This passage quoted by Jesus is the first verse of Psalm 110, commonly believed to be Messianic. The first word translated "Lord" is the Hebrew for Jehovah; the second "Lord" refers to the Messiah. "If David call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Mt. 22:45.) The question repeated and pressed was no catch-question, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees had addressed to him. It tended to show that the Messiah could not be a mere temporal sovereign, nor in fact a mere man. Accordmg to their conception of the Messiah the question was unanswerable. All the select wisdom and ingenuity of the learned and ruling classes, in both the great parties, had brought their most puzzling questions to the young teacher from Nazareth, who had never studied in any of the schools, and he not only gave in every case an answer of astonishing depth and clearness, which sent the wisest men away in wondering reflection, but at length retorted by a question which no one could an swer and which seemed plainly to indicate that their views of the Messiah were radically defective. Our Lord went right on discoursing, attacking the ruling classes with the most outspoken and unsparing severity, but they dared not any more interrupt or in quire. They were helpless in argument, and as usual with foiled and angry disputants who will not be con vinced, they had no hope but in violence. — Broadus, Am. Commentary, Matthew. Jesus' unanswerable question. (Mt. 22:41-46.) In that Psalm (110) occurs the expression, "The Lord (Jehovah) said unto my Lord (Adonai) 'Sit thou on my right hand.' How then could the Messiah be David's son? Could Abraham have called Isaac and THE STORY OF TUESDAY 101 Jacob and Joseph, or any of his own descendants, near or remote, his "Lord?" If not, how came David to do so ? There could be but one answer — because that son would be divine, not human — David's son by human birth, but David's Lord by divine subsistence. But they could not find this simple explanation, nor, indeed, any other ; they could not find it, because Jesus was their Messiah, and they had rejected him. So here again their wisdom was utterly at fault, and though they claimed so haughtily to be leaders of the people, yet, even on a topic so ordinary and so important as their Messianic hopes, they were convicted, for the second time on a single day, of being "blind leaders of the blind. ' ' — Farrar, Life of Christ, ch. 52. Authorship of Psalm 110. Psalm 110 was always believed to be Messianic, and to have been written by David. That it is Messianic is a matter of spiritual interpretation; and, as Jesus here gives this doctrine the sanction of his authority, no loyal Christian will consider that he is free to question it. The authorship of the Psalm is a question of criticism; and nothmg in the method of Christ's teaching, or in the contents of Scripture generally, warrants us in believing that he here frees us from the duty of investigating a prob lem which is capable of being solved by our own in dustry and acuteness. We have no right to expect that Scripture will save us from the discipline of patient research by supplying us with infallible answers to questions of history, chronology, geology, and the like. . . . It should be noticed that, while Jesus affirms both the inspiration and the Messianic character of Ps. 110, yet the argumentative question with which he concludes need not be understood as asserting that David is the author of it, although it seems to imply 102 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS this. It may mean no more than that the scribes have not fairly faced what their own principles involve. Here is a problem, with which they ought to be quite familiar, and of which they ought to be able to give a solution. It is their position, and not his, that is open to criticism. — Plummer, Internat. Crit. Com., Luke, pp. 472, 473. DISCOURSE OF JESUS AGAINST THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, in the hearing of all the people, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: all things therefore what soever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not. Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, 'Rabbi.' They devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers, these shall receive greater condemnation. But be not ye called 'Rabbi,' for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters : for one is your master, even the Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled : and whosoever shall hum ble himself shall be exalted. "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte ; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, 'Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever THE STORY OF TUESDAY 103 shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.' Ye fools and blind : for which is greater, the gold, or the tem ple that hath sanctified the gold? And, 'Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing ; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor.' Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel ! "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse, first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly ap pear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, and say, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: Some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between 104 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gath- ereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, 'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.' " (His Last Week, pp. 14-16; Mt. 23:1-39; Mk. 12:38-40; Lk. 20: 45-47N The discourse against the scribes and Pharisees. (Mt. ch. 23.) This passage, terrible as it is, commends itself to all that is noblest and best in us. Who is there who does not thank God for this scathing de nunciation of that most hateful of all abominations — hypocrisy? See how he brands it in every sentence — "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" — how piece by piece he shows their miserable life to be a lie. "Hypocrites!" because you profess to sit in Moses' seat, to have the key of knowledge, to know the way of life yourselves, and show it to others; and all this profession is a lie( v. 13). "Hypocrites!" because your pretended charity is a lie, aggravated by the forms of devotion with which it is masked, while the essence of it is most sordid avarice (v. 14). "Hypo crites ! ' ' because your zeal for God is a lie, being really a zeal for the devil, your converts being perverts worse than yourselves (v. 15). "Hypocrites !" because your morality is a lie, making the law of God of none effect by your miserable casuistry (vs. 16:22). "Hypo crites ! ' ' because your devotion is a lie, consisting mere ly in punctilious attention to the minutest forms, while the weighty matters of the law you set aside. — Gibson, Expositor's Bible, Matthew, pp. 333-4. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 105 "They make broad their phylacteries." (Mt. 23:5.) From early times devout Jews have been accustomed, while engaged in prayer, to wear upon their forehead and left arm little leather boxes, called phylacteries, containing certain Old Testament passages remind ing them of the unity of God and of their obligations to their Preserver. Some writers believe these phylac teries to be a counterpart of the high priest's diadem and breast-plate; others, that their use was proposed by Moses as an improvement upon the superstitious custom that the Egyptians had of wearing amulets up on the forehead and arm to protect them from danger. The phylactery is made as follows : A piece of skin, taken from a ceremonially clean cow, is thoroughly soaked in pure water, then stretched over a cube- shaped block, the sides of which may vary in size from one-half to one and one-half inches. It is then cut to the right size and sewed while it is wet. When it is dry, the block is removed and the leather holds its shape. The phylactery for the head is made in four compartments, and is marked on one side with the He brew letter shin, which has three prongs — a reminder of the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. On the other side of the box is a four pronged shin— a reminder of God, whose name in Hebrew is in four letters, Y H W H. Beginning on the side with the four pronged letter, the box contains these four passages of Scripture: Exodus 13:1-10; Exodus 13:11-16; Deut. 6 :4-9 ; Deut. 11 -.13-21. These passages are written on pieces of white parchment, each one of which is tied with the clean white hair of a cow. Then the box, after being supplied with a brim, base, and flaps for holdmg the straps, is sewed up, and just twelve stitches must be used, for the twelve tribes of Israel. This box is 106 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS worn upon the forehead, with the supporting straps, which must be tied in a peculiar fashion, hanging down behind. The arm-phylactery contains the same four passages of Scripture, on a single sheet of parchment, and is worn on the bare left arm, above the elbow, and close to the body, so that it may rest near the heart. The strap that holds it in place must be wound above the elbow three times, and below seven times, once in a three pronged shin and once in a four pronged shin, then thrice around the middle finger, once round the wrist, and, last of all, around the palm of the hand. It took some practice to do it just as the Jews of Jesus' time thought it ought to be done, and they were very par ticular about the length of the strap, and the size of the box, and the words they uttered when adjusting them. When Jesus accused the Pharisees of making broad their phylacteries, it is believed that his reference was to the leather straps described above. Both boxes are colored a deep black. The law recommended that phylacteries be worn daily at family worship, excepting on the Sabbath and on feast days, when there were other reminders of the word of God. They could not be worn in a cemetery or any unseemly place, nor when one was eating a regular meal or sleeping. Females, slaves and minors were exempt from wearing them. "Be ye not called Rabbi." (Mt. 23:8.) This is probably not a condemnation of the use of distinguish ing titles for the clergy, but a warning against an in ordinate craving for ecclesiastical superiority. "Call no man your father." (Mt. 23:9.) Worthy men of a past generation, also distinguished teachers, were often honored by the title "Father." Jesus was THE STORY OF TUESDAY 107 cautioning the Jews against hero-worship, lest it inter fere with love to God. "Ye tithe mint and anise and cummin." (Mt. 23: 23.) A tithe is the tenth part of anything, set apart for some special (usually sacred) use. Under the Mosiac Law the Hebrews were required to tithe all agricultural products, such as grain, wine and oil (Deut. 14:23). These were taken to a central sanc tuary and eaten by the head of the household and his family; or, the tithe could be sold, but the price ob tained could be spent only on food, drink and ointment necessary for the sacrificial feast. Every third year the tithe was used for the poor. "In later Judaism two tithes were levied — one for the Levites; the other, to be consumed by the offerer." In accordance with a rigid observance of the law laid down in Lev. 27 :30, even the smallest herbs were tithed by the scrupulous Pharisees of our Lord's day. Such zeal would not be blameworthy, had it not joined to itself a disregard of the spirit of the law as applied to matters far more weighty. " Strain out the gnat." (Mt. 23:24.) In this expres sion reference is made to the custom of straining out small insects from the native wine, either at manufac ture or before drinking it. Straining out gnats and swallowing camels. (Mt. 23:23, 24.) He who unduly estimates the form will soon be enslaved by the form. The student of human nature, who considers the sense-conditions under which we are set, will argue that it must always be so. He who observes Christian life, or skillfully reads personal experience, will declare that it is so. Once let religious forms and ceremonies control conduct, . . . and they will run as does loosened fire ; they will overlay 108 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the spiritual feeling ; they will absorb all the powers ; and become supreme mterests; and when the spirit is thus overlaid, the result too often follows which we see in these Pharisees — exaggerated scruples about exact and minute forms going along with a demoraliz ing indifference to moral purity. — Pulpit Commentary, Matthew, vol. ii, p. 427. "Ye cleanse the outside of the cup." (Mt. 23:25.) Without doubt reference is here made to the undue im portance which the Pharises attached to the ceremonial cleanness or uncleanness of utensils. Building the tombs of the prophets. (Mt. 23:29-34.) A great man is in advance of his age, and only the later age, which has been in some measure educated up to him by the very influence of his life and teaching, is in a position to comprehend him. But while all this is natural, it is not the less unfortunate. What is the use of honors heaped on the grave of the silent dead? The laurels we pile on their tombs cannot bring joy to those who are no longer with us. There is a grim irony in the common custom of waitmg for their death be fore recognizing the merits of the best men. The ap plause that bursts out so rapturously after they have left the stage is of no comfort to them now. It would have been better to have shown them more kindness during their lifetime. In homelier regions much heart breaking might be spared, and many bitter regrets avoided, if we would take care to show the affection and forbearance for our dear ones in their lifetime which we shall vainly yearn to render them when it is too late. — Pulpit Commentary, Matthew, vol. ii, pp. 413, 414. "Whited sepulchers." (Mt. 23 : 27.) It is said to have been a custom of the Hebrews, on a certain day in the THE STORY OF TUESDAY 109 springtime, the 15th of the month Adar, to whitewash the graves of the dead, in order to make them so con spicuous that no passer-by might unintentionally pass over them and thus contract ceremonial defilement. The idea of adding to their beauty by this treatment, as suggested in Mt. 23:27, was probably only incidental. Visitors to modern Jerusalem notice how the white washed slabs covering Mohammedan graves in the city's suburbs easily attract attention, as they glitter in the strong Oriental sunlight. "The blood of Zechariah." (Mt. 23:35.) Inciting the cases of Abel (Gen. 4: 1-8) and Zechariah (II Chron. 24:20-22), found respectively in the first and in one of the last books of the Old Testament Canon of Scripture, Jesus seems to indicate that all through their religious history the Jews have been guilty of shedding innocent blood. The murder of Zechariah left a deep impress upon Jewish tradition. This Zechariah of II Chronicles, the son of the high priest Jehoada, is apparently the one referred to by Jesus, but if so either Matthew or some glossator has confused him with Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, a prophet contemporary with Haggai. Woes against the Pharisees. The pictures of the os tentatious, place-hunting, title-loving rabbi ; of the hy pocrite, who makes long prayers and devours widows' houses; of the zealot, who puts himself to infinite trouble to make converts, only to make his converts worse rather than better men; of the Jesuitical scribe, who teaches that the gold of the tem ple is a more sacred, binding thing to swear by than the temple itself; of the Pharisee, whose conscience is strict or lax as suits his convenience; of the whited sepulchres, fair without, full within of dead men's 110 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS bones ; of the men whose piety manifests itself in mur dering living prophets and garnishing the sepulchres of dead ones, — are moral daguerreotypes which will stand the minutest inspection. The direct object of the speaker was not to expose the blind guides of Israel, but to save from delusion the people whom they were misguiding to their ruin. It is worthy of notice how carefully discriminating the speaker was in the counsel which he gave them. He told them that what he objected to was not so much the teaching of their guides, as their lives. They might follow all their precepts with comparative impunity, but it would be fatal to follow their example. — Bruce, Training of the Twelve, pp. 327-331. Hypocrites! "Hypocrites!" because your whole demeanor is a lie, all fair without, like a whited sepulchre, while within ye are "full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (vs. 25-28). "Hypo crites!" because your pretended reverence for the prophets is a lie, for had you lived in the days of your fathers you would have done as they did, as is plain from the way in which you are acting now; for you build the tombs of the dead prophets and put to death the living ones (vs. 29-31). The sin branded, sentence follows : "Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers." Since you will not be saved, there is nothing for it but that you go on in sin to the bitter end; serpents, "forever hissing at the heels of the holy," a brood of vipers, with no hope now of escaping the judgment of Gehenna ! — Gibson, Expos. Bible, Matthew, p. 335. THE WIDOW'S TWO MITES. And he sat down over against the treasury, and he looked up and beheld how the multitude cast money into the THE STORY OF TUESDAY 111 treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in thither two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, "Verily, I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are cast ing into the treasury: for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." (His Last Week, p. 16 ; Mk. 12 : 41-44; Lk. 21:1-4). The Court of the Women. The Court of the Women was a space two hundred feet square, open to the sky, paved with marble and enclosed on the north, east, and south by colonnades, outside of which on the north and south ran a continuous line of white marble structures used for various purposes. The Gate Beautiful bi sected its eastern boundary and faced a flight of fifteen steps, which, on the opposite side of the square, led up to the Court of Israel. In the last-named court the Lord sat down. The whole of the Women's Court was in his view. Along its north and south sides at regular intervals were bronze receptacles for money. They resembled huge trumpets standing mouth upward on flaring bases. Into them the people dropped their pecuniary offer ings. Each receptacle bore an inscription stating the purpose for which its contents would be used. — Wil liam Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, pp. 76-7. Two mites. (Mk. 12:42.) A minute coin, called in Greek the "lepton," is supposed to have been the kind cast by the widow into the temple treasury. The "mite" was doubtless a popular name for this smallest of the Maccabaean coins, which bore on one side double cornucopiae, with a poppy head in the center, and on the obverse the words in ancient Hebrew, "John, the High Priest, and the Commonwealth of the Jews," sur- 112 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS rounded by a wreath of olive leaves. They were struck in the reign of John Hyrcanus and his immediate suc cessors, in the latter part of the second century B. C. Some coins of this type did not weigh more than 15 or PLAN OF THE TEMPLE. se K. Royal Tyropceon Bridge. BD. etc Terrace, or CheT, outside of -which tradi tion places a low enclosure, called the Soreg. C C c. Souih Side Gates, the second on the right hand being the ancienj Water Gate. D d n. North Side Cates. b f a B. Money Chests. f f- Courts and Chambers, C. Nicanor Gate. h. Fifteen Steps of the Levites. i. House of Stoves. J. Steps o( the Priests, k. To Mount 2ion. ' LAShushan Gate, with arched roadway, to Moiwt ofOlivcsC)1 m. To Bei c tha. 20 grains. The widow's offering of two mites was worth about two-fifths of a cent. The "farthing" to which two mites were equal, and which was the price of two sparrows, was probably the quadrans, a small bronze coin of the Roman procurat ors. "All her living." (Mk. 12 :42.) It was "all her liv- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 113 ing, ' ' perhaps all that she had been able to save out of her scanty housekeepmg; more probably, all that she had to live upon for that day, and till she wrought for more. And of this she now made humble offering unto God. He spake not to her words of encouragement, for she walked by faith; he offered not promise of re turn, for her reward was in heaven. She knew not that any had seen it — for the knowledge of eyes turned on her, even his, would have flushed with shame the pure cheek of her love; and any word, conscious notice, or promise would have marred and turned aside the rising mcense of her sacrifice. But to all time has it remained in the church, like the perfume of Mary's alabaster that filled the house, this deed of self-denying sacrifice. . . . Though he spake not to her, yet the sunshine of his words must have fallen into the dark desolateness of her heart; and, though perhaps she knew not why, it must have been a happy day, a day of rich feast in the heart, that when she gave up "her whole living" unto God. And so, perhaps, is every sacrifice for God all the more blessed, when we know not of its blessed ness.— Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, pp. 388, 389. THE GENTILES SEEK JESUS. Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast : these therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus." Philip cometh and telleth Andrew : Andrew cometh, and Philip, and they tell Jesus. And Jesus answereth them, saying, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it : and he that 114 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS 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 the 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." There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The multitude, therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it had thundered: others said, "An angel hath spoken to him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice hath not come for my sake, 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 myself." But this he said, signifying by what manner of death he should die. The multitude therefore answered him, "We have heard out of the law that the Christ abideth forever: and how sayest thou, 'The Son of man must be lifted up'? who is this Son of man?" Jesus therefore said unto them, "Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light that dark ness overtake you not : and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light." These things spake Jesus, and he departed and hid him self from them. (His Last Week, pp. 16-17; Jn. 12:20-36.) Certain Greeks. ( Jn. 12 :20) These were, undoubt edly, Greek proselytes, not Grecian Jews, who had come from a distance to celebrate the Passover, going first to Philip, perhaps because attracted by his Greek name. Nothmg is known about them except what is recorded here. An ancient legend says that they were an embassy from Abgarus, king of Edessa, who, hear ing that Jesus was in danger in his own country, of fered him safety if he would journey thither. The legend further tells how Luke visited this king and painted for him a portrait of Jesus. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 115 The Gentiles seeking Jesus. (Jn. 12:20, 21.) He knew it was his Father's will, and, when the hour ar rived, he bent his steps with sublime fortitude to the fatal spot. It was not, however, without a terrible con flict of feelings ; the ebb and flow of the most diverse emotions — anguish and ecstasy, the most prolonged and crushing depression, the most triumphant joy and the most majestic peace — swayed hither and thither within him like the moods of a vast ocean. . . . An incident which happened near the close of his last visit to the temple caused him a great shock of in stinctive pain. Some Greeks who had come to the feast expressed through two of the Apostles their de sire for an interview with him. There were many heathens in different parts of the Greek-speaking world who at this period had found refuge from the atheism and disgusting immorality of the times in the religion of the Jews settled in their midst, and had accordingly become proselytes of the worship of Je hovah. To this class these inquirers belonged. But their application shook him with thoughts which they little dreamed of.— Stalker, Life of Christ, 154, 155. The request of the Greeks. (Jn. 12:20-22.) That these were Greeks, not Grecian Jews, is evident from the word employed to describe the Greeks, which is one signifying nationality, not location ; that they were proselytes is evident from the characterization as among them which were accustomed to come up to worship at the feast. They were of the same character as the centurion whose son Christ healed, the Cor nelius who sent for Peter, and the eunuch to whom Philip preached. The pilgrims to Jerusalem were increased considerably, in the increasing decay of the polytheistic worship of Greece and Rome, with such 116 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS converts to the simple and sublime monotheism of Judea. Why they came to Philip is purely a matter of con jecture. In fact, Philip and Andrew are both Greek names, and the only names of Greek origin among the Twelve. They assume that a private interview will be readily granted them. That this is what they de sire is evident, because Christ was publicly teaching in the temple during the four days preceding his ar rest, and therefore it was very easy for them to both see and hear him in public. — Abbott, Commentary, John, p. 155. Jesus' response and deep emotion. (Jn. 12:22-32.) Only two or three times in the course of his ministry does he seem to have been brought into contact with representatives of the world lying outside the limits of his own people, his mission being exclusively to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But on every such occasion he met with a faith, a courtesy and nobility, which he himself contrasted with the unbelief, rude ness, and pettiness of the Jews. How could he help longing to pass beyond the narrow bounds of Pales tine and visit nations of such simple and generous dis position ? He must often have seen visions of a career like that afterwards achieved by Paul, when he bore the glad tidings from land to land, and evangelized Athens, Rome, and the great centers of the West. What joy such a career would have been to Jesus, who felt within himself the energy and overflowing be nevolence which it would have exactly suited. But death was at hand to extinguish all. He could see beyond death, terrible and absorbing as the prospect of it was, and assure himself that the effect of his self-sacrifice would be infinitely grander THE STORY OF TUESDAY 117 and more extensive than that of a personal mission to the heathen world could ever have been. Besides, death was what his Father had appointed for him. This was the last and deepest consolation with which he soothed his humble and trustful soul on this as on every similar occasion. "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 Thyself."— Stalker, Life of Christ, 155. " The Christ abideth ever." (Jn. 12:34.) Calling to mind such passages as Ps. 89 :29 ; 110 :4; Dan. 2 :44 and 7 :13, 14, the spectators were unable to understand how the Messiah could die a violent death. The Way of the Cross. (Jn. 12:23-26.) He checks, therefore, the shout of exultation which he sees rising to the lips of his disciples with a sobering reflection which meant — Do not fancy that I have nothing to do but to accept the sceptre which these men offer, to seat myself on the world's throne. The world's throne is the Cross. These men will not know my power until I die. Like the corn of wheat, I' must die if I would be abundantly fruitful. It is through death my whole living power can be disengaged and can accomplish all possibilities. The disciples did not understand that the law of the seed is the law of human life. They thought they had never such promise in their Master's life as at this hour: seedtime seemed to them to be past, and the harvest at hand. Their Master seemed to be fairly launched on the tide that was to carry him to the high est pinnacle of human glory. And so he was, but not, as they thought, by simply yielding himself to be set as King and to receive adoration from Jew and Gen tile. He saw with different eyes, and that it was a 118 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS different exaltation which would win for him lastmg sovereignty. — Dods, Expos. Bible, John, pp. 33-37. The voice from heaven. ( Jn. 12 :27-33.) The chill shiver of approaching death passes over Jesus; he tastes its bitterness, and passing from joy to sadness with that sensitiveness of impression which bespeaks the full reality of his humanity, he closes the paean of triumph with a cry of anguish: "Father, save me from this hour. ' ' This is the earnest of the soul-agony of Gethsemane. But scarcely had he given utterance to his unreserved submission to the will of God in the further cry: "Father, glorify thy name," when a mys terious voice is heard. The people said that it thun dered, but to Jesus it conveyed an answering assurance of holy approbation from the Father: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." Evidently these divine words were spoken only to the soul, and were audible to the spiritual sense alone ; they did not strike on the outward ears, else the whole people would have caught them. All agitation passes at once from the heart of Jesus. This wicked world, which is about to condemn him, he sees already judged, and its prince ignominiously cast out, while the cross rises before his eyes as the symbol of victory. — Pressense, Jesus Christ, pp. 435-436. Love and duty. It was Jesus who summoned Love to meet the severe demands of Faith, and wedded for the first time the ideas of Passion and Righteousness. Hitherto Righteousness had been spotless and admir able, but cold as ice; Passion had been sweet and strong, but unchastened and wanton. Jesus suddenly identifies Righteousness with himself, and has brought it to pass that no man can love him without loving Righteousness. Jesus clothes himself with the com- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 119 mandments, and each is transfigured into a grace. He illustrates his Decalogue in the washing of feet, and compels his disciples to follow his example. "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet." By one felicitous stroke he makes Love and Law synonymous, and Duty, which had always been respectable, now be comes lovely. It is a person, not a dogma, which in vites my faith; a person, not a code, which asks for obedience. Jesus stands in the way of every sel fishness ; he leads in the path of every sacrifice ; he is crucified in every act of sin; he is glorified in every act of holiness.— John Watson, The Mind of the Mas ter, pp. 187-8. Life through death. (Jn. 12:20-26.) The law of the seed is the law of human life. Use your life for present and selfish gratification and to satisfy your present cravings, and you lose it forever. Renounce self, yield yourself to God, spend your life for the com mon good, irrespective of recognition or the lack of it, personal pleasure or the absence of it, and although your life may thus seem to be lost, it is finding its best and highest development and passes into life eternal. Your life is the seed now, not a developed plant, and it can become a developed plant only by your taking heart to cast it from you and sow it in the fertile soil of other men's needs. This will seem, indeed, to dis integrate it and fritter it away, and leave it a con temptible, Obscure, forgotten thing; but it does, in fact, set free the vital forces that are in it, and give it its fit career and maturity.— Dods, Expos. Bible, Jn. p. 36. "I lay down my life." There is something in his simple statement, "I lay down my life," which for- 120 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ever makes it impossible to doubt the voluntariness with which he undertook and carried out the task of the world's redemption. His death was not, as is often affirmed, a mere object-lesson of the love of God without propitiatory significance. Still less was it merely the inevitable end of a life lived out of touch with the current ideas of the day, and hence but an example of moral heroism. The Cross is gruesome as a pulpit, but glorious as an altar. And it was as to an altar that he willingly went, sustained by the consci ousness that he laid down his life "for the sheep." Calvary was not a costly mistake, but the glorious consummation of a plan embraced in its entirety from the beginning. — J. Stuart Holden, The Pre-eminent Lord, p. 15. "I, if I be lifted up." (Jn. 12:32.) Jesus is repre sented as comparing himself to the brazen serpent: "Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." The ex pression "lifted up" occurs in one or two other places and the same happy or unhappy ambiguity attaches to it in all. Thus in Jn. 8 :28 Jesus says to the Jews : "When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am he," etc. In 12:32 we have: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. ' ' Here the evangelist again has a note which has excited the contempt of critics. "This he said, indicating by what kind of death he was to die" (12:33). All that the Jews seem to have taken out of the word was the idea of "removal"; for they contrast the inevitable "uplifting" of the Son of Man with the "abiding of the Christ for ever." Here it is by no means necessary to join in the common censure of the evangelist. Where the "uplifting" is spoken of indef initely, it may be conceived, properly enough, to include THE STORY OF TUESDAY 121 the exaltation; but where it is spoken of as the act of the Jews (8:28), and compared to the elevation of the brazen serpent on a pole (3:14 f.), the allusion to the Cross is unmistakable. There is, indeed, an exact parallel to it in Ezra 6 :11 (R. V.) : "Also I have made a decree that whosoever shall alter this word, let tim ber be pulled down from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened thereon." That was the death which Jesus died, and to such a death the evangelist understood him to refer. — James Denney, The Death of Christ, pp. 256-7. "Except a grain of wheat die." (Jn. 12:24.) What then, after this severest testing, was Christ's view of his own work? Did he come merely to be a light to light en the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel? Did men go out to see merely a prophet, the last and great est of all? Did he simply stand for God calling men to come to God, or did he stand with men facing God, and calling men to come to God through him? The one thing that is clearest in any view of the gospel is the tremendous claim Christ made for himself, and, in that claim, the absorbing element is the necessity of his Cross. Was that Cross merely an event in which he was the sport of destiny ? Was it a premature tragedy, and a noble martyrdom for truth? Was it not the one divine event to which his ministry moved? The passion behind his life is confessed in word and deed as the craving to give himself a ransom for us, and to become the Mediator between God and men. To men who tell us that we need only to be illuminated, and that all we require is to be shown the alluring way of holiness, and called to follow him as he walked in it, the answer lies in the study of the broad revelation of his life. The death of Christ is the unexplained event 122 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS of the story, unless we see that it was the passion of the mind and heart of Christ. The word, that word which no critic denies, which explains it all, is his own. ' ' The Son of man came to give his life a ransom for many." — W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Experience, pp. 104-5. "Draw all men unto me." (Jn. 12:32.) The word "draw" occurs once in the New Testament, besides this passage, in a moral sense (Jn. 6:44). It is accom plished in the work of the Holy Spirit, whose mission to the church was dependent upon the ascension of our Lord ( Jn. 7 :39 ; 16 :7) ; and the promise is fulfilled even in the case of those who resist the Holy Spirit's in fluence. They are drawn by the moral power of the life and death and resurrection of Christ, brought home to them by the Holy Ghost ; but no moral power can compel a will which is free. The whole mission work of the church and every effort which Christianity brings to bear upon the evil of the world implies this moral drawing; and implies, too, the power of man to reject it. But we may not say this moral power is not leading men to Christ, where we can least trace it, and we may not say that there is any limit where its influence ends. — Watkins, Com., John. The voluntary character of the death of Jesus. It was not a fate that overtook him, it was a mission that he had to accomplish. It was not a forecast of possible consequences of his work, it was an essential part of the work itself. And his feeling is a strange blending of fear and determination, a gradual deepening of solemnity and intensity. "He steadfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem, ' ' his love at every step triumph ing over his shrinking. He longed to complete the great sacrifice which was to redeem the world. The Pass- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 123 over, especially, was the culmination of all that had typified him. It had been a kind of approximation to wards him. It was the full symbol of the atoning sacri fice — the lamb on the altar, the sprinkled blood on the doorposts. Each Passover would have to him a mourn ful significance, and this last would fulfill all. He him self would become the Paschal lamb. What emphasis it puts upon his love, that he had a clear foresight that he had to suffer. His human foreknowledge had its limitations. Possibly he did not anticipate all that he had to endure, all the experience of his agony. Its unknown possibilities might be part of his fear. But he did know that he had to die, to drink the cup of trem bling; and through life he intelligently advanced to his goal. — Henry Allon, The Indwelling Christ, p. 291. THE JEWS REJECT JESUS. But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they believed not on him: that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, "Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah said again, "He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart; Lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, And should turn, And I should heal them." These things said Isaiah, because he saw his glory ; and he spake of him. Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue : for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God. And Jesus cried and said, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that beholdeth me beholdeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may 124 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS not abide in the darkness. And if any man hear my sayings, and keep them 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 sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life eternal; the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak." (His Last Week, pp. 18-19; Jn. 12:36b-50.) "That the word of the prophet might be fulfilled." (Jn. 12:37) Jn. Isa. 53:1, 6:9, 10 and accompanying passages, the prophet foretells the incredulity of many Jews concerning the claims made by the Messiah. Jesus' last words in the temple. (Jn. 12:33-36.) Standing at the very close of his public ministrations, he threw into these last words of warning the whole intensity and earnestness of his soul. "If you wish to comprehend what I have said about my being lifted up, let me tell you how all your questions and difficulties about it may be resolved. I shall be with you only a very little longer; make right use of that time to believe in me, the light of the world, as the traveler makes use of the last moments of day, to reach safety, before darkness overtake him. With me, the light of truth, which now lights you, will be gone, and you know that he who walks in darkness knows not what way to go. While ye still have me, the light of men, believe in the light, that ye may receive illumination from it. " . . . Casting a last sad look of quench less pity on all, he turned away to Bethany, to seek seclusion, till the time came for his self-sacrifice. — Geikie, Life of Christ, vol. ii, page 438. Jesus' farewell to Israel. Such was the farewell of Jesus to Israel. The words, "he said these things," THE STORY OF TUESDAY 125 signify that he gave them no other response. Thereup on he withdraws ; and on the following day he does not reappear. The people waited for him in the temple as usual (Lk. 21 :38) ; but in vain. It was at this time no longer a mere cloud which veiled the sun ; the sun had set, the night was come. — Godet, Com., John, vol. ii, p. 230. His last public teaching. All the evangelists have traces of public teaching by Jesus that belonged in these last days. According to Luke Jesus taught daily in the temple, and people hung upon him in rapt at tention (Lk. 19 :48). They came early in the morning to hear him (Lk. 21 :38). Mark says that the chief priests and scribes feared Jesus because the multitude were deeply impressed by his teaching (Mk. 11:18), and his statement does not refer to one single occasion, but is general in character. Luke does not give the content of one of these last sermons to the people, neither does Mathew nor Mark ; yet we are doubtless right in holding that Jesus preached the Gospel of his Kingdom even as he had been doing for two years. John preserves the substance of one of these addresses, in which Jesus declared his peculiar relation to God, as one sent by him with power to save the world (Jn. 12:44-50). His word is God's word, and to reject it now means that one must be judged by it hereafter. — George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 244. The appeal of Jesus. It is, on first thoughts, inex plicable that any body of religious people — and one must admit that the Jews were the most religious peo ple on the face of the earth — should have refused the luminous and winsome teaching of Jesus, and actually sent him to the Cross for his Evangel. When one thinks a little longer, and puts himself in the place of 126 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the contemporaries of Jesus, it comes home to him that they were not really able tb receive the truth, and that he himself might, in the same circumstances, have condemned Jesus as a blasphemer. For the irresistible attraction of Jesus, as it now seems to us, was his reas onableness, and that was shown by his appeal at every turn to reality. "This is what I say, and you will see that this is what ought to be," was ever Jesus' argu ment; and to an honest mind, without bias or preoc cupation, such a plea was unanswerable. But if the mind had long lost touch with truth at first-hand, and was possessed by traditions about truth, then Jesus could have no access, and indeed might be only offen sive. Jesus and the Jews were ever at cross purposes in this matter. He made his appeal past tradition to truth, and they disallowed this appeal and judged him by tradition; and by this standard there can be no doubt he was a heretic. — John Watson, The Mind of the Master, pp. 5-6. The unbelief of the Jews explained. (Jn. 12:37-43.) At first sight it is an astounding fact that the very people who had been prepared to recognize and receive the Messiah should not have believed in him. But John turns the point of this argument by showing that a precisely similar phenomenon had often appeared in the history of Israel. The people had habitually, as a people with individual exceptions, refused to listen to God 's voice or to acknowledge his presence in prophet and providence. Besides, if, in former periods of their history, they had proved themselves unworthy of God's training, and irresponsive to it, what else could be ex pected than that they should reject the Messiah when he came? — Dods, Expositors' Bible, John, vol. ii, p. 68-9. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 127 The lower and the higher success. (Jn. 12:32.) Jesus looked beyond the cruel cross to the immortal crown. The hour was at hand when Jesus should receive his personal glorification, as the Son of Man. As the Word, the Son of God, this exalted Being had enjoyed glory with the Father before the world was. But now his humanity was to be glorified. He loved to call him self the Son of Man ; in this capacity he was about to be raised to immortal majesty. His glory was to be shown as the accepted of the Father in his resurrec tion from the dead. God raised him from the dead and gave him glory. In his ascension Jesus Christ was "received up into glory." There was evident humiliation in the cross, and as evident glory in his exaltation to the throne. His official glory was to be displayed in his kingship and dominion. In heaven he was to receive the homage both of angels and of glorified men; upon earth he was to extend, by his Spirit and by his word, the em pire he had founded by his death. Christ's truest glory was to consist in the salvation of multitudes of the human race by means of his sacrifice and inter cession. The highest glory of an earthly monarch con sists in the number and loyalty of his subjects. No earthly king has ever exercised a sway so wide, so beneficent, so enduring, as that of Christ. The king doms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.— Pulpit Commentary, John, vol. ii, p. 156. The consequences of faith and unbelief. (Jn. 12:44- 50.) Israel was not only blinded with reference to the miracles which Jesus had wrought ; it was deaf as re garded the testimonies which accompanied them, and this is what finally renders its unbelief unpardonable. 128 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Such is the meaning and spirit of this passage. It is a resume of the teachings of Jesus, made from the spe cial standpoint of Jewish unbelief. The first part (vs. 44-46) sets forth the privileges connected with faith; he who believes in Jesus possesses God, and by his faith attests the truth of God to the view of others. The second part (vs. 47, 48), sets forth the condem nation which will strike unbelief. As the presence of Jesus is the pure manifestation of God, his word is the perfect revelation of the thought of God. This will be the one touchstone of the judgment. These verses ex plain the reason why the position taken by man with regard to Jesus and his word has so decisive an im portance. The third part (vs. 49, 50), sets forth the reason of the gravity of these two moral facts, which was so decisive. The word of Jesus is the standard of judgment, because it is the word of God himself. Jesus receives for each case the commission which he has to fulfill ; he hears before speaking, and he hears because he listens. He gives the divine word to men just as he receives it, without allowing himself to make any change in it. There is then here a discourse composed by John, indeed ; but he does not attribute it as such to Jesus ; he gives it as the summary of all the testimonies of Jesus which the Jews ought to have believed, but which they rejected. Here precisely is the reason why this passage contains no new idea, and bears no indication of time or place. — Godet, Com., John, vol. ii, pp. 236- 239. DISCOURSE CONCERNING THE FUTURE. And as Jesus went forth out from the temple, and was going on his way, his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple, and one of his disciples saith THE STORY OF TUESDAY 129 unto him, "Teacher, Behold what manner of stones, and what manner of buildings!" And some spake of the tem ple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings. But he answered and said unto them, "See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, As for these things which ye behold, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." And as he sat on the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" And Jesus began to say unto them, "Take heed that no man lead you astray. Many shall come in my name, say ing, 'I am the Christ,' and shall lead many astray. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled: these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be earthquakes in divers places ; there shall be famines : these things are the beginning of the travail. "But take ye heed to yourselves: for before all these things they shall deliver you up to councils; and in syna gogues shall ye be beaten; and before governors and kings shall ye stand for my sake, for a testimony unto them. And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, and when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, be not anxious before hand what ye shall speak; but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye ; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit. But ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends : and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. "And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false proph ets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains; let him that is on 130 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. "But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath: for then shall be great tribulations, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is the Christ,' or, 'Here,' believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. But take ye heed : behold, I have told you all things beforehand. If, therefore, they shall say unto you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness,' go not forth: 'Be hold, he is in the inner chambers,' believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east and is seen even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Where soever, the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. "Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. "But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be THE STORY OF TUESDAY 131 overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare ; for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of ail the earth. But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. "And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the com ing of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left; two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. Watch therefore : for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. "But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch. Watch therefore, for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning ; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 'My lord tarrieth'; and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." (His Last Week, pp. 19-22 ; Mt. 24:1-51; Mk. 1-37; Lk. 21:5-36.) 