1. THE LIFEOF THE LORD BY GEORGE DE CHARMSACADEMY BOOK ROOMBRYN ATHYN, PENNSYLVANIA 1 962

2. First printing, 1948, 1500 copies Second printing, 1962, 1000 copies Copyright 1948 and 1962THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 3. KEY1. Jemsalem. 9.Nain.2. Bethlehem. 10.Nazareth.3. Bethany. 11.Cana.4. Jericho. 12.Capemaum.5. Bethabara. 13.Bethsaida.6. Emmaus.14.Magdala.7. Ephraim. 15.The Mount.8. Sychar.16.Gadara.17. Caesarea Philippi. 2 4. 4 AA BB cc32o30 ;~:i::.,.30 .... EE 4 PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF THELORD Key to Nu.mbers:1.Jerusalem 4. Jericho 7. Ephraim10. Nazareth13. Bethsaida 16. Gedara2. Bethlehem5. Bethabara 8. Sychar 11. Cana14. Magdala 17. Caesarea3. Bethany6. Emmaus9. Nain 12. Capernaum 15. The Mount Philippi 5. MAP IPERIOD PRECEDING THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE Matt.MarkLukeJohn 1. The Word in the Beginning ........ 1:1-5 2. Matthews Genealogy ............. 1: 1-17 3. Preface to the Gospel of Luke ...... 1: 1-4 4. The Promise of John the Baptist..... 1: 5-25 5. The Annunciation ................. 1:26-38 6. Mary Visi ts Elizabeth ............. 1: 39-56 7. The Birth of John the Baptist ...... 1:57-80 8. An Angel Appears to Joseph ........ 1: 18-25 9. The Birth of the Lord .............2: 1-710. Angels Appear to the Shepherds.....2: 8-2011. Circumcision of the Child .......... 2:21r. BETHLEHEM TO JERUSALEM12. Presentation in the Temple ......... 2:22-39 4 6. MAP IIFROM THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE TO THE SECONDVISIT TO JERUSALEM AT THE AGE OF TWELVE YEARSMatt. MarkLuke JohnI. JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM13.The Adoration of the Wise Men ..... 2: 1-1211. BETHLEHEM TO EGYPT14.The Flight into Egypt. ............ 2:13-1515.Herods Wrath ................... 2: 16-18Ill. EGYPT TO NAZARETH16.Return to Nazareth ............... 2: 19-23IV. NAZARETH TO J ER USALEM17. Visit to Jerusalem at the Age of Twelve years ..........................2:40-50 96 7. MAP IIIFROM THE SECOND VISIT TO JERUSALEM AT THE AGE OF TWELVE YEARS TO THE THIRD VISIT AT THE AGE OF THIRTY YEARSMatt.MarkLukeJohnI. JERUSALEM TO NAZARETH18. Eighteen Years in Nazareth ........ 2:51-5219. Ministry of John the Baptist ....... 3: 1-121: 1-83: 1-20 1: 6-18n. NAZARETH TO THE FORDS OFJORDAN20. The Baptism of the Lord .......... 3: 13-17 1: 9-11 3:21-2221. The Genealogy in Luke ............3:23-38Ill.THE FORDS OF JORDAN TOTHE WILDERNESS ANDRETURN22. Temptations in the Wilderness ...... 4: 1-111:12,13 4: 1-1323. Testimony of John the Baptist ......1: 19-3424. First Three Disciples Called ........ 1: 35-42IV. THE FORDS OF JORDAN TOCANA25. Phi lip and Nathanael Called ........ 1:43-5126. The Marriage in Cana .............2: 1-11V. CANA TO CAPERNAUM27. Sojourn in Capernaum .............2: 12VI. CAPERNAUM TO JERUSALEM28. First Cleansing of the Temple ......2: 13-2229. Discourse with Nicodemus .........2:23-3: 133: 14-21114 8. MAP IVFROM THE THIRD VISIT TO JERUSALEM TO THE FOURTH VISITAT THE PASSOVER, ONE YEAR LATER Matt. Mark LukeJohn1. JERUSALEM TO CANA30. Baptizing in J udea ................3:22-2431. Further Testimony of John the Baptist 3:25-3632. Departure for Galilee .............. 4: 121: 14a 4: 14a4: 1-333. Discourse with the Woman of Samaria 4: 4-4234. Public Teaching in Galilee .........1:14b,15 4: 14b, 154:43-4535. Healing the Noblemans Son ........ 4:46-5411. CANA TO NAZARETH ANDCAPERNAUM36. First Rejection at Nazareth ........4: 16-3037. Departure to Capernaum .......... 4: 13-17 4:31,3238. Call of Peter, Andrew, James and John 4: 18-221:16-2039. Healing of Demoniac in the Synagogue1:21-284:33-3740. Healing of Peters Wifes Mother and Others ......................... 1:29-344:38-41Ill. FIRST TOUR OF GALILEE41. First Tour of Galilee .............. 4: 23-25 1: 35-39 4:42-4442. Miraculous Draught of Fishes ...... 5: 1-1143. Healing of the Leper .............. 1:40-455: 12-1644. Healing of the Paralytic ...........2: 1-125: 17-2645. Call of Matthew ..................2: 13-22 5:27-39IV. CAPERNAUM TO JERUSALEM46. Healing the Infirm Man at the Pool of Bethesda ...................... 5: 1-16 5: 17-47 168 9. MAr" IV2 34A AB Bc co30E E4 10. MAP VFROM THE FOURTH VISIT TO JERUSALEM TO THE FIFTH, AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATERMatt. Mark LukeJohn I. JERUSALEM TO THE MOUNT. 47. Plucking Corn on the Sabbath .2: 23-28 6: 1-648. Healing of the Withered Hand ................. 3: Hi6: 6-1149. The Lord Followed by Multitudes at the Sea of Tiberias.3: 7-1250. Choosing of tbe Twelve .................. 3: 13-21 6: 12-1951. Sermon on the Mount.......................... 6: 1-12 5: 13-8: 16: 20-49 II. THE MOUNT TO CAPERNAUM 52. Second Healing of the Leper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. B: 2-l 53. Healing of the Centurions Servant. . . . . . . . . . .8: 6-13 7: 1-10Ill. SECOND TOUR OF GALILEE 54. Raising of the Widows Son .......... , . 7: 11-17 55. Inquiry of John the Baptist. ,.7: 18-36 56. The Lord Anointed in the House of Simon the Pharisee 7:36-60IV. THIRD TOUR OF GALILEE 57. Villages near Capemaum (North) . 8: 1-3 58. Sin against the Holy Spirit. .................... 3:22-308: 4-18 59. Denial of Mother and Brethren .3:31-358: 19-21 60. Parables .....................................4: 1-34 61. Second Healing of Peters Wifes Mother. . . . . . ... 8: 14-17V. CAPERNAUM TO GADARA AND RETURN 62. Stilling of the Tempest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..8: 18-274: 35-41 8: 22-25 63. Two Demoniacs Healed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8: 28-346: 1-218: 26-40 64. Second Healing of the Paralytic. . . . . . . . . . . . ..9: 1-8 65. Second Call of Matthew.. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. ... 9: 9-17 66. Raising of Jairuss Daughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9: 18-266:22-438: 41-56VI. FOURTH TOUR OF GALILEE (CAPERNAUM TO NAZARETH AND RETURN) 67. Two Blind Men Healed .......................9:27-M 68. Second Rejection at Nazareth ................. 6: 1-6 69. Fourth TOUT of Galilee 9:35-11: 16: 6-139: l-{i 70. John the Baptists Last Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11: 2-19 71. Woes Against Cities tbat Rejected Him 11: 20-30 72. Second Plucking of Corn ...................... 12: 1-8 73. Second Healing of Withered Hand .............. 12: 9-21 74. Healing of Blind and Dumb Man ...............12: 22-37 75. Scribes and Pharisees Seek Sign 12: 38-45 76. Second Denial of Mother and Brethren12: 46-50 77. Parables 13: 1-52 78. Third Rejection at Nazareth ...................13: 63-68 79. Deatb of John the BaptistH: 1-126: 14-29 9:7...1) VII. CAPERNAUM TO NORTHEAST COAST OFGALlLEE AND RETURN 80. Feeding the Five Thousand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. H: 18-21 6: 30-46 9: 10-176: 1-15 81. Walking on the Sea14: 22-36 6: 47-56 6: 16-21 82. Discourse on the Bread of Life. 6:22-7:1 83. Discourse on Eating with Unwashen Hands. . . . . .. 15: 1-20 7: 1-23VIII. CAPERNAUM TO PHOENICIA 84. Healing the Daughter of the Syrophoenician Woman 16: 21-28 7: 24-30 IX. PHOENICIA TO DECAPOLIS85.Return through Decapolis ..................... 16: 29-317:31-3786.Feeding of the Four Thousand 16: 32-38 8: 1...1)X. DECAPOLIS TO DALMANUTHA. BETHSAIDAAND CAESAREA PHILIPPI87.Pharisees and Saducees Ask a Sign16: 39-16: 12 8: 10-2188.Blind Man Healed. 8: 22-2689.Peters Profession16: 18-20 8: 27-30 si: 18-2190.Death and Resurrection Foretold16: 21-28 8: 31-9: 1 9: 22-2791.Transfiguration 17: 1-139: 2-139: 28-36XI. CAESAREA PHLLIPPI TO CAPERNAUM92. The Demoniac Boy 17: H-219: 14-29 9:37-4.293. Death and Resurrection Foretold Again ......... 17: 22-239: 30-32 9: 43-4594. Shekel in the Fishs Mouth. . . . . . 17: 24-2795. Exhortation to Humility and Forgiveness. .18: 1-359: 33-50 9: 46-50XII. CAPERNAUM TO JERUSALEM96. Departure for the Feast of Tabernacles. Incidents in Samaria 19: 1-210: 1 9: 51-621: 2-1097. Seventy Instructed and Sent Out. 10: 1-1698. Public Teaching at Feast of Tabernacles.7: 11-16 7: 16-53 99. Woman Taken in Adultery .8: 1-11100. Further Public Teaching .8: 12-59101. Return of the Seventy .........................1017-24102. Lawyer Instructed. Good Samaritan . 1025-37103. Visit to Martha and Mary. 1038-42104. Disciples Again Taught How to Pray ........... 11 1-13105. Dumb Spirit Cast Out. .......... 1114-36106. Woes Against the Pharisees .1137-54107. Discourse to the Multitude. 12 I-59108. Slaughter of the Galileans. Parable of the Fig Tree 13 1...1)109. Man Born Blind Healed .9: 1-41110. Further Teaching ............................. 10: 1-21111. Feast of Dedication .....................10:22-3B232 11. 2 4AABBcc o30 :~~y 30....EE 4 12. MAP VI FROM THE FIFTH VISIT TO JERUSALEM TO THE SIXTH, SIX MONTHS LATER, WHEN THE CRUCIFIXION TOOK PLACE Matt. MarkLuke JohnI. JERUSALEM TO BETHABARA112.Retirement beyond Jordan .10: 39-42 11. BETHABARA TO BETIlANY113.Raising of Lazarus ................ 11: 1-46Ill. BETHANY TO EPHRAIM114.Withdrawal to Ephraim ............ 11:47-57IV. EPHRAIM TO PEROEA. AsCENTTOWARD JERUSALEM115. Woman Healed on the Sabbath . 13: 10-21116. Journey Toward Jerusalem. Warned Against Herod . 13:22-35117. The Lord Dines with the Chief Pharisee14: 1-24118. Further Teaching ...............14: 25-18: 14119. Concerning Divorce19: 3-1210: 2-12120. Children Blessed ................... 19: 13-15 10: 13-16 18: 15-17121. Rich Young Man. Parable of the La borers19: 16-20: 16 10: 17-31 18: 18-30122. Death and Resurrection Foretold for the - Third Time20: 17-11110: 32-34 18: 31-34123. Request of James and John 20: 20-28 10: 35--45 V.PEROEA TO JERJCHO TO BETHANY124. Healing Blind Men near Jericho ...... 20: 29-3410: 46-52 18:35-43125. Visit to Zacchaeus ..................19: 1-10126. Parable of the Minae. 19: 11-28127. Incidents in Bethany ...............12: 1-11 VI. BETHANY TO JERUSALEM128. Public Entry into Jerusalem21: 1-11 11: 1-1119: 29--44 12: 12-19129. Barren Fig Tree Cursed .11: 12-14130. Second Cleansing of Temple......... 21: 12-17 11: 15-19 19: 45--48131. The Fig Tree Withered. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21: 18-22 11:20-26132. Discussions with the Jews in the Temple 21: 23-23: 39 11: 27-12: 40 20: 1--47133. The Widows Mite ................ 12: 41--4421: 1-4134. Greeks Desire to See the Lord .12: 20-36135. Unbelief of the Jews . 12: 37-50136. The Lord Foretells the Destruction of {24: 1-613: 1-3721: 5-38 the Temple and the Last Judgment... 24: 7-28 24: 29-3524: 36-46137. Lord Anointed in the House of Simon the Leper 26: 1-1314: 1-9138. Treachery of Judas26: 14-16 H:1o-11 22 Hi139. Preparation for the Passover. 26: 17-19 H:12-16 22 7-13140. The Last Supper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 26: 20-29 H:17-25 22 14-30 13: 1-17: 26141. Peters Profession of Faith 26: 30-35 H:26-31 22 31-38142. Prayer in Gethsemane. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 26: 36-4614: 32--4222 39-46 18:143. Betrayal and Arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 26: 47-56 14: 43-52 22 47-53 18: 2-11144. Trial before Caiaphas 26: 57-75 14: 53-72 22 54-71 18: 12-27145. Repentance of Judas 27: 1-10146. Trial before Pilate 27: 11-25 15 1-14 23 1-2318: 28--40147. The Lord Delivered to be Crucified27: 26-34 15 15-2323 24-32 19: 1-16148. The Crucifur:ion. . . . . . . . . 