132 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem! (Mt. 23:37.) Not the splendor of the temple, but the falseness of the San hedrin; not the beauty of the royal park beyond, but the shouting mob around the governor's seat, and the fatal yielding of that doomed man; the way out to Calvary, the tomb in the garden ; — all these were plain to his thought. But all these his mind passed over to the scenes which forty years should bring : the trenches cast about the city, the terrors of the siege, the mad ness of the resistance; on the very spot where they stood should the famous tenth legion set up its engines, and the ponderous stones and flaming darts go plung ing across the valley and down into the temple court. He saw the walls breached, the temple in ruins, its carven and gold-laid pillars in flames, the gutters of the court running blood. He saw — not himself led cap tive, but myriads of citizens dragged into slavery ; not his own cross with one other on either side, but crosses lifted by the thousand until wood failed for the making. All this he beheld, while the light-hearted people shouted around, and there lay the radiant city, smiling amid festal joys, like a queen decked for a banquet while the enemy is thundering at the gate! And the doom might yet be turned. They have but to accept their King. Lo ! the air is ringing with hosan nas to his name. How possible, how close, was glory, but alas! how certain was destruction! That single day, by a true-hearted acceptance of him whom they are acknowledging and adoring as the Messiah of God, might undo all the crimes of their past and crown the chosen people and loved city with the eternal royalty which their God was longing to bestow. — C. M. Southgate in Monday Club Sermons. "Not . . . one stone upon another." (Mt. 24: THE STORY OF TUESDAY 133 2.) When Jerusalem was destroyed, a generation after Jesus' death, his prophecy concernmg the temple was fulfilled with terrible accuracy, for it was leveled to its foundations by the invading army and not one stone was left upon another of the splendid pile which Herod built. Indeed, there is but one stone in existence of which it is positively known that it belonged to that temple. That is a block of carved marble from the screen that separated the inner courts from the Court of the Gentiles. It was discovered in 1871 by Mr. Clermont Ganneau, and is now in the Royal Museum at Constantinople. It warns Gentiles to go no farther on penalty of death. The last word, "thanaton," the Greek word for death, will be recognized easily by English readers. At the beginning of his last week, our Lord said that, if the multitudes were to withhold their praises of him, the very stones would cry out. Surely, this one remaining stone which once stood, with others similarly inscribed, as barriers between people of op posing faiths, now witnesses to the power of Jesus Christ, "who hath broken down the middle wall of partition" between Jew and Gentile and made them one in himself. Occasion for the discourse. (Mt. 24 :l-3.) Jesus and his disciples had left the city, crossed black Kidron, and were slowly climbing the Mount of Olives. A sudden turn in the road, and the sacred building was once more in full view. One and another pointed out to him those massive stones and splendid buildings, or spoke of the rich offerings with which the temple was adorned. Then Jesus spoke fully of that terrible con trast between the present and the near future, when, as fulfilled with almost incredible literality, not one 134 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS stone would be left upon another that was not upturned. In silence they pursued their way. Upon the Mount of Olives they sat down, right over against the temple. Whether or not the others had gone farther, or Christ had sat apart with these four, Peter and James and John and Andrew are named as those who now asked him further of what must have weighed so heavily on their hearts: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the consummation of the age?" — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, Vol. ii, p. 432. "The sign of thy coming." (Mt. 24:3.) The Greek word parousia means presence rather than coming. It involves no idea of departure and arrivals. It is "the state of being with," and is compounded of the prepo sition par, with, and ousia, being. Signs of the parousia. (Mt. 24:29.) This disturb ance of the heavenly bodies and the prediction of the coming of the Son of Man, have been supposed to be decisive of the view that this prophecy looks beyond the fall of Jerusalem to the end of the world. But this darkenmg and fall of the heavenly bodies is so common an accompaniment of Old Testament proph ecy, and its place is so definitely and certainly fixed there, as belonging to the apocalyptic imagery of prophecy, and not to the prediction of events, that it presents no difficulty whatever. (Compare Is. 13:10; 34 :4 ; Ezek. 32 :7, 8 ; Joel 2 :30, 31 ; 3 :15.) This language is intended to portray the greatness of the doom of such nations as come under the judgment of God. When he comes in judgment, the earth and even the heavens dissolve before him. They are not events, but only imaginative portrayal of what it means for God to in terfere in the history of nations. — Gould, Internat. Crit. Com., Mark, p. 250. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 135 "The end of the world." (Mt. 24:3.) It is un fortunate that the word aion, sometimes translated world, is not uniformly translated age. The word, ac cording to Thayer, is used — (1) Of time in general. An unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity. Hence, forever (Jn. 6:51, 58), or, with a negation, never (Jn. 4:14). (2) Of time as related to the Messiah's advent. The Jews distinguished "the present world," the time before the Messiah, from "the coming world," the time after his advent. In a similar manner most of the New Testament writers designate by this world (Mt. 12:32; 13:22, etc.), the time before the appointed re turn or truly Messianic advent of Christ, the period of instability, weakness, impiety, wickedness, calam ity, and misery. By that world or the world to come (Mt. 12:32; Mk. 10:30; Lk. 18:30) they denote the age after the return of Christ in majesty, the period of the consummate establishment of the kingdom and all its blessings. The expression "the end of the world" which occurs only in Matthew, denotes the end, or rather consummation, of the age preceding Christ's return, with which will be connected the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, the demolition of this world, and its restoration to a more excellent condi tion. The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. (Mt. 24:30, 31.) This language is not to be taken lit erally, any more than that about the heavenly bodies. That is, usage makes it unnecessary, and in this case, the immediate connection with the destruction of Jeru salem makes it impossible. The passage from which this language is taken is Dan. 7 :13, in which one like a son of man comes with the clouds of heaven, and the Ancient of Days gives him an everlastmg and univer- 136 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS sal kingdom. The clouds are not to be taken literally ; they make a part of the picture, intended to represent that this kingdom to be set up on the earth is after all not an earthly kingdom, but one coming down out of heaven, a theocracy. If any one had suggested to the writer that it was to have a literal fulfilment, he would have said that that was not in his mind. Jesus, then, in adopting this language, meant that this prophecy out of the Old Testament was to be fulfilled in himself at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. Then the kingdom of God is to be set up in the world, that unworldly and everlastmg kingdom of which the sign is not a beast, but one like a son of man coming in the clouds. But here we face the question, what was there in this catastrophe of the Jewish nation which can be described as a coming of the son of man in the clouds with power and great glory. All the marks of time in the chapter point to that one time and confine us to that; and, as we have seen, the language, which seems to point to a world-catastrophe and the consum mation of all things, does not take us beyond that, since it is used elsewhere of events, such as the de struction of Babylon and the judgment of Edom, which have the same general character as this destruction of Jerusalem. — Gould, Internat. Crit. Com., Mk., p. 251. Three interpretations of Mt. chs. 24, 25. There have been, up to recent times, two interpretations of this discourse. Both of them separate it into two princi pal parts : the prediction of the destruction of Jeru salem, and the prophecy of the consummation of all things with the advent of the Messiah in glory. But one of them, the traditional interpretation, postpones the latter part indefinitely, and is still looking for the world-catastrophe which its advocates suppose to be THE STORY OF TUESDAY 137 predicted here. The difficulties in the way of this interpretation are grave and insuperable. It ignores the coupling together of the two parts in the discourse, as belonging to one great advent. Matthew 24 :29 says that they will follow each other immediately. Mark, that they belong to the same general period. Further, it leaves unexplained the expectation of an immediate coming which colors all the other New Testament books, and all the life of the church in the subsequent period. The other interpretation, the common one at present, interpreting the prophecy itself in the same way, places the time of its fulfilment in that generation. A third interpretation, the one adopted here, holds that the event predicted in the second part did take place in that generation, and in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. The event itself, and the signs of it, it interprets according to the analogy of prophecy, figuratively. It finds numerous instances of such use in Old Testament prophecy. The prophecy becomes thus a prediction of the setting up of the kingdom, and especially of its definite inauguration as a universal kingdom, with the removal of the chief obstacle to that in the destruction of Jerusalem.— Gould, Internat. Crit. Com., Mark, pp. 240, 241. "Jerusalem compassed with armies." (Lk. 21:20.) The destruction of Jerusalem, in A. D. 70, by Titus, the Roman general, was one of unparalleled horrors. Dur ing the siege, which lasted 143 days, the inhabitants suffered indescribably from famine and thirst. Indeed, few tragedies in the world's history have been more terrible. More than a million Jews were slaughtered, and thousands were sold into slavery. The temple, which had been completed but five years before, was 138 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS despoiled of its treasures and completely destroyed Representations of some of its sacred furnishings — the ark, tables and seven-branched candlestick — may still be seen on the arch erected in Rome in honor of Titus. The prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusa lem. (Mt. 24:1-3.) This remarkable discourse, nearly equal in length to the Sermon on the Mount, may be called the prophecy on the mount; for it is prophetic throughout, and it was delivered on the Mount of Olives. From the way in which it is introduced (vs. 1-3) we see that it is closely connected with the aban donment of the temple, and that it was suggested by the disciples calling Christ's attention to the buildings of the temple, which were in full view of the little group as they sat on the Mount of Olives that memorable day. — Gibson, Expos. Bible, Matthew, p. 339. The abomination of desolation. (Mt. 24:15.) This phrase is taken from Daniel (see Dan. 9-27; 11:31; 12:11). There and in 1 Mace. 1:54, it seems to refer to some outrage on Jewish religious feeling in connec tion with the temple. It must point to some broad, eas ily recognizable fact, which Jesus' followers could at once see and regard as a signal for flight; a fact not merely shocking religious feeling, but threatening life, which he would have no disciple sacrifice in a cause with which they could have no sympathy. Luke gives the clue (21 :20). The horror is the Roman army, and the thing to be dreaded and fled from is not any religious outrage it may perpetrate, but the desolation it will inevitably bring. The appearance of the Ro mans in Palestine would at once become known to all. And it would be the signal for flight, for it would mean the end near, inevitable and terrible. — Bruee, Expos. Greek Test., Matthew, pp. 291, 292. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 139 "Them that are with child — and give suck." (Mt. 24:19.) The hardship and peril of those who had to carry children would be greatly increased. "Pray that your flight be not in winter." (Mt. 24:20.) When the only refuge of the fleeing disciples would be the open fields and barren hillsides, the dangers of exposure and starvation would be increased if the weather was severe. "Or on a sabbath." (Mt. 24:20.) City gates would be closed, and facilities for travel and escape greatly limited. The destruction of Jerusalem foretold. (Mt. 24:4-28.) In this passage he prepares the minds of his disciples for the times of trouble and trial through which they must pass before the coming of "the great and notable day of the Lord" which was at hand: there shall be false christs and false prophets, there shall be wars and rumors of wars, and shaking of the nations, and famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places ; yet will all these be only "the beginning of sor rows. ' ' He also prepares their minds for the gigantic work which must be done by them and by their brother- disciples before that great day: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a wit ness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Thus are the disciples taught the very important and thoroughly practical truth, that they must pass through a great trial and do a great work before the day shall come. He then gives them a certain sign (v. 15) by which they shall know that the event is imminent, when it does approach. This is not equivalent to fixing a date. He gives them no idea how long the period of trial phall last, no idea how long they shall have for the 140 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS great work before them — he simply gives them a sign, by observing which they shall not be taken completely by surprise, but have at least a brief space to make their escape from the condemned city. And so very little time will elapse between the sign and the event to which it points, that he warns them agamst any delay, and tells them, as soon as it shall appear, to flee at once to the mountains and escape for their lives. — Gibson, Expos. Bible, Matthew, pp. 344, 346. The great tribulation. (Mt. 24:21.) After the death of Jesus Christ, the violence of the Jewish people and their intestine feuds, of which, even in the gospels, we get glimpses, rapidly increased. Friends were alien ated, families broken up, and a man's worst foes were those of his own household. Brigandage, imposture, and assassinations were rife. Even the temple was not a place of safety. The high priest was slain while performing public worship. The priests quarreled, openly and shamelessly, over the tithes. At length, possessed by a seeming frenzy, the Jews broke into op en revolt agamst the Romans, seized on the most im portant posts in the country, and inflicted a severe though temporary defeat on the Roman arms. Ves pasian and Titus were sent to chastise them back to submission. In the spring of A. D. 70, when the city was crowded with the multitudes who came up to the feast of the passover, Titus surrounded Jerusalem with his legions. — Abbott, Com., Matthew, p. 254. The true sign and the catastrophe. (Mt. 24:15-22.) Jesus gives a token by which they might know when it was at the very door. He does this in order to dic tate the course which they should then take in order to provide for their safety. They were to betake them selves to instant flight. And so great was the expedi THE STORY OF TUESDAY 141 tion they were to use, that he who was on the house top was not to wait to come down by the inner stair to take anythmg out of the house, but, escaping even as he was, fly as for his life. We cannot now say decisively what the abomination of desolation was ; doubtless it was recognized by those for whose benefit Christ's words were spoken. We know, however, that two years before the city was in vested by Vespasian, a Roman army, under Cestius Gallius, approached and invested it. . The siege by Cestius was sent as a warning to them [the Hebrew converts to Christianity], as the after siege was sent as a punishment to their unbelieving country men. It occurred in the month of October, one of the mildest in the Jewish year. Their flight, therefore, was not in the winter. It has been proved that the day on which Cestius unexpectedly, and in a panic which never could be accounted for, suddenly called off his troops, and entirely retreated from the city, was a Tuesday. Their flight, therefore, was not upon the Sab bath. — Hanna, Life of Christ, pp. 561, 562. The siege of Jerusalem. Cestius Galius, Prefect of Syria, besieged Jerusalem for a short time, and then suddenly and unaccountably raised . the siege. This was the sign for the Christians to flee. They accord ingly removed to Pella and other towns in the moun tainous region of Gilead, east of the Jordan. In the territories of Agrippa, who remained faithful to the Romans, they were safe. When Titus came some months later, there was not one Christian remaining in the city. ' ' Grinding at the mill. " ( Mt. 24 :41. ) The flour-mill of the Orient consisted of two flat, circular stones about a foot and a half in diameter and four inches 142 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS thick. A peg in the middle of the lower stone passed through a funnel-shaped hole in the middle of the up per one. Into this upper opening was poured the grain, which was ground by revolving one stone upon an other. Two women, sitting on opposite sides of the mill, revolved the upper stone by means of a stake set upright in its rim. A cloth spread underneath the mill held the flour when it was ground. While one woman can turn a mill the work is laborious and is much facilitated when two sit on opposite sides of the stones. Grinding at the mill is regarded as a task unworthy of a man. The larger meaning of the destruction of Jerusalem. This was not merely the destruction of a city ; it was the ending of the old and hostile organization that still claimed the name of God, and the providential vindica tion of the claim of the true Messiah to the world. It was a far more important event than it has generally been conceived to be. So important, indeed, in its relation to Christ's kingdom that it is no wonder that he spoke of his own coming as associated with it. It is plain that the coming of Christ represented in this twofold way did not consist in a single event nor was it limited to a single age. The coming that the Fourth Gospel described is a perpetual advent, in which Christ enters evermore fully to the world. The coming that is associated with an event in history, like the removal of the great opposing religious system, may well be viewed as the chief example of many crises in a perpetual advent. Thus the two fulfilments of the first age promise more, and indicate that the real coming of Christ is not an event by itself, but a spirit ual process, long ago begun and still continuing. It has continued until now and is still moving on. Christ THE STORY OF TUESDAY 143 came long ago; but he is truly the coming one, for he is still coming and is yet to come.— Clarke, Christian Theology, p. 397. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them : but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there is a cry, 'Be hold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' "And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' "Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour." (His Last Week, p. 23; Mt. 25:1-13.) "At midnight . . . a cry, Behold the bride groom!" (Mt. 25:6.) For the convenience of guests, Oriental marriages usually take place in the evening. The bridegroom, accompanied by his friends and hired musicians, proceeds to the home of his future bride, where she waits, veiled and clad in her choicest gar ments. After the ceremony, all join the wedding pro cession, which, under flaring torches and enlivened with joyous music, wends its way to the home of the groom, where further festivities take place. As punctuality is not an Oriental virtue, it is frequently midnight be fore those waiting near the groom's home for the pro- 144 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS cession to arrive have an opportunity to raise the cry, "Behold the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him." "Our lamps are going out." (Mt. 25 :7.) Even now, at night time, in the pitch dark streets of Asiatic cit ies, it is a necessity for one, who would proceed with safety, to carry some sort of a light. The authorities in modern Jerusalem require it. In Jesus' time, evening wedding processions were lighted both by torches and by lamps set on staves or carried in the hand. The Oriental lamp was a small vessel, usually of clay, holdmg very little oil and re quiring frequent replenishing to supply fuel for the tiny wick floating in it. Hence the necessity for carry ing an additional supply of oil, even on a short jour ney. "Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out." (Mt. 25 :8.) Many ancient lamps have been discovered. They are of different shapes, color, and weight, but al most all of equal capacity. I doubt whether the largest of them can hold much more than two tablespoonfuls of oil, or burn for more than two hours. Modern glass and metal lamps are now in use in Syria and have been for fifty years past, but earthenware or clay lamps of the size mentioned above are still made in the country, and largely used by the peasant population. The Syr ians are certainly early risers, but equally certainly do they retire early in the evening, and the little lamps which the ten virgins took were no larger than these. Little wonder is it that by midnight they needed trimming and replenishing. While paraffin oil is ex tensively used, crude castor-oil and olive-oil are still kept and carried in earthen-ware pitchers beside these surje (or lamps). — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie. The door was shut. (Mt, 25 :10.) The most dramat- THE STORY OF TUESDAY 145 ic moment is when the announcement of the bride groom 's approach wakes the silence of midnight. Then the "vessel" of each is looked to; then the needle for trimming the wick, carried also by each, is brought in to play ; but, as soon as the foolish begin to trim, they cry out in dismay, "Our lamps are going out" (not "are gone out," as the Authorized Version says). We may be inclined to think that the wise ought to have risked the lending of a little of their own oil; or we may consider it harsh that the foolish were shut out for so slight an offense; but can there be any doubt what our Lord intended to teach at either of these points? So far from heaping up accusations agamst those he condemns, he seems to be evoking sympathy on their behalf, except at a single point — the one unforgivable thing is to be unprepared. — Prof. James Stalker. "Lord, Lord, open to us." (Mt. 25 :11.) From notes in a diary of Dr. Howie I copy the following: "When Ruby and I were visiting Father X , superintend ent of a monastery in central Palestine, he told us that the time had come when he should celebrate a marriage service. He courteously admitted us by a private door into the chapel where the ceremony was to take place. The bride rode up to the main door, and was ushered in with some of her attendants, and short ly after the bridegroom, well attended, was admitted, and the door was shut. Tapers were lighted, and the smoke of sweet incense filled the chapel, and the serv ice began. Then some of those who were shut out began to thump at the door vigorously and shout, ' ' Op en, open, for us !" But those within paid no attention to them. They were not even rebuked for their ap parently unseemly conduct. 146 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS "The service over, the door was opened and the wedded couple rode away home (where the festivities were continued), attended by their rejoicing friends. Unfortunately, it escaped me to inquire whether those who knocked at the door from without had allowed themselves intentionally to be shut out and merely act ed a part in harmony with a form or custom, or wheth er they were really kept out because they were not ready to enter at the right time, having mistaken the hour." — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie in S. S. Times. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. "For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to an other one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents. In like manner he also that received the two gained other two. But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. "Now after a long time the lord of these servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' "And he also that received the two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two talents.' "His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' "And he also that had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, thou hast thine own.' THE STORY OF TUESDAY 147 "But his lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; thou ought- est therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto, him that hath the ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance ; but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." (His Last Week, pp. 23-4; Mt. 25:14-30.) "A man going into another country." (Mt. 25:14.) In days of old, travel in the East was so fraught with danger that it was customary for a man of means, about to start on a long journey, to make his will and to leave his business interests in the care of some trustworthy person. Sometimes a faithful servant was chosen to fill the position of steward. "Unto one he gave five talents." (Mt. 25:15.) The original talent was an ancient Greek weight, not a coin, weighing about 82 lbs., avoirdupois. There were different kinds of talents in use throughout the world, and their weights and values varied according to the countries and periods in which they were current. The Attic talent, which was in common use in Palestine at this time, is said to have equalled 6000 denarii, about $970. The real value in purchasing power, of course, was very much greater. Reckoning the denarius as the day's wage, it would be approximately correct to say that the purchasing power of a talent was not far from that of $6000 at the present time. A talent equalled 60 mince, a mina being the "pound" mentioned in Luke 19, in the parable of the pounds, which closely resembles that of the talents. 148 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS "I hid thy talent in the earth." (Mt. 25 :25.) Bury ing treasure in the ground for safe keepmg was a common resort in the days when banks and safe de posit vaults were unknown, and is still a favorite method of storing valuables in Palestine and Egypt. The unearthing of pots of money, hidden long ago and forgotten, still keeps the market supplied with rare coins of antiquity. "Put my money to the bankers." (Mt. 25:27.) Money-changing became a necessity in Judea, because of the common use of Roman and Greek coins brought in by Jewish pilgrims returning from various parts of the world to celebrate their religious festivals. Money-changers who transacted business on a large scale, used to receive money on deposit for investment, paying interest to the lenders, and loaning it again at a profit to borrowers. It was, however, a private banking system and the rate of mterest was agreed upon by the parties engaged in the transaction. There was an oft-improved opportunity among these "bank ers" for making enormous profits. Talents. "Talent" nowadays, designates a natural gift; but in the parable it signifies rather the work which this enables its possessor to accomplish. The talents were distributed "to every man according to his several ability," this phrase being nearly exactly equivalent to our word "talent." This explains how the talent taken from the man who had made no use of it could be given to him who had ten ; a " talent, ' ' in the sense of a natural gift, could not thus be given from one to another, but, in the sense of an opportunity for exercising such a gift, it could easily be transferred; for opportunities multiply in proportion as gifts are used, whereas they are taken away from those who do not make use of them. — Prof. James Stalker. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 149 The reckoning with the slothful servant. His speech is extraordinarily audacious, not only in its blacken ing of the master's character, but in its cool assump tion that he was quite justified in hiding the talent,, and had done all that he could be expected to do when he gave it back. "I knew thee that thou art an hard man." There are many other reasons for slothful- ness, but one of the most powerful is a false concep tion of the character of God and of religion. A man who thinks of God as always exacting will never ren der him real service. To know him to be the "giving God" is the mainspring of all devotion and diligence. Love kindled by his love sets all the powers of mind and heart astir, and makes duty delightsome and serv ice a joy. It is the God who gives what he commands and before he commands, whom Jesus makes us "know," and thereby shatters all the hideous images that men's fears have made, of a God who is an ex actor and a dread. Fear of God paralyzes activity. "Love is the fulfilling of the law. "—Alexander Mc Laren, D. D., in S. S. Times. THE JUDGMENT SCENE. "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the 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: for T was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.' "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 'Lord, 150 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my children, even these least, ye did it unto me.' "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand,. 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.' Then shall they also answer, saying, 'Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?' Then shall he answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.' And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life." (His Last Week, pp. 25-6; Mt. 25:31-46.) "Before him shall be gathered all nations." (Mt. 25:32.) Moslems refer constantly to God as "the Judge of the worlds" (this one and the next) and like to dwell in thought upon the Last Judgment, where a vast throng shall be gathered to await the decisions of an impartial Judge. Aged and infirm Jews undertake difficult journeys that they may die in Jerusalem, being confirmed in the traditional belief that the Day of Judgment is to take place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, close by the Holy City. "The sheep from the goats." (Mt. 25:32.) In the pastures of the East, sheep and goats mingle freely un der the care of a common shepherd, but each flock seems to understand its place. When being fed or folded at night, they appear instinctively to group themselves in separate companies. THE STORY OF TUESDAY 151 "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink." (Mt. 25 -.35.) In a dry and dusty land like Palestine, a cup of cold water given to a thirsty traveler is an act of kindness the full value of which is little understood by those liv ing in well-watered countries. " A stranger and ye took me in." (Mt. 25:36.) Hos pitality is a marked characteristic of the people of our Lord's native land. In Syria it is thought dishonorable to sell bread to strangers passing through their vil lages. As all Oriental travelers, when starting upon a journey, commit themselves to the care of God, those who have an opportunity to entertam them on the way gladly co-operate with the Almighty. The unconsciousness of those judged. The uncon sciousness of those judged, of the bearing of their con duct on the Judge, is a remarkable feature of the proc ess; but it does not necessarily imply that all who pro fessed it had been heathens. The sincerity of the pro fession is not, indeed, to be questioned. Those on the left hand are unaffectedly astonished and indignant at being condemned for offenses they have never commit ted. But the lesson is, that all our actions have a deep er meaning and a wider scope than we naturally recog nize. Those on the right hand might have been ex pected to recognize the bearing of their actions on Christ. In other sayings of his will be found promises of reward for acts done to his people with conscious reference to himself; and the very purpose of this dis course is to make the unconscious reference conscious. Every kind or unkind act done to a Christian — may we not add, to a fellow-creature? — will turn out in the long run to have been done to Christ ; this discourse was ut tered for the very purpose of making us realize this now. — Prof. James Stalker. 152 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The tests of the judgment. Jesus was an absolute and unreserved believer in character, and was never weary of insisting that a man's soul was more than his environment, and that he must be judged not by what he held and had, but by what he was and did. Nothing could be easier than to say, "Lord, Lord," but that did not count. Jesus' demand was to do the "will of my Father which is in heaven," and all of this kind made one family. He only has founded a kingdom on the basis of character; he only has dared to believe that character will be omnipotent. No weapon in Jesus' view would be so winsome, so irresistible, as the beati tudes in action. His disciples were to use no kind of force, neither tradition, nor miracles, nor the sword, nor money. They were to live as he lived, and influence would conquer the world. Jesus elected twelve men — one was a failure — and trained them till they thought with him, and saw with him. St. John did not imitate Jesus, he assimilated Jesus. Each disciple became a centre himself, and so the Kingdom grows by multiply ing and widening circles of influence. — John Watson, The Mind of the Master, p. 57. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST JESUS. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his disciples, "Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified." Then were gathered together the chief priests, the elders of the people, unto the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas; and they took counsel together that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. But they feared the people, and they said, "Not during the feast, lest haply a tumult arise among the people." And Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went away and communed with the chief priests and captains, how THE STORY OF TUESDAY 153 he might deliver him unto them. And they were glad, and they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver. And he consented, and from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them in the absence of the multitude. (His Last Week, p. 26; Mt. 25:31-46.) "Thirty pieces of silver." (Mt. 26:15.) Matthew mentions the sum paid to Judas as "thirty pieces of silver" (doubtless shekels), the equivalent of $20. The amount paid was the legal price of a slave. For inter esting parallels of this price, see Ex. 21 :32 ; Zech. 11 : 12, 13; also compare Mt. 27:9. Out of the very coin for which their zeal for the law caused them to permit the desecration of the temple, the coin devised and used for the purchase of the temple sacrifice, the priests paid the traitor this price for him who became the world's sacrifice for sin. Judas and the priests. (Mt. 26:1-5, 14-16.) The Pharisees must also be held responsible for an incident of singular baseness in the prosecution of Jesus, in which the priests may have been the actors but the Pharisees must have been the contrivers, and that was the use of Judas Iscariot. None knew the popular feeling better than the Pharisees, and none would more earnestly dissuade the priests from a collision with Jesus. He must be taken quickly, not in the temple or any public place, else there would be a riot, in which the priests would, perhaps, suffer most, but in which the popular power of the Pharisees might also be shaken. Let him be once arrested, and the people find him a prisoner, and they would accept the situation. It was the occasion for a swift, secret stroke, and if that were well managed, the crisis would be over. What would exactly fit the situation was a friend of Jesus, who was willing to play the knave, to tell them the Master's private habits, to 154 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS show them his favorite haunt, to guide them to the place at the most favorable time.— Watson, Life of the Master, p. 251. And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. (Mt. 26: 16.) It was probably only earnest money which en couraged him to hope for more when his crime was completed. The sum may have been fixed at the price of a common slave with grim irony of contempt for Judas, who was selling himself. The same contempt was afterwards expressed in the brutal response to the traitor's desparing attempt to undo his work. If, as is probable, the coins given him were shekels of the sanctuary, each piece may have fortified his baseness. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, p. 111. iTfoe Stonp of Weonesoas aptii 5, 30 a. ©. History is silent as to the events of this day, and we can but conjecture the manner in which it was spent by our Lord and his disciples. Part of the day Jesus doubtless passed in rest after the busy and exciting scenes of the previous days; part of it he must have spent in prayer and we can gather the burden of the prayer from that which he offered for his disciples the next night in Gethsemane (Jn. 17). It was the habit of Jesus, previous to any crisis in his mmistry, or in preparation for any severe ordeal, to commune with his Father on some mountain-side or other suitable place of retirement. That Bethany at this time was his hallowed place of prayer there can be little doubt. It is reasonable also to suppose that some hours of Wednesday were spent in instructing his disciples. It had been his custom, previous to some new chapter in his experience, to gather about him his immediate friends, that he might prepare them for future events and infuse them with his own calm faith. The beauti ful lesson of the vine and the branches might well have been spoken at the paschal supper, but it has been thought possible by some scholars that Jesus spoke it, or portions of it, to his disciples in the vineyards of beautiful, shady Bethany on this unrecorded Wednes day. The spirit of it certainly was the spirit of that day. We shall, therefore, think of our Lord on this day as in quiet Bethany, spending some hours, perhaps, in loving fellowship with his mother, the members of 156 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Lazarus ' household, and his chosen disciples ; then for a season withdrawing apart by himself, that he might commune with God and so gather strength for the rapidly approaching end. It is not impossible that the feast and anointing oc curred on this day. See note on the anointing at Beth any. The Bethany silence. In the last week of the life of our Lord there were two days of silence. One was Wednesday, the silence of the Bethany home ; the other was Saturday, the silence of the tomb. These two days were not days of inactivity but of recuperation, one for the Trial of the Cross, the other for the Glory of Easter. The power of silence is not always recognized. Great souls have generally been born and reared in the regions of silence. Wednesday was not a waste-day, but a prayer-day when the soul of the Lord took firmer root in the unseen and eternal. The invitation to prayer, unaccepted by the multi tude, is an invitation to power. Our Lord was much in silence. Thirty years out of the thirty-three of his life are appropriately named the years of silence. Even during the three years of his public ministry he is often reported as withdrawing into solitude, going into a mountain or a desert place to be by himself. He went not only for rest but to gain power. How much of the Bethany silence is needed in the daily life. The soul has been up to Jerusalem engaged in its tasks and returns home weary with the world's opposition, misunderstood, misrepresented. The Beth any silence is like the shadow of a rock in a weary land. The soul faces the tasks of to-morrow, knows THE STORY OF WEDNESDAY 157 that it must go up to Jerusalem to be crucified by cruel men. The Bethany silence is like a refreshing drink from the fountain of eternal life. The Bethany silence preceded the upper-room fel lowship, preceded the Gethsemane struggle and the Judas-betrayal, preceded the trial with priestly big otry, with Pilate-worldliness, with Herod-brutality, preceded the desertion of his disciples, the cruelty of the mob and the callousness of the soldiers. The stored-up strength of Bethany was what made possible the long weary journey to the cross. No man has power who has not learned to pray. The seen- world is so small a fraction of our life, that he who has not laid hold of the unseen forces, has a judgment that is untrustworthy, either for the guidance of his own life, or the affairs of others. The wisest states man in Egypt in the days of Moses was the man who walked as seeing "him who is invisible." The best of a man is his willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the inner life. For the cultivation of the inner life prayer is essential. One can not be proof against the world forces as they appeared to Christ in the shape of fleeing disciples, betraying friends, big oted priests, unrighteous rulers, the sneers and jeers of the multitude, the sight of the approaching cross, unless sustained by an inner power — the presence of the Father. The harder the task the more important it is to pray. The more ambitious one is to wield power, the more zealously he must incline his ear to catch the words of God. Prayer is the way to peace. The Bethany silence is the soul's time of waitmg before the descent of the Holy Spirit of power — power with God, power over men, — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, pp. 106-7. Gbe Storp of Gbursoas Sprll 6, 30 a. 2>. It is apparent that Jesus tarried in Bethany until the afternoon of this day was drawing to its close, having despatched two of his disciples to Jerusalem, in advance, to secure a room where he and the twelve might eat the Passover meal. Accommodations were found with a friendly householder, in whose guest- chamber, or "Upper Room," the little company gath ered as evening drew on. Almost at the outset a disturbing strife arose among the disciples as to which of them should be accounted greatest. After uttering a gentle but effective re buke, Jesus proceeded to wash their travel-stained feet, thereby demonstrating the greatness and pre-eminence of service. Immediately after this object lesson Jesus continued his remarks on humility and taught that greatness was possible to them all, except to one — Judas. This avaricious treasurer of the company, be ing further denounced by Jesus as a traitor, left the table to go on his errand of betrayal. During the evening, probably near its close, Jesus instituted the simple but impressive service which, in its memorial form, has been preserved to us in the ' ' Lord 's Supper. ' ' Then followed a farewell conversa tion in which, after foretelling his denial by Peter, Jesus sought to prepare his disciples for the days when he should be no longer with them. The conversation is noteworthy for his confident faith in God, for the tenderness and patience shown to his disciples, and also for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who should be sent for their guidance after his departure. THE STORY OF THURSDAY 159 Later in the evening, after the farewell words had been spoken, and while they were all standing, Jesus led them in prayer. It was a prayer that they might be untouched by the evil of the world, and be made holy, as befitted members of a spiritual kingdom; that they and all later disciples might possess the one ness of purpose that characterized the Son of God and his Father; and, finally, that they might share with their Master eternal life, because animated by his love and his spirit. When the prayer was ended, Jesus and his eleven faithful followers sang a hymn and went out into the night in the direction of the Mount of Olives. PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, "Where wilt thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the passover?" And he sendeth two of his disciples, Peter and John, and saith unto them, "Go into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him; and wheresoever he shall enter in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher saith, My time is at hand. I keep the passover at thy house. Where is my guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?' And he will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready: and there make ready for us the passover, that we may eat." And the disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them : and the disciples did as Jesus appointed them, and they made ready the passover. (His Last Week, p. 27; Mt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14:12-16; Lk. 22:7-13.) Sacrificed the Passover. (Mk. 14:12.) Tradition connects the observance of the Jewish Passover, or Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt on that long-ago night when the 160 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS destroying angel smote the first-born of the Egyptians, but passed over the homes of the Hebrews, on whose door-posts was sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial lamb. In the Old Testament celebration of that event the sacrifices were slain in the homes of the partici pants, but in later memorial observances the animals were killed only in the temple at Jerusalem, in which city alone the Passover sacrifice could be offered. The connection of sacrifice with feast, though es pecially prominent in this case, was not a new one, either among the Jews or their neighbors. In the older days of the tribal religion, every feast partook of the nature of a sacrifice, the tribal god having his share with the other members of the tribe. Even the animal is supposed by most authorities to have been consid ered a part of the tribe. The partaking of the same life and blood brought the partakers into a close blood- relation in which each was bound to help the other. The Passover season was marked by a succession of solemn and joyous ceremonies, beginning with the paschal supper. The first and last days of the festival were kept holy and all devout Jews abstained from work on those days. The Passover was celebrated from the 15th to the 21st of the Hebrew month Nisan, at about the same time of year as our Easter, and was determined in much the same way. In the earlier days its deter mination was much less exact than it became later, ow ing to the absence of a fixed calendar. It came at the time of harvest at the beginning of the Jewish year. From time to time, as the condition of the crops de manded, a thirteenth month was added to the year in order to make these two dates coincide. The need of this correction is easily seen from the fact that the THE STORY OF THURSDAY 161 months were lunar months. The adding of a month was always decided by the Sanhedrm, who sent the signal of the opening of the new month all over the land of Palestine by means of fires on the hill tops. Later, when the Samaritans lighted fires to confuse the Jews, messengers were sent. About the time of Christ there came to be a fixed calendar. Origin of the Passover. The paschal lamb was originally slain by the head of each family iu his house, but afterwards in the court of the temple where stood the brazen altar. After it was slain came the supper set out in some place prepared. This was upon the evening following the 14th Nisan; or, since the Jews counted the day to begin at sunset, on the beginning of the 15th. The lamb was to be wholly consumed be fore morning by eating or by fire. The feast of unleavened bread, though to be dis tinguished from the paschal supper, yet began at the same time, inasmuch as all leaven was removed from the house by noon on the 14th, and no leavened bread eaten after this. But while the paschal supper was with unleavened bread, as was the rest of the feast, it had two elements peculiar to itself, the lamb and the bitter herbs. In one sense it was the beginning of the feast, but in another, it was regarded as distinct from it. As the paschal lamb was wholly consumed at the paschal supper, and as unleavened bread would but poorly furnish a festal table, other food must be provided and was done in the Chagigah, or peace offer ings made in connection with the Passover, which em braced the sacrifices of sheep and bullocks. — Andrews, Life of our Lord, pp. 452, 453. The Passover in the time of Christ. At this feast the Jews divided themselves into companies or house- 162 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS holds, of not less than ten nor more than twenty per sons; and these together consumed the paschal lamb. One of the number, acting as the representative of all, presented the lamb in the court of the temple, and aided the Levites in its sacrifice. The victim was then carried away by the offerer to the house where it was to be eaten, and there wholly consumed. On this oc casion Peter and John acted as the representatives of the Lord and of his Apostles at the temple, and pro vided the bread, wine, bitter herbs, and all that was necesssary for the proper celebration of the feast; and it is probable, therefore, that they went early in the day, though the cleansing of the house from leaven was the work of the owner. — Andrews, Life of Our Lord, p. 451. The Passover as now observed by Palestine Jews. The Passover ritual has undergone a change since the days of Moses, but unleavened bread is still a prominent feature in the observance. It is baked in round cakes, ten to eighteen inches in diameter, thin as a blotting sheet, hard and brittle. That baked in Sidon is three or four times more expensive than ordi nary leavened bread, and what comes from Damascus is still more expensive, for in either case the wheat of which the unleavened bread is made is literally picked grain by grain, and thoroughly washed and dried. The mill which reduces it to flour is also cleansed by thor ough washing. Then the oven is purified, first by wash ing, and then heated to excess for forty-eight hours, and then tempered to receive and bake the unleavened dough for use during seven days (Exod. 13:6). The lamb of Exodus 12 is no longer a necessary part of the observance; a leg may be substituted for it. This is allowed on the ground of poverty. While there is no THE STORY OF THURSDAY 163 priest, altar, or sacrifice, in the ancient sense, still it would seem as if the idea of sacrifice is ever present. Two nomad families, who a few weeks ago were camp ing opposite my window, sacrificed a sheep and dis tributed the flesh among the poor. This sacrifice they offer annually in behalf of a boy, son of one of the two families. Instances of this kind are numerous. Does this show that the Passover heart-idea, — namely, vicar ious sacrifice, — still clings to the Oriental mind? — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie in S. S. Times. The Passover as observed by the Samaritans. While the Jewish forms of observing the Passover had undergone great change even in the time of Christ, the Samaritans still sacrifice the paschal lamb on Mount Gerizim each year at the time of the Passover, scrupulously observing their ancient customs. The time of Christ's last supper. (1) The problem. — At this point in the narrative there confronts us one of the most difficult of the questions of harmony and chronology with which the student of the life of Jesus has to deal. There is an apparent difference between John and the synoptists respecting the night on which Jesus ate the last supper with his disciples and re specting the day on which he was crucified. This ap parent difference pertains, however, not to the day of the week. Both John and the synoptists mention the Preparation, i. e., Friday, as the day of Jesus' death (Mk. 15 :42 ; Lk. 23 :54 ; Jn. 19 :31, 42) . The uncertain ty concerns the day of the month. It is to be borne in mind that the Passover lamb was killed in the temple the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan, and eaten in the night following, which the Jews counted as belongmg to the 15th day. The question at issue is whether Jesus ate the Passover at the usual time and was crucified on 164 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the following morning, that of the 15th, or whether he was crucified on the morning of the 14th before the Passover had been killed. THB JOURNEY OF THURSDAY The obvious meaning of the synoptic account is that Jesus ate the passover at the regular time, and was .crucified on the 15th of Nisan (Mk. 14:12, 14, 16, 17; Lk. 22:14, 15). On the other hand John seems to say that Jesus was crucified before the passover, viz., on the 14th of Nisan (Jn. 13:1, 29; 18:28; 19:14). THE STORY OF THURSDAY 165 (2) Solution of the Problem. — Some scholars accept the view of John just referred to, which places the death of Jesus before the passover, and maintain that the synoptic account can be harmonized with this view of John's meaning. Others hold that there is an irreconcilable discrep ancy between John and the synoptists, the synoptists placing Jesus' death on the 15th of Nisan, John plac ing it on the 14th. Still others hold that the obvious view of the synoptic arrangement must be accepted, and that the statements of John on careful examination