27: 35-56 15 24--41 23 33--4919.: 17-37149. The Burial. 27: 57-61 15 42--47 23 50-56 19: 38--42376 13. 2 4AAB8 30cc3 o30 F.:" 30EE 4 14. MAP VIIFROM THE BURIAL TO THE ASCENSION Matt.Mark Luke John150. The Watch at the Sepulchre ...27:62-66151. The Morning of the Resurrection 28: 1-10 16: 1-11 24: 1-12 20: 1-18152. Report of the Watch ..........28: 11-15153. The Walk to Emmaus ........154. Appearance to the Ten ........155. Appearance to the Eleven .....16: 12-1316: 14 . 24: 13-35 24:36-43 20: 19-2520:26-31156. Appearance to the Seven ...... 21: 1-24157. Appearance on the Mountain .. 28: 16-2016: 15-18158. The Ascension ...............16: 19-2024:44-53159. Conclusion of Johns Gospel ...21:25 490 15. 24AABB 30cc33o1.2,4,5D 0 o 8 30EE 4 16. CHAPTERLXII The Prayer in GethsemaneBetrayal and Arrest(Luke 22: 39-53.Map Nos. 142, 143)Luke 22: 39. And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to theMount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him.IT WAS, you remember, late at night. The Lord had partakenof the Last Supper with His Disciples in the upper chamber in Jerusalem. Departing thence they had all walked together to the East Gateof the city. Descending the steep road to the valley of Kidron, theycrossed that stream and came into the Garden of Gethsemane on thewestern slope of the Mount of OIiv~s.The name "Gethsemane" means "oil press," and the garden was socalled because it contained a grove of olive trees. The place is stillmarked by a few very old trees carefully preserved and protected bythe government. They are situated near the foot of the mountain,just off the road leading to the summit.Here the Lord stopped to rest.Luke 22: 40. And when He was at the place, He said unto them,Pray that ye enter not into temptation..In Matthew and Mark we are told that the Lord bade the otherDisciples to sit and wait for Him, but took Peter, James, and John,some little distance away, saying to them, "Tarry ye here, and watchwith me." Then He Himself "went a little farther." This last withdrawal is probably what is now referred to.Luke 22: 41, 42. And He was withdrawn from them about a stonescast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if Thou be willing,remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but Thine bedone.459 17. The Prayer in Gethsemane A "stones cast" is the distance one could throw a stone-far enoughso that He was alone, surrounded by the darkness of the night. Here it is said, the Lord "kneeled down," but in Matthew we aretold that He "fell on His face." In ancient times the sign of thegreatest humility and most profound worship was first to kneel, andthen to throw ones self prone upon the ground. The Lord was undergoing the most grievous of all His temptations.He seemed to Himself to be utterly alone, weak and helpless as anymortal man, and He prayed to the Father as if to someone outside ofHimself. He was really struggling within Himself as if He were twopersons. We all have a similar experience whenever we are temptedto do something that we know is wrong. It is as if we had two selves.One prompts us to do the wrong thing, and the other urges us to turnaway from it and do what is right. We are free to decide either way.And whatever decision we make, it is we ourselves who take theaction. The truth is that evil spirits are present with us, and alsoangels, and both are trying to lead us to do what they desire. Theevil spirits want us to do what is wrong, and the angels want us to dowhat is right; and we must decide to follow either one or the other.The angels prompt us to pray to the Lord for help. They lead us tothink of the Word, and of what the Lord commands us to do. Butthe evil spirits make us think that we know better than the Lord-thatif we do the wrong thing we will gain a happiness that will be lost ifwe do what the Lord says is right. Sometimes to do the Lords Willmeans that we must give up something we want very much, becausethe Lord knows it would not be good for us to have it. The Lords temptations were far more severe than any that mencan possibly undergo. All the hells combined in an effort to destroyHim, and they attacked Him repeatedly throughout His life on earth.You will recall how the devil tempted Him three times in the wilder-ness immediately after He had been baptized by John. (See ChapterXX.) But this temptation was even deeper, for now He fought evenagainst the angels of heaven. These angels were very wise, but theywere not wise enough to know why the Lord should have to sufferdeath upon the cross. Because they loved the Lord with all theirheart they wanted to protect Him from His enemies, and to save Himfrom suffering. But the Lord knew it was right that He shOUld laydown His life when His work on earth was finished, and He had tocling to this conviction even against the angels. For this reason Hehad to fight alone. 18. Betrayal and Arrest He prayed, saying, "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cupfrom me: nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done." We haveexplained why a "cup" means the suffering of temptation. It is be-cause in ancient times a cup was used in giving bitter medicine.The Lord was now referring to His approaching death. If it werethe Will of God, He asked that He might be spared this suffering.But if, in the sight of God, it were right and necessary that He shouldsuffer in order that He might save the human race-if this were theonly way in which men could be restored to a true faith, and rescuedfrom the power of hell-then He wanted to lay down His life.Luke 22: 43. And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven,strengthening Him. We have said that the Lord here was fighting even against theangels; and so He was. But when He had conquered in the tempta-tion-when He had made the decision to do what He knew was right,then the angels who had wished to spare Him the suffering of deathbecause they knew He was the Lord and believed in Him far moreimplicitly than did any of His Disciples on earth-accepted His deci-sion and supported Him in it. They knew that He must do whateverwas the Will of God. We may gather some idea of this from the case of a mother whodearly loves her son. If war should break out and he were called todefend his country, she would wish to protect him from the danger of)being killed. But as soon as she knew that the country needed him,and that it was his duty to fig.ht for its protection, she would not holdl him back, although her heart were breaking. She would encouragehim, and help him in every way. So it was that the angels "strength-. ened" the Lord.Luke 22: 44. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: andHis sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to theground.It was not for Himself that the Lord was praying.He fearedneither death nor the suffering of the cross. He was thinking of theDisciples who were about to be left, as it were, alone. He was think-ing of all the evils in the hearts of men that would prevent them fromreceiving His Word. He knew that long centuries must pass, andthat many must endure great suffering before His Kingdom could atlast be established on the earth. It seemed to Him as though if He 19. The Prayer in Gethsemaneshould be taken from them, they would indeed be like sheep without ashepherd, at the mercy of the wild beasts; and there would be no possibility of protecting them against the hells. This was the appearancewhen He was in a state of temptation. And yet He knew that it wasnot true. He knew that He would be far more present with men afterHe had risen than He had been before. He knew that unless He laidaside the material body and appeared in His glorified Human, no onecould know that He was indeed God, the Creator of the universe. Andclinging to this knowledge He overcame the appearance, and compelled Himself to do what was right and needful to save mankind. We cannot understand how terrible this conflict was, because eventhe worst of our temptations is as nothing when compared to it. Butas a sign of the awful struggle the Lord was undergoing it is said that"His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to theground."Luke 22: 45, 46. And when He rose up from prayer, and was cometo His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow, and said untothem, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The Disciples did not realize what was about to take place. Theyknew that the Lord was very sad, but they did not know why.They, too, were sorrowful, because they loved Him; but they had nosuch temptation to meet, and being weary, when the Lord had leftthem they fell asleep. In the other Gospels we are told that the Lord returned to themthree times, and each time found them asleep. The Lord knew that they also would be tempted to the very limitof their endurance. He knew that they would undergo a supremetest of their faith-a test so severe that if they had realized it beforehand they would have been unable to meet it. The Lord continuallyprotects us by not allowing us to know the trials we will have to facein the future, lest in our weakness we should find a way to avoid them,and thus be deprived of the benefits the Lord wishes to impart bymeans of them. So now the Disciples were guarded against knowingahead of time that the Lord was to be crucified. Even though theLord Himself told them, they did not realize what He meant. Onlyafter it happened did they remember, and then they began to understand. Prayer opens our minds and hearts to the entrance of the Lord, 20. Betrayal and Arrestand prepares us to meet with courage whatever dangers or hardshipswe may be called upon to pass through. This is the purpose of prayer,and it is the reason why we should pray every day, so as to keep theLord and the angels near, to give us strength in the hour of need. Andthis is why the Lord on the eve of His crucifixion urged His Disciplesto pray. It was also the reason why the Lord Himself prayed. ForHis prayer, and the temptation that accompanied it, prepared Himto meet calmly the terrible suffering that was in store for Him.Luke 22: 47. And while He yet spake, behold a multitude, and hethat was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drewnear unto Jesus to kiss Him. In the Gospel of John it is said: "Judas also, which betrayed Him,knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples.Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chiefpriests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches andweapons." That is to say, when Judas had departed from the LastSupper, he went to the chief priests and told them that he was nowready to lead them to the Lord, that they might arrest Him. Think-ing that the Disciples might fight to protect their Master, the priestsgathered a band of soldiers armed with spears and knives, and withburning torches to light their way along the dark streets and roads.Judas then went with them, guiding them out of the city by the EastGate. And the Disciples, looking from the garden, could see themas they descended the cliff to the valley below. They did not knowwhat it meant. They had no idea that the Lord was to be arrested.They merely waited and watched the band of soldiers as they camenearer.When they had reached the garden, Judas, who was leading them,went directly to the Lord and kissed Him. For this was the signthat had been agreed upon. The soldiers did not know who the Lordwas until Judas made Him known to them by this sign.Luke 22: 48. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou theSon of man with a kiss? A kiss is a token of love and friendship. But Judas at this momentdid not love the Lord. He merely pretended to love Him in orderthat he might betray Him. However! the Lord knew what was inhis heart. 21. The Prayer in GethsemaneLuke 22: 49, 50. When they which were about Him saw whatwould follow, they said unto Him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off hisright ear.The Disciples now realized for the first time that these soldiers hadcome to arrest the Lord. They wanted to fight to protect Him.Wherefore they said, "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?"Nearly every one at that day, if he went on a journey, was armedwith some weapon. For there were many robber bands that infestedthe roads, and the soldiers were not able to protect travelers as thepolice do in our modern times. It was not strange therefore thatsome of the Disciples should have swords on them.In John it is said that Peter was the one who drew his sword, andthat Malchus was the name of the servant whose right ear was cut off.Luke 22: 51. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far.And He touched his ear, and healed him. Many Christians have taken this action of the Lord to imply thatit is wrong for us to fight under any circumstances. They think theLord intended to teach that regardless of what our enemies might do tous, we should meekly submit, and by no means resist them withviolence. For this reason they refuse to go to war even when theircountry is threatened with invasion. But this was not what the Lord meant. He intended to teachthat we should not fight against something that the Lord has indicated is necessary. We should not resist the leading of Providence. It was needful that the Lord should be arrested and put todeath. This was the final means whereby He was to overcome thehells and liberate men from the power of evil. This is clear fromwhat He said to Peter, as related in the Gospel of Matthew: "Thinkestthou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently giveme more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall thescriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" The Lord could haveprevented His arrest. He did not need His Disciples to fight in Hisdefence. He could have escaped, and "walked through the midst ofthem," even as He had done on several occasions before, and theywould have had no power against Him. But now His time was come.He Himself, of His own Will, was permitting these soldiers to arrestHim, in order that He might accomplish the end for which He had 22. Betrayal and Arrestcome into the world. He did not want the Disciples to interfere withthis Divine purpose. That is the reason why He commanded themnot to fight, and why He healed the ear of Malchus.Luke 22: 52, 53. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to Him, Be yecome out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I wasdaily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me:but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. You can wen understand that neither evil spirits nor men couldattack the Lord as He is in the sun of the spiritual world, far abovethe heavens. He had to put on a body of flesh and blood by birth intothe world in order that they might attack Him, and that He then mightconquer them, and reduce the hells to order. When He was in the Temple He was always surrounded by multitudes who believed on Him; and in the other world He was surroundedby all the heavens. Because the Temple was the Lords House, dedicated to the worship of Him, it was holy; and the evil spirits wererestrained by fear from attacking Him. But now the Lord was in the Garden of Gethsemane, outside thecity, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in a lonely spot, surroundedby the Disciples; and it was the middle of the night. Here the evilspirits were able to attack Him, since He was, as it were, removedfrom the protecting sphere of the Temple, from the light of day, andfrom the multitudes who were His friends. So it is with all criminalsand evil men. They are cowards. They strike in the dark, and whentheir victim is alone and unarmed. But the Lord had deliberately come to this spot. He had calmlywaited for them here. He had allowed time for Judas to consult thepriests, to gather the soldiers, and to bring them here in order thatthey might arrest Him, and so doing might make manifest their wickedhatred against Him for all good men to see, and thus might condemnthemselves. This is why He said, "This is your hour, and the powerof darkness." The priests, the Pharisees, the elders of the Jews pretended to begood. They pretended to love J ehovah and to keep the Law of theWord. They deceived the simple people who followed them becausethey thought they were wise and God-fearing men. The only way 23. The Prayer in Gethsemanein which the good people could be delivered from their power wasfor these men to show, by their words and their deeds, how evilthey were at heart. When this was known the good would no longerfollow them, and their power would be broken. And so the Lord allowed them to come to the Garden of Gethsemane by night and arrestHim, and later to condemn Him and put Him to death as the onemeans whereby the power of the hells through them might be broken,and the human race might be liberated. We are told in the Gospel of Mark (14 :50--52) that when the soldiers seized the Lord to lead Him away, the Disciples "all forsookHim and fled. And there followed Him a certain young man, havinga linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid holdon him: and he left the linen cloth, and.fled from them naked." Thisyoung man is not elsewhere mentioned. It is supposed that he wasJohn Mark, the one who later was called by the Lord to write theGospel of Mark. The fact that he was speaking of himself wouldexplain why he did not mention his name.r. 24. CHAPTERLXIIITrial Before CaiaphasRepentance ofJudas(Luke 22: 54-71; Matthew 27: 1-10.Map Nos. 144, 145)Luke 22: 54. Then took they Him, and led Him, and brought Himunto the high priests house. And Peter followed afar off.THE soldiers now led the Lord back into the city, first to the houseof Annas, and then to that of Caiaphas. Annas was the father-in-lawof Caiaphas. He had been High Priest several years before, and nowas an old man he was assisting Caiaphas. His opinion was highlyregarded, and the priests and scribes wished to hear his judgment asto what should be done with the Lord. He ~efused to pass judgment,however, and referred them to Caiaphas. Evidently, although it was the middle of the night, Caiap~as hadsent out and gathered together in his home the members of the Sanhedrin, while the soldiers were arresting the Lord and bringing Him fromthe garden. The Sanhedrin was the highest court for the administrationof Jewish Law. It consisted of seventy judges, but as few as twentythree could act in the name of the tribunal. The usual meeting placewas a room of the Temple, but on this occasion, when great haste wasdesired, they gathered in the house of the High Priest. All the Disciples had fled and scattered, but Peter followed thesoldiers at a safe distance to watch where they went. John also followed them, as we learn from John 18: 15. Caiaphas had known John,probably because he had received instruction from the priests, and hewas admitted into the room where the Lords trial was to take place.But Peter waited outside near the entrance. When John saw himthere he spoke to one of the servants, saying that Peter was a friendof his, whereupon Peter was admitted, not into the council chamber, 46 7 25. 468Trial Before Caiaphas -Repentance of Judasbut into an adjoining courtyard, whence through an open doorwayhe could see what was taking place.Luke 22: 55-62. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst ofthe hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. Buta certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly lookedupon him, and said, This man was also with Him. And he denied Himsaying, Woman, I know Him not. And after a little while anothersaw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, Iam not. And about the space of one hour after another confidentlyaffirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with Him: for he isa Calilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lordturned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word ofthe Lord, how He had said, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny methrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. In the midst of the courtyard a fire had been lit, and a number ofservants were gathered round it. Peter joined them, listening to theirtalk. While he thus sat, a woman openly accused him of being one ofthe Lords Disciples, but he denied it. Later a man also accused him.Again he denied that he knew the Lord. An hour later, another, having heard him speak, said that he must be a Disciple of the Lord because his speech betrayed him as a native of Galilee, where the Lordhad spent most of His life on earth. For the third time Peter deniedthat he knew the Lord, and at once the cock crowed. The Lord whowas standing before His judges, bound and under guard of the soldierswho had arrested Him, turned and looked at Peter through the door.And Peter, remembering what the Lord had said of him, went out andwept bitterly. He had loved the Lord. He had been willing to diefor Him. Yet the shock and the fear of what had happened had beentoo strong, and he had lied to protect himself. But he was not evilat heart, and when he realized what he had done he repented at once,weeping bitterly. And from that time forward he remained true tothe Lord, proving his courage in the face of persecution and suffering,and at last giving up his life for his faith. The fact that the cock crowed indicates that the dawn was justbeginning to break.Luke 22: 63-65. And the men that held Jesus mocked Him, andsmote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him 26. Trial Before Caiaphas - Repentance of Judas469on the face, and asked Him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smoteThee? And many other things blasphemously spake they againstHim. Apparently this took place while they were waiting for the elders,the scribes, and the priests, who were the judges, to assemble in sufficient numbers to hold a trial.Luke 22: 66. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people andthe chief priests and the scribes came together, and led Him into theircouncil, Up to this time there had been no ordered meeting, but just an informal gathering. But when enough of them had arrived they tooktheir regular places, with Caiaphas presiding, and the Lord was ledinto the midst of them before the judgment seat. Then they caned for witnesses to testify against Him. However,the Lord had committed no crime for which He could legally be condemned. Then the priests induced certain ones to come forward andtestify falsely. But their accusations contradicted each other. Atlast two witnesses came, saying, "This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." (Matthew26: 61.) This was not what the Lord had said. His words had been,"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John2: 19.) But He was speaking of the temple of His body, whichwas to be put to death on the cross, and raised up again on the thirdday. The High Priest said unto Him, "Answerest Thou nothing?what is it which these witness against Thee?" (Mark 14: 60.) Butthe Lord refused to reply, because the testimony had been false.Luke 22: 66-71. Saying, Art Thou the Christ? tell us. And He saidunto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: and if I also ask you, yewill not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of mansit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, ArtThou then the Son of God? And He said unto them, Ye say that Iam. And they said, What need we any further witness? for weourselves have heard of His own mouth. The Lord would not answer their questions as long as they werebringing false accusations against Him. But when they asked if Hewere the Son of God, He replied at once that He was. This was true, 27. 470Trial Bejore Caiaphas -Repentance oj Judasand He would not deny it, whatever the consequences might be. Andthey quickly seized upon this admission to condemn Him to death. The whole proceeding was illegal. It was forbidden in Jewish Lawto try criminals at night. It was against the law to pass judgment onthe same day the trial was held. And it was also against the law totry a criminal on the day before the Sabbath. All this the judgesweB knew. But they were determined to put the Lord to death, andthey feared greatly that if they delayed, His followers would gatherand create a disturbance that would cause the Roman Governor tointerfere, and bring punishment upon them for breaking the peace.Also they knew that it was against the law to execute a criminal on theSabbath; and unless they were to delay their deed until the followingweek, they must have the Lord condemned and put to death that sameday. For all these reasons they acted with the utmost haste, andwithout regard to the laws intended to protect a prisoner from injustice, giving every opportunity for his friends to bring forward evidence in his defence. The Jewish Law required that no man should be condemned on thetestimony of one witness. There must be at least two who accusedhim, and the testimony of these two must be in harmony. In the caseof the Lord they had failed to find two witnesses whose accusationsagreed. But at last they had received what they considered to be aconfession of guilt from the Lord Himself. He had said that He wasthe Son of God. This they regarded as blasphemy against God, andblasphemy among the Jews was punishable by death. So now Hewas pronounced guilty and sentenced to die. But under the Roman Law, while the Jews were allowed to punishcriminals for minor offences, they were not permitted to put any manto death without the permission of the Roman Governor. So they hadto go before Pilate to secure his sanction of the Lords execution.Matthew 27: 1, 2. When the morning was come, all the chief priestsand elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him todeath: and when they had bound Him, they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.After Caiaphas had condemned the Lord, the Sanhedrin still hadto consider how they were to carry out the sentence against Himwithout incurring the wrath of the Romans. This is what is meant bytheir taking counsel to put Him to death. The charge of blasphemy, 28. Trial Before Caiaphas -Repentance of Judas 471because the Lord had said He was the Son of God, would not be regarded by the Romans as serious--certainly not as worthy.of death.Pilate would not understand why the Jews should be so enragedagainst the Lord. The judges therefore had to plan how to presentthe case in such a way as to convince Pilate that their condemnationwas just. All this required time, and probably two or three hourselapsed before they were ready to leave the house of Caiaphas andtake the Lord to Pilate. It is also probable that Pilate would not sitin judgment so early in the morning, and that they had to wait until hiscourt had been opened.Matthew 27: 3-5. Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when hesaw that He was condemned, rePented himself, and brought again thethirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I havesinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said,What is that to us? See thou to that. And he -cast down the piecesof silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. Judas was with the soldiers. He must have been present at thetrial in the house of Caiaphas. And when he realized that the Lordhad actually been condemned to death, he awoke to the enormity ofhis own crime in betraying one whom he knew was innocent of anyevil. He appealed to the priests, saying that he had sinned, and thathe knew the Lord was innocent, hoping that they would release Him.But the priests cared nothing about Judas, nor how he felt. Theyhad merely used him as a tool to accomplish their purpose. Theywould not take back the money they had given him, nor would theyconsider his testimony of the Lords innocence. Then in despair and remorse, Judas went to the Temple, threwdown__ the thirty pieces of silver, and went and hanged himself. We do not know whether at heart Judas was an evil man. Certainly his betrayal of the Lord was an act of treachery that is beneathcontempt, inspired by the devils of hell. But why did he do it?What was his secret motive? Was it because he really hated theLord and wanted to see His life destroyed? This can be known onlyto the Lord. But there is a possibility that Judas wanted the Lordto prove His Divinity by a miracle that would persuade all men tobelieve in Him. He may have thought that if he delivered the Lordinto the hands of His enemies, the Lord would demonstrate that theyhad no power to injure Him, and by some wonderful means would 29. 472Trial Before Caiaphas - Repentance of Judasset them at nought, so that He would reign supreme and establish HisKingdom at once. If this were so it would explain why he repentedas soon as he saw that this would not happen, and that the Lord wouldactually be put to death. Even then, of course, what he did was wrong. For he was trying toforce the Lord to do what he wanted Him to do, instead of acknowledging that the Lord was all-wise, and that if He refused to be anatural king it must be for a Divine reason. It was because he insisted upon his own will, instead of following the Lord, that he committed himself into the hands of the evil spirits and allowed them tolead him into so dire a sin. But if this was because of ignorance andmisunderstanding, rather than the result of hatred against the Lord,he could repent and be forgiven by the Lord. That Judas was forgiven would seem to be implied by the fact thatas we are taught in the Writings, on the nineteenth day of June inthe year 1770, the Lord "called together His Twelve Disciples whofollowed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forththroughout the whole spiritual world to preach the Gospel that THELORD GOD JESUS CHRIST reigns." (T.C.R.791.) Still, we are nowhere told that Judas went to heaven. The sin he committed was initself the worst of all evils, and at the time he committed it he wasbeing used by the lowest hells, where the devils are in hatred againstthe Lord.Matthew 27: 6-10. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, andsaid, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it isthe price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with themthe potters field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field is called,The field of blood unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which wasspoken by J eremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty piecesof silver, the price of Him that was valued, whom they of the childrenof Israel did value; and gave them for the potters field, as the Lordappointed me. Money that had been paid to betray the Lord could not make anacceptable offering in worship. That which had been given in hatredagainst the Lord could not be a token of love to Him. The priestscould not keep it themselves without seeming to admit that they toohad repented of what they had done. So with the thirty pieces ofsilver they decided to buy a field wherein penniless strangers might be 30. Trial Before Caiaphas - Repentance of Judas 473buried-people who were not considered worthy to lie in the sameburial ground with the bodies of the faithful. Perhaps you can understand a little of what this means. Thesilver money given to Judas for betraying the Lord represents the Truthof the Word which had been given them by the Lord in order thatthey might worship Him from the heart. But they had perverted thisTruth and falsified it, using it to confirm their hatred against the Lord.That this silver should be used to buy a potters field wherein strangerswere to be buried, meant that the Truth they had so misused would betaken from them and given to Gentile peoples who would receive itgladly, and would be given the blessings of heaven by means of it. Itmeant that a new church was to be raised up among other nationsmore worthy than the Jews. That this would be the case had been prophesied long years beforeas written in Zechariah 11: 12, 13. 31. CHAPTERLXIV Trial Before PilateThe Lord Delivered to be Crucified (Matthew 27: 11-34. Map Nos. 146, 147)Matthew 27: 11. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews?And Jesussaid unto him, Thou sayest. ELATE had been appointed Procurator, or Governor of Judea by Tiberius Caesar in the year A. D. 26, and he retained this office for ten years. The Romans had attached Judea to the larger prov ince of Syria, and Pilates official residence was in Caesarea. But at the time of the Jewish Passover the garrison at Jerusalem was strengthened as a precaution against a possible outbreak when so many of the Jews were gathered together. Pilate then took l,lp tem porary residence in Herods palace.Here it was that the Lord was brought after He had been condemned by the Sanhedrin. The palace contained a large hall of judgment where the governor held court. But the Jews, on this occasion, would not enter into the house of a Gentile, because this, according to their law, would render them unclean, and would prevent them from cele brating the Passover. They remained outside, therefore, while the Lord was taken in by the soldiers and presented to Pilate for judgment.Pilate then went out to them, asking "What accusation bring ye against this man?" They replied, "If He were not a malef~tor, we would not have delivered Him up unto thee." The Greek word here translated "malefactor" means a "disturber of the peace." This was a very vague charge, and might be made for quite a minor offence. Pilate wondered why, if it were such a small matter, they should trouble him about it. Wherefore he said, "Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law." But now the real reason appeared why474 32. Delivered to be Crucified475 they had come to him, for t1!ey said, "It is not lawful for us to put any--.- man to death." But why should He be put to death if He were only a "disturber~~ ~e"? This was the question they had to answer befure Pilate would do what they wanted. They could not use theicharge of blasphemy, on which He had been condemned by the Sanhedrin, for thIS would not be regarded as worthy of death. So now they began to accuse Him on other grounds, saying, "We found ( tpis kIlOW" p~rti;;:g the nation, andforbidding...!2. give tribute to) Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ a King." (Luke 23: 2.)( This was ind~d a serious charge-a charge of treason against the EJ.!lp~!:lr. Pilate therefore went back into the judgment hall~s tion the Lord about it. "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" he asked. "Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? ~hine o~on~ -and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me: what hast Thou ck>ne? Jesu-; ans;-ered, My kingdom is ;rt ~is world: if my king- dom were of this world, then would _m servantught 1J1at I should2..not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto Him, A.!.t Thou a king then? Je.sus answered, j Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone 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 in Him no fault at all." (John 18:34-38.)The Lord made it perfectly clear that although He was a King, come to establish a Heavenly Kingdom, he was not stirring up revolt { against the Roman Government. He could not therefore be found guilty of treason as the Jews had charged. Furthermore, Pilate knew that t.h.iS was not the real reason why they wante.d to put Him to death. For the Jewish Sanhedrin had no love for Caesar. The would not become so incensed against one who sought to deliver them f~hefpower of Rome. He saw clearly, therefore, fliat t ey were moved, not by loyalty to Caesar, but Qyjealousy ~ain~~J~n because He had gained such a wide following, and because He had refused to{ recognize their authority. This was no ground on which Pilate could justly condemn Him to death.Yet, although he knew the Lord was innocent, Pilate was afraid ()f wh t wou!sUIap~n if he refused to take action to unish one who was 33. .-J ~ vJ"""? ~ fv> -.J~1 .H...t -r J ~ ~..... / ~- ~4 JJ...:.. I"......1Ji-.A 7 /!,r( Trial Before Pilateaccused of treason against the Emperor. The Jews would spreadn~ors questioning his own loyalty. They wOcld sellii a report oitheIJ [ incident to Rome, a~ng him of neglecting to defend the Emperor. -I I 1He feared that he would lose favor and be de rived of his office. Hedid not want to condemn an innocent man, but he was afraid to defythe anger o~ J ewish rulers.----Matthew 27: 12-14. And when He was accused of the chief priestsand elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said unto Him, HearestThou not how many things they witness against Thee? A He a_nswered him never a word,. insomuch that the governor marvelledgreatly.When Pilate declared that he found no fault in the Lord, the mob outside was still more infuriated. For they were determined to take the Lords life. And they shouted out many accusations against the--- Lord, insomuch that He could hear them from within the judgment(hall. But He remained silent, offering no word of explanation or de~ fence. And since His life was at stake, Pilate marvelled that He I refused to defend Himself.As they were reviling Him they said, "He stirreili.. u the .2~e, ( teaching thrQ..ughout all ~!"y, b.-eginniDg from Ga~lee to this place. ) When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a GaU I laean. And as soon e new that He belong~ unto Herods jurisdic {tion heHim to Herod, who himself was at Jersalem at that time." (Luke 23: 5-7.) Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch of Galilee, and crimes committed in that province would naturally come before him for judgment. Pilate at once thought to avoid responsibility by turn--.. i~g the Lord over to Herpd, who, as it happened, had come to Jerusa (lem for the feast. It _cwpears also that ther_e h ill feeling) between these t~yo governors over some uestion of jurisdic!!on, and Pilate seized upon this opportunity to make a courteous gesture ofI reconciliation, publicly acknowledging the prior authority of Herod l within his own territory.Pilate therefore sent the Lord, under military guard, to Herod, and there t~b following Him repeated their false accusations.""It is ( said that Herod was glad, having desired for a long time to see the JLord-not that he loved Him nor believed in His teachings, but because ) of all the wonderful miracles that had been reported of Him. -~d was curious, and hoped to see Him perform some miracles, although 34. Delivered to be Crucified 477he believed they were accomplished by trickery. However, whenthe Lord refused to satisfy his curiosity, and remained silent in the ( face of His accusers, Herod joined with the soldiers in mocking~,and he arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, as if He were indeed to be1 hailed a king, and sent Himback to Pilate, refusing to pass judgmenton the case. "And Pilate, when he had called toget;E.er the chief Pliests and the) rulers of the eople, said unto them, Ye have brought this man untome, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, havin.g examined) Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things l whereof ye accuse Him : No, nor yet Herod: for I have sent you to (him; and, 10, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him. I will there) fore chastise Him, and release Him." (Luke 23: 13-16.) He offered a compromise, namely, that the Lord should be punished as if He hadI committed some minor offence, although He had done nothing ~ng.In order to roted himself, Pilate was willin to disregard !ustice andi a~g.~~~rved punishm~nt, but not to put an innocent man todeath.Matthew 27: 15-18. Now at that feast the governor was wont torelease unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And t&y hadthen a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they weregathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I releaseunto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For h kn wthat f~vy they had deliv~im.Nothing is known of the origin of the custom, but each year at thePassover Feast the governor would release some prisone~ fuuequestSof the Jewish eople. This was probably a means of impressing them, ;itlithe magnani~ity of their conquerors, at a time, when if theirpassions were roused, there was danger of mob violence. Barabbas was a robber who had committed murder in the course ofan insurrection. Both the Roman and the Jewish Law had condemned him to death, and he was now in prison awaiting execution.Matthew 27: 19. When he was set down on the judgment seat, hiswif!!. sent unto him, Flying, Have thou nothing to do with that j;;;tman: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because ofHim.The Jews would not enter into the hall of judgment because of thePassover. A udgment seat, therefore was laced outside the palace 35. 47 8Trial Before Pilateon a paved terrace called "Gabbatha." Here Pilate now sat to renderhis decision, and the Lord was brought forth to stand before him. Meanwhile Pilates wife sent a messen er to her husband warning him not to condemn a ju~n. She had had a dream con~ing..Q1e I L~d that fgghtened her, and she regarded it as a sign that He was innocent, and was by no means to be condemned, lest His judge be guiltyof great injustice.(Matthew 27: 20-23. But the chief ,riests and elders persuaded the) multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The 1 governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye 5that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto I them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? !.!!:y -( all say unto him, Let Him be crucified. Pilate did not want to condemn the Lord. In every way that would( not jeopardize his own position, he tried to rotect the Lord against ) ~rY of the multi~de crying for His blood. But he was w@k.:;e did not have the c02.~ag~ to do what he knew was just and right inthe face of violent opposition. He could not ut asidethought 5of his own personal welfare, nor ignore the danger that he might 10; 1the favor of the Emperor. Three times Pilate asked the Jews to let him release the Lord, saying, "What evil hath He done? I have found no cause of death inHim: I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go. And they were Jinstant with loud voices, requiring that He might be cruc~A~e 1v~s of them and of the chief priests prevailed." (Luke 23: 22, 23.)) Matthew 27: 24, 25. When Pilate saw that he could prevail noth ing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed hishands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of thisjust person: see ye to it. Then (lnswered all the eop!:e, and said, His1 blood be on us, and on our children. .)1Pilate refused to condemn the Lord, but he allowed Him to b~ci fied. He could not avoid the responsibility of his office, whereby he J ;;s called upon not only to condemn the guilty but also to protect the 1 innocent. T~ protectio.!!..he now refused to gi,ye because he fe~edh ~ q{ --- l the consequences to himself. No water could wash away the guilt of this cowardly act. Still it was true that the chief guilt lay with . the priests, the scribes, the elders, and the Pharisees, whomre crying - .... 36. Delivered to be Crucified 479out in rage for the Lords life. They were quite willing that His bloodsi10iiidbeon them and on their children.Matthew 27: 26. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and whenhe had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.It was the Roman custom to scourge or whip a criminal before hewas executed.Matthew 27: 27-31. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesusinto the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. Andwhen they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head,and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him,and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spitupon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And afterthat they had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him, and putHis own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.The soldiers who had arrested the Lord were employed by thepriests. But when sentence had been pronounced, He was taken incharge by the soldiers under the direct command of Pilate. Bothgroups of soldiers, however, participated in the mockery of crowningHim with thorns, and subjecting Him to every indignity.Matthew 27: 32.And as they came out, they found a ,man ofCyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross. Leaving the hall of judgment, the soldiers led the way through thestreets of Jerusalem toward the North Gate. One about to be crucifiedwas required to carry, or help to carry his own cross to the place ofexecution. But a Cyrenian named Simon, who returning from thecountry happened to pass by, was compelled by the soldiers to bear thecross of the Lord.Matthew 27: 33, 34. And when they were come unto a place calledGolgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave Him vinegar todrink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He wouldnot drink. Golgotha was the name of a rocky hill just outside the North Gateof the city. It was so called because from a distance it looked like askull. 