yield the same result. — Condensed from Burton, Life of Christ, from unpub lished notes in Bible Study Manual, p. 292. On the first day of unleavened bread. (Mk. 14:12.) During the entire Passover festival, which lasted a week, only unleavened bread was used, in accordance with laws laid down in Ex. 23 :18 and 34 :25, also Deut. 16 :3. In the latter passage these cakes made without yeast are named "the bread of affliction," recalling the anxiety and haste of the Israelites' departure from Egypt, when there was no time for the setting of the dough. Even at the present day the Jews of Palestine give the utmost attention to the preparation and baking of their Passover bread, in order to exclude any possible bit of leaven; and, as though that were not sufficient, the women busy themselves for days before the feast in dusting and washing the floors and furniture, lest some particle of leavened bread be found in their dwelling at that holy season. Although the feast did not properly begin until the 15th of Nisan, it was not unnatural for Matthew and Mark to have referred to the preceding day, by which 166 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS time all leaven must be removed from the homes, as "the first day of unleavened bread." He sendeth two of his disciples. (Mk. 14:13.) Luke tells us that Peter and John were the two chosen to secure the room and food for the supper. Whether it had been pre-arranged that the man bearing the pitcher should meet them is not definitely stated, but it would seem that Jesus had some secret understanding with the householder who was to give them the use of his guest-chamber, since the room was to be "fur nished and ready." It was desirable that Jesus con ceal his movements as long as possible from his enemies, especially from Judas, who was awaiting an early opportunity to deliver his Master to the hostile rulers. "My time is at hand." (Mt. 26:18.) Some Bible scholars consider that the expression "My time is at hand" was the password agreed upon for the dis ciples' use in gaming admittance to the proper house. "The master of the house." (Mk. 14:14.) If the upper room was the same in which the disciples con tinued to meet until and after the imprisonment of Peter, it was the house of Mary, the mother of Mark. Mark is the only one of the evangelists who speaks of "the good man of the house," or "master of the house." It is very possible that Mark himself was the man of the house. The renting of guest chambers. Many houses in Jerusalem appear to have been built with the purpose of having a room to rent to pilgrims from afar who came to the feasts. A large upper room. (Mk. 14:15.) In the south west corner of Jerusalem, in the midst of a group of buildings known as The Tomb of David, is a room THE STORY OF THURSDAY 167 which is regarded by many as the real coanaculum, or chamber of the Last Supper. There is no probability that the room is authentic, particularly if we believe the testimony of Josephus, who states that the entire city of Jerusalem was ploughed up at the time of its capture by Titus. If the Upper Room could certainly be identified it would be one of the holiest places in Christendom. There the Lord ate the Last Supper with the disciples and talked to them of the most exalted themes. There he appeared to them on Easter evening, and again a week later. There the disciples assembled after the ascension and until Pentecost. There the Church was born in the descent of the Spirit. Of the traditional "Upper Room" George Adam Smith says: "Three qestions arise concerning the upper room in which our Lord kept the passover with his disciples. First: Is it the same as that in which the disciples gathered after his ascension? Second: Did it remain the usual meeting-place of the church till the destruction of Jerusalem? Third: Did either the upper room or the church, or both, occupy the site with which a very old tradition has identified them — the present ccenaculum in the complex of buildings known as Neby Daud (on the southwest hill) ? These questions have recently been answered in the affirma tive by writers of different schools. Dr. Sanday, for example does "not think there is any reason to doubt that where the 'upper room' is mentioned in the gos pels and Acts, it is the same upper room that is meant." Nor does he think it "a very precarious step to identify this upper room as in the house of Mary the mother of Mark." . . . The present writer would willingly agree with these opinions, both for 168 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS their own attractiveness and from his respect for the authority of those who hold them. But while the facts alleged are within the bounds of possibility, they are not very probable. One need not, indeed, be hindered by the objection that Luke uses one word for "upper chamber ' ' in the gospel and another in Acts. But Luke would surely have noticed the identity. It is still more precarious to argue both that this was in the house of Mark's mother, and that it remained the meeting-place of the church till 66 A. D. Considering the rapid growth of the community and other circumstances of their life, it is more probable that their meeting:place changed from time to time. — Jerusalem, vol ii, pp. 567, 569. The present writer feels that Dr. Smith understates the case in admitting that the upper room in the Gos pels is identical with that in the Acts. It appears not merely "within the bounds of possibility," but in the absence of any adverse evidence highly probable. They made ready the passover. (Mk. 14:16.) Passover is here used for the paschal supper, which was eaten immediately after the slaying and roasting of the paschal lamb, late on the 14th of Nisan, or early on the 15th, as the Jewish days began at sunset. In preparing for the meal the following articles of food were required: an unblemished yearling lamb, which had been slain in the temple before the priest; unleavened cakes; bitter herbs; wine, mixed with water; and a mixture called charoseth, made chiefly of dried fruits, vinegar and spices. This latter dish is said to have commemorated the mortar of the Egyptian bondage, while the herbs mentioned above recalled the bitterness of that service. The Passover meal was an important prelude to the THE STORY OF THURSDAY 169 ceremonies of Passover Week, recalling, as it did, the Jews' deliverance from bondage and the covenant of blood between them and Jehovah. The usual mode of celebratmg was by families, but sometimes by groups of close friends, "not less than ten nor more than twenty persons," of whom one was the "proclaimer" of the feast. The supper of Jesus and his disciples was of the latter type and that it partook of the nature of a family gathering made the treachery of Judas the more heinous. STRIFE AMONG THE DISCIPLES. And when it was evening he cometh with the twelve. And there arose also a contention among them, which of them was accounted to be greatest. And he said unto them, "The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them; and they that have authority over them are called Bene factors. But ye shall not be so : but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger: and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For which is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am in the midst of you as he that serveth. But ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (His Last Week, pp. 27-8; Lk. 22:24-30.) When it was evening. (Mk. 14:17.) How Jesus spent the early part of the day is not known, but it is more than likely that it was passed in the quiet of Bethany with his disciples and intimate friends. By sunset or earlier he would have to be within the limits of Jerusalem, where the paschal supper was to be eaten. A contention among them. (Lk. 22:24.) The question of pre-eminence among the disciples was not a new one, but on this occasion it may have risen 170 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS afresh when they were seating themselves at the table and places of honor were coveted. Perhaps, too, there was jealousy in the hearts of some because all the arrangements for the Passover meal had been put in the hands of but two of the disciples. The strife for precedence among the twelve. (Lk. 22:24-30.) This strife would come most naturally at the beginning of the supper, and find its cause in the desire to be as near to the Lord as possible, the present degree of nearness to the king being an index of rank in the future Messianic kingdom. — Andrews, Life of Our Lord, p. 483. "Continued with me in my temptations." (Lk. 22: 28.) This does not refer to the temptations in the wilderness. The trials which Jesus had undergone, especially during the latter part of his ministry, must often have tempted him to abandon his mission, and the loyalty, thus far, of his disciples had been an im mense encouragement to him. The temptations of Jesus continued to the very foot of the cross, but he rose above them all. "Eat and drink . . . in my kingdom." (Lk. 22: 29.) Such passages as Mt. 8 :11 indicate that the com ing kingdom of the Messiah was commonly regarded among the Jews as a place of feasting. THE BETRAYER POINTED OUT. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and as they sat and were eating he testified, and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table." The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. And they began to question among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began to say unto him every one, "Is it I, Lord?" THE STORY OF THURSDAY 171 And he answered and said, "He that dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had not been born." And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, "Is it I, Rabbi?" Ha saith unto him, "Thou hast said." There was at the table reclining in Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoneth to him, and saith unto him, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaketh." He leaning back, as he was, on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus therefore answereth, "He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. For the Son of man indeed goeth, even as it is written of him ; but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had not been born." So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, "What thou doest, do quickly." Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some thought because Judas had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, "Buy what things we have need of for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went out straightway : and it was night. When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him; and God shall glorify him in himself, and straightway shall he glorify him." (His Last Week, pp. 29-30; Mt. 26:21-25; Mk. 14:18-21; Lk. 22:21-23; Jn. 13:21-35.) As they sat and were eating. (Mk. 14:18.) The Greek word is "reclined." Oriental families at meal time were accustomed to gather about low tabourets, but the table used for feasts was usually the Roman triclinium. Its form was such that it enclosed three sides of a rectangular space which was reserved for 172 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the servants. The guests reclined upon couches, each resting upon his left elbow, with the right hand free for eating. The guest reclining at one's right hand was said to be "lying in his bosom" — a familiar expression found in the classics as well as in the New Testament. The Romans had a saying that the number of guests should be "not less than the Graces nor more than the Muses." In the case of Jesus and his dis ciples, however, the presence of Judas brought the number at the table up to thirteen and furnished the basis for a later foolish superstition concerning that number. Precisely how the disciples were arranged at table we do not know. The usual, though not invariable, place for a host was at the left hand angle, where he could most easily see the largest number of his guests. If Jesus sat there, Judas probably was around the corner at his left. John, we know, was at Jesus' right hand ( Jn. 13 :23), and Peter probably was on the other side of John or opposite to him. As they were eating. (Mt. 26:21.) Jewish authori ties differ as to the order observed in eating the Pass over supper, but the ritual of the Talmudists gives the following order: (1.) The blessing upon the meal; drinking of the first cup of wine; washing of hands. (2.) Thanksgiving; eating of^itter herbs. (3.) Bring ing in of the unleavened bread, the sauce (charoseth) , the lamb and the thank offerings. (4.) Benediction, and eating of herbs dipped in the sauce. (5.) The father explains to his youngest children the meaning of the feast. (6.) Singing of Psalms 113 and 114 ; prayer ; drinking of the second cup of wine. (7.) The father breaks and blesses the bread, dips it in the sauce and eats it with thanksgiving. Partakes of the thank-of- THE STORY OF THURSDAY 173 ferings and of the lamb. (8.) The meal continues, each eating what he pleases, but eating, last of all, of the lamb. (9.) Washing of hands; third cup of wine; thanksgiving. (10.) Singing of Psalms 115-118. (11.) Fourth, and sometimes fifth, cup of wine. (12.) Sing ing of the "great Hallel" (Psalms 120-137). The shadow at the supper. The supper was over; but the friends had much to say to one another that night, and they lingered long around the table. They did not know it was the last supper, never dreamed of it ; but there had been an unusual sweetness in their intercourse, and they talked on and on. The hour grew late, but John still leaned on his Master's breast, and the others, grouped round in the twilight, drank in the solemn gladness of the communion evening. Suddenly a shadow falls over this scene. A sinister figure rises stealthily, takes the bag, and makes for the door un observed. Jesus calls him; hands him the sop. The spell is broken. A terrible revulsion of feeling comes over him — as if a stab in the dark had struck into his heart. He cannot go on now. It is useless to try. He cannot keep up the perhaps forced spirits. — Henry Drummond, The Ideal Life, p. 66. Judas Iscariot. The "betrayer." Probably from Kerioth, a place in Southern Judaea. "Simon's son" ( Jn. 13 :2). He was the only non-Galilean apostle, and the treasurer of the Twelve, but a petty embezzler. That Jesus knew Judas would betray him is stated in Jn. 6:64, 70. Hence the choice of such a one as an apostle is difficult to explain. The attempt to extenuate his treason is a failure, as, for example, that he ex pected to hasten the triumphant manifestation of Jesus. He repented, it is true, but died a suicide, and his apostasy is attributed to the influence of Satan ( Jn. 174 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS 13:27), though avarice was a human motive. — Prof. M. B. Riddle, in S. S. Times. "7s it I, Rabbi?" (Mt. 26 :25.) This question, which in its Greek form implies a negative answer, had been asked by each of the disciples in turn, and now the hypocritical Judas repeats it, substituting for the in timate "Lord," used by the others, a more formal title, yet one of great respect. "Rabbi" in Hebrew means "my master," and in New Testament times was a courteous title used when addressing learned teach ers who were not priests. In John 3:26 it is applied to John the Baptist. Jesus forbade his disciples to covet or use the title (Mt. 23:7, 8). "Dipped with me in the dish." (Mt. 26:23.) In dividual dishes at the table never have been common among the people of the Orient. If the food is of a semi-liquid nature it is placed in a large dish and each partaker removes his successive mouthfuls by means of a thin piece of bread folded in the shape of a scoop. As the bread is consumed along with the food which it lifts, a fresh piece always comes in contact with the contents of the dish. Only members of a family or close friends ate from a common dish, and the fact that Judas "dipped his hand" in the same dish with his Master served to heighten his subsequent treachery. "Thou hast said." (Mt. 26:25.) "A formula of assent both in Hebrew and Greek, and still used in Palestine in that sense." If spoken aloud, on this occasion, it was probably worded thus in order not to direct suspicion too strongly against Judas and thus thwart him in his plans. It may, however, have been spoken in Judas ' ear alone, for the other disciples con tinued to question as to the identity of the traitor. THE STORY OF THURSDAY 175 Dipped the sop. (Jn. 13:26.) The lamb is served on a large platter, the host serving it with his hands, and being careful not to break the bones. After this the bread is dipped in the gravy in the platter. The guests dip their own bread, but those who are nearer dip and hand to those more remote. If the host dips a sop and hands it to a guest, it is a mark of special favor. Having received the sop, went out. ( Jn. 13 :30.) For centuries theologians have attempted unsuccessfully to determine whether or not Judas partook of the eu- charistic supper. John alone of the Gospel writers mentions the withdrawal of Judas, but the exact time is uncertain, as no account of the eucharistic supper is given in that Gospel. The synoptists seem to imply that he partook both of the bread and of the cup, and this view is held by the majority of writers in the early Church and in the Middle Ages. A contrary opinion, however, is held by most modern commentators. It was night. (Jn. 13:30.) The full paschal moon was shining, but the court-yard into which Judas de scended from the Upper Room may have ben in the shadow, contrasting strongly with the light within the room. The disciples remembered the departure of Judas with a sense of the chill of the midnight. JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES' FEET. Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God, riseth from supper, and layeth aside his gar ments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. Then 176 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel where with he was girded. So he cometh to Simon Peter. He saith unto him, "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter." Peter saith unto him, "Thou shalt never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Simon Peter saith unto him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Jesus saith to him, "He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit : and ye are clean, but not all." For he knew him that should betray him; therefore said he, "Ye are not all clean." So when he had washed their feet, and taken his gar ments, and sat down again, he said unto them, "Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Teacher, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. "I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me. From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, 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." (His Last Week, pp. 28-29; Jn. 13:1-21.) He began to wash the disciples' feet. (Jn. 13:5.) Jesus had just said, "I am in the midst of you as he that serveth," and immediately proved it by perform ing this menial task which ought to have been done by one of his disciples. They were in a borrowed room and probably without the services of the house-servant whose duty it was to bathe the feet of guests. The THE STORY OF THURSDAY 177 Oriental sandal affords little protection against the dust of eastern roads, and our Lord and his disciples had just taken the long, hot walk from Bethany. When using the customary basin and pitcher it was difficult to wash one's own feet, so that task was usually performed by another. On this occasion each disciple may have felt reluctant to begin the service, lest he appear inferior to his companions. Jesus' act of humility probably took place in the early part of the supper, very likely immediately after the contention as to who should be accounted greatest, and as a rebuke to those who had been at strife. The washing of the disciples' feet. The first event to be considered which certainly took place in this up per room was the washing of the disciples' feet. The occasion of it is not given. It may have been some feeling of jealousy caused by the positions occupied at the table. As the service itself was one usually per formed by slaves, Jesus attired himself as a slave, thus making the lesson of the act more plain and impres sive. This lesson was that of service. The washing of the disciples' feet was saying in the language of action that the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and that the law of his kingdom was the law of helpfulness. — Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 341-343. "Dost thou wash my feet?" (Jn. 13:7.) The posi tion of "thou" and "my" in the original passage is strikingly emphatic — "Thou my feet wash?" — as though such an act on the part of his Lord was un thinkable to Peter. "Ye ought to wash one another's feet." (Jn. 13: 14.) A literal interpretation of these words narrows and degrades Jesus ' meaning, yet for centuries, in cer- 178 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS tain parts of Christendom, foot-washing has been the distinguishing feature of Maundy Thursday, a name given in ecclesiastical circles to the Thursday of Pas sion Week. "Maundy" is from the M. Eng. maunde (meaning mandate), probably derived from the second word of the Latin norum mandatum, "a new com mandment" (Jn. 13:34). On this day the Pope is ac customed to wash the feet of twelve or more aged pau pers, the Norum Mandatum is sung, and doles are given to the poor. These customs are still carried out in all Roman Catholic countries and in the Greek Church of Russia, and were formerly practiced by the monarchs of some countries. Foot-washing as the chief ceremony of the day has prevailed from the early Middle Ages. After the first half of the 18th century it was abandoned in England, but a presentation of Maundy Pennies takes place yearly in Westminster Abbey, with elaborate ceremonies. In the Church of Rome it is on Maundy Thursday that the sacred oil is blessed and the chrism prepared. "He that eateth my bread." (Jn. 13:18.) Jesus here quotes a portion of Psalm 41 :9, where reference evidently was made to the treachery of Ahithophel against David, now paralleled by that of Judas agamst Jesus. In the Orient nothing is considered more rep rehensible than for one to betray the friendship of him with whom he has broken bread. Partakers of a com mon dish are called by the Arabs, "brothers of the bread," pledged to promote each other's welfare. THE LORD'S SUPPER. And he said unto them, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I shall not eat it until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." THE STORY OF THURSDAY 179 And as they were eating he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body; which is given for you; this do, in remembrance of me." And he took a cup, in like manner after supper, and gave thanks, and gave to them and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, "Drink ye all of it; for this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you, for many, unto remission of sins. Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say unto you, I shall not drink from henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." (His Last Week, p. 30; Mt. 26:26-29; Mk. 14:22-25; Lk. 22: 19-20.) "With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Lk. 22 :14.) The suffering was so certain and so near that he assumes it. He was drawn to it as by a spell — the spell of his great saving purpose. But the clinging human love is also there, and he permits us to see how strong and tender it is. He speaks as a dying friend, or brother, or father would speak. How near to us all this brings the Christ! Momentous things were to be said and done at this Passover. Its record, therefore, is fully de tailed — his great lesson of brotherly service; the un masking of the traitor ; the institution of his own new Covenant Feast, to "show forth his death until he come"; the last and greatest of his discourses; the solemn farewell to his own; his great intercessory prayer. Henceforth they would no more "know Christ after the flesh." — Henry Allon, The Indwelling Christ, p. 290. The Lord's Supper. There are four accounts of the institution of the Supper, the earliest being by Paul (I Cor. 11:23-26), the other three being by the synop tists (Mk. 14 :22-25 ; Mt. 26 :26-29 ; Lk. 22 :15-20) . John says nothing of the Supper, but the fundamental truth 180 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS which the supper teaches is found oftener in John's Gospel than in either of the others (e. g. Jn. 6). The four accounts of the institution of the Supper fall into two groups, those of Luke and Paul forming one, and those of Mathew and Mark the other. The differences between the two groups and also between the two members of each group are significant, but need not here be examined in detail. In Paul and Luke the memorial character of the Supper is expressly stated, while in Mark and Matthew it does not appear. Yet this thought is surely mvolved in the observance itself. The broken bread and the wine symbolizing the body and the blood of Jesus, as all four accounts teach, inevitably turn the thought to him, and so the Supper must of necessity be a memorial. Mark and Matthew say that the blood is shed for many, Matthew adding to this the words, unto remission of sins. Both these thoughts are wanting in the narratives of Paul and Luke. In Paul and Luke the Lord is represented as saying to his disciples that his body is for them. In Mark and Matthew the horizon is broadened, and though it is not said for whom the body is destined, it is said that the blood is shed for many. — George Hol- ley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 265-266. The breaking of Jesus' reserve. Jesus broke his reserve on the last night of the three years ' fellowship, when he was about to depart from his disciples' sight by the way of the cross, and they would be left to face the world in his name. They had come together to the veil, and before he passed within, through his rent body, he must give his friends an assurance of the un seen that their hearts may not be troubled. As often as he had spoken of the Ageless Life he had touched on the life to come, now he gave his solitary deliverance THE STORY OF THURSDAY 181 on the sphere of that life, and the form is characteristic of the Master. There could never be competition or comparison between Jesus and St. John; the magnifi cence of the Apocalypse fades before one simple word of the last discourse. Jesus utilises the great parable of the Family for the last time ; and as he had invested Fatherhood and Sonhood with their highest meaning so he now spiritualizes Home. What Mary's cottage at Bethany had been to the little company during the Holy Week, with its quiet rest after the daily turmoil of Jerusalem; what some humble house on the shore of Galilee was to St. John, with its associations of Sa lome; what the great Temple was to the pious Jews, with its presence of the Eternal, that on the higher scale was Heaven. Jesus availed himself of a wealth of ten der recollections and placed Heaven in the heart of humanity when he said, "My Father's House." — John Watson, The Mind of the Master, pp. 300-1. The need of a rite. As yet, they had no rite, however simple, to form a centre round which they might perma nently gather. Some emblem was needed, by which they might hereafter be distinguished; some common bond, which should outwardly link them to each other, and to their common Master. The passover had been the symbol of the theocracy of the past, and had given the people of God an outward, ever-recurring remem brance of their relations to each other, and their in visible King. As the founder of the New Israel, Jesus would now institute a special rite for its members, in all ages and countries. The Old Covenant of God with the Jews had found its vivid embodiment in the yearly festivity he had that night, for the last time, observed. The New Covenant must, henceforth, have an outward embodiment also.— Geikie, Life of Christ, vol. ii, p. 474. 182 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The relation of the Supper to the Passover. In con sistency with the passover, and in the manner of that feast, Jesus took the bread, the unleavened cake, said over it the thanksgiving, which at the same time was the blessing of the gift, brake the bread, and shared it among the disciples. Instead of the Old Testament words of distribution, however, he spoke entirely new ones : ' ' Take eat ; this is my body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me." And he took the cup, the third ritually appointed cup, as it followed upon the meal, spake the words of consecration and thanksgiving over it, and gave it to them, with the words, "Drink ye all of it," and they all drank of it (Mk. 14:23). Then he spake again, "This is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Do this, as oft [as J ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me" (I Cor. 11 :25). — Lange, Life of Christ, vol. iii, pp. 134, 135. He took bread . . . and brake it. (Mt. 26:26.) This breaking of bread probably marks the beginning of the institution known as the Lord's Supper. In its origin it is closely associated with the Passover sup per, but it is in no proper sense a perpetuation of that celebration. It was not the paschal lamb that was eaten, but the bloodless bread of the table. This com mon staff of life, by which the physical being of all present was constantly sustained, was used as the symbol for emphasizing the common source of spiritual life. When he had given thanks. (Lk. 22:19.) Akin to the Greek verb which is used in this passage to express the giving of thanks, is the noun from which we get THE STORY OF THURSDAY 183 our English word Eucharist, a name applied to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper as kept in all Chris tian churches since the resurrection of Christ. The institution is so called from the blessing and thanks giving with which the supper of our Lord with his dis ciples began and ended. "This is my body." (Mt. 26:26.) Many volumes have been written in an attempt to explam these words of Jesus. According to the Roman Catholic doctrme of "transubstantiation," they are to be taken literally, as meaning that the partaker of the Eucharist receives, in the bread and wine, the actual body and blood of Christ. Most Protestants, however, believe the words to be symbolical, like so much of Jesus' language, and claim that there is no more reason for a literal inter pretation here than in similar expressions of his, such as, "I am the door of the sheep" and "I am the true vine. ' ' Considered symbolically, the words ' ' This is my body" mean much the same as those spoken earlier in Jesus' ministry, where he says, "I am the bread of life. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. ' ' The bread of life. It is significant that throughout Christ's ministry he uses ordinary things — things whose meaning is easily understood — in order to con vey the deepest truths concerning himself. Everybody knows what bread is. Its nature and its taste, as well as our common need of it, are known to all; and it is surely characteristic of Christ that he should seek to reveal himself in terms easily and commonly appre hensible. He says in effect, "Just as you cannot live without bread, so you cannot truly live without me." He is indispensable to us, though often indeed we miss him and fail of his grace, just because he does 184 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS so make himself known to us in such simple fashion. Be assured, however, that there is no greater danger than that of despising the commonplace, of despising the bread and of turning to the daintier food of the world's provision, which excites an appetite it can never satisfy. For if he is indeed the Bread of Life, to miss him is to perish. — J. Stuart Holden, The Pre eminent Lord, p. 96. The night of betrayal. One could not help wonder ing why this act of betrayal had been selected as the time-determining incident of that long and eventful night. The writer might rather have set down "the same night in which he washed the disciples' feet," with the fine suggestion of a moral and spiritual cleans ing before men should eat and drink at the table. He might have written "the same night in which he prayed his high priestly prayer," with its unveiling of what communion at its highest should be, and its declara tion of his desire for men's holiness. He might have prefaced the warrant by the words, "the same night in which he went into the garden," with its remem brance of the cost of our redemption to Christ's spirit. These events mark that night with a greater glory. But as these familiar and often read words of our text haunt the ear, and the recollection stirs the heart, the mind is quickened and the writer's purpose in recording the betrayal is seen. Paul is not setting down a date. He is pointing out a pathetic contrast. His mind is busy with the suggestions of the contrast be tween the act that founded this feast and the act that betrayed its Lord. He is looking into a dark and shame ful deed, and Christ's act shines out in clearer light. He sees the grace of this closing deed of the life of Jesus to be the more lustrous because of the darkness THE STORY OF THURSDAY 185 of his betrayal. — W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Experience, p. 77-8. He took a cup. (Mt. 26 :27.) In the romances that cluster about the name of King Arthur, his Knights of the Rount Table had as the object of their quest the cup from which our Lord drank at the Last Supper. This cup, called the Holy Grail, was the subject of much curious literature in the Middle Ages and there are numberless legends concerning it. It was affirmed to have been a chalice made in heaven from a single emerald and sent down for our Lord's use. Joseph of Arimathea (sometimes called "the apostle of the Grail") was said t© have caught in it the blood of Jesus, at the Crucifixion, and to have pre served the cup until his own death, when it disap peared. The hope of attaining to sufficient purity of life to become custodian of the Holy Grail has fur nished a theme for many poets and romancers. The quest for the Grail has been beautifully por trayed by Mr. Edwin A. Abbey in a series of mural paintings in the Boston Public Library. "My blood of the new covenant." (Mt. 26:28.) The contents of the cup were emblematical of Jesus' blood, his life (Lev. 17:14), shed in behalf of many to give them a right to the privileges of the new covenant about to be confirmed betwen God and man. The old covenant between God and the Hebrews was sealed with the sacrificial blood with which Moses sprinkled the people. This new covenant, in which the law is written in the heart (Jer. 31 :31-34), is a promise of de liverance from sin for all who partake of the life of the crucified Jesus. The meaning of the bread and the wine. (Mk. 14: 22-25.) It was a commemoration of the Lord's suf- 186 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ferings and death. The broken bread was intended to keep in perpetual memory the body which was broken; the wine poured out to recall to Christian hearts throughout all time the blood which was shed.. It was a symbol. Here is the explanation of the Lord's own words concerning eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of man. Thus are we taught and helped to feed on him by faith who is the Bread of life. — Pulpit Commentary, Mark, vol. ii, p. 241. The significance of the Lord's Supper. (Lk 22: 19, 20.) In studying the true significance of this supper, note the following facts; (a) Its simplicity. It is in stituted as the disciples are eating; out of the mater ials of the supper ; without a prescribed form or ritual ; with no other preparation than love in Christ for his disciples, and in the disciples for Christ, (b) Historic ally it is connected with the passover, which pre figured and interprets it. Thus it memorializes our deliverance from the bondage of sin by the death of Christ, who is our passover (Rom. 8:2; I Cor. 5-7). (c) It prophetically points to the future marriage sup per of the Lamb (Mt. 26:29; Mk. 14:25). (d) The bread and wine enter into and become part of our flesh and blood, and so the support of our life. It is Christ in us who is the hope of glory, (e) The wheat must be bruised and broken, and the grape crushed and bleeding, before we can eat the bread or drink the wine. It is by the death of Christ that we have life. — Abbott, Commentary, Matthew, p. 288. In all religious ordinances we ought to try to get beneath the phrases we use, and not to rest satisfied with the words, however excellent, till we have ascer tained their meaning; that Christ's words . . . THE STORY OF THURSDAY 187 in the appointment of the Last Supper as a permanent memorial ordinance are evidently metaphorical; that the very strangeness of the metaphor should turn our thoughts from the outward form to the inward essence ; that the body and flesh signify the personality and character of Christ; that we must incorporate in our selves, that is in our moral natures, the substance — the moral substance — of the teaching and character of Jesus Christ; that this is the only true transubstan tiation; that the blood of Christ is his spirit, the in most essence of his character, the self of his self; and that to drink his blood is to imbibe this inmost spirit ; that this spirit is love or charity, which is throughout the New Testament represented as the fundamental essence of the highest life of God, and therefore of his his children. — Stanley, in Abbott's Commentary, John p. 93. A service, not a sacrifice. Is not all this conclusive as to the character of the Lord's Supper — that it is a fellowship, not a sacrifice, not a worship, save as all our love is worship? Should it not make the Lord's Supper very precious to us? It is the satisfaction of his last social desire, the comfort of his last earthly fellowship. If he, the divine Lord, so desired the fellowship of these poor men, how should we desire his — we who have so much need of his fulness, his love, and his strengthening, so many sins to be forgiven, and sinful feelings to be over come, and sorrows to be soothed, and cold hearts to be enkindled? Shall he desire it, and we in careless and causeless indifference stay away? Even in his exalted blessedness he would have us remember him. He seeks our fellowship at this feast. — Henry Allon, The In dwelling Christ, p. 298. 188 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The number at the table. Thirteen persons sat down at table together that night. This fact has given to the number thirteen a superstitious dread among the ignorant. Christian people, far from paying heed to any lingering fear of that number, should stedfastly set themselves to opposing any recognition of foolish and harmful superstitions of this kind. THE FAREWELL CONVERSATION. "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 unto you. A new com mandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Simon Peter saith unto, him, "Lord, whither goest thou?" Jesus answered, "Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards." Then saith Jesus unto them, "All ye shall be offended in me this night ; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee." But Peter answered and said unto him, "Although all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended. Lord, I am ready with thee to go both to prison and to death." And Jesus saith unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, that thou today, even this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny me thrice. Simon, Simon, behold Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I make supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not: and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren." But he spake vehemently, "If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee." And in like manner also said they all. And he said unto them, "When I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything?" And they said, "Nothing." And he said unto them, "But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. For I say ¦ unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in THE STORY OF THURSDAY 189 me, 'And he was reckoned with transgressors': for that which concerneth me hath fulfillment." And they said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords." And he said unto them, "It is enough." "Let not your heart be troubled; 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; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know the way." Thomas saith unto him, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?" Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." Philip saith unto him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus saith unto him, "Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, 'Show us the Father?' Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say urito you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, 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. 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 anything in my name, that will I do. If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. And 1 will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com forter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth : whom the world cannot receive ; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him, for he abideth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you desolate : I come unto you. "Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more ; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also. In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, 190 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS 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 unto him." Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, "Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "If a man love me, he will keep my word: 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 words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. "These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abid ing with you. But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I 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 fearful. Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father : for the Father is greater than I. "And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe. I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he 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." "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither 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 beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit: and so shall ye be my disciples. Even as the • THE STORY OF THURSDAY 191 Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's command ments, and abide in his love. "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even 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 the things which I command you. No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known unto you. Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye may love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own : but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also perse cute you; if they kept my word, 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 excuse for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin : but now have they both seen and hated me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word may 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 bear witness of me: and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. And these things will they do, because they have not known 192 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the Father, nor me. But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go. unto him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, 'Whither goest thou?' But because I have spoken these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Never theless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto, you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify me : for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you. All things whatso ever the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he taketh of mine, and shall declare it unto you. A little while, and ye behold me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see me." Some of his disciples therefore said one to another, "What is this that he saith unto us, 'A little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me': and 'Because I go to the Father'?" They said therefore, "What is this that he saith, 'A little while'? We know not what he saith." Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, "Do ye inquire among yourselves con cerning this, that I said, 'A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me'? Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but when she is delivered of the child she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the. world. And ye therefore now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh THE STORY OF THURSDAY 193 away from you. And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full. "These things have I spoken unto you in dark sayings: the hour cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings, but shall tell you plainly of the Father. In that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came out from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father." His disciples say, "Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no dark saying. Now know we that thou know est all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee : by this we believe that thou earnest forth from God." Jesus answered them, "Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." (His Last Week, p. 31 ; Mt. 26:31-35; Mk. 14:27-31; Lk. 22:31-38; Jn. 13:36, 16:33.) "I will smite the shepherd." (Mt. 26:31.) This quotation from Zech. 13:7 is not a prophecy of the death of Jesus and of the scattering of his disciples, but is mentioned because in both cases similar results would follow such a relationship between shepherd and sheep. "Satan asked to have you." (Lk. 22:31.) This is plainly an allusion to the case of Job, whose integrity God allowed Satan to test. It should be noted that in this verse the "you" in the original Greek is plural, in dicating the sifting of all the disciples, while in the fol lowing verse Jesus speaks of praying for Peter only, doubtles because he was most in danger. 194 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS "Buy a sword." (Lk. 22:36.) Jesus realized that at his death the disciples would meet with conditions so changed as to make weapons of defense a necessity. Considered as followers of a 'transgressor," they would encounter marked hostility and their very lives would be in danger. Compare John 16 :2. This is not to be interpreted as meaning that Jesus felt that his peaceful mission had been a failure, and that only the sword could conquer the world, but rather that his disciples in the larger work now before them were to prepare for difficulties greater than they had hither to encountered. yUp to this time they had gone on short journeys, and largely among their personal friends ; they now were to be scattered afar, and would need greater preparations and precautions. "Let not your heart be troubled." (Jn. 14:1.) Ten derly as Jesus made the announcement of his departure, it filled the minds of the disciples with consternation. Even the buoyant and hardy Peter felt for the moment staggered by the intelligence, and still more by the an nouncement that he was not able to accompany his Lord. He was assured that one day he should follow him, but at present this was impossible. — Condensed from Dods, Expos. Bible, John vol. ii, p. 113. "And in me, too, trust." I would not leave you had I not a purpose to serve. It is not to secure my own safety or happiness that I go. It is not to occupy the sole available room in my Father's house. There are many rooms there, and I go to prepare a place for you. The Father's house was a new figure for heaven. It was only when one came who felt that his real home was in God that the temple could be called "the Fa ther's house." And this is what we have to look for ward to — living in the constant enjoyment of a Fa- THE STORY OF THURSDAY 195 ther's love, feeling ourselves more truly at home with him than with any one else, delighting in the per- fectness of his sympathy and the abundance of his provision. — Dods, Expos. Bible, John, vol. ii, p. 116. 116. "Many mansions." (Jn. 14:2.) Not then a vast multitude in an open space — worshippers in a crowd ed temple. "A multitude that no man can number," but in "many mansions"- — a vast house of many rooms in which are private fellowships as well as public serv ices. Not a monotonous uniformity, even of goodness ; but a world of infinite variety, where different types of character, of sympathy, of pursuit have fullest develop ment. Can we conceive of character in heaven as less individualized than here ? Will not all relationships of life, all forms and preferences of pure affection, all varieties of pursuit be perfected there? Each in his own place and of his own company ; different degrees of holmess and intelligence ; a divine harmony rather than a uniformity. ' ' One star diff ereth from another star in glory." "Diversities of operation, but one Spirit." And yet a perfect unity, as of a family. "Many mansions," but one Father's house — all gathering round the great hearth of God. — Henry Allon, The Indwelling Christ, p. 330. "If it were not so I would have told you." ( Jn. 14 :2.) It is a parenthesis of singular significance and empha sis, full of human considerateness and tenderness. It is a measure of the greatness of the revelation which he was making to them. He would not trifle with this great human hope of immortality. Had there been no such satisfaction for it he would have told them. It was impossible for him to deceive them with a false 196 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS or uncertain hope, or to permit them to be deceived. He came to teach them about spiritual realities, and this was one of them. It is a simple parenthesis in the midst of one of his greatest teachmgs, but it seems more than the most elaborate argument. He is speaking about the future life as the hope and consolation of those whom death bereaves, and he affirms concerning it some very def inite things — things which are a clear addition to hu man knowledge about it. And the manner of his af firmation is as remarkable as its matter. He calmly assumes his own certain knowledge about it. He is not an enquirer about the unseen world. He does not, like Plato, rest his teachmgs upon reasonings and probabilities. He speaks with absolute certainty. Clearly he believed himself to have certain knowledge. — Henry Allon, The Indwelling Christ. "I go away to prepare a place for you." (Jn. 14:2.) And the very naming of this is a proof of Christ 's con- siderateness. The burning question with every man who thought about his life in those days was, whither is this life leading? The present, alas ! was dim and in scrutable enough, but the future was a fearful and un solved mystery. So Christ put that right before he went away. He gave this unknown future form and color. He told us — and it is only because we are so accustomed to it that we do not wonder more at the magnificence of the conception — that when our place in this world should know us no more there would be another place ready for us. We do not know much about that place, but the best thing we do know, that he prepares it. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man what the Lord went away to prepare for them that love him. It is THE STORY OF THURSDAY 197 better to think of this, to let our thoughts rest on this, that he prepares it, than to fancy details of our own. — Henry Drummond, The Ideal Life, pp. 68-9. The place prepared for us. How hideous, I might almost say, was heaven as it used to be interpreted to my childish imagination. It was a prison. It was built, to be sure, of beautiful things ; but a prison is a prison though it be built of alabaster, or silver, or gold. It was a place devoid of the freedom and the enjoyments of home. It was wanting in those elements which make life joyous and happy. And if heaven be a place of propriety; if it be a place in which everybody is reg imented; if it be a place where, at stated times, we shall turn and bow one way, and then turn and bow the other way, and say our prayers, and repeat our hymns — if that be heaven, it is a mechanical heaven ; it is an automaton's heaven; it is a machine-heaven; it is a mechanician's heaven, and a poor one at that. But to me heaven is not such a place. I gather, to repre sent my heaven, whatever there is that is most re splendent on earth. When I paint my picture of heav en, I borrow from the clouds ; I borrow from the morn ing and the evening; I borrow from the severe gran deur of the winter, and the luscious luxuriance of sum mer. When I portray my heaven, and its population, I take whatever on earth is most lithe, most bewitch ing, most genial, and sweetest in nature and society. I select for my sitters those that are the noblest- browed; those that I would go farthest to see; those that incite in me the most wonder and rapture. I get together all these treasures, and with them I depict my heaven. — H. W. Beecher. Questions by Thomas and Philip. (Jn. 14:5-11.) He had spoken of the Father's house, but only one road 198 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS led thither. They must all know it; it was that of personal apprehension of Christ in the life, the mind, and the heart. The way to the Father was Christ ; the full manifestation of all spiritual truth and the spring of the true inner life were equally in him. Except through him, no man could consciously come to the Father. Thomas had put his twofold question thus: What was the goal? and, what was the way to it? In his answer Christ significantly reversed this order, and told them first what way was the way — himself; and then what was the goal. If they had spiritually known him as the way, they would also have known the goal, the Father ; and now, by having the way clearly point ed out, they must also know the goal, God; nay, he was, so to speak, visibly before them — and, gazing on him, they saw the shining track up to heaven, the Jacob 's ladder at the top of which was the Father. But once more appeared in the words of Philip that carnal literalizing, which would take the words of Christ in only an external sense. Sayings like these help us to perceive the absolute need of another teach er, the Holy Spirit. "How know we the way?" (Jn. 14:4.) This ques tion, with its introductory assertion of ignorance as to Jesus' destination, again proves the quality of the mind of Thomas. He seems to have lived in a per petual state of perplexity — ofttimes, despondency — yet ever eager to be convinced of the truth. Philip saith, "show us the Father." (Jn. 14:8.) Philip, one of the twelve apostles, was the first to receive a direct call from Jesus to join that company, although a few other followers had previously at tached themselves to the Master. He was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, a fellow-townsman of Andrew THE STORY OF THURSDAY 199 and Peter, and with them had probably been a disciple of John the Baptist. Immediately after his call it was his privilege to introduce Nathanael to Jesus, and, on Passion Week, to do the same for certain Greek proselytes who desired to make Jesus ' acquaintance. Although naturally a man of truly religious nature and lofty aspirations, he seems to have been dull in apprehending spiritual things. After several years' companionship with Jesus he had not come to realize the fullness of his Master's divinity, else he would not have requested, like Moses of old (Ex. 33:18), that he might see God. After this incident recorded in John 14:8, nothing absolutely definite is known about Philip's life. In the writings of the early Christian Church he is fre quently confused with Philip the Evangelist. Tradi tion states that he traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, while engaged in apostolic labors. Polycrates speaks of Philip, "one of the twelve," as one of the "great lights of Asia," and says that he was buried at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, along with his two aged virgin daughters. Several other early Christian writers con firm this statement and their testimony is strengthened by the discovery at Hierapolis of an inscription show ing that the church there was dedicated to the memory of "the holy and glorious apostle and theologian Phil ip." "I go unto the Father." (Jn. 14:12.) Life has been defined as a going to the Father. It is quite, clear that there must come a time in the history of all those who live this life when they reach the Father. This is the most glorious moment of life. Angels attend at it. Those on the other side must hail the completing of an other soul with ineffable rapture. When they are yet a 200 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS great way off, the Father runs and falls on their neck and kisses them. On this side we call that Death. It means reaching the Father. It is not departure, it is arrival ; not sleep, but waking. For life to those who live like Christ is not a funeral procession. It is a triumphal march to the Father, And the entry at the last in God's own chari ot in the last hour of all. No, as we watch a life which is going to the Father, we cannot think of night, of gloom, of dusk and sunset. It is life which is the night, and Death is sunrise. — Henry Drummond, The Ideal Life, p. 93. "Because I go unto the Father." (Jn. 14:12.) It would seem that the departure of the Master would be the end of the kingdom which he had sought to es tablish. But he had no doubt that the work he had be gun would be enlarged. He gave to the disciples the amazing promise, "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. ' ' And more amazing, the event justified his words. The world saw a new experience : the conversion of men. There had never been anything like it. The heathen came out of darkness into a marvellous light. From the slave popu lations of Antioch, Corinth, Rome, came new men and women in Christ Jesus. A new moral power swept the world. It is the standing miracle of history. And the miracle has been repeated before our eyes. The world, the flesh and the devil would overcome men, but a great er power is here. The weak and sinful live new lives' in Christ; the ignorant, who have grown up without hope and without God in the world, are lighted with a blessed hope and rejoice in a divine salvation ; savages in the hills of Asia and in the islands of the Pacific are THE STORY OF THURSDAY 201 transformed; and greater than all, our children, ten thousands and thousands, grow up as disciples of Jesus and come simply, beautifully to God by him. — The Week of our Lord's Passion, p. 116. "Another Comforter." (Jn. 14:16.) It is difficult to render into English the Greek word Paraclete which in John's gospel is translated "Comforter," as we have no single word which entirely covers its meaning. "Advocate," "Helper" and "Consoler" have been used and each expresses a portion of the origmal meaning. It may be well to follow a goodly number of modern scholars who make use of the word "Para clete, ' ' a transliteration of the Greek word itself, which in its primary meaning gives the idea of a person "called to one's side" for aid, especially against an accuser or judge. But, whether "Comforter" or some other word is used, reference is made by Jesus to the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Truth, who was to be sent as a guide to the disciples after his departure. It was promised them that this substitute should remain with them always, to reveal and complete the work of Jesus and to be to them even more than he had been in the flesh. Judas (not Iscariot). (Jn. 14:22.) That this Judas was one of the twelve apostles is evident ; other wise, he would not have been in that little company with whom Jesus ate the farewell supper. A careful comparison of Mt. 10:3, Mk. 3:18, Lk. 6:16 and Acts 1 :13 shows that he is variously referred to as Lebbseus, Thaddaeus (his surname) and Judas, brother or son (Revised Version) of James. He is not to be identified with one of the brothers of Jesus, nor with the author of the Epistle of Jude. "Greater works than these shall ye do." (Jn. 14:12.) 202 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS There is no reference to healing by means of Peter's shadow (Acts 5:15) or of handkerchiefs that had touched Paul (Acts 19 :12) . Even from a human point of view no miracle wrought by an Apostle is greater than the raising of Lazarus. But from a spiritual point of view no such comparisons are admissible ; to Omnipotence all works are alike. These "greater works" refer rather to the results of Pentecost; the victory over Judaism and Paganism, two powers which for the moment were victorious over Christ (Lk.22 :53). Christ's work was confined to Palestine and had but small success ; the Apostles went everywhere, and con verted thousands. . . . The reason is two-fold: (1) He will have left the earth and be unable to con tinue these works; therefore believers must continue them for him; (2) He will be iu heaven ready to help both directly and by intercession; therefore believers will be able to continue these works and surpass them. — Plummer, Cambridge Bible, John, p. 278. " Even the Spirit of truth." (Jn. 14:16.) What Je sus said of Ms successor, the Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, or the Paraclete, he said in the closing hours. His own vital relation to his disciples was to be continued through the agency of this successor. When the Spirit comes to the disciples and abides i nthem, it is as though Jesus himself abode in them. The Spirit is his alter ego. Thus, when looking forward to the coming of the Spirit, he says, "I will come to you" (Jn. 14:18), and when manifestly thinking of the feh lowship of the Spirit, he says, "He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will man ifest myself to him." ( Jn. 14 :21). The Spirit will con tinue to do for the disciples what Jesus has done. He will teach them, and in this will sustain the same re- THE STORY OF THURSDAY 203 lation to Christ that Christ in his teaching has sus tained to the Father (Jn. 14:26; 16:13, 14; 17:4). He does not speak of himself, but speaks what he hears. His work is most comprehensively described when he is spoken of by the side of Jesus as another Paraclete (Jn. 14:16). That is, Jesus thought the mission of the Spirit essentially the same as his own. He has been a helper, a Paraclete, and now the spirit will take his place with them, and be their helper as variously as Jesus himself had ever been, though not necessarily in the same ways. This language of course implies the personality of the Spirit, and also inplies that he has essentially the same character as Jesus — the same love for the disciples, the same purpose, the same un derstanding of their needs, and the same ability to help them. These words of Jesus regarding a spiritual succes sor, sent from the Father but sent through him as the channel (Jn. 14:16; 15:26), plainly transcend human knowledge. His conviction that his successor would carry on his work even better than he could do if pres ent in the flesh (Jn. 16:7), accounts for the serenity of his mind and heart in view of his violent separation from his disciples, and in view of the terrible sorrow and disappointment which would for a time be theirs. — Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, pp. 352-354. "He shall not speak from himself." (Jn. 16:13.) I take the meaning of the passage to be that, when re ligion in the soul is perfected, it will not have a voice separate from other things, but will blend with all the voices of nature. In the early stages religion is apart from other things. We distinguish, in those days, be tween nature and grace, secular and sacred, world and church, week-day and sabbath. But our Lord says 204 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS there is a time coming when we shall think differently. He says there is a time coming when the voice of God shall not speak "from itself," but shall send its mes sage through secular voices. There is a time coming when the services of religion shall not be limited to the sanctuary, when piety shall not be confined to prayer, when psalmody shall not be monopolised by the psal ter. There is a time coming when the voice of the Spirit shall call from the windows of man's house. It shall call from the scenes of nature ; it shall call from the heights of poetry; it shall call from the galleries of art. It shall speak from the crowded marketplace ; it shall speak from the seat of custom, and from the wheels of traffic. It shall sound from the haunts of pleasure; from the dance and the music; from the holiday and the feast. No spot shall be without an al tar, no scene shall escape a sacrifice ; for the cross that once was planted only at Jerusalem shall be carried to Cana of Galilee. Hasten that time, 0 Lord — the time when all things shall carry thy message! — Geo. Matheson, Times of Retirement, pp. 231-232. The promise of the Holy Spirit. ( Jn. chs. 14-16.) On that last evening, when his work was drawing to its close, he tells his disciples of the heavy sorrows and afflictions which were hanging over them. His purpose, in speaking to his disciples of these sufferings was, that they should not be startled, so as to lose their hold of the truth, but should remember how he had told them of everything beforehand, and thus even in their sufferings should find fresh proofs of his divine wisdom and knowledge. That they might be of good cheer when danger was gathering round them, he speaks to them again and again of a great consolation and blessing which they were to receive, THE STORY OF THURSDAY 205 of a comforter, another comforter, whom the Father would give to them, and who would abide with them forever. — Hare, The Mission of the Comforter, pp. 2, 3. The promise concerning the Comforter. ( Jn. 14 :26.) The Spirit will do two things: teach everything ; bring to remembrance everything which Jesus has taught. These two functions are closely connected; he will teach the new by recalling the old, and will recall the old by teaching the new. The words of Jesus, the re membrance of which the Spirit will awaken in them, will be the matter from which he will derive the teach ing of the complete truth, the germ which he will fertilize in their hearts, as in return, this internal ac tivity of the Spirit will unceasingly recall to their mem ory some former word of Jesus, so that in propor tion as he shall illuminate them, they will cry out: "Now I understand this word of the Master!" And this vivid clearness will cause other words long for gotten to come forth from forgetfulness. Such is, even at this day, the relation between the teaching of the written word and that of the Spirit. — Godet, Commen tary, John, vol. ii, p. 287. The vine and the branches. ( Jn. 15 :l-8.) The vine is an emblem of Christ, especially as the source of spir itual life. He is the divinely appointed root and stem upon which the branches depend; the superior with which they, the inferior, are related in dependence. The vine-stock survives even if the branch be cut off and left to die. We are dependent upon Christ; he is not dependent upon us. A close and vital union joins the branches to the vine, and Christians to their Lord. The life which is naturally Christ's becomes ours through our union by faith with him. — Pulpit Com mentary, John, vol. ii, p. 279. 206 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The unfruitful branch. (Jn. 15:2.) The reference to the unfruitful branch that is cast forth is perhaps suggested by the case of Judas. Jesus afterwards (vs. 9-17) expounds it in plainer terms, speaking of abiding in his love (interpreting the abiding of the vine in the branch), keepmg his commandments, loving one an other. Thus fellowship becomes, not mere service, but intimate and mutual friendship (vs. 15), the disciples enjoying the confidence of the Master, with joy doing his will, and all bound together by the mutual love that springs from their common relation to him. — Burton and Mathews, Life of Christ, p. 251. "The joy that a man is born into the world." (Jn. 15:9-12.) Love is the true bond which gives unity to the moral world, and inspires discipleship. All that Christ experiences is the result of the Father's love; all that the disciples are called to be and to do is the outcome of Christ's love. This love of Christ was to be retained as their possession by their conforming them selves to it. In his love for them they were to find the spring of love to one another, and were to become transparencies through which his love would shine. — Condensed from Dods, Expositor's Greek Testament, John, p. 831. "The joy that a man is born into the world." (Jn. 16:21.) Many a night people are startled from their sleep by the shouts of joy in which men and women join and proclaim to the neighbors and the world from house tops and which is emphasized by the firing of guns, and all because a baby boy is born, and the moth er feels more than compensated, and the occasion is the triumphant moment in her life. In some cases the tops of the neighboring hills are illuminated because a man child is born. The village children of both sexes THE STORY OF THURSDAY 207 rush to the happy home and put forth their hands and laps, which members of the happy family fill with sweets, and during the following days the friendly townspeople come to the mother with blessings in their hands, which include useful gifts of many sorts, testi fying that they share in the joy. — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie, in S. S. Times. "I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16:33.) On the ground of this conquest of his he bids his followers re joice and take heart, as if somehow his conquest of the world guaranteed theirs, and as if their conflict would be easier on account of his. And so indeed it is. Not only has every one now who proposes to live for high and unworldly ends the satisfaction of knowing that such a life is possible, and not only has he the vast en couragement of knowing that One has passed this way before and attained his end; but, moreover, it is Christ's victory which has really overcome the world in a final and public way. — Dods, Expos. Bible, John, p. 241. THE INTERCESSORY PRAYER. These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee: even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word. Now they know that all things what soever thou hast given me are from thee: for the words which thou hast given me to do. And now, Father, glorify 208 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine: and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them. And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition ; that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to thee ; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world 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 from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me. And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be per fected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me. Father, I desire 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 knew thee not, but I knew thee; and these knew that thou didst send me; and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. (His Last Week, p. 38; Jn. 17:1-26.) "Glorify thy Son," (Pn. 17:1.) He looked to the THE STORY OF THURSDAY 209 Father for his own glorification, and for the preserva tion, sanctification, union, success, and glory of his dis ciples. At the same time by the side of this true sense of dependence, there are here, as in the eighth chapter of John, intimations of a conviction that he had had a personal existence with the Father before the founda tion of the world (vs. 5, 24). Again, these closing words show that Jesus had what no other man ever had, the consciousness of having perfectly accomplished the work which the Father had given him to do (v. 4) ;'and this work which he had perfectly accomplished was the most sublime and most difficult of which we can conceive. It was nothing less than manifesting the character of God to men (v. 6), and giving to his disciples a new and eternal life (v. 2). — Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, pp. 350, 351. "/ pray for them." (Jn. 17:9.) The tenderness and generosity of his love for them are manifest again and again. He wishes them to share not only in his work, but to share equally with him in the Father's love, and to share in his own glory (Jn. 14:21, 23, 24; 17 :23, 24, 26). He sees an earthly glorification of him self in his disciples (17 :10). They are not his servants but his friends (15:15). He has taken them into his confidence and told them all that he knows of the Fa ther. On them rests the same honor that rests on him, for he declares that they are sent into the world even as he had been sent (17:18). They are capable of be coming one, even as he and the Father are one (vs. 20-23). They are loved of the Father, even as he himself is (v. 23), and Christ's future aim is that the Father's live may be in them (v7 26). Thus through 210 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS these closing words of Jesus runs a love for his dis ciples that is full of divine tenderness and magnanim ity. — Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, pp. 351, 352. The victory of the Son of man over sorrow. Joy and suffering are closely related in the mmistry of Jesus. The keynote of his conversation with his dis ciples that evening in the Upper Room before the agony in the garden was joy (Jn. 15:11; 16:22, 24; 17:13). Close to his abandonment of grief when he was looking on Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (Lk. 19 :41- 44), was his exultation over the visit of some Greeks who sought him in the temple. The suffering of Jesus was because of the sins of men and the destruction which they brought on themselves. He could not have realized his mission to redeem mankind without intense pain because they rejected and wrought against the will of God, and absorbing sympathy with them in their suf fering. But his suffering was transfigured by his abso lute conviction that they would be delivered from the power of evil through his mission which was ending in death (Heb. 12:2). To comprehend this confidence of Jesus in the ultimate triumph of love and righteous ness through his self-sacrifice, and to share it, is to know the secret of inward peace in the midst of trials. —A. E. Dunning, D. D. in S. S. Times. The victory within the soul of Jesus. It is one thing to have the consciousness of so high a calling, another to maintain and give effect to it under conditions from which all that is ideal and divine seems' to have with drawn. It is one thing not to count one's life dear, or to make much of it, in comparison with great ends which are to be attained by laying it down; it is an other to lay it down, encompassed not by the gratitude and adoration of those for whom the sacrifice is made, THE STORY OF THURSDAY 211 but by mocking and spitting and scorn. This was what Jesus did, and he attained to it through the agony in the garden. The agony does not represent a doubt as to his calling, but the victorious assertion of his calling against the dreadful temptation to renounce it, which came in the hour and with the power of darkness. — James Denney, The Death of Christ, p. 62. Sung a hymn. (Mt. 26:30.) Among the Jews the recitation of Psalms 113-118 was an essential part of the family service on the night when they ate their Passover meal. The first two psalms of the group were sung before eating and the remainder at the close of the meal. Unquestioningly, then, Psalms 115-118 con stituted the "hymn' sung by our Saviour and his dis ciples at the close of their farewell supper. This whole group of psalms was called the "Hallel" (lit. "praise") and was considered as a single composition. It evidently was written to be sung publicly on some day of thanksgiving and was used by the Jews at their three great religious feasts. The name ' ' great Hallel ' ' was sometimes given to this group, but it is usually given to Psalms 120-136, while Psalms 115-118 are called the "Egyptian" or "common" Hallel. Gbe Storp ot ffri^a^* Bptil 7, 30 a. 2). Jesus and his disciples remained in the Upper Room until after midnight. They then walked forth under the full moon, through the city streets and across the valley of the brook Kidron, to a garden called Gethsemane. It was a place which Jesus was accus tomed to visit, and one in which Judas felt certain he would be found. The garden, or orchard, was on the slope of the Mount of Olives eastward from Jerusalem. Here Jesus left seven of his disciples on guard near the gate, while he and Peter, James and John went farther in. At some distance from the entrance he left the three, and proceeded into the remoter parts of the garden alone. Here he spent some time in agoniz ing prayer. His disciples, overcome with weariness, fell asleep on guard. Jesus repeatedly came back to where they were, and each time found them sleeping. Here he was arrested by a band of soldiers, under orders from the authorities of the temple, who were conducted to the spot by Judas, the betrayer. The dis ciples all forsook him and fled. He was then taken into the city, first to Annas, the former high priest, and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, by whom he was infor mally examined. He was then sent on to Caiaphas, the high-priest, who, with a part of the Sanhedrin, be fore day-break, made a preliminary examination. Aft er day-break a formal trial was held before the whole Sanhedrm, which by that time was assembled. Thus there were three steps in the ecclesiastical trial. He was accused of blasphemy, and condemned by the THE STORY OF FRIDAY 213 Sanhedrin as worthy of death, but the authority to execute the death penalty resided in the civil court alone. He was therefore taken by the priests, followed by a multitude, and hurried to the residence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate attempted to evade his responsibility, and sent him to Herod, by whom he was returned to Pilate, and by him sentenced to death on the charge of exciting the people into insurrection against Rome. The soldiers led him away, followed by a great multitude. He bore the cross for himself at first, but evidently falling under the load, one Simon of Cyrene was compelled to relieve him. He was cruci fied at a spot called Golgotha, outside the city. About three o'clock he "gave up the ghost." Toward evening a company of disciples, headed by Joseph of Arimathaea, and accompanied by Nicodemus, obtain ing permission from Pilate, took down his body and placed it in a tomb. Friday is thus the day of agonizing prayer, of be trayal, of trial, of suffering, of death, and its close finds our Lord lying in the tomb. While the whole week is the week of the passion, Friday is pre-eminent ly the day of the passion. It has given that day a suggestion of horror and that ever since has attached to that day of the week. THE AGONY IN GETHSEMANE. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a garden. And they come unto a place which was named Geth semane : and he saith unto his disciples, "Sit ye here while I go yonder and pray." And he taketh with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled. And he saith unto them, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death : abide ye here, and watch." 214 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS And he went forward a little, and fell on his face on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from his prayer, he came unto the disciples, and found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto Peter, "Simon, sleepest thou? Couldest thou not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away, except I drink it, thy will be done." And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to the disciples the third time, and saith unto them, "Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. "Arise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that be- trayeth me." (His Last Week, pp. 40-41; Mt. 26:36-46; Mk. 14:26, 32-42; Lk. 22:39-46; Jn. 18:1.) He went, as his custom was, unto the Mount of Olives. (Lk. 22:39.) The scene was one of those sa cred things in a man's life, in which his best instincts bid him be alone. The other cases in our Lord's life, of which we are told, were the temptation, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and the transfiguration. Peter, James, and John were taken nearer to the scenes of his soul's wrestling with impending fate, but even they were to remain outside, and watch. It is, possible to take the request to watch in a merely ex- THE STORY OF FRIDAY 215 ternal sense. He knew that his enemies were at hand, and he might want some one to be on the watch for them. But it seems more probable that he wanted them to watch with him, to share his vigil, not against human foes, but against the flood of woes overwhelming THE JOURNEY OF FRIDAY his soul. — Gould, Internat. Crit. Com., Mark, pp. 268, 269. There was a garden. (Jn. 18:1, 2.) Gethsemane is given in Mt. 26:36 and Mk. 14:32 as the name of the place to which Jesus retired with the disciples after the 216 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Last Supper. In both passages it is called chorion. What is meant is a piece of ground enclosed by a wall or fence of some sort. Jn. 18 :1 calls it a garden. Pos sibly it belonged to owners who willingly afforded ac cess to Jesus ; at all events, he was in the habit of re sorting to it (Lk. 21:37; 22:39), and the habit was known to Judas Iscariot. Doubtless the enclosure con tained a press, perhaps also a house in which the other disciples, apart from Peter, James, and John, may have sheltered. We know that Gethsemane was situated ( Jn. 18 :1) to the east of Kidron and was regarded as belongmg to the Mount of Olives (Lk. 22:39). Thus we have to think of Jesus as quitting the town by one of the gates of the eastern wall, descending into the Kidron val ley, crossing the bed of the brook, and reascending on the other side. It is at Gethsemane that the touching scenes recorded by the evangelists are placed — the agony and prayers of Jesus, the sleep of the apostles, the arrival of Judas and his train, the arrest ; the New Testament does not enable us to fix the site more ex actly. Tradition became more precise. From the fourth century onwards, perhaps from the time of the visit of the empress Helena, the garden of Gethsemane has been shown at the foot of the Mount of Olives on the left bank of the Kidron, some fifty yards from the pres ent bridge. It contains eight old olive trees which pilgrimsi willingly believe to date from the time of Christ, or at least to come from trees of that date. On the other hand, it has to be remarked not only that olives are not in the habit of attaining so great an age, but also that, according to Josephus, all the trees about Jerusalem THE STORY OF FRIDAY 217 were cut down by the army of Titus at the time of the siege. The authenticity of the site, then, is not demonstra ble ; but neither is it utterly improbable. — Encyc. Bib lica, vol. ii, cols. 1712, 1713. "Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder." (Mt. 26:36.) It is a hard thing to be kept in the back ground at a time of crisis. In ,the Garden of Geth semane eight of the eleven disciples were left to do nothing. Jesus went to the front to pray; Peter, James, and John went to the middle to watch ; the rest sat' down in the rear to wait. Methinks that party in the rear must have murmured. They were in the gar den, but that was all ; they had no share in the cultiva tion of its flowers. It was a time of crisis, a time of storm and stress; and yet they were not suffered to work. You and I have often felt that experience, that disappointment. — Geo. Matheson, Times of Retirement, p. 110. "Watch tvith me." (Mt. 26:38.) He must face that hour alone ; no human eye must witness, except through the twilight and shadow, the depth of his suffering. Yet he would have gladly shared the sympathy of the disciples; it helped him in this hour of darkness to feel that they were near, and that those were nearest who loved him best. Reluctantly he tore himself away from their sustaining tenderness and devotion, and retired yet further, perhaps out of the moonlight into the shadow. And there, until slumber overpowered them, they were conscious how dreadful was that paroxysm of prayer and suffering through which he passed. — Farrar, Life of Christ, ch. 57. Christ shrinking from the Cross. The simple figure in these words "Let this cup pass from me" makes 218 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS an instant appeal. We see a cup filled with a bitter mixture proffered to a child. The child hesitates to take it and lift it to his lips. He shrinks from the nauseous draught with a deep and instinctive distaste. But at the bidding of his father he masters himself and drains the cup. So Christ shrank from his cross, and yet accepted it in a meek obedience to his Father's will. Christ never looked out towards his cross without reluctance and a hush falling upon his spirit. His life had certain summit levels on the way to Calvary. As often as he reached one of these heights he saw the Cross as the close and consummation of his ministry. Its form may not have been clear, but the fact of a final sacrifice was one of the certainties in his vision. In his temptation in the wilderness; at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, when his mother spoke to him and stirred him to think of his "hour"; when the multitude would have made him a king; on the Mount of Trans figuration; when the Greeks sought to see him; when the mother of Zebedee 's children came craving high place for James and John, Jesus foresaw his cross. With the prevision of it there came a shrinking from it. It was the feared hour of his life, the baptism of his sorrow, the cup of his agony. Here, on the night before his passion, he sees the Cross etched against the evening light, and his shrinking from it trembles on the verge of denial. About nothing else in God's will for him did he pray, "0 my Father, if it be pos sible, let this cup pass from me." — W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Experience, pp. 65-6. The agony in the garden. The fullest allowance for the shrinking of the most delicately constituted nature from the pain and death completely fails to ac count for this dread of Jesus. He was no coward, THE STORY OF FRIDAY 219 drawing back from sufferings which, for simple phy sical pain, were over and over again more than matched by many of the martyrs to truth who preceded and followed him. He himself declared to the sons of Zebedee that they should share a cup in kind like unto his, suffering for the kingdom of God, for the salva tion of the world. Yet there is a difference evident between what others have had to bear and the cup from which Jesus shrank. The death which now stood before him in the path of obedience had in it a bitter ness quite unexpected by the pain and disappointment it entailed. That excess of bitterness can probably never be understood by us. — Rhees, Life of Christ, pp, 189, 190. He cometh and findeth them sleeping. (Mt. 26:40, 41, 43.) He remained a long time upon his face in prayer, while the silver leaves whispered round him, and when he arose and returned to the three men, he found that their eyes had grown weary with watching, and they were all asleep. When awakened the three men were deeply grieved to see the sorrow of their young Master, as he turned and walked back into the shadowy depths of the garden, where he again fell upon his face. Again he remained a long time in prayer, prostrate on the sweet spring grass, for when he returned to his three disciples, they were again asleep, and awoke with a start to find him standing beside them pale and sad, looking down at them, but saying nothing. They did not know what to say. They were filled with shame and grief that they should enjoy refreshing sleep while Jesus was suffering such agony. Without saying a word, he turned and went back into the dark depths of the garden for the third time, to 220 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS pray the same beseeching prayer — "0 my Father! if this cannot pass away from me except I do it, then Thy will be done." A short, brief, intense cry to God, uttered with even greater agony and earnestness than before, for as Jesus continued praying the sweat of his brow ran down in drops of red blood, dropping upon his white tunic, dropping upon the quivering grass. He grew weak with anguish, and through the black olive branches there appeared the figure of an angel from heaven, with moonlight on his wings, that stood beside him strengthening him. — Jesus the Carpenter, pp. 414, 415. " Sleep on, now." (Mt. 26:45, 46.) There is an ob vious difficulty in these words, followed as they are so immediately by the, "Rise, let us be going," of the next verse. We might, at first, be mclined to see in them a shade of implied reproach. "Sleep on now, if sleep under such conditions is possible ; make the most of the short interval that remains before the hour of the betrayal comes." Something of this kind seems obviously implied, but the sudden change is, perhaps, best explained by the supposition that it was not till after these words had been spoken that the traitor and his companions were seen actually approaching, and that it was this that led to the words seemingly so different in their purport, bidding the slumberers to rouse themselves from sleep. The past, which, as far as their trial went, might have been given to sleep, was over. A new crisis had come, calling for action. It is obvious that the clause, "let us be going," does not mvolve any suggestion of flight, but rather a call to confront the danger. — Plumptre, Handy Com., Mat thew, pp. 385, 386. "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" (Mt. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 221 26 :40-46.) We cannot but agree with those who see in what he said when he returned for the last time to the three, not irony, no touch of sarcasm, but the same ten der consideration he has shown throughout. From the garden they could easily see the city in the moonlight across the ravine. As yet there was no sign of life about it ; all was quiet ; there was therefore no reason why they should not for the few moments that might remain to them sleep on now and take their rest. But it can only be for a short time, for "the hour is at hand." We may, then, think of the three lying down to sleep, as the eight had probably been doing through out, while Jesus, from whose mortal eyes sleep was banished now for ever, would watch until he saw the gleam of lanterns and torches as of men from the city coming down the hill, and then he would wake them and say, "Rise, let us be going." — Gibson, Expos. Bible, Matthew, pp. 402, 403. THE BETRAYAL AND ARREST. And straightway, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples: and he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, "Whom soever I shall kiss, that is he ; take him, and lead him away safely." Judas then, having received the band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. And when he was come, straightway he came to him, and said, "Hail, Rabbi," and kissed him. But Jesus said unto him, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" Jesus, therefore, knowing all the things that were com ing upon him, went forth, and saith unto them, "Whom seek ye?" 222 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus saith unto them, "I am he." And Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When therefore he said unto them, "I am he," they went backward, and fell to the ground. Again therefore he asked them, "Whom seek ye?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way": that the word might be fulfilled which he spake, "Of those whom thou hast given me I lost not one." And when they that were about him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" Simon Peter therefore having a sword drew it, and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. Now the servant's name was Malchus. But Jesus answered and said, "Suffer ye them thus far." And he touched his ear, and healed him. Then saith Jesus unto Peter, "Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? The cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" And Jesus said unto the chief priests and captains of the temple, and elders, that were come against him, "Are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." Then all the disciples left him, and fled. And a certain young man followed with him, having a linen cloth cast about him, over his naked body; and they lay hold on him ; but he left the linen cloth, and fled naked. (His Last Week, pp. 41-2; Mt. 26:47-56; Mk. 14:43-52; Lk. 22:47-53; Jn. 18:2-12.) " i 'Buy a sivord." (Lk. 22-36.) The disciples misinter preted his meaning until the events of that night ex plained it to them, — as they ought to make it clear to us. They did not understand that he was urging them at any cost to make sure of the spiritual weapons they THE STORY OF FRIDAY 223 had already tested and found sufficient. They thought he meant a literal sword, just as when he warned them agamst the leaven of the Pharisees they thought he meant literal yeast. But something will soon occur to teach them he meant exactly the reverse. He reminds them that when he sent them forth unarmed and with out even the things deemed needful for a journey, they lacked nothing. But the swords prove that they have forgotten that lesson. It must be repeated more im pressively. He will have them take the swords and so discover, in a way they can never forget, the im potence of arms in his service. He does not tell them that. By a gesture he waves the subject aside. "It is enough." That is, enough has been said for the present. They will soon be forced to understand. When the right moment comes he will speak plainly. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, p. 135. "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he." (Mt. 26 :48.) It was the busmess of the soldiers to make the arrest, but they did not know Jesus, and, seeing not one man but twelve, they were at a loss which was he. It was necessary that Judas should come forward and re solve their perplexity. Then he advanced and, greet ing Jesus with feigned reverence: "Hail, Rabbi!" kissed him effusively. It was the climax of his villainy, and Jesus repulsed him with a stinging sentence. Brushing the traitor aside, he stepped forward and sur rendered himself ; and, overawed by his tone and bear ing, the soldiers retreated and fell on the ground. Recovering themselves, they seized him, and, as they were proceeding to bind him, the more roughly perhaps that they were ashamed of their weakness, the indig nation of the disciples mastered their alarm, and Peter, 224 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS with the courage of despair, drew a sword which he carried under his cloak and, assailing a slave of the high priest named Malchus, cut off his right ear. An uproar ensued, and the disciples must have paid the penalty of the rash act had not Jesus intervened. He touched the wounded ear and healed it. The miracle occasioned a diversion; and, while his mates were crowding about Malchus, Jesus reasoned with his ex cited followers. Anxious to avert attention still further from the Eleven, Jesus addressed himself to the Jewish rulers who with their officers had accompanied the soldiers. "As though against a brigand," he said scornfully, "have ye come forth with swords and -cudgels?" And they were cowards still, coming forth with an armed band against a defenseless man. It was a stroke of biting sarcasm, and they felt the sting of it. Appar ently it provoked them to violence. At all events the Eleven were at that moment stricken with sudden panic, and "all forsook him and fled." — Hastings' Diet, of Christ, vol. i, pp. 119, 120. And kissed him. (Mt. 26:49.) But the crowning profanation, for which humanity will never forgive him, was the sign by which he had agreed to make his Master known to his enemies. It is probable that he came on in front, as if he did not belong to the band behind ; and, hurrying towards Jesus, as if to apprise him of his danger and condole with him on so sad a misfortune as his apprehension, he flung himself on his neck, sobbing, "Master, Master!" and not only did he kiss him, but he did so repeatedly or fervently ; so the word signifies. As long as there is true, pure love in the world, this act will be hated and despised by everyone who has ever given or received this token of THE STORY OF FRIDAY 225 affection. It was a sin agamst the human heart and all its charities. But none can feel its horror as it must have been felt by Jesus. That night and the next day his face was marred in many ways; it was furrowed by the bloody sweat ; it was bruised with blows ; they spat upon it ; it was rent with thorns ; but nothmg went so close to his heart as the profanation of this kiss. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ. p. 4. The band of soldiers. (Jn. 18:3.) They had, in deed, the officers of the temple at their command ; but these were insufficient, since the law forbade them to go armed on the passover day, and, though Jesus and the Eleven were defenseless, he was the popular hero, and, should an alarm be raised, the multitude would be aroused and would come to the rescue. Moreover, had they taken such a step on their own authority, they would have offended the procurator, Pontius Pilate, who was ever jealous for the maintenance of order, especially at the festal seasons ; and it was of the ut most moment that they should secure his sympathy and co-operation. Accordingly, though doubtless im patient of the delay, they first of all appealed to him and obtained from him a detachment of soldiers from Fort Antonia, under the command of a tribune. Ere all was arranged several hours had elapsed. Jesus had quitted the Upper Room and the city, but the traitor knew whither he had gone, and led the way to the garden on Mount Olivet. ... It was a motley band that followed Judas. The soldiers would march in order, but the temple servants, armed with cudgels and carrying lamps and torches, gave it the appearance of a mere rabble. And with the rest, forgetting their dignity in their eagerness to witness the success of 226 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS their machinations, went some of the high priests, the temple captains, and the elders. — Hastings, Diet, of Christ, vol. i, p. 119. A multitude with swords and staves. (Mk. 14:43.) The force sent to arrest Jesus was large. There was not only a company from the chief priests, but also a Roman cohort, the particular one which was stationed in the tower of Antonia near the temple, or part of it in Antonia and part in the palace (Mk. 14:43; Mt. 26:47; Lk. 22:47; Jn. 18:3). This, if full, numbered from three to six hundred men. Yet the large force was no larger than the circumstances seemed to re quire. The priests had feared to make an attempt to arrest Jesus during the feast, lest there should be a tumult of the people (Mk. 14:2). There were many among the pilgrims at the feast, and some of the people of Jerusalem, who had at least a superficial enthusiasm for Jesus, and if he should put himself at their head, as their Messiah, their force would be most dangerous. — George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 278. "Whom seek ye?" (Jn. 18 :4.) How ridiculous now looked their cumbrous preparations — all these soldiers, the swords and staves, the torches and lanterns, now burning pale in the clear moonlight. Jesus made them feel it. He made them feel what manner of spirit they were of, and how utterly they had mistaken his views and spirit. "Whom seek ye?" he asked them again, to compel them to see that they were not taking him, but that he was giving himself up. He was completely master of the situation. Singling out the Sanhedrists, who probably at that moment would rather have kept in the background, he demanded, pointing to their ex cessive preparations, "Be ye come out as agamst a THE STORY OF FRIDAY 227 thief, with swords and staves ? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me." He, a solitary man, though he knew how many were against him, had not been afraid ; he taught daily in the temple — in the most public place, at the most public hour. But they, numerous and powerful as they were, yet were afraid, and so they had chosen the midnight hour for their nefarious purpose. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 8. "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" (Lk. 22: 49) . The fighting disciple, John informs us, was Simon Peter. Thereupon Jesus interposed to prevent further bloodshed, uttering words variously reported, but in all the different versions clearly inculcating a policy of non-resistance. Then he went on to hint at higher rea sons for non-resistance than mere considerations of prudence or expediency. He could meet human force by superior, divine, celestial force if he chose, but he did not choose ; for to overpower his enemies would be to defeat his own purpose in coming to the world, which was to conquer, not by physical force, but by truth and love and patience. — Bruce, Training of the Twelve, p. 465. Peter drew his sword. (Mt. 26:51.) Poor Peter! On this occasion he was thoroughly like himself. There was a kind of Tightness and nobleness in what he did ; but it was in the wrong place. If he had only been as prompt inside Gethsemane to do what he was bidden as outside it to do what he was not bidden ! How much better if he could have drawn the spiritual sword and cut off the ear which was to be betrayed by a maid servant's taunt! Peter's conduct on this occasion, as often on other occasions, showed how poor a guide en thusiasm is when it is not informed with the mind and 228 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS spirit of Christ. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 11. "Are ye come as against a robber?" (Mt. 26:55.) The allusion is to the invasion of his privacy in the garden, and the implied suggestion that they have put a false construction on his presence there. They think he has been seeking escape from his fate when in fact he has been bracing himself up for it ! To what miscon struction the holiest and noblest actions are liable, and how humiliating to the heroic soul ! It was thoroughly characteristic of Jesus that he should feel the humilia tion, and that he should at once give expression to the feeling. Jesus asks in effect why they did not appre hend him while, for several days in succession, he sat in the temple precincts teaching. How could they imagine that a man who spoke his mind so openly could slink away into hiding-places like an evil-doer? Jesus reconciles himself to the indignity in the manner of his arrest, as to the arrest itself, and all that it mvolved, by the thought that it was in his "cup" as described by the prophets. — Bruce, Expos. Greek Test., p. 318. They all forsook him and fled. (Mt. 26:56.) They had stood by him until his words and acts made it evident that Jesus was committed to a policy of non- resistance. After that, to stay was simply to involve themselves in his fate, and for that, not courage, but faith was lacking. This is the explanation of their conduct during this crisis ; their faith had suffered an eclipse. To the rest of the Jews, his non-resistance and the failure of heaven to interfere in his behalf were conclusive proof of the falseness of his Messianic claim. To the disciples, whose simpler and less sophisticated mind was deeply impressed with the varied proof of greatness afforded in their intimate association with THE STORY OF FRIDAY 229 him, but who had the same Jewish ideas of the Mes siah, these untoward events were an occasion of pro found doubt and perplexity,- but not of actual unbelief. But doubt removes courage ; the disciples fled because their faith wavered. — Gould, Inter. Crit. Commentary, Mark, p. 275. The young man in the linen sheet. (Mk. 14 -.51.) This may have been Mark himself. If the Passover meal was eaten at his mother's home, he may have risen from his bed and followed Jesus and the disciples to Gethsemane, arriving in time to see the arrest and share the danger, and retreating in terror through the night back to his bed. No other evangelist mentions the incident. THE DENIAL OF PETER. And as Peter was sitting beneath in the court, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest; and seeing • Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and saith, "Thou also wast with the Nazarene, even Jesus." But he denied, saying, "I neither know nor understand what thou sayest," and he went out into the porch ; and the cock crew. And after the space of about one hour, one of the serv ants of the high priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, saith, "Did I not see thee in the garden with him?" And they that stood by came and said to Peter, "Of a truth thou also art one of them; for thou art a Galilean; thy speech maketh thee known." Then began he to curse and to swear, "I know not the man." And straightway the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how that he said unto him, "Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice." And he went out, and wept bitterly. And straightway in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a con sultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and 230 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS delivered him up to Pilate, the governor. (His Last Week, p. 44; Mt. 26:58-75; Mk. 14:54-72; Lk. 54-62.) The steps of Peter's fall. To understand exactly what happened to Peter in this terrible hour, we must remember the construction of an Oriental house. Whereas our houses open outwards on the street, an Oriental house opens inwards on its own interior, which consists of a square, open to the sky, on which rooms or galleries look down from three sides, while the fourth side is pierced by an archway, more or less spacious, according to the size of the building. Through this passage the traffic in and out takes place ; and, at the end of it next the street, there is a large gate, for admittting vehicles; and there may be, be sides, a wicket in this gate for admitting individuals. In large houses there is a porter or portress, to give or refuse admission by either entrance. Hastening to the hall where the trial was to take place, John expected his companions to follow; but, blinded with the glare of the unaccustomed place, the rustic fisherman lingered just inside the gate, where, without knowing it, he became an object of attention to the portress, who, divining the situation with a woman's quickness, watched him with amusement and curiosity as he began by degrees to saunter toward the fire, at which he sat down, as if he were one of the crowd hostile to Jesus. Being relieved at the termina tion of her watch by another maid, the portress, after pointing out to her successor what she had been ob serving, went up to the fire on the way to her quarters, and challenged Peter with being that which he was pre tending not to be. Having discharged this pleasantry, she tripped laughingly away, but not before Peter, surprised and ashamed, had hotly denied. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 231 Then began he to curse. (Mt. 26 :74.) Yet there was a kind of method in the madness of Peter's profanity. When he wanted to prove that he was none of Christ's, he could not do better than take to cursing. They did not credit his assertions that he had no connection with his Master, but they could not help believing his sins. Nobody belonging to Jesus, they knew, would speak as Peter was doing. It is one of the strongest testi monies to Jesus still, that even those who do not believe in him expect cleanness of speech and of conduct from his followers, and are astonished if those who bear his name do things which when done by others are mat ters of course. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 39. The bad and good in Peter. If Peter caused his Master, first and last, far more provocation and far more pain than any other of his disciples, he at the same time gave his Master, again and again, more consolation and encouragement than any other disciple ever did. — Alexander Whyte. Our attitude toward Peter. Let no one of us say a word against Peter. He was a great and glorious man. No Christian can help loving and honoring him. His is one of the great souls of the Bible. As we read this terrible story today let us not try to exhibit our su perior virtue against the dark background of Peter's seeming infamy. Let us rather bow our heads in shame saying, "That which Peter did once under cir cumstances of terrible temptation and terror, of that same hideous disloyalty have I been guilty over and over again." Peter fell once into disloyalty upon one terrible night when the whole universe for him seemed to be in convulsion. But, oh, the continual shame of our lives! The very sins of such a great good man 232 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS seem to have about them somethmg nobler than much of our modern dingy attempts of self-denial-proof virtue. Peter had, at least, at the risk of his life, fol lowed his Master into the very court of the enemy. Let those of us who feel quite sure we would have done as much throw the first stone at him. — J. Edgar Park, in Pilgrim Teacher. THE REMORSE OF JUDAS. Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, say ing, "I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See thou to it." And he cast down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood." And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Where fore that field was called, "The field of blood," unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jere miah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price; and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." (His Last Week, p. 45; Mt. 27:3-10.) The remorse and suicide of Judas. (Mt. 27:3-10.) In his anger at findmg Jesus not to be the Christ he had hoped for and desired, Judas deserted and be trayed him; in the terrible calm that succeeded indul gence [in revenge] he awoke to the realities within and about him, saw how blindly he had lived and hated. . . . Christ before his judges became intelligible to the man with the awakened conscience ; his spiritual meaning, aims, Messiahship all stood clear before his eye, while the men that were trying him, with their hol low selfish worldliness, turned, as it were, into living THE STORY OF FRIDAY 233 transparencies. And so the trial was enough ; he could not live to see the end. He would hide himself in the grave ; seek the blindness of death. — Fairbairn, Studies in the Life of Christ, pp. 277, 278. THE TRIAL BEFORE THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES. So the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound him, and led him to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, and they led Jesus away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders were gathered together. Now Caiaphas was he that gave coun sel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; but Peter was standing at the door without. So the other disciple, who was known unto the high priest, went out and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. The maid therefore that kept the door saith unto Peter, "Art thou also one of this man's disciples?" He saith, "I am not." Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals ; for it was cold ; and they were warming themselves; and Peter also was with them stand ing and warming himself. The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together ; and in secret spake I nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them that have heard me, what I spake unto them: behold, these know the things which I said." And when he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Answerest thou the high priest so?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear wit ness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?" Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. 234 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Now the chief priests and the whole council sought wit ness against Jesus to put him to death; and found it not. For many bare false witness against him, and their witness agreed not together. And there stood up certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, "We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands." And not even so did their witness agree together. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, "Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?" But he held his peace, and answered nothing. And the high priest said unto him, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God." And Jesus said, "I am : and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, "What further need have we of witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?" And they all condemned him to be worthy of death. Then did they spit in his face and buffet him. And they blindfolded him and smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ: who is he that struck thee?" (His Last Week, pp. 42-44; Mt. 26: 57-27:1; Mk. 14:53-15 :1a; Lk. 22:54-71; Jn. 18:13-27.) The two trials. Not only were there two trials, but in each trial there were three separate stages or acts. In the first, or ecclesiastical trial, Jesus had first to ap pear before Annas, then before Caiaphas and the San hedrim during the night, and again before the same body after daybreak. And in the second, or civil trial, he appeared first before Pilate, who refused to con firm the judgment of the Jews ; then Pilate attempted to rid himself of the case by sending the Culprit to Herod of Galilee, who happened also to be at the time in Jerusalem; but the case came back to the Roman governor again, and, against his conscience, he con firmed the capital sentence. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 17. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 235 Led him to Annas first. (Jn. 18 :13.) Annas, the son of Seth, was high priest at the time of the taking of the census by Qurenius (A. D. 6) and was deposed by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus (Josephus, Ant. XVIII, ii, i, 2) about 15 A. D. Though deposed, he continued to exercise great authority. Five of his sons and his son-in-law Caiaphas were successively high priests, and it would appear that Annas presided over the Sanhedrin. He and his sons and son-in-law wielded the sacerdotal power for nearly fifty years. Josephus tells of his cupidity. Caiaphas, high priest that year. (Jn. 18:13.) Joseph Caiaphas, the fourth high priest appomted by the Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus, the immediate predecessor of Pontius Pilate, was high priest "that year." But this does not imply that the high priest hood had become an annual appointment. It was sub ject to frequent change. Caiaphas was high priest from 18 to 36 A. D., the last ten years of his admin istration being under Pontius Pilate. Religiously he belonged to, or at least favored, the Sadducees (Acts 5:17). He was a hard, cruel, crafty man, adroit and wilful. He was deposed by Vitelius, and nothmg more is known of him. Our information concerning him, in addition to that contained in the Gospels, is derived from Josephus. (Josephus, Antiquities, XVIII, iv, 3.) Jesus and Annas. (Jn. 18:12-24.) The first two evangelists obscurely indicate two stages in the trial of Jesus (Mt. 26:27-27:1; Mk. 14:53-15:1), but they transfer the events of the morning meeting of the San hedrin to the previous night. Luke avoids this appar ent mistake, and leaves room (22:54) for such an in formal inquiry as that of Annas really was. When we bear in mind the predominant influence of 236 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the man, and the unscrupulousness of the whole pro ceeding, it seems unnecessary to suppose that Annas was either deputy of the high priest, or president of the Sanhedrin, or chief examining judge. — Hastings, Bible Diet. vol. i, p. 100. To the high priest. (Lk. 22 :54.) The high priest hood of the Jews began with Aaron, whose successor was Eleazar (Num. 20 :28), who was suceeded by Phin- ehas (Judges 20:28). Accordmg to Josephus the total number of high priests from Aaron till the ig nominious end of the priesthood under Phannias was eighty-three (Ant. XX, 10). Many questions concern ing the high priesthood we cannot answer, as, for in stance, how Eli became high priest with a temple at Shiloh. The modern Samaritans charge that Eli was a usurper, a junior priest who established a rival tem ple in opposition to the original shrine at Shechem. At times the priesthood became degraded, and was more sought as a political than as a spiritual office. At first the priests obtained their succession by hereditary descent in direct line from Aaron. In the time of Christ the high priest, while appomted from the priest ly families, was elevated and deposed at the will of the Roman government. He had charge of the temple wor ship and also of the treasury, and was president of the Sanhedrm, the highest court of the Jewish people. Where the scribes and the elders were gathered to gether. (Mt. 26 :57.) There are men living now who remember the time when people were arrested and led to the palace of the Armenian high priest, and were tried for heresy and infidelity by scribes and elders; and in the year, 1906, the Maronite Patriarch high priest, declared officially and publicly, under his signa ture and seal, that under no circumstances would he THE STORY OF FRIDAY 237 allow any teachers not of his persuasion to labor or live in his province. Ecclesiastical heads of Oriental religious communities would not feel flattered were I to say they are indifferent, or even tolerant, with re gard to the propagation of strange doctrines among their peoples (Acts 17:19, 20). — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie in S. S. Times. Jesus held his peace. (Mt. 26:63.) Those who have any knowledge of the conduct of cases, and how the accused and their friends behave in Oriental courts, must be astonished beyond measure at the silence of Jesus in the sight of his judges and accusers. It is rare to find the contending parties speaking one at a time, and even now, after years of reform, officials find it difficult to keep order. Plaintiff and prisoner clamor, and each calls God to witness that the other is a liar, and their friends back them up. It would not have occurred to an Oriental reporter to guess, still less to report, that an accused was silent before his accusers (Isa. 53:7). — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie in S. S. Times. To the house of Caiaphas. (Mt. 26 :57.) Some peo ple believe this house is still standing. The house which tradition has assigned to the high priest, and which the Arabs call "The Prison of Christ" stands in the southern part of Jerusalem, and is a part of the Armenian Monastery of Zion. The tradition is inter esting, but unsupported. The location, however, lends itself well to the supposed itinerary of Friday, and most maps of Jerusalem that attempt to outline the walks of Jesus on that day assume that the location of Caiaphas ' house was not far from this site. In the midst of the court. (Lk. 22:55.) It appears that the houses of Annas and Caiaphas, and perhaps 238 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS also those of the sons of the high priest who had been high priest, adjoined each other, and were built around a common court. Two witnesses required. According to the Hebrew text, one witness is no witness ; there must be at least two or three who know the fact. . . . When a man is condemned to death, those witnesses whose evidence decided the sentence inflict the first blows, in order to add the last degree of certainty to their evidence. Hence the expression — "Let him among you who is without sin, cast the first stone." ... A woman could not be a witness, because she would not have the courage to give the first blow to the condemned per son ; nor could a child, that is irresponsible, nor a slave, nor a man of bad character, nor one whose infirmities prevent the full enjoyment of his physical and moral faculties. The simple confession of an individual against himself, or the declaration of a prophet, how ever renowned, would not decide a condemnation. The Doctors say, We hold it as a fundamental, that no one shall prejudice himself. If a man accuses himself be fore a tribunal, we must not believe him, unless the fact is attested by two other witnesses. — From trans lation of an article by M. Dupin, a French lawyer in Greenleaf's "Examination of the Testimony of the Evangelists," p. 581. The chief priests sought false witness. (Mt. 26:59.) To the western mind, with its ethical standards, it seems strange that representative leaders of religion should have acted in such a manner. But in the East, religion is the first consideration, and though veracity and righteousness are accepted as its handmaids, these must never act in opposition to what is regarded as the supreme interest. At the present day it is rarely, THE STORY OF FRIDAY 239 and then only with feelings of personal discredit and a consciousness of unnatural behavior, that a Moslem or Oriental Christian will bear witness in a court for truth's sake against a fellow-believer and to the ad vantage of one of another faith. Similarly an Oriental who has committed murder is never heard of as volun tarily giving himself up to the police and confessing his crime in order to get peace of conscience. In these lands there never has been any tribunal standing be fore the entire people for the interpretation and en forcement of national law by means of men trained for the purpose and above the influence of bribery and party sympathies. In this way, through the lack of something to represent the impartiality and awe of Divine Justice, the Oriental conscience has lost, and is now trying to recover, something that is vital to public citizenship. — Geo. M. Mackie, D. D., in S. S. Times. Tried by the Sanhedrin. The regular place of meet ing for the Sanhedrin is thought to have been on the temple mount, but that may not have been available for the trial of Jesus, since the gates of the temple were closed at night. So the trial of Jesus took place in the high priest's house. At what hour it began we cannot definitely say, neither can we determine how long it continued. This, however, is plain, that it was all over and Jesus was led away to Pilate while it was still early morning (Mk. 15:1; Mt. 27:1; Jn. 18:28). From the narrative of Mark we infer that the proceed ings of the Sanhedrm and the subsequent ill-treat ment of Jesus occupied considerable time, possibly two or three hours. Many false witnesses were heard and their testimony discussed; there was the dialogue be tween Jesus and Caiaphas ; then the formal voting of 240 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the Sanhedrin, and after that the varied abuse of Jesus. There was probably all possible haste, for the leaders were apprehensive of a tumult in favor of Jesus, and yet the period allowed for these events must not be too much compressed. — George Holley Gilbert, Stu dent's Life of Jesus, pp. 286-7. Morning session of the Sanhedrin. (Lk. 22:66-71.) In order not to violate at least the form of law, the Sanhedrin come together the second time, early in the morning at a legally permitted hour and in fuller num bers, not in order to deliberate further, but in order to ratify, as far as requisite, a resolution already taken. Without doubt, the chief managers in the night session have already instructed the other counsellors suffi ciently upon the state of the case as already reached before the prisoner is again brought in. The trans action of Caiaphas receives the approbation of the others. . . . Now there is not even an express sentence of death uttered; the one formerly passed simply continues in force. — Lange, Commentary on Luke, p. 357. "Ye shall see the Son of man at the right hand of Power." (Mt. 26:64.) His answer turned the tide of popular indignation against him. There was now no need to go into the past transactions of his ministry, for matter of accusation. His friends might claim for him on that score all that the warmest gratitude and love could inspire; and all this could be safely con ceded. But here, his accusers might say, was a new and shocking crime, just perpetrated in the presence of the most sacred tribunal ; a crime so shocking, and so boldly committed, that the high priest rent his clothes with horror, in the very judgment seat, in the presence of all the members of the Sanhedrm, who, THE STORY OF FRIDAY 241 with one accord, upon that evidence alone, immediately convicted the offender and sentenced him to death. If we regard Jesus simply as a Jewish citizen, and with no higher character, this conviction seems sub stantially right in point of law, though the trial were not legal in all its forms. It is not easy to conceive on what ground his conduct could have been defended before any tribunal, unless upon that of superhuman character. — Greenleaf, Testimony of the Evangelists, p. 526. THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE. They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Prae torium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, "What accusation bring ye against this man?" They answered and said unto him, "If this man were not an evil-doer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee." Pilate therefore said unto them, "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law." The Jews said unto him, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death": that the word of Jesus might be ful filled, which he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should die. And they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king." And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then saith Pilate unto him, "Hear est thou not how many things they witness against thee?" And he gave him no answer, not even to one word: inso much that the governor marvelled greatly. Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, and called Jesus, and said unto him, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and 242 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the chief priests delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence." Pilate therefore said unto him, "Art thou a king then?" Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, "I find no crime in him." But they were the more urgent, saying, "He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee, even unto this place." But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man were a Galilasan. And when he knew that he was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him unto Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem in these days. (His Last Week, pp. 45-47; Mt. 27:2, 11-14; Mk. 15:lb-5; Lk. 23:1-5; Jn. 18: 28-38.) The governor. (Mt. 27:2.) Three of the four divi sions of the kingdom of the Herods were ruled by sons of Herod the Great ; but Judea and Samaria were ruled by a Roman procurator. This was partly because Archelaus Herod, to whom this part of the dominion was assigned on the death of his father, had fallen into disfavor at Rome, and perhaps also because Rome judged it well to have an officer appomted directly by the Roman sovereign in control of the central portion, and the capital, Jerusalem. Unto Pilate. (Mt. 27:2.) Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman procurator of Judea and Samaria, and held office from 26 to 36 A. D. Pilate is a cognomen, and may either signify a javelin, or pileus, the felt cap given to a manumitted slave. Tradition has it that he was either such a slave or the descendant of one. His THE STORY OF FRIDAY 243 official residence was in Caesarea, but he was accus tomed to visit Jerusalem at the time of the feasts. Many cruel deeds are alleged against him during his ten years of office. Besides the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, of whom we are told in Lk. 13 :1, and the record of the murder of Jesus, we have authentic information, for the most part fur nished by Josephus, of his cruelty. Repeatedly the Jewish people rose in insurrection against him, and these outbreaks were punished with unsparing rigor. The murder of a number of Samaritans on Mount Gerizim caused a formal protest on the part of the Samaritan elders, and he was ordered to Rome to an swer before the Emperor Tiberius in 36 A. D. By the time he arrived, Tiberius had died, and Caligula suc ceeded. Eusebius preserves the record that he took his own life (H. E. II, 7). There are other and con flicting traditions. Mount Pilatus in Switzerland is named for him, by reason of the tradition that his body found its last and uneasy resting place there. Every year at Good Friday the devil is alleged to take him out, and set him on a throne, where he washes his hands. He appears in Scripture a cynical man, and a time-serving politician, who, however, really desired to release Jesus. Tertullian counted him a Christian at heart, and the Ethiopic Church made him a saint, his day being June 25. But the church at large has never consented to his canonization. In the old creed known as the Apostles' Creed, his name and that of Mary are preserved — hers to everlasting honor as the mother, and his to eternal reprobation as the mur derer of Jesus. "He suffered under Pontius Pilate." "We found this man perverting our nation." (Lk. 23:2.) Jesus was accused of blasphemy, which the 244 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Jews recognized as a crime, but which was not a penal offense against Roman law, by which alone he could be put to death. For this reason the charge preferred against him before Pilate was made sedition, which the Jewish leaders did not regard as a crime. At first the Jews endeavored to compel Pilate to sentence Jesus without their formulating a charge ( Jn. 18:29, 30). Failing in this they charged him with treason in three forms: (1) perverting the Jewish na tion, that is, making it disloyal to Rome; (2) forbid ding the people to pay tribute to Cassar; (3) making himself a king. The first and second were absolutely false; the third was true in a sense, but as Jesus showed Pilate to the satisfaction of that cynical judge, not true in the Roman sense. A distinguished jurist has recently published an article reviewing the trial from the standpoint of the laws then in force. He quotes the words of Pilate: "Having examined him before you, I find no fault in this man * * * no, nor yet Herod * * * behold, nothmg worthy of death hath been done by him," and says: "This was a final judgment of the Roman judge, and being an acquittal, could not, as we have seen in our reading of the Roman law, be reversed. It was res adjudicata, and binding for all time. And all the proceedings sub sequent to this were void, and the final conviction and execution were but steps in a judicial murder. ' ' A notable prisoner named Barabbas. (Mt. 27:16.) Barabbas is a surname, and means "son of a rabbi." His presence in the narrative may be used as proof of the justice of the ill desert of ministers' sons, but it is not certain that this man was a common criminal. Now Barabbas was a robber. (Jn. 18:40.) But he was very probably something other than an ordinary THE STORY OF FRIDAY 245 criminal. He was "a certam notable prisoner" and whatever his other crimes, that for which he was con demned was not robbery but insurrection (Mk. 15:7). The crime had been committed in Jerusalem, and was accompanied with loss of life. His first name, for Barabbas was a surname, is judged from some old manuscripts td have been Jesus, which, as the Greek equivalent of Joshua, was a not uncommon name among the Jews in the time of Christ. Political offenders frequently supported themselves by unlawful raids, and it is very likely that the crimes of Barabbas were of this character, and of insurrection against the Rom an authority. The robbers crucified with Jesus were very likely of his band, as it is told us that his com panions were bound with him, probably awaiting execu tion on that day. The crown of thorns. Palestine has over 50 genera and 200 species of plants provided with thorns. It is quite impossible to determine with certainty what plant contributed the thorns for the shameful crown of our Lord. The tradition of Palestine is in favor of the plant known as Calycotome Villosa, which the Arabs call Kundaul. Thorny twigs from this shrub are bent into crowns and sold to tourists in Jerusalem. The twig is pliable, and the thorn is long and sharp. There are other plants that fulfill the simple conditions of the narrative, among them the Nubk, which scholars call Zizyphus, and which is often called Spina Christi. Its deep green leaves somewhat resemble the ivy with which victors were crowned, and may thus have added that mockery to pain. Pilgrims to Jerusalem are offered little crowns made from the' Spina Christi ; and some of them are laid at the foot of a life-sized statue of the thorn-crowned 246 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Christ, which stands in the church of the Sisters of Zion in the Via Dolorosa, close to the Ecce Homo arch, where Jesus is supposed to have been crowned. The author of these notes procured one of these little crowns in that place. It is probably not unlike that with which our Lord was crowned. CROWN OF THORNS PROCURED BY THE AUTHOR IN JERUSALEM. The crown of thorns. (Jn. 18:5.) The crown of thorns should not be confounded with the "diadem" of the Roman emperors. That came from the Orient, and was originally a linen band or a silk ribbon, bound around the temples with the ends hanging down behind. In later times it was adorned with pearls and gems and adopted as the imperial crown. But there was nothing about it that thorns could suggest. Moreover, though Aurelian wore it occasionally, Constantine was the first to wear it habitually as the badge of office. To confound it with the crown of thorns is therefore an anachronism. The corona radiata was a circle of gold with long sharp spikes like sun rays. Of these the THE STORY OF FRIDAY 247 thorns were a mocking parody. From the early times it was used to crown the statues of deities and deified heroes. It was never adopted as the badge of imperial office. The soldiers meant it to ridicule the claims of divinity which they had acknowledged the night be fore. What plant supplied its material is not known. We know only that it had thorns. From the apparent purpose of the soldiers I infer that the thorns were long and sharp. They bore no resemblance to the pic tures the painters have presented. What the painters have given us is an unconscious imitation of the relic brought from Venice to Paris in 1239 A. D. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, p. 204. JESUS BEFORE HEROD. Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad; for he was of a long time desirous to see him, because he had heard concerning him; and he hoped to see some miracle done by him. And he questioned him in many words; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers set him at nought, and mocked him, and array ing him in gorgeous apparel sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day: for before they were at enmity between themselves. (His Last Week, p. 47; Lk. 23:6-12.) He sent him unto Herod. (Lk. 23:6.) This was Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee. The house of the Herods was founded by Antipater, an Idumaean gov ernor, who made himself master of a dominion great enough to entitle him to the name of king. He ruled un der the authority of Rome, and was succeeded by his son, Herod the Great, who extended his power beyond Jordan, and became known as "Herod, the King of the Jews. ' ' He died a few months after the birth of Jesus. His kingdom was divided among his sons : Archelaus, 248 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS who ruled over Judaea, Antipas, whose capital was at Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee, Philip, whose territory was north and east of the Sea of Galilee, and who built Caesarea Philippi and ruled 38 years, on the whole temperately and well, and Herod Philip, who was omitted from his father's second will by the treachery of his mother, and was wronged of his wife, Herodias, by his brother Antipas. The Herod who put John to death and to whom Pilate sent Jesus was Herod An tipas. Each son was intended to have been governor under Rome of a Tetrarchy, or quarter kingdom; but Archelaus had fallen into disfavor and his kingdom was governed by a Roman procurator until the year 41 A. D., when Herod Agrippa, son of Aristobulus, and grandson of Herod the Great and Mariamme, the daughter of the Maccabaean priest-king, John Hyr- canus, ruled over all the territory that had belonged to his grandfather. The house of Herod. Near the Jaffa gate in Jeru salem stands the Tower of Hippicus, believed to have been one of the towers erected by Herod in defense of his magnificent palace, erected in the northwestern portion of Jerusalem. It is supposed that Jesus was led from Pilate's judgment seat at the Castle of An tonia, across the city, to the palace of Herod, and back again. The hearing before Herod. (Lk. 23 :6-12.) If Jesus had been guilty of crime within the borders of Galilee, plainly Herod Antipas was the man to deal with him ; he might be more impartial, too, than the local priests and scribes. Besides, it was a politic attention to An tipas. So the procurator gladly dismissed his prisoner to the Galilean tetrarch, only too relieved to be quit, as he hoped, of this inconvenient responsibility. But THE STORY OF FRIDAY 249 this change of venue was futile. ... It did not help Pilate. The crafty Herod was shy of touching any charge of high treason. As Mr. Taylor Innes puts it, "the Idumean fox dreaded the lion's paw, while very willing to exchange courtesies with the lion's deputy." — Hastings, Diet, of Christ, vol. ii, p. 755. THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE RESUMED. And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said unto them, "Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: no, nor yet Herod : for he sent him back unto us ; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him." Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas, lying bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. And the multitude went up and began to ask him to do as he was wont to do unto them. And Pilate answered them, saying, "Will ye that I re lease unto you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multi tudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered and said unto them, "Which of the two will ye that I release unto you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate saith unto them, "What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ?" They all say, "Let him be crucified." And he said unto them a third time, "Why, what evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise and release him." Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole baHd. And they stripped him, and arrayed him in a purple gar ment. And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon 250 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him. and mocked him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews!" and they struck him with their hands. And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him upon the head. And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, "Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him." Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, "Be hold, the man !" When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate therefore saith unto him, "Speakest thou not unto him: for I find no crime in him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, "Whence art thou ?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith unto him, "Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?" Jesus answered him, "Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: there fore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin." Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, "If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, hjs wife sent unto him, saying, "Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." Now it was the Preparation of the passover : it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, "Behold, your King." They therefore cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him !" THE STORY OF FRIDAY 251 Pilate saith unto him, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us, and on our children." And they were urgent with loud voices asking that he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, gave sen tence that what they asked for should be done. And he released unto them Barabbas, him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will, to be crucified. And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the purple robe, and put on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him. (His Last Week, p. 47; Mt. 27:15- 30; Mk. 15:6-19; Lk. 13-25; Jn. 18:39-19:16.) Gabbatha or pavement. (Jn. 18:13.) An elevated platform or pavement of many-colored marble on which the bema or judgment-seat was placed. The praetorium. The praetorium of Pilate is identi fied by some scholars with the palace of Herod, on the west side of the city, and by others with the fortress Antonia, at the northwest corner of the temple area. According to Josephus, the Roman procurator Florus (64-66 A. D.) resided in Herod's palace, but this fact is hardly proof that Pilate also resided there, thirty years before the time of Florus. However, since An tonia was a military barrack rather than a residence, and since Pilate's wife was in Jerusalem with him (Mt. 27 :19), it is probable that he abode in this palace. —George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 289. The judgment seat. (Jno. 18:33.) The genius for justice which made the Romans the world's accepted 252 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS lawgivers, led them to court publicity in judicial pro cedures. For this reason verdicts were pronounced in the open air, and from an elevation which enabled the public to see and hear. In accordance with this cus tom a platform was raised in the court. It was called the Gabbatha or Pavement, and was covered with tiles of various colors, in imitation of the forum at Rome. Upon this platform the curule chair or "judgment seat" was placed. Simply shaped, it resembled a camp stool adorned with ivory and gold. Upon it Pilate sat between two officials (that is, if he obeyed the law which required their presence) when he surrendered to the mob. — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Mas ter, pp. 175-6. The timidity of Pilate. It was in this moment, when the cry was loudest and most threatening, that Pilate yielded himself in order to escape the difficulty of the courageous course. Had he but boldly stepped from the judgment-seat and ranged himself by the side of Christ, obeying thus the best impulses of his heart and the reasoned judgment of his mind, what an access of power had been his, and how different had been his sub sequent history! He failed, however, and his weak downfall is a picture of the thousands who since his day have taken the same course. And it is a startling warning, too, by giving heed to which we may be saved his end. — J. Stuart Holden, The Pre-eminent Lord, p. 150. "Crucify him!" (Lk. 23:21.) That world which scorns its Marys and anoints its Caesars; that world which knew him not and when it come to know him a little hated him because its prince had nothing in him ; that world whence he told Pilate his kingdom was not ; that world whose cherished maxims are the categorical THE STORY OF FRIDAY 253 contradictions of his beatitudes; that world which, when his disciples imitate their Master, hates them be cause they are not of it; that world which is still the arch hindrance to the coming of the kingdom for which we pray ; that world which he came to deliver from its vile self, had for a moment mistaken him for one of its cheap idols, and therefore had gone after him long enough to shout those hosannas which, the instant it discovered the blunder, changed into the yell, ' ' Crucify him! Crucify him!" — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, p. 35. The trial before Pilate. (Jn. 18:28-38.) It could not be expected that Pilate would trouble himself with the cognizance of any matter not pertaining to the Roman law. Of this the chief priests and elders were fully aware; and therefore they prepared a second accusation against Jesus, founded on the Roman law; as likely to succeed with Pilate, as the former had done with the people. They charged him with attempting to restore tho kingdom of Israel, under his own domin ion as King of tb* Jews. It was a charge of high treason against the Roman state and emperor. Pilate accordingly arraigned Jesus, and called upon him to answer this accusation. The answer of Jesus satisfied Pilate that it was ground less, the kingdom which he set up appearing plainly to be not a kingdom of this world, but his spiritual reign in righteousness and holiness and peace, in the hearts of men. Pilate therefore acquitted him of the offence. But the multitude, headed now by the priests and elders, grew clamorous for his execution; adding, "He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place." Hearing this reference to Galilee, Pilate seized the opportunity, thus 254 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS offered, of escaping from the responsibility of a judg ment, either of acquittal or of condemnation, by treat ing the case as out of his jurisdiction, and within that of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, who was then in Jerusa lem on a visit. — Condensed from Greenleaf, Testimony of the Evangelists, pp. 526-528. The prevailing voice. Pilate on the judgment-seat, confronted by the Son of God, whom the chief priests and scribes had dragged thither, is typical of every man who is in any way brought face to face with Christ. To most, if not to all of us, there comes sooner or later the necessity of making a determining choice with re gard to his call and claims. By varied ways and in various circumstances he is brought into our personal judgment-hall, where conscience and heart and will are bound to make decision concerning him. And did we but know it, we are ourselves being judged as we judge him. Looking back to that scene in the praetorium we no longer see the Roman Governor as the judge, but recognize the rather that the erstwhile Prisoner domi nates the situation. History has unerringly reversed the position of Christ and Pilate, and the memorable scene for ever stands out not as the condemnation and downfall of Christ, but rather as the condemnation and downfall of Pilate. — J. Stuart Holden, The Pre-emi nent Lord, pp. 145-6. The sixteen questions of Pilate. Twenty-eight sepa rate sentences from the lips of Pontius Pilate are re corded in the story of Christ's trial, sixteen of which are questions. 1. "What accusation bring ye against this man?" (John 18:29.) 2. "Art thou the King of the Jews ? " ( Mt. 27 :11 .: Mk. 15:2; Lk. 23:3; Jn. 18:33.) THE STORY OF FRIDAY 255 3. "Am I a Jew?" (Jn. 18:35.) 4. "What hast thou doneV (Jn. 18:35.) 5. "Art thou a king then?" (Jn. 18:37.) 6. "What is truth?" (Jn. 18:38.) 7. "Hearest thou not how many things they wit ness against thee? Answerest thou nothing?" (Mt. 27:13; Mk. 15:4.) 8. "He asked whether the man were a Galilaean." (Lk 23 :6.) 9. "I find no crime in him. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover : Will ye, therefore, that I release unto you the King of the Jews?" (Jn. 18:39.) 10. "Which of the two will ye that I release unto you?" (Mt. 27:21.) 11. "What then shall I do unto Jesus, who is called Christ?" (Mt. 27:22; Mk. 15:12.) 12. "Why, what evil hath he done?" (Mt. 27:23; Mk. 15;14;Lk. 23:22.) 13. "Whence art thou?" (Jn. 19:9.) 14. "Speakest thou not unto me?" (Jn. 19:10.) 15. "Knowest thou not that I have power to cru cify thee, and have power to release thee?" (Jn. 19:10.) 16. "Shall I crucify your King?" (Jn. 19:15.) Pilate's knowledge of the case. Pilate understood perfectly well with whom he was dealing. He could only be amused with their zeal for the payment of the Roman tribute. One of the evangelists says, "He knew that for envy they had delivered him." How far he was already acquainted with the career of Jesus we cannot tell. He had been governor all the time of the movement inaugurated by the Baptist and continued by Christ, and he can hardly have remained in entire ig- 256 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS norance of it. The dream of his wife seems to prove that Jesus had already been a theme of conversation in the palace ; and perhaps the tedium of a visit to Jeru salem may have been relieved for the governor and his wife by the story of the young enthusiast who was bearding the fanatic priests. Pilate displays, all through, a real interest in Jesus and a genuine respect. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 53. The character of Pilate. Pilate was not inherently wicked. He was quick to appreciate the character of Christ, and showed a spiritual insight keener than any of the Twelve exhibited before the crucifixion. Yet of all the men named in the New Testament, there is none excepting Judas Iscariot whom the Christian imagina tion has painted in darker colors. Of his career we know little. We can scarcely tell whence he came or whither he went. We do not know whether his name signifies "spear sman" or "freedman," "chevalier" or ' ' slave. ' ' But the Gospels make three facts plain. I. He was quick to discern the innocence and appre ciate the royalty of Christ. Only Mary of Bethany sur passed him in this respect. II. He tried with all the energy of a will not ex ceptionally weak to prevent the assassination which his fears compelled him to permit. III. He was the only one of the four responsible for the crucifixion, of whose conduct Jesus spoke in palliation. ' ' Thou wouldest have no power agamst me, except it were given thee from above ; therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin" (is guiltier than thou). — William Burnet Wright, The Heart of the Master, pp. 149-50. He washed his hands. (Mt. 27 :24.) This was an im- THE STORY OF FRIDAY 257 pressive act ; yet its impressiveness was too theatrical. He washed his hands when he ought to have exerted them. And blood does not come off so easily. He could not abnegate his responsibility and cast it upon others. Public men frequently think they can do so; they say that they bow to the force of public opinion, but wash their hands of the deed. But if their position like Pilate's demands that they should decide for them selves and take the consequences, the guilt of sinful action clings to them and cannot be transferred. This whole scene, indeed, is a mirror for magistrates, to show them down what dark paths they may be pushed if they resign themselves to be the mere tools of the popular will. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 87. The plea of Pilate's wife. (Mt. 27:19.) This in cident has taken a strong hold of the Christian imagi nation and given rise to all kinds of guesses. Tradi tion has handed down the name of Pilate's wife as Claudia Procula ; and it is said that she was a proselyte of the Jewish religion ; as high-toned heathen ladies in that age not infrequently became when circumstances brought the Old Testament into their hands. The Greek Church has gone so far as to canonise her, sup posing that she became a Christian. Poets and artists have tried to reproduce her dream. Many will remem ber the picture of it 'in the Dore Gallery in London. The dreaming woman is represented standing in a balcony and looking up an ascending valley, which is crowded with figures. It is the vale of years or cen turies, and the figures are the generations of the Church of Christ yet to be. Immediately in front of her is the Saviour himself, bearing his cross ; behind and around him are his twelve apostles and the crowds 258 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS of their converts ; behind these the Church of the early centuries, with the great fathers, Polycarp and Ter tullian, Athanasius and Gregory, Chrysostom and Augustine; further back the Church of the Middle Ages, with the majestic forms and warlike accoutre ments of the Crusaders rising from its midst; behind these the Church of modern times, with its heroes; then multitudes upon multitudes that no man can num ber pressing forward in broadening ranks, till far aloft, in the white and shining heavens, lo, tier on tier and circle upon circle, with the angels of God hovering above them and on their flanks ; and in the midst, trans figured to the brightness of a star, the cross, which in its rough reality he is bearing wearily below. Of course these are but fancies. In the woman's anxiety that no evil should befall the innocent we may, with greater certainty, trace the vestiges of the ancient Roman justice as it may have dwelt in the noble ma trons, like Volumnia and Cornelia, whose names adorn the pristine annals of her race; while the wife's solici tude to save her husband from a deed of sin associates her with the still nobler women of all ages who have walked like guardian angels by the side of men im mersed in the world and liable to be coarsened by its contact, to warn them of the higher laws and the un seen powers. — James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, p. 80-81. The second trial before Pilate. (Mt. 27:15-31; Lk. 23:13-16; Jn. 19:4-16.) His second attempt to save Jesus from death was more unjust and as futile as the first. He scourged the prisoner whose innocence he had himself declared, probably under the impression that the Jews might be satisfied when they saw Jesus bleeding and fainting from the scourge. But the peo- THE STORY OF FRIDAY 259 pie were infuriated by the sight of the innocent, un murmuring sufferer whom they had thus mangled. They could not bear that such an object be left to re mind them of their barbarity, and with one fierce yell of fury they cried, ' ' Crucify him. ' ' A third time Pilate refused to be the mstrument of their inhuman and unjust rage, and flung the prisoner on their hands. But when the Jews answered that by their law he ought to die, because "He made himself the Son of God," Pilate was again seized with dread, and withdrew his prisoner for the fourth time into the palace. When he reappeared the Jews played their last card and played it successfully. "If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar 's friend. ' ' To lay himself open to a charge of treason or neglect of the interests of Caesar was what Pilate could not risk. At once his compas sion for the prisoner, his sense of justice, his appre hensions, his proud unwillingness to let the Jews have their way, were overcome by his fear of being re ported to the most suspicious of emperors. He pre pared to give his judgment, and took his place on the official seat. Here, after venting his spleen in the weak sarcasm, "Shall I crucify your King?" he formally handed over his prisoner to be crucified. — Dods, Expos. Bible, John, vol. ii, pp. 305-310. The scourging. (Mt. 27:24-30.) Pilate seems to have hoped that the horrors of the scourging might still move the people to desist from the ferocious cry for the cross. The scourging ended, the soldiery would hastily cast upon him his upper garments, and lead him back into the praetorium. Here they called the whole cohort together, and the silent, faint sufferer became the object of their ribald jesting. From his 260 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS bleeding body they tore the clothes, and in mockery ar rayed him in scarlet or purple. For crown they wound together thorns, and for sceptre they placed in his hand a reed. Then alternately, in mock proclamation they hailed him king, or worshipped him as God, and smote him or heaped on him other indignities. Such a spec tacle might well have disarmed enmity, and forever allayed worldly fears. And so Pilate had hoped.— Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, p. 579. "We have no king but Ccesar." (Jn. 19:15.) With this cry Judaism was, in the person of its representa tives, guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, of apos tasy. It committed suicide ; and, ever since has its dead body been carried in show from land to land, and from century to century; to be dead, and to remain dead, till he come a second time, who is the resurrection and the life! — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, p. 581. The verdict on a technical plea of guilty. The Mosaic law was careful that the evidences of guilt in capital cases should be abundant. "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hand of the witness shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people" (Deut. 17:6, 7). In like manner Paul declared (II Cor. 13:1), "At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be estab lished." It appears from the Gospels that, while sev eral false witnesses were called, the testimony of no two agreed. In other words, there was not that con currence which authorized a verdict of guilty. While, as Mark says (14:58), witnesses testified that Christ declared, "I will destroy this temple that is made with THE STORY OF FRIDAY 261 hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands," yet even in this their testimony did not agree. In this extremity the high priest appealed to Christ, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Christ answered, "I am; and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Thereupon the high priest rent his clothes, and said, "What further need have we of witnesses? Ye have heard the blas phemy," and they all "condemned him to be worthy of death." This judgment rested upon what might be called a plea of guilty. True, Matthew and Luke do not put in the mouth of Christ a distinct affirmation that he was the Son of God, but words which only imply a recog nition of the charge, Matthew saying that his reply to the inquiry of the high priest was, ' ' Thou hast said. ' ' Still, it is not unreasonable to conclude from the rec ords that he made a positive assertion of his divinity, and indeed we know that he had frequently theretofore made that claim. Now, by our modern law a plea of guilty is generally accepted, and avoids the necessity of testimony. But by the Mosaic law such a plea was not recognized as sufficient. The accused could not thus give away or prejudice his case. The testimony of two concurring witnesses was still required, because one of them was to cast the first stone. — Hon. David J. Brewer, Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in S. S. Times. Was the trial of Jesus legal? If the Talmudic law was in force in Palestine during the lifetime of Jesus, there would be no course open but to agree with some savants of last century that the Sanhedrin acted il legally. But the Talmud represents a much later phase 262 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS of Jewish jurisprudence, and it is probable that, viewed in the light of contemporary practice, the council were careful on the whole to observe the letter, though not the spirit of justice, and to practice most of the forms of legality. The main counts against them are the neg lect to warn the witnesses solemnly before giving evi dence, the judicial use of the prisoner's confession, and the undue haste with which the proceedings were rushed through. They were kept within judicial limits only so far as it was necessary to save appearances. The proceedings before Pilate are less obscure. It was necessary for the Jewish authorities to obtain the governor's sanction for the execution of the death sentence, and this involved a fresh trial of the accused. Pilate sems to have acquitted Jesus of the majestas or high treason which the council first brought forward against him, but there is some doubt as to whether Jesus was finally acquitted, if he was acquitted at all, until he had been sent back from Herod. Thereafter the proceedings are destitute of justice ; Pilate is con cerned not with his legal duty, but with the interests of his personal safety and popularity which were en dangered by his conscientious desire to release the pris oner. — Hastings, Diet, of Christ, vol. ii, pp. 749, 750. THE SORROWFUL WAY. They took Jesus therefore : and he went out, bearing the cross for himself. And as they came out, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who. was passing by, coming from the country; him they compelled to go with them, and laid on him the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, "Daughters of Jerusa lem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for THE STORY OF FRIDAY 263 your children. For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.' Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us' ; and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. (His Last Week, pp. 50-51; Mt. 27:31-32; Mk. 15:20-21; Lk. 23:26-32; Jn. 19:17.) Via Dolorosa. The Sorrowful Way begins near St. Stephen's Gate, and runs westward along the main thoroughfare of that gate from the Turkish barracks that occupy the site of the Castle of Antonia, and ends near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It makes one sharp angle southward where the street from St. Stephen's Gate meets the diagonal way from the Damascus Gate, and then continues westward again to the church. Along this way, accordmg to tradition. Jesus bore his cross. If, however, Calvary was located outside the present walls, it is probable that the turn should be made toward, and not away from, the Damas cus Gate. Along the Way are tablets marking the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. Stations of the Cross. The fourteen stations of the cross attempt to locate the several places where in suc cession Jesus met his sufferings. The first three are located in the Turkish barracks which occupy the sup posed site of Pilate's Judgment Hall, and the last five are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The places they attempt to identify are : 1. Where Christ stood before Pilate. 2. Where the cross was laid on Jesus. 3. The Ecce Homo Arch. 4. Where Jesus met his mother. 5. Where Jesus fell, and Simon the Cyrenian took the cross. 264 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS 6. House of Veronica. 7. Porta Judiciaria, or gate where Jesus left the city. 8. Where Jesus addressed the women of Jerusa lem. 9. Where Jesus fell a second time. 10. Where Jesus was disrobed. 11. Where Jesus was nailed to the cross. 12. Where the cross was elevated. 13. Scene of descent from the cross. 14. The Holy Sepulchre. Pictures of these incidents are hung on the walls of many Roman Catholic churches, and religious pil grimages from one to another constitute among them one form of celebratmg the Lord's passion. He went out bearing his cross. (Jn. 19:17.) Accord ing to usage, the prisoner carrried his own cross, but Jesus, worn out by his night-watch of agony, by the long examinations he had undergone, by the cruel treat ment and outrage he had received, fainted under the burden. The Roman soldiers, who, regarding Judaea as a conquered country, did not hestitate at any time to demand onerous services of its inhabitants, stopped on his way a certam Simon, of Cyrene, coming out of the country; him they compelled to bear the cross of Christ, little dreaming that they were conferring on him the highest of all honors, for what glory can be compared with that of sharing such reproach ? Just as the procession reached the fatal spot, the crowd opened, and Jesus saw close beside him the group of pious women who had been following. Their tears flowed as they beheld the preparations for death. Jesus alone rose above all these things. He would die as he had lived, forgetful of self ; that over which he THE STORY OF FRIDAY 265 wept in this bitter hour was the woe of the unhappy city which had rejected him. — Pressense, Jesus Christ, pp. 469, 470. THE CRUCIFIXION. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, being interpreted, The place of a skull, they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink. There they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, "Write not, 'The King of the Jews,' but that he said, 'I am King of the Jews.' " Pilate answered, "What 1 have written I have written." The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part ; and also the coat : now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, "Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be": that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, "They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots." These things therefore the soldiers did, casting lots upon them, what each should take: and they sat and watched him there. And the people stood beholding. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross." In like manner also, the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come 266 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS down from the cross, that we may see and believe. He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him : for he said, I am the Son of God." And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, "Art not thou the Christ? Save thyself and us." But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same con demnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom." And he said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, "Woman, behold thy son!" Then saith he to the disciple, "Behold thy mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he calleth Elijah." After this, Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, "I thirst." There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished." And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and having said this, he gave up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent ; and the tombs were opened ; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised; and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 267 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watch ing Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God." And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smit ing their breasts. And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him; among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him: but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead al ready, they brake not his legs; howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water. And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, "A bone of him shall not be broken." And again another scripture saith, "They shall look on him whom they pierced." (His Last Week, pp. 51-54; Mt. 33:31-56; Mk. 15:22-41; Lk. 23:33-49; Jn. 19:18-30.) A place called Golgotha. (Mt. 27 :33.) Golgotha, or in Latin from Calvary, "a skull." The name may have been given because it was a well-known place of execution ; or possibly the place was a rounded, skull like elevation. The Gospels merely call it "a place" and do not speak of it as a hill, though it probably was a somewhat conspicuous elevation. All we know of Golgotha is that it was a place outside the city gates, and at some point not far remote from the city and near the roads. The time of the crucifixion. (Mt. 27:33-44.) In re- 268 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS gard to the hour of the crucifixion, the narratives are not at one. The oldest Gospel says it was the third hour. John says it was about the- sixth hour when Pilate sat on the judgment seat and gave sentence. It is not probable that any one was particular to observe the exact time of the execution, if indeed those inter ested had any means of accurate observation. The witnesses of the crucifixion. Now since John was present at the crucifixion (Jn. 19:26, 27), it is not impossible that he also saw the burial, though his pres ence is not mentioned. There is no indication that any other one of the apostles was present at the crucifixion. They fled at the time of the arrest of Jesus (Mk. 14 :50), and with the exception of Peter, do not appear again on the scene till after the the resurrection. More over, as John was acquainted with the high priest, it is easy to suppose that he might learn what had been done by members of the Sanhedrin, even if he had no personal knowledge of the circumstances of the burial. Further, it is intrinsically probable that friends of Jesus, like Joseph and Nicodemus, em balmed the body of their Master, even if the Sab bath was just drawing on. They could scarcely have entertained the thought of leaving the embalmment two nights and a day until the Sabbath should be past. Therefore we accept John's narrative of the burial, and hold that the women did not know what had been done by Joseph and Nicodemus. — George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 315. The mother at the cross. It is terrible for a moth er to see her son die. The lot is common and no com mon hand can wipe away a mother's tears. But this death united in itself all forms of known atrocity. It seems as though death by crucifixion had been THE STORY OF FRIDAY 269 devised and adapted to inflict the maximum of pain, shame, horror, and fear which human nature can en dure. Such descriptions as I have read fill my soul with anguish, and I will not torture you with their re cital. But this frightful death was but the climax of a long series of outrages, from the sight of which one turns away in pain unspeakable. I think of the mock tribunals, the perjured witnesses, the savage blow, the cruel scourgmg, the crown of thorns; I think of the raging hatred that burst forth against him, the gentlest and most lovable that earth has seen — and Mary stood beside the cross ! — Charles F. Aked, The Courage of the Coward, pp. 119-0. It was written in Hebrew, and in Latin and Greek. (Jn. 19:20.) The Gospels vary slightly in their wording of the inscription on the cross. Some interpreters have sought to harmonize these incon sequential variations by assuming that the title varied slightly in the three languages in which it was written. This would seem a needless striving for mere verbal agreement. If, however, this be ac cepted as the explanation, the title on the cross may have read somewhat as follows: Outos tariv Xyaovs o fiao-iMvs tuv lovSatwr. Rex Judaeorum. The letters "I. N. R. I." displayed above the cross in paintings of the crucifixion stand for the Latin reading, "IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAE- ORUM." 270 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The Church of Santa Croce in Rome contains a tab let of wood much decayed and nearly illegible, which Helena is said to have brought from Jerusalem as that containing the threefold inscription. The three languages were made necessary by the three civilizations which met at the foot of the cross. Like three tributary streams converging into one, the civilizations of the old world gave their best to make possible the origin and spread of the faith that came in the fulness of time. To the Hebrew people it owed its origin ; and its spread was immensely facilitated by the unification of the world in the Roman government, and the permeation of the whole empire by the Greek lan guage and literature. And they sat and watched him there. (Matt. 27:36.) They did not hate him; they were merely indifferent. The indifference of the soldiers was less culpable, but not less terrible than the hatred of the scribes. The tragedy of religious indifference is terrible. Wine mingled with gall. (Mt. 27:34.) We are glad for the glimpse of human kindness which is shown in the draft of opiate which was offered to the Lord. There was a society of charitable ladies in Jerusalem who were accustomed to prepare this potion for the purpose of dulling the terrible pain of crucifixion of criminals; all honor to them! But upon the human side almost everything else is dark. Humanity is at its worst. Prejudice, intrigue, hate, cruelty surround the cross. Jesus would not take the opiate, not be cause he desired to suffer, but because he desired to keep his mind clear to the last that even in death he might manifest the love of God to the world. To the end he remained the gracious, self -forgetful Saviour. At the foot of the cross the thoughtless soldiers were THE STORY OF FRIDAY 271 gambling far the long, seamless tunic which perhaps Mary his mother had woven for him with her own hands. — J. Edgar Park in Pilgrim Teacher. The seven words. The seven recorded utterances of Jesus on the Cross have always been treasured by the Church. They are: 1. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Lk. 23:24.) This was a prayer for the soldiers ; and was uttered as they were nailing him to the Cross. 2. ' ' Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. ' ' (Lk. 23 :43.) This was addressed to the penitent robber. 3. "Woman, behold thy son!" "Behold thy mother." (Jn. 19:26, 27.) These words were addressed to his mother and to the apostle John. 4. "My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34.) This cry, a quotation from Psalm 22 :1, was uttered in the midst of his agony, ' ' at the ninth hour. ' ' 5. "I thirst." (Jn. 19:28.) 6. "It is finished. " ( Jn. 19 :30. ) 7. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." (Lk. 23:46.) The height of the cross. The shape of the cross used is unknown, but the fact that the superscription was placed above Jesus favors the so-called crux immissa, which is the traditional form of the cross (Mt. 27 :37). A suggestion as to the height of the cross is found in the circumstance that the man who offered Jesus the sponge filled with vinegar, first attached the sponge to a reed (Mk. 15:36; Mt. 27:48). Manifestly he could 272 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS not reach the lips of Jesus without this aid. — George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 299. . Crucifixion. (Mt. 27:35.) He was led, bearing his own cross, or rather part of it, to which he was bound, along the public roads to an eminence outside the city gates. In front of him went a herald bearing a tablet of condemnation, or he himself carried the "accusa tion" suspended by a cord from his neck. On arrival fore or after the arrival of the condemned, the upright at the place of execution the person to be crucified was stripped of his clothing and laid on the ground upon his back. The cross-beam was then thrust under his head, and his arms were stretched out across it to the right and left and perhaps bound to the wood, the hand being fastened by means of a long nail. Already, be- stake had been firmly fastened in the ground. The cross-beam was then, with the help of ropes and perhaps of some other simple contrivance, raised to its place on the stake. Here it was hung provisionally, by a rope attached to its ends, on a firm nail or notch, whilst the body was placed astride the lower peg in the stake, and the legs bound. The beams were then prob ably bound and nailed together at the point of inter section. Nails like those already used for the hands would be employed to fix the feet, which were only slightly elevated above the ground. The nails were driven through each foot, either in front through the instep and sole, or at the side. The body remained on the cross until it decayed, or until it was given up to the friends of the condemned for burial. Soldiers were set to watch the crucified. Death resulted from hun ger, exhaustion and pain. To alleviate the latter the Jews offered the victim a stupefying draft. Breaking of the legs was a distinct form of punishment among the Romans.— Encyc. Biblica, vol. i, cols. 958, 959. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 273 The cross. (Mt. 27:35.) The four-armed cross in use at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus was most probably of the following description. It consisted of two pieces— an upright stake, which was firmly fixed in the ground with pegs or fastened to the stump of a tree, and a cross-beam, which was carried by the con demned to the place of execution. High up in the up right stake an indentation was probably made in which to fasten with cord and perhaps also to nail the cross beam. At a suitable height from the ground was fixed a peg on which to set the body astride, so that the whole weight might not rest upon the hands and arms. This, together with the fastenings, made a rest for the feet unnecessary. — Encyc. Biblica, vol. i, col. 958. The physical cause of the death of Jesus. Did Jesus die, literally, of a broken heart ? In 1847 there appeared a work by an English physi cian, Dr. Stroud, who attempted to prove, on the evi dence of the bloody sweat in Gethsemane, and the sepa ration of the serum from the clot as described by John as the issue of "water and blood" from the spear- thrust, that Jesus died of a rupture of the heart. This view has been contested by many scholars, but is still held by a great number, both of physicians and other authorities. An extended article opposing this view is found in the Bibliotheca Sacra for 1905. There was darkness. (Mt. 27:45.) Matthew, Mark and Luke all state that there was darkness from twelve to three o'clock. For this darkness no natural cause can be ascribed. Whatever explanation may be given of the cause of the phenomenon, it certainly could not have been due to an eclipse of the sun, as it was the time of the Paschal full moon. Some suggest a sand- 274 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS storm or the darkness preceding an earthquake ; others assign it to purely supernatural causes. We do not know. The darkness. The Synoptists agree in reporting an uncommon darkness which was over the land from about noon till about three o'clock (Mk. 15:33; Mt. 27 :45 ; Lk. 23 :44, 45) . The statement is that this dark ness covered all the land, by which is probably meant all the region around Jerusalem, far and wide. There is no indication that the evangelists regarded the darkness as a miraculous event. Yet it could not have been an eclipse of the sun, for the Passover came at the time of the full moon. Luke's statement that the sun's light failed does not require us to suppose that he thought of an eclipse. We are probably to think of an exceptional darkness caused by thick clouds, providen tial, but not miraculous.— George Holley Gilbert, Stu dent 's Life of Jesus, p. 304. The passion flower. The passion flower, when found by the Spaniards in Mexico, was hailed with adoration, since it was thought to display within itself all the in struments of the Passion — the crown, the scourge, the spear, and the nails. There are other flowers which, fable says, were growing at the foot of the cross, and were stained with drops of our Lord's blood; such as the purple orchis, the arum, the wood sorrel, and the tiger-lily. The scarlet anemone that blooms at Pas sion-tide is called in Palestine "blood-drops of Christ." The vail of the temple was rent in twain. (Mt. 27: 51). This incident is recorded by Matthew, who shows particular interest in the relations of the work of Jesus to the Old Testament. The vail that was rent was the curtain that separated the Holy place from the Holy of holies. The rending was symbolic of the fact that THE STORY OF FRIDAY 275 the old mystery surrounding Israel's God had van ished ; the age of types had passed ; the Holy of holies was opened to every believer. No longer is the wor shiper shut out from God. Henceforth all believes on a holy priesthood. "Into thine hand I commend my spirit." (Ps. 31 :5.) These were the last words spoken by our Lord before his death. He was mighty in the Scriptures. He loved the Psalms. The rich devotional spirit of the great poets of his race was kindred with his own. Alike in controversy and in prayer, their words were ever upon his lips. Living, they were to him an in spiration ; dying, his last utterance was quoted from a Psalm. For millions of men, the Book of Psalms has been hallowed by the fondness of Jesus for it. — Charles F. Aked, The Courage of the Coward, p. 83. The death of Jesus. Jesus expired after he had been on the cross only about three hours. It was usual for the sufferings of a crucified one to last much longer than this. Pilate was surprised when he heard, to ward evening, that Jesus Was already dead, and seemed scarcely willing to believe it until he had called the centurion and inquired of him (Mk. 15:44). Accord ing to John 19:31, Pilate gave permission during the afternoon that the legs of the crucified one should be broken, that death might thus be hastened, and that the bodies might be taken away before the beginning of the Sabbath. We may suppose that he gave this permission shortly before Joseph of Arimathea told him that Jesus was dead. — George Holley Gilbert, Stu dent's Life of Jesus, p. 307. "It is finished." (Jn. 19:30.) To understand what Jesus meant by this cry, "It is finished," one would need to have heard it. Much depends on the tone and 276 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS accent of a sufferer's words. But for the interpreta tion of this message from the cross more is required even than to have heard it. No Roman soldier, no watching scribe, not even a penitent thief, or the devout women, understood in any measure what Jesus had in his heart. Not even John, when he first heard it, grasped its significances. In later years, when he wrote this Gospel, he learned something of what the cry meant to him, who saw "of the travail of the soul and was satisfied." In later years, when John's feet had traveled far from Jerusalem, and he had seen with enlightened eyes what the Cross of Christ could do for men, he understood more clearly the tumult of feel ing that rang through the loud cry, "It is finished." Yet John could not enter into it as we do now. And the centuries have yet to come which will fully reveal its meaning. — W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Ex perience, p. 127. The side of Jesus pierced. (Jn. 19:31-37.) Medical men and scholars have largely discussed the causes which might produce the outflow of blood and water which John affirms followed this spear thrust, and various causes have been assigned. But it is a point which has apparently only physiological interest. John indeed follows up his statement of what he saw with an unusually strong asseveration that what he says is true. . . . This strong asseveration is in troduced, not for the sake of persuading us to believe that water as well as blood flowed from the lance wound, but for the sake of certifying the actual death of Jesus. The soldiers who had charge of the execu tion discharged their duty. They made sure that the crucified was actually dead. And John's reason for insisting on this and appending to his statement so THE STORY OF FRIDAY 277 unusual a confirmation is sufficiently obvious. He was about to relate the resurrection, and he knows that a true resurrection must be preceded by a real death. If he has no means of establishing the actual death, he has no means of establishing the resurrection. And therefore for the first and only time in his narrative he departs from simple narration, and most solemnly as severates that he is speaking the truth and was an eye witness of the things he relates. — Dods, Expos. Bible, John, vol. ii, pp. 338, 339. The cross as an instrument of punishment. Con sidered by the Christian, the cross has two mean ings, that of its use as an instrument of torture, the cross of history, and that of its use as an emblem, the cross of Christian art. As an instrument of torture, the cross was of sev eral patterns. First and simplest was the simple crux, a mere stake upon which the criminal was either nailed or impaled. To this upright stake a transverse beam was sometimes added, running straight across the top like a letter T, called from its resemblance to that letter in the Greek the Tau cross. This cross-piece was some times nailed to two uprights, and the whole was named from the cross-piece, the patibulum. When the cross- piece was fastened at right angles and below the top of the upright, it was called the crux imissa. When the four arms were of equal length and joined in the mid dle, making the Greek Cross, or Cross of St. Andrew, it was called the crux commissa. And when the two arms crossed obliquely, making a letter X, it was called the crux decussata. There was also the Y cross, which was simply the fork of a tree. Doubtless these various forms were frequently seen in the vicinity of Jerusalem. 278 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The cross as an emblem. Most of the forms of the cross used in punishment, and many others, are used in art. The crux imissa is the common Latin cross, on which it is commonly believed Christ was crucified, with the tablet or inscription in three languages above his head. The crux commissa is the Greek cross, or the cross of Saint Anthony. The crux decussata is known to us as the cross of St. Andrew. The Y cross also has sometimes been used, and curiously, as a tree; and there are middle age pictures of Christ crucified upon the Tree of Life. For some time after the Reformation there was a pronounced tendency among Protestants to abandon the use of the cross as an emblem. This was a not un natural reaction, but the time for it is now generally recognized as past. The cross is the emblem, not of any one sect, but of all Christendom, and belongs as fully to the Protestant as to the Roman Catholic. Contrary to popular supposition, the cross was not the earliest of Christian emblems ; that, probably, was the fish. Nor was Christianity the only religion that used the cross. It was in use as an emblem by several cults, and had various mystic meanings. The Spanish conquerors of America were amazed to find the emblem of their own faith in use among some of the Indian tribes. Another interesting fact is that when the cross was first used in Christian art, it had a very remote relation to the actual uses of that mstrument for crucifixion. The resurrection, not the crucifixion, was the great doctrme of the early church. When the cross first appears, it is not as a memorial of the dead Christ, but as a confession of faith in the living Christ. It was the initial in Greek of the name of Christ, the letter X or THE STORY OF FRIDAY 279 Chi. which first determined the use of the cross in Christian art. Very often it was with the letters Alpha and Omega on either side, Christ the first and last, a symbol still frequently seen and used. It was Constantine, who, in 333 A. D., made the cross a popular emblem. He saw a vision of the cross in the heavens, with the legend ' ' In Hoc Signo Vinces, " "By this sign you shall conquer." The Passion of our Lord, as a theme in Christian art, may almost be said to date from the Council of Constantinople, 692. None of the early crosses rep resent Christ as suffering upon them. Not a single picture of a haggard or tortured Saviour appears, so far as we know, in early Christian art. In 586 we have the first assured picture of the crucifixion, and this was exceptional, in a manuscript of the Gospels in Syriac, preserved in the Laurentian Library in Flor ence. A picture of Christ upon the cross would have horrified the early Christians. When it became at all common to depict Christ upon the cross, he was not nailed to it. Either he appeared above it, or he was placed painlessly upon it, not nailed nor suffering, but looking benignly down, with the cross behind him. Such pictures we have, as late as the eighth century, of a living Christ, looking down from a cross with no sign of pain or suggestion of wound. It was a sad day for Christianity when men counted it a religious duty to do all imaginable violence to the picture of the Christ, and for the joyous, triumphant figure so com mon in the early Church, that of the Good Shepherd bringing home with rejoicing the sheep that had been lost, substituted the weak and helpless Christ, agonized and bleeding, helpless in the hands of his enemies. With the vision of C©nstantine the cross became the 280 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS emblem of the church. It was not, however, the Latin cross, but the Chrisma symbol, the initials of Christ, the Greek letters X, P, Chi. Rho. This early form of the cross, the Labarum of Con stantine, the handled cross with the ring of the P at the top, made easier another adaptation, and a beauti ful one. Christianity grew strong in Egypt. One of its chief centers was at Alexandria. Christian schools and churches dotted the banks of the Nile for hundreds of miles. Egypt had its cross. It was not the cross of punishment, but the key of life. For millenniums the Egyptians had inscribed all over their monuments this crux ansata, the cross with a round handle at the top. As the key of life it appears in the hands of the innumerable deities of Egypt, and as a confession of faith in immortality it is inscribed on papyrus and sarcophagus. In Egypt this symbol was adapted to the uses of the church. Sometimes the crux ansata was borrowed without change, sometimes it appeared alternately with the Christian cross, and, when it be came common to represent the Christ upon the cross, the round loop at the top was sometimes filled in with a head of Christ, and the key of life became the crucifix. The use of this symbol was not wholly confined to Egypt, but found its way to Rome and appeared some times on the tombs of martyrs with the handle of the key transformed to a wreath of immortality. But the Chrisma symbol is older than Constantine — not, however, as a cross, but as a monogram. We find this sign in use in the catacombs from the second cen tury. It may be doubted whether any Christian sym bol is older or more widely disseminated. It was probably in popular use before any other form of the cross became common. Soon it became common to THE STORY OF FRIDAY 281 place on the sides of it in smaller letters the Greek Alpha and Omega and the symbol stood complete, "Christ the first and the last." This was the cross which Constantine made popular. The Labarum, as he called it, displaced the Roman eagles and appeared on the banners of the kingdom. By this sign he conquered. But while this cross, as a symbol of the crucifixion, became popular in his day, it was widely known and loved as a symbol of Christ, though not of the crucifixion, a century, perhaps two centuries, before. The Jerusalem cross is another interesting symbol. It was that blazoned on the arms of Godfrey de Bouil lon, conqueror of Jerusalem in the Crusades. Godfrey would not wear a crown of gold, because his Lord wore one of thorns; and his cross, singularly, was not the militant banner of Constantine, who adopted the badge of defeat as the symbol of victory, but the cross potent, the crutch cross, the supporting cross, with each of its four arms terminating in a transverse beam. It is the symbol of one who trusts for upholding in the virtue and power of Christ. Almost all souvenirs of Jerusa lem now bear this cross, quartered with four smaller ones. The emblem is held to mean "Christ for the four quarters of the world. ' ' The illustration reproduced by the courtesy of the Catholic Encyclopedia, contains a very wide variety of forms of the Cross as employed in the different de partments of Christian art. 1, Latin; 2, Calvary; 3 and 4, Anchor; 5, Patriarchal; 6, Papal; 7, Patee; 8, Maltese; 9, and 19, Moline; 10, 11, 12, Tau; 13 and 28, Fylfot; 14, Quarter pierced; 15, Greek; 16, Quarterly pierced ; 17, Fleurette ; 18, Patonce ; 21, Engrailed ; 22, Ragulee ; 23, Quadrate ; 24, Saltire, or Crux Decussata, 282 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS also called St. Andrew's Cross; 25, Botonee; 26, Pomee ; 27, Potent, otherwise known as the Jerusalem, or crutch cross ; 28, Crux Grammata or Swastika ; 29, Fourchee; 30, Urdee; 31, Crosslet; 32, Fitchee; 33, Recercelee; 34, Pointed; 35, Wavy; 36, Cross of Iona, or Celtic Cross ; 37 and 38, Forms from the Catacombs ; 39 and 40, Monograms of Christ. : t t T 4 ^ f 4 • 10 T It Y a T a X M + + + "4* "* 4 21 n 23 + 24 X "+ "+ Zl 28 20 + "+ * "t 33 34 + f "* 4 "* *f Legends about the crucifixion. Origen mentions a legend of great antiquity to the effect that Golgotha was the place where Adam died and that "Jesus in the place where death reigned, set up his trophy. ' ' It is said that the two brigands who were crucified upon the right and left of Jesus were called Titus and Dumachus and that they met the holy family as they were departing into Egypt from the face of King THE STORY OF FRIDAY 283 Herod. Dumachus wanted to plunder from them, but Titus would not allow him to do so. He took the baby in his arms and said : "0 blessed Child ! if ever a day shall come for having mercy on me, then remember me and do not forget this day." The discovery and loss of the alleged true cross. Ac cording to tradition, the cross of Christ was discovered by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, and deposited in the great church or basilica erected by Constantine in 335 A. D., over the alleged true place of the Crucifixion. The silence of Eusebius concerning this discovery is a serious break in the chain of evi dence for the finding of the cross at all, and the mira cles by which its true character were disclosed rest on insufficient evidence. Nevertheless, the cross deposited in the Church of the Holy sepulchre was for eight hun dred years the most venerated relic in Christendom. Splinters of it were sold from time to time, but a large part of the wood remained intact. Laden with gold and richest gems, it was carried into battle by the Crusaders, and lost to the Saracens in the battle of Hattin, July 5, 1187. Not since Israel sorrowed over the capture of the Ark of God by the Philistines was there more genuine grief over the loss of a sacred relic. The Saracens took care that the wood was not re turned, and its ultimate fate is unknown. Legends of the tree of the cross. There are many curious legends of the tree that became the cross. All of them are without authority, but a number are in teresting. It is affirmed in a Greek legend that Adam bore out of Eden, as a staff, a branch of the Tree of Knowledge — the very branch that bore the fatal apple. Reaching the site of Jerusalem in his wanderings, he thrust it into the ground, and it took root and grew into 284 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS a tree, which lasted until our Saviour's time, when it was cut down and fashioned into the cross. Another Greek legend tells that Abraham on the bank of the Jordan, found a shepherd bewailing his sins. "Son," said the patriarch, "be comforted. Plant here three trees, and tend them carefully. Thus shall your mind find solace and relief in useful tasks." The man obeyed, planting a cedar, a cypress, and a pine. In forty days they were well grown, each with its separate root and branches, but all united in one trunk. This triune tree grew till the time of Solomon, when it was cut down and split into timbers for the Temple. But the workmen found it impossible to cut the beams the proper length. So Solomon, divining that the wood was destined for some other use, placed the three beams upon a pedestal, and bound them together with thirty rings of silver. These beams were used in mak ing t-he cross, and the thirty rings were given to Judas to reward his treachery. The little crosses sold to tourists in Jerusalem are commonly of cypress wood, which is said to have been the wood of the cross. This tradition, however, is not undisputed. The same claim is made for many trees, including the mistletoe. This, it is said, was once a tall, stout tree, but after it had furnished wood for the cross it was accursed, and reduced to the form of a weak parasite. According to other legends it was the aspen tree that gave the wood, and so the leaves of that tree perpetually tremble with remorse and ap prehension. The gypsies say it was the ash tree, and yet others the elder and the oak. And still another very ancient legend tells that four trees, cedar, palm, cypress, and olive, were employed: THE STORY OF FRIDAY 285 "To Cedar were his pierced feet nailed sore; To beams of sacred Palm, his outstretched hands; A Cypress tree his tortured body bore; On Olive wood his kingly title stands." THE BURIAL. And after these things, when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, a councillor of honorable estate, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), who also him self was looking for the Kingdom of God; a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews; and he boldly went in unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead; and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. He came therefore, and took away his body. And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden: and in the garden a new tomb that was hewn out in the rock, wherein was never man yet laid. There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand), they laid Jesus: and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus who had come with him out of Galilee, sitting over against the sepulchre, beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. (His Last Week, p. 54; Mt. 27:57-61; Mk. 15:42-47; Lk. 23:50-56; Jn. 19:31-42.) The entombment. (Jn. 19:38-42.) We are to think of a contracted apartment chiefly if not entirely above ground, into which one might enter as into a little room. There might be a sarcophagus standing there in readiness to receive the body of the owner, John says 286 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS that the tomb was in " a garden, ' ' using a word fitted to describe the suburban pleasure-grounds of a man of wealth who might well have a country-seat outside the city wall. That the tomb was his private property is, however, mentioned only by Matthew. — Cary, The Synoptic Gospels, p. 316. Joseph of Arimathea. This is the first time that Joseph of Arimathea appears on the stage of the gospel history; and of his previous life very little is known. Even the town from which he derives his ap pellation is not known with certainty. The fact -that he owned a garden and burying-place in the environs of Jerusalem does not necessarily indicate that he was a resident there; for pious Jews had all a desire to be buried in the precincts of the sacred city; and, in deed, the whole neighborhood is still honeycombed with tombs. Joseph was a rich man; and this may have availed him in his application to Pilate. Those who possess wealth or social position or distinguished talents can serve Christ in ways which are not accessible to his humbler followers. Only, before such gifts can be acceptable to him, those to whom they belong must count them but loss and dung for his sake. Joseph was a councilor. It has been conjectured that the council of which he was a member was that of Ari mathea; but the observation that he "had not con sented to the counsel and deed of them," which ob viously refers to the Sanhedrin, makes it more than probable that it was of this august body he was a mem ber. No doubt he absented himself deliberately from the meeting at which Jesus was condemned, knowing well beforehand that the proceedings would be utterly painful and revolting to his feelings. — James Stalker. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 287 The belated courage of Nicodemus. Yet this is not all. Let us stand for a moment beside the cross. Priestly hate and popular fury have done their work. Black darkness has settled down upon the hearts of all. The soldier's spear-thrust has been dealt. The Lord of Life is dead. Outside the walls of Jerusalem was a hideous ravine called Ge Hinnom or Gehenna, which the Authorized Version used to translate Hell. It was a place where offal was cast, and the carcasses of ani mals, and the bodies of criminals who had been put to death and adjudged unworthy of decent burial. It was the common cesspool of the city. He was numbered with transgressors in his death, and his body would have been flung into this foul Gehenna but for Nico demus and another one. Joseph of Arimathaea, also a night-disciple for fear of the Jews, begged from Pilate the body of Jesus that he might take it away. With him came also Nicodemus, bringing with him myrrh and aloes, the linen cloths and spices which Jewish burials demand. And the last offices of love and tender ness which men can pay to our frail mortality were dis charged by Joseph and by Nicodemus — who had come to him by night ! — Charles F. Aked, The Courage of the Coward, p. 16-7. The new Calvary. Just north of Jerusalem is a green hill, exposing toward the city a rocky front with deep caverns, and somewhat resembling a skull. By many Christians it seems to supply the essential condi tions for a reproduction of the scenes of the Cruci fixion, and there are not a few scholars who believe it to have been the actual site of Calvary. Upon this spot a number of notable services have been held by American and other tourists, and several prominent American ministers have preached there. The place 288 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS is sometimes called "Gordon's Calvary" from the firm belief of General Gordon that this was the actual site of Calvary. The place should not bear the name of any man ; it is Christ 's Calvary, or no man 's. The fore most living defender of the authenticity of this spot is Selah Merrill, U. S. Consul at Jerusalem. It is this place which enables the reverent visitor to make real in his imagination the tragedy of the Gospels, and to say with a feeling of verisimilitude, "There is a green hill far way Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified Who died to save us all." Below this hill is a garden, and in the garden a rock-hewn tomb. While there is no direct evidence es tablishing the authenticity of this tomb, it gives to the visitor a startling suggestion of reality. The Holy Sepulchre. Although the facts of the cruci fixion and of the interment of the body of Christ in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea are related in the New Testament with considerable detail, sufficient indica tions are not supplied to locate the actual position of the tomb with reference to the city of Jerusalem. It would appear that Golgotha, the place of crucifixion, was outside the city, near a public thoroughfare lead ing to one of the gates, and visible from some distance. There is, however, no reason for supposing that it was a hill, and the expression "Mount Golgotha" was not used until some centuries later. Adjoining the place Golgotha was a garden, in which was a new rock-cut tomb, the property of Joseph of Arimathea. Rock-cut tombs were common in the vicinity of Jerusalem, as, in consequence of the geological formation, the faces of the THE STORY OF FRIDAY 289 hills are frequently broken by low cliffs with terraces between. The comparatively level terraces were used for cultivation while the tombs were excavated in the rock faces. Many instances of tombs so situated can be seen on the hillsides near Jerusalem, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the tomb of Joseph was of a similar character. As it was outside the city, the question of the validity of the traditional site, upon which the church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands, necessarily depends, to a great extent, upon whether this place was within or without the walls at the date of the crucifixion. At that time, it is clear, judging from the careful description written by Josephus a few years later, that Jerusalem was defended by two walls, as the third wall was not begun by King Herod Agrippa until A. D. 41. Of these, the first, or old wall, ran from the palace of Herod the Great, which was situated at the N. W. corner of the city, and, fol lowing an easterly direction, crossed the Tyropoeon Valley and terminated at the west wall of the Temple enclosure. On the other hand, going south from Her od's palace, it encircled the city on the west and south, and then turning at Siloam it followed the direction of the Kidron Valley and ended at the east wall of the Temple enclosure. The second wall, which was built at some period between the return of the Jews from Babylon and the reign of Herod the Great, was on the north, and in front of the old wall. According to Josephus, it start ed "from the Gate Genath in the first wall, and, en closing only the northern quarter of the city, went up to the fortress of Antonia." The site of the Antonia, which was situated on the rising ground north of the Temple, is known with tolerable certainty, but the po- 290 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS sition of the Gate Genath has not been fixed, and, as no certain traces of the second wall have hitherto been found, the line it followed is purely a matter of con jecture. Various theories on the subject are main tained by different authorities. Some of these are indicated on the plan. One suggestion is that the sec ond wall started from a point in the first wall near the palace of Herod, and that some remains of an old wall, situated at the point A, formed part of it. The wall is then supposed to have been carried in a direction slightly west of north, up to the line of the existing city wall, to have followed this line to the Damascus gate, and then turned southeast to the Antonia. If this theory were correct, it is clear that the tradition al site of the Holy Sepulchre would be impossible, as it would be some way within the city wall. The ar guments against the proposal are, that, according to the account of the siege of Jerusalem given by Joseph us, it is improbable that the second wall started from a point so near to Herod's palace, that the line of the present city wall is more likely to be that of the third wall, and that Josephus states that the second wall went "up to" and not "down to" the fortress of An tonia. Another theory is that the Gate Genath was at a point marked B on plan, and that some ancient mas onry which lies east of the so-called Pool of Hezekiah, and over which the houses on the west side of Christian Street are built, represents a portion of the second wall. The wall is then supposed to have been carried north to the point C, and either to have turned east to D, and again north to F, and from this to the An tonia ; or to have continued north to E, and thence east to the Antonia. The first supposition excludes the site of the Holy Sepulchre, while the second includes it THE STORY OF FRIDAY 291 Plan of Jerusalem Jo illustrate the question of the site of the Holy Sepulchre Tomb P . .-*•' .•-* .«^.. Damascus Gate ^^ >v— ' "*.. o .*s F° "' \' V.o! Kntowa 1 ^ f ,.V..-"fc 1 _ c».— .— ••«D S"0 ? Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jaffa Gate Q ^J- Scale of '4 mile a Furlongs within the wall. A third theory is that the Gate Genath was at the point G, and that the second wall ran north to F, and thence to the Antonia. This proposal places the site of the Holy Sepulchre outside the wall, but it makes the part of the city protected by the lattef smaller than is probable. Speaking generally, it may 292 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS i be stated that there is no certam evidence as to the line followed by the second wall, and it is impossible to say whether the traditional site lies inside or outside this wall. From the description in the Gospels of the burial of Jesus, it is not clear whether the tomb of Joseph was intended to be the final resting-place, or whether the body was only placed in it temporarily be cause the feast of the Passover was at hand and the disciples intended to remove it to some other place after the Passover. But whatever may have been pro posed, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week, leaving the tomb empty, turned the at tention of the disciples from the sepulchre to the living presence of their Master. After he had risen from the dead, the place of his burial does not appear to have had any attraction for his followers, and their is noth ing in the writings of the first three centuries to lead us to suppose that the actual rock-cut tomb was re garded with any special feelings of veneration. Whether even a recollection of the site was preserved traditionally is doubtful. — Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th Edition. Reasons for Believing in The New Calvary. Besides meeting all the main conditions required by the Gos pel, this northern hill, near the Damascus Gate pos sesses numerous other claims to attention. 1. The place is associated by very ancient rabbinical and early Christian tradition with the deaths of Jere miah and Stephen. 2. The rocky knoll above the Grotto of Jeremiah is believed by Jews to be the ancient "Place of Stoning," — the Beth ha-Sekelah of the Mishna, and the recog nized place of public execution for Jewish criminals. 3. The hill adjoins the great northern cemetery of THE STORY OF FRIDAY 293 Jerusalem which contains many rock-hewn tombs, two of which have been advocated by experts as the cave of Joseph. 4. The physical features of the hill, and its general resemblance to a skull, are very remarkable, and arm rest the attention of all travelers. 5. There are traces of rent rocks on the hill, gener ally believed to have been caused by earthquake. 6. The hill was described by the Russian Abbot Dan iel (A. D. 1106-7) as "a flat rocky mountain which split up at the time of Christ's crucifixion; the place is called Gehenna." The valley to the east — that is, the head of St. Anne's ravine — is connected by Mos lems with death and the last judgment. 7. The hill is now, and has from ancient times been, a Moslem place of burial. It has, for Jews, Christians, and Moslems, remarkable associations, which have doubtless contributed to its preservation through all the vicissitudes of history. 8. There is no spot in or near Jerusalem, with the exception of the temple site and traditional holy sepul chre, which possesses such a combination of tradition al and historical associations. The remarkable verses in Jeremiah 31:33, 39, 40, are by some persons asso ciated with this locality. Tremelius is quoted by Thomas Fuller as identifying the "hill Gareb" with Golgotha near the valley of the dead bodies. The various arguments in favor of the identification of this site have been ably summed up by the Rev. J. E. Hanauer in the article headed "Notes on the Site of Calvary," printed in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund of October, 1892. Mr. Hanauer, as a learned Hebrew Christian missionary and a native of Jerusalem, is an important authority. 294 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The site is independently supported by a remarkable list of travelers, scholars and learned writers from the year 1842. The list includes, among others, the fol lowing names, which are arranged roughly in chron ological order, showing approximately the gradual growth of opinion on the subject : Dr. Rufus Anderson (1845) ; the late Canon H. B. Tristram, D. D., F. R. S. of Durham (1858) ; Fiirrer (1865) ; Renan, Vie de Jesus (1863) ; Fisher Howe of New York (1871); Col. C. R. Conder, R. E. (1878); Dr. Chaplin (1878) ; Alfred Edersheim, D. D. (1883) ; - Herr Conrad Schick (1888) ; Gen. Charles George Gor don (1884) ; Laurence Oliphant (1884-85) ; Dr. Selah Merrill (1885) ; Sir J. W. Dawson (1887) ; Dr. Philip Schaff (1888) ; Bishop Samuel Gobet of Jerusalem (1888); Rev. Haskett Smith (1889); Prof. Hull, F. R. S. (1890); Rev. Evan H. Hopkins (1890); Dr. Maurice Day, Bishop of Cashel and Waterford (1891) ; Mrs. Oliphant (1891) ; H. A. Harper (1892) ; Rev. J. E. Hanauer (1892) ; E. S. Wallace (1898) ; Rev. Hugh Price Hughes (1901) ; Sir W. Charley (1902) ; H. Rider Haggard (1904) ; Rev. John Kelman (1904) ; Rev. W. W. Moore, D. D. (1906). Six of these are learned Americans who share Dr. Robinson's views regarding the traditional site. The list, it will be noticed, is fairly cosmopolitan and repre sentative of many shades of thought. Almost all the persons named in this list are well- known authors whose opinions were founded upon in timate personal knowledge. Several of the writers above named, like Fiirrer and Schick, subsequently changed their views on the subject, but no one can fail to see that the list is very remarkable and sug gestive. It includes some of the ablest and best known THE STORY OF FRIDAY 295 iwriters on Palestine subjects, and in the annals of Palestine exploration there are very few subjects on which we find a more remarkable consensus of expert and literary opinion. The opponents of this newer site of Calvary are, of course, very numerous and influential; but they are confined almost entirely to two classes of critics ; those who are already committed to a belief in the tradi tional Golgotha, or to a strong prejudice against all alternative theories. Critics of the first class, like the late Canon MacColl, of Ripon, seldom make any claim to impartiality. They write as simple partisans, and their views must be accepted with great reserve. Crit ics of the second class usually take up the agnostic po sition that all search for alternative sites will be in vain. Dr. Sunday, author of ' ' Sacred Sites of the Gos pels," and Sir Charles Wilson, both speak disparag ingly of the claims of the new Calvary "as just sucli which appeal most directly to the eye, and which every one can appreciate without effort." But a site which made no such appeal would appear to deserve, and would certainly receive, very little consideration. There is undoubtedly a marked contrast between the tradi tional Golgotha which appears to the eye so striking ly artificial and improbable, and the so-called "Skull Hill" which impresses all observers by its rugged sim plicity and natural position. — A. W. Crawley, Boevey M. A. in S. S. Times. Have we discovered the tomb of Christ? If the "New Calvary" is to be accepted where was the tomb ? Can we with any approach to certainty identi fy the place where Jesus was buried! Not certainly, for Jerusalem is a place of tombs. It abounds in tombs of almost every conceivable sort, yet there has been dis- 296 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS covered a tomb close by the site of this new Calvary which strikingly satisfies the conditions of the narra tive. It was bought in 1894 for about $10,000 and is owned in trust by an English society, known as the Jerusalem Garden Tomb Maintenance Fund, which was organized for its maintenance and with rules which provide that it is to be kept free from desecration upon one hand and from superstitious use on the other. The very remarkable situation and general condition of this tomb are such as to satisfy fully the essential conditions of the Gospel story. It is close by the site of the crucifixion and the Gospel narrative tells us that his burial place was "in the place where he was crucified." It is a single tomb in a garden and on important archeological grounds is believed to date from the Jewish period. This tomb was discovered in 1867, about 230 feet from the summit of the knoll, just under the slope of the hill and opening out from an an cient garden. When found it was filled almost to the top with skulls and bones which had been thrown into it from other graves. It contained no skeleton in place. The human remains evidently had been thrown in from several other graves. Though apparently a Jewis tomb originally, it had been occupied in later centuries by Christians. Two crosses in red paint were found upon the walls with Greek letters at the corners. An arched building once existed in front of the tomb erect ed by the Crusaders about the twelfth century. The crosses may possibly date from this time. The tomb is 7 feet 6 inches in height, 14 feet 6 inches long, 11 feet 2 inches wide. A low partition divides it into two parts. It contains spaces for three bodies, two adults and one child. But only one of these spaces was ever finished. It was distinctly "a new tomb" and appar- THE STORY OF FRIDAY 297 ently only one body was buried in it. From the level of the ground outside one looks down into it as Peter and John are said to have done. When we say that only one human body appears to have been buried in it we find another interesting fact, that bits of rock at the bottom of the one finished compartment when ana lyzed at the British Museum, are alleged to show that no human body ever decomposed above it. The skulls and bones that later were thrown in decomposed in other graves. As an actual place of burial this tomb was completed for only a single occupant and that occupant left no chemical trace of the decomposition of organic matter as belongs in the human body to penetrate the porous rock beneath. Do all these facts prove conclusively that this was the tomb of Christ? No, they do not. They merely prove that this may be, or that this is a tomb essential ly like that in which Jesus was buried and from which he rose. This being true, it is an interesting fact that such a society has been organized and that the investigations of recent months have been such as to confirm rather than in any way to disprove the hypothesis which caused the organization of the society. I visited the garden tomb one Sunday morning. The hill above was green with its resurrection robe and dotted with the red anemone that sprang as if from the blood drops sprinkled there. I entered the gate of the quiet garden, and walked along its paths alone. I entered the tomb and stood in reverent silence there in a spot that suggested every essential detail of the Gospel Story. When I turned and re-entered the sunlight it would hardly have surprised me had an angel spoken saying "He is not here, he is risen." 298 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS They sell flower seeds and little pamphlets at the garden tomb and use the proceeds for keepmg the gar den in order. A very small admission fee is charged and subscriptions are welcome but not demanded. I have planted and reared in my own garden flowers of Palestine from seeds of flowers that grew in this gar den under the brow of Calvary. Not in the noisy courts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre elbowed by curious tourists or superstitious pilgrims may one realize the sensations which worthily belong to a visit to the tomb of Christ, but here is a green hill far away, without a city wall and close be side it a garden and a tomb which satisfies all the con ditions essential to an understanding of the story. The Holy Sepulchre. There is no one spot in Christ endom venerated by so large a number of Christians as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. To recover this site, believed to have been that of the crucifixion and burial of our Lord, the Crusades were organized ; and to stand within its walls thousands ev ery year make pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The spot is believed by many to have been identified by Helena, mother of Constantine, who built a church here in 333 A. D. This edifice was destroyed by the Per sians in 614. A second structure was destroyed in 1010, and the spot lay desolate for thirty years. A third structure was then erected, and was the one entered by the Crusaders, walking barefoot, and sing ing jubilant songs, after their conquest in 1099. These walls stood till they were destroyed by fire in 1808. The present church was dedicated September 11, 1810. It cost nearly $3,000,000, of which about a million went for fees and bribes. The church, as it now stands, cov ers many alleged holy sites, including that of Calvary. THE STORY OF FRIDAY 299 a. Quadrangle. 1. Chapel of Melchizedek. 2. Armenian Chapel. 3. Coptic Chapel. 4. Chapel of St. Mary of Egypt. 5. Greek Chapel of St. James. 6. Chapel of Mary Magdalen 7. Chapel of the Forty Martyrs. 8 Post ofthe Muslim custodians. 9. Stone of Anointment. 10. Place from which the women witnessed the Anointment. 11. Angels' Chapel. 12. Chapel of the Sepulchre. 13. Chapel of the Copts. 14. Chapel of the Syrians 15. Chamber m (/« roc*. 16. Passage lo the Coptic Mon astery. 17. JPatS' age to the Cistern. 18. Cistern. 19, -4n- (eeAamber of next chapel. 20. CAapeJ of the Apparition. 21. iattn Sacristy. 22. CafAoh'con. It is occupied jointly by the Greeks, the Roman Catho lics, and the Armenians, who do not always agree. Modern discoveries make it very probable that the site of the church was within the walls at the time of the Crucifixion, but the place will always command the reverent interest of Christians of all names. The Rolling Stone. In the Tombs of the Kings, north of Jerusalem, is found a vault with a rolling stone, fitted in a descending groove, and closing the door of the tomb. It is a thick flat disc, making the door se cure, and requiring considerable strength to roll it away. It was probably such a stone that closed the door of Joseph's tomb. Jewish Burial. Coffins were unknown among the Jews. The dead were prepared for burial by wash ing the body, anointing it with aromatic ointments and wrapping it in linen cloths with spices. The hands and 300 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS feet were bound with grave cloths, and the face with a napkin. The graves were of various descriptions. Sometimes, as with us, they were 'dug in the earth, and this is the present custom of the Eastern Jews. Caves were often used for this purpose. And the most desira ble sepulchres were hewn out in the rock and pro vided with shelves upon which the bodies would be laid. A family might use such a tomb for many gen erations. Such artificial caves are to be found all over Palestine. A stone would be used to close the opening, often rolling in a groove prepared for it, in order to protect the tomb from robbers or wild beasts. The Jews were most punctilious in the matter of the burial of the dead, and, while the Romans were willing to leave their crucified slaves to be devoured as carrion, the Jews would give to even the meanest some sepulchre. Good Friday. Although Friday has for centuries been regarded with horror, and the Friday before Easter especially so, still the day of the crucifixion early took upon itself associations other than those of terror and foreboding. As the day of the crucifixion it was "Black Friday"; as the day of redemption it became "Good Friday." From the time when Easter began to be celebrated, the Friday preceding it was observed in the early Chureh. Constantine forbade the opening of courts and markets on this day. It was customary to omit all lights and music on this day, save music of the simplest and most solemn description. Bells were not rung for worship. The knee was not bowed in prayer, because with the bowing of the knee the Jews reviled Christ. The customary kiss was omitted, be cause with that sign Judas betrayed his Lord In THE STORY OF FRIDAY 301 Greek and Latin churches the altar lights are extin guished, the communion is omitted, and the pulpit fur niture is covered on this day. Superstitions Concerning Friday. Because Jesus was crucified on Friday, that day has borne an evil reputation among the days of the week. It is a pity that there should be any distinctively Christian sup erstitions. There is no reason why any sensible per son should hesitate to do or begin on Friday any good work which he would perform on any other day of the week. Christian people should do their utmost to break down reasonless prohibitions, such as grow out of the superstitions concerning Friday. The common practice of fixing dates for the execu tion of criminals on Friday grows out of the evil repu tation of this day since Christians began to celebrate it as the day of our Lord's death upon the cross. Hot Cross Buns. Among the long established Easter customs is that of serving buns marked with a cross Good Friday. Lent early became a time of fasting, the Fridays in Lent coming to be observed with special solemnity. All meats were prohibited. No divine command was adduced in favor of these customs of abstinence, but it grew out of the ascetic observances of the passion time. On Good Friday a special form of bread was prepared, which came to wide popular ity, though never to ecclesiastical recognition. In Eng land and other countries hot buns, often sweetened, and with a cross marked upon the top, have long been sold at an early hour on Good Friday morning. The custom is common in America, also, but lacks the time- honored associations of older countries. Gbe Ston> of Saturoa$. Bpril 8, 30 a. 2>. Only one incident and that recorded by only a single evangelist, comes to us out of the silence of the sad day after the crucifixion. Matthew notes that the chief priests and the Pharisees, fearing an attempt to steal the body of Jesus, obtained Pilate's permission to place a guard over the sepulchre. There was little need of such precaution. The dis ciples had doubtless gathered together after their first panic and probably spent the gloomy Sabbath in that same upper room where the Passover had been eaten. They would have little to say to one another, only the repeated words of grief that no one heeds. They had no plans for the future. What could they plan, when all the hopes of eager months were dead? It is an unrecorded day, for no evangelist could chronicle dull gloom and sadness. It is not difficult to realize how the women spent that day. It was Sabbath, and ordinary work could not be done. But there were domestic duties that must needs be performed, and there were still last offices of love to be rendered to the body of him whom they had loved and lost. The preparation for sepulchre had been hur ried, owing to the rapid coming of the sabbath on the Friday evening. There were spices and ointments for embalming to be carried to the tomb as soon as sab bath should be past. And so they procured these gifts of love and waited. No chronicle has told us of the hopeless and eventless waiting of the women on that day; and no word has come to us of the black, THE STORY OF SATURDAY 303 blank silent despair of the eleven men who had left all and followed him, and whose hopes lay buried with him in the grave in the garden. And no word is told us of Jesus on that Saturday. His body lay in the niche in Joseph's tomb where they had laid him. And^that is all we know. THE WATCH AT THE TOMB. Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Prepara tion, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, 'After three days I rise again.' Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, 'He is risen from the dead,' and the last error will be worse than the first." Pilate said unto him, "Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can." So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them. And on the Sabbath (the disciples) rested according to the commandment. (His Last Week, p. 55 ; Mt. 27 :62-66 ; Lk. 23:56c.) The Watch at the Sepulchre. (Mt. 27:62-66.) The enemies of Christ were not inactive. They recalled, with dreadful reminiscence, the rumored prophecies of his resurrection, and these intimations, which were but dim to a crushed and wavering faith, were read, like fiery letters upon the wall, by the illuminating glare of an uneasy guilt. Pretending, therefore, to be afraid lest his body should be stolen by his disciples for pur poses of imposture, they begged that, until the third day, the tomb might be securely guarded. Pilate gave them a brief and haughty permission to do anythmg they liked; for — apparently in the evening, when the great Paschal Sabbath was over — they sent their guard 304 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS to seal the golal [or great stone], and to watch the sepulchre. — Farrar, Life of Christ, ch. 52. The Gloom of the Disciples. And so all the disciples were in a mood of deepest and darkest depression. The light had been cut off from their minds. They were in the dark. The taste had gone out of their lives. Everything had become stale and profitless. Simon Peter was gloomy with despondency and hag gard with remorse. Two disciples were walking in the twilight to Emmaus, "looking sad," communing about the awful and sudden eclipse in which their hopes had been so miserably quenched. In every life the light was out. Mary Magdalene started at the "early dawn" to carry spices to the grave, but there was no dawning in her spirit, and the roadway was wet with her tears. Even in the heart of the Magdalene there was no vigil burning, like uncertain candle in a dark and gusty night. No one was anxiously watch ing on the third day, with eyes intently fixed upon a mysterious east. No; death reigned, and wickedness, and hopelessness, and no one was looking for the morn ing! — J. H. Jowett, The School of Calvary, pp. 116-7. The Day After. Oh, the bitterness of the day after ! When there is nothmg more to do and no hoping even agamst hope, for the fierce, losing contest is ended. The pain of the blow is over, and the ache of the blow remains. It is ever the day after that is the hardest to bear. Then everything seems to mock our sorrow, and the world seems so heartless. Life has come to an end for us, and yet the sun still shines and the busy world goes on. There comes a kind of bewilderment. One is alive in a world to which he does not belong. It is hard to realize what is to be done to find one's place THE STORY OF SATURDAY 305 again. How can one take up duties that have lost their meaning? How can one meet one's fellow men who cannot understand? How can one join the com pany of the merry -hearted when joy and heart's ease seem to have gone forever? Whatever calamity may come to us with its keen, cutting agony — and there are so many possible, and each with its own pain — there is always a day after, when the realizing of our loss presses heavy upon us, and the hopelessness of the look forward robs us of strength and motive. And that day we drink the cup of life's bitterness. The day after the ambition of a life-time has been disappointed. He had worked and planned for that place, that honor. The crisis came — the one chance to win or to lose — and he lost. The next day he must face the world and smile, as if a dead weight were not lying at his heart. He is dazed and uncertain, and sometimes he is a broken man. The day after the financial crash has come. He has been fighting and struggling to secure temporary stays, always hoping that the tide will turn. But now the blow has fallen ; he is a bankrupt, and the next day he must begin anew. He does not know how to live as poor men live. He knows not where to turn or what to do. The heavy sorrow of the failure bows him down. The day after the battle. The fight is over and the cause is lost. And what shall the leader do? Oh, the tragedies of history in the day after the battle ! And the day after, that comes to every home : when the friends are gone, and the house is swept and gar nished, and so empty. The pain of the blow is keen as our quivering flesh can bear, but the ache that is after the blow — who can tell its dull and silent sorrow? 306 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS So the evangelists have no record of the day after the crucifixion. There is nothing to tell. Jesus is dead. John has taken the stricken mother to his home. The sword has pierced through her heart and she can on ly realize: Jesus is dead. The eleven gather in that upper room, where so recently Jesus had eaten the memorable supper, and as they look at the place where he stood there comes upon them the awful hopeless sense of orphanhood : Jesus is dead. The women from Galilee are waitmg till the sabbath is past. There is still a last duty, to carry the spices to the sepulchre for the care of his body. But hope is gone. Only love remains: that hopeless love that lingers still in sorrow: Jesus is dead! — The Week of Our Lord's Passion. Gbe Stor^ of faster Sunoat>, Bpttl 9, 30 B. D. The narratives of Easter morning do not readily ad just themselves so as to make of them a single and con sistent narrative. The exact sequence is as difficult as it is unimportant. We do not need a harmony of the resurrection ap pearances of Jesus. There was no reporter with a primary chronologic interest on that first Easter day. It is to be expected that from disciples, whose sadness was changed so wondrously into exultant joy, there should come a series of impressions rather than care ful complimentary narratives. The first incident re corded is the great earthquake and the descent of the angel, who rolled away the stone from before the sepul chre, while the soldiers were stricken with deadly fear. Mary Magdalene and the other women are mentioned as going together to the tomb to embalm the body of the Lord. But it seems clear that Mary first found the tomb empty and informed Peter and John, who has tened to verify her tidings. And it was Mary that Jesus first appeared. Next he seems to have appeared to the women. There is reference to an appearance of the Lord to Peter, but no account of that first meeting since the denial in the High Priest's palace has been given to us. In the afternoon, to the two disciples walking to Emmaus, Jesus appeared, but was not rec ognized until, accepting their hospitality, he himself took the place of host and blessed the bread and broke it. They returned immediately to Jerusalem and found the disciples earnestly discussing the wondrous news. 308 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS And while they added their testimony to Peter's Jesus appeared among them, speaking peace, assur ing them of his reality, and imparting to them the Holy Spirit. These are the events of the wonderful day as the Gospels record them, and arrayed as nearly as we are able to array them in chronological order. THE EARTHQUAKE. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men. (His Last Week, p. 56; Mt. 28:2-4.) The Narratives of the Resurrection. All of the evangelists record that the tomb was found empty on the Easter morning. Matthew states that the two Marys found an angel, who had rolled away the stone, who showed them the vacant place where Jesus had lain, and who commissioned them to tell the disciples to meet the Lord in Galilee. Mark adds Salome as a third woman and relates substantially the same nar rative. Luke says that there were also other women and likewise gives the words of an angel who sends the women to the disciples. He adds that Peter came to see, and found the tomb empty. John records that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, saw the stone re moved, went immediately to the disciples, and that Peter and John came and found the body gone, but the linen cloths upon the rock where the body had been laid. John adds that Mary remained weeping at the tomb, saw two angels within where the body had been laid, and presently saw Jesus, who sent her to his disciples. Matthew relates that Jesus met the two Marys as they were going to tell the disciples. THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 309 Luke alone gives the account of the appearance of the two who were going to Emmaus. He relates that after these two had returned to the eleven at Jerusa lem Jesus appeared to them all. John has a clearly parallel narrative, except that he specifies that Thomas was not present, and records another appearance a week later, especially designed for Thomas. Luke re cords no further appearances after the Easter Day, but passes immediately to the final words of Jesus and to the Ascension. We owe to him, however, in the be ginning of the Book of Acts, the statement of the forty days. John relates the appearance of the seven fishermen in Galilee, and Matthew the appearance to the eleven on a mountain. It is not, of course, possible to make a complete harmonization of these narratives. As nearly as that is possible it has been done in the continuous story. Conjectural Reconstruction of the Resurrection Nar ratives. Yet a reconstruction which can claim proba bility for itself is not impossible. First, the. supposi tion that all the women came to the tomb together, but that Mary, turning back before the others had reached the tomb, became separated from them, is not in it self an improbable hypothesis, and goes far toward solving some elements of the problem. The story will then read in brief thus: All the women came to the tomb together; Mary, seeing the stone rolled away, waits to see no more, but runs to tell Peter and John ; the other women continue on, enter the tomb, see the vision of the young man, and return and bring the disciples word ; Peter and John come to the tomb, not having met the women, see the clothes lying in the tomb, and return home ; Mary, coming more slowly, reaches 310 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS the garden, sees first the angel and then Jesus; the other women also, perhaps returnmg under an impulse similar to that which drew Mary, return and are met by Jesus; while these events are happening the two set out to Emmaus, having heard only the first report of the women and that of Peter and John, but no news of the actual epiphany of Jesus. This reconstruction takes each narrative at its face meaning, except that it assumes that the epiphany of Mt. 28:9, instead of occurring, as the narrative naturally suggests, while the women are on the way to take to the disciples the message of the angel, in fact happened after that message had been delivered. . . . The whole hypothesis is somewhat complicated, and for this reas on perhaps improbable. — Burton and Mathews, Life of Christ, pp. 283, 284. The disciples belief in the resurrection. The con viction among Christians that Christ was really raised, dates from the very morning of the resurrection itself. It was not a growth spread over a long period and re ceiving gradual accretions of strength; but it sprang suddenly into existence, and it swept irresistibly over the whole body of disciples. Of the force and uni versality of the belief there can be no doubt ; but when we come to details it would seem that from the first there was a certain amount of confusion, which was never wholly cleared up. We have records of a num ber of appearances, not all contained in a single au thority, but scattered over several distinct authorities ; and it is probable enough that even when all the re corded appearances are put together they would not exhaust all those that were experienced. — Sanday, Hastings' Diet. Bible, vol. ii, Art. "Jesus Christ," pp. 640, 641. THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 311 An angel of the Lord . . . rolled the stone away. (Mt. 28:2.) Such special tombs were cut in the face of a ledge of rock made perpendicular, and the large stone was laid up against the entrance. It was some times made in the form of a large heavy disc rolling on a slightly curved groove which was lowest im mediately in front of the entrance, and thus a con siderable force was needed to roll it upward from its position of rest. In other cases the tomb was of the sarcophagus nature, a horizontal coffin-shaped recess being cut in the upper surface of a large piece of rock, and the sides and ends were cut away to give the shape of a large box. A heavy lid of stone was then laid over the upper surface of the rock. In either case the precaution taken was against desecration by wild ani mals, and from robbers who might steal any jewelry or gold ornaments placed in the tomb with the dead body. In addition to the above, solemn imprecations were often carved around the sides of the tomb to give warning of the punishment that would fall upon any one attempting to dishonor the resting-place of the dead.— George M. Mackie, D. D., Missionary to the Jews, and Minister of the Anglo-American Congrega tion in Beyrout, Syria. And sat upon it. (Mt. 28 :2.) Surely the angel of Easter morning did a superfluous piece of work! To roll away the stone of the sepulchre was a very im portant thing; but to sit upon it afterward— surely that was a useless task ! Is it not a lame and impotent conclusion to a great deed ! We should have expected the Easter angel, after rolling away the stone, to have been described as winging his way "beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb." But, when we are called to see him sitting on the old gravestone, is that poetry, 312 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS is that beauty? Yes — the grandest poetry, the most subtle beauty. It is a far finer image than would have been depicted in the angel flying home. It is not enough that the stone of my grief should be rolled away; it must be glorified. Many a sorrow, when it passes away, leaves soreness behind. It is no longer the place of my tribulation today, but it was the place of my tribulation yesterday. I weep over my yester day; I need something to explain my yesterday. To day has been glorified ; I want yesterday to be glorified too. I want to see the angel in the place where my old sorrow lay — on the stone of my former sepulchre. — Geo. Mathim, Times of Retirement, pp. 140-141. The resurrection. (Mt. 28:2-8.) True, no mortal saw him in the act of rising. It was God's favorite way of doing his choicest, divinest things. Meet was it that the resurrection of his son should take place in the majestic solemnity of an august solitude. But, although no one saw him rise, or can tell the precise moment that he rose, there is one blessed thing that we do know: Some time during Saturday night the dead Jesus became the risen Christ, stepping forth from his tomb the conqueror of sin and death and hell. That resurrection henceforth and forever abolished the Sabbath of the decalogue, and consecrated Sun day to be our true Sabbath, even the Lord's own day. — Boardman, Epiphanies of the Risen Lord, pp 25, 26. The resurrection revelation. There are some who think a belief in the resurrection unimportant to Chris tianity. They say that we should still have the teach ing and the personality of Jesus, and our religion would stand in these. But it is by no means certain that anyone would have preserved for us the teach ings of Jesus, or have given us the portraiture of his THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 313 personality, if there had been no resurrection. To be sure other good men have lived and died and their words and deeds have been recorded without the in spiration of any such extraordinary event. But no other man ever raised such mighty hopes ; no other death ever dashed in pieces such glorious expectations., Jesus was either all the disciples had desired or he was but a sad memory of a hope misplaced. Only the certainty that they had not been wrong in thinking of him as the Divine Saviour could have encouraged them to live his life, to follow his ideals, to preach his gospel, to make his kingdom their highest good, and to leave to us the records of their faith. The resurrec tion of Jesus made Christianity. — The Week of Our Lord's Passion, p. 129. THE EMPTY TOMB. Now at early dawn on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. She runneth therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him." Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. And they ran both together: and the other disciple outran Peter, and came first to the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths lying; yet entered he not in.- Simon Peter therefore also cometh, following him, and entered into the tomb: and he beholdeth the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again unto their own home. (His Last Week, p. 56 ; Lk. 24 :12 ; Jn. 20 :1-10.) The news brought to Peter and John. (Jn. 20 :3-10.) 314 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS When Mary brought the startlmg intelligence that the tomb was empty, Peter and John instantly made for the spot at the top of their speed. The older man was soon left behind, but natural reverence kept John from entering the rocky chamber. He looked in, however, and to his surprise saw enough to convince him that the body had not been removed for interment else where or to be cast out with the bodies of criminals. For there were the linen cloths in which he had been wrapped, carefully taken off and left behind. The im pression made by this circumstance was confirmed when Peter came up, and they both entered and ex amined the tomb and made their inferences together. — Dods, Expos. Bible John, vol. 2, p. 351. The doubt of the disciples. Let us be glad that they did not too readily accept the stupendous miracle of the resurrection. Had they not doubted, we must have doubted. The gospel narrative shows conclusively that the resurrection of Jesus was not the mere realization of their expectation that he would rise. They were not prepared for such an event. The unbelief of the disciples. Their unbelief was in deed so great that the Apostles could not credit the report of the women, and the most thoughtful of the apostles would not believe his own brethren, but de clared that unless he could touch the very wounds of Christ he would not accept the Lord's resurrection. It was also in the last degree inexpedient and dan gerous for them to declare the resurrection, since it was bound to bring upon them the enmity of the Jew ish rulers, and likely to send them to their Master's death. Nothmg but profound conviction could have opened the mouths of the disciples and compelled them, in the face of the hostility of Jerusalem, to declare THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 315 that the priests had not won, but that Jesus had ob tained the victory. Upon these men faith in the res urrection produced its natural and conspicuous effect, since one cannot imagine any greater difference than between Simon, the son of Jonas, denying his Lord through fear of a servant girl, and St. Peter defying Jerusalem at the day of Pentecost. Has it ever been known in the annals of evidence that a body of simple- minded men should bear witness to a fact which be forehand they were not able to believe, and whose declaration could only involve them in the last danger, and in the end should believe it so firmly that their faith has made them into heroes and into saints? — Watson, Life of the Master, pp. 298, 299. Then went in also that other disciple. Uncon scious influence in this slight touch or turn of history, is opened to us, if we scan it closely, one of the most serious and fruitful chapters of Christian doctrine. Thus it is that men are ever touching unconsciously the springs of motion in each other ; thus it is that one man, without thought or intention, or even a conscious ness of the fact, is ever leading some other after him. Little does Peter think, as he comes up where his doubting brother is looking into the sepulchre, and goes straight in, after his peculiar manner, that he is drawing in his brother apostle after him. As little does John think, when he loses his misgivings, and goes into the sepulchre after Peter, that he is follow ing his brother. And just so, unawares to himself, is every man, the whole race through, laying hold of his fellow-man, to lead him where otherwise he would not go. We overrun the boundaries of our personality — we flow together. A Peter leads a John, a John goes after a Peter, both of them unconscious of any influ- 316 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS ence exerted or received. And thus our life and con duct are ever propagating themselves, by a law of social contagion, throughout the circles and times in which we live. — Horace Bushnell, Sermons for the New Life, p. 186. The napkin that was about his head, wrapped to gether in a place by itself. (Jn. 20:7.) Why so care ful of so poor a thing? A napkin which had covered the face of the dead Christ is wrapped together by angel hands, and laid in a corner apart ! It had never been meant for any use but as a covering of the dead face of Jesus. Even that use had been rendered im practicable ; Jesus had risen, and his face had become radiant with life. There was no further need of the napkin. It had been intended only for the grave ; and now even for the grave it was useless. Why did the angel not simply pass it by? Why take it up tenderly, fold it together carefully, lay it by separately? We can understand the gathering of the fragments that remained from the desert feast, for these could make another feast. But the napkin had reached its final sphere, and there was no further place for it; why should celestial hands be so sedulous for its preserva tion? Because all our discarded past lives in the thought of God. The things we have surmounted and thrown away are gathered up by heaven. — Geo. Mathi- son, Times of Retirement, pp. 294-295. The resurrection a mystery. The gospels represent Jesus as returning to his disciples with a body which was superior to the limitations which hedge our lives about. It may be well described by Paul's words, "It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. ' ' Yet the records indicate that when he willed Jesus could offer himself to the perception of other senses THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 317 than sight and hearing — "handle me and see" is not an invitation that we expect from a spiritual presence. If, however, we have to confess an unsolved mystery here, and still more in the record of his eating in the presence of the disciples (Lk. 24:41-43), it is permitted us to own that our knowledge of the possible conditions of the fully perfected life are not such as to warrant great dogmatism in criticising the account. The empty tomb, the objective presence of the risen Jesus, the renewed faith of his followers, and their new power are established data for our thought. With these, many of the details may be left in mystery, because we have not yet light sufficient to reveal to us all that we should like to know. — Rhees, Life of Jesus, p. 210. THE APPEARANCE TO MARY. But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She saith unto them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, "Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus saith unto her, "Mary." She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, "Rab- boni"; which is to say, "Teacher." Jesus saith to her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father; but go unto my brethren, and say to them, 'I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and my God and your God.' " Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and that he had said these things unto her. (His Last Week, p. 57; Jn. 20: 11-18.) 318 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping. (Jn. 20:11.) The sight of women weeping by the graves of their friends is still common in the East. The third, ninth, and fortieth days after burial bring not only the near relatives, but also other friends, to the tomb of one lately buried. In some towns they have stated days on which the public go to the grave yard. They bring food with them, they eat and give others to eat, and they make coffee for themselves and for their neighbors who happen to be there. Saint George's Cemetery in Damascus is actually crowded with people on each Thursday. — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie. The appearance of the angels. (Mt. 28:6, 7.) While Mary Magdalene hastened to the abode of Peter and John, the other women also had reached the tomb, either in one party or, it may be, in two companies. Here the appearance of the angel filled them with fear. But the heavenly messenger bade them dismiss appre hension; he told them that Christ was not there, nor yet any longer dead, but risen, and invited them to enter the empty tomb; finally, he bade them hasten with the announcement to the disciples, and with this message, that, as Christ had directed them before, they were to meet him in Galilee. And when the women obeyed the command to go in and examine the tomb, they saw two angels — probably as the Magdalene afterwards saw them — one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. They waited no longer, but hastened, without speaking to any one, to carry to the disciples the tidings of which they could not even yet grasp the full import. — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, pp. 632, 633. His mother's sister, Mary, etc. (Jn. 19:25.) The Greek, like the English, leaves us in doubt whether we THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 319 here have two women or one, whether altogether there are four women or three. The former is much the more probable alternative. (1) It avoids the very improb able supposition of two sisters having the same name. . . . (3) Mark (15:40) mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less, and Salome. Mary Magdalene is common to both narratives. "Mary the mother of James the less" is the same as "Mary of Clopas"; the natural inference is that Salome is the same as "His mother's sister." If this is correct, (4) John's silence about the name of "His mother 's sister ' ' is explained ; she was his own mother, and he is habitually reserved about all closely con nected with himself. We have seen already that he never mentions either his own name, or his brother's, or the Virgin's. (5) The very ancient Peshito or Syriac Version adopts this view by inserting "and" before "Mary the (wife) of Clopas." — Plummer, Cambridge Bible, John, p. 346. The Marys at the crucifixion. The name Mary was very popular in the time of Christ, probably because of the affection of the people for the memory of Mariamne, the Maccabsean princess, wife of Herod, and cruelly murdered by him. Beside Mary, the moth er of Jesus, and "the other Mary" who appears to have been the wife of Cleopas and mother of James, Mary of Magdala was present among the women at the tomb of Jesus. There is no sufficient reason to believe that this Mary, the first witness to the resurrec tion, had ever been an abandoned woman. Beside these Marys, another, the sister of Martha, was not far away. Other women of the same name appear in the Acts and Epistles, one of whom is known to us as the mother of Mark, the evangelist, her home was in Jeru- 320 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS salem, and was a meeting place for Christians. (Acts 12:12). THE APPEARANCE TO THE WOMEN. And the women which had come with him out of Galilee came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they were saying among themselves, "Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?" and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back, for it was exceeding great. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe ; and they were amazed. And he saith unto them, "Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified; he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.' " And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. And behold, Jesus met them, saying, "All hail." And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then saith Jesus unto them, "Fear not: go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me." Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles. And these words ap peared in their sight as idle talk, and they disbelieved them. (His Last Week, pp. 57-8; Mt. 28:1-10; Mk. 16:2-8; Lk. 24:1-11.) The women at the sepulchre. (Mt. 28 :l-8.) The pres ervation of "the garden tomb" and the conditions un der which it is worthily made secure to the future rep resent the effort and generosity of Miss Louisa Hope, of England, who was first among the believers in the authenticity of the site to start a movement for its purchase and preservation. It is fitting that this should be so. The church of the Holy Sepulchre owes its existence to the devotion of another woman, Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. The women THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 321 who belonged to the Saviour's company were most faithful of all his followers at his crucifixion. "Not she with traitorous kiss her Saviour stung, Not she denied him with unholy tongue She when apostles shrunk, danger braved Last at the cross and earliest at the grave." It was a woman also who gave to us a children's hymn, that sweet description of the place of his cruci fixion, which has taken hold of the Christian 's imagina tion and which is most accurately fulfilled in the new Calvary. ' ' There is a green hill far away Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. ' ' Prominence of the women. Looking back on this very brief record of the great events of Easter Day, nothmg is more striking than the prominence of the women throughout. It is a note of the new dispensation. It must have been very strange to all the disciples, . . . that woman, who had been kept so far in the background, treated almost as if her presence would pollute the sacred places, should, now that the vail was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, not only enter into the sacred presence of the risen Lord as the equal of her brother man, but should be there be fore him — that a woman's eyes should be the first to see him, a group of women the first to receive his lov ing welcome and to fall in adoration at his sacred feet. Yet so it was. . . . It is not a question of sex ; it is a question of love and faith; and it was because the love of these women was deeper, and their fidelity greater, than that of the men, that they had this honor. — Gibson, Expos. Bible, Matthew, vol. ii, p. 438. 322 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS And behold, Jesus met them, saying, all hail. (Mt. 28-9.) An Oriental student of the Bible often says to me : " It is to be regretted that the English translators did not adhere to the rendering in Jn. 20:19, for the expression our Lord used cannot have been other than shalom, the salaam of today, which, literally trans lated, is, 'peace be unto you,' or 'upon you.' " It is a common salutation now, but it is far more than that. The trembling elders of Bethlehem asked, "Is thy coming peace ? ' ' Samuel said ' ' Peace " ( I Sam. 16 :5 ) . The terrified Joram, first through messengers and then personally, asked Jehu, "Is it peaceably?" And Jehu had not peace for Joram, but an arrow which pierced his heart (II Kings 9:22-24). The women who de parted from the sepulchre with fear needed the word "peace," and the Lord knew and gave the word, as Samuel had given it to the elders of Bethlehem, and as Orientals use it now in similar connections. It is the real antidote to "fear." — Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie. They came and took hold of his feet. (Mt. 28:9.) In extreme cases of fear, or under a sense of sharp and pressing need, sufferers in the Orient fall at, or take hold of, the feet of one whom they suppose to be able to relieve them. I have heard needy and help less sufferers say to possible succorers, "Ana dachul rijlak," which is, being interpreted, "I put myself un der the protection of thy foot." Did the Lord take the "taking hold of his feet" to mean this? Is it on that account he said "Fear not?" (Mt. 28:10.)— Mrs. Ghosn-el-Howie. THE APPEARANCE AT EMMAUS. And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 323 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was three-score furlongs from Jerusalem. And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they communed and ques tioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, "What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answering, said unto him, "Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days?" And he said unto them, "What things?" And they said unto him, "The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God, and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. Moreover, certain women of our company amazed us, hav ing been early at the tomb; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not." And he said unto them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Be hooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?" And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further. And they constrained him, saying, "Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the' day is now far spent." And he went in to abide with them. And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it, he gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 324 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS And they said one to another, "Was not our heart burn ing within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jeru salem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread. (His Last Week, pp. 58-60; Mk. 16:12-13; Lk. 24:13-35.) The journey to Emmaus. Emmaus was 60 stadia from Jerusalem, a distance of 6f miles (Lk. 24:13). RACHEL'S 7QMB 'BETHLEHEM The name is found in the village of Amwas, on the main road to Jaffa, known in the middle ages as Ni copolis, but this is 196 stadia from Jerusalem. Am was, however, on account of its name, was identified THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 325 with Emmaus as early as the time of Eusebius and Jerome, both of whom believed this to have been the place of our Lord's twilight visit. Kolonia, which is commonly visited as Emmaus by tourists in Jerusa lem, is only 34 stadia distant. Kubebeh is 64 stadia, but the tradition in its favor goes back only to the 15th century. Comparatively late research has found the name, and at the distance given by Luke, in Khamasa, which lies south-west of Jerusalem, nearly west from Bethlehem. A number of recent scholars are inclined to agree upon this as the site most nearly in accord with the conditions of the Scripture narra tive. The outline map gives the relative distances and directions of these four places. Ought not the Christ to have suffered? (Lk. 24:25.) Ought the Son of God to suffer such things? Who thought so ? Of course none of his followers ; but who even of his enemies? Not Judas. The only rational explanation of the story of Judas is that he believed and reasoned that Jesus ought not to suffer, would not suffer. He might be betrayed and arrested, and tried and sentenced, but he would escape from his perse- , cutors once more as he had done a thousand times. When Judas saw his expectation defeated, he was smitten with horror and killed himself. Not Pilate. He declared him innocent. Not Pilate's wife. She charged her husband to have nothing to do with that just person. Not the centurion who superintended the execution. He testified, "Truly this was the Son of God." Not the thieves crucified with him. When one of these declared that they suffered justly but that Jesus had done nothmg amiss, his companion had nothing to reply. Not even Caiaphas; for all that he claimed was that it was expedient that one man should 326 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS die for the nation. There was a universal consent. He ought not to be arrested, to be scourged, to be mocked, to be beaten, to be crowned with thorns, to be sentenced, and above all, to be crucified. It ought not to be! This was the fixed idea of the disciples. To these commen men, in this condition, the Saviour proposed his question, "0 fools, and slow at heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He preceeded to justify the question. — Geo.'R. Leavitt in Monday Club Sermons. THE APPEARANCE TO THE DISCIPLES. And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven them selves as they sat at meat. When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and saith unto them, "Peace be unto you." But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And he said unto them, "Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I my self: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, "Have ye here anything to eat?" And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish. And he took it, and ate before them. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them ; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. (His Last Week, p. 60; Mk. 16:14; Lk. 24:36-49; Jn. 20:19-25; Cf. I Cor. 15:5b.) THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 327 The reality of the resurrection of Jesus. It is not sufficient to say that there were appearances of the Jesus who had died to certam persons — appearances the significance of which is exhausted when we say that they left on the minds of those who were favoured with them the conviction that Jesus had somehow broken the bands of death. It is quite true that St. Paul, in setting before the Corinthians the historical evidence for the resurrection, enumerates various oc casions on which the risen Lord was seen, and says nothmg about him except that on these occasions he appeared to Peter, to James, to the twelve, to more than five hundred at once, and so on; this was quite sufficient for his purpose. But there is no such thing in the new testament as an appearance of the risen Saviour in which he merely appears. He is always represented as entering into relation to those who see him in other ways than by a flash upon the inner or the outer eye ; he establishes other communications between himself and his own than that which can be characterised in this way. — James Denney, The Death of Christ, p. 67. The evidential value of Christ's resurrection. (Jn. 20:28, 29.) The mode of his rising from the dead is not vital to Christianity; he might rise with physical or spiritual body, so far as we can see ; but the resur rection itself was vital, as Paul asserts in I Cor. ch. 15 ; because it afforded evidence that Jesus Christ who died did not thereby cease to exist or lose his power to bless the world, and that his realm of gracious operation in cludes the unseen life as well as the seen. Beyond death is the unknown ; if Christ had not re turned thence, men would not have been sure that in that unseen world to which all must go he had power, 328 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS or even existence. The resurrection set the divine seal upon what he had done in this world by showing him victorious and powerful in the other. If it had not oc curred, no swift blossoming of timid love into enthus iastic Christianity would have been possible. It was by his rising from the dead that a Christianity of glowing and permanent faith in him was introduced, and by it he founded a church against which the gates of Hades would not prevail. How magnificently ring out the words of Rev. 1 :17, 18: "Fear not; I am the the first and the last, and the Living One ; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." Other evidences of his eternal reality and power have since been added, but they have not ren dered superfluous the evidence of the resurrection. — Clarke, Christian Theology, p. 322. Importance of the resurrection. For thirty-three years Jesus had trusted in God, and loved his fellow men, and lived above this world, and trampled every kind of sin under foot. He claimed to be the Son of God, and to have come into this world to do God's work. He laid down his life with perfect singleness of heart upon the cross, and he declared that God would raise him again from the dead. The resurrection was to be the sanction of his life and death, it was to be the prophecy and earnest of his power and and glory. If he were raised from the dead, then was he beyond doubt the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, who had overcome the enemy of the human race and opened the gates of immortality. If his body saw cor ruption in Joseph's tomb, and none again looked on Jesus Christ, then not only had the pharisees and priests attained their design and done their will upon THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 329 the Prophet of Nazareth, but sin has been unconquered and still wields an unbroken sway over our race. With a satisfaction tempered by nervous anxiety, his ene mies saw him die. With bitter regret, untouched by hope, his disciples buried him in the garden, and the very heart of human faith and of human hope hangs upon the issue. — Watson, The Life of the Master. The identity of the risen Saviour. Quickly on the back of the announcement that the resurrection had taken place came the vision of the risen one himself. There seems to have been some change in his outward appearance, though not enough to make it impossible to identify him when the eye became accustomed to that which it was beholding. Galilee, which he had always loved and where his ministry had been spent, drew him back to its mountains and its lovely lake. There was the old consideration for his own, also, in withdrawing them, for a time at least, from Jerusalem, with its agitations and perils, and taking them to a place where they could recover their faith and pur pose. It was like him, too, to honor the holy women with so early a manifestation of himself; it was a re ward of fidelity, for it is nowhere said that any of them denied him, when all the men forsook him and fled. — Prof. James Stalker, in S. S. Times. Easter. Many of the northern nations celebrated the vernal equinox as a time of festivity and cheer. The same "Easter" was given by the early Saxons to a festival in honor of the goddess of spring. Some features of the common celebration may be traced to this Teutonic origin. There is a peculiar fitness in celebratmg the resurrection of the Lord of the earth in that season when earth wears its resurrection robe of green. 330 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The early Christians celebrated Easter with solemn and joyous services; it was a day of unalloyed Chris tian gladness. No requirement was given by Christ or the apostles ; the day has been gladly observed by the church as one of uncompelled rejoicing. The Roman Catholic, Greek and Protestant Episcopal churches make it a matter of ecclesiastical rule, and the non- liturgical churches more and more universally enter into its celebration. In some parts of the Greek church, friends meeting on Easter morning greet each other with the words, ' ' The Lord is risen ! " To which the customary answer is: "He is risen indeed!" In all Christian lands churches of every name on that day are specially adorned with flowers and other emblems of life and hope, and their worship is enriched with songs and anthems of triumphant faith. The date of Easter. Jesus rose on the Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox— a time we are able to fix by the Feast of the Jewish Passover. The anniversary of our Lord's resurrection is reckoned not according to the civil calendar, but by the Jewish reli gious calendar, which was celebrated from the 14th to the 21st of the Jewish month Nisan, a month corre sponding to the latter part of March and the first part of April. There was some difference of practice among the early Christians, and some sharp con troversy. To settle these the Council of Nice (A. D. 325) decreed that Easter should be celebrated the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, and this decree has been followed by the general practice of the church. The equinox al ways falling on March 21st, the first full moon follow ing may be in the night of March 21st-22nd, and the Sunday after may be as early as March 22d. But a THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 331 whole lunar month, less one day, may pass after the equinox before a Sunday following a full moon, and so Easter may be as late as April 25th. Between these extremes called "the Easter limits" the date varies from year to year. The Oriental churches, in Russia, Greece, and elsewhere, still observe the unre- f ormed calendar, and their Easter therefore falls some times before and sometimes after that of the Western church, though sometimes the two coincide. A fixed date for Easter. So many business, educa tional, social, and personal events depend upon the dates for lent and Easter, that the extreme variations often cause serious difficulties, and there is a move ment afoot in England to substitute a fixed date for the movable one. April 14 has been proposed in a bill before parliament. This would evidently make Easter come on a week-day oftener than on Suuday. An English member of parliament, Robert Pearce, in writing in the London Daily Chronicle on the incon veniences of a variable date for Easter, says "It shifts the social and fashionable seasons most incon veniently by an early or late lent. ' ' And this is not all : "It upsets the financial year of Great Britain and Ireland, which ends on March 31, bringing sometimes two Easters into one financial year, and sometimes a year without an Easter at all. The value of statistics is much injured in consequence. It inconveniences the commercial and financial worlds in several ways. In all manufacturing centers Whitsuntide is observed as a holiday by the many thousands of the wage-earn ing classes, and the dislocation of business contracts and engagements occasioned thereby is not only ex tremely inconvenient, but often occasions much loss. Similar troubles beset Bills of Exchange. The world 332 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS of fashion throughout all classes is much affected. At Eastertide all classes from the humblest to the most luxurious usually provide fresh clothes and fresh win dow-curtains, and freshen up their homes. An early or late Easter makes serious differences in these do mestic matters. ' ' The schools and universities, including the elemen tary, secondary, and public schools are terribly upset by the shifting Easter dividing the best of the educa tional year into unequal and inconvenient parts. . . . "The marvel is, that with all these inconveniences, Easter has not long ago been fixed, and it would have been a happy thing if the Council of Nice had been guided by the solar year alone and not attempted the impossible combination of a luni-solar year. The motions of the earth and moon are incommeasurable, and the stability of the orbits of both depend on this incommeasurableness. In this as in other things prog ress depends on the play of forces in unstable equilib rium. Knowledge, however, in 325 A. D. was not equal to the settlement of Easter, and it was at the mercy of Pagan usages and the Ptolemaic cosmogony. Still, the effort of Julius Caesar, Constantine the Great, and Pope Gregory, and in Great Britain of Lord Ches terfield in 1752, may well be now completed by the British House of Commons affirming the desirability of fixing Easter and reforming the calendar." It is unlikely that Christendom will ever agree upon a date for Easter that makes it possible for the event to fall on a week day ; but there would be no impropriety, and would be manifest convenience in agreeing upon a fixed Sunday, as the second Sunday in April. The Easter egg. The use of the egg at Easter time is doubtless to be attributed to the high regard in which THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 333 it was held among many nations as the symbol of life. The Easter lily. The lily has always been highly regarded in the church. Jesus said "Consider the lilies. ' ' The white lily is the symbol of purity. There is a peculiar fitness in the choice of this flower as an Easter emblem. Its bulb is hidden in the earth, and waits the coming of the Easter season to spring forth and blosom. Beautiful in itself it is still more beautiful in its sacred significance. REPORT OF THE WATCH. Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers, saying, "Say ye, 'His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.' And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care." So they took the money and did as they were taught: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day. (His Last Week, p. 58; Mt. 28:11-15.) The report of the soldiers. (Mt. 28:11-15.) The soldiers had been stricken with amazement by some strange sight or sound, and knew that the tomb had been opened, but there is no evidence that they knew of Christ's resurrection. They certainly had not seen him come forth from the tomb, and the message which came to the Jewish women at the tomb, they, as Roman soldiers, could not understand. Therefore, whatever they may have reported to the chief priests, they did not report the resurrection of Christ. If they reported that the tomb had been suddenly and wondrously opened, and even if they reported that it was empty, it is not incredible that the priests believed their report Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, pp. 387-388. 334 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The report of the watch. It is said to be incredible that the priests would at once believe the report of the soldiers who told them of the occurrences at the tomb, when Jesus' own disciples refused to believe until they had seen the risen one, and had had other proof of the reality of the event. But in reply to this objec tion, we must notice that Matthew does not say, or imply, that the chief priests believed in the resurrec tion of Jesus on the report of the soldiers. It is not even said that the soldiers reported that Jesus had risen. They had been struck with amazement by some strange sight or sound, and knew that the tomb had been opened, but there is no evidence that they knew of Jesus' resurrection. They certainly had not seen him come forth from the tomb, and the message which came to the Jewish women at the tomb, they, as Roman soldiers, could not understand. Therefore, whatever they may have reported to the chief priests, they did not report the resurrection of Jesus. If they reported that the tomb had been suddenly and wondrously opened, and even if they reported that it was empty, it is not incredible that the priests believed their re port. If they had been in any doubt, they could easily have satisfied themselves that the tomb was empty. Perhaps they did this. And then it is objected further that Roman soldiers would not have risked their lives by allowing the story to go abroad that they had slept at their post (Mt. 28 :13). But it is not so certain that they did risk their lives. They had the Sanhedrin on their side, and it had been seen in the last days that the Sanhedrin was able to bend Pilate to its will. And then, even if there was some risk, there was also large money, and men have never been wanting who would risk their lives for money. We must conclude, there- THE STORY OF EASTER SUNDAY 335 fore, that we find no sufficient reason for rejecting the historicity of this narrative. — George Holley Gil bert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 313. ftbe Stor$ of £be 3fort^ 2>a\>s. SunOag, april 9 to tlbursOas, fliag 15, B. 2>. 30 A full week of silence follows Easter Sunday. How the disciples employed the six days we do not know. On Sunday, a week after the resurrection, we find them in the upper room, and there again they saw Jesus. Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Easter evening. He could not believe the report they gave him, and insisted that he must have ocular proof. Just a week afterwards when they were ,all together, probably in the same upper room, which may have become their meeting place, Jesus again appeared, offered to Thomas the proofs he sought, and was gladly acknowledged by the happy disciple. The disciples left Jerusalem for Galilee, their own country. They had no settled plan and Peter sug gested a night at the old fishing trade. Six others who were present agreed to join him. As on a memorable night before, the labor of the fishermen was unre warded. Jesus appeared to them on the beach in the morning and directed them so to cast their nets that they took a mighty catch. They had not recognized him, but John guessed it was the Lord. Peter not wait ing for the boat to reach the land leaped into the water to meet the Master. Thrice he had betrayed him, now thrice Jesus gave him opportunity to testify his love, and thrice to receive a commision of service. Again in Galilee Jesus appeared to the eleven upon a mountain. He assured them of his divine authority THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 337 and gave them the Great Commission to disciple the nations. The last appearance of Jesus is placed by Luke in Jerusalem. The disciples would return there to wait for the Pentecostal blessing. Jesus bade them wait for the promise of the Father, then led them out once more on the familiar road toward Bethany, and in the act of blessing them ascended out of their sight. The eleven returned to Jerusalem with joy, and recognized that the resurrection appearances of Jesus were ended. But in the knowledge that he was no longer with them in the flesh came the glorious truth of his promise, "Lo, I am with you alway." THE APPEARANCE TO THE DISCIPLES AND TO THOMAS. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said unto them, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not be lieve." And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be unto you." Then saith he to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." Thomas answered and said unto him, "My Lord and my God." Jesus saith unto him, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (His Last Week, p. 61; Jn. 20:26-29.) The eight days after. Eight days means of course the eighth day, that is a week. It was the Jewish usage, which is seen again in the statement that Jesus rose from the dead "after three days." The disciples 338 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS were clearly assembled together on the Sunday after the Easter Sunday. Perhaps this is the first faint be ginning of the Christian Lord's Day, to be kept forever by Christendom. "Reach hither thy finger." (Jn. 20: 27). On this later occasion Christ makes more distinct reference to his crucifixion as he shows his hands and feet and side. He would thus put as another seal of the resurrection these test marks of his death. When the body of Liv ingstone was brought to England for burial, doubts were expressed in regard to the identity of the remains. It was remembered that his forearm had once been broken by the paw of a lion. Examination was made and the scar was found which was the decoration of that heroic explorer. Christ submitted to the exami nation of the service in which he had been engaged as a witness of his identity. — W. R. Campbell in Monday Club Sermons. The stigmata. It is perhaps the emphasis upon the wounds of Jesus in the narration of the doubt of Thomas that caused the church of the latter years to speak so much of them. The extraordinary, and ap parently well authenticated experience of St. Francis of Assisi must have come from a prolonged dwelling upon the thought. He saw the crucified Saviour in a vision, and when he woke from the trance he found himself marked on hands and feet with the marks (stigmata) of crucifixion. Several women in later times have experienced what may be called a stigmata neuropathy. Thomas said, "My Lord and My God." Do you shrink from worshiping Christ? What ! do you shrink from worshiping that Name which is above every name > — the Name at the sound of which every knee shall bow, THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 339 and which every tongue shall confess as Lord to the glory of God? Is there not full and glorious permis sion here? I call upon every man who has a sense of what is worthy in the noblest conception of manhood to look up to that yet nobler conception of which these are but analogies and emblems — to the glorious sacrifice of Christ as an interpreting element of the divine na ture — to God, who rules over the whole world. — H. W. Beecher. THE APPEARANCE TO THE ELEVEN BY THE SEA. After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested himself on this wise. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, "I go a fishing." They say unto him, "We also come with thee." They went forth, and entered into the boat; and that night they took nothing. But when day was now break ing, Jesus stood on the beach: yet the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore saith unto them, "Children, have ye aught to eat?" They answered him, "No." And he said unto them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find." They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his coat about him (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits off), dragging the net full of fishes. So when they got out upon the land, they see a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, "Bring of the fish which ye have now taken." Simon Peter therefore went up, and drew the net to 340 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS land, full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three ; and for all there were so many, the net was not rent. Jesus saith unto them, "Come and break your fast." And none of the disciples durst inquire of him, "Who art thou?" knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus cometh, and taketh the bread, and giveth them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these?" He saith unto him, "Yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee." He saith unto him, "Feed my lambs." (His Last Week, pp. 61-3; Jn. 21:1-23.) Appearance by the Sea of Galilee. (Jn. 21:1-14.) With the seventh appearance of the risen Lord, the time of which is not definitely fixed, we are taken from Jerusalem to Galilee (Jn. ch. 21). There were seven disciples together. . . . They had spent the night fishing, but without success. In the morning Jesus stood on the beach and talked with them from a dis tance. They did not recognize him, but became con vinced of his identity by the wonderful draft of fish which they took when they cast the net as he directed (Jn. 21:7). When they reached the shore they found a fire on which fish were cooking, and there was also bread near by. It is of course implied that Jesus had prepared these things. But apparently the fish which were being cooked were not enough for all the seven, and they were bidden to bring some of those which they had just caught. When this was done, Jesus served the seven men with bread and fish. — Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 397. The appearance by the Sea of Galilee. ( Jn. 21 :1-14.) On that morning there were by the lake of Tiberias THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 341 only seven of the disciples. Five of them only are named. They are those who most closely kept in com pany with him — perhaps also they who lived nearest the lake. The scene is introduced by Peter's proposal to go a-fishing. It seems as if the old habits had come back to them with the old associations. Peter's companions proposed to join him. All that still, clear night they were on the lake, but caught nothing. Early morning was breaking, and on the pebbly beach there stood the figure of one whom they recognized not — nay, not even when he spake. Yet his words were intended to bring them this knowledge. The direction to cast the net to the right side of the ship brought them, as he had said, the haul for whieh they had toiled all night in vain. And more than this : here was such a multitude of fishes that they were not able to draw up the net into the ship. This was enough for ' ' the disciple whom Jesus loved," and whose heart may previously have misgiven him. He whispered it to Peter: "It is the Lord," and Simon, hastily gathering about him his fisher 's upper garment, cast himself into the sea. The others followed in a small boat, which must have been attached, dragging after them the net, heavy with the fishes. — Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, vol. ii, pp. 647, 648. The two words for love. Difference of opinion also exists about agapas and philo, most interpreters believing that by the former a love based on esteem or judgment is indicated, by the latter the affection of the heart. The Vulgate distinguishes by using diligis and amo. Trench uses this distinction for the interpre tation of this passage, and maintains that Peter in his reply intentionally changes the colder agapas into the 342 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS warmer philo. It is very doubtful whether this is justifiable. The two words are used interchangeably to express the love of Jesus for John, see 13:23, and 20:2; also for his love for Lazarus, 11:3, 5, 36. And that the distinction cannot be maintained at any rate in this conversation is obvious from vs. 17 ; for if the words differed in meaning, it could not be said that "Peter was grieved because Jesus a third time said phileis me"; because Jesus had not used these words three times. The words seem interchanged for eu phony. In Peter 's answer there is no sense of any dis crepancy between the kind of love demanded and the love felt. The second inquiry is intended to drive Peter back from mere customary or lip-profession to the deep- lying affections of his spirit. But now no comparison is introduced into the question, which might be para phrased: "Are you sure that love and nothmg but love is the bond between you and me?" This test Peter stands. He replies as before; and again is en trusted with the work in which his Lord is chiefly in terested. But to him who had uttered a threefold de nial, opportunity is given of a threefold confession, although Peter at first resented the reiterated inquiry. He was grieved because doubt was implied, and he knew that he had given cause for doubt. His reply is therefore more earnest than before. He is so con scious of deep and abiding love that he can appeal to the Lord's omniscience. And again he is commissioned or commanded to manifest his love in the feeding of Christ's sheep. The one qualification for this is love to Christ. It is not for want of time no other questions are asked. There was time to put this one question three times over ; and it was put because love is the one THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 343 essential for the ministry to which Peter and the rest are called. — Dods, Expos. Greek Test., vol. i, pp. 870, 871. The meaning of the miracle. We cannot but regard it as an acted parable. We are justified in so regard ing it when we note how Jesus used this figure of the net and fishes for one of his illustrations of the nature and work of the kingdom, and that he doubled this miracle on the same Galilean lake after the resurrec tion. Thus he called these fishermen now for apostolic work, and with this sign renewed he sealed them afresh for it ere he left the world. — Laidlaw, The Miracles of Our Lord, p. 59. Fishing on the Sea of Galilee. The waters of this beautiful lake abound in excellent fish of many varie ties. In new testament times there was no monopoly, as there is now under the Turkish rule, and a large population was engaged in fishing. The numerous prosperous towns about the lake and in the surround ing country made the trade a profitable one. Its im portance is indicated by the name of the city Bethsaida, "House of Fish." Fishing as a sport is quite unknown in ancient Galilee. It was pursued as a business- Small nets and hooks were used, and sometimes spearing was the method of the catch. But generally the seine was employed. The two methods of seining are indicated in Luke (5 :4-9) and in Matthew (13 :48) . It is evident ly the former that was used by Peter and his com panions. The net would be let down into the deep water and after encircling a considerable space would be hauled into the boat with the fish. The fishermen generally worked at night and wore only the cloth about the waist, which is the meaning of the term "naked." 344 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS The fish as a symbol. The fish was one of the earliest of mystic Christian emblems. Whether as an esoteric reference to baptism, or because the first disciples were fishermen, it soon suggested itself to the perse cuted people as a sign by which they could make them selves known to each other. The ancients were far more attentive than we to acrostic readmgs and mystic signs. Many scholars believe that the fish in early Christian usage either was originally, or in time be came, an epitomized confession of faith, its five letters, standing for the words, "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour." THE APPEARANCE TO THE ELEVEN ON THE MOUNTAIN. The eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the moun tain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, into all the world, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (His Last Week, pp. 63-4; Mt. 28:16-20; [Mk. 16:15-18].) The great commission. What, then, is the content of the teaching of commission of the risen Saviour, which all the evangelists give in one form or another? Luke has some peculiar matter in which he tells how Jesus opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures, recalling the words he had spoken while he was yet with them, how that all things must be ful filled which were written in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concernmg him. If Jesus spoke to his disciples at all about what had be- THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 345 fallen him, all that we have already seen as to his teaching prepares us to believe that it was on this line. Alike for him and for the disciples the divine necessity for his death could only be made out by connecting it with intimations in the word of God. But apart from this instruction, which is referred to by Luke alone, there is the common testimony with which we are mainly concerned. In Matthew it runs thus: "Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all power has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you all the days until the end of the world" (Mt. 28:18). Here we notice as the essential things in our Lord's words (1) the universal mission; (2) baptism; (3) the promise of a spiritual presence. — James Denney, The Death of Christ, pp. 70-1. THE LAST APPEARANCE AND ASCENSION. And he said unto them, "These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me." Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures; and he said unto them, "Thus it is writ ten, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high." And he led them out until they were over against Beth any : and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they 346 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy : and were continually in the temple, blessing God. Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book : but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name. He saith unto him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?" He saith unto him, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." He saith unto him, "Tend my sheep." He saith unto him the third time, "Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?" Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, "Lovest thou me?" And he said unto him, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus saith unto him, "Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thy self, and walkedst whither thou wouldst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, "Follow me." Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also leaned back on his breast at the sup per, and said, "Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee?" Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Jesus saith unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, that he should not die, but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" (His Last Week, p. 64; Lk. 24:50-53.) The final interview in Jerusalem. (Lk. 24:44-49.) The interview was not for long, for the risen Christ dwelt apart from his disciples, coming to them at un certain times and only for brief spaces. He lingers, however, now to explain to the eleven, as before to the THE STORY OF THE FORTY DAYS 347 two, the great mystery of the redemption. He opens their minds, that the truth may pass within. — Chad wick, Expos. Bible, Luke, pp. 413, 414. The ascension. Luke alone refers to the ascension, and that not in his Gospel, but in the Acts (Acts 1:9). According to the passage in Acts, Jesus was seen, ap parently by eyes of flesh, ascending into the air, and at last was hidden by a cloud. How Mark concluded his Gospel we do not know. The present conclusion, 14 :9- 20, is almost unanimously admitted to be an interpola tion. We cannot say, therefore, whether the second evangelist made any allusion to the ascension. — George Holley Gilbert, Student's Life of Jesus, p. 332-3. The glory of the ascension. (Lk. 24:50-53.) The last paragraph of the gospel of Luke presents a scene of indescribable grandeur. Jesus, who had risen from the grave and moved about upon the earth for a few weeks like a phantom — for the most part hiding him self from their sight, and only now and then, at some unexpected moment, revealing himself to their be wildered senses — now leads them forth, past the gloomy shades of Gethsemane, over the shoulder of Olivet where but lately the fountains of sorrow were opened as he looked down upon the devoted city, and past the withered fig-tree, to Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. But no longer did he need the protecting care of this hospitable roof. The hours of his humiliation were passed. He was the man of sorrows no longer. — G. Frederick Wright in Monday Club Sermons. Lent. Lent is the forty days (excluding Sundays) beginning with "Ash Wednesday" and ending with Easter. The name is derived from a German word meaning ' ' Spring. ' ' It has no Biblical authority, but 348 DAY BY DAY WITH JESUS is employed by increasing numbers of Christians and churches as a period profitable for meditation, self- denial and prayer. Originally the fast was forty hours — -"the time between the crucifixion and the rising." But gradually these forty hours became forty days, "from the cases of Moses, Elijah and our Lord." These fasts had no connection with the resurrection. Gregory the Great gives six weeks to "Lent," or thirty-six days, as the Sundays were not fast days. When the four days were added is not known. Layard alleges that a lent of forty days "in the spring of the year" is kept by the Yezidis or pagan Devil worshipers of Koordistan — inherited from the Babylonians. Humboldt says that pagan Mexicans began, after the vernal equinox, ' ' a solemn fast for forty days in honor of the sun." It is probable that other nations have similar customs. The abiding Christ. Jesus of Nazareth, whom Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus buried, we shall see on earth no more. But the Christ of God I see in every crowded street. He appeals to me from every bed of pain. He cries to me from every broken heart. He is Incarnate, Tangible, Visible, in every moral movement. He stretches forth warm hands that cling and yearn for help in every great redemptive effort which glorifies our time, in the peace movement, in the temperance crusade, in the endeavor to realize in common life the brotherhood of man. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. That joy let us complete, filling up what remains of the suffering of Christ, and carrying the cross with him ! — Charles F, Aked, The Courage of the Coward, p, 26. CALENDARS FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS A table at the beginning of this volume shows in what year Easter will occur in every year during the next century. The following calendars will show on what day of the week any anniversary, as July 4, Wash ington's Birthday, Thanksgiving, or a family birthday, will occur in each year during the twentieth century. Unlike most perpetual calendars, this is as simple as any calendar for a single year. The Index to Calen dars will show the number of the calendar which ap plies to any desired year, and the desired date can then be determined instantly. It is often important to determine on what day of the week a past event has occurred. Most people would be glad to learn, if they do not already know, on what day of the week they were born. These calendars will show any past anniversary since the dawn of American independence in 1776. 4 SI 6 1 12 13 1 3 19 20; 5 26 27". FEBKUAKY. NOVEMBER. 8 7 8 131 14 15 20|2I 22 27 28 29 SEPTEMBER PECEMBEB. 4 5 6 1 12 13 1 8 19 20 2 5 26 27 2 No. 2. JANUARY FEBRUARY. MARCH. s "i 14 2128 1 8 IS 2229 T •I9 16 23 30 3 10 17 2431 T 4 11 18 25 11 19 26 s 6 13 20 27 s 4 1118 25 5 1219 26 8 13 2027 7 14 2128 T 1 3 16 22 29 16 23 s 3 1017 24 s 4 11 18 25 5 1219 26 6 13 2021 7 14 2128 T 1 e 15 2229 T 29 16 23 30 s 3 1017 2431 APRIL. BUY. JUNE. 6 15 2229 9 16 2330 3 1017 24 4 11 18 25 5 1219 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 :i 28 'e13 2027 7 14 2128 1 8 15 22 29 29 16 2330 3 1017 2431 4 11 16 25 6 1219 26 2 9 16 2330 ton 17 18 24 25 5 1219 26 6 132027 7 14 2128 8 15 2529 J 7LY. AUGUST. 8EPT EMBER. 1 8 15 2229 29 16 23 30 3 [0 17 2431 "1 il ie 25 b 12 19 26 6 13 2027 7 14 2128 5 1219 26 6 13 2027 7 14 2128 1 8 15 22 29 29 16 23 30 3 1017 24 31 A 1118 25 ( 8 15 2229 2 9 1623 3 1017 24 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 2027 7 14 21 28 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. "i14 21 28 1 8 15 a J9 29 16 23 tu 3 1017 2431 4 1118 25 5 1219 26 6 13 2(127 4 1118 25 S 1219 26 6 13 2027 7 14 2128 18 15 2229 ¦I 9 16 2330 3 10 17 24 8 15 2229 2 9 16 2330 3 10172431 4 5 6 11 12 13 18 1920 25 26 27 7 14 2128 350 Calendars for One Hundred Years No. s. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. M 1 w T t B s M T J W T F s s M T w T r 'fi' "7 8 9 10 11 5 I! 1 2 1 2 ; ' 5 fi 7 If I! k 11 121; 14 15 If ii if m b "1 2? 31... 24 25 26 27 28 2 31 25 26 2, 28 23 30 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. "7 1 6 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 "5 fi 7 1 a 2a 3 in ¦J 11 1 ? is: IV n 14 l,S n. 17 If 2ft 26 IV VI 1 VI vv ..., VA 26 27 28 29 30 31 v;s 24 25 26 27 28 29 JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEMBER. 3 4 5 6 1 V •A V 13 4 ft fi 7 H V HI 111 20 11 1" IH 14 15 in 17 1,1 16 27 1H ia 'II 21 W 23 'A ffl 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 29 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. 3 5 6 7 8 a 10 11 12 3 4 5 fi 7 fi 9 17 18 ia 10 II 1? 13 14 lb IK 24 25 m IT IM 19 20 ?l iW 23 .... tf M 26 27 ;,-. 29 30 29 30 Jl No. S. JAJSUARY. | FEBRUARY. S M 1 w T fibs M T w T rr B S M T w F 4 1 I 5 fl 9 10 8 t If 11 5 1? 6 7 ' 3 4 5 t 7 IS 11 r 11 I1 25 26 27 28 21 30 31 22 23 24 26 28 27 28 :: ¦23 24 ; 26 27 28 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 1 ? 4 ft b 1 N 11 1?1f 1-1 15 16 17 if m vi: V.I :¦• ";i „.l... 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 JULY. AUGUST. 8EPTEMBEI fi "e 7 1 fi 2 9 3| 4 10 11 1 fi ? 3 4 fi 17 1H a 10 11 1? 13 1415 13 14 16 17 18 14 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 29 «. OCTOBER. NO /EMBER, DECEMBER. I 'A 1 V. 3 4 (1 6 7 10 8 J) 111 11 IV 3 4 111 Id 17 IH 17 18 IH ¦ 1 n 11 12 4 r» H 7 > V 11 f 1 11 11 n 13 14 13 14 Ii 16 17 IN IN II IV in 14 1ft 16 n 15 Ifi 17 If 1! 20 21 2021 ¦21.' ua w 25 ¦26 IN IH WI V.1 W W VM 2? 'Al 24 '/ft W 27 28 27|'2H 2S, 31 25 26 '27 ..., tf ;<> 31 2SJ 31 JULY. AUGUST. ¦SEPTEMBER. "ft 7 8 10 ¦4 11 5 1? 1 fi 2 ...1 1 7 8 2fl 3 10 4 11 5 1? 6 13 R 9 3 4 fi fi 7 11- 14 1ft lh 17 IK UI HI 11 Hi 14 15 II. 14 1ft 16 17 If IH •2(1 21 '/I 2? '¦ 24 25 Wi 17 If 1!i '211 21 W Vv Hi m as VA 25 2fi 27 27 28 29 30 31 2431 25 26 27 va 29 30 28 29 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEB1SJ.K ):><;. fi fi 7 1 fi 9 3| 4 10.11 18 "7 1 8 2a 3 10 4 11 5 1? 6 13 "Vi "ri 4 .1 6 7 H lf> 16 17 11' 9,111 11 Vf in 14 1,1 14 il 16 17 If IH W V ¦',-. 21 ti ?:• 24 2.1 16i17 if IH •ff] 21 22 7.1 23 '24 2.1 26 27 26 77 ¦* Hi ¦ax 31 'J( 7,4 w> 2fi '27 2fl 2,1 28 29 an 31 No. 6. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. S M T W T F s s M T w T f 3 3 M T W T F 8 ft 2a "7 1 8 2 a 3 10 4 11 5 1? 6 13 "7 1 R 2f) 11 4 11 5 1? 6 13 3 4 fi fi 7 ir 11 IV Ii 1- lil k> 14 15 16 \'i If 1! VI 1^ 15 16 \\ If 1! '2(1 17 If 1! Vi 21 w ¦•:- 21 a tt- VA 2ft Vf ¦a M ',',' r. % 2.1 26 27 24 25 2S 27 :;¦. 29 30 28 28 29 30 31 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 1 4 ft fi 7 fi fl in 2 a 4 fi fi 7 8 h 7 * fl K 11 12 11 1? 1.1 14 15 16 17 a 10 11 17 IH 14 1,1 m 14 16 17 IN ia IH 19 2(1 VI 2? v:i tt 16 17 i« 111 w VA '¦¦'. n VI Ki «4 2fi 2n '25 26 27 28 29 3U 23 30 24 11 26 26 27 28 29 27 2D 29 30 JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEMBER. 1 V, 3 1 V 3 4 ft « 7 1 v- 3 4 4 ft 6 7 H a II) 8 a 111 11 IV, 13 14 fi fi 7 « H 1(1 11 II Vf. 13 14 15 tii 17 1ft 16 17 IH ia VO ?,1 IV 13 14 1ft 16 17 IH IM IH m ',1 n a >1 ffl '« 24 25 ib w a« l!i WI ?,1 'fit as •24 W 25 21.: 27 28 29 30 .11 29 ID 31 26 27 2> 21 ai OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. V 3 4 5 fi 7 fi H 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 fi 6 7 8 fl in 11 10 11M2 13 14 IS IH 14 1ft Ifi 17 18 IH 20 12 13 14 1516 17 IM 17 IHIl'l •A\ 21 Xi .'1 ?? >:i •M 2.1 m 27 1W m 21 •mm W 2ft '2431 25 26 27 23 29 30 2H 29 30 26 •27 28 29 30 31 No. *r. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. s T s 3 M T i 10 F s 5 1? s T 2 3 4 9 5 2 3 4 ft 6 7 ft fi 7 M a 11 fi 7 Ii 1; T Ib u 17 1> II 11 t' "( 21 W ¦' 30 31 25 26 27 '28 211 27 28 V7 28 29 30 31 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 3 4 S fi 7 11 2 fl a 1 8 2 fi 3 in 4 11 5 1? 6 13 7 14 "fi fi 7 1 8 2 3 4 1;. K 1ft Hi 17 if Ii W ?1 IV !¦¦ 14 15 %' ¦2:i '.'-1 25 26 27 '2> 151 Vi 21 •&¦ a wise a. 31! 31 •IE 27 2* 2H 3t JULY. AUGUST. 8 EPTEH IBER. 3 4 5 6 7 « a "7 fi 9 10 11 12 13 4 fi l,*l 16 14 1.1 16 17 IH ia il 11 IV 23 21 23 '24 Al 2ft 27 31 a 23 2a :¦! 28 va 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. 1 2 2 3 4 6 B 7 h 6 7 8 a Ki 11 1? a 10 11 12 13 14 1ft 13 14 15 16 17 IH IH 11 1? 18 17 18 19 20 .'(> 21 '¦' ffl •A AS 2Ji 23 ¦4 25 26 27 :¦ 2a 27 :¦¦¦ 2fl «) A:. tin 27 P.a 30 31 NO. 8. JANUARY. FEBRUARY, MARCH. 8 M T w T 1 F s 3 M T W IT F | S s M T w T F B 1 2 if 4 n fi 7 1 '/ 3 4 1 ? 3 8 fi 10 11 1213 14 fi fi 7 H H mill 4 h fi 7 8 a 10 lb 16 17 IH uim 21 IV. 13 14 15 16 17I1H 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 2? '¦¦; VA 25 '!,:'V 2* 19 til ¦1 22 23 fA Wi IH ia WI 21 m Al VA 29 ¦¦¦ 31 28 27 28 29 1... 25|'26 27 28 29 30 31 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 1 8 29 3 10 4 11 b 12 6 13 7 14 "fi 7 1fi •2fl 3 10 1 8 2 9 11 1? P 4 fi fi 7 1,1 Hi 17 IN IH 2JI V,l VA 14 1ft 16 17 IM 1VI H 11 IV 14 in 1« 2V 2:1 21 '21 '26 27 2H 2*1 '21 1W v:i 24 2fl !i\ 17 IH U '211 VI 22 ^ 27 28 29 24 25 26 27 28 ¦29 30 JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEM IS EK.. 1fi fl 3 10 II b| 6 12Jl3iam 7 14 "5 fi 7 1fi •Ifl 3 10 4 11 1 8 ? S 4 ft fi 7 If 11 If '21 1? n 14 15 If 17 If f H III'.' I.11 14 Ih w •mm an !'¦ •a\ 21 V W 24 If IK IV 'fl 71 29 30 31 ¦'•[•• '28 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 25 26 '27 28 29 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. "7 18 2a 3 10 4 11 6 12 13 4 5 « 7 1fi 2 1ft 1 fi ? f 4 fi 1* 15 11 n IN 1! '21 11 IV Ii 14 1ft U 11 ,8 11 11 IV 21 •fit '. 2- •It a •/I V 11 •a 21 2? 'A- '^ n 2! 2! •J 31 'Al 2f •£ » ¦a w W 24 25 2h '27 ¦2i 28 30 31 Calendars for One Hundred Years 351 NO O. a "7 142128 JA M 1 8 16 12 29 N 2 9 IG 23 30 UA 3 1017 24 3. H. 4 11 18 25 Y. 1226 6 13 2027 FEBRUARY 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 2fi 27 28 20 ... 5 3 101724 B, MARCH M T W T _:_ 1 8 15 ::.'. 29 9 2 9 16 2330 3 10 17 24 4 111825 6 1219 26 6 13 ffl 27 7 14 :i 28 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. "7 14 2128 1 8 15 2229 •2 9 1623 30 3 10 17 24 4 11 18 2ft b 1219 26 6 13 20 27 "fi'fi12 13 19 20 26 27 ... 1 7 8 1415 21 72 28 29 2fi 16 23 30 3 1017 2431 4 1118V5 29 16 2330 3 1017 24 4 11is25 5 V2 19 26 '6 13 2027 7 14212fi 8 IS 2229 JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEMBEIt ...1 1 7 8 14 15 21 22 2f}l29 29 16 2330 3 10 17 2431 4 11 1825 ft 12 ia 26 6 1320 77 4 1118 25 5 12 19¦r 6 7 13 14 20 21 '27l2fi 1 8 152229 29 16 23 30 3 10172431 1 8 15¦2229 2 9 162330 3 10 17 24 4 11 1825 5 12 19 '21. 6 132027 7 14 2128 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER "ft13 2027 7 14 2123 3 1017243. 4 111825 5 12 1926 18 1ft¦.:: 29 2 9 162330 1 8 152229 29 162330 3 10172431 4 11 18 25 ft 121926 b 13 20 V, 14 21 28 8 152229 9 16 23 30 3 4 10 11 17 18 24 2ft 5 6 12 13 19 20 26 27 7 14 212, IMO. 10. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. 8 M T w T r s 8 M T w T F 3 e M T w T F 8 "fl 1 8 2 a 3 10 4 11 6 12 18 2s I fl 4 5 fl 7 ? 3 4 ft fi 7 13 14 lh 16 17 IH 19 11) 11 12 13 14 15 is a 111 11 1*2 13 14 Ift Wl n W /'A IA /ft 26 17 IH Ifi .M 11 .- 221 Hi 17 18 It) 20 M 22 27 w ml an \\ .',1 AS 76 27 ':¦ 2H ¦M '¦1 25 ¦1, 27 .'.4 m 30 31 APRIL. m >, v. JUNE. 1 :>, A 4 5 1 ? ii 1 2 H 4 h 6 7 fi 7 fl a 10 II 12 4 i» 6 7 N 1, 11 H *l HI 11 12 in 14 in 14 is 16 17 IH 19 11 13 14 lh It 17 lh Ifi 17 IH lil Vf! 71 Wl \fl w •a IA 2ft ?Ji IM 19 20 VI ... K '24 22 .,, 'IA 'AS 76 27 2M 77 W 251 ;mi 2* V6 '27 '2? V* 31 HI 29 sr JULY. AUOUST. SEPTEMBER. 1 •1 :\ 4 1 V 1 ¦1 3 4 ft 6 t- 1 f t. m 11 1? fl 4 ft 6 1 f 1 7 N H 111 11 1? 13 11 14 IS n; 17 IN HI HI 11 1? i;< 14 1ft It 14 lh M 17 IH 11- •fl) •lk 21 T n VA 'AS ¦Mi 17 IN 1! ¦¦i VI •»¦, Vi 21 W .,., 74 ¦is, '26 27 27 28 ¦29 30 31 24 2ft 26 27 28 29 30 28 vy 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. 1 V 4 fl f 1 * f If 11 V f 4 fi fi 1 f 7 f fi It 11 12 13 12 If 14 lh If n If i 11 II 1; If 14 1ft 14 15 H 17 lh 1! '20 H ¦¦- •M ¦¦ •fi '.'4 V.S If 17 If n ¦fl VI % '21 iff Iff 24 '2ft 26 27 a z< •a 2} tt 31 iff '.'/ 25 26 '21 •a 2t 2* 2* ;*¦ 31 ... • ; ¦¦¦•¦rJ No. 11. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. s M T w T F 3 3 1.1 T w T F e s M T w T F e "fi "fi "7 1 fi 29 3 1ft 4 11 1 8 I fi 7fi 3 10 4 11 s 1? 6 13 7 14 V 3 4 fi fi 7 1 2 13 14 Ifi 16 17 18 il 111 11 12 IH 14 15 15 16 17 IN IH '.11 V.I ia Wl V.I ffl rA VA 25 16 17 If It! Vi 1 V.l ..., V.V 23 "4 AS 26 ¦a 28 2fi 27 28 29 au 31 •23 24 25 2fi 27 ..:- .:.¦ 29 3U ill APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 1 VI 3 4 1 ? 1 V J 4 h fi fi (i 7 8 H 10 11 3 4 fl H 7 N H 7 H 1 If II 1? If 12 VA 14 lh Ifi 17 IH HI 11 12 13 14 15 16 14 ifi 16 17 IN ii: Vf ia •2(1 n W va 24 AS 17 IK ia I'D 21 '," ttH •f\ 77 W '24 ¦AS '26 •27 2A 27 28 29 30 31 AS 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 311 JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEMBER. fi fi 7 8 2fl I 8 "fi 7 1 fi 29 10 11 ? 3 4 ft fi 7 K 11 17 Ifi 14 15 Ifi 17 IH !l 1(1 11 1? VA 14 IS VA 14 I* lb 17 n w: •IA W W VA Vft Id 17 IN Id Wl V.I .... ¦1 71 21 2b 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 '25 2ft 27 V.H 29 ¦27 V> 29 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. ', ! 4 h 6 7 1 fi 11 11 1? in 14 6 7 N V 11 11 15 If r n 1!i 2( 21 VA 14 1ft Ifi It % '¦¦¦ r. ?,' 7ft Vi 27 2* 25 2« 27 23 '29 30 31 29 30 27 78 3U ::: J NO. 12. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. 5 M T w T F 6 a M T w T F s s M T w T F B 1 V 3 I y 3 4 fi fi 7 1 P. 3 4 fi fi 4 ft fi 7 H ii HI H f 111 11 1? Hi 14 7 ft H 1(1 11 12 13 11 1" 13 14 IS Hi 17 lh Ifi 17 If M Vtl 71 14 lh Ifi 17 IH ia ai IH VI ¦-¦ a ... .':• 24 n 2S ¦24 'AS Vii 27 W- vn ?.? VA V4 2h 26 27 25 n; 27 2M 29 3< 31 29 r— •AS vh';jo ill APRIL. MA'Y. JUNE. 4 ft 6 7 1 fi 2fl 3 Ifi 1 8 "fi 7 1 ft 29 31 4] h 10 11 12 1 3 4 fi fi 7 r 13 14 i:> IC IV 1) III 11 12 13 14 Ifi i; 14 1ft 16 17 18 19 ia 'fl '.1 iff w- V4 Hi IM VA 20 VI W a "1 W V> 24 25 28 '2ft 26 27 tii 211 J') '2330 24 II 25 26 SI 28 29 27 28 29 30 ......|... JULY. AUOUST. SEPT K 'lil lilER. 1 ¦I fi 1 V 3 4 ft 6 1 1 •1 ? 4 4 M fi 7 fi * 111 M 0 1(1 11 Vf Ifi 14 5 fi 7 f \ 11 11 11 |'2 13 14 Ifi Ii 17 If, n 17 18 K VI 71 I' i:j 14 ii If. 17 If iahi '1 •.:,' •A •IA n .... VA •2ft w 27 •a- ll :><•¦ '21 ¦2-2 'A 25 ¦20j '27 J.S 29 :w 31 29 ¦.u 31 V •si 28 29 30 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER. fi a 4 11 b r fi 1? "ft fi 7 1 fi 2fl 3 10 4 11 3 4 5 fi 7 7 fi a 10 H II IV Ifi 14 lh If* 14 lh 16 17 IN IN 1? 13 14 IS 16 If 18 n IN It) VII '21 nhi 21 "¦ •ft 24 ','ft «fl '27 n •211 V,l ¦si ¦.•: '24 % •2b 26 |V7 ¦>> va hi 2t 2J 31 26 '27 28 21 Ml 31 a '"' ' NO. 13. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. T T H — — -11 ' 1 ? 3 4 6 fi 8 fl 10 11 12 VA 6 7 fi ii it 11 12 lh IH 17 IH ia 111 70 21 77 23 21 n n IA 'AS 2fi 27 id - 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 28 29 ...|... APRIL. MAY. JUNE. 1 2 1 •I 9 A 10 4 11 bl fi 1? 13 7 14 "fi "fi "7 s 9 10 11 IH 17 IN |» 211 '21 %> .,, va VA •AS 26 27 2f 24 25 26 27l28 29 30 29 30 31 JULY. AUGUST. 1 2 1 •Ift ID 11 1? 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ifi 17 If 1!- 'ff 11 •*1 V 2fi VA 'AS 24 '27 24 2ft 26 27 28 29 30 '28 29 3U 31 OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. DECEMBER 1 fi 9 10 11 12 4 fi fi 7 fl 9 10 14 1ft If 17 IK Ifi 11 12 Hi ?l •(It r.\ VA 2330 24 31 26 2fi 27 23 29 27 28 '29 30 26 No. 1*. JANUARY. FEBRUARY. MARCH. 1^ T s s T. WiT tt — — — — — ft ," 12 a 4 ^ fi 7 8 H 1(1 11 12 ft A 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 1ft Ifi 17 IH IH 12 ft. 20 :i ... U IAV lis tH 19 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 29 ...|... 27 APRIL. MAY. JUNE. I 1 8 29 3| 4 in 11 6 1? 6 13 4 ft fi 7 8 9 10 14 15 16 17 MM lil .ii 11 i W 71 '.",• a m\Vh ^6 '27 IH 23 25 26 27 28 '29 '28 2U ao 31 ... 2ft JULY. AUGUST. SEPTEMBER. 1 a ift 11 1? 3 4 fi fi 7 8 9 I! 14 Ifi Ifi 17 If Ii It •fi ..,,. '23 24 11 '26 11 77 ¦If ¦¦ % 28 2S 30 81 3C :ti NOVEMBER. DECEMBO 9 'fi 7 1 8 2fl 3 in 4 11 18 ; < ft fi 8 i' lh 16 11 11 11 11 ?l 21 '.:¦ «¦ 'ft 'AS v. 22 [29 23 30 3; 25 26 27 2S 2fi » 2fJ ¦lh 30 .. ¦2A 31 INDEX TO CALENDARS The number opposite each date is that of the calendar which applies to that year. For example, any day in 1776 can be found in Calendar 9; any day in 1935 can be found in Calendar 5. No. No. No. No. No. 1776 . 9 1821 .. 2 1866 . 2 1911 .. 1 1956 .. 8 1777 .. 4 1822 .. 3 1867 .. 3 3 1778 .. 5 1823 .. 4 1868 .. 11 1913 .. 1968 .. 1779 . . 6 1824 .. ....12 1869 .. 6 1914 .. 5 1959 .. 5 1780 . . 14 1825 .. 7 1870 .. 7 1915 .. 1781 .. 2 1826 .. 1 1 1916 .. 14 1961 .. 1 1782 .. 3 1827 .. 2 1872 .. 9 1917 .. 1962 .. 2 1783 . . . . . . 4 1873 .. 1918 .. 1963 .. 3 1784 . 12 1829 .. 5 1874 .. 5 1919 .. 4 1964 .. 11 1785 . . 7 1830 .. 6 1875 .. 6 1920 .. 12 1965 .. 6 1786 . . 1 1831 .. 7 1876 .. 14 1921 .. 1966 .. 7 1787 .. 2 1832 . . 8 1877 .. 2 1922 . . 1 1967 .. 1 1788 .. 10 1833 .. 3 1878 .. 3 2 9 1789 . . 5 1834 .. 4 1879 .. 1924 .. 10 1790 . . 6 1835 .. 1880 .. 12 1925 .. 6 5 1791 .. 7 1836 .. 13 1881 .. 7 1971 .. 6 1792 .. 8 1837 .. 1 1882 . . 1 1972 .. 14 1793 . . 3 1838 .. 2 1883 .. 2 1928 .. 8 1973 .. 1794 .. 4 1839 .. 3 1884 . . 10 1929 .. 3 1974 .. 3 1795 .. 5 1840 .. 11 1885 .. 5 1975 .. 4 1796 .. 13 1841 .. 6 1886 .. 6 1931 .. 6 12 1797 . . 1 1842 . . 7 1887 .. 7 1932 .. 13 1977 .. 7 1798 .. 2 1843 .. 1 1933 .. 1 1978 . . 1 1799 .. 3 1844 . . 9 1889 .. 3 1979 .. 2 1800 .. 4 1845 .. 4 1890 .. 4 1935 .. 3 1980 .. 10 1801 . . 6 1846 .. 5 1891 .. 5 1936 .. 11 1981 .. 5 1802 .. 6 1847 .. 1892 .. 13 1982 .. 6 1803 .. 7 1848 .. 14 1938 .. 7 1983 .. 7 1804 . . 8 1849 .. 2 1894 .. 2 1939 .. 1 1984 .. 8 1805 .. 3 1850 .. 3 1940 .. 9 1985 .. 3 1806 .. 4 1851 .. 4 1986 .. 4 1807 .. 5 1852 .. 12 1942 .. 6 1808 . . 13 1853 .. 7 1898 .. 7 1943 . . 6 198* . . 13 1809 .. 1 1854 . . 1 1944 . .. .. . 14 1989 .. 1 1810 .. 2 1855 .. 2 1900 .. 2 1990 .. 2 1811 .. 3 1856 .. 10 1901 .. 3 1946 .. 3 1991 .. 3 1812 .. 11 1857 .. 5 1902 .. 4 11 1813 . 6 1858 .. 6 1903 .. 5 1948 .. 12 1993 .. 6 1814 .. 7 1859 .. 7 1904 .. 13 1994 .. 1815 .. 1 1860 .. 8 1905 .. 1950 .. 1 1995 .. 5 1816 .. 9 1861 .. 3 1951 .. 2 1817 . . 4 1863 .. 1907 .. 3 1997 .. 4 1818 .. 6 1863 .. 5 1908 .. 11 1998 . 5 1819 .. 6 13 1909 . . 6 6 1999 . 6 1820 .. 14 1865 .. 1 191» .. 7 1955 .. 7 2000 . 14 Illustration. — If you were born June 28, 1861, and wish to know the day of the week, the index shows that Calendar 3 applies to that year. Calendar 3 shows that in all years to which that calendar applies June 28 falls on Friday. (Copyright, 1913, by William E. Barton.) VALE I f= 5 70 ^2ar