37. 480 Trial Before Pilate Criminals were executed in prominent places, in order to strike fearinto the hearts of others who might be tempted to commit similarcrimes. So here there was a place of execution along the road whereall travelers entering or leaving the city toward the north would haveto pass close by. Vinegar was supposed to dull the sense of pain. It is s~e,and re resents what is false, as ood wine repi.ese.D~th. The Lordhad been condemned by false accusations to which He had made noreply. To have taken the vinegar would have meant an admissionthat these accusations were true, and this the Lord refused to do. 38. CHAPTER LXVThe CrucifixionThe Burial (Matthew 27: 35-61. Map Nos. 148, 149.)Matthew 27: 35. And they crucified Him, and parted His garments,casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by theprophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesturedid they cast a lot.A ROUGH cross of wood was planted upright in the ground, andthe Lord was fastened to it with nails through His hands and His feet.The soldiers, acting on the order of Pilate, crucified the Lord, dividing His outer garments among them, each taking one. But therewas an inner garment, woven in a single piece, and instead of destroying this they cast lots for it. (John 19: 23,24_) That this would bedone had been foretold in Psalm 22: 18. But no one had realizedwhat the phophecy meant until after it had been fulfilled.Matthew 27: 36. And sitting down they watched Him there:Among those who witnessed the crucifixion, besides the soldiers,were the crowds of priests, elders, scribes, and Pharisees who hadplotted with so much hatred to put the Lord to death. A number ofHis followers watched from a distance. But Mary, the Mother of theLord, and her sister, and Mary Magdalene, together with John thebeloved Apostle, stood near the cross. Then the Lord, looking uponHis Mother, said to her, "Woman, behold thy son I" And turning Hiseyes upon John, He said, "Behold thy mother! And from that hourthat disciple took her unto his own home." (John 19: 26, 27.)Matthew 27: 37. And set up over His head, His accusation written,THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39. The Crucifixion - The BurialThese words were written by Pilate, and he commanded that they be fastened at the head of the cross. They were repeated in three different languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The natural reason for this was that all might read them, whatever their nationality might be. But there was a further meaning, unknown to Pilate and not understood even by the Disciples. For it was not then realized that the Lord at His Second Coming would give a final Divine Revelation written in the Latin tongue. But now we know that the Lord led Pilate to do this because the universal Truth taught in the Word is that Jesus Christ is indeed the King of Kings, the God of heaven and earth. This is proclaimed throughout the Old Testament which is written in Hebrew. It is proclaimed in the New Testament which has been preserved to us in the Greek language. And it is proclaimed everywhere in the Writings now given in the Latin tongue. The Jews did not like this superscription. They went to Pilate and asked him to change it to read, "He said, I am King of the Jews." But Pilate refused, saying, "What I have written, I have written." (John 19: 20-22.) Matthew 27: 38. Then were there two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. One of these thieves "railed on Hi!ll saying, If Thou be Christ, saveThyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dostnot thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? Andwe indeed jusfly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but thisman hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou earnest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said untohim, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23: 39-43.) Both the malefactors had committed seriouscrimes. One was not sorry for what he had done, but merely wishedto escape punishment. He did not believe in the Lord, and joinedwith those who were mocking Him. But the other acknowledged hisevil, was willing to take his punishment, and repenting, asked the Lordto forgive him. The Lord is always ready to forgive one who sin. cerely repents, whatever his sin may have been. Both these criminalswere evil in the sight of men. But the Lord knew their hearts, andHe knew that one could be saved in the other world, while the othercould not. Wherefore He said to the repentant sinner, "today shaltthou be with me in paradise." 40. T he Crucifixion- The Burial This declaration of the Lord teaches us very openly, that as theWritings explain, every man rises again immediately after the bodydies. Yet in spite of this, most Christians persist in the false ideathat no one will rise after death until the "last day" at some futuretime, when as they suppose the sun will be darkened, the moon will notgive its light, and the stars will faH from heaven, and the Lord willcreate a new world for them to live in.Matthew 27: 39-44. And they that passed by reviled Him, waggingtheir heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and build-est it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, comedown from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him,with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannotsave. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from thecross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliverHim now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God.The thieves also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same in Histeeth. The Jews who did this were inspired by the hells with malice andhatred. The evil spirits putting words of derision in their mouthwere jubilant, supposing that they had destroyed the Lord. They clamored for Him to come down from the cross, declaring thatif He did so then they would believe in Him. But the Lord knewthat they would not believe, even if He did as they desired. Nothingwould convince them of His Divinity because they did not want tobelieve. It would have been with them as it had been with theirfathers, who, even while Moses was receiving the Ten Command-ments on Mount Sinai, forsook the worship of the Lord to adore agolden calf. If the Lord had come down from the cross, as indeedHe could have done, they would have been compelled to acknowledgeHim outwardly, but they would still have hated Him, and would havecontinued to plot against Him. Also, while then the Lord wouldhave returned to life on earth, He could not have revealed Himselfin His glorified Human to those, both in this world and in the other,who loved Him. Nor could the Disciples have come to know Himas they did after His resurrection. They would not have under-stood the nature of His Kingdom in the heavens, and a truly spiritualchurch could not have been raised up among-men. Because the Lordknew all this He paid no attention to their wicked mockery, persist- 41. The Crucifixion -The Burialing in His purpose to lay down His life-the life of the material bodyfor which He had no further need-and to take upon Himself theglorified body in which He was to reign thereafter as the supremeRuler of the universe. It is to be noted that the Jews, in thus yielding to the evil spiritsthat inspired them, demonstrated before all good men how cruel, harsh,and hateful they were, even though they pretended to be so devotedto the Law of Moses. The Disciples afterwards could realize that theJewish Church was dead, and that a new church entirely distinct andseparate from it must be established by all those who believed inthe Lord. And the same thing happened in the spiritual world,where the simple good spirits who had in ignorance accepted thefalse teaching of the Jewish rabbis, came to see the selfishness, thehypocrisy, the utter wickedness that had lain concealed under an outward pretense of worshiping J ehovah. In order to separate thesesimple good in both worlds, from the evil who had held them in bondage, the Lord permitted the Jews to do all these terrible things to Him,and underwent the horrible suffering of the cross. For there was noother means whereby He could save the human race from eternal death.Matthew 27: 45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness allover the land unto the ninth hour.It was about the sixth hour, according to Jewish reckoning, whichwould be noon according to our time, when the Lord w~ crucified.A great storm came up. Black clouds covered the sky and plungedthe world into a strange darkness that struck all men with awe, causingthem to wonder what was about to happen.Matthew 27: 46-49. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with aloud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani? That is to say, MyGod, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Some of them that stoodthere, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. Andstraightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it withvinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. The rest said,Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.The Lord spoke in the Aramaic language used by the commonpeople of Palestine. But those who heard did not know what thewords meant.They thought that instead of calling upon God, Hewas asking the Prophet Elias or Elijah to rescue Him. 42. The Crucifixion - The Burial They had offered the Lord vinegar before He was crucified, andHe refused it. But now when they offered Him vinegar on a reedmade of hyssop, He drank it. The reason is that the vinegar firstoffered represented the falsities of the Jews who had the Word, andwho should have known better. They were in the falsity that is theinvention of an evil heart, and this the Lord utterly rejected. Butthe vinegar now offered to Him represented the falsities of the Gentile peoples who were in ignorance, and yet who were searching for theTruth. This falsity the Lord mercifully accepts as if it were theTruth, until genuine instruction can be given. And the Lord is everready to help and to teach those who sincerely come to Him, howevergreat the falsity in which they may be.Matthew 27: 50. Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice,yielded up the ghost.By this is meant that the body died. The lungs ceased to function,and the beating of the heart was stilled. This is what happens toeveryone when the time comes for the spirit to be separated from thebody, in order that he may awaken to life in the spiritual world.Matthew 27: 51-53. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent intwain from the top to the bottom,. and the earth did quake, and therocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of thesaints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after Hi~ resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. The veil of the temple marked the division between the Holy Placewhere the priests ministered-providing the shewbread, tending thelampstand, and burning incense-and the Holy of Holies where theArk of the Covenant was kept. This Holy of Holies was the specialabiding place of the Lord, whence He had spoken to Aaron, the HighPriest, from behind the veil. But this inner sanctuary of the Jews wasin total darkness because they did not really see the Lord, nor did theyunderstand truly who He was. But now He was to be made knownto all who were willing to receive Him. They were to see Him as Heis in heaven. They were to worship Him henceforth as a visible God,seen and known as Jesus Christ, risen and glorified. This is thereason why the veil was rent from the top to the bottom, flooding theHoly of Holies with new light. It is the reason why in our Churchthe sanctuary where the Word is kept is not hidden behind a veil. 43. The Crucifixion ~ The BurialWhen we worship, the Word lies open upon the altar in full view.This because the Lord has now revealed Himself to us in glory. There was indeed an earthquake that caused the rocks to crack andthe walls of the houses to tremble, striking fear into the hearts of men.But people who had been dead did not rise out of their graves in theirmaterial bodies. Some, however, whose spiritual eyes were opened,saw into the other world, and there beheld in vision some who theyknew had died. But the greatest earthquake, and the one primarily meant here inthe Word, took place in the world of spirits, where the Lord was aboutto set free the good spirits from the imprisonment in which they hadbeen kept by the evil. To these, because they now felt new hope andnew life, it seemed as though they had been dead and were now living,experiencing a joy unutterable because they had seen the Lord, andknew that He had come to save them.Matthew 27: 54. Now when the centurion, and they, that were withhim, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that weredone, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. The centurion was the Roman officer in charge of the soldiers whohad crucified the Lord. They were now frightened by the darknessand the earthquake, and in their fear proclaimed their faith that thismust have been the Son of God, even as He had claimed. Whetherthey continued to believe in Him and embraced the Christian Religion,after He had risen, we do not know. Sometimes in moments of dangerwe come to believe, and afterwards return to our unbelief when theperil has passed. Probably in this case there were some who continued to believe and others who did not.Matthew 27: 55, 56. And many women were there beholding afaroff, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him: amongwhich was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James andJoses, and the mother of Zebedees children. Mary Magdalene, a native of Magdala in Galilee, was the one outof whom the .Lord had cast seven devils. Mary the mother of J amesand Joses, was probably the same as the one mentioned in John asthe wife of Cleophas. There were two Disciples called J ames. Onewas the brother of John, the son of Zebedee; the other was theson of Alphaeus, and was called J arries the Less. It is the mother of 44. The Crucifixion - The Burialthis James and his brother Joses that is here referred to. This wouldmean either that she was married twice, or that Cleophas was anothername for Alphaeus. As to this we have no sure knowledge. InJohn this same Mary is said to be the sister of the Lords Mother.Some have supposed that she was a sister-in-law, her husband, Cleophas, possibly having been a brother of Joseph, the husband of Marythe Lords Mother. There is no historical evidence to support thisview, but it would explain the terms used in the Gospels to describethese women who were present at the Lords crucifixion. The wife ofZebedee, who was the mother of .Tames and John, was Salome.Matthew 27: 57, 58. When the even was come, there came a richman of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus disciple:he went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilatecommanded the body to be delivered. Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent counseUor, a member of theSanhedrin. He had believed in the Lord, but secretly, because he wasafraid of the Jews. And because he loved the Lord he had not "consented to the counsel and deed of them" (Luke 23: 51), that is, ofthe judges who had condemned the Lord. He now came to Pilate andasked if he might take the Lords body down from the cross and buryit. And Pilate gave him permission to do so. From the Gospel of John we learn that another member of theSanhedrin came with him to assist in this act of love. This wasNicodemus, who, you remember, had come to the Lord secretly bynight, to hear His Word. It is interesting and important to remember that the two men who first ministered to the Lord after His crucifixion were members of the council of judges that had condemnedHim, but who accepted His teachings and at heart were among Hisdisciples. This shows us that even in the Sanhedrin which had allowed itself to become a tool of the hells, there were good men who didnot sanction the wickedness of the others.Matthew 27: 59, 60. And when Joseph had taken the body, hewrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb,which he had hewn out of the rock: and he rolled a great stone tothe door of the sepulchre, and departed.Matthew does not mention Nicodemus, but we know that he waswith Joseph of Arimathea when he came to take away the body ofthe Lord. 45. The Crucifixion -The Burial J oseph was a rich man. He had bought a plot of land not far fromGo1gotha, where he had hewn out a sepulchre and planted round it agarden, as a place where he himself might be buried when he died;for it is said to be "his own new tomb," and in John it is called "anew sepulchre wherein was never man yet laid." Unwittingly, Josephhad been led to do this in order that there might be a fitting place forthe Lords burial and resurrection. In ancient times the dead were wrapped in linen cloths called"shrouds," and various kinds of spices were poured into the folds ofthe cloth. When this had been done to the Lords body, and it hadbeen placed tenderly in the cave, a great stone was rolled to the doorof the sepulchre.Matthew 27: 61. And .there was Mary Magdalene, and the otherMary, sitting over against the sepulchre. By the "other Mary" here is meant the wife of C1eophas. (SeeMark 15: 47.) These two evidently came nearer, but the other womenalso followed at a distance, to see where the Lords body was laid. (Luke 23: SS.) And it is said that they returned then to their homes,and prepared spices and ointments, that they also might perform whatthey regarded as a last act of devotion to show their love for the Lord.But the next day being the Sabbath, they rested quietly at home, believing that it was against the Commandments for them to anoint thedead on the Sabbath. This also was in Providence, that they mightnot come until the morning of the Lords resurrection. 46. Part VIIFrom the Burial to the Ascension 47. MAP VIIFROM THE BURIAL TO THE ASCENSIONMatt.Mark Luke John150. The Watch at the Sepulchre ... 27: 62-66151. The Morning of the Resurrection28: 1-10 16: 1-11 24: 1-12 20: 1-18152. Report of the Watch .......... 28: 11-15153. The Walk to Emmaus ........ 16: 12-1324: 13-35154. Appearance to the Ten ........ 24: 36--43 20: 19-25155. Appearance to the Eleven .....16: 1420: 26-31156. Appearance to the Seven ......21: 1-24157. Appearance on the llountain .. 28:16-20 16: 15-18158. The Ascension ............... 16:19-20 24:44-53159. Conclusion of Johns Gospel. .. 21:25490 48. 2 4A A8 .8c3o30 :W.: 30E E4 49. CHAPTER LXVI The Watch at the Sepulchre The Morning of the Resurrection(Matthew 27: 62-66; 28: 1-10.Map Nos. 150, 151)Matthew 27: 62-64. Now the next day, that followed the day ofpreparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yetalive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore thatthe sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His diciples comeby night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risenfrom the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.THE"day of preparation" was the day before the Sa~bath.Sinceno work was to be done on the Sabbath Day, food had to be preparedthe day before, and other arrangements had to be made for domesticand other necessities. It was on this "day of preparation" that theLord was crucified. But it was on the "next day" or the Sabbath thatthe priests and Pharisees spoke to Pilate about guarding the sepulchre. The rulers of the Jews, of course, did not at all believe that it waspossible for the Lord to rise from the dead. But they were afraidthat the Disciples would secretly remove His body from the sepulchre,and then falsely proclaim that He had risen, as He had promised.Wherefore they asked Pilate to place a guard at the sepulchre to prevent anyone from entering until after the three days had passed. The priests reasoned among themselves that if the people continuedto have faith in the Lord, believing that He had risen from the dead,then they would have failed of their purpose. For they wanted todestroy not only the Lord Himself, but all faith in His teachings.For these teachings had shaken the confidence of many people in thetraditional doctrines taught by the priests. They had deprived thepriests of power and influence, exposing their hypocrisy. This is49 1 50. 49 2 The Watch at the Sepulchrewhat had goaded them to fury. For this injury they sought revengeby personal violence against the Lord. But most of all they wantedto regain their power. And this they could not do unless those whoha.d become disciples of the Lord ceased to believe in Him and turnedback to the priests for instruction and leadership. If then theyshould believe that the Lord had risen, and should remain faithful toHis words, their opposition to the priests would grow. This is whythey said, "the last error shall be worse than the first."Matthew 27: 65, 66. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: goyour way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went and made thesepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. The Jewish rulers had soldiers under their command to do policeduty and to relieve the Romans of the full responsibility for preserving civil order. The Romans, while placing a strong garrison oflegions at strategic points in a conquered country, and making surethat no armed force that might threaten their authority would bemustered by the natives, yet permitted them a considerable measureof self-government. This was a wise imperial policy, not only because it relieved the Romans of a large burden of petty local government, requiring judgment with reference to customs and traditionsthat they did not understand, and about which they cared nothing,but also because it made the rule of the conqueror less irksome, lessobvious, and less apt to stir the spirit of revolt. Pilate had no interest in the claim that the Lord would rise again.The fear expressed by the priests was something he did not understand. He regarded the whole incident as merely the result of aquarrel between two factions of the Jews. He refused therefore totake sides or to commit the Roman soldiers to the menial duty ofserving the private interests of the despised people whom they hadconquered. But he gave the priests permission to set over the sepulchre a guard of the soldiers under their command.Therefore, they placed a seal over the door of the tomb. Thisseal was a legal document, forbidding anyone to enter the sepulchre on threat of punishment-probably by order of the Sanhedrin.And the document was so fastened to the stone and to the wall of thetomb that the stone could not be removed without breaking the seal.And then they placed soldiers in front of the sepulchre, with othersto relieve them at stated hours, so that both day and night the tombwould be protected against anyone that might try to break into it. 51. The Morning of the Resurrection493 It was in the Divine Providence that this should have been done.For it was of the utmost importance that there should be no room fordoubt as to the truth of the Lords resurrection. If the sepulchre hadnot been watched, the priests could have denied that the Lord hadrisen, claiming that the Disciples themselves had removed His body.But since every precaution had been taken to insure that this shouldnot happen, when the tomb was found empty, there was no other ex-planation than that the prophecy of resurrection had been fulfilled.Here we see a striking example of how the Lord uses evil men to ac-complish a good end-the exact opposite of what they wish or intendto do. All the efforts of the Jewish priests to make certain that no oneshould have any ground for belief in the Lords resurrection, werethe very means whereby all possible doubt was removed as to the truthof His resurrection.Matthew 28: 1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn to-ward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the otherMary to see the sepulchre.This was the dawn of the first Easter Sunday. This was the earliestmoment when the women who loved the Lord could come to anoint Hisbody, because they could not do this on the Sabbath Day withoutbreaking the Mosaic Law. They had prepared the sweet spices suchas were used for burial. This they had done quietly in their homesduring the Sabbath, so that they might be ready to seek the Lord veryearly in the morning.Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of J ames the Less, and Salome,the mother of J ames and John, are distinctly mentioned as beingamong those who came to the sepulchre. But there were "certainothers with them" whose names are not given. (Luke 24: 1.)Matthew 28: 2-4. And behold there was a great earthquake: for theangel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled backthe stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was likelightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him thekeepers did shake, and became as dead men. The angel descended and the earthquake came before the womenarrived. There is no indication that they felt the tremor of the earth;or if they did feel it, that they knew what it was. For we are toldthat as they were approaching "they said among themselves, Who 52. 494The Watch at the Sepulchre shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" And they were astonished when they saw that the stone had already been removed.But the "keepers," the soldiers set to watch the sepulchre, did feel the earthquake. They saw the angel remove the stone and situpon it. They were so frightened that they could not move. Butwhen the vision of the angel disappeared the sepulchre was still open,and they saw that it was empty. In the eleventh verse it is implied that they saw the women who first discovered the empty tomb. Since they had been watching they knew that the Disciples had not takenthe Lords body away. That the angel removed the stone by means of an earthquake isclear from what is here said. But this earthquake, like the one thatoccurred when the Lord died on the cross, took place at the same timein the spiritual world. There is where it had the most immediate andthe most powerful effects. It moved the entire world of spirits, andeven all the heavens. It completely changed the idea of the Lord inthe minds of the spirits and angels, and gave new meaning to His Word. The Word had told about the Lord. It had prophesied His birthinto the world, His whole life on earth, His death, and His resurrection. But the prophecies had not been understood. The idea of theLord who was to come was that of a great prophet who was to establish an earthly kingdom. In this way the Jews had interpreted theWord, and had taught it on earth. And in this way they continuedto teach it when they entered the other world. For this reason theLord, as He really was-a Divine Man, God Himself in the form ofman, the Ruler of the whole universe, who was to establish a heavenlykingdom-was not known. He was present in the Word, but He wasnot seen there. Since the Jews had forsaken their faith in J ehovah,they no longer had any love of the Lord, and He was to them asone dead. The Word had become a sepulchre in which the Lordwas buried. But when the Lord rose from the grave, those whohad thought of Him only as a prophet saw Him in heaven as Hereally is. All their traditional ideas about Him were shaken as bya great earthquake. They now began to see for the first time whatthe prophecies of the Word really meant. A new and wonderfullight from the Lord flooded their minds. Those who at heart lovedthe Lord rejoiced in this light and accepted gladly the Truth concerning Him. But the evil, who like the soldiers at the sepulchre, 53. The Morning of the Resurrection495were determined to maintain their false ideas, who were unwilling to accept "any new truth, and who were watching the sepulchreto keep the Lord forever dead-these evil spirits in the other worldrejected the Lord and "became as dead men," that is, they were castinto hell. It was the same on earth. The women and the Disciples who lovedthe Lord welcomed with joy of heart the message of the angel tellingthem that the Lord had risen. But the Jewish priests and scribesrefused to believe it, and sought in every way to destroy the ChristianFaith.Matthew 28: 5-7. And the angel answered and said unto the women,Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. Heis not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place wherethe Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risenfrom the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee, thereshall ye see Him: lo I have told you. When the women drew near they saw the angel sitting upon thestone that had been used to seal the sepulchre. They were naturallyafraid, but the angel said to them, "Fear not ye: for I know that yeseek Jesus, which was crucified." For those who loved the Lordthere was no cause for fear but only for rejoicing, because there werethe glad tidings that He whom they adored had risen from the dead.They who hated the Lord had reason to fear because the one they hadsought to destroy utterly had not been harmed by their maliciouscruelty, but had returned to judge them for their wicked deeds. The angel then invited the women to enter the sepulchre and seefor themselves that the Lords body was not there. In Luke weare told that when they had entered the tomb they saw two men inshining garments, though only one is mentioned in Mark. Again thisangel told them to "see the place where they laid Him." And hereminded them of the Lords words, saying, "Remember how Hespake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of manmust be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, andthe third day rise again. And they remembered His words." (Luke24: 6-8.) The women did not yet know what these words might mean. Theythought of the Lord as coming to life again in this world, even as Hehad raised Lazarus from the dead. But how this could be they could 54. The Watch at the Sepulchre not imagine. They had despaired of ever seeing the Lord again. But now new hope fined their hearts, and they departed quickly from the sepulchre to tell the Disciples what they had seen and heard. In Mark it is said, "they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid." (Mark 16: 8.) Matthew 28: 8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word. You remember that the sepulchre was situated only a little way outside the North Gate of Jerusalem. The Disciples undoubtedly were in the city, and the women hastened toward the gate. Matthew 28: 9, 10. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, All!:!!:iJ. And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.It was while they were hastening toward the city that they met the Lord. Mary Magdalene must have been a little ahead of the others, for we are told in the Gospel of Mark that "He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils." But the others, catching up to her when she stopped, beheld the vision also. And they all fell down at His feet to worship Him.After the Lord had spoken to them He disappeared, even as He had done when He was seen by Peter, James, and John on the Moun~ of Transfiguration. When they were once more alone they went on, hurrying as before, to the place where the Disciples were gathered together weeping and mourning because they thought the Lord had been taken from them forever.The women told them of the strange and wonderful things that had happenea-;- ut (ltheir--wDrds seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed em not." (Luke 24: 11.)Even Mary Magdalene did Dot believe. It all seemed too impossible to be true. And leaving the Disciples still discussing these strange events, she returned alone to the sepulchre. Presently, Peter and John ran to the sepulchre to investigate for themselves what had happened.For Mary Magdelene had told them "They have taken I away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we now not where they b~e laid Him." (John 20: ~A1thougb she had seen the angels -._------ 55. The Morning of the Resurrection 497l a~ad beheld the Lord in visio~, she still thought that someone had taken away His body.John ranfuster than Peter, but when he saw the stone rolled away he stopped, bent down, and looking in "saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in." But Peter, when he arrived, went immediately into the cave and saw the linen clothes that had been wrapped about the Lords body by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, "and the napkin, that was about His head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." Then John also entered the sepulchre, and when he had seen for himself that the Lord was not there, it is said that he believed. By this is meant that he believed in the Lord once more. His faith in the Lord